CH 27

When Li Yuanmin hurriedly went to Yangchun Garden, the atmosphere in the hall was completely different from when he left. The prostitutes were all sent away, and the hall was solemn. Everyone’s complexion was grave.

Ni Lie with cold eyes, confronted He Jian in the hall. 

Yuan Chongsheng sat on the seat of honor with an ashen complexion, and many officials on both sides stood with hands down. Seeing Li Yuanmin coming in, they hurriedly lowered their heads and looked away. There was a man with a blue face and swelling nose sitting on a chair in the hall. He kept shouting out aiyo continuously and there was one more lying on the ground, who had already fainted. Several people who looked like doctors were busy treating them, everything was in a mess. 

Li Yuanmin first sized up and down Ni Lie’s body a few glances, then seeing that he was okay, he was relieved. After a short pause, he swept a glance at everyone, and calmly said:

“It was good when I went back earlier, why did it become like this in just a blink of an eye?” 

Yuan Chongsheng held back his anger. His face was hard to look at: “I originally thought that King Guangan was very strict, but unexpectedly your residence’s general actually came to disturb this official’s event!” 

He pointed to the two wounded people, and said angrily: “Look at what the two have been beaten into!”

He was in a hurry, so Li Yuanmin did not recognize the two of them. At this moment, he got closer and recognized them. The one lying on the ground and fainted was Cao Xianwei, and the one who was sitting there was He Jian’s deputy Wei Shenling. That guy looked at him, and immediately looked away with a guilty conscience.

Li Yuanmin frowned slightly. He glanced at Ni Lie, the other party only had a calm and collected face, and didn’t have the wish to explain things at all. 

Then he heard He Jian pointing fingers at Ni Lie and cursing, “They were just under the influence of alcohol and said a few sentences jokingly, yet General Ni’s great awe-inspiring might unexpectedly turn ruthless like this.”  

If it were not for He Jian’s interruption in a timely manner, they’re afraid it would have resulted in somebody’s death.  

Ni Lie only had a dark face and said nothing. He Jian originally had been at odds with him. Although the cause of the storm was unknown, he seized the cause and wantonly flared up, immediately finding fault with him. Everyone thought it was just a quarrel after drinking, but when Ni Lie started to act out savagely like this, they were all in shock, one after another. 

Especially Yuan Chongsheng. Although he was not an arrogant person, if his roots were not touched, then for the sake of his silver manor Li Yuanmin, he would naturally be willing to give him a little face. But today’s banquet is the first-ever banquet he had ever since after he transferred to Lingnan. And having created a disturbance like this, it clearly made him unable to save face. If he was so easily intimidated, how would he mingle in Lingnan’s officialdom in the future?

He immediately stood up and walked toward Li Yuanmin, and struck a bowing posture, “Originally, this General Ni should follow Your Highness and go back voluntarily to discipline himself. However, this is no small matter. Cao Xianwei has not woken up yet. If he is unable to explain things to these two colleagues, then this subordinate also won’t have any face to stay in Xuntai Mansion too. I hope King Guangan understands.”

Every sentence was honest, but the tone was aggressive, with an unnegotiable attitude.

Li Yuanmin had been listening for so long, and he, more or less, understood the whole sequence of events. He knew that Ni Lie was easily provoked by the drunk and reckless men. Seeing him, not explaining even a word today, it was because he didn’t want to explain. Li Yuanmin was so astute, so he had already guessed the reason after a little while. 

He closed his fan at once and the corners of his lips pulled up: “My Bei An has always had strict laws. If one violates the law, even if it’s the emperor, they will receive the same guilt as the common people, not to mention the insignificant General of Ben Wang’s mansion.” 

“Your Highness is wise,” Yuan Chongsheng saw him being tactful and his mind was relieved a lot from his previous anger. He raised his hand about to order the guards to take the person away when he heard Li Yuanmin obstruct him: “Hold on.”

Yuan Chongsheng’s face became cold, he held back his anger: “Your Highness…”

Li Yuanmin smiled and said, “It’s nothing, it’s just Ben Wang had personally educated this insignificant subordinate from a young age, and I know his temperament. If his bottom line wasn’t touched, he wouldn’t have lost his self-control like this. Therefore, I’m curious.” 

He walked slowly and arrived in front of Wei Shenling, with a sneer floating on the corner of his mouth, “Wei Shenling said it was a quarrel, what kind of quarrel was it?”

As soon as his voice fell, Ni Lie’s complexion finally changed, and he clenched his fist tightly.

Wei Shenling had been silent from the beginning with a guilty conscience, and at this moment only his expression was stagnant: “…The words spoken under the influence of alcohol are not appropriate to take seriously.”

“Wei Shenling wants justice, so Ben Wang has to understand the situation clearly.” Li Yuanmin had already put aside his smile, and said word by word, “Speak, what were the words spoken under the alcohol’s influence? Ben Wang is all ears.” 

Although it was a quiet, exquisite and beautiful face, seeing those eyes that were cold to the bottom of his heart, Wei Shenling’s heart jumped heavily, and he immediately stammered.

“This…..I…..forgot already….”

At this time, the officials present all saw something fishy appear.

“Forgot?” Li Yuanmin sneered, “Did Wei Shenling forget… or dare not say?”

He slapped the fan against his hand, his eyes drooping slightly: “Since this is the case, let Ben Wang give you some choices to make a decision. There are two choices. One, speak out your so-called drunk remarks in front of the officials here on the spot. Speak it out one by one, all in detail, without any false words.”

Wei Shenling immediately broke into cold sweat. How could he dare make such a death remark. The last person who insulted him face to face was taken to some unknown corner at the border quietly. Although this King Guangan has a soft skin, only the people that have been there for a long time would know his bloodless means underneath. At this moment, he didn’t care about his injuries. He knelt down with a thud, “This subordinate deserves to die!”

Li Yuanmin sneered, but there was no smile in his eyes, “Then it’s the second choice…”

He sneered in his nose: “Go and beg for forgiveness from Xuntai Daren yourself.” 

He looked at Yuan Chongsheng, “Xuntai Daren, finally we have someone to explain to you the matters of today. As for how to punish them, it is inconvenient for Ben Wang to interfere, thank you for your trouble.”

The people present finally knew what these two had said secretly behind people’s back that made Ni Lie clean them up like this. Of the people here, who didn’t fantasize being with this King Guangan who had a face as beautiful as a woman? Immediately their complexion turned awkward, and they did not dare to look at him.  

Yuan Chongsheng’s expression was complicated, and he changed several colors. It wasn’t that Li Yuanmin scorned him, rather he didn’t expect that these officials were so afraid of him, and he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

He walked a few steps on the spot, then finally glared at that Wei Shenling with a black face, he shouted:

“Take this guy out!”

A crashing sound came in with the four guards and they led the ashen-faced Wei Shenling out.

And Li Yuanmin, as if nothing had happened, put the fallen seat on the ground up, and made a gesture to Yuan Chongsheng. He indifferently said: “Although it is not the responsibility of my mansion’s general today, in the end, he still disturbed Xuntai Daren’s peace of mind. Ben Wang had already booked this wing room for three days, and welcomes Xuntai Daren to spend your leisurely time here. It’s late now, so Ben Wang will return to the mansion first.”

Without waiting for Yuan Chongsheng to speak, he immediately walked up to Ni Lie and glared at him, “Aren’t you coming?”

***

It was midnight, everything that existed without exception made noises. There was no one on the street. On the empty blue stone road, only seven or eight men were riding horses, escorting a carriage with lanterns towards King Guangan’s mansion.

Ni Lie pulled the reins and walked side by side with the carriage, taking a look at the closed carriage window from time to time.

Soon, the indigo sedan curtain was lifted and a snow-white face with a bit of anger appeared. He coldly said to the young man who was riding the horse silently in front of him: “Come up.”

Ni Lie glanced at him, turned over and dismounted. He buckled the rein on the axle, and jumped onto the carriage.

As soon as the sedan curtain was lifted, a faint cold scent assailed his nostrils. Ni Lie’s breath became heavier. 

This kind of light cold fragrance, he can now smell it at will. If it was in the bedroom, this fragrance would be a bit stronger, he can linger about it inch by inch. He always push his head out in a crying manner, but he never stopped. He excitedly occupied the beautiful sacred place that only he had seen, like a beast, until it let out the pattering, dripping sound, the secluded, mute fragrant and sweet spring water. He swallowed it hungrily and eagerly, then like a tamed fierce beast, he huddled around him, wrapping the person tightly in his arms.

He thought this was already the peak of it. 

The other person was as before, directing that resentful and criticizing voice at him. He couldn’t hear it anymore. His heart was noisy, in disarray and steaming hot. He knew his recklessness today, but he couldn’t help it, let alone explain the cause of the anger in front of everyone. What he had seen in the bedsit room smashed all his reasoning. He was so impatient that he could no longer tolerate even a little bit of profanity on Li Yuanmin by others. He would not allow even a bit of it.

No one could feel the dried, burnt and cracked sense of pain in his heart. 

His Adam’s apple moved, and he looked at the other person’s extraordinarily beautiful face, that disturbed his heartbeat and soul.

His Bodhisattva, only he could save him.

How could Li Yuanmin know the turmoil in his heart? Only when he remembered the situation just now, he couldn’t help being angry: “Why are you comparing strength with these people!”

It was dark in the carriage, and he couldn’t see the dark waves in Ni Lie’s eyes. 

He sighed: “This kind of inability to bear anger, do you think you’re still 10 years old?” 

Right now, he just talked endlessly without getting to the point: “Do they dare to say those things in front of me? Look at Wei Shenling’s appearance just now, he’s nothing more than a lowly sheep in wolf’s clothing. They’re just talking behind our backs, so let people talk about it. What did you argue with them for? Is it possible that you are able to control the mouths of the people of the whole world? Causing this disturbance for no reason…”

Ni Lie suddenly said: “I saw it.” 

Li Yuanmin was confused by him for a while, “What did you see… Did you listen to me or not——?”

Ni Lie suddenly got closer. He locked the person in between his arms, his eyes were terribly dark. 

“In the bedsit room, I saw it.”

Li Yuanmin’s heart jumped hard. He swallowed his saliva as if he was choking. Wanting to say something, but he couldn’t say anything.

He could only shrink into his chest. The aloof and remote appearance of King Guangan teaching someone just now completely disappeared. He gently and pitifully said: “A Lie…you can’t…”

Can’t what, how can’t he?! 

The person engraved in his heart was in front of him. Li Yuanmin had always forgiven himself so magnanimously like this. That dark, dirty, despicable self, he used that strongly fragrant heart to forgive him, indulge him, and soothe his agitated and restless soul.

He stubbornly grasped his wrist and pressed it on his fiercely beating heart, trying to make him understand his desperate desire that dried up into a burning fire.  

“Your Highness…” He called him painfully and eagerly, steamy heat rushed on his cheeks, “Your Highness…”

The carriage swayed, pressing over the blue stone slab road under the moonlight, which was pulsating with starlight, rolling up a little dust, then calming down again.

Li Yuanmin was hugged tightly in that solid chest, and the other party’s heart was beating violently beside his ears. All of a sudden, he completely had no strength whatsoever at all.

He owed him, Li Yuanmin thought in the extreme depths of his sorrow. He owed him in his previous life.

Ciacia/N: OMG, there are many things happening at once here in this chapter, but the most shocking thing of all, the last sentence!!! Wdym!!! What owe? What? T-T