Looking at the pitiful state of Sun Wen, he could not help but click his tongue. He often wondered if his empathy had been increasing due to the Lai and Ren loving families or his cute Xiao Feng.
Before, he would no doubt not bat an eye at someone that might cause his grievances, especially the main leads. They were too constrained to the plot, well, except for his man.
But Sun Wen was quite pitiful. Transmigrating to a whole new world, having to fight for favor, and dirtying his hands actually caused immense trauma and guilt to him. Such as when he learned that the whole generation of the empress family was executed due to his ignorance, he shut himself in for months.
Sun Gui was willing to give him a chance. This man had not done anything too poisonous like the original plot except for framing the original body in which he had already punished him. He might not act like the plot if he left the palace.
"Do you wish to leave the inner court?" There was no emotion in those blue eyes.
"L-leave? Can I? But those guards… a-and this sys-" He suddenly halted and warily looked at the beautiful diviner.
"Are you scared of that power behind you?" Sun Gui could not cut off his system but for this little guy's system. Even if it was generous, it was still inferior to a world-hopping system like his. Cutting the connection would be easy peasy.
"H-How do you know? I-I can't leave the emperor… Or I-I will d-die." Sun Wen's eyes swelled up with tears as his mouth kept stuttering.
"This diviner has a way to cut that power. However, it will depend on your imperial concubine's decision. Stay? Or not? Your living environment is not... ideally anyway."
"I-I..."
"What is the imperial concubine's hesitation? Is there... still any affection for the emperor?"
"No... I just don't know what to do outside the palace." Sun Gui was just an ordinary ger who was trying to pass the university exam for the second time. Technical knowledge like medicines or crafting was not his strength at all.
"..." This damn coward! How did this guy have the gut to scheme against the harem in the first place? Ugh... The corner of Sun Gui's mouth twitched weirdly.
Thinking about it, there was no way for Sun Wen to return to the Sun family. The officers' daughters and gers or their powerful families must have held a grudge toward him for being the only one left in the harem. Some of those officers already had dissatisfaction with the emperor.
"This diviner... has a friend outside. If imperial concubine is willing to hide your identity for the rest of your life and constantly on the moves, this diviner will help you."
"R-really? Then please help me!" Sun Wen jumped off the bed and kneeled on his knees. His eyes were filled with admiration and gratefulness. His hands clasped as if praying for the immortal beauty in front of him.
The beautiful and bright emerald eyes curved up, revealing a glint of spark that could steal a person's soul.
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Meanwhile Sun Wen was redeemable, Zheng Hong made the worst decision. It was not like Sun Gui did not understand his motives. Being made an emperor at a young age put a lot of pressure, especially because of the declining royal bloodline. Huge expectations and responsibilities on the young emperor's shoulders, and the watchful eyes of the officers made him want to be the best. However, that great desire became twisted and turned into greed, greed for power.
That greed was too big. So much so that it drove people away, no one will be at that person's side at the end of the road.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I would have let him be an idle prince if he hadn't contacted the enemies for help. Putting the people at risk when it barely stabilized after losing so many crops in the Northwest, stupid." The skinny hands finally regained some meat. His white fingertips rub the temples to ease his scrunched-up expression.
Sun Gui had been having so many headaches, to save his own life, he had to care about the country which meant the people and the land. It would have been great to return to the peaceful life of Lai Yongliang before.
"Guigui, you don't have to worry about all these things. Let your husband handle it. At least the warehouses weren't that badly damaged, it can pull the nation through until next year. I have already proposed creating a trade channel for imports..." Zheng Guozi said but he secretly thought. 'But the emperor was unwilling to welcome foreign goods. This Imperial Nephew is such a hypocrite when he was willing to compromise with the foreign enemies.'
"Sigh... This new year, everything will come to an end. I don't want to play diviner anymore."
For such a homebody, the past year had been incredibly taxing for Sun Gui. He never had to do so much work by himself before. Before manual mode, he would just follow the issued tasks. As Yongliang and Changming, mostly other people did the work. This was a reason for his hate for the ancient era.
Looking at the exhausted face of his beloved, Zheng Guozi stood up from his chair and walked over to Sun Gui at the other side of the tea table. He gently pulled the light Sun Gui up and let him sit on his lap. With Sun Gui's back facing his chest, his two large hands expertly massaged the tense temples.
"Mmm... You're always good at massage. Where did you learn it?" Sun Gui closed his eyes with a slight smile. With a satisfied expression, he felt blessed to have such a good lover.
"I... I'm not sure. Maybe it's my gift, to have these hands to please my love." There was a teasing tone in that last sentence. Sun Gui closed his eyes tighter and the tips of his ears turned red, knowing that the man was being pervy again.
At the end of world #0193, he never knew the man's actual identity. Ren Jian only said a bit of information here and there about the world that he was supposed to be Zhu Bolin to trigger his memories. Until now, he was unable to recall it. It did not matter to him, he was just happy to have someone by his side and to love him with their whole being like this.
"I wonder if the small dragon found out something is missing yet." Sun Gui stole the document on the way to Sun Wen's palace. It was like a stroll.
"Don't care about other men anymore, care about me..." Zheng Guozi pouted. His hands stopped and moved to hug the other's waist. He pressed his body onto the other's back and his head rested on the other's shoulder.
"Hahaha, why are you drinking vinegar for such a thing? You're someone that I will love even after death. Stop being pouty all the time when I talk about anyone." Sun Gui patted the man's face as he remembered how sticky and sulky the regent was when he was exchanging letters with Wan Yingtai. He had to make sure that she, and other ex-harem members, had a good life as he was the cause for their current situations.
"You're just too great. You shine so bright that it blinds me and everybody else. Even though that Imperial Nephew didn't recognize you, he still held infatuation for your diviner identity, where you only revealed your eyes." Zheng Guozi lowered his head and rubbed his hair into the nook of Sun Gui's neck, acting all cute.
"I'm not sure about your praise, but everything I did was for you and me. It has always been about us, no others." Sun Gui had no insecurity so he wanted Zheng Guozi to feel so too. Maybe his man was just possessive but he knew to hold his rein.
The regent was still hiding his status. Therefore, he had to hide in a corner as the servants came in to serve a table of dinner for their mistress. Sun Gui glanced at the hiding man, feeling slightly ridiculous at the master of the house acting like that.
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The next morning, the palace announced the death of the only concubine.
People were frantic, whispers went around on the capital street. Usually, the death of an emperor's woman had no big impact on society, especially a concubine. But, the spectacle of the emperor dismissing the harem was fresh in everyone's mind. They all knew that there was only one ger left in the harem, calling him 'the true love of the emperor.'
Now that the ger was dead for unknown reasons, people were afraid. With the two consecutive deaths of the harem members, people speculated that there must be some sinister things residing in the palace, or the emperor was not meant to have a wife. The noble families no longer wanted to send their daughters and sons, they were scared of 'bad luck.'
"AGHHHH!!! Everything is wrong! It's not supposed to be like this! Not like this at all! I can feel that something is wrong!!!"
The servants shrank their necks back as they watched the furious emperor throwing and smashing objects left and right. Thankfully, he did not touch the costly treasures. They silently cleaned up and got out of the room to protect themselves from the storm.
"It all went wrong somewhere..." He huffed and breathed out hot breaths. His eyes were filled with anger, then they suddenly reflected some light."That, that diviner!!! Everything went wrong because of that diviner!!"
Zheng Hong felt enlightened. It was the diviner that caused this calamity. The diviner must have bewitched him at the horse incident, maybe the horse went berserk because of him! It was also him that warned him of the empress's deaths, so he could disperse the harem to leave only that infertile ger behind!
"But... for what reason? Don't tell me... he had long colluded with Imperial Uncle? If so, why abolish my harem, to prevent offspring and Imperial Uncle's children can take the throne? Hahahaha! Such a sinister plot, I have been fooled."
He felt like madness. His entire being felt like twisting and turning. It was raging with anger and disappointment. The eyes that used to be sane turned bloodshot. He ground his teeth and shouted for his shadow guards.
"All of you! You must find the diviner at all costs! Bring me all the news regarding him and if he had any contact with Imperial Uncle!"