Chapter 226 (Part 2): King Xiangyang’s Trump Card
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
“Heheh!”
Duan Tingxuan sneered, “Hah! ‘How Could Sparrows Comprehend the Will of The Great Swan’ [2]? You’re a coward who fears death and is reluctant to let go of power and influence, therefore you believe everyone in the world is exactly like you. Isn’t that right? You think you understand the fourth prince better than I? Lu Feng Yu, your plan hinges on one vital detail that makes your scheme nothing but a mere pipe dream.
Leaving aside whether the fourth prince would be willing to acknowledge a shameless thing like King Xiangyang as his blood father. Do you really think that the crown prince would obligingly die early just because you want him to? Just where did your baseless self-confidence come from? From those few people you have planted within the East Palace and Imperial Palace to promote greasy, fatty food in order to increase the risk of heart disease on the part of both emperor and crown prince? How ridiculous. Don’t you know that my wife’s culinary skill is second to none?
Even professional nutritionists and imperial dieticians had to admit defeat. Let me tell you now, both the emperor and crown prince have already changed their diets and their health are improving as we speak. Even the imperial physicians have already confirmed this. In the future, as long as they maintain a light diet, their bodies would not be harmed. Moreover, the crown prince himself has taken up light martial exercises. When I last left the Capital, he had already lost a further 10 catties. Let me ask you now, what are your great ambitions but a great fantasy dreamed up by fools?”
Lu Feng Yu was finally rendered speechless. He collapsed into his chair and sat there in silence for a long while as though he could not process this huge shock. But then, he suddenly jumped up again and screamed, “I don’t know and I don’t care! What great ambition? What great fantasy? It has absolutely nothing to do with me! I have already confessed, you want my confession, you already have my confession. Where’s my meat? I want meat. I want to eat roasted meat! You’ve promised me!”
Duan Tingxuan, “… …”
Su Dong Lou, “… …”
Su Nuan Nuan, “… …”
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
“Well, we finally discovered the truth behind King Xiangyang’s various movements.”
Under the moonlight, Duan Tingxuan and Su Dong Lou sat together on the steps leading into the bamboo hut. Inside, Lu Feng Yu, the three Lao Shan brothers as well as maid, Lu Qi and Hong Lou were all sleeping soundly. Su Nuan Nuan had also fallen asleep, with Si Ping keeping watch.
“That’s right, ah.” Duan Tingxuan sighed a long sigh. “However, the truth only leads to more complications. As for the fourth prince and Imperial Concubine Jing, what should we do about it?”
“What do you mean what should we do about it? Weren’t you incredibly confident earlier? Even that Lu Feng Yu was left speechless by your eloquence, so why all the doubt now?” Su Dong Lou said curiously. Then he quickly said, “Wait, are you afraid that I’d leak out this information? Are you saying you don’t have faith in me keeping a secret?”
“Of course I trust you not to say anything.” Duan Tingxuan rolled his eyes at him, but then muttered angrily, “But why don’t you use your brain for a bit and think? What’s the follow-up response to this? Am I supposed to return from Jiang Nan and tell the emperor that all is well here? That King Xiangyang has been behaving himself? What about the Duke of Ping? Are they supposed to live the rest of their lives under the taint of a crime they never committed?
If I admit that the King had been plotting something, am I supposed to reveal Imperial Concubine Jing and the fourth prince’s secret? Would the emperor be able to bear the truth? Even if he could bear it, what do you think would happen to Imperial Concubine Jing and her son? What emperor could bear being duped into wearing a green hat, and raising someone else’s son as his own for this many years?”
As Duan Tingxuan raised the many questions that had been plaguing him, Su Dong Lou could not help but sighed too. He nodded, “You’re right, you’re absolutely right, this is a weighty question… so… what should we do about it?”
Duan Tingxuan sighed, “On the side of the emperor, we could probably still avoid giving a direct answer, but the problem now is the crown prince. We can still keep this a secret from the emperor, but the crown prince has to know. To the emperor, King Xiangyang is still his brother and would probably fool himself into believing that the King had merely been making trouble to get more money, but the crown prince is different.
He has long known about his uncle’s thirst for power, even if I were to go back and tell him that King Xiangyang is innocent. Do you think he’d believe it? Even if he did believe it, I would never be able to rest knowing that King Xiangyang had committed such a heinous crime, but is still able to live well like this.”
As he spoke, Su Dong Lou nodded along. In the end, he could only spread his hands helplessly, “What’s the use of telling me all this? I really can’t help you, ah. You’re the one with all the plans.”
“The purpose of me telling you all this is for you to help me think of some ideas, alright?” Duan Tingxuan was getting angry now.
However, this Su Dong Lou still have the cheek to laugh and said, “I am quite far from the Capital and have no real understanding of what the crown prince, his royal brothers or the emperor is like. Since even you are stumped by this problem, why look for me? Ah, but you can ask that Lu Feng Yu for some ideas. Now, he’s a sharp one. He’d probably think up at least two or three perfectly good schemes for you if you ask him.”
“Humph, depend on that venomous snake? I dare not use any of his schemes. I’d probably be tricked into selling my soul to the devil without even knowing it. To think that a crazy idiot like you with guts bigger than your brains would dare to try and eat that snake. You better be careful. You might end up bitten to death before even getting a bite of that snake meat.”
Su Dong Lou laughed unconcernedly, “That’s impossible. Do you know what a venomous snake’s natural enemy is? It’s the golden eagle, ah. No matter how venomous a snake, that Lu Feng Yu could only be a prey before a mighty golden eagle like me. His only option is to submit nicely and be eaten.”
“Pei! What golden eagle? I say, you had better watch yourself and not be dazzled by his charms. Otherwise, you’ll turn into a stupid chicken and be the one eaten instead. If that happens, I’ll have to come over and clean up after you.” Duan Tingxuan spat on the ground in disgust. After a while, he looked up at the sky and stood up. He patted the dust off of his bottom and said, “Enough, my feelings have more or less settled. As for the problems I’ve brought up just now, let’s sleep on it first.”
“Yi? You can still sleep, ah?” Su Dong Lou also got to his feet.
Duan Tingxuan muttered, “What’s the use of not sleeping? Would I be able to think of a way out if I don’t sleep? We’ll have to face all those problems sooner or later, so why not sleep now? Also, would you be able to think of a solution if I don’t sleep?”
Author White Pear Flower: Has everyone been able to guess this kind of ending? Please forgive their limited IQ, looks like nobody could think of a way to get out of this problem, tee hee hee hee…
[Gumihou: Lol, I’m kind of sorry for Lu Feng Yu, but can’t be too sorry because he’s brilliance is the real thing and Su Dong Lou might actually ended up as a plucked chicken in a soup… hahaha!]
[1] Ahhh, I seem to remember at Chapter 90 where Duan Tingxuan openly declared that he had ‘bought’ priceless silver hairpin with 2 roast ducks and four bags of Snow Soft Bean Paste Snacks from this ‘clean living’ and ‘incorruptible’ fourth prince… [2] How could Sparrows Comprehend the Will of the Great Swan – how could small, ordinary people understand the motivations of great men and women?
If you love my translations, do consider supporting me via Patreon or put in a review at novelupdates!
Bonus Chapter Target!
I will post an extra chapter the moment we hit $200!
The current amount is $134 ~
o(〃＾▽＾〃)o
^_^
Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
For anyone who wants to chat with me, do come over to discord !
https://discord.gg/EFcAxFt
