Chapter 587
Chapter 587
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 587
>Chapter Title: Gao Zhijian
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Chapter 587: Gao Zhijian
Watching Bai Lingmiao walk out with the food box, Chun Xiaoman let out a light sigh. She truly had no idea why Miaomiao liked Senior Brother Li so much.
But soon enough, Chun Xiaoman's mood lifted again. As long as Miaomiao and Senior Brother Li were fine with each other, nothing else mattered. She just hoped the two of them could live happily from here on out.
Miaomiao was fine, Senior Brother Li was still alive, Gao Zhijian had become emperor—everything was turning out well. The stone that had weighed on her heart for so long finally dropped, and her thoughts grew a bit more carefree.
"Bird's nest porridge? What does it even taste like?" Chun Xiaoman eyed the leftover porridge in the pot, scraped some with a wooden spoon, and shoved it into her mouth. "Eh, not all that great. Tastes like nothing."
Just as she said this, she spotted someone at the entrance to the imperial kitchen. It was Gao Zhijian, and he was alone.
When Gao Zhijian, clad in his dragon robe, stepped up to her and blocked out the light entirely, Chun Xiaoman's heart skipped a beat. But she quickly composed herself and casually tugged at the dragon robe on him.
"Nice clothes. They suit you well. What're they made of?"
"Gold, plus cloth."
"Gold you can actually wear?" Chun Xiaoman looked him over with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Xiaoman, do you want one? I can give you one."
At those words, Chun Xiaoman shook her head firmly. "Nah, imagine how heavy that'd be, wearing gold on your body."
"Xiaoxiao... Xiaoman." Gao Zhijian stammered like he used to, his expression complicated as he gazed at the girl wrapped head to toe in black fur.
Along this whole journey, he couldn't pinpoint when he'd fallen for her, or why he'd fallen for this woman covered in black hair—a woman he could never forget, no matter how he tried.
Gao Zhijian's heart struggled fiercely within him, his callused hands clenched into tight fists.
Suddenly, he threw open his arms and pulled Chun Xiaoman tightly into his embrace. "The eunuchs and the national advisor—they're all urging me to choose an empress, to have a son. The first person I thought of was you, but..."
Gao Zhijian's voice choked and trembled as his arms squeezed her even tighter.
"But I can't. If you became empress, our children... when they grow up, they'll slaughter each other until only one remains. Think how heartbroken you'd be then. I don't want you heartbroken. Because I like you! I don't want you to suffer."
Amid Gao Zhijian's sobs, Chun Xiaoman wriggled free from his arms. "You think my words are just hot air? I told you plain as day! I can live my whole life without marrying any man!"
"Don't think being emperor changes a thing! What Chun Xiaoman says, she spits nails on! I won't take it back!"
"You keep this up, and don't blame me if we can't even be senior brother and junior sister anymore!" With that, Chun Xiaoman stormed out of the imperial kitchen, face full of righteous fury.
But the moment she stepped out, her expression crumbled. She leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down, burying her head desolately between her knees.
After a while, her eyes red and puffy, she stood back up, took a deep breath, and hurried off in the direction Bai Lingmiao had gone.
This whole scene was watched from afar by the three hiding behind a pavilion pillar. Zhao Wu, thrilled beyond measure, turned to Gouwa beside him. "See that? Xiaoman won't even be empress? Does that mean she likes me?"
"Huh?" Gouwa shot him a look like he'd swallowed a fly. "How do you figure?"
"How's it not?"
Lv Xiucai, arms crossed nearby, chimed in. "Yeah, spot on. Go hurry up and propose to Xiaoman. On your wedding day, I'll hold the reins for you."
Hearing this, Zhao Wu opened his mouth but said nothing more.
Just then, Gao Zhijian emerged from the imperial kitchen. He glanced first at Chun Xiaoman's retreating figure in the distance, then turned and headed toward the pavilion where Gouwa, Zhao Wu, and the others were.
"Shh! The fool's coming our way! Quick, act like we're doing something! Can't let him know we were tailing him!"
By the time Gao Zhijian reached them, they were crouched in a huddle, staring intently at some fallen leaves on the ground. "What... are you doing?"
"Ah~ Cough, well, your palace is just so huge. We were wandering around looking, and got ourselves lost."
Gao Zhijian nodded. "I'll get a eunuch to guide you around."
"You can go anywhere, stay anywhere—just some places in the palace aren't suitable for you."
At those words, a gloomy-faced little eunuch drifted down from the pillar, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Gao Zhijian. "Your Majesty, this slave is here."
Clearly, he'd overheard every word they'd just said.
"Ah~ Haha, then we'll trouble this honorable eunuch." Gouwa laughed it off, sidled up to the eunuch, threw an arm around his neck, and started walking out.
A few steps away, Gouwa pulled out some loose silver and, ignoring the eunuch's protests, stuffed it forcefully into his robes.
Once the three had gone, Gao Zhijian's demeanor turned desolate in an instant. He sat on the pavilion steps, staring blankly at the smooth stone tiles on the ground.
After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, he spoke again in a daze. "Do... as you said. Select an empress. Then have the Ministry of Rites start picking showgirls."
He was the emperor of Great Liang now—the only emperor. To protect Great Liang, he had to take consorts and have sons, and the sooner, the more, the better.
He couldn't marry Xiaoman, so really, he didn't want to marry anyone. But his marriage wasn't just about him—it concerned Great Liang's dragon vein, and behind that, the lives of all the realm's people.
"Yes, this old minister obeys." The Great Liang national advisor, who had appeared at some point beside Gao Zhijian, bowed to him and turned to leave.
The moment he turned, he nearly bumped head-on into the red-robed Director of the Observatory. The two nodded wordlessly to each other and passed by.
"Your Majesty." The Director of the Observatory's body— even taller than Gao Zhijian's—slowly sat down beside him.
"As ruler of a nation, you should focus your mind on state affairs. Especially after that last heavenly calamity—the people of Great Liang's six paths have only just endured. This old minister divined it: next year won't be easy either. You should start attending court to get familiar."
Gao Zhijian raised his callused hands and rubbed his face vigorously a few times before standing once more. "Got it."
"Xuanyin, am I really... okay now? That dice thing—can it really not control me anymore?"
In his view, court sessions could wait. This was the real big issue. If he could turn into someone else at any moment, that was terrifying.
Just thinking about how the Sitting and Forgetting Dao had controlled him before, making the military scholars slaughter each other and others, sent a chill of intense fear through him.
The Director of the Observatory thought for a moment, neither nodding nor shaking his head. "That, you'd have to ask Li Huowang. He was the one who made the dice vanish that day. Whether it's dead or alive now, even I can't say for sure."