When the words "Anyone who comes near me deserves to die" flashed before Shen Yangge's eyes, he knew he was really done for this time. He began to get excited!
He wasn't deliberately courting death this time, nor was he breaking character.
-Holy **, I can finally die in peace. Thank you, Crown Prince. Thank you and your whole family. May the price of your groceries never rise for as long as you live.
-But why the fuck is he getting so close to me? That ** bastard of a crown prince.
Grumbling inwardly, Shen Yangge shrank toward a corner of the golden coffin, but the moment he moved, his neck brushed against a patch of cold fabric.
It was the sleeve of the Crown Prince's arm, braced beside his ear.
Shen Yangge had never been pinned against a wall in his previous life. Finding himself treated to a "coffin pin" in this one struck him as rather novel for a moment.
For some reason, a certain line also came to mind.
-Go all the way when confessing your love. Want to be buried together?
From an angle Shen Yangge couldn't see, the Crown Prince's deep, abyss-like gaze took on a distinct hint of amusement as that thought passed through his mind.
At that moment, their breaths seemed to mingle, inseparably entwined. Shen Yangge lifted his chin slightly, meeting the Crown Prince's dark gaze with his own vacant, almond-shaped eyes.
-Hurry, hurry! Execute me right here!
On the surface, Shen Yangge looked frightened and nervous, but inside...
-Come on, come on! Snap my neck. Just once, and I can happily leave this beautiful world behind. Of course, if you don't do it now, you can have me torn apart by five horses as soon as we get outside. Death by a thousand cuts works too!
After all, 615 had told him privately that as long as he was executed normally, he could switch on the pain-free setting.
After a moment, the Crown Prince said nothing at all. He simply withdrew the hand braced beside Shen Yangge's ear, straightened, and stepped out of the golden coffin.
His movements were unhurried, every gesture radiating indescribable nobility.
After smoothing his rumpled sleeves, the Crown Prince followed his earlier shocking words with yet another jaw-dropping act.
Having calmly straightened his sleeves, he actually reached into the golden coffin and pulled out the Junior Historian, who was still silently muttering about his impending death without an intact corpse.
The Empress's face was thunderous. All she lacked was a dark cloud hanging over her head.
Doing her utmost to conceal her anger, she forced a reasonably gentle, gracious smile and said:
"Xuan Zhen, you child, why have you done something like this again? I may have mentioned it, but it was only a joke... How could you take it seriously?"
The Crown Prince turned to face the Emperor and Empress, a warm, faint smile appearing on his lips. "I have always considered everything Father and Mother say to be of great importance."
The Emperor's expression was little better. Though he looked ready to reprimand him, he held back under the gazes of his assembled ministers.
"You mustn't do this again, child. What your mother and I say is certainly important, but you must also consider the occasion, mustn't you?"
As though he had taken the lesson to heart, the Crown Prince bowed to the Emperor and Empress with his hands clasped, then ordered the servants kneeling on the ground with trembling legs to carry away the golden coffin.
Ever since he had been pulled out of the coffin, Shen Yangge had remained in a daze.
How come he hadn't been killed?
Until-he watched with his own eyes as the coffin he had lain in was carried away.
Those servants, who should have been beaten to death on the Emperor's orders, had completed their mission... and withdrawn unscathed. But what about him? He hadn't managed to die!
He wanted to cry but had no tears. The appearance of a coffin had spoiled the banquet, too. The Emperor had lost interest, and the Empress was no longer in the mood. After a few perfunctory remarks, they dismissed the nobles and high officials invited to the feast and returned to their palace.
His wish unfulfilled, Shen Yangge dragged his exhausted body along behind the nobles and officials, preparing to head home. Unlike when he had entered the palace, more people were staring at him now.
His body was still very weak, and he had to stop for a rest after every short stretch. Yet, perhaps it was his imagination, but whenever he stopped, several of the nobles and officials slowed their steps.
"Junior Historian, are you all right?"
A clear, familiar voice sounded beside him. Shen Yangge turned and found the boy who had spoken to him at the banquet leaning forward to look at him, his hands clasped behind his back.
The boy was bathed in sunlight, his amber eyes holding a trace of concern. The servants accompanying him stood dutifully at either side.
Looking miserable, Shen Yangge shook his head. "I'm fine."
"That's good, then. Um, my name is Xue Qian."
Xue Qian?
The novel A Hundred Years seemed to have mentioned him. He was Consort Xue's nephew. In his early years, he had guarded the frontier with his uncle, Xue Chengren. Later, he returned to the capital and joined the Seventh Prince's faction, eventually dying in a chaotic battle.
He had been only fourteen when he died.
The boy smiled playfully and asked, "Hey, did you really insult the Crown Prince?"
Shen Yangge answered without a care, "...I suppose so."
Everyone knew about it. Though he wasn't the original owner of this body, he was living under that person's identity, so there was no escaping the blame.
The boy looked surprised. "Then how are you still al... perfectly fine? It's really surprising. I was sitting far away at the banquet, but I saw the Crown Prince pull you out of the coffin."
-I'd like to know why I'm still alive too, and why the Crown Prince didn't kill me.
Halfway through his inward grumbling, Shen Yangge stopped in his tracks.
-That's right. Never mind that the bastard crown prince didn't kill me-he didn't even chop off my hands and feet!
-Has he turned over a new leaf?
Not likely. Anyone might change their nature, except him.
Xue Qian kept him company all the way out of the imperial palace. Everyone else left in their sedan chairs, while Shen Yangge remained rooted to the spot.
He knew the servants from the Shen Residence had all left. They had assumed he wouldn't make it home alive.
Even he had thought so.
"Junior Historian, why aren't you leaving? Oh... I get it. Your servants ran off. That's utterly outrageous. How about this? Get in, and I'll give you a ride."
Xue Qian lifted the sedan chair's curtain and patted the seat beside him. His words clearly meant, "The servants misbehaved, and their master suffered for it, so I'll be merciful and give him a ride."
Yet his expression and behavior betrayed his true intentions.
This hardly looked like an act of mercy. He clearly couldn't have wished for anything better.
Shen Yangge didn't refuse. The imperial palace was a long way from the Shen Residence, he didn't have a penny on him, and he didn't know the route home.
Left to wander aimlessly on his own, he would certainly reach the Shen Residence by nightfall.
Ah, in the end, he owed the boy a favor.
When Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence and stepped through the main gate, the servants recoiled as though they had seen a ghost. Wherever he went, those sweeping stopped sweeping, those cleaning windows stopped cleaning, and they all fled in a flash.
Shen Zhi heard that Shen Yangge had returned safely. Not only had he survived, but the Emperor had also granted him a drafting post, and he was to report to the Crown Prince's hall the following day.
He was absolutely furious. Why? He wasn't the one who had committed the offense.
Yet he had been suspended from his official post for a month! Not only had that unfilial son cleared his name, but he had even secured a position serving the Crown Prince in his hall!
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