Inside the vast palace, where there would normally have been servants 1 and maids 2 , there were now only rows of carved door frames. In a completely empty chamber of the palace, there were only a few vermilion-painted tall pillars with beautiful draperies that swayed feebly back and forth. The King of Bei Ling lay on his royal bed and looked up to the roof of the canopy, at one point thinking of his life, his eyes so clear and bright without showing the slightest bit of cloudiness as people would expect when your life is about to end.
Suddenly, the doors of the royal bedchamber swung open, and the blinding sunlight fell in and spread unscrupulously, making the originally too dark chamber bright and dazzling.
The King of Bei Ling seemed oblivious to the obvious impudent visitor. Still lying motionless on his bed, he stared blankly at a point in the air, except that his eyes were no longer bright and clear.
An JinLuo walked calmly to the bed and looked down at the old and decrepit King of Bei Ling.
“ Father 3 , may Your Majesty be in good health 4 !” He bowed solemnly, but there was a smug smirk on his face.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 54 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
As for the old Monarch’s 5 pretense of not hearing him, An JinLuo only rubbed his chin, not caring in the slightest, after which he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the King of Bei Ling, who already seemed oblivious to the outside world, and said, “Father’s illness has always made this son 6 extremely worried and troubled 7 ! Seeing that father’s complexion is actually quite good today, it seems that those Royal Physicians really do not have an undeserved reputation!”
“Oh, that’s right, father has always been in his bedchamber and presumably will not have received the news that my ill-fated Third Royal Brother 8 has already died! Alas, truly pitiful! Immediately after his birth, Mother Consort 9 died in childbirth, at the age of five he was sent as a Hostage Prince to another country, and now he has been burnt to death by a fire set by bandits, without even leaving any ashes behind! Alas, it is such a pity that Royal Brother JinYu has died an untimely death. Truly a pity!” An JinLuo said with a face full of hypocrisy.
“If only he had stayed obediently in the Imperial Palace of Chu Jing, even if it was not a good place, but then at least he could have waited for the envoys and regiments specially sent by father to come and rescue him! Don’t you think so too, father? *Sigh* But what is the use of talking about it now, when it is already too late. With Third Royal Brother gone, I, the First Prince, am the only one left, who can succeed father and continue the An dynasty. Father, please rest assured, after your death, this son will surely take good care of the great rivers and mountains of Bei Ling and not let you be disappointed!”
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 54 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
The face of Bei Ling’s King paled for a moment, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, then he stiffly turned his head to stare straight at the extremely arrogant, unfilial son in front of him.
“Why is father looking at this son like that, is it possible that this son has said something wrong?”
*Pu* In the end, the King of Bei Ling could not help but spurt out a mouthful of blood.
An JinLuo looked coldly at the King of Bei Ling lying on the bed, whose hands and feet began to twitch.
“Your― Your Highness, His Majesty has vomited blood, may―― may this servant ask the Royal Physician to come?” The old eunuch, who had served the King of Bei Ling for over thirty years, fell to his knees and pleaded with trepidation.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 54 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
An JinLuo gave him a sinister scowl and crushed him on the back with a foot, uttering, “Such a loyal dog as a slave! Want to call the Royal Physician? Then crawl to him yourself! Hahahaha――” Giving a kick and laughing madly, he walked out, with a flick of his sleeve.
Waiting until he had left, the old eunuch anxiously crawled to the side of the royal bed to support the King of Bei Ling, who had turned blue in the face, “Your Majesty, hang in there, this old servant will immediately go ask the Royal Physician――”
With his eyes red, the King of Bei Ling grabbed his hand and said, “No― no need to ask him to come, that person is already on An JinLuo’s side, it would be useless to have him come. You, think of a way to get out of the palace and go to General Wei Chen’s 10 residence to inform his eldest son that We are being held prisoner in Ling Fei Palace by An JinLuo, and that General Wei Chen must return to the capital quickly!”
“As― as you command, Your Majesty, this old servant will definitely fulfill his mission!”