When Emperor Xing Wu returned to the Hall of Eternal Light, Luo Wei was standing in the middle of the courtyard, staring off into the sky as if he was thinking about something. He was so lost in his mind that he didn’t notice the emperor walking up behind him.

“Wei Er,” Emperor Xing Wu called out to him.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Luo Wei turned to see the emperor and immediately put a smile on his face, bending his knees to pay respects to the emperor.

“It’s fine,” Emperor Xing Wu stopped him with a hand on his arm, “Didn’t I say not to worry about protocol like this when we’re alone together?”

“Did the Grand Priest head back?” Luo Wei asked.

“He did,” Emperor Xing Wu felt Luo Wei’s hand, it was cold like ice, “Why are you standing out here in the wind when it’s so cold? Let’s head inside.”

“Your Imperial Majesty, has the Grand Priest really opened his third eye?” Luo Wei posed another question.

“Why?” Emperor Xing Wu asked him right back, “He only spoke a few words to you, and now you’re interested in his preaching?”

“It’s just that I didn’t quite understand him,” Luo Wei said, “So I wanted to ask.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He said I had a lot of hate in my heart,” Luo Wei answered, “But what kind of hate would I have?”

If you knew that you were a prince as well, would you not hate this father of yours? Emperor Xing Wu understood this “hate” immediately as he heard Luo Wei speak. “Take the words of the Grand Priest in passing,” Emperor Xing Wu patted the back of Luo Wei’s hand, “If you don’t understand, that means your path does not cross with that of the Buddha’s, so you better be a good minister instead.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Zhao Fu jogged in to make a report, “The second prince and the fifth prince are here to beg your audience.”

“Understood,” Emperor Xing Wu let go of Luo Wei’s hand, “Wei Er, let’s go.”

“Are we not heading back inside the hall?” Luo Wei saw that the emperor wasn’t taking him in the direction of the main hall, so he asked aloud.

“Let’s sit somewhere and have some tea, then we’ll head to morning audience together.” Emperor Xing Wu said.

“What about the two Imperial Highnesses?” Luo Wei asked.

“Let those two bastards(1) kneel there and wait!” Xing Wu spoke to Zhao Fu now, “Everything can wait after I attend audience.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Even if he was faking it, Luo Wei had to make the effort and plead for Long Xuan and Long Xiang.

“Wei Er, you don’t need to say anything on their account,” Emperor Xing Wu walked them briskly to the side hall, “Those two deserve some punishment.”

In the side hall, Luo Wei sat as he ate the little desserts that Emperor Xing Wu passed to him. He rather liked this sort of little cake with a hint of creaminess. Even though he wasn’t quite hungry, he still managed to eat two pieces.

“You read the letter from the crown prince?” It was only then that the emperor brought the letter up to Luo Wei.

“He’s a merciful crown prince,” No matter how anxious and annoyed he was, Luo Wei could only speak well of him. He was too afraid that the emperor would be angry with the prince that his family supported.

“Merciful?” Emperor Xing Wu asked, “Both you and I have stained our hands with blood, and he gets the honor of being called merciful. Wei Er, don’t put on false pretenses, even if he is the crown prince!”

Luo Wei dropped onto his knees immediately, “Your humble servant dares not.”

“You.” Emperor Xing Wu stood again to help Luo Wei up. Even now Luo Wei was afraid of him, and that felt like a sizable dent on the emperor’s ego, “I didn’t mean to cast any blame on you. Are you that afraid of me?”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Luo Wei gripped Emperor Xing Wu’s hands, “His Imperial Highness the crown prince is generous by nature, he couldn’t stand to see the Liu family wiped out like this. That’s why he sent that letter to you, to plead for them. Everyone says that mercy heals a nation, the fact that your humble servant thinks that the crown prince is merciful is the absolute truth, I dare not put up false pretenses before you.”

“So you’d rather stain your own hands with blood so that this crown prince may rule?” Emperor Xing Wu asked.

“The blood of the Liu family is not on my hands, Liu Shuang Shi walked himself into the gallows,” Luo Wei said quickly, “Does Your Imperial Majesty think that this is me staining my hands?”

FOOTNOTES:

1. bastard – This word is not used in the official context, the original text said something akin to asshole or bastard in English, but as “assholes” sound too weird for the emperor, “bastards” was used.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:

SO!! I took a few liberties in this chapter than I did in some of the other chapters, mainly because the conversation between Emperor Xing Wu and Luo Wei sounds strange translated straight from Chinese, especially when Luo Wei keeps referring to himself as “your humble servant”. : ) The sentiment is accurate tho! And because this one is so short… I will do another chapter tonight, hehe.