The young man retched as he hastily retracted his hand. He retrieved a handkerchief to scrub his hand and said in disgust, "What is the use of being so fat and ugly? Men, feed her to the dogs."
Several guards immediately approached at his order. They were obviously well trained. As the woman was about to scream in fright, her mouth was gagged and her hands caught.
They dragged her down and vanished into the crowd.
The young man finally wiped his hands clean and tossed the handkerchief away. He next strode to Chen Rong and Chen Gongrang.
Standing before them, he cocked his head to stare at Chen Rong and then almost suddenly, he pointed at her and blurted, "I like her." His words caused Wang Hong's closed eyes to fly open.
Before the young man could speak any further, Wang Hong lightly nodded from the carriage.
Just as he said to Chen Gongrang, "This girl isn't too bad, let her..." a series of voices cried out: "All hail His Majesty, the Emperor!"
Everyone was instantaneously stunned by the loud roar. Thereupon, countless 'All hail His Majesty, the Emperor' rang, along with the sound of people dropping to their knees. The noblemen were just bowing, but the scattered commoners by this time had prostrated on the ground.
These noises drowned out all other sounds so that even the young man's next sentence was covered up.
His Majesty?
Shocked, Chen Rong stared at him and then stepped back to accord him a curtsy.
The young man frowned. He waited for the noises to die down and unhappily looked around. "What the hell? Didn't I tell you not to recognize me?"
Seeing everyone bowing their heads, some still retreating in fear, he looked to be greatly disappointed and mutteringly turned to look at Chen Rong.
At the sight of her bowing deeply, he sighed in disappointment.
"All rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
He sighed and ordered, "Go, you're all dismissed."
"Aye, sire."
Only the commoners followed his order and dispersed, his bodyguards just took three steps back, and the dignitaries didn't move at all.
The man was apparently used to this situation. Unfazed, he stepped forward and leaned closer to Chen Rong.
The minister by his side immediately received a multitude of looks from all directions. He stepped forward and whispered to the young man, "Your Majesty, there are too many people here."
The young emperor's face fell.
He scowled while, at the same time, his eyes remained locked on Chen Rong.
At length, he softly said to her, "I'm called Sima Zhang. And you? What is your name?"
Never in a million years would Chen Rong expect the emperor to use this tone to speak to her. She raised her head. Chen Gongrang clasped his hands in a solemn reply: "Your Majesty, she is Ah Rong of the Chen House."
"I'm asking the pretty girl, why are you answering?" the young emperor bristled.
The emperor's anger did not cause Chen Gongrang any unease, nor did it draw any reaction from his guards and the noblemen.
Chen Gongrang smiled and deeply bowed. "Your Majesty, have you heard of a woman who went to Mo'yang out of gratitude when Murong Ke laid siege to the city? The same woman who charged into battle in a bloodied robe when Nan'yang was under attack?"
He straightened his posture and then pointed at Chen Rong to announce: "Your Majesty, that woman is right here. She is Ah Rong of the Chen House."
This translation belongs to hamster428.
His voice echoed in the air.
Surprised at first, the thousands of people present quickly buzzed.
Under people's scrutiny and amid their whispering, Chen Rong at Chen Gongrang's signal moved two paces forward to stand in front of her uncle.
She slightly raised her head so that her face clearly appeared before people's eyes. She dropped to a curtsy and said, "I am Ah Rong of the Chen House. Greetings, Your Majesty."
The young emperor was still in shock. He stared at Chen Rong and asked in disbelief, "Eh? Why did you want to die? Isn't it more fun to be alive?"
Chen Rong faintly smiled after a brief pause. "Where will I be if my country is gone? I only did what I should."
"Is that so?" The emperor seemed somewhat disappointed with her answer.
He continued to regard Chen Rong and then made a face. "I don't like strong and serious women like this."
The ministers behind him frowned at his words: His Majesty should give praise now that we have a righteous woman in our court. Who knew he would say he doesn't like her? Never mind, His Majesty had always been like this.
As for Chen Rong, she both felt humored and surprised. Even if she had thought of countless countermeasures for today's meeting, she did not expect he was this kind of a monarch.
The young emperor sighed, waved his wide sleeve and asked Chen Rong, "Speak, how would you like to be rewarded?"
Chen Rong had not spoken by the time a minister came forward to say, "Your Majesty, we must hold this honorable woman up as an example for the country."
The emperor knitted his brow in thought and then nodded.
When he next turned to Chen Rong and was about to speak, she suddenly stepped back and dropped to her knees.
Chen Rong's action was unexpected. His eyes lit up as he excitedly asked, "Why are you kneeling to me?"
"I have a request to make," she looked up at him, "I hope Your Majesty will grant me your permission."
The emperor's mouth could not help from smirking to hear her make a request so quickly. Seeing this, Chen Rong tilted her head and playfully winked at him.
Her action was very cute and it pleased the young emperor. He happily asked, "Then tell me, what is your request?"
Chen Rong suddenly gained courage. She looked up at the emperor and suppressed her nervousness to say: "Please make me a Daoist nun, Your Majesty, so that I may stay unmarried for the rest of my life."
Please make me a Daoist nun, Your Majesty, so that I may stay unmarried for the rest of my life.
Please make me a Daoist nun, Your Majesty, so that I may stay unmarried for the rest of my life.
...
Wang Hong sat up. His lips drew into a line and his fingers gripped onto the carriage shaft as he unblinkingly stared at Chen Rong.
Not only Wang Hong, but also Chen Gongrang, Chen Zifang, the surrounding aristocrats, and even her older brother and sister-in-law looked on in shock.
No one could have guessed that a young lady like Chen Rong would make such a request after having risked her life to win the recognition of the literati and meet His Majesty.
The emperor blinked in response. He incredulously asked, "You want to be a Daoist nun?"
Chen Gongrang stepped forward and made a deep bow, but not waiting for Chen Gongrang to speak, Chen Rong's voice abruptly raised. She innocently smiled at the emperor and playfully said, "Everyone is scared silly by my request as soon as I said it. Don't you think this is fun, Your Majesty? Haha for the amusement, won't you say yes, Your Majesty? Please say yes."
Her voice was supple and full of coquetry by the time she uttered her last two sentences.
The emperor's mood improved. He waved his hand at Chen Gongrang and shouted, "You're not allowed to talk."
Chen Gongrang did not dare to disobey him. He at once closed his mouth.
"Get back, don't stand between me and Ah Rong."
Chen Gongrang had no other choice but to bow to him and take two steps back.
The emperor's eyes weren't idling while he was instructing Chen Gongrang. He glanced around with interest and took relish in seeing the looks on their faces. He turned back to Chen Rong and made a wink. "You're right, this is really fun."
He cleared his throat and stopped smiling. Upon seeing his expression, Wang Hong made eye contact with a minister.
The minister hurried over.
But without waiting for him to speak, the emperor had raised his chin and declared, "Granted!"
His minister didn't think he'd so simply agree. He froze on the spot, suddenly feeling a chill behind him.
Overjoyed, Chen Rong again prostrated and cried, "I thank you, Your Majesty." She emphatically kowtowed to the emperor.
Her thanks were met with stunned looks from the surrounding dignitaries and a pleased expression from the young emperor. He raised his voice: "How about this? The monastery on Mount Xishan isn't so bad, you can go live there."
The monastery on Xishan?
Chen Rong was jumping for joy. That monastery was famous for its scenery but, more importantly, there were nearly a thousand acres of farmland attached to the temple! A thousand acres was a great reward as far as she was concerned.
At present, Chen Rong immediately beamed. "Thank you Your Majesty! Your Majesty is wise!"
The young monarch was still relishing. He again glanced at the aristocrats around him to see that they were all looking ill with displeasure.
He cleared his throat, watched the aristocrats and adopted a solemn tone to say: "Ah Rong of the Chen House is admirable for her fearlessness. Listen well, do not touch her just because she is beautiful. She is the priestess whom I ordained!"
He laughed aloud and triumphantly walked away to his carriage.
As the young emperor went, his glance intentionally or otherwise fell on Wang Hong before it returned to Chen Rong.