I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 391 - 304: Arm

It was unclear how long had passed before Rong Jing finally came to his senses.

He said, "This is the first time I’ve realized, you have a pair of phoenix eyes."

Rong Jing suddenly realized that he had never really looked at Song Zhi’s appearance before.

Because to him, Song Zhi was not merely a cold blade in the hands of an emperor. Although Song Zhi positioned himself this way, Rong Jing did not think so.

He was not just a blade but an arm, a part of himself.

People don’t idle themselves in observing what their arms look like, so he had never paid attention to any of it.

Until now, one of Rong Jing’s "arms" had lost a finger. Only then did he realize his fingers were full of fine lines, and there was a small mole in the center of his palm...

Song Zhi still had a slight smile on his lips, his gaze gentle. He had various other wounds on his body, but those were unimportant.

He couldn’t comprehend what was in Rong Jing’s mind and could only remain silent.

Song Zhi knew that Rong Jing liked intelligent people, like Prince Xiang, Princess Ning’an, and even the arrogant and domineering father and son of Dingyuan Marquis in the court, and he himself was not an intelligent person. For Rong Jing, he must be very dull.

Rong Jing gritted his teeth, and in his tone, there was a trace of bloodthirstiness:

"But now, there’s only one."

For the first time, he noticed that Song Zhi had a pair of phoenix eyes; but now, there was only one left.

Some things are only realized in their true importance once they are lost.

Yet, Song Zhi was not as angry as Rong Jing. He said softly, "For me, whether it’s one eye or two, it doesn’t make much difference. Perhaps I’ll just be less accurate in archery in the future. My duty is to protect Your Majesty’s safety; I’m not going into battle."

An uncontrollable anger rose in Rong Jing’s heart: "Why go to such lengths, let Rong Qijun die instead. If he dares to orchestrate all this, dares to have you save him, he’s challenging my bottom line!"

Rong Qijun thought that by putting himself in the position of a victim, forcing the Crown Prince to act against him, he could defeat the Crown Prince and still remain innocent... How could he have such a foolish son?

But Rong Qichun actually couldn’t restrain himself and did something so self-destructive, it made Rong Jing want to kill him in one blow.

Song Zhi was taken aback, and for some reason, hearing Rong Jing question him, he felt joy.

"Is Your Majesty concerned about me?"

Rong Jing’s demonic eyes surged with a stormy tide of ink: "So what if I am, suddenly I think you are an interesting person."

Song Zhi’s face grew involuntarily hot, and he said, "Protecting the Second Prince and Lord Xie is my duty. After all, the Second Prince is Your Majesty’s son, and Xie Jingqi is..."

Rong Jing clenched his teeth: "True, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have given birth to children burdened with sinful bloodlines."

His words made Zhang Fengcai, kneeling on the ground, shudder all over, and he bowed his head even deeper.

Obviously, the Crown Prince’s actions were ruthless, yet the Second Prince also made the Emperor feel cold-hearted.

Just then, an announcement came from outside Qianyuan Hall: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Hospital sends word that Lord Xie has awakened, and aside from external injuries, there is no major harm."

Rong Jing lowered his eyes and forced himself to calm down, saying indifferently, "Give him the two pieces of century-old ginseng sent last month from Yunzhou, and the Heavenly Snow Lotus given to me by Marquis Zhongcheng."

"Yes."

Zhang Fengcai did not dare to move upon hearing this, but was secretly astonished in his heart, not expecting that His Majesty cared even more for Xie Yun than he thought.

——And for Song Zhi.

Rong Jing finally looked at him too, his voice cold and bereft of any emotion: "I heard you, Eunuch Zhang, are fond of Chen Dao’s paintings?"

Zhang Fengcai shuddered all over, suddenly smashing his head against the floor, making a heavy noise, and blood burst from his forehead:

"Chen Dao... I was wrong! As soon as I return, I will burn the Green Pine Painting that the Second Prince gifted, begging Your Majesty to spare me, begging Your Majesty to believe that it was a momentary lapse that led me to accept the Second Prince’s gift, and the matter between the Second Prince and the Crown Prince truly has nothing to do with me!"

"Dong, dong, dong", the floor echoed with heavy kowtowing sounds, and to prove his innocence, Zhang Fengcai was almost on the verge of killing himself.

Song Zhi stood silently by the side, his eyes not shifting an inch.

Rong Jing liked this feeling, the kind of feeling where someone belonged to him in entirety, both body and soul, allowing him to control everything.

He seemed oblivious to the blood on Zhang Fengcai’s forehead, squinting as he asked, "Is that so? Then do you know where you went wrong?"

Zhang Fengcai quickly pleaded for mercy, "I shouldn’t have accepted the Second Prince’s painting, nor should I have privately colluded with him. This action truly provoked the Crown Prince, causing him to take the risk and strike against the Second Prince—"

At this moment, Zhang Fengcai felt an urge to kill Rong Qijun. How could he not realize that both he and Song Zhi were used as tools by Rong Qijun?

The Second Prince has been constantly networking with court officials these days, forming factions and being utterly arrogant, forcing the Crown Prince into a dead end. Perhaps I was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, and the Crown Prince, upon realizing that even I, an Imperial Eunuch, sided with the Second Prince, fell into complete despair and chose to lay his hands on his brother, bound by blood.

In this way, as long as the Second Prince ensures his own survival, the Crown Prince is utterly finished...

The Second Prince’s schemes were indeed incredibly vicious, but he didn’t anticipate that Song Zhi and Xie Yun would get entangled, and these two happen to be officials greatly valued by His Majesty.

The Second Prince’s small tricks are transparent even to him, let alone His Majesty.

Moreover... I just met with the Second Prince two days ago, and the news bypassed me and reached His Majesty’s ears. It could only have been Princess Ning’an, who also manages part of the Inner Supervision, who informed His Majesty.

It seems that from henceforth, Princess Ning’an will be held in even higher esteem and trust by His Majesty.

Zhang Fengcai thought to himself, this is the most precarious moment of my career. Saying the wrong half a sentence could forever lose the emperor’s trust or even cost me my head...

The only mistake Zhang Fengcai made was guessing that Xie Yun was inadvertently involved when Rong Qijun actually intended to use a borrowed sword to kill, wanting to eliminate this devil who assigns tasks to him daily.

Rong Jing raised an arm, his long fingers straightened, then gently curled, interrupting Zhang Fengcai and slowly said:

"From now on, there is no Crown Prince."

Zhang Fengcai was stunned, letting the blood further stain his entire face, hurriedly responding, "Yes, I understand."

It seems that His Majesty ultimately decided to protect the Second Prince. After all, the Second Prince, who could scheme against the Crown Prince, shows a certain level of intelligence, whereas the Crown Prince’s act against his brother is unforgivable.

This time, the Second Prince bet right. If it was according to His Majesty’s original intentions, the matter of deposing the Crown Prince might have dragged on for another year or so.

"And you," Rong Jing continued, looking down on him with an icy, sinister tone in every word, "Do you want to follow him and die as well?"

Rong Jing’s words were like frost from the polar regions; Zhang Fengcai, who had just thought the emperor pardoned him, suddenly felt even his breath turn cold.

He trembled all over, his thoughts, plans, and calculations seemingly frozen within his body, able only to utter meaningless syllables: "This servant, this servant..."

In Rong Jing’s peach blossom eyes, a dazzling color like peach blossoms surged. Withdrawing his usual gentle smile, he said:

"Do you now understand where you went wrong?"

Zhang Fengcai could no longer speak, as if he... understood,

However,

It was too late.

Rong Jing stood up, stepped forward, and casually drew a sword set upon a nearby weapon rack.

"Who gave you the courage to guess the emperor’s thoughts?!"

A flash of cold light passed, and one of Zhang Fengcai’s arms flew and fell to the ground.

Blood spurted from the severed limb, and a heart-wrenching pain ensued. Zhang Fengcai wanted to scream but dared not, his other hand clawing desperately at the ground as he emitted a guttural, repressed wail, like a dying fish struggling futilely.

The sword had stained with the blood of many palace attendants before, and now, it had finally descended upon him.

Song Zhi watched the scene calmly, his eyes devoid of any ripple, his gaze falling on Rong Jing’s Dragon Robe stained with blood, his vision somewhat blurred.

He pondered whether to remind His Majesty that the Dragon Robe was dirty.

Is His Majesty venting for Xie Jingqi? Or for himself?

Song Zhi pressed his lips together, pushing everything down in his heart, forcing himself not to consider the second possibility.

What he had to do was remain loyal to Rong Jing, and no other thoughts should be revealed.

Rong Jing discarded the blood-stained sword to the ground disdainfully, his chest heaving, while the corners of his elongated eyes, due to excitement, were tinged with a captivating shade of red, appearing even more like a beguiling demon.

At this moment, Song Zhi silently lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Rong Jing’s unearthly, ravishing beauty.