Chapter 48 (2/2)
I pat my own chest as I cry out in great fortune, ”Lucky!” I turn to look at him, ”I'll ask the first question then.”
He Lian Chen holds both hands behind his back, ”Go ahead.”
I don't hold back in asking: ”The women you spoke of just now, is referring to the Mi Er you spoke of when little, which is also the current Consort Mi?”
The look in He Lian Chen's eyes falters, then he nods, ”Yes.”
”Then……”
”You're already done asking.” He Lian Chen cuts me off, picking up another stone and aims at the water surface, ”Another round.”
I secretly laugh, ”Alright.”
Several seconds later, I cover my mouth and cry out in surprise, ”Heavens ah, this isn't my imagination this time, right? You thirteen, I fourteen?”
He Lian Chen stares at the water surface, ”Not your imagination.”
”I can ask another one then.” I use my hand to fan myself, ”You……”
”Do another round, calculate it all later.” He furrows his thick brows.
”Alright.”
The several times after that, when he got eleven, I got twelve, when he got ten, I got eleven, when he got fifteen, I got sixteen……
He Lian Chen's entire face starts to turn blue, as he asks: ”An Ke Lan, what is going on?”
I spread out my hands, ”Probably in luck today, usually, I can never surpa.s.s fifteen.”
He Lian Chen's face turns from blue to black when he hears this, ”You……”
”Must accept loss when willing to bet.” I comfortingly pat his shoulders, ”I believe you're not the type that cannot accept loss.”
The corners of He Lian Chen's eyes twitches, ”What do you want to ask?”
I lightly smile, half lowering my eyes as I quietly ask: ”I want to ask you……since you are a 'monarch', why does your name also carry 'subject (Chén / 臣)'?”
As expected, I see He Lian Chen's eyes instantly turn ice cold, that type of frostiness cannot be melted at all within the scorching hot summer day, and instead becomes more intense. He coldly looks at me for a long while, whilst looking to see if I feel like I'm in winter and summer, he gives me a strange smile, ”You certain you want to listen to this?”
I couldn't hold back the s.h.i.+ver, ”Then I'd rather……” not listen.
”You want to listen.” He leans down to my ear and a.s.sures: ”You want to listen, so I shall tell you.”
I suddenly realise I have gotten myself into trouble, but He Lian Chen's seeming smile in this moment is warning me, I must listen even if I don't want to. Forget it, forget it, I know so many secrets, missing this one wouldn't lessen them, but adding this one wouldn't be adding more either. And so I sit my b.u.t.t down on the gra.s.s, smiling as I say: ”I'm all ears.”
He Lian Chen also follows me in sitting down, taking off my hat and undoing my hair whilst at it, leaving my long hair to fall loosely, he lifts my hair and casually plays with it, speaking in a mocking tone as though the matter has nothing to do with him: ”In this entire world, guessing only you would dare to ask this question.” His hold on my hair slightly strengthens, ”Throughout the times, the positions of 'monarch' and 'subjects' cannot be overstepped, my Father Emperor giving me this name, also means that he only wishes for me to be a 'subject', and not 'monarch'.”
I notice him address himself as 'my' 'me' and not 'zhen', the him right now, is like the youngster I met back then, just innocently recounting his own anger and injustice.
Contempt surfaces in his eyes, ”The skies showed a strange spectacle on the day I was born, Holy Sage hurried into the palace saying a battlestar has fallen, and I am the one that possesses the battlestar, and will definitely become the tyrannical ruler of the world. Just that my birth chart is strong, would definitely bring death to the relatives around me, and the day all my relatives die, will be the day my tyrannical reign starts. After my father emperor heard this, he immediately prepared to strangle me to death, it was all thanks to my mother empress for desperately saving me, that I was able to keep my life, just that Father Emperor gave me this name, and on that day, poisoned my eyes blind.”
He takes my hand to touch his eyes, smile filled with extreme satire, ”Do you see it? Gold eyes of the battlestar, will definitely kill father, kill mother, kill siblings, until world domination.”
I slightly flutter my lashes, the princes and princesses of Yun Zhan had constantly encountered accidents or died young, the original heir to the throne - Second Prince - committed suicide in prison several days ago, now, only He Lian Chen and He Xing Yan remains……
The gold in his eyes s.h.i.+nes brighter, so dazzling, it causes me to fall into a trance, ”I didn't understand when younger, only wondering why Father Emperor is so cold to me, but fortunately, there was Mother Empress and Mi Er who accompanied me all along, just that during the year of Mount Qi Yun, far too many things had happened, Mi Er was bestowed to Second Imperial Brother, Mother Empress abruptly pa.s.sed away with sudden death. Grandfather confessed everything to me……turns out Father Emperor was that afraid, afraid that after Mother Empress' death, he will be next, so time and time again, sent for people to kill me, had it not been for Grandfather protecting me all along, I would already have become a pile of yellow soil right now (grave).”
He tugs up one corner of his lips, eyes filled with hate, ”So what if I'm a 'Chen (subject)', he wants me to become a subject, I insist on becoming monarch, he's afraid of death, I thus let him down.” He holds both my shoulders, looking down on me, and firmly says: ”This world, is destined to be mine.”
I suddenly laugh out loud, ”He Lian Chen, according to what you said, you need only do one thing to be able to smoothly own the world.” I calmly look at him and say: ”You need only kill He Xing Yan with your own hands, then everything shall go smoothly.”
He Lian Chen's expression instantly stiffens, many complicated feels flitters past his eyes, finally turning into an intense smile, he lays a kiss on my forehead, then says to me with determination: ”I will own this world, also protecting my only brother and the one I love. Men, can ultimately defy the heavens.”
”What if it cannot be defied?” I ask.
He reaches out to messily rub my head, ”As long I get the treasure map, then nothing can't be defied.”
My heart abruptly jumps, treasure map……I faintly hook up the corners of my lips, standing up and saying: ”He Lian Chen, I just hope that when you get what you want, you wouldn't forget your original intentions.”
People always have the tendency to make some mistakes, for example, only just silently finding there's already n.o.body by one's side to protect or accompany them after they had all gone, only just becoming aware that only never-ending greed and selfishness remains when one's hands are empty.
Some things that are lost, can never be obtained again.
”Precious ah, Precious.” He Lian Chen hugs me from behind, that refres.h.i.+ng scent flus.h.i.+ng up my nose, he lowly laughs as he asks: ”Ah-Lan, I even told you my secret now, do you know the price of this?” He doesn't wait for my answer, and bites my ear with romantic ambiguity, words filled with dominance, ”I won't let you go, you’ll be mine.”
I fall into a daze, there was also someone who said to me, I'm destined to be his. But where is the one who said this now? I abruptly give the person behind an elbow, laughingly saying: ”Your majesty, let's return now.”
He Lian Chen grunts, then doesn't hold back in throwing me other his shoulder, ”That's right, let's go.”
The blood gathers in my head to the extreme as I think he is indeed a very petty man, f*ck, he even has to get payback for that, He Lian Chen, you Petty Little He!
Once He Lian Chen and I once again appear before everyone, everyone's eyes are filled with ambiguity and understanding, the eyes on me are even more so filled with countless contempt and disdain. I later make out two big reasons, one is because He Lian Chen is very intimately holding me in his arms as he rides the horse, two is because after unreasonably disappearing for an hour, I return with messy hair and a weak body, combined with He Lian Chen's doting towards me since some time ago, everyone comes to a tacit understanding in thinking I've become his male pet.
And with a boom, the palace was bubbling over, turns out the reason why his majesty has not been going to the see the consorts is because he doesn't love beautiful women, but loves handsome men!
In fact, nevermind having a misunderstanding like this sprouting up, what's more despicable is He Lian Chen - this a.s.shole - actually intensified physical intimacy with me in front of others. For example, caressing my face ah, touching my hand ah, occasionally holding my waist ah, since then, people's eyes had become more colourful and varied, and even more so, there had been a consort coming my way and took the opportunity to give me a few slaps. But with unfortunate coincidence, that person just happened to get caught red-handed by He Lian Chen and was locked in the Cold Palace, what followed was great shock falling upon the imperial palace --- turns out this Eunuch Lan is his majesty's precious, no one is to touch a single hair on his body!
I speechlessly choke, who is to know of my difficulties, this guy doting on me like this is to pick on me in another way, to see how I deal with people secretly plotting revenge, see how I beat off those pestering consorts of his, am I that easy, I?!
On a certain day, an unexpected person finds me, also telling me some unexpecting words, and then, the story takes another turn.
That certain person - which is precisely Consort Mi — is stood, calmly smiling before me, voice tender but carries scorning, word by word spitting out: ”You think he is wholehearted doting on you, loving you? Lian's heart only has me, and not you, a neglected princess of the enemy kingdom, a person who is unable to bring him anything.”
And another one reveals their ugly side…sigh~
On a side note, I’m so happy to have found these images of the emperor and an eunuch that somewhat matches these chapters hehe, for anyone interested, they’re from the BL manhua 皇上，请你宠宠我! unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any English translations of it, but I’m not even sure if it’s an interesting story since I just happened to come across it whilst searching for suitable images XD