She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 154 Shh, Quietly Watch the Fireworks

Chapter 154: Chapter 154 Shh, Quietly Watch the Fireworks

The night was cool as water.

Li Chengyuan led the noble ladies up to the pavilion, where they could vaguely see figures bustling on the opposite bank.

"Prince Seven has already arranged for people on the other side of the river; they will put on a fireworks show for everyone soon,"

Li Chengyuan explained to everyone, her peripheral vision constantly searching for Li Chengxiang’s figure, yet she couldn’t find him anywhere.

Who knows where he has snuck off to slack again!

Li Chengyuan harbored a bellyful of fire inside.

It seems that the lessons given were still not enough.

...

The Emperor had just seen off a group of ministers pleading desperately for their lives, his head aching to split, when Zhang Lanyi chose that moment to walk in.

She naturally extended her hand to massage his scalp.

"Does it feel more soothing now?" Over the years, Zhang Lanyi had become very familiar with the Emperor’s preferred strength of massage.

The Emperor habitually closed his eyes, releasing a breath of relief.

"No one does it quite as comfortably as you. Without you, what would I do?"

Zhang Lanyi’s lips curled into a smile, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Your servant will always be by your side, never leaving. If Your Majesty needs your servant, just call, and I’ll be there."

The Emperor patted the back of her hand, prompting Zhang Lanyi to stop.

He took her hand and pulled her to sit on his lap.

An old husband and his young wife.

It was quite incongruous.

Zhang Lanyi forcibly suppressed the repulsion in her heart, showing a gentle smile.

"What’s the matter, Your Majesty? Why are you so melancholic today? Have those old ministers said something to displease you?"

The Emperor sighed, "It’s nothing but some court affairs. Those old fools insisted that the seventh can’t head west. Do they expect me to lead the campaign myself?" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. "According to them, I can go, but the seventh can’t; that’s preposterous!"

At this point, he abruptly stopped speaking, looked at Zhang Lanyi with a smile, and said, "Why am I talking to you about this? A woman like you wouldn’t understand the complex dealings of the court."

Zhang Lanyi’s lips curled as she nodded, "Your Majesty is right. Your servant doesn’t understand these things. Your servant only knows that Your Majesty is unhappy today and needs to find a way to cheer you up."

Saying she didn’t understand state affairs?!

Zhang Lanyi rolled her eyes internally.

When you were obsessed with the alchemy room, were ghosts reading through that pile of memorials for you?!

Truly the first to forget past benefits. Praising the meal with every bite, but once finished, starts cursing like a sailor.

Of course, the Emperor couldn’t hear what Zhang Lanyi was thinking.

"What could you possibly do to cheer me up?"

Zhang Lanyi rose from his body, took his hand, and led him outside.

"Prince Seven has specially prepared a fireworks display today; it’s quite a novel spectacle that no one has seen before. They said it’s about to start." Zhang Lanyi pointed to the opposite bank: "Just over there."

The Emperor looked in the indicated direction, which was dark.

"This is Prince Seven’s arranged program?" His eyes flickered with dim and unclear luster: "He has the mood for such a thing."

Zhang Lanyi lifted her red lips into a smile, "Young people, after all. He’s probably trying to win the favor of the Turquoise Pool."

After hearing this, the Emperor fell silent.

The evening breeze blew gently, comfortably caressing everyone.

Standing on the steps, looking into the distance, one could even hear the whispers of young men and women mixed with the wind.

Just then, a streak of fire shot up into the ink-black sky from the opposite bank. Before people had time to react, the firework exploded into a golden flower high above and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Zhang Lanyi covered her red lips, gasping in amazement.

"No wonder it’s called fireworks," she said, looking at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this performance is splendid."

The Emperor nodded, then suddenly said, "The Empress just said she will always stay by my side."

"As Your Majesty’s Empress, where can I go if not by your side?" Zhang Lanyi glanced at him reproachfully, as if blaming him for saying something unnecessary.

The Emperor’s gaze was cold as it fixed upon the beautiful face before him that was as lovely as a blooming flower.

He said, "I was speaking of a hundred years from now."

Zhang Lanyi’s body shuddered slightly, and then she quickly responded, "Your Majesty, you worry too much; where you are, there shall I be."

"Empress, remember what you said today," the Emperor reached out his hand to draw her into his embrace.

Zhang Lanyi leaned in, smiling coyly, "Your Majesty always knows how to tease me."

Unbeknownst to anyone, her back was covered in a cold sweat.

The heart of an emperor is inscrutable.

One false step and everything is lost.

With Zhang Lanyi in his arms, the Emperor began to silently watch the fireworks continuously bursting in the sky.

Everything seemed too peaceful to be true.

Amid a loud explosion and the roar of the crowd, Zhang Lanyi furrowed her brows, looking down at the bustling scene below, and leaning towards the Emperor in some panic, she said, "Your Majesty..."

"Shh, quietly watch the fireworks," the Emperor looked down from his elevated position with a commanding tone, "After all, this is a spectacle specially prepared by the seventh prince."

Zhang Lanyi’s palms were sweaty; she said no more.

In the shadows, Xiao Hongshen was being choked against the wall.

The man shrouded in Taoist robes, his face full of shadows, said disdainfully, "Useless creature, you can’t even hold yourself back!"

Xiao Hongshen, with blood on the corners of his mouth, sneered, "The world is within my grasp, you shouldn’t stand in my way!"

"The world?" The man laughed contemptuously, "Do you think your father the Emperor is a vegetarian? He too emerged victorious from a struggle for succession. Years have passed, and his mind is even sharper than before. If I didn’t stop you, your head would have already fallen!"

"Nonsense!" Xiao Hongshen struggled furiously.

His men had already gone; he couldn’t stay here.

Seeing that he didn’t believe, the man let go, "If you don’t believe, just wait and see."

The fireworks burst one after another in the sky.

Wa Chengnan, his face covered, weaved through the shadows with his guards.

His whole body was drenched in cold sweat, his heart thumping like thunder. The plan was to act when the fireworks started, but now the seventh prince had disappeared as if into thin air.

"Should we continue to wait?" his subordinate asked.

Wa Chengnan’s heart was uneasy. He glanced at the commotion outside; the matter at hand was of great importance, and everyone was waiting for his command.

"This is not just a matter of losing heads, exterminating nine generations is a light sentence," Wa Chengnan muttered, "I also don’t know how Chai You is doing. What on earth has the seventh prince gone off to do? He wouldn’t have fled from the battle, would he? Someone should have come to inform us by now, whether to act or not..."

Suddenly, the sound of Ironclad Army’s armor filled the air. Wa Chengnan’s unease surged instantly, and before he could say, "Retreat!"

The sharp point of a spear was already at his throat!

"Arrest him—" the cold, merciless command of the Ironclad Army rang out, and before Wa Chengnan could even muster the will to resist, he was already being forced to kneel on the ground.

It was over...

That was the only thought in Wa Chengnan’s mind.

At that moment, atop the eaves,

The man in the Taoist robe looked coldly at Xiao Hongshen beside him, pale as death, "Do you see?"

Xiao Hongshen’s lips trembled, "This is only an accident, I still have other men, certainly there’s a pair that will succeed."

"Your father the Emperor already warned you today." As these words exploded in Xiao Hongshen’s mind, his brain went blank.