Chapter 1559: The Regent Prince Dotes on Me Too Much, What Should I Do? 28

In August, the lotus flowers at the Jiangnan traveling palace are beautiful; the young emperor loves the scenery here, feeling inspired, and he hosts a banquet at the traveling palace for the ministers and the royal relatives who have come along.

Fake.

Jin Chen doesn't have that leisure; these days too many people are nitpicking at him—either some official is giving him eye drops from Xie Zhiwei, or another official thinks the prince's contention is now too sharp-edged, fearing to become a second powerful minister.

As for who sent these people, it's utterly obvious.

So Jin Chen decided to set up a stage for them, letting these officials take turns performing; anyway, he didn't want to be the sole target of their ridicule.

On the lotus pond platform, a gentle breeze blew and the willows swayed slightly; Jin Chen leaned lazily on a soft chair, listening to the officials' various overt and covert admonitions, occasionally taking grapes and lotus seeds peeled by the cold beauty prince beside him, which was also leisurely.

When the complaints had more or less finished, Jin Chen gave a light cough, sat up straight, and announced: 'I feel that what all of you, my beloved officials, say makes sense.'

The officials, stirred throughout half the venue: '……'

They had been holding their breath, already restless, and nearly were angered to death by this young emperor.

On the contrary, a few high-ranking, powerful veteran loyal officials exchanged glances, stroking their beards and smiling especially happily.

"Your Majesty! You've grown up; you should shoulder the burden of ruling a nation!" a civil official from Mu Zhongzheng's faction who thought he could say a few words exclaimed heartbrokenly, "You must not let the late emperor's heart grow cold!"

Jin Chen spat out the grape skin, took a sip of icy flower tea, and then leisurely looked over.

"The late emperor has been dead for many years; if you miss him, go join him as a companion. I believe Father Emperor, seeing an old friend, would certainly be pleased."

The rebuked official's face reddened and neck thickened; he still wanted to say something, but Mu Zhongzheng's gaze suppressed him, so he could only unwillingly keep silent.

Mu Zhongzheng rose to perform the salute, followed by a masked youth in white robes behind him, quite mysterious.

"May I present to Your Majesty, taking advantage of the leisure to admire the lotus, I wish to recommend a Jiangnan divine physician, named Xian Ming Gongzi."

Jin Chen suddenly felt uneasy; he couldn't finish the remaining sip of tea, sat up straight, and asked: 'What does the prince mean?'

Mu Zhongzheng: 'If Your Majesty could keep Xian Ming Gongzi at your side to attend you, with him regulating your health, you will surely be able to cultivate martial arts sooner.'

Jin Chen: '……'

Xie Zhiwei: '……'

Jin Chen and the white-robed youth standing behind Mu Zhongzheng exchanged a glance, then wordlessly looked away.

I don't know whether it's because he was moved that Mu Zhongzheng's 'trust' finally got a reward, allowing him to send the deep-feeling second male lead to himself.

Or scold Mu Zhongzheng for constantly sending in undercover agents.

Xie Zhiwei crushed the jade cup in his hand; his smile was deep and profound, lingering on Jin Chen's brows and eyes, yet not reaching his heart.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

Jin Chen silently took his hand, grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it clean, and whispered: 'I never said I wanted to stay; why bother like this?'

Xie Zhiwei spoke softly: 'I'm not angry with you, Your Majesty; I'm angry with Mu Zhongzheng.'

Besides Chu Qingqing, whom he earlier arranged in a bewildered frenzy, now several favored attendants in the harem were all shoved in by Mu Zhongzheng, yet Your Majesty trusts this cousin of his greatly.

However, Xie Zhiwei couldn't quite guess what Mu Zhongzheng's intention was this time; he lowered his gaze to look at their intertwined hands with Jin Chen, pondering carefully.

Could it be that Mu Zhongzheng already learned from Han Zhou about his qi backlash… and deliberately sent Xian Ming Gongzi, who carries divine medicine on his person, to test him?

The two seemed to completely disregard that many officials were still present, or perhaps they simply didn't care, making the officials who couldn't bear it feel their eyes about to spit fire.

"Your Majesty, are you not satisfied?" Mu Zhongzheng asked again, suddenly feeling a bit unsure in his heart.

How come Jin Chen today is a bit indifferent toward him?

"Naturally it's the prince's intention; I certainly have no dissatisfaction, but since Xian Ming Gongzi is a folk divine physician, I also don't want to take away what the people love, so let's just forget about this."

Jin Chen casually waved his hand: 'I've recently obtained a few new martial arts manuals; keeping them is useless, so later, Prince, take them all together.'

Mu Zhongzheng could only comply, but hearing that Jin Chen actually wanted to give him the imperial secret manuals eased his tension considerably; it seems the young emperor hasn't changed his attitude.

Xie Zhiwei didn't obstruct either, only saying ambiguously: 'Your Majesty and the prince share deep childhood bonds; the prince ought to be loyal to Your Majesty, and not do useless work.'

What he meant by those words, half the people on the lotus platform understood tacitly, but no one brought it up.

Mu Zhongzheng didn't respond, taking Xian Ming Gongzi back to his seat.

Immediately after, another official mustered the courage to speak bluntly: 'As Regent Prince, Xie Zhiwei has failed in his duty to educate the young emperor, and instead has developed an improper relationship with him.'

Facing these remarks, the beneficiary Jin Chen simply pretended not to hear; but when the officials mentioned wanting to make Chu Qingqing empress as soon as possible, preferably together with the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony.

Xie Zhiwei listened leisurely to their words, the surrounding pressure dropping lower and lower, so much that Chu Qingqing didn't dare lift her head, while that group of officials who spoke fluently felt nothing at all.

Suddenly, a bang.

The carved flower table before Xie Zhiwei split into pieces, fell to the ground, and turned to powder.

The lotus platform, which had been buzzing just moments before, instantly fell silent; no one dared to make a sound.

Jin Chen inwardly lamented that in a world where martial prowess reigns supreme, strength indeed grants absolute authority, and he pulled Xie Zhiwei's hand, saying disapprovingly: 'There's no need to act yourself.'

Xie Zhiwei pulled Jin Chen over, stood up somewhat on guard, and said: 'I did not make a move.'

This bunch of fools only boast with their mouths; it's not his turn to act.

Just as his words fell, two rows of masked assassins suddenly flew out of the pond that had been holding lotus flowers and leaves, each wielding a large blade and employing lightness skills.

"Not good!" Liu Feng rushed over suddenly, shouting: 'Assassins! Protect the Emperor!'

The martial officers drew their swords and charged forward, while the civil officials scattered like birds and beasts, having no time to heed Liu Feng's earlier remark.

"Doesn't the Emperor have such a powerful Regent Prince protecting him?" They still thought fleeing for their lives was more important.

Jin Chen watched helplessly as his officials scattered and ran, sighing once again.

Truly, the ruler-subject relationship is as flimsy as plastic.

He seemed to hide behind Xie Zhiwei out of fear, saying: 'My life is now in your hands.'

"Your Majesty's life, I will certainly not let anyone else take it."