Chapter 51 Able to bend and stretch

Empress Jiang wore no jewelry in her hair and dressed very plainly. She went straight into the house, knelt down and kowtowed without uttering a single unnecessary word, and said directly:

"Your Majesty, I am guilty of moral failings and have not borne you a son or daughter for many years. I request to be deposed as Empress and demoted to the rank of Consort."

The emperor's expression remained unchanged; he sat quietly in the shadowless spot where the candlelight couldn't reach, as if draped in a black robe.

Now, with just one word from Guan Zhiwei, the empress is deposed and the emperor is sold into servitude.

If she had worked on the "Ne Zha" project during those years, she might have actually done this despicable thing. She wouldn't have wanted anything in return, just wanted to cause chaos and destruction.

But she is calm now, like a normal person.

“Your Majesty, there’s no need for that. I am not Gao Yang.” She stood up and slowly walked out.

Eunuch Mei, carrying a lantern, chased after him, saying, "My lord, I've come to see you off."

Guan Zhiwei casually asked, "Your emperor and empress have a very good relationship, don't they?"

The eunuch Mei said tactfully, "His Majesty and the Empress were married when they were twelve years old."

Guan Zhiwei nodded knowingly.

The emperor arrived at the door. The night was deep, and a cool breeze was blowing, creeping in from his neck, making him shiver.

He watched the departing figure, sighed, then reached out to help Empress Jiang up, tucked her clothes into her bosom, and said gently, "The night dew is heavy, Your Majesty, please take care."

"Your Majesty, please take care." Empress Jiang forced back her tears, turned and left, her departure not as hasty as her arrival.

The palace maids on either side supported her.

The personal maid hesitated, then said, "Your Majesty, you are the rightfully wedded Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can you be so easily deposed if you don't want to?"

"Foolish! The country is no longer a country, and the family is no longer a family. In such a turbulent and unstable time, one should be focused on saving the nation. What do personal feelings or the position of Empress matter now!"

"This servant is foolish and ignorant, please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress." The palace maid quickly apologized.

After Empress Jiang finished her reprimand, she still didn't move the heavy stone pressing on her chest; it made her feel suffocated.

She worriedly thought that it was actually a good thing that Guan Zhiwei accepted it; it would be more troublesome if she didn't.

Guan Zhiwei is like a huge, undefined creature.

Grand Tutor Yuwen and Grand Commandant Gao's actions were both predictable; they had ulterior motives and objectives. She appeared out of nowhere; who knows what she's up to?

Eunuch Mei drove her back to her residence in a carriage.

The former residence of Grand Tutor Yuwen welcomed its third owner.

When Guan Zhiwei stepped into the mansion, she realized how wise she had been to decide to ambush Gao Yang on the street, because the mansion was so big that it was difficult to find the master bedroom after wandering around.

After the servants escorted her back to her main room, she was about to rest when she heard a slight noise. She went around the screen and saw someone lying on the bed.

Why are you sleeping here?

"I need to make sure I haven't fallen out of favor," Gao Huan said quietly.

To outsiders, he, the son of the former Grand Commandant Gao Yang, was no longer of any standing. Now, his more significant identity was that of Guan Zhiwei's lover.

He sat up, coughed twice, and asked, "Why does the emperor want to keep you here?"

Guan Zhiwei gave him an unexpected yet reasonable answer.

"He wants to sleep with me."

This was the first time a man had wanted to sleep with Guan Zhiwei, but she didn't feel offended. Perhaps it was because between the two of them, the young emperor was more like the one who sacrificed himself.

Are you asleep?

"Of course not."

Guan Zhiwei still retained a sliver of humanity and didn't like sleeping with someone's husband in front of his wife.

Gao Huan snorted: "I think that emperor is just average-looking. He's not quite up to the task of winning people over with his looks."

Guan Zhiwei nodded in agreement: "If you're going to use your looks to please someone, then someone like you is the best."

Gao Huan frowned. How long could one's beauty last? He was not proud of his good looks, but ashamed of his weakness.

Guan Zhiwei noticed his displeasure and casually said, "Look at you, your temper is not as good as the little emperor's. You get angry when I praise you."

Gao Huan gritted his teeth; he was not only angry, but he also had to swallow his anger.

"Since Your Majesty is so kind, why don't you stay?"

"There were three of us in the room at the time. I stayed, but where would the Queen sleep?"

This bizarre scene was clearly beyond Gao Huan's expectations. "The Empress is here too?"

Guan Zhiwei briefly explained what happened at the time.

Gao Huan's expression was subtle: "I thought he was someone who treated himself like a precious gem, expecting anyone who touched him to protect his country. Now it seems he's even more shameless; this couple set a trap for you."

"It's not that I was being cheated, it's just that I was trying to protect myself." A drowning person will even try to grab a handful of duckweed.

Gao Huan coughed twice, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, raised his eyes, and looked at his frail body with ambition.

"What's the point of being an empress when you're risking your life to make wedding dresses for someone else?"

Guan Zhiwei glanced at him upon hearing this.

He smiled slyly: "Of course, I'd become the emperor."

"No," Guan Zhiwei refused decisively.

Her refusal was so decisive that Gao Huan didn't even have time to react.

Grand Tutor Yuwen held onto power and refused to relinquish it to the emperor; Grand Commandant Gao, second only to the emperor, was still not satisfied; the Yuan clan allowed the Yan people to enter the pass and commit arson, murder, and looting, all in order to use someone else to kill the young emperor.

Whether loyal or disloyal, each of them was seduced by power and harbored ambitions to climb the ranks.

Guan Zhiwei was in the same position as them, but she resolutely refused.

She was neither interested in saving the world's people nor in the hustle and bustle of power.

She and they were almost complete opposites.

Gao Huan said softly, "Do you remember what you said back then? You approached His Majesty, and if his true dragon aura couldn't help you, you killed him."

"I don't remember saying that," Guan Zhiwei said, as if deep in thought.

Gao Huan asked hesitantly, "You don't actually like him, do you?"

"Possibly."

"How is that possible!"

Guan Zhiwei pouted, her face turning sour: "I don't like men with good figures, good looks, and good personalities. Do you think I like someone like you who doesn't even like to hear 'nice words'?"

"..."

Gao Huan sat up straight obediently, bowed his head and admitted his mistake: "Next time you compliment my appearance, I will happily accept it."

Guan Zhiwei scoffed, "You really are quite the opportunist."

Yes, he should be able to be flexible and adaptable; even the emperor had to sell himself.

Gao Huan got off the bed, knelt on the ground, and respectfully bowed, his head touching the ground.

Guan Zhiwei had been joking with him, but he bowed so formally. Her smile faded, replaced by a hint of impatience: "Even if you curl up into an earthworm, I won't do as you wish."

"You and I are burdened with extraordinary phenomena, transcending life and death. This is the arrangement of Heaven. If we do not aspire to great things, what is the point of living under the vast Heaven?"

"You're so annoying, I'm starting to think about killing you."