“Do you not know what I’m talking about?” Luo Wei’s face showed even more hatred. “Long Xuan, I’ve accepted my fate. You don’t need to pretend anymore. Yunzhou, Wushuang City’s Chang Ling, Si Ma Qingsha, the Empress Dowager, my background—do you think I’m stupid? Don’t you think I’ve thought about it? You were able to form an alliance with Si Ma Zhuxie back then, harming my eldest brother. This time, you can do the same with Si Ma Qingsha to harm me. Now that I, the favored prince, am no longer a threat to you, you have another chance to vie for the throne. Si Ma Qingsha can also avenge his father’s death. You both get what you want,” Luo Wei applauded Long Xuan. “You’re quite capable. In this year of great calamity, while everyone else is praying for mercy from the heavens to relieve the suffering of all living beings, I didn’t expect that the heavens would give you such an opportunity. Isn’t it a heaven-sent opportunity?”
“It’s the Empress Dowager,” Long Xuan still refused to admit to Luo Wei.
“The Empress Dowager? At most, she just told you about my background,” Luo Wei didn’t budge an inch. “That silly old woman was just repeatedly used by you! Long Xuan, when you become emperor in the future, remember to honor this old woman, or else I’m afraid you’ll really get struck by lightning!”
“If you suspect me, why not tell Father?”
“I’ve thought about it, but I have no evidence. My words would be useless.”
Long Xuan gritted his teeth. “In the end, you also want me dead, don’t you?”
“That’s right. I also want you dead, but I missed a move. I didn’t expect you to go to Yunzhou not to care about the lives of the people there, but to form a relationship with Si Ma Qingsha,” Luo Wei suddenly remembered something and confronted Long Xuan. “I remember now, that rumor about me using seduction on the Emperor, was that also your doing? Making me hide behind closed-doors, unable to perceive your plans? Long Xuan, I’m not as good as you, I admit defeat. How could I forget? You even killed your own son, so why would you care about the reputation of a father who never cared for you? I truly admit defeat!” Luo Wei sneered and shook his head. He still couldn’t beat Long Xuan. Despite his best efforts, he was still no match for this man.
Watching Luo Wei turn to leave, Long Xuan felt an inexplicable sense of panic. He grabbed Luo Wei’s hand.
“What else do you want?” Luo Wei asked Long Xuan. “There’s no one here except you and me. There’s no need to keep acting! I’m already leaving for Northern Yan, isn’t that enough? Oh, right, you can have someone kill me in Northern Yan, then shift the blame to Si Ma Qingsha, the two countries can go to war again, and you can find a way to seize military power, right?”
“I never thought of killing you,” Long Xuan pulled Luo Wei close. “Luo Wei, I won’t kill you!”
“Then I should thank you profusely for your great kindness!” Luo Wei said coldly.
Long Xuan urgently said, “Trust me, Si Ma Qingsha will not kill you!”
The more Long Xuan said this, the more annoyed Luo Wei became. He exploded with foul language. “Long Xuan, don’t you find yourself ridiculous now? After being promiscuous, you still want to pretend to be chaste?!”
Long Xuan didn’t react to Luo Wei’s foul language. He looked at Luo Wei, whose face turned red with anger. The flushed cheeks, like they were painted with rouge, yet showed no hint of femininity. “I won’t let you die,” Long Xuan gently touched Luo Wei’s cheek and whispered.
Luo Wei was stunned by Long Xuan’s gesture. This man pushed him into the abyss with one hand, and now he was affectionate and tender? “Madman!” Luo Wei slapped Long Xuan in the face. That’s right, how could he forget that Luo Wei is a degenerate1 and Long Xuan is a madman!
Long Xuan could have dodged, but he stood still and received Luo Wei’s slap on his face.
Luo Wei forcefully pushed Long Xuan away, realizing that there was no need to waste more time arguing with a madman.
“Luo Wei!” Long Xuan chased after him in two steps and hugged Luo Wei from behind, pressing his chest against Luo Wei’s back, holding him tightly.
“Madman!” Luo Wei tried to break free from Long Xuan’s grasp, but couldn’t.
“I just need one thing from you,” Long Xuan whispered in Luo Wei’s ear. “Come back to my side, and I will find a way to keep you from going to Northern Yan. Just come back to me.”
Luo Wei suddenly went crazy, struggling desperately.
Long Xuan, who was already weak, was pushed and almost fell off the bridge by Luo Wei’s frenzy, narrowly avoiding falling.
“I’d rather die,” Luo Wei pointed at Long Xuan. “I won’t beg you for anything!”
“Luo Wei!” Long Xuan stopped Luo Wei, who was about to leave angrily, and said, “Do you know that Father wants to pass the throne to you?”
Luo Wei took a deep breath. “This throne may be the best thing in the world in your eyes, but not in mine.”
“Just because you don’t care about it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter!”
“So, I should die?”
“A person’s talent will arouse the envy of others 2,” Long Xuan said. “You should understand that.”
“All my life, I just wanted my family to live well and not die by your hands!” Luo Wei shouted at Long Xuan. “What does the world have to do with me?”
“If I become emperor, your family will surely live, and they can also prosper,” Long Xuan lowered his voice as he said this. He looked at Luo Wei and said, “Lord Luo is a loyal minister; I will use him too. I won’t touch anyone from the Luo family!”
“Can I believe you?” Luo Wei’s face was filled with a sarcastic sneer. “I’m not a three-year-old child!”
“The Crown Prince only cares about the Zhou family,” Long Xuan said. “You want to win over Long Xing, but now you’re also a prince. Will he still join forces with you? Father has favored you so much. Do you think only I can see that you are the one he has chosen to pass the throne?”
“I’ve told you, it doesn’t matter to me,” Luo Wei walked towards the bridge.
“Luo Wei, you said you’ve liked me before, can’t you start over?” Long Xuan asked behind Luo Wei.
“Elder Brother,” Luo Wei called Long Xuan brother for the first time.
Long Xuan sat on the bridge railing, wanting to stand up but couldn’t.
“Before, I didn’t know who my biological parents were,” the anger on Luo Wei’s face had faded away, leaving only sadness. “I was also ignorant and misunderstood you, thinking you were worthy of my affection. It was my violation of norms, my betrayal of morals and righteousness. You should forget about those things. Whether we are enemies or a strangers, we still share the same father.”
Long Xuan sat on the bridge railing as Luo Wei stepped further and further away from him. Long Xuan only felt that this slender figure, though dressed in luxurious brocade, was as desolate as the decaying scenery, lonely and helpless.
In Fengyi Hall, Luo Zhiqiu and Luo Zhiyi had been facing each other in silence for a long time.
Finally, it was Luo Zhiyi who spoke first. “Big Brother, you shouldn’t have kept it from me for so many years.”
“Empress, it’s best not to talk about Wei’er’s matters,” Luo Zhiqiu said.
“It is okay if other people don’t know, but am I not qualified to know?” Luo Zhiyi said. “I now know how my younger sister died.”
“Empress, don’t blame Zhi Jin,” Luo Zhiyi hurriedly said.
“Blame?” Luo Zhiyi shook her head repeatedly. “Zhi Jin has been dead for over a decade. What else can I blame her for? Elder Brother, I got married at thirteen. I now understand things I should have understood early on. In the imperial harem, the most unattainable thing is the word ‘love.’ Even if Zhi Jin received the Emperor’s love, so what? She didn’t have the blessing to see Wei’er grow up. She’s buried alone in the ground. Zhi Jin was foolish!”
Luo Zhiqiu felt a pang of sadness.
“Elder Brother,” Luo Zhiyi was saddened for a moment, then she spoke about Luo Wei again. “Must things be like this for Wei’er?”
“There’s no turning back on this matter, and I am powerless,” Luo Zhiqiu said.
Luo Zhiyi remained silent for another moment, then she said to Luo Zhiqiu, “Physician Wei actually came to see me. Elder Brother should also know that he is an expert in medicine. He also treated Wei’er’s arrow wound last time.”
“Wei’er’s arrow wound has already been healed,” Luo Zhiqiu said.
Luo Zhiyi said, “After he healed that wound, Imperial Physician Wei came to tell me that there was a kind of medicine in Wei’er’s body that is not harmful but makes people crave sweets, gain weight, and become irritable.”
Luo Zhiqiu’s hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.
“Wei’er was chubby when he was young and had an unpleasant personality. Could it be because of this medicine? The arrow from Zhao’s second son injured Wei’er’s body internally and after that, my Elder Brother was afraid that using this medicine again would be too much for Wei’er to bear, so he stopped the medicine,” Luo Zhiyi continued to look at Luo Zhiqiu and said, “Elder Brother, did I say anything wrong?”
Luo Zhiqiu remained silent with his head bowed.
“Wei’er’s face is almost identical to Zhi Jin’s. I also thought of him as the Emperor’s son,” Luo Zhiyi said, “but since His Majesty didn’t say anything, I didn’t ask. Asking too much wouldn’t be beneficial.”
Luo Zhiqiu still remained silent.
“Elder Brother, I just hope that the way you treat Wei’er today won’t cause regrets in the future,” Luo Zhiyi said softly. “Our Luo family has never treated this child with kindness.”
- u8d31u4eba – jiu00e0n ru00e9n : cheap person, slut ↩︎
- u6000u74a7u5176u7f6a (u61f7u74a7u5176u7f6a) – huu00e1i bu00ec qu00ed zuu00ec
– lit. treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime (idiom); to get into trouble on account of a cherished item
– fig. A person’s talent will arouse the envy of others. ↩︎
Translator: XL is the worst, so entitled and selfish, the very definition of a scum gong. I hate him with a vengeance, I hope he grovel so so hard in the future and WL never forgives him!
Boundless Dao 
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