Chapter 12: Supreme Commander
Chapter 12: Supreme Commander Lou lies on the dragon bed Original and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
When the carriage reached the entrance to the Imperial Palace, the gatekeepers flagged it down. But once they saw Ning Xiaoyao stick her head out the carriage window, the guards on duty immediately allowed them thorough passage. It was illogical to bar the emperor from going home.
“Where should we take Supreme Commander?” Fang Tang had been holding Lou Zigui the whole trip. Now that they were in the palace, this little General Fang couldn’t resist asking anymore. His supreme commander was a chaste man, so where could he go in the Imperial Palace? Ning Xiaoyao fell into quiet thought. Truthfully speaking, she’d just transmigrated over today and only knew about a few particulars. Right now, she really had no idea about her current home.
“Can we bring Supreme Commander back to Night Crow Pass?” a general asked Ning Xiaoyao. He didn’t want to stay in this sinister capital city any longer!
“How could Supreme Commander endure a long journey like that?” another general rebutted.
The various generals lowered their heads to peer at Lou Zigui, whose body was covered in clotted blood. All of them fell silent. With Supreme Commander injured to this extent, how could he travel very far?
Ning Xiaoyao saw that Fang Tang and the rest couldn’t come up with a solution, so she waved her hand and said, “Then just have him live with me. I have lots of rooms where I live.” Her quarters weren’t just enough for one Supreme Commander, but 30 of them with space to spare.
“... …” Fang Tang and the rest were rendered speechless. How couldn’t the emperor’s quarters not be large? For some reason or another, His Majesty’s words felt strange to their ears.
Soon enough, they arrived at the royal sleeping quarters. Ning Xiaoyao was still the quickest one and picked up Lou Zigui in her arms before jumping off the carriage. Then she went directly to the rooms she’d left earlier. There was no choice, this was the only place she recognized. （Author: o(╯□╰)o）
The Yongning Emperor’s quarters was called the Supreme Splendor Hall. After Ning Xiaoyao had jumped over the walls and ran away, an angry empress dowager had captured many of its eunuchs. Right now, everyone there felt insecure, so when they saw Ning Xiaoyao carrying a person wrapped in thick robes with a trail of well-built men behind her, the eunuchs lost all hope. How were they to explain this to the empress dowager after His Majesty brought all these people home with him?
Ning Xiaoyao kicked open the door with her foot and went inside, before placing Lou Zigui on the bed without a second thought. The generals who had followed her had completely lost all sense of being in the Imperial Palace by Ning Xiaoyao’s actions. One of them raised a hand and asked, “Should, should we get a doctor?”
Fang Tang shouted, “Aren’t there Imperial Physicians?”
When General Fang yelled those words, the rest of the generals came to their senses. Mother and Father, this was the Imperial Palace! As they stopped to look around the room, they discovered its resplendent and magnificent interior. Even the roof beams were carved with five-clawed dragons, while their Supreme Commander was on a bed that...all of the generals quaked as one. That was the dragon bed[1. dragon bed (龙床) - longchuang, as implied by the name, the emperor’s bed. Dragons are a motif commonly associated with Chinese emperors.]!
“Get out,” Lou Zigui commanded his subordinates as he opened his eyes. His voice trembled, a sign of his extreme exhaustion.
“Supreme Commander?” the generals were ignorant of his meaning. Was now the time to chase them out?!
“This is the Supreme Splendor Hall,” Lou Zigui wanted to sit up, but failed after a few attempts and ended up lying on the bed as he spoke to his men. “Is it a place where you can enter casually? Get out!”
“Hey, hey, “ Ning Xiaoyao was a little unhappy now. She’d never seen anyone act so harshly to his lifesavers. “Why are you being so fierce? Can’t you say things nicely?”
“Get out!” Lou Zigui used all of his strength to shout, before glaring at the sword by Fang Tang’s waist.
The generals finally understood Lou Zigui’s meaning. Right now they were all carrying swords at their sides. If anyone found out about this in the future, it’d be another death sentence against them. They glanced at Ning Xiaoyao’s small frame and felt that His Majesty shouldn’t be planning to kill their Supreme Commander. Even if he wanted to, as long as Supreme Commander had the breath to cry out, they could rush in to save him against that tiny figure. Thus, they docilely retreated outside after a bow towards Ning Xiaoyao.
Unaware that she’d been looked down on, Ning Xiaoyao watched the generals leave the room before turning back to stare at Lou Zigui. Now that this person could live on, what was she supposed to do next? Lou Zigui looked at Ning Xiaoyao as well. When time passed without His Majesty speaking, he spoke up.
“His Highness the Crown Prince and I were schoolmates that became friends. I’ve always seen him as an elder brother.”
“... …” Ning Xiaoyao had no words. What was it to her who his friends were or where his feelings went?