Assassinated
KEIGHTY:
Hello, everyone! The text above contains the chapter’s executive summary based on the raws provided. Please always check the pop-up notes for a better reading experience. For those who are new to it, pop-up notes can be seen by clicking the underlined words. I also took liberties in changing the spacing for consistency and aesthetic purposes XD. Enjoy <3
The quiet and gorgeous palace was disrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Rejoice, rejoice…”
Before the little eunuch could finish shouting, he was interrupted by the eldest palace maid, Hongdou, at the door.
“What are you shouting for? His Highness is still asleep. If you have something to say, then talk about it some other time.”
“…”
The sound of small conversations from outside could be heard. The person on the bed couldn’t help but pull up the quilt, trying to huddle up and cover his ears.
After a while, the young man’s resentful voice still couldn’t help but come in from outside.
“Hongdou——”
The eldest maid guarding the door gave the little eunuch a firm look first before she turned around and walked in. In the spacious and magnificent bedroom, there were several pots of silver carbon on the ground. The whole room was extremely warm, like spring.
Zhou Huaiyan was lying on the bed, his black hair spread everywhere. The early morning glow slanted in, outlining the young man’s beautiful profile. Zhou Huaiyan looked exactly like his mother, and there was a hint of the Jiang family’s heroic spirit in his brows. He really looked like a top-notch person.
Hongdou shook her head, trying to look away from her master’s face.
He seemed to be still awake, just sitting motionless on the bed, his fingers subconsciously playing with the jade beads on the curtain.
Ding ding, dong dong. The sound of the collision was particularly clear and pleasant.
Soon enough, the palace maids carrying toiletries came pouring in like water, with their eyes politely lowered.
Zhou Huaiyan was served, dressed, and washed with a sluggish look on his face.
“It’s still so early. If it’s not something to be rejoiced with, Dianxia will punish you by depriving you of sleep for three days.”
The little eunuch knelt on the ground, seemingly scared but more excited,
“Reporting back to His Highness the Ninth Prince, Duke Wei arrived in the capital last night and entered the palace early this morning!”
“Uncle is back?!”
Zhou Huaiyan instantly sobered up.
His biological mother was the younger sister of Duke Wei, Jiang Yi. Unfortunately, she died early due to difficulties in childbirth. In order to appease him, the emperor sent the newborn Zhou Huaiyan to live with Duke Wei for several years and also used this opportunity to recall Duke Wei, who was stationed in the north, to the capital.
But five years ago, foreigners began to harass the border. Duke Wei was then ordered to patrol the north. And now, he’s finally back.
“What a great joy indeed, grant him a reward!”
The young man’s eyes lit up. Hongdou couldn’t help but remind him,
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Your Highness, you still need to eat medicated food.”
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“Ktlr lr…”
“——Rba ubbv!”
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“Uncle!”
Zhou Huaiyan was not afraid. He went over, still grinning as he pulled the person to sit down, attempting to get by under false pretenses.
“Isn’t it because I am anxious to see you? In fact, Huaiyan really misses Uncle after not seeing him for so long.”
Duke Wei snorted lightly. He sat down next to him, his tone a little softer.
“Hmm, you’re getting more and more glib.”
Zhou Huaiyan was extremely thick-skinned.
“Uncle, that’s not right. I’m just praising you.”
Duke Wei took a sip of tea and carefully looked at the only flesh and blood left by his younger sister. After five years of not seeing each other, the child had grown a lot taller and looked like a delicate, fine young man now.
Duke Wei was pleased as he stroked his beard.
Yes, at eighteen, one can already be considered an adult. But the bones in his body are still a bit thin after all.
The uncle squeezed the young man’s thin shoulder.
Hongdou took the opportunity to wave her hand. The kneeling palace maids retreated out as if they had received an amnesty.
The old maid quickly served Duke Wei his favorite hot tea and, at the same time, brought the Ninth Prince’s medicated food.
Zhou Huaiyan: “……”
Hello, Hongdou?!
Duke Wei looked at the young man’s unwilling look, his expression slightly gloomy.
His younger sister’s child was born prematurely. He was born before she could even complete her nine months of pregnancy. Thus, he suffered a serious illness ten years ago. The other princes all had good civil and military skills. And their horsemanship and archery were excellent as well. On the other hand, Zhou Huaiyan was constantly taking medicine every day.
But Zhou Huaiyan himself didn’t have any worries at all, because unlike the other princes, he didn’t have to get up early every day to study, practice horsemanship, and practice his archery skills. As long as he eats, drinks, and have fun every day, no matter what trouble he gets into, the emperor will be very tolerant of him.
——It would be better if he didn’t need to take medicated food every day, though.
Zhou Huaiyan stirred them up one after another, still refusing to drink them. He asked with a smile,
“Uncle, did you bring a lot of rare treasures after coming back from the north this time? Did you bring some foreign beauties for Huaiyan to see?”
As soon as he heard about the beauties, Duke Wei immediately slapped the table, hating that iron could not turn into steel.
“You can’t even do writing or martial arts, yet you still think about this every day!”
Zhou Huaiyan’s brows drooped down all at once. He lowered his eyes, looking like he had been deeply wronged.
“Uncle has become very stingy now, and he doesn’t even give me a few playthings anymore. Alas, Huaiyan can’t sleep every night because he thinks about his uncle’s safety every day.
If Uncle likes those princes who are successful in literary and military affairs, he should quickly seek them out as his own nephew then. Huaiyan is inferior to them in everything and cannot be his uncle’s nephew anymore.”
Duke Wei: “…”
Making uncounted counter-charges again.
Although he knew it was just a child’s rhetoric, Duke Wei still lost his temper in the end.
He spent half of his life in the army; his two sons died on the battlefield; and his younger sister died because of the emperor’s heir. In terms of loyalty, the Jiang family can be regarded as a clan willing to spill their liver and brains on the ground. As for Huaiyan, he won’t demand the child to be on the battlefield. It is best to have wealth and success all throughout his life.
“That’s all, that’s all. Wait for me to come back so you can choose whatever you like later.”
As he spoke, he stood up and straightened his clothes.
Zhou Huaiyan also stood up.
“Uncle, are you going to take me away and leave now?”
“No. This time, I entered the imperial palace to see His Majesty.”
He should have gone directly to Xuanzheng Hall. In the end, he still couldn’t bear it. He took a detour and visited the child first for a quick look.
Zhou Huaiyan understood the implication of his uncle’s words. His heart sank. He then moved closer, behaving like a good boy.
“I know that Uncle really loves Huaiyan the most, but the next time Uncle comes here, he must go to see Emperor Father first. Otherwise, he might be sued by some vile people along the way. Huaiyan couldn’t bear to let Uncle be punished.”
“Hmph, His Majesty won’t care about such trivial matters.”
Duke Wei was coaxed to his heart’s content.
Zhou Huaiyan sighed. His uncle was said to be brave and invincible on the battlefield, but he still couldn’t understand him.
When the officials entered the imperial palace to meet the Emperor, they did not directly see him. Instead, they happened to see a prince.
——The emperor must’ve been anxious.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry. I’ll send off Uncle to meet with Emperor Father as soon as possible. In the afternoon, take me out of the imperial palace to play.”
Duke Wei waved his hand.
“You don’t need to send me off, it’s snowing heavily outside.”
Zhou Huaiyan did not insist and simply watched by the door.
After the tall figure disappeared from his sight, Zhou Huaiyan suddenly heard Hongdou’s voice: “Your Highness, the Duke just ordered this servant to reheat the medicated food.”
Zhou Huaiyan: “…”
In the end, he’s still his Uncle ah.
The little prince’s face abruptly fell.
However, in the afternoon, Duke Wei passed on a message, saying that he had something to do for the time being. A convoy was also waiting outside, so Zhou Huaiyan did not have to wait for him. Nevertheless, the young man still went to ask for the emperor’s consent before leaving the palace.
After all, this Emperor Father is the most kind and loving to the princes, superficially. But only Zhou Huaiyan knew that the prince his Emperor Father disliked the most was himself.
——Because he has the blood of the Jiang family flowing through his body.
As soon as he left the palace gate, Zhou Huaiyan saw the convoy guarding the Grand Duke’s mansion from a distance. They said that right after coming here, the Grand Duke directly got this for him until now.
“Ah, as expected, it’s Uncle who treats me the best.”
Zhou Huaiyan smiled.
The luxurious carriage was specially modified to be windproof and waterproof. It was covered with velvet cushions and contained many earthenware hot-water bottles to keep him warm and comfortable.
The convoy of the Grand Duke’s Mansion was moving vastly and mightily along the way, but unluckily, after leaving the city gate, they ran into a group of traders transporting cattle, horses, and slaves.
In this era, the slave trade was legal, and most of it was even run by the government.
Those people were all dressed in rags, dirty, and in disorder. But their facial features and bone structures were very three-dimensional. They did not look like any other people from the Zhou Dynasty at all. There were only a few slaves from marketing channels. Thinking of his uncle, who had just returned to the capital, Zhou Huaiyan guessed that these slaves probably came from foreign races in the north.
“Your Highness, please be mindful of the cold air entering your body. Those are all dirty animals. His Highness should not taint his eyes.”
Hongdou helped him firmly cover the carriage’s curtain, her eyebrows furrowed.
“The city department’s people are really getting more and more unruly. Don’t they know who’s passing through this road?!”
Zhou Huaiyan did not answer. He knew that this was the norm in the feudal dynasty.
On one side was the convoy of Duke Wei, and on the other side were troops transporting hundreds of slaves and livestock. Although the road was wide, it was still blocked altogether. The loud noise outside became more and more disturbing, causing Zhou Huaiyan’s eyelids to move.
Suddenly, something flashed in his mind. He grabbed the eldest maid next to him.
“Hongdou, what did you just say?!”
“His Highness should not… should not taint his eyes?”
“No, the last sentence!”
“The city department’s people are getting more and more unruly; how can they transport slaves to this road…”
Before she could finish speaking, Hongdou immediately realized that something was wrong.
Shu!
Shu shu shu——
The next second, the sound of several arrows piercing through the air, which was intensely ear-piercing, alarmed them——
“Jiang Yi, I’m going to take your life!!!”
The author has something to say:
The foreigners in the story are privately designed.
Equivalent to the ancient north’s Xiongnu, Manzu, Huren, etc.
Oops, I forgot to leave a note. The next chapter update would be next week, Friday. I just posted this chapter in advance so I could give you guys a teaser or something XD
Consider me successfully teased…
I’m gladddd yey🎉
I’m not the biggest mreg fan, but love this first chapter a lot so far. Can’t wait for more updates
Hope the uncle would be alright
Thanks for the chapter
A strong start, I see ☠️
Omg, hiiii! I’m just as excited translating this as well! You’re welcome and I hope to see you here more often~ (っ´▽`)っ
Don’t worry I’ll definitely be here and even if I won’t comment I’ll definitely be stalking by👀, so keep fighting jiayou ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
P.S. This is actually the first time someone has replied to my comment, I don’t really comment that much because I’m too shy and embarrassed to share my thoughts and feelings so what you said in your reply actually means a lot to me.
💚💚💚