Chapter 67 (1/2)

The courtiers protested Qi Xiujie’s pardon for the rest of the month, but Li Jin Tian remained unmoved, he even restored Qi Xiujie’s position.

Every night, he would dream of that lonely and cold palace and see Qi Xiujie kneeling in front of his memorial tablet, weeping. His depression and extreme grief, and his occasional dead-eyed repressed smile to Xuan Wang repeatedly tortured Li Jin Tian’s nerves. He’d thought that Qi Xiujie had lived a luxurious life after his death, but he was starting to believe that Qi Xiujie had actually been heartbroken by his death. The only thing that had inspired Qi Xiujie to continue on was his desire to seek revenge on his behalf.

In this way, the one who dies first is the lucky one, spared from the endless pain and despair of being left behind.

Qi family had sent most of their forces to take back the country, the tribe also had the most casualties, leaving behind only the elderly, women and children. Qi Xiujie had stayed devoted to him and commit suicide to be with him, he never enjoyed a bit of the glory. Li Jin Tian constantly woke up from these types of dreams, his chest always crushed in grief.

He wanted to see how Qi Xiujie was doing, but he was too timid, so he lived in a tangle of emotions day after day. Unconsciously, he’d already convinced himself that the two dreams were real. But he would rather destroy the entire harem than hurt Gao Min, so he didn’t move against Gao Jia. He wanted to wait and see what they would do.

Eventually, the courtiers gave up and no longer asked him to kill Qi Xiujie, they were more concerned with the frequent attacks by West Yi, a neighboring country. Li Wang stood up first to beg the Emperor to send troops to West Yi, Gao Lang agreed with him, then the rest of the courtiers agreed.

Li Jin Tian always wanted to conquer West Yi, so he agreed and ordered the formation of an army squadron as quickly as possible.

“Dare to question the Emperor, do you have a suitable General in mind?” Li Wang bowed and asked.

“No, can you recommend me a few.”

“I recommend Gao Min as a General, does the Emperor find this appropriate?”

Li Wang’s statement shook the other courtiers. They all knew who Gao Min was, they also knew that before he entered the harem he used to guard the borders, and he was very capable. But now he was already a palace concubine, he’d also given birth to a prince, how could he go back into the army? That’s unthinkable!

Some courtiers wanted to oppose, but Gao Lang had quickly stepped forward to vigorously recommend his brother, he also promised that his brother would be infinitely grateful. Gao Lang knew that Li Jin Tian was obsessed with his brother, so he’d cooperated with Li Wang to make this bold proposal.

Li Jin Tian really was obsessed with Gao Min, if it was before, he would’ve immediately agreed to do anything that’d make Gao Min happy, but now, Li Jin Tian was like a blindfolded person who’d suddenly been relieved of their covering, he could finally see the court and the palace in a clear light.

The courtiers who had obviously wanted to oppose were silent after Gao Lang stood up. Anyone could see how much power Gao Lang and Li Wang had over them, the Emperor was only a display piece. While the two talked, the rest of the courtiers only nodded in agreement. The rest of the harem members were completely ignored by the Emperor, so he only had a few children. Those who were not favored by the Emperor all relied on Gao Min’s grace to live.

The palace had thoroughly been turned in Gao Jia’s world, was there any room for the Emperor? And why would Li Wang recommend Gao Min? Was there a closer relationship between them in private?

Li Jin Tian’s heart was burning, but it didn’t show on his face, he just said that he would take a few days to make a decision. Gao Lang and Li Wang did not push it, anyway, they both knew that once Li Jin Tian went back to the temple, Gao Min would be able to convince him.

Gao Min always felt dissatisfied and bored being trapped behind the high walls of the palace, when Li Jin Tian came back to the Yang Xin Temple, he repeatedly urged him to make him a commander again.

Li Jin Tian told him that he needed to take care of their child as an excuse, but he didn’t give up, he knelt down and coldly said, “The Emperor once said that you wanted me to walk hand in hand with you, was that hand in hand just a means to trap me in this golden cage? So I could be your pet? I protected you until death, but you can’t even grant me this one wish?”

He raised his eyes to look at the Emperor, his eyes were full of resentment. That resentment had continued from the last life into this life, in fact, it grew thicker the longer they stayed together, to the point where it could never dissolve. He’d thought that he could eventually open up his heart and accept Li Jin Tian, but he didn’t expect the other man to suddenly forgive Qi Xiujie, so his resentment was boiling again.

At the same time, he hated himself, he hated that he’d been born a Ger, making him destined to live without dignity. He wanted to wear armor and pick up the sword, and set foot on the free and expansive land of the frontier.

If the two could sit down and talk it out, they would be able to solve this problem. But Li Jin Tian was stabbed by the resentment in his eyes. He’d thought that after three years in the heat, even a stone could melt, but he didn’t expect Gao Min’s heart to be harder than a stone. Gao Min still had all his resentment form the past life, he was very unwilling when he’d accompanied him to the spring. His resentment might even drive him to rebel against him one day, and he had no way to protect himself.

Li Jin felt chilled, he suddenly felt that he was really foolish for thinking he could live peacefully with Gao Min after they were both reborn. He stared at Gao Min for a long while, then walked away.

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Li Jin Tian walked aimlessly throughout the palace and unwittingly came to the Zi Chen Palace. He hesitated for a long time before stepping in.