After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 105
The Emperor never expected that what was supposed to be a two-person date suddenly turned into a three-person outing—and even worse, one of them was an old man.
With such an elderly companion, how could he possibly carry out his “domineering” date plan?
Emperor: Damn, it turns out that an old man who doesn’t stay obediently in a ring is no good as an assistant.
Throughout the journey, the Emperor kept thinking about how to get rid of this old man. Although the old man appeared to be a person with a lot of life experience, the Emperor had no interest in engaging in idle chatter with him or increasing his own knowledge at this moment. After all…
The Emperor’s first date with Zhou Xun was too precious, even a single second lost was heart-wrenching.
Unfortunately, the old man was very respectful and proper towards him the entire way, making it impossible to find fault with him. The Emperor watched as the old man quickly learned that he and Zhou Xun were going to the Ministry of Justice to observe a trial, and felt like a melancholy maiden.
While Old Man Shen chatted away with Zhou Xun, the Emperor was in a state of frustration. As the carriage approached, Old Man Shen went off to find a place to relieve himself. Zhou Xun finally turned to the Emperor.
He saw the Emperor squatting in front of a stall, holding a jade ring in his hand, looking gloomy and seemingly deep in thought.
Feeling guilty for neglecting the Emperor, Zhou Xun wondered: ??
Was the Emperor thinking of buying this ring as a gift for him?
Zhou Xun quickly realized that the ring was of poor quality and worried that the Emperor might be deceived. As he approached, he heard the Emperor muttering to himself.
“…I really want to lock that old man in this ring. An old man should act like an old man, hehe.”
Zhou Xun: ??
…What on earth?
He twitched his mouth and decided to pretend he hadn’t heard anything.
Finally, the group arrived at the Ministry of Justice with some bumps along the way. By the time they arrived, the case was almost ready to start.
“Let’s go up to the second floor. I arranged for a private room for us,” the Emperor patted Zhou Xun’s hand and said, “As for Mr. Shen, let’s add a few more chairs, shall we?”
Old Man Shen stroked his beard, looking at the newly renovated majestic hall of the Ministry of Justice, and nodded, “Very good, very good.”
“Did anyone else know you were coming here today?” Zhou Xun asked the Emperor.
“Of course not. This is a secret outing,” the Emperor said smugly, “As the saying goes—”
Zhou Xun: ?
The Emperor: “A secret makes an emperor emperor.”
Zhou Xun stared at the Emperor’s cold smile that reappeared and couldn’t help but twitch his mouth: “Whose quote is that again?”
“Mr. Bei.”
“Mr. Bei… Is he the same Mr. Bei who eats a lot?”
“No.”
“Then, is he the Mr. Bei who taught you how to play soccer?”
If a modern person were here, they would be shocked and outraged by the Emperor bragging about being taught soccer by “Beckham”…
“No, neither. This Mr. Bei is a lady, and she is quite frivolous, lacking some dimension.” With that, the Emperor’s face showed another cold smile, “Let’s keep this secret. If others find out I came to watch the Zhou family case, it would damage my prestige.”
Zhou Xun: “Prestige?”
The Emperor: “It’s like a top celebrity attending a beer festival in a small city and endorsing a hair removal device… Let’s go.”
“Zhou Xun?”
A clear female voice sounded from a distance. Zhou Xun turned around to see Shangguan Mingjing, the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family, in a red dress and with red lips.
Seeing Zhou Xun, she immediately walked toward him. Zhou Xun patted the Emperor’s shoulder and said, “You go ahead first.”
The Emperor glanced at the beautiful lady in red and suddenly had an alarm go off in his mind.
After Zhou Xun gave instructions to the Emperor, he turned to his master. But to his surprise, the old man who had been standing there, appearing aged and frail, had already disappeared!
It was as if he had seen someone and quickly fled upstairs.
Zhou Xun: ??
Sharp-eyed Zhou Xun didn’t think this was a coincidence. The Emperor took a hidden passage upstairs, and there were no people around. Looking back, all he could see was the cheerful Shangguan Mingjing waving at him.
And…
Lu Xiandao, who was standing behind her with a cold expression.
Thanks to the Emperor’s renovations, the grand hall of the Ministry of Justice had been transformed. Prisoners were tried on the first floor, and officials who wished to watch could sit in the second-floor private rooms.
The preparations for the private room were also done by the Emperor’s confidants. A few days ago, Xiao Li mentioned that the Emperor would not only come but would also bring someone else. Although Xiao Li didn’t explicitly say the identity of the person, he added, “Put a bouquet of red roses in the room, and… move the two chairs closer.”
Red roses?
The Emperor had recently dismissed his harem, and his confidants were aware of it. There were some speculations about it in the streets, and even he privately wondered if the Emperor had finally settled down after so many years of discord with the Empress Dowager, finding someone he truly loved.
The person’s name was kept very secret, and his confidants could not find out. However, the red roses and the close chairs made him speculate.
Surely the person accompanying the Emperor today was his beloved!
As he pondered this, the confidant stood at the private room’s door, his heart full of gossip and excitement. As soon as he heard footsteps approaching, his eyes darted repeatedly towards the stairs, eager to be the first to see who the Emperor’s beloved really was…
Surely, it was a peerless beauty. The confidant thought.
As soon as a corner of dark clothing flashed, the confidant’s excitement surged!
That chiseled face, that tall and upright figure—who else could it be but the Emperor!
From a distance, he could see that the Emperor seemed to be turned sideways, speaking to someone in the corridor. The Emperor slightly lowered his head, extending one hand as if to help that person upstairs.
The phrase “deep love between a couple” almost instantly appeared in the confidant’s mind.
The confidant had grown up with the Emperor since his youth, and no one understood the Emperor’s painful past and the emotional knots with the Empress Dowager better than him—hence the Emperor had not taken a concubine for many years.
Now, the Emperor stood at the wall corner, patiently and gently (Emperor: ? That’s obviously a respectful and caring gaze) watching the person at the bottom of the stairs. This usually aloof and cold Emperor was actually taking the initiative to help that person up…
The confidant’s mind was immediately filled with romantic novel clichés like “the tyrant’s cherished one who healed him,” “bouncing on the tyrant’s soft spots,” and “I healed the aloof ruler.”
Healing, support, love, warmth.
The one who healed the Emperor’s heart must have…
Must have a pair of…
A pair of delicate and…
Wrinkled hands???
Confidant: ?????
The confidant watched in disbelief as a withered and wrinkled hand clasped the Emperor’s hand. In the next moment, an elderly man in gray, looking frail and old, walked toward them with the Emperor’s assistance.
Confidant: ?????
As the gray-clad old man and the Emperor approached, they…
Supported each other.
Healing.
And somewhat, as expected, warmth.
The confidant’s brain was trembling, and his soul felt as though it had flown to the nine heavens until the Emperor arrived.
The Emperor seemed to say something, and the confidant trembled as he asked, “Your Majesty, is this old man… sitting in this room?”
The Emperor nodded.
The confidant watched as the Emperor and the old man entered the room adorned with red rose petals, and their figures gradually became hazy in his eyes.
“Damn,” he muttered, “This true love is too invincible.”
……
Invincible Zhou Xun stood downstairs. Shangguan Mingjing was very happy to see him and chattered away. However, her expression fell when she spoke about Zhou Hong.
“We originally wanted to hand this case over to the Dali Temple. It should have been handled by them. But unexpectedly, the Duke of the State Protector suddenly intervened. And who doesn’t know that the Vice Minister of Justice is Mr. Yan’s disciple…”
“Mr. Yan?”
“Zhou Cai’s high-minded father-in-law.” The eldest daughter sneered, “Look, they haven’t even become relatives yet, and they’re already trying to form factions and profit from it.”
“Miss Shangguan, be careful with your words,” a middle-aged man’s voice sounded behind them. “I, Yan, have always acted with integrity and propriety and have never done anything to tarnish my reputation!”
Upon hearing this, Miss Shangguan rolled her eyes and stopped talking.
Zhou Xun finally came face to face with the elusive Mr. Yan. He looked somewhat similar to Yan Jia, but his deep legal lines made him appear very stern and unapproachable.
He gave Lu Xiandao a slight nod, glanced at Miss Shangguan, and then focused on Zhou Xun.
Mr. Yan looked down upon those who chased after officials’ scandals. He initially saw Zhou Xun as a like-minded person he deemed unworthy to associate with. However, upon seeing the jade token at Zhou Xun’s waist, he was momentarily stunned.
The jade token on Zhou Xun’s waist resembled the one his future son-in-law wore. Not only were the carving patterns similar, but even the jade material seemed to be cut from the same piece.
He knew that Zhou Cai’s jade token was personally granted by the Emperor, a symbol of the Emperor’s favor. Originally, he thought Zhou Xun, whom he had never seen before and who was dressed modestly, was someone to be looked down upon.
But now, with the jade token, the situation was different.
Moreover, upon closer inspection, Zhou Xun’s cold and noble demeanor and refined appearance indeed suggested he was not an ordinary person.
Mr. Yan’s scrutinizing gaze made Zhou Xun uncomfortable. He frowned slightly, preparing to head upstairs, when he heard the middle-aged man speak with a respectful tone: “May I ask which esteemed scholar you are and where you are currently serving?”
Zhou Xun casually replied, “Just an ordinary scholar.”
“Zhou Xun? You’re here too?”
As luck would have it, another familiar voice rang out. Zhou Xun turned to see Xie Zhengqing walking toward him: “You look much better recently.”
“I thought you wouldn’t come here. It seems that despite the rumors outside, you still care about home,” Xie Zhengqing, who always believed Zhou Xun to be cold but warm-hearted, patted him on the shoulder and praised him.
Zhou Xun smiled distantly and politely: “You think too much, Mr. Xie.”
Chatting with these people made him feel quite annoyed. But Xie Zhengqing, who seemed to understand everything, said, “Never mind, I understand. But Mr. Xie judges people not by what they say but by what they do.”
Zhou Xun: …
He felt a real sense of annoyance and then heard Xie Zhengqing say, “I will definitely convey your intention to Zhou Cai and make sure he thanks you properly. I know it takes time to thaw ice, but you’ve taken the first step, and as his elder brother, he should show his appreciation.”
Zhou Xun: …
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Well, he thought, Xie Zhengqing’s saintly demeanor had its advantages.
At least he could easily imagine Zhou Cai’s expression, which would be as if he had eaten something unpleasant, upon hearing Xie Zhengqing’s “greetings.”
“Then I thank you on behalf of Zhou Cai.” Zhou Xun smiled at him.
His smile seemed to melt the new snow, and those nearby felt a flutter in their hearts. Xie Zhengqing also felt his enthusiasm intensify, nodding, “Yes.”
Just then, a cold snort came from nearby: “Zhou Xun? You’re Zhou Cai’s younger brother?”
Indeed, the voice was from Mr. Yan. Looking at the young man he had previously admired, he now felt extreme disgust: “Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together. Associating with those scandal-chasing hounds… tsk, indeed not a good thing.”
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