After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 19

Zhou Xun stared blankly at the emperor, blinking his eyes.

The emperor said something incomprehensible again, and even though he was intoxicated, it made him want to shed tears.

“If a person dies, everything is gone.” The emperor patted Zhou Xun’s hand, “Look, how good it is to be alive. You can eat meat heartily, drink wine freely, bask in the sun, and enjoy the flowers. Even if your bald head can wait for the development of hair restoration technology, and your hair can grow back…”

As he spoke, the emperor hugged Zhou Xun and said, “As long as you can wait, good things will happen. Look, for example…”

“For example, you… are here.”

Emperor: ?! !!

In his blurry vision, the emperor seemed to open his mouth wide. In the fading consciousness, Zhou Xun smiled at him.

—It was a smile with tears, containing tears, with eyelashes moist, eyes slightly teary, and a red nose. Honestly, it wasn’t the delicate and beautiful smile that a peerless beauty would have.

But after that smile, Zhou Xun clearly felt the stiffness of the other’s body.

Alcohol took away his thoughts. He leaned on the other’s shoulder and sank into the dark sleep.

Xiao Lizi waited outside the pavilion for the emperor’s summons. The moon was bright, and the lotus flowers in the pond were glistening. He waited for a long time before hearing the emperor’s stiff voice, “Xiao Lizi!”

Xiao Lizi hurriedly ran over and was shocked when he saw the scene in front of him.

Xiao Lizi: …

The emperor and Lord Zhou maintained a hugging posture in the pavilion. The emperor’s face was red, his whole body stiff, and he seemed to not know where to put his hands.

Seeing Xiao Lizi coming, he finally breathed a short sigh of relief, then anxiously said, “Hurry! Find a physician! He… his heartbeat is too fast, is it going too fast?! Is he allergic to alcohol?!”

Lord Zhou’s heartbeat too fast?!

Xiao Lizi was greatly surprised. Lord Zhou was the person on the emperor’s heart, and if something happened to him, it would be disastrous!

Xiao Lizi quickly called for the imperial physician. Fortunately, Physician Kang happened to be on duty in the Cool Pavilion where Empress Li Zhao lived. Hearing that the emperor had something urgent, he rushed over in less than ten minutes.

He arrived when the emperor was still hugging Lord Zhou. Physician Kang quickly took Zhou Xun’s pulse, looked up puzzled, and said after a while, “Your Majesty, Lord Zhou’s pulse is smooth and steady, there doesn’t seem to be any major issue…?”

Emperor: …

“I’m fine.” The emperor said coldly, “You can go down.”

The emperor waved his hand, and Physician Kang quickly complied. Before leaving, he pondered, “Your Majesty seems to have some excess heat… May I prescribe medicine for you?”

Emperor: …

“You can prescribe it.” The emperor said with his coldest expression.

Physician Kang timidly prescribed the medicine and left. The emperor sat beside Zhou Xun, glanced at his sleeping face, suddenly shivered for no apparent reason, and said to Xiao Lizi, “Xiao Lizi, take Lord Zhou down to rest.”

Xiao Lizi looked at his expression and asked, “Your Majesty, should Lord Zhou rest in the side hall or the main hall tonight?”

“Bang!”

The emperor revealed a gnashing smile at him, “What do you think?”

“Em-Emperor…” Xiao Lizi, under his intimidation, tried to force a bitter melon-like smile, twitching his eyebrows, “This sl-servant…”

“Uh?” The emperor raised an eyebrow.

“This servant… is dull! Please, Your Majesty, enlighten me!” Xiao Lizi stammered.

“Damn!! Of course, it’s the side hall!” The emperor was exasperated, “We agreed that no one understands me better than you! I might as well rename you Little Understanding!”

Xiao Lizi happily knelt down and said, “Thank you for bestowing the name, Your Highness!”

Emperor: …

Little Lizi, who was hit again, left with Zhou Xun. Zhou Xun was still asleep, with rosy cheeks and messy hair. The emperor maintained the posture of sitting in the pavilion, occasionally glancing at his diminishing figure.

Then, in the empty pavilion, he suddenly took a sip of wine.

His hand touched the right side of his chest, where the lingering heartbeat from Zhou Xun hugging him across the chest still remained.

Thump.

Thump.

Then, it was the left side.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump…

“Damn…” He finally said in confusion, perplexity, and pain, “I forgot just now, my heart… should be on the left side…”

He sat in the pavilion for a long time, feeling the cold wind blowing on his face. Xiao Dengzi watched from afar as the emperor drank cup after cup, and said softly to the maid next to him, “The emperor has always been fond of drinking, but after so many cups… should we go and persuade him?”

“This…” The maid hesitated for a while and whispered, “Let’s wait for Little Li Gonggong to come back… then make a decision?”

Xiao Dengzi said, “Yes, there is no eunuch who understands the emperor better than Little Li Gonggong…”

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden realization, electric-shock-like shout came from the pavilion.

“I understand!!” They heard the emperor’s ecstatic voice, “It turns out it was me—”

Somehow, Xiao Dengzi and the maid secretly pricked up their ears.

The emperor continued, “Alcohol allergy caused the accelerated heartbeat!!!”

Xiao Dengzi and the maid: …

Emperor: “I am a genius!!!”

While in deep slumber, Zhou Xun was carried back to the side hall by Xiao Lizi.

He lay on the soft bed, dreaming.

In the dream, he found himself back in the winter of his eighteen years.

Prince Wu intended to take him “home.”

—Calling it “homecoming” was more like an opportunity for Prince Wu to openly step into the Zhou family’s gate and meet Zhou Cai.

As the Spring Festival approached, people came and went in the Zhou family, including old classmates.

Zhou Xun watched them, keeping his head down, hiding in the shadows.

He remembered being one of these spirited scholars, with a calm face and a smile, believing in a beautiful future. Yet, looking at them now felt like a different lifetime.

Prince Wu disappeared somewhere. Zhou Xun decided to avoid the discussions and cautiously entered an empty garden. His mother was not in the Zhou family; she had been sent to the estate by Madam Zhou.

On the way, he saw Prince Wu and Zhou Cai seeming to talk in a pavilion. Prince Wu held Zhou Cai’s hand.

Zhou Xun glanced past the pavilion, not stopping. He didn’t care about this.

Finally, he found himself sitting beside the lake on a large rock. The winter lake was covered with ice, like a piece of ink jade—dark and shiny. Holding himself, he thought about sinking into the jade, sinking deeper and deeper.

“Life is meaningless,” he suddenly thought.

Snow began to fall from the sky, cold. He felt tired and suddenly thought that sleeping here might be good. Leaning against the rock, he quietly watched the snow, and gradually, he extended his hand to catch the falling snowflakes.

The snowflakes melted in his palm, cold and smooth. He watched the snow, feeling that there were no miracles left in his life.

“Being buried along with the snow wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he abruptly thought.

He thought this way, quietly smiled, felt incredibly calm in his heart, and decided to close his eyes.

In his palm, something soft and gentle seemed to touch him, as if something soft fell into his hand.

Zhou Xun opened his eyes in astonishment.

In the palm of his hand, a peach blossom had landed.

A peach blossom, still dewy, beautiful, and soft.

In the midst of a world covered only in snow, rocks, coldness, and bare branches, Zhou Xun reached out, and in this icy landscape, he caught a miracle.

It was a miracle from spring—a peach blossom.