Chapter 350
Chapter 350
Su Jianting began to wonder. In terms of pure martial prowess, who was superior: his father, Su Nan, or King Kang? He quickly came to a conclusion. His father’s skills were formidable, and few could match him in a one-on-one duel. But on the battlefield, King Kang was undoubtedly supreme.
King Kang swung the Green Dragon Halberd in his hand with increasing speed and force. Some shrieked and fled, startled by the glint of his blade. Not only did every bowl and chopstick in the grand hall go flying, but even the treasures on display were shattered to pieces.
*CRASH!*
The three-meter-tall mirror Shen Lang had gifted him, though placed far away, could not withstand the force of the blade’s wind and shattered with a loud crack. Queen Su Mo’s heart ached at the sight, but King Kang only laughed with glee.
‘What’s one mirror? When I go plunder the western border of the State of Yue, I can get anything I want, even treasures far more precious than this.’
This madman was always like this. He acted as though he cherished his treasures, storing them meticulously in his vault. But in truth, he held them in little regard, feeling no remorse for destroying them after showing them off. His gaze fell upon the meter-high, luminous jade statue Shen Lang had gifted him, and a vicious smile spread across his face.
“I will slaughter all in my path. I will lead my grand army into the State of Yue and burn, kill, and pillage everything. I will make the State of Yue tremble at the mere mention of my name, and the King of Yue will be scared out of his wits.”
*SWISH!*
From a distance, King Kang swung his halberd, cleaving through the air.
*BOOM!*
In an instant, the three-foot-long, luminous jade statue Shen Lang had given him exploded violently.
“I will behead Shen Lang, and I will ravish his woman right before his eyes. I wonder if his delicate woman can handle a magnificent man like me? Hahahaha… Ack!”
At that moment, King Kang’s movements froze. Like a film that had abruptly stopped, his expression and posture solidified in an instant. He still wore a look of unparalleled might, his bravado soaring to the heavens.
Everyone was taken aback by the sight.
‘Is King Kang’s performance of invincibility finally over?’
Instantly, they all began to applaud and cheer desperately.
“Your Majesty is valiant! You are invincible! Your Majesty’s might will shake the world!”
But despite their cheers, King Kang remained unresponsive, standing there with the same majestic air. He held the massive halberd, poised to strike. Everyone was stunned.
‘Could it be that His Majesty doesn’t find our applause enthusiastic enough?’
At once, they clapped even more vigorously, shouting until their throats were raw.
“Your Majesty is magnificent and invincible!”
Still, King Kang showed no reaction.
‘We’re truly doing our best. Aren’t our voices hoarse from all the shouting? This barbarian king is so difficult to serve.’
Just then, black blood began to trickle from King Kang’s nostrils, ears, eyes, and the corners of his mouth. He was giving a textbook demonstration of bleeding from all seven orifices. Su Jianting, Queen Su Mo, and Crown Prince Arugan were all too stunned to react. A Qiang eunuch quickly rushed forward, holding a hand under King Kang’s nose to check for breath, but he felt nothing. He then checked for a heartbeat, but his heart, too, was still. The shocked eunuch cried out.
“His Majesty has passed away!”
Everyone in the grand hall was so shocked they could hardly breathe. But how could King Kang not have died? The poison beads inside his body had corroded to the point where they were too fragile to withstand even a minor impact. Yet, he had engaged in a frenzied sword dance, and the final, magnificent strike that shattered the mirror had caused all the poison beads to rupture, releasing the cyanide within them into his bloodstream. In the end, he died in an instant! This invincible god of war did not die on the battlefield, but absurdly at his own birthday banquet.
“Your Majesty…!”
Queen Su Mo let out a great wail, and all the women followed suit.
*THUD!*
King Kang’s immensely large body collapsed to the floor.
***
Shen Lang was confined in the palace’s underground ice cellar. It was a place for storing ice, so the temperature was extremely low. Even in the height of summer, one would shiver upon entering. A frail person like Shen Lang would have been half-frozen to death in less than an hour. Moreover, the clothes he was wearing when he was captured were very thin. And so, Shen Lang was burning up. That’s right, he was so hot that he threw off the fox-fur coat he was wearing.
“Big Butt, what on earth did you give me to drink? Why am I so hot?”
Princess Ning Yan replied.
“Wine!”
“What kind of wine is this red?”
“Deer blood wine. I was worried you’d freeze to death. We’re brothers; how could I stand by and watch my brother die?”
Shen Lang was startled.
‘Deer blood wine? And I drank so much of it? No wonder my whole body feels like it’s on fire.’
Shen Lang glanced at the she-tiger. This woman was truly beautiful, like a blazing flame. Inside the large ice cellar, Shen Lang was wearing a fox-fur coat, but the fierce tigress was still in her thin riding attire. The curves of her thighs and buttocks were so pronounced they seemed ready to burst through the fabric. This woman was truly sensual and beautiful. Ning Yan was a little intimidated by Shen Lang’s gaze.
“You scum, why are you looking at me like that? I told you last time. That was the last time, and from now on, we are strictly brothers. You better not get any other ideas about me.”
“Of course not. What do you take me for? I, Shen Lang, am a man of integrity. I would never do anything to wrong my wife.”
“At least you have some conscience.”
“Come, let us drink, my good brother.”
“Come, let’s drink, brother!”
The two of them poured and drank cup after cup, and somehow, they ended up tumbling together again. This time, however, nothing significant happened. Shen Lang’s tolerance for alcohol was so low that he passed out mid-drink. Ning Yan, though drunk, was still energetic. She stripped off half her own clothes and then half of Shen Lang’s. But the alcohol hit her too, and in the middle of her task, she fell into a drunken slumber.
The next day, Ning Yan awoke, once again in shock.
‘Why… why did I fall asleep with Shen Lang again? And we’re covered with a blanket? Who covered us?’
Who else could it have been? It was Grand Eunuch Lü Jun who had a palace maid cover them. Ning Yan’s voice was so loud it was impossible for those outside not to have heard. Lifting the blanket, Ning Yan found herself and Shen Lang tangled together, nearly naked. Shen Lang’s face was covered in kiss marks and even bite marks. Although they hadn’t gone all the way this time, the scene alone was more than enough.
Just then, the door to the ice cellar opened, and the Grand Steward, Ning You, walked in. The King had issued a decree for him to interrogate Shen Lang and Ning Yan to determine if they had truly engaged in an illicit affair. The conclusion would obviously be no, but the process of interrogation was still necessary. How could a royal scandal ever be confirmed as true?
“Shen Lang, wake up. The Grand Steward has some questions for you,” a eunuch beside him said.
From under the blanket, a still-drowsy Shen Lang replied.
“Ask away.”
The Grand Steward asked, “His Majesty has sent me to ask whether there was an improper relationship between you and Princess Ning Yan.”
Half-awake, Shen Lang answered.
“There was not. We are clearly just brothers. I am a man of integrity; how could I betray my wife and have an affair with another woman? It is all just malicious slander.”
Grand Steward Ning You asked, “Who can prove it?”
At that moment, a woman’s voice came from under Shen Lang’s blanket.
“I can prove it.”
Princess Ning Yan crawled out from under the blanket and continued.
“Shen Lang and I are innocent. We have no relationship whatsoever!”
Hearing Ning Yan’s voice, Grand Steward Ning You’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Light the candles.”
When the candles were lit, the several people present could clearly see that Ning Yan had been sleeping in the same bed as Shen Lang, and was in fact lying on top of him. Although they were covered by a blanket, it was faintly visible that she was not wearing any clothes. Shen Lang’s face was covered in kiss marks and bite marks.
‘Damn it all, and you still claim you’re innocent? Isn’t this going too far? Daring to tumble under the same blanket inside the royal palace? You’re tangled up like this and you have the gall to tell me you’re innocent? There’s a limit to how much you can take a person for a fool!’
Grand Steward Ning You was furious. But then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his expression was completely calm.
“Your Highness Ning Yan, can you definitively prove that you and Shen Lang have an innocent relationship?”
“That’s right. We are innocent, just good brothers. There are no romantic feelings between us at all.”
Grand Steward Ning You said, “I understand. My investigation is concluded.”
He let out a long sigh and continued, “Record this: Shen Lang and Princess Ning Yan are unequivocally innocent. The rumors of their affair are completely baseless.”
*Ugh!* The eunuch beside him gritted his teeth and recorded the statement.
‘This world is rotten to the core. A pure person like me has to go along with this. This is forcing us all to be blind and to lie through our teeth, isn’t it?’
But everything has a price. Neither Shen Lang nor Ning Yan could escape punishment. An hour later, Princess Ning Yan was taken to the Grand Steward’s Office and punished with a month of confinement to reflect on her actions. She was not allowed to take a single step out of a house with a courtyard of less than ten square meters. And Shen Lang remained imprisoned in the underground ice cellar.
Shen Lang felt incredibly wronged.
‘Princess Ning Yan clearly came to me of her own accord and got me drunk. I didn’t do anything. I am clearly a good man of integrity. Why must I suffer this unexpected calamity?’
The King had to exert extreme patience to suppress his rage. If he had his way, he would have had Shen Lang castrated. The man was too audacious.
‘It hasn’t even been four hours since I lost my temper last night and warned you two, yet you were already sleeping under the same blanket with Ning Yan? Do you not take me seriously? Do you think my words are nothing but wind passing by your ears?’
Grand Eunuch Lü Jun reported that Princess Ning Yan had sought out Shen Lang on her own, and that the two had gotten drunk and nothing had happened. Hearing this only made the King even more furious.
The King had originally intended to consult Shen Lang about the King of Wu leading an army of thirty thousand south. But now, he decided against it; he would just keep him locked up. Despite his anger, the King was now even more convinced that Shen Lang was completely innocent in the Xia Wanwan affair. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t be courting death like this. Shen Lang was expressing his discontent. Having been framed and imprisoned in the Grand Court of Revision for days, now that the truth was out and his name was cleared, he had started to act arrogant and insolent. But this brat was far too audacious and impertinent.
“Don’t even give him any food. Let him starve until he’s on the brink of death. Send a verbal decree to the Marquis of Xuanwu and ask him how he raised his son-in-law.”
However, the matter concerning Shen Lang was just a minor incident amidst major affairs. The King had to devote all his energy to dealing with the crisis at hand.
‘What is the King of Wu trying to do? Is he trying to intimidate me by marching thirty thousand troops south? Or is he trying to start a war? And what exactly is Su Nan planning to do?’
Ning Yuanxian instinctively sensed danger. In the face of such grave matters, the affair of that wretched Shen Lang sleeping with Ning Yan was trivial. If they’d slept together once, what did it matter if they slept together a second or third time?