The farce in the court continued until it was time for the court to end and the officials still failed to reach an agreement. Even after they left, Chi Zhao didn't know what they planned to do with Pang Zhuo.
As an Emperor who had not been very involved with government matters, all Chi Zhao had to do was watch the excitement during the courts, read books, take a nap at noon and continue practicing calligraphy in the afternoon and evening.
Holding the brush in his hand, Chi Zhao felt that if he continued practicing like this, he would most definitely become a great calligrapher.
Except for Shen Wumian who came to watch over him practicing calligraphy on the first day, he never came again in the following days and the only time the paths of the two intersected was in the morning. They would go to court together and Shen Wumian would then arrange some homework for Chi Zhao. Regardless of whether he had any questions, he only did what he had to do and left as soon as it was time to leave.
Today was the same. The young Emperor had a habit of taking a nap. After waking up, Chi Zhao slowly sat up and then proceeded to the study surrounded by imperial maids and eunuchs.
The same life had been repeating for several days. Chi Zhao absentmindedly practiced calligraphy under the watchful eyes of the grand palace maid Hong Lei. The content he copied over and over again was the same and he practiced without stopping until the sky turned dark.
People always become more vulnerable during the night.
Chi Zhao was no exception. At this time, besides him, there were two palace maids in charge of holding the lanterns, two serving eunuchs and the supervisor Hong Lei.
In an unfamiliar environment and surrounded with unfamiliar people, this kind of prisoner-like life made Chi Zhao feel very uncomfortable. He however couldn't show it because this was his task, his job.
Chi Zhao knew that he shouldn't complain. Everyone had to work, and he should work hard on something he had agreed on. Moreover, he was using labour in exchange for something he wanted, and this was a common principle in any world, so it didn't matter if he was feeling bitter or tired. In any case, he should already be grateful that he was still alive.
But...
Chi Zhao lowered his eyes. He still felt uncomfortable inside and felt a little glum.
While dipping the brush in the ink, Chi Zhao calmly rubbed his eyes with his left hand and sighed internally.
It seemed that he really was quite delicate. To think that he couldn't bear with just a little bit of suffering.
Hearing Chi Zhao comforting himself in his heart, the system silently shrank itself into a ball.
Humans seem to like to deceive themselves and others. About this, the main system had said that it was because the capacity of the human body and mind was too small and, in many cases, they couldn't bear with too many things. If they couldn't bear with it, they would just lie to themselves and say that it wasn't a big deal. After lying to themselves again and again, the crisis caused by overload could also be lifted.
Chi Zhao was currently lying to himself. It wasn't that he couldn't bear with the suffering, physical torture had never overthrown him. He was a very determined person and that was why the system picked him to be its host.
Please read this from kk translates
The reason why he couldn't bear with it now was because no one cared about him. He had once again lost his loved one and once again returned to a state of being alone.
The emotions the system had filtered out from Chi Zhao before had already been returned to Chi Zhao. After so many days, those emotions should have all returned. With three sets of feelings mixing together, it stands to reason that Chi Zhao's behaviour these few days would not be very normal. A female would be moody for several days when they are at the time of the month, so it was no surprise that Chi Zhao was experiencing something similar.
Chi Zhao however always behaved normally, as if nothing happened. At first, the system really thought it was because he was very powerful and could handle all the feelings very well but later, after careful observation, the system realised that Chi Zhao had in fact been suppressing it the entire time.
He didn't say it because he didn't want to worry the system. He didn't want the system to become someone he vented to and he also didn't want the system who was already frustrated at him to find him even more annoying.
Wuu——–
If the system had eyes, its eyes would definitely become swollen and red like those one would see in cartoons.
Its host was too good, really too good. Besides being unable to complete the task, he almost had no other shortcomings!
...…
Chi Zhao's emotional fluctuations could be detected by the system and similarly, if the system's emotional fluctuations were too severe, Chi Zhao could also detect it. In order to prevent Chi Zhao from noticing that it was so moved its codes were trembling, the system quickly retreated deep into Chi Zhao's mind and listened to the song "Father" on loop.
The main system who was still connected to the system's data: "...…"
With other things on his mind, it would also be reflected in his writing. Chi Zhao only noticed after he finished writing that he had written a line of words that were not in the book Shen Wumian had given him. After a moment of silence, Chi Zhao crumbled this piece of paper up and then threw it into the pile of waste paper on the side.
Another half an hour passed, and Hong Lei finally came over to remind him that it was time to rest. Chi Zhao placed down the pen and rubbed his stiff legs before returning to his room.
Less than ten minutes after he left, the paper he had thrown away appeared in front of Shen Wumian.
Every scrapped piece of paper would be checked by a specially appointed eunuch to confirm that there was nothing strange before bringing it to be burned. Seeing that the content on this one wasn't from the book, the eunuch was naturally very vigilant and sent it over without a second thought.
Looking at the simple words on the page, Shen Wumian didn't speak but the expression on his face became more indecipherable, making it difficult to read.
—– The people and the world are almost always lacking.
The world was different, so the history and cultural development was naturally also different. Shen Wumian didn't know that this was something written by a historical writer and thought it was something written by Chen Yi himself.
The meaning of the sentence was easy to understand. It was just a way of saying that life was variable and that some things are perfect while other things are imperfect. Almost every literary person or people who have dabbled with writing would express a thought like this when they reach a certain age, but Chen Yi wasn't an elder.
Chen Yi was only fourteen years old and his life had not yet begun. Why would he have such a thought?
Could it be that he also has something he feels regretful about?
Shen Wumian was deep in thought. He would ponder over something for a long time whenever he notices that something wasn't right and this time it was such an obvious note. When the eunuch sent over the note, Shen Wumian hadn't left the palace yet and was still reviewing reports in Qingzheng Hall. Only the Emperor could use the main hall. Even if he was the prince regent, he couldn't break the rules.
After a moment of contemplation, Shen Wumian decided to stay for a while. Around the time Chen Yi should be asleep, he asked for Hong Lei come over to check and see if she had noticed anything strange about Chen Yi the past few days.
After the message was passed, Shen Wumian thought he would see her in an hour, but Hong Lei came over two and a half hours later.
As soon as she entered, Hong Lei immediately kneeled, "This slave greets the lord."
Shen Wumian furrowed his eyes, his gaze exuding coldness, "Why were you so late?"
In his last lifetime, he was rather benevolent towards his people but in the end, he was betrayed by his most trusted shadow guard. In the Shen Family, there were nineteen shadow guards. Shen Sixteen was one of them and so was Hong Lei. Before she came to the palace, her name was Shen Ten and she was the only female amongst them.
Shadow guards aren't necessarily completely loyal to him. Shen Wumian had noted this point down from his past experience.
Hong Lei also didn't know why the Lord suddenly became so unpredictable and she could only cautiously reply, "My lord has ordered the servant to come after His Majesty falls asleep. His Majesty has only just fallen asleep a moment ago and only then did this slave dare to come."
Only just fallen asleep a moment ago. Shen Wumian's brows furrowed even more deeply. It was already very late now, two hours later than Chen Yi's usual time.
"Why did he sleep so late today?"
Hong Lei didn't know, she wasn't the roundworm in Chen Yi's stomach, but as a subordinate, she couldn't answer her master's questions with 'I don't know' or it would be considered as negligence. As a shadow guard, being negligent was equivalent to seeking death.
Hong Lei pondered for a moment and replied, "His Majesty tossed and turned for a long time, as if there was something on his mind. This slave wanted to ask but His Majesty kept silent."
Shen Wumian stared at Honglei for nearly a full minute. His expression seemed quite calm but anyone who was familiar with Shen Wumian knew that he was assessing the other party's usefulness. If he reached the conclusion that they had no value, he wouldn't hesitate to sentence them to death. So what if they're shadow guards who have worked so hard next to him since a young age? He similarly wouldn't let them off.
Please read this from kk translates
Hong Lei's back was stiff. If Shen Wumian spoke now and asked her to die, even if she didn't want to die, she would immediately end her life herself. Fortunately, after a long period of silence, Shen Wumian decided that she was still useful and didn't kill her.
He said faintly, "Get up."
Hong Lei who was able to avoid death quickly stood up. Shen Wumian placed down the things in his hands and walked out from behind the bookcase. He proceeded to head to Chen Yi's bedroom.
Hong Lei followed him. When they reached the door, Shen Wumian raised his hand slightly and everyone behind him immediately stopped, not daring to make any movement. They remained outside, quietly guarding the room.
On the golden yellow bed, Chi Zhao who finally got rid of his insomnia found himself immersed in a dream as soon as he fell asleep. When he changed worlds in the first two worlds, he hadn't experienced the intertwined feeling of longing and sadness and now that he experienced it, he finally understood that the system was helping him at the time.
He understood the painstaking efforts of the system so he tried very hard to adjust, making sure that the people in this world couldn't see that he wasn't in a good mood. He however was the Emperor and everything he did or said was watched by someone. He wasn't a movie emperor so how could maintain that act the entire time?
He suppressed all his emotions during the day but at night, those feelings seemed like they were lashing back, and they found him in his dream, making him feel terribly uncomfortable.
In his dream, Chi Zhao stood in the middle of a vast expanse of whiteness. Opposite him, Qi Yuyang who was in his 30s was smiling and looking at him. Seeing that he was in daze, he stretched out a hand and said gently, "Come here."
After a moment of silence, thud, thud, thud, Chi Zhao ran over into the other party's arms. He held the other party tightly, no longer able to hold back his tears. Like a flood, tears fell out.
In his dream, Chi Zhao was crying fiercely but in fact, Chi Zhao's face was still dry, and no tears came out. He was however frowning very deeply, his expression appearing sad and aggrieved and it also carried some unreasonable complaints and indulgence. It was as if he had met his biggest support in his dream and wanted to express all his unhappiness and sadness to that person.
Shen Wumian stood by Chi Zhao's bed, watching him expressionlessly. There were no changes to his expression but inside he was frowning. For some reason, Chi Zhao's expression appeared like he was very wronged, as if he had just been fiercely trampled on. Shen Wumian couldn't help but reflect on himself. Did he go overboard?
It was just a few days of practicing calligraphy and it was just the beginning.
Shen Wumian pulled up his sleeves slightly and turned around to leave but then he noticed that Chi Zhao's lips were moving, as if he was saying something. Shen Wumian paused, sat down next to him and slowly leaned down to bring his ears closer to Chi Zhao.
Chi Zhao's words were difficult to decipher, and it was also spoken very quietly. It took Shen Wumian a long time to tell what he was saying.
"You should coax me again….."
The coquettish crying tone pierced Shen Wumian's heart like a needle, causing his expression to change. At this moment, Chen Yi still didn't know who had truly saved him and he only had him in his eyes so the 'you' naturally referred to himself who had ignored him for a long time.
In the last life, even before Chen Yi betrayed him, he had never touched a single finger of Chen Yi's. Song Wumian had always strictly adhered to the imperial rules and his principles and when he later heard Chen Yi's and Shen Sixteen's cries of pleasure, his feelings towards Chen Yi was nothing but extreme disgust.
But now, he had done something he had never done in these two lifetimes. His cool fingers couldn't help but reach out to gently touch Chen Yi's face. That soft touch made him startled for a moment and then his fingers slowly traced the outline of Chen Yi's face.
Chen Yi seemed to have felt this short but gentle touch in his dream and warm tears immediately flowed out, falling onto Shen Wumian's hand.
That wet sensation instantly returned Shen Wumian to his senses. As if he was shocked, he quickly stood up and, with an expression filled with anger, the eyes he used to look at Chen Yi was extremely unsightly.