[-What the hell kind of white powder did they use for that makeup? I wasn't that pale even after being dead for three days!]
The dancers finally finished and left the stage. Shen Yangge felt he might need a lifetime to scrub those few fleeting moments from his memory.
The next troupe entered, and the music slowly began again. Behind them, several people carried something into the center of the palace banquet's stage.
With a thud, they heavily set down their burden.
Before Shen Yangge could make out what they had put down-
The emperor slammed his hand on the table, his authoritative, furious voice ringing out: "How dare you!"
Everyone dropped to their knees!
They all knelt toward the emperor.
Some who had seen the object had already gone pale, while those who hadn't looked utterly bewildered.
What happened?
The emperor was livid. "Who told you to bring that in? Whoever it was, beat them to death!"
"Guards, take them away!"
The gentle smile had vanished from the empress's face as well. She frowned, equally angry, but in the end, she hesitantly spoke:
"Your Majesty, today is my birthday. For my sake, please wait until the truth has been uncovered before passing judgment."
Silence fell once more. The emperor was just about to speak.
But the crown prince spoke first.
And what he said left everyone dumbstruck.
He said, "This is my birthday gift to Mother: a golden coffin made from ten-thousand-year-old golden-thread nanmu wood and pure gold."
Now that was a bombshell.
Shen Yangge wore the expression of an old man squinting at a phone on the subway.
The crown prince had actually said something that fucking outrageous.
Was the crown prince having another bout of madness?!
Ah, how enviable, that freedom of speech!
System 615: [...]
The crown prince walked unhurriedly to the golden coffin, reached out, and tapped its lid as he said:
"Mother, weren't you often telling me just a few days ago that you wanted to find a good coffin?"
The empress had only managed to swallow half her anger before she froze.
Shock and the twitching of her lips were plain to see. Her entire face twisted as though she were possessed.
The crown prince continued, still perfectly calm and refined. "I personally gathered the materials during my journey south, sparing no expense to have this made for Mother. As for its quality..."
Slowly, very slowly, he turned his gaze toward a certain corner and dropped another bombshell:
"I shall find someone to test it with me. I heard that Official Shen climbed out of a coffin a few days ago. Surely that carries the meaning of rebirth and a fresh start. Why not give it a try?"
Shen Yangge: ...
[-Did a fucking door crush your brain?]
[-Just execute me instead. Don't pull this underworld bullshit.]
Only a few people at the banquet knew that the crown prince was having another episode.
But none dared interrupt at such a critical moment, afraid they would become his next victim.
Poor Shen Yangge couldn't openly court death, since that would contradict the original owner's character. As one of those who knew the crown prince was having an episode, he fought the urge to speak.
Shen Yangge lowered his head. Beneath the low table, he rolled up his wet sleeve a little, exposing a pale, slender forearm. His fingers clenched tightly, showing just how painfully he was holding himself back.
The crown prince continued to do as he pleased. "Compiler Shen?"
Gritting his back teeth, Shen Yangge reluctantly rose to his feet, then left his seat and walked toward the golden coffin.
He stopped only when he was two or three steps away. Shen Yangge was waiting for an outcome, waiting for the emperor to speak.
Yes, because from this moment onward, he had a phobia of coffins.
Those kneeling on the floor couldn't help secretly lifting their heads to sneak a look at the young man who had climbed out of a coffin alive. And that glance-
Good heavens!
They even forgot to lower their heads again. Amazement and surprise flashed in the eyes of some who stole a look.
This was the brainless little fool who had insulted the crown prince?
The emperor never spoke. Shen Yangge knew that meant tacit approval. Even the empress, grinding her teeth in fury, made no attempt to stop this.
He weighed his fear of coffins against the possibility of being executed by the crown prince and finally chose the latter. He took two steps forward without even looking at the prince.
With his sleeve rolled up a little, he placed his hand on the coffin lid and pushed. The lid was so heavy that he couldn't possibly move it alone.
Cold sweat broke out on Shen Yangge's forehead. He went from pushing with one hand to using both, exhausting almost all his strength. Perhaps he was imagining it, but a certain gaze seemed to have been fixed on his hands since before he started pushing.
Just as he was about to give up, the coffin lid seemed to slide open under his push.
He froze for a few seconds, then turned his head.
Sure enough, one of the crown prince's hands rested on the lid. His well-defined hand pressed lightly against it, his thumb hooked beneath the edge.
His broad, cloud-patterned sleeve rustled as he withdrew his hand. His deep eyes were fixed on Shen Yangge...
Shen Yangge's eyelid twitched. [I truly thank all eighteen generations of your ancestors. If I ever get the chance, I'll dig every last one of them up and kneel to thank them individually!]
It was just lying in a coffin. The first time was unfamiliar, the second was easy. For a chance at execution, he'd lie down!
After a clumsy flurry of movement, Shen Yangge climbed gracelessly into the golden coffin and lay straight down, legs extended and hands folded over his stomach.
Every inch of him radiated the words "rest in peace."
Not wanting to see the crown prince's "puzzled" gaze, Shen Yangge quite naturally closed his eyes.
With the man out of sight, all his pent-up frustration and indignation surged up, and he couldn't stop inwardly ranting:
[-That damned fucking crown prince, that damned fucking emperor and empress. Why haven't you executed me yet? Please, just let me die quickly!]
Despite his inward complaints, Shen Yangge's mind was clear. If he really could have begged his way into death, he would have died earlier. Now he was merely venting inside his head.
"Get up."
An utterly cold voice reached his ears. Shen Yangge cracked his eyes open. Above the golden coffin, the crown prince gazed down at him through half-lidded eyes, dressed in a pale white robe with broad, cloud-patterned sleeves.
[-Fucking crown prince, don't think I'll get up just because you tell me to. Execute me right now if you've got the guts!]
The crown prince opened his half-lidded eyes. Though he appeared gentle and scholarly on the surface, he gave Shen Yangge an unmistakable sense of chilling brutality.
Especially with that sinister aura surrounding him.
Forget it. I'll get up.
Shen Yangge scrambled up at lightning speed, his body trembling uncontrollably. So tense and flustered was he that his hand accidentally caught something other than the golden coffin.
He turned to look.
It was a pale, clean hand, slender and well-shaped, with a dark blue thumb ring. A broad, cloud-patterned sleeve edged in gold thread lay against its wrist.
Luxurious?
Luxurious.
Beautiful?
Beautiful. And that was exactly the problem-he predicted his own hand was about to be chopped off to make it look even better.
That wouldn't do. Having his hand chopped off wouldn't kill him outright.
Half-crouching, his rear only just off the coffin, Shen Yangge was about to withdraw the paw that had accidentally grabbed the crown prince. But despite favorable timing and circumstances, the people involved were anything but harmonious-the aftereffects of getting up too fast hit him!
Stars instantly burst before his eyes.
Dizzy and utterly disoriented, he fell back into the golden coffin, dragging along the crown prince, who stood beside it with an unreadable expression.
Thump!
Their bodies collided, and their eyes met.
Before you continue