Scum Gong Walks the Career Line in the Crematorium

“You want me to negotiate with a traitor?!” Zhao Yuan angrily threw the memorial in his hand and exclaimed, “I am the ruler, while he is nothing more than a traitor. How dare he think he can negotiate with me!”

The memorial flew close to the person who was speaking, brushing against his cheek, leaving a shallow bloodstain. The man instinctively touched his face where it hurt, finding a faint trace of blood on his fingertips. He lowered his head, his gaze deepening, but still respectfully picked up the memorial from beside him, placing it together with another memorial in his hand, which had a red corner. “This is just a temporary measure, Your Majesty…”

Zhao Yuan stood up from the throne, pacing back and forth anxiously. The people below listened to the sound of his restless footsteps and watched the large jade stones embedded in his shoes sway back and forth. No one dared to speak.

After some time, Zhao Yuan sat back on the throne, his voice calm, not revealing any emotions. “Then let’s negotiate.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and complimented him sincerely for the first time, “Your Majesty is wise!”

With utmost respect, the officials left the study, and outside, they looked at each other and smiled, clasping hands with the injured minister, “We must thank Master Wu for standing up for us.”

Wu, the senior official, waved his hands modestly. He was not young anymore, probably in his fifties or sixties, with half of his hair white. Despite that, he looked energetic and carried the unique aura of wealth and nobility. “It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s wisdom!”

“Your Majesty…” someone chuckled softly, speaking just two words with a subtle tone, even a hint of disdain.

The others fell silent for a few seconds before smiling at each other and complimenting in unison, “Your Majesty is wise.”

“Your Majesty is wise.”

“Your Majesty is young, after all,” said Wu, wiping the bloodstains off his face with a clean white silk handkerchief.

“But it’s also thanks to Master Wu being His Majesty’s grandfather; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given you face like this,” another official added.

Wu smiled, not saying anything, and all the ministers left the palace one after another.

When Zhao Yuan decided to negotiate in person, Lin Hanchuan was also surprised. According to the original host’s memories, Zhao Yuan was stubborn, sensitive, suspicious, and overly proud. He never took the initiative to make peace, and it was always the Regent King who tried various means to make him happy.

After several months, had this little emperor changed his personality?

“He has us cornered; of course, he’s coming to negotiate,” one subordinate sneered disdainfully.

Lin Hanchuan pondered over the negotiation letter sent by the eunuch. After much thought, he finally agreed to the negotiation. The meeting place was set in a teahouse outside the imperial city, precisely in between his camp and the palace.

After preparing overnight, Lin Hanchuan led a few subordinates into the city. The last time he came to the capital, it was during the chaos of the Southern Wind Rebellion, and he had no time or energy to observe the city closely.

Now that he had the opportunity, he noticed quite a few interesting things, but there were significantly fewer merchants than usual. The army’s arrival must have affected the city, and Lin Hanchuan could probably guess that these missing merchants had fled the city overnight.

When they reached the teahouse, the Imperial Guards had already arranged the guards outside. Lin Hanchuan cast a faint glance at them and raised his hand. With a mere wave, his people forcefully squeezed into the protective circle formed by the Imperial Guards.

As everything was ready and he was about to go upstairs, someone stopped him, saying, “Halt! You cannot carry weapons inside!”

“What the hell did you say?” A dark-skinned man immediately grabbed the person’s collar and cursed fiercely.

“It’s alright,” Lin Hanchuan waved his hand, not paying attention to his loyal subordinates. He casually pulled out the dagger from his waist and threw it into a bucket used to temporarily store weapons, creating a loud clang.

The dark-skinned man felt somewhat dissatisfied. He wasn’t a supporter of peace, but in his view, it was time for the Regent King to become the emperor. Upon hearing about the negotiation, he was afraid that the Regent had been deceived, making his face even darker.

As he entered the room, Lin Hanchuan’s first glance fell on Zhao Yuan. There was no one else around. He had only seen this little emperor in the original host’s memories. Lin Hanchuan carefully observed the Emperor’s appearance. The little Emperor’s looks were undoubtedly outstanding; otherwise, he wouldn’t be the protagonist in a danmei novel. However, there was always a deep aura in his eyebrows and eyes.

While the previous Qi Changfeng thought it was melancholy and sorrow, Lin Hanchuan felt that this gaze was too cold, like that of an icy snake, making people uncomfortable.

In comparison, Lin Hanchuan fondly missed his own “little cub,” who, despite a difficult life, grew into a vigorous and passionate young man, striving to improve himself.

“Long time no see,” Zhao Yuan couldn’t suppress his emotions. He coldly greeted, “Are you happy now?”

“Not really,” Lin Hanchuan said indifferently, “More than happiness, I feel regret.”

“What do you regret?” The little Emperor raised his eyebrows, coldly retorting.

“Sui Kingdom’s defenses rely solely on me. Once the enemies cross Tianmen Pass, they can enter the Central Plains easily like breaking rotten wood…” Lin Hanchuan sighed with genuine concern. “Our defense is too weak, and the Imperial Guards are merely a bunch of decorative pillows. They can act arrogant and tyrannical in front of the ordinary people in the capital, but they lack the courage to fight on a real battlefield.”

Lin Hanchuan was genuinely worried about Sui Kingdom’s future. In any country or industry, it is impossible to rely solely on one person. Such a distorted dependence on a single person would inevitably lead to disaster, let alone an entire country.

After he finished speaking, he looked at the little Emperor’s expression in surprise. The latter’s face had completely darkened.

“Are you here today just to humiliate me?” The little Emperor clenched his teeth, looking at Lin Hanchuan.

“Not at all,” Lin Hanchuan walked over and sat down calmly. He poured himself a cup of tea and smelled the faint tea fragrance. Nonchalantly, he said, “I’m here to advise you… If you still want to be the emperor, listen to me. If you don’t want to, it’s not difficult to change the ruler.”

“You!” The little Emperor slammed the tea table with his palm, shaking the tea in the cup. His face turned pale and blue, eventually settling into a dark expression. “Qi Changfeng, you keep saying you love me. Is this how you love me?”

Hearing this, Lin Hanchuan put down the teacup in his hand and gazed at the little Emperor.

The little Emperor’s expression was extremely ugly. He was furious, embarrassed, and his cold, fierce eyes showed genuine anger. “You said you would return the power to me. Until now, you haven’t. You said you loved me, but you constantly ignore my thoughts, treating me as your plaything…”

“Qi Changfeng, you must understand, if it weren’t for my father saving you back then, would you be who you are today?”

“With your current treatment of his country and his only child, do you think my father would regret saving you after he has passed away?”

If it were the original host, these words would have been too piercing, but Lin Hanchuan found them somewhat laughable. He leaned back slightly, lazily leaning against the back of the chair. “Is this what you wanted to discuss during the negotiation?”

The little Emperor stared at him without speaking.

“Who taught you these words?” Lin Hanchuan asked again.

The little Emperor’s pupils suddenly contracted.

“You don’t trust me even a bit. How could you think that a few words from you would change my mind?” Lin Hanchuan chuckled softly, a hint of self-mockery in his smile. “In your eyes, the Regent King is ambitious and heartless, a ruthless and unscrupulous white-eyed wolf who regards you as a puppet emperor. You believed that sooner or later, Sui Kingdom will be renamed under the Qi surname…”

“You don’t think these words will work; it must be someone else who taught you,” Lin Hanchuan speculated. “Was it your empress mother? Or was it your kind-hearted grandfather?”

The little Emperor bit his lip and remained silent, but from his expression, Lin Hanchuan had already understood.

“It was your father who saved me. That’s why I guarded his country for ten years and protected you for five years,” Lin Hanchuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued, “The debts I owed him have been repaid. Now, it’s a matter between the two of us.”

“What do I have to do with you?” The little Emperor finally spoke again, as if he were once again standing at a commanding height, raising his chin. “You, a power-hungry minister with ambitious schemes, harboring such thoughts towards me, a monarch, is a great disrespect as a subject.”

In the little Emperor’s memory, Regent King Qi Changfeng was a very contradictory person.

Everyone knew he was a military genius, extraordinarily intelligent, cruel in his actions, and without a clear set of rules. But in the little Emperor’s memory, the Regent King seemed different.

That young Regent King was only a few years older than him. At first, he always had a cold and expressionless face, but later, he often wore a smile, gentle and tender, seemingly never angry… From the initial fear to later indulgence, how much of it was due to the Regent King’s gentleness, he himself did not know.

The little Emperor disliked the Regent King’s feelings for him, but he couldn’t deny that he had benefited from this forbidden emotion. He also knew that the Regent King had some genuine feelings for him.

It was also because of this that he dared to come to negotiate in person, convinced that this person wouldn’t kill him, not because of the late emperor, but because of their interactions over the past few years.