"Promise me that if there ever comes a time where I and that person are in danger, you will do your absolute best to save him" Su Li"s words sent a sharp spike of pain through Zhou Sheng"s heart.Trying to speak above the rising lump in his throat, he tried, "I...I can promise you my life, but don"t ever ask me to push you knowingly into an abyss. Do you think I don"t feel guilty enough already? I don"t even have the heart to bed for your forgiveness."
Su Li turned to face her friend at his words, "Why are you feeling guilty? I never thought that you were responsible for what happened back then. You don"t need anybody"s forgiveness. Rather, I should be sorry that you got dragged into it."
It was at that moment, Zhou Sheng realised that he didn"t know how to get the two of them through all this.
He really didn"t have the strength of mind to ever rehash everything. Sighing to himself, he reb.u.t.ted, "Let"s not talk about all this. It"s in the past. The only thing we need to know is that we are the only ones we can depend upon in this treacherous world. Just don"t trust anyone and be backstabbed once again. Seeing your blood gus.h.i.+ng out of your body once was more than enough for me. Let"s try to not have a repeat performance."
And then both of them burst into laughter at that. They simply kept laughing because if they didn"t, then Su Li had started crying for lost opportunities and Zhou Sheng would cry for her pain.
"I"ll leave now." Finished with his words, Zhou Sheng quickly left and Su Li once again sat on the bench behind her.
A few minutes later, a small whisper was heard, "Zhou Sheng, even though you are angry at me for kneeling to someone to save my beloved, I would still do it all over again even if I am the highest seat of power in this world and wouldn"t mind giving up all my riches and life for my love."
That night His Majesty didn"t return to his chambers to sleep and Unit Commander Ning Fu didn"t return to his own place as well, he kept a silent vigil as he saw the play of emotions on the monarch"s face and saw him fighting with the memories and demons in his heart.
The following morning, after the morning court a.s.sembly, Ning Fu stooped Zhou Sheng as the other was about to follow the monarch to The Imperial Study.
"Zhou Sheng, you are soon to be a part of the Ning Clan. Why not follow me to have a drink now?" Ning Fu asked. Zhou Sheng was puzzled by this non-sequitur.
Though he had agreed when Su Li had asked him to become a member of the Ning Clan, he had only done that to appease her. He had felt that she was worried for him because he didn"t have the support of a big clan behind him and that joining such a clan would lessen her unneeded worries.
However, he had never had any illusions to the kind of upbringing or help he would receive in that clan. After all, he wasn"t their flesh and blood and he had always felt that Ning Fu didn"t particularly like him.
Maybe it was because of him being a conscript who had been beaten by the latter"s subordinates in front of the monarch which hadn"t exactly endeared Ning Fu to the monarch or maybe of what had happened months ago in the garden when Ning Fu had sent a dagger flying at him and Su Li.
Whatever the case may be, he hadn"t had any thoughts that Ning Fu would try to foster a closer relations.h.i.+p with him.
Hence, this invitation raised his suspicions and he looked at the other person in the eye and didn"t find any deception in them.
Thinking about it a moment longer, he readily agreed and then sent a eunuch to inform His Majesty about his whereabouts. Both of them walked out of the Imperial Palace and went to a nearby tavern.
Waiting for the waiter to bring the wine, Ning Fu opened, "I was very surprised when His Majesty asked the Ning Clan to adopt you. Though I don"t dare or presume to understand the monarch"s thoughts, I felt he did it out of worry for you."
Zhou Sheng didn"t give a clear cut answer and simply gave a non-committal hum. Seeing the other person not even making the effort to talk to him, Ning Fu felt that maybe the boy thought himself above other because he was close to the centre of power.
However, he disdainfully thought that the boy should also remember the age-old adage that accompanying one"s monarch was akin to playing house with a tiger.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
No matter how prestigious a clan or how benevolent the monarch, once the direction of the wind"s changed, innumerable heads would roll at the drop of a hat and Ning Fu didn"t want a similar fate for his own family.
Therefore after last night, he had thought of pulling Zhou Sheng to his side so that if there ever came a time when they were implicated in something, they would have a way out.
Nonetheless, no matter how he tried to engage Zhou Sheng, the other person only responded in monosyllables or didn"t deign to give him a reply at all.
This further infuriated Ning Fu and in the end, he dropped the boy at the gates of The Imperial Palace and left for his manor.
Soon enough it was the day when Zhou Sheng would have his name entered into the genealogy book of the Ning Clan. Since only clan members were allowed inside the Ancestor Hall of a manor, Su Li asked the Head Commander of The Shadow Guards to send someone to go and have a look.
The Head Commander had also spent an inordinate amount time with Zhou Sheng when the boy had been living in the palace and had become friends with him.
Therefore, he himself had been worried when he had realised that the monarch was planning in having Zhou Sheng enter the Ning Clan.
Hence, as soon as the verbal decree was given, he took his fellow brothers and went to the Ning Manor and see if the boy was being short-changed on anything. He also had the brilliant idea that he would go and snoop around Nung Fu"s room and see if he was having any secret conversations with anyone or if he was ama.s.sing soldiers in secret.
After all, no matter what had happened in the last few months, the Head Commander hadn"t forgotten the fact that Ning Fi had once tried to plan an a.s.sa.s.sination of their liege. So as soon as he saw that the ceremony ended without a hitch, he sent his subordinates to report back to His Majesty and he himself climbed the tiled roof of Ning Fu"s courtyard.
Meanwhile, Ning Fu had already retired to his room. After the ceremony, his parents would spend some time with the newest addition into the family and he himself didn"t have the patience to listen to everyone"s double-speak and probing of each other"s thoughts.
Just as he was about to remove his outer clothes and take some rest, he heard. a faint breathing sound and he knew that an intruder was nearby.
Since today was the day the emperor"s favourite was added into his own clan, Ning Fu feared that the intruder might be a spy from one of the opposing families, so he activated his own inner force and went onto a different roof.
What he saw left him feeling perplexed.
The Head Commander of Shadow Guards was lying on the roof of his room while trying to view the ongoing"s inside the room by removing a single tile from it and was even muttering to himself.
"Ning Fu, I won"t put this tile back in place. I hope it will rain tonight and that your room will be filled with water and your belonging spoiled. I will leave this hole open."
The Unit Commander didn"t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of the other person. Though he was loyal to the monarch, Head Commander really wasn"t the brightest person to have grazed the Imperial Palace.
Ning Fu also wondered how the monarch put up with someone who was essentially a loyal but idiotic puppy. He also wanted to find out what the other person was doing on his roof. Hence he decided to play a trick upon the said person.
Unit Commander Ning Fu covered his face with a black cloth and went to lie next to the other man on the roof of his own room. Trying to change his voice to be more gravelly, he asked, "Head Commander, what are you trying to do here?"
The other person didn"t realise that the one asking him the question was the very person he was trying to spy upon.
After all, who would come up to an intruder and ask this question in such an amicable manner, right?
Our dear Head Commander thought that it was one of his own subordinates who had returned after reporting to the monarch and replied, "This one is trying to find if Ning Fu has any unnecessary thoughts about our liege and dynasty."
Ning Fu went rigid as soon as those words entered his ears and he realised their implication.
He knew this person wouldn"t do any unnecessary thing until and unless the monarch ordered them.