CHAPTER 14: Engagement Declined

LUO FAN

“Priest Luo.”

I turned my head and saw a male servant enter the laboratory. “What is it?”

He lowered his head. “General Xu from the imperial palace seeks your audience.”

Before I could respond, an imposing figure wearing a crown and a long cape stepped in. He gestured for the servant to leave first before he spoke to me. “Priest Luo, I am General Xu from the Imperial Palace. I’ve come to deliver a decree from His Majesty.”

I was briefly dumbfounded.

From the emperor himself?

Immediately, I went down on my knees. Even Xu Dong who had been standing at the corner rushed to kneel beside me.

The general approached and unrolled a scroll in his hand. He started reading the greetings and it was indeed addressed to me personally, and then it immediately mentioned the upcoming birthday of a certain Princess Xinnu.

“…The recipient of this decree is hereby ordered to attend the celebration without delay,” General Xu concluded.

I rose to my feet and cupped my hands before the official. “I shall make preparations and leave immediately.”

“No need,” the general replied. “You are to leave right away. The carriage is waiting for you.”

I fumbled at my clothes. “I don’t think it’s proper for me to attend Her Highness’ birthday with these clothes.”

“That will be taken care of,” he said and turned around. “Please follow me.”

I turned to look at Xu Dong.

“I’ll inform his lordship when he arrives,” my assistant assured me.

Without a word, I followed the general to the front yard of the mansion. Some of the servants were also there, mumbling incohesive words to each other. They seemed confused and worried. When I saw what was waiting for me in the front yard, I immediately understood their concern.

About a hundred figures were standing there, surrounding just one carriage. By just the way they stood, I could tell that they were imperial guards as if they were there to arrest a notorious criminal.

*****

I sighed while I stroked my forehead. I was alone inside the grand carriage that the emperor had sent for me, along with a hundred strong guards surrounding the carriage on foot. General Xu, was on a horse, leading what looked like a procession.

This was way too much for a commoner like me, and it was actually embarrassing. General Xu had explained to me that the emperor had known about the attempt in my life before and wanted to make sure it would not happen again.

And that was not all. Earlier, we had dropped by a house where half a dozen female servants had been waiting for me. They had fixed my hair and put on some accessories. They also had me change my clothes to a new brocade set that had already been prepared in advance. It was then that I realized that this was not a sudden invitation but had been planned ahead of time.

It confused me why the royal family had to treat me so special. What did I do to deserve this?

Finally, the carriage stopped. Immediately, General Xu pushed the curtain aside and helped me down. The brocade robe they had put on me was a little heavy. Even the headgear and the hairpin on my hair felt like they weighed a ton. They hindered me from moving freely.

It was dusk and the light was about to fade. Without my stick, I could not find my way so General Xu had to escort me towards the hall.

Since the celebrant was a princess and the emperor himself was in attendance, I had expected to find a grand banquet, but the inside of the hall was not that big and only a few people were present. The tables and chairs were not arranged either. Most of the guests were on their feet, strolling around the hall while they conversed with one another.

It was an informal occasion.

So why did they have to dress me like a peacock then?

Halfway through, a tall slender man in a grand robe approached us. The crown on his head immediately made his status obvious.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

General Xu lowered my hand and stopped to greet the newcomer. “Your Majesty, Priest Luo has arrived safe as you have ordered.”

“Excellent,” the emperor returned. “Tell your men to surround the area and not let any uninvited guests in. You need to return Priest Luo in one piece or Lord Ruan will have your head.”

I could not stop my brows from meeting at the center.

Did the emperor, the most powerful man in Xianru, just addressed Ruan Yanjun as ‘lord’?

General Xu lowered his head again. “Understood, Your Majesty,” he said and turned away.

Left alone with the emperor, I cupped my hands and bowed. “Your Majesty, it’s a great pleasure to meet you.”

The emperor clicked his tongue. “No need to be so formal. Since you are Lord Ruan’s family, then you’re also my family.”

I was dumbfounded.

When did I become a family to Ruan Yanjun?

The moment I recovered, I bowed again and did not say anything more. I honestly did not know what to say.

“Before I introduce you to my daughter, would you like to join me at the table for a short conversation?”

“It will be my pleasure, Your Majesty.”

“Come.” He held up his hand in my direction, offering to support me.

Although I was hesitant, thinking I did not deserve to be supported by the emperor himself, I did not want to refuse him either. So I slowly placed my hand over his wrist and we walked side by side towards the front of the hall.

The guests around us cleared our way as we passed by.

He let me settle on a pillow before a low table, and then he sat on another pillow from across me. He was the emperor. He was supposed to sit first, but he seemed to have foregone formalities and was very modest. Unlike Emperor Sun of Kan Empire who carried with him an air of authority at all times, this emperor presented himself just like any other ordinary man.

If Emperor Yin was this good, I wondered how he had managed to get along with a man like Ruan Yanjun.

I immediately set aside all those thoughts and tried to figure out how to explain to His Majesty the poor result of my experiments. Even though he had not asked about it yet, I was certain that was the reason why he had called me over at this table.

A eunuch came over and poured wine into our cups. I recognized his frame—the Chief Eunuch Zeng Jie.

“Thank you,” I told Zeng Jie after he laid the cup in front of me, and then I suddenly remembered something. “Eunuch Zeng, how is Shang Wei doing?”

Zeng Jie leaned closer to whisper in my ear. “He just survived the impossible. He’s almost completely recovered now and might be discharged tomorrow. No need to worry.”

Like a thorn had been lifted off my chest, I suddenly felt so light. “Thank you for the information. Please extend my utmost gratitude to him for saving my life.”

“Of course, Priest Luo.” Zeng Jie nodded and moved back to stand a few steps away.

“It’s true what they say,” the emperor said. “Priest Luo is indeed a very attractive young man with a wonderful personality.”

I was speechless for a moment. “His Majesty humors me. This humble priest is just ordinary in all aspects.”

He chuckled. “And so humble. I wonder how you manage to get along with Lord Ruan.”

That was exactly the same question I was asking myself earlier.

“Lord Ruan is quite an amenable person to work with as long as he gets results and I do what he says,” I explained. “I honestly have no problem getting along with him.”

He chuckled as if I had said something hilarious. “Not many people would say the same, but you’re right, as long as you do what he says, there should be no problem.”

I wondered if the words he’d said meant an admission of Ruan Yanjun’s control over his authority as the emperor, but it did not feel right to ask him about it so I preferred to speak about my work instead. “Your Majesty, I apologize that it’s taking me a long time to find a cure for the crown prince, but I assure you that we are working hard on it.”

“I’m aware of that, of course. In fact, you’re the only one who has managed to discover the particularity of the poison. That alone is a testament to your intensive knowledge that is far superior to anyone else around here, and thanks to your discovery, the imperial scholars are now looking into it. Soon, they will find out the name and origin of that poison, and they may even discover an existing antidote for it.”

“Your Majesty, the poison is refined with light energy. Alchemists referred to it as a destructive drug. There is no antidote for a destructive drug. We can only extract it out of the body and fix the damage done, but we can’t do it while the crown prince is in a coma.”

The emperor was dead silent. It had taken a while before I heard him sigh. “Let’s talk about that some other time. I invited you over because I want to discuss something with you.”

I waited for him to continue.

“Priest Luo, do you have any plans of getting married?”

I was speechless for a long moment, and then I forced out a laugh. “I don’t think this is a good time to even think about that, Your Majesty.”

“My daughter seems to have developed a liking for you ever since the day she saw you enter the palace with Lord Ruan. She just turned twenty-one today and everyone’s pushing me to have her married already. I can’t seem to find a better candidate for her husband other than you.”

Stupefied, I stared at him, my mouth agape. “Y-your Majesty,” I stuttered. My face felt hot and my fingers were numb. I had not expected that I would come here to be betrothed. “I’m flattered that you regard me in such a way, but I’m just a commoner. I’m afraid that I am not worthy of a princess.”

“Nonsense. You’re an excellent alchemist, and if you can find a cure for Prince Shang, your name shall be known all over the empire. And the fact that you are Lord Ruan’s family makes you a noble yourself.”

I wanted to make a correction that I had no family relations with Ruan Yanjun, but the words would not come out of my mouth. And I wasn’t sure what Ruan Yanjun was up to. Why did he claim that I was a distant relative?

He might be trying to conceal my identity and I’d rather not expose him.

“This must have taken you by surprise,” the emperor said after my long silence. “I should have introduced you to my daughter first before I opened up about the matter. The fault is mine.”

He perplexed me even more. I had never heard of an emperor owning up to his mistake right in front of a commoner.

“You should meet my daughter then. I want you two to get to know each other well. If you find her to your liking, we shall immediately arrange for your marriage.”

Just moments ago, my face felt hot. Now it had gotten numb and cold. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead.

This marriage was now inevitable.

I cannot possibly tell His Majesty that I did not find his daughter to my liking, can I?

“Shi Tengfei,” a familiar deep voice said.

We both turned and found Ruan Yanjun slowly approaching from behind the emperor.

“You abducted my guest while I was away, and now you’re marrying him off without my permission?”

My chest loosened and I drew a deep breath.

For the first time, Ruan Yanjun’s presence brought me relief.