Chapter 204 (1/2)

Chapter 204: Toppling the first Domino

The emperor was caught off guard. Of course he had thought about this as well. His conversation with Nan Xun replayed in his head. He huffed out a laugh. ”The official may not know that Nan Xun has admitted to being attracted to only men. Having a descendant is never on the table.”

Sir Shangguan scoffed and looked up at the emperor. ”There have been many h.o.m.os.e.xual men throughout history, and a good number of emperors kept male lovers. Your Majesty must know, however, that these men still ended up having a wife and children. This official has heard about the affair between Prince Nan Xun and Feng Baiyu. I was told that Feng Baiyu is a man with both intellect and bravery. His talent must be what attracted the prince. My daughter may not be the most talented person in the world, but she has her strengths. She can easily recite poems from the Cla.s.sic of Poetry1. She's no worse than that man. Besides, maybe Prince Nan Xun is merely having a fling with the man. He's unlikely to be truly in love. This official will tell my daughter to turn a blind eye to what the prince and Feng Baiyu is up to and pretend that they are friends.”

The emperor frowned as Sir Shangguan spoke. Everyone knew that the emperor was wary of Nan Xun. Sir Shangguan kept pus.h.i.+ng his b.u.t.ton by trying to make decisions for him. Sir Shangguan might think that he was safe as one of the founding officials, but he wasn't. The emperor had let his interference slide the first few times. After a while, though, he started to get irritated.

”I didn't know Sir Shangguan had such a silver tongue,” said the emperor. His narrowed eyes fixed on Sir Shangguan, sending a shudder down his spine. Fear crept into Sir Shangguan's heart. He stayed on the ground, too afraid to say another word.

Huffing, the emperor got to his feet and put his hands behind his back. He looked down at Sir Shangguan. After what felt like hours, he finally broke the silence. ”I've made my decision. Keep quiet and go.”

There were thousands of words at the tip of Sir Shangguan's tongue, but he couldn't possibly say anything now. He bid the emperor farewell and hurried out of the palace. After he had put some distance between him and the emperor, he finally let himself relax. He wiped away the sweat covering his face.

The emperor didn't feel like reading now. What Sir Shangguan said did make some sense to him. He may be wary of Nan Xun, but he couldn't let the Nan family bloodline ended after Nan Xun. It was time to talk to Nan Xun again.

Without wasting any time, the emperor ordered a eunuch to go retrieve Nan Xun. When the eunuch arrived at Prince Nan Manor, Nan Xun was having dinner with Jun Huang.

It must be something important, thought Nan Xun. He said a few words to Jun Huang before leaving with the eunuch.

The emperor had been waiting for him in the palace. Without preamble, the emperor told him what Sir Shangguan had said earlier. Nan Xun frowned. Annoyance flashed through his narrowed eyes.

”What do you think?” asked the emperor. He kept his gaze on Nan Xun.

”Your Majesty doesn't have to worry about this humble official,” Nan Xun said earnestly. His tone made it clear that he believed in what he was saying. ”This gentleman has fallen for a man. I will not and cannot give him up. I'm not going to hurt other people by making promises I can't keep.”

The emperor frowned. ”Are you really going to stay with a man for life, Nan Xun? That's against the – ”

”What does his gender have to do with my decision?” Nan Xun cut in. He didn't want to waste his time arguing. ”This official loves him and only him. I'm not going to give up simply because he is a man. If I cannot protect the person I love, how am I going to protect Northern Qi?”

The emperor was moved by his confession. Being in the royal family put a shackle on you. Oftentimes, personal decisions were not decisions at all. The control was rarely in your hand. It was admirable of Nan Xun to willingly make such sacrifice for another man. They might end up being shunned by the general public.

If the emperor was being honest with himself, he had to admit that somewhere in his heart, he was pleased by Nan Xun's decision. If Nan Xun didn't produce an heir, there would be one less threat to the royal family.

Nevertheless, the emperor had watched Nan Xun grow up. He couldn't let Nan Xun put himself in this situation. He sighed. ”If you don't like Shangguan Yue, how about I gather a few children and let you pick one to adopt? Even though you have no feelings for women, you should have an heir to inherit your legacy.”

”This official has never had such thoughts. We live in this world for merely a few decades. If all we think about is producing an heir, we will achieve nothing. The time is better spent on improving myself so that I can protect Northern Qi better. Fate has already pointed me to where I should be. Your Majesty doesn't have to be too worried.”

Nan Xun had given him a convincing response. The emperor couldn't argue with him. He waved a hand in the air and changed the subject.

Nan Xun knew what the emperor was thinking. Nan Xun possessed one of the pair of tiger tallies. With it, he would be able to command the army. The last emperor was the one who gave Nan Xun the tally, and he declared that no one was to take it away from Nan Xun without a good reason.

The past two years might have pa.s.sed in peace, but Eastern Wu was always waiting for its chance to strike. Northern Qi needed Nan Xun. No matter how worried the emperor was that Nan Xun would one day stage a coup, he could not take the tally away from Nan Xun. That was why he kept Nan Xun in the imperial city. And yet he was still concerned.

If Nan Xun had a child, the child would become his weakness. Then the emperor would be able to use that as a leverage to control Nan Xun. He wouldn't need to walk this tightrope to keep Nan Xun in check.

Nan Xun wasn't going to voice the unspoken words. The emperor couldn't take him out yet. There was nothing for him to fear. Sir Shangguan, however…