Chapter 570: Emperor |
“Dad, are you here?” Li Sui asked as she entered a kitchen covered in dust. A disappointed look marred her face upon seeing that there wasn't anyone in the kitchen.
She was about to enter the next room when Gao Zhijian stopped her. “Don’t… don’t… don’t look for him like that.”
Li Sui scrunched up her nose in dissatisfaction and asked, “You speak too slow. Can I enter your body and listen to you from the inside?”
Gao Zhijian shook his head and took Li Sui out onto the streets.
The curfew was over, and the streets were starting to become bustling once again.
Li Sui looked like a human being, but she wasn't a human being, so Shangjing was dangerous for her. With that in mind, Gao Zhijian had decided to send her back to Cowheart Village.
Afterward, Gao Zhijian would come up with another plan to find Senior Li.
Gao Zhijian was quite disappointed. He thought he could help Li Huowang with his identity, but he was wrong. In the end, he was nothing.
He took the reins of the horse and carried Li Sui onto the carriage. Then, they started moving toward the city gates to head back to Cowheart Village.
“Dad!” Li Sui exclaimed in excitement. She jumped down from the carriage and hugged Li Huowang tightly. She then nuzzled her head into his chest.
Li Huowang stroked Li Sui’s smooth hair and muttered, “Sorry. Many things happened, and I couldn’t get to you soon enough.”
Li Sui looked up and smiled at him.
“How did you find me, Dad?”
“I used divination and followed the traces. If this happens again, you should just head back home rather than search for me without any leads."
“Dad, where’s our home?”
“Our home is Cowheart Village," Li Huowang said. He then looked at Gao Zhijian. He was supposed to go back to Cowheart Village to find Gao Zhijian, but it turned out that the latter was already in Shangjing. It was such a wonderful stroke of fate that Li Huowang still couldn't quite believe it.
Li Huowang held his horse’s reins and approached Gao Zhijian before patting the latter’s chest. Gao Zhijian smiled and asked where Bai Lingmiao was.
“Shao Zi is dead and she’s fine for now. Once I’m done with your issues, I will go and find her.”
Li Huowang then entered the inn and got themselves the best room.
Li Huowang didn’t want to hide anything from Gao Zhijian, so he told him everything that happened, including how the emperor wanted their children to kill each other to succeed to the throne.
Gao Zhijian was shocked upon realizing that his assumptions all this while were true. He also couldn't believe that there was a so-called Great Qi, and it turned out that he was the emperor of the Great Qi rather than the emperor of the Great Liang. Apparently, he had to become an emperor to save both worlds.
Gao Zhijian’s hands were shaking as he took off his shirt, revealing the scar on his chest that Li Huowang had made in the past.
Li Huowang’s story was so shocking that he couldn't quite believe it, but he was relieved to find that he wasn't crazy. His memories were real, and Senior Li had truly killed him once.
Li Huowang placed the round jade pendant onto the table and slid it toward Gao Zhijian. He had used it to exchange for a horse, and he managed to get it back for Gao Zhijian.
“I don’t know whether this is good for you or not, but it's your true identity.” Li Huowang sighed with worry.
Any normal person would have jumped with joy upon knowing that they'd soon become the emperor who'd rule above all, but Li Huowang had seen the royal family's evil behind the scenes. In other words, Li Huowang was deliberately pushing his friend into the lion’s pit, but he had no choice. It was the only way to save both the Liang Kingdom and the Qi Kingdom.
Gao Zhijian stared at the pendant for almost an hour before he picked it up and muttered, “Senior... Senior Li! I-I-I'm glad... to help you!”
Gao Zhijian stood up and left the room with conviction. He had decided to become the emperor. Once he was the emperor, no one would dare to bully Xiaoman and the others.
Xiaoman should be willing to marry me once I've become the emperor, right?
Li Huowang and Li Sui followed after Gao Zhijian. They were ready to escort their friend to the throne.
Gao Zhijian walked straight on the long road to reach the palace. He stood tall, and his expression had changed drastically as if his memories as an emperor had awakened.
“It's you again! You really want to die, huh?! Prepare the ballistas!”
Gao Zhijian raised the pendant high up in the air, showing it toward the troops at the palace gates. A few moments later, the palace gates were opened.
A group of eunuchs and consorts rushed out and surrounded Gao Zhijian. They groomed his hair and gave him the dragon’s robe to wear.
“You found him?” the Imperial Preceptor asked, frowning as he approached Li Huowang.
Clearly, the Imperial Preceptor had used a secret method to verify Gao Zhijian’s identity.
Li Huowang didn’t reply; he was unwittingly transfixed on his friend, who had just become an emperor.
“We had nine descendants of the previous emperor, but you killed so many of them. If you hadn't killed them, we wouldn’t have needed to find someone from the Qi Kingdom to maintain the Liang Kingdom's prosperity. Tell me, just what are you trying to do here?!” Huangfu Tiangang exclaimed, pointing his sword shrouded in purple lightning at Li Huowang. The Imperial Preceptor was about to do something to Li Huowang.
However, Gao Zhijian noticed it and roared, “What?! What?! What are you doing?!”
The Imperial Preceptor saw Gao Zhijian wearing the dragon robe, and he lowered his arms in frustration. Then, he bowed to Gao Zhijian and said, “Huangfu Tiangang greets the emperor!”
Gao Zhijian scoffed and waved his sleeve before he left for the palace under the guidance of the eunuchs and consorts.
Li Huowang glanced at the Imperial Preceptor before bringing Li Sui inside the palace.
More and more people joined the procession of consorts and eunuchs as they approached the palace. By the time they arrived at the main palace, the procession now had a few hundred people.
Gao Zhijian himself was in a sedan.
Gao Zhijian was being carried up the white jade stairs that led to the entrance of the main palace when a distressed roar echoed from above.
“I'm the emperor! It’s me! Why can’t I become the emperor? You said that the sole survivor of the nine children would be the emperor! Liars! You lied to me! All of you are liars!"
Li Huowang looked up and saw the disheveled Ji Lin. She was holding a sword and was running at Gao Zhijian in despair.
Li Huowang didn’t even need to do anything. A group of old eunuchs charged out from the darkness and pinned Ji Lin to the ground.
Ji Lin struggled like a maniac. “Why?! I sacrificed everything! I paid so much! I killed my mother and my siblings! I’ve become evil, so why can’t I become the emperor?!”
Gao Zhijian regarded her with a cold look before instructing the others to carry him into the main palace. Just like that, the procession continued, and no one spared Ji Lin even a glance.
Just a few moments ago, these eunuchs and consorts were still treating Ji Lin as if she were the emperor.
Li Huowang was the only one paying attention to Ji Lin. He stood by her side and helped her up before patting the dust off of her clothes. “You said that you didn’t want to become the emperor. You said that you only wanted to survive. Your dream has come true. You're no longer the emperor, and no one wants your life. You ought to be happy about this.”
Ji Lin pushed Li Huowang away and threw a tantrum. “I threw away everything to become the emperor! I'd have nothing left without that identity!”
Li Huowang actually thought that Ji Lin was a decent person when he first met her during that festival, so he found her particularly pitiful in her current state.
Li Huowang hugged her and patted her back lightly. “If you don’t know where to go, then visit me. I'm going to help you one more time.”
With that, Li Huowang turned and started walking toward the main palace.
Before he could even reach the landing of the stairs, he caught a whiff of the distinct smell of blood behind him. Li Huowang came to a halt and turned around to find Ji Lin sprawled out on the ground, drenched in a pool of her own blood. Her vivid crimson blood formed a stark contrast to the white jade stairs as it dripped down, creating a crimson pool at the bottom of the stairs.
“Dad, she’s dead.”
“Yeah, she’s dead.”