After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 83

Holy cow, standing here and chatting with Zhou Xun is none other than the Emperor himself!!

 

The head of the Ye family, who had been planning to assassinate Zhou Xun, was completely shocked by what he saw.

 

And what did the Emperor just say??

 

Return to the palace??

 

Return to the palace with him??

 

Zhou Xun living in the palace was, roughly speaking, living right under the Emperor’s nose. To put it another way, it meant living next to the Emperor.

 

So how was he supposed to solve this problem?

 

The head of the Ye family felt as though his assassination plan was falling apart, just like his heart. He hadn’t had time to think of other solutions before the gaze of the young man in the dark robe fell upon him—

 

It was a gaze full of intense killing intent, squinting eyes, and furrowed brows, as if it had thoroughly examined him from the inside out. The head of the Ye family’s knees went weak, and he immediately knelt down: “Commoner pays respects to Your Majesty!”

 

The young man in the dark robe, however, turned away and quietly spoke to the young man in white beside him. The head of the Ye family felt a jolt—

 

What more was there to understand? The Emperor’s gaze… was clearly a warning!

 

The Emperor turned back, giving a nod to the guards and eunuchs around him. Xiao Li immediately understood, leading everyone in a shout: “Three hours have passed, we respectfully welcome Lord Zhou Xun back to the palace!”

 

Zhou Xun: ??

 

But the Emperor just glanced around indifferently and sneered, “I heard it was lively here, so I came to take a look. You Zhou family members have quite the audacity to be so rude to My special envoy.”

 

Then, seeing the wrinkles in Zhou Xun’s sleeve, he said to Xiao Li, “Immediately issue the Black Feather Order. Anyone who has harmed him today, throw them into the western coal mines for labor reform.”

 

Xiao Li immediately complied: “Yes!”

 

“We’re leaving,” the Emperor said to Zhou Xun. Before departing, he turned back to glance at Madam Zhou and Zhou Cai, smirking, “I’m keeping you around to amuse Zhou Xun. Don’t be ungrateful.”

 

Zhou Xun got into the carriage with the Emperor. Once inside, the Emperor casually sat beside him and rubbed his eyes, saying:

 

“Damn, have I been reading too much lately? Why does it feel like I’m a bit nearsighted, unable to see people clearly?”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “Hehe, but I can still see you clearly.”

 

“Did the Emperor come specifically to pick me up?”

 

“Yep,” the Emperor replied straightforwardly, “I was worried you might be bullied at the Zhou residence, so I came to support you.”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “See! Isn’t it quite impressive?”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “Once you become the top scholar, I’ll find you a family genealogy or a hundred billion orders from the Zhou family. You can take it and tear it up in front of the Zhou residence. Endure for three years, and then—Shura… no, top scholar, back to your rightful place!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

“… What is the Black Feather Order?” he finally asked.

 

The Emperor: “I just made it up. Doesn’t it sound quite impressive?”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor was feeling a bit theatrical on the way. When they were on the road, he asked Zhou Xun, “Where did you go to study today?”

 

Zhou Xun replied, “The book market.”

 

The Emperor said, “Oh, the book market is a good place. I also went there a few days ago and bought quite a few good books. By the way…”

 

He suddenly smiled, looking especially pleased.

 

“You finally talked to me. Have you been avoiding me these past few days?” the Emperor asked. “I’ve been feeling that you’ve been particularly busy.”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

He remained silent for a while, suppressing the subtle thoughts in his mind, and asked, “… Then why were you avoiding me in the carriage before?”

 

The Emperor: “Huh? What carriage?”

 

Zhou Xun: “The carriage to the Divine Machine Camp.”

 

Silence was the theme of this evening.

 

The two spent the carriage ride in silence. As they neared the palace, the Emperor couldn’t help but cough and said, “Can I… not talk about this?”

 

Zhou Xun: “No.”

 

The Emperor: …

 

The Emperor awkwardly rubbed his nose.

 

Looking back on that matter, he felt a bit shy. After that, he had tossed and turned for several days, wondering how, in modern times when men and women almost need to be trained as great magicians to get close, he suddenly had such strange… feelings for a man.

 

He felt very guilty about the friendship, tainting Zhou Xun, and insulting their dignity.

 

After being consumed by intense guilt for a night, the thoughtful Emperor finally had an epiphany one early morning.

 

He found the reason.

 

Long hair.

 

Yes, who told people in ancient times to have long hair, regardless of gender?

 

Moreover, it was the favorite black straight long hair of straight men.

 

He might have… accidentally mistaken Zhou Xun for a long-haired girl. That’s why he had such strange feelings.

 

That’s right, it must be!

 

Having figured this out, the Emperor felt temporarily relieved. Although he still couldn’t explain why he cared so much about Zhou Xun, why he wanted him by his side, why he wanted to see him smile cleanly in the sunlight, or why he felt anger and heartache when seeing his past, wishing he could have been there…

 

At least he had gained some temporary mental peace. It felt good to think of himself as a straight man.

 

“I was thinking… you were thinking…” The Emperor muttered very softly, and Zhou Xun looked at him.

 

“Your hair wasn’t tied properly.”

 

Zhou Xun: ??

 

The Emperor: “Your hair is very black, very straight, and very long.”

 

After saying this, Zhou Xun clearly saw the Emperor slap himself on the face in regret for his indiscreet words.

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

“It’s nothing.” The Emperor, with the slap he had given himself still lingering on his face, smiled brightly, “I was just thinking of buying you a few hair ties to tie up your hair…”

 

Zhou Xun: ???

 

The Emperor: “It’s so hot in this summer, having your hair down is so hot.”

 

Zhou Xun: “…Actually, it’s not that hot.”

 

The Emperor: “You don’t think it’s hot, but I think it’s hot!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

This person is so strange.

 

The Emperor: “Now it’s your turn. Why have you been avoiding me these days?”

 

Zhou Xun thought, do I have to say out loud that I saw you looking at the Fire Avoidance Chart? He decided to maintain some dignity and looked away, saying, “I’m tired.”

 

Well, even if the Emperor saw that chart, it’s fine. Zhou Xun thought and decided to let it go.

 

After waiting for a while and receiving no response from Zhou Xun, the Emperor looked over to find Zhou Xun had already closed his eyes and was pretending to sleep. The Emperor “…” for a moment, deciding he should be magnanimous.

 

Somehow, Zhou Xun reminded him of a white kitten he once had.

 

The white kitten was usually gentle and cute but would occasionally throw a tantrum, dragging its tail back to its cushion, closing its eyes and not speaking. Even if poked on the head, it would only pretend to sleep.

 

Fine! The Emperor thought, he is a magnanimous Emperor.

 

A magnanimous Emperor does not hold grudges against a white kitten, nor does he hold grudges against Zhou Xun.

 

“You’ve been studying hard every day, you should rest occasionally. When I went to the book market earlier, I found some leisure books for you. If you have time, you can look through them.” The Emperor patted Zhou Xun on the shoulder, “I’ll have someone send a few books to your room.”

 

Zhou Xun lifted his eyelid slightly and nodded.

 

Seeing that nod, the Emperor’s heart suddenly bloomed with joy. The previous annoyance was forgotten.

 

“Then you go have dinner first. I’ve arranged a banquet for tonight. I’ll have the books sent to your room.” The Emperor cheerfully arranged things, patting Zhou Xun on the shoulder again, “Work hard at your studies! This time next year, you’ll be able to attend the banquet with me!”

 

Zhou Xun was patted several times, feeling like a tree being planted into a sedan chair. He nodded and smiled.

 

That night, the Emperor’s smile at the banquet left a deep impression on the guests. The banquet was originally held for trade with the Western Regions, and most of the attendees were famous wealthy merchants and officials from the Great Jing. The Emperor had invited them to give them a reason to draw up empty promises and fleece the wealthy.

 

It was the first time in the current dynasty that the Emperor had summoned wealthy merchants, and his smile was full of strong credibility and charm—especially as the Emperor’s proposals were unprecedented. The wealthy merchants, long frustrated by their low status, saw a chance to elevate their position and generously contributed to the Emperor’s plans.

 

Chu Yunkuo sat among the wealthy merchants, pondering the Emperor’s smile. He recalled that when the inspection team reported the mysterious black liquid from the desert a few days ago, the Emperor had only nodded, his emotions unreadable, with a look of “I already knew, how lonely is invincibility.” So now…

 

What had happened to make the Emperor so happy?

 

Thinking about the Emperor’s recent arrangements in the Great Liang… Chu Yunkuo immediately focused his mind and dared not think further.

 

Meanwhile, Zhou Xun finished his dinner and returned to his room. The Emperor had prepared a dinner mainly consisting of beef and chicken breast, seemingly filled with well-wishes for muscle gain and strength.

 

Several books had already been placed on his desk. Zhou Xun glanced at them and then sat back at his desk to practice calligraphy.

 

After practicing for a while, he put down the brush and returned to his desk.

 

He picked up each book and flipped through them.

 

The books the Emperor had given him were of a different quality than those from Old Shen’s shop—they were somewhat crudely bound but contained many illustrations, mostly travelogues or poetry collections. Zhou Xun flipped through them quickly; he wasn’t interested in these things, until…

 

The last book.

 

“‘The Appreciation of Flowers’?”

 

The title of the book seemed familiar to Zhou Xun. He casually flipped through it, and instead of flowers, the illustrations featured many little figures.

 

“This looks like a novel.”

 

Since he had nothing else to do, Zhou Xun decided to read it—he wanted to see what kind of novel the Emperor had chosen for him.

 

It must be something the Emperor liked to read.

 

However, after only a few pages, Zhou Xun…

 

…

 

The next day, Zhou Xun went to Old Shen’s place as usual. With Lu Bin’s treatment proceeding steadily, he no longer needed to visit daily. When he arrived, he found that the shop in Youqiang Alley had its roll-up door half-closed. Searching around, he found Old Shen in the back courtyard, drying books.

 

Old Shen’s demeanor today was different from his usual lazy self. He carefully turned the pages of the books on the stand. Seeing this strange sight, Zhou Xun asked, “Master, is there something special about these books?”

 

“Don’t touch them! Don’t touch them!” Old Shen said with a scowl, “These are books bestowed to your master by the Emperor.”

 

“Books bestowed by the Emperor?”

 

“Don’t underestimate them. The Emperor’s bestowed books are full of meaning.” Old Shen recalled the glorious past with pride, “When Emperor Gaozong bestowed this book to me, it was to hint at how to govern Hongzhou—divide and conquer… Why do you look so strange?”

 

**Author’s Note:** The Emperor: It’s all the fault of long black straight hair. Long black straight hair is the best! (Thumbs up)