Chapter 351: After a woman disguised herself as a man, the rabbit spirit ran away with the ball. 61
The envoys of a big country came to Shen State. They came here to make things difficult for Shen State, but they did not expect that their plan would be interrupted by Lin You, a five-year-old child.
Even without sacrificing a single soldier, he made them lose face. From then on, the people of Shen State began to believe that Lin You had the ability to do a good job in the Ministry of Rites.
From then on, the rumors about Lin You became more and more outrageous, and the rumor that Su Zhiruan was a goddess was endless.
The third brother, Lin Zhou, was more taciturn and decisive in his methods. Su Zhiruan only let him try out some matters concerning the Ministry of Justice and discovered that he also had great talent in this area.
As the saying goes, one can trust one's own sons, so she let her three sons take charge of the affairs of these three departments respectively.
In Su Zhiruan's view, all this is very normal, but in the eyes of ordinary people and the five major countries around her, she might really be a goddess sent from heaven.
People already believed these things, so as the rumor was passed on by storytellers and common people, it became more and more outrageous.
Her daughter Yun Xia lives a very happy life in the palace. She is now a real darling of the palace. She is loved and pampered wherever she goes, especially by the concubines in the harem. After raising Xia Xia, they would like to give her all their belongings. Su Zhiruan can see different new clothes on her every day.
Fortunately, her daughter was smart. She knew that relying on the favor of others was far from enough. In addition, under the influence of Su Zhiruan, Xia Xia learned various skills from Su Zhiruan, and soon mastered the skills of speaking and was responsible for the diplomacy of Shen State.
So in just seven years, this family of five became the legend of the entire Shen Kingdom. The common people worshipped Su Zhiruan and her four children, and even spontaneously made golden statues of them. Word of mouth said that they were the goddess and prodigy sent from heaven to save the Shen Kingdom.
However, there was also a benefit to these rumors, that is, Su Zhiruan was getting easier and easier to implement her policies. The people trusted her very much. In addition, Su Zhiruan also had a certain understanding and grasp of her own policies, so Shen State soon returned to its previous prosperity, and even the five surrounding powers could not match it.
The five great powers in the past tried to gradually disintegrate the State of Shen and let it be annihilated in internal struggles, but since Su Zhiruan came to power, the five great powers have become worse and worse, caught up in internal strife, and even became increasingly weak and destroyed in the end.
In the eyes of common people, all of this was God's will, and in the Shen Kingdom's palace, everyone believed that Su Zhiruan was the goddess who came to save them. Whether in their daily life or everyday life, everyone treated Su Zhiruan as the emperor.
Even the emperor himself showed some interest. He knew that he did not have enough ability to manage a country, so he had always placed his hopes on Shen Qingman. But who would have thought that Shen Qingman inherited his ideas and only wanted to eliminate demons at that time, and did not want to inherit the throne at all. But now the emperor saw hope, he wanted to pass the throne to Su Zhiruan, let her inherit the throne, and stay in the harem to spend his later years in peace.
Perhaps if this idea was put in other countries, many people would jump out to oppose it, because Su Zhiruan is a woman after all, and she may not be of royal blood. But this matter is very normal in Shen State. Everyone has seen Su Zhiruan's contribution and ability, and her becoming the emperor is the result that many people want.
Even though many people knew that she was actually a fake princess, she was capable, so no one dared to say anything, fearing that Su Zhiruan would decide to return to heaven, and then Shen State would fall into chaos. Other countries would take advantage of the situation, and the loss would outweigh the gain.
*
The days passed one by one.
Although Shen Qingman still had feelings for her, and even hinted at his feelings for Su Zhiruan from time to time, and tried hard to pursue her, Su Zhiruan did not agree.
That day, after the morning court session, Su Zhiruan decided to go to the Hot Spring Palace.
The Hot Spring Palace is a palace close to here. The hot spring there is a living spring that is warm all year round. The late emperor built a palace for the Hot Spring Palace because of its uniqueness. At first, Su Zhiruan didn't know there was such a good place, but later, under the strong recommendation of the emperor and the queen, she came here several times in her spare time when reviewing memorials.
"Your Highness, the hot spring water is ready. Please come over." The maid bowed to her respectfully. "Do you need someone to serve you? I will send someone to serve you."
"No need, you all can leave. I want to take a hot spring bath by myself." Su Zhiruan raised her hand and pinched her eyebrows, putting down the last memorial. She stood up, put the red pen back in its place, and followed the palace maid out.
The palace maid was smart enough to pack up all the memorials and asked the eunuch to send them out. Then she signaled with her eyes to the palace maids serving around her to follow her out. Thus, Su Zhiruan was the only one left in the Hot Spring Valley.
The hot spring water in front of her was steaming, and the misty fog was floating up gently along the edge of the spring pool, blocking her vision. She could only smell the moist fragrance in the air.
The fragrance seemed to have a refreshing effect. She slowly undressed and then gently stepped into the hot spring water.
Now that she is the ruler of Shen State, she has to deal with countless big and small matters every day. Having time to soak in a hot spring is her biggest way of entertainment.
As she entered the hot spring step by step, her calves were wrapped in warm spring water, and waves rippled on the edge of the pool. The rose petals on the hot spring were gently pushed away and rolled back with her movements.
After working non-stop for many days, she finally has some time to relax herself today.
She was soaking in the hot spring with only her snow-white, round shoulders exposed to the air. Her long hair was scattered in the water, and even the hair at her temples had fallen into the water, like a bunch of blooming black lotus flowers. Su Zhiruan closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed this pleasant moment.
Just then——
Su Zhiruan noticed something was wrong, so he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.
Her true form is a rabbit, so she is more alert to changes in the surrounding environment.
"Who are you? Come out." She frowned, and her voice became much sharper. It was certain that there were indeed other people in the hot spring palace at this time.
But after she finished speaking, no one came out, and no one responded to her, so Su Zhiruan immediately stood up, took a thin gauze dress from the screen beside her, put it on, and looked around. In a corner of the hot spring palace was a sword, and she quickly took the sword and drew it out of the scabbard. The sharp sword light was reflected in the hot spring palace, and she stood there quietly with the sword in her hand.
It seemed like a very long time had passed, and just when Su Zhiruan wondered if he was hallucinating, a crisp sound suddenly came from the inner room.
The voice was very soft, very soft, but she was very sensitive, so she could hear it immediately.
"Do you want to come out on your own or should I ask someone to invite you out? Otherwise, I will not be polite." Su Zhiruan knew that this person must be extraordinary to be able to restrain his aura to such a level.
If he is not a human with extremely strong inner strength, then he might be a demon, a ghost or a god.
When she thought of these possibilities, her alarm bells immediately rang.
For so many years, Su Zhiruan has been worried that Chang Qi would suddenly appear and take away her four children.
After all, Chang Qi and Feng Qing had both looked for her on the Four Rooms Mountain back then. Although she hid very deeply and made use of the system's props, it is conceivable that if Chang Qi knew the truth, he would definitely spend a lot of time and energy looking for her. For so many years, she has been worried about being found, but now when faced with such a situation, she is suddenly not panicked.
After hearing her words, the people in the inner room paused for a moment and did not make any more noises. But then there were soft footsteps coming from the inner room, approaching her step by step.
The footsteps were so light that you wouldn't notice them at all if you weren't paying attention.
Even after seven years, Su Zhiruan was still very familiar with the footsteps. Her heart beat faster and faster. She reached out to wrap her gauze dress tightly. Even the direction the sword was pointing did not fall. Her face showed vigilance and tension, but no surprise.
"Ruan Ruan," the man slowly peeled off a layer of gauze, walked out of the hot spring, and stood in front of her through the mist. He was still the same as before. Su Zhiruan's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't speak again. Instead, she stared at his familiar face, his familiar long silver hair, and his snow-white robe. He hasn't changed at all over the years.
"Your Majesty." Su Zhiruan's voice became very low. She knew that she had been hiding in the human world with her child for so many years, thinking that she would not be discovered. She lived in fear, but in the end she was found.
"Long time no see." The man didn't say anything. He just looked at her steadily, looking at the familiar yet strange person in front of him.
It’s been a long time.
Su Zhiruan took a step back and successfully stopped him from coming forward. There was a look of vigilance in her eyes. "Why are you here? Your Majesty, are you here to see me?"
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Chang Qi's eyes were full of her figure at this moment, "Yeah."
What Su Zhiruan didn't know was that Chang Qi did not continue to return to the God Realm after she left, but instead searched many places with Feng Qing.
Thinking that she might be still alive, he started looking for her in the human world.
He searched the demon clan, the ghost world, the underworld, and outside the six realms, and finally landed in the human world. Perhaps he subconsciously felt that she would be in the human world, or perhaps the hustle and bustle of the human world could soothe his despair.
Staying in the realm of gods, he was in constant fear.
Every day when he saw the familiar scenes in Changqi Palace, he would always think of the person of his dreams.
Even the old butler couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He didn't expect that his master would be so worried about a woman.
Even after so many years, Chang Qi never thought that she would stay here, but no matter what, no matter what he said, as long as he could successfully see the person standing in front of him safely, even if her eyes were filled with vigilance, alertness, and a reluctance to let him get close, he would have no regrets.
"It's good that you're still alive," Chang Qi lowered his eyes and gathered his sleeves. He didn't say anything more, but his eyes were still filled with thousands of words. "When you left without saying goodbye that day, I searched all over the six realms, but in the end there was no news of you. At that time, I thought, even if I'm a god, there are things I can't do."
There was some self-mockery in his words, but in the final analysis it was a kind of expression and helplessness after finding someone.
"Don't you want to ask me why I am a woman? Why I am dressed as a man?" Su Zhiruan put away her sword, put it back into the scabbard, and placed it on the shelf. She took another piece of clothing from the screen and wrapped it around her body. "I deceived Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to dress as a man. If you want to hear it, I can explain it."
Chang Qi didn't say much, just looked at her steadily without saying a word.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Su Zhiruan could only start to explain, "Back then, I was bullied by the demon tribe, my parents died, and I was not welcomed by the tribe. In addition, they wanted to push me out to die, so I thought of a way to stay in your palace. During that time, I was always worried that my identity would be discovered, so I had no choice but to do this."
"I know all this, it's okay." Chang Qi still looked at her. He seemed to have a thousand words to say, but in front of Su Zhiruan, he didn't say anything in the end. He just stretched out his hand and said, "Come here."
Su Zhiruan didn't understand what he wanted to do, but seeing Chang Qi's current state, she couldn't help but walk forward.
After getting close to Chang Qi, she could still smell the faint scent of sandalwood on Chang Qi. This was the scent that had been on his body for many years. As long as she could smell it, she would feel at ease.
Even though the occasion was not right and the scene in which they met was not right, Su Zhiruan couldn't help but soften his heart.
In fact, she was wrong in the whole thing. After all, she was the one who brought the child to the underworld alone.
Just when she was distracted by other things, suddenly, a huge shadow covered her eyes.
A pair of warm arms gently embraced her. He didn't say anything, but a hug was enough to express a thousand words. Chang Qi hugged her very tightly, as if he was holding on to his lost treasure.
The patterns on Chang Qi's robe touched her skin, and the two of them pressed tightly together. Su Zhiruan was only wearing a layer of gauze, and she tiptoed and leaned forward gently.
The hot spring palace is as warm as spring.
Her wet skin dried quickly, and the long hair sticking to her shoulders was dried bit by bit by Chang Qi's divine power.
His embrace was too tight, too tight, and for a moment Su Zhiruan felt a little dazed.
After a while, she suddenly felt a warmth falling on her shoulder. Chang Qi rested his chin on her shoulder, just like a child facing the person closest to him, without any desire, just simply sticking tightly together, never wanting to let go.
She felt a drop of warm liquid appear on her shoulder and hit her outstretched arm heavily.
In an instant, she was scalded. Su Zhiruan wanted to retract her arm, but ultimately did not move.