Chapter 37
After receiving the system's plot welding points, Li Jia sat up, looking bewildered in the wind.
I want to die.
I really want to die.
Hera entered into a marriage with herself to avoid the divine duties she would have to perform as a goddess, but Persephone had not yet been born.
Li Jia rubbed her throbbing temples, her inner turmoil like a thorn she couldn't remove: she had long known that Zeus was a rotten man to the core, a philandering, decadent, and unreliable person.
As a god, his achievements in protecting Olympus were sung about in lavish praise by bards, and his great deeds were written down by later generations.
But those goddesses and mortals he deceived and hurt became fleeting shadows in his countless scandalous news stories.
Men don't like ordinary women; they prefer to marry those who are dazzling.
Then let them wither away, let them turn into hysterical madmen.
Fortunately, Demeter is a goddess, not a parasitic plant to be manipulated.
Persephone was her only child. After the birth of the goddess of spring, she took over her divine duties, and from then on, spring flowers, autumn moon, summer sun, and winter snow, the four seasons were distinct.
System, if I don't follow the plot, will Demeter still meet Zeus?
Li Jia raised her own question: Demeter is the mother of the earth. She taught mankind how to cultivate the land, blessed the harvest, and brought food and clothing to mankind.
Such a loving, hardworking, and capable goddess should not be confined to the petty affections and tenderness that men offer her.
In fact, Demeter did just that. After discovering Zeus's deception, she decisively left him, returned to the Poromea field, and gave birth to Persephone on her own.
Her mother protected her well; she was innocent and naive, and her pure and lovely nature touched the heart of a glacier that had been frozen for millennia.
She ate a fruit called pomegranate.
It is difficult to separate from Hades, the god of the underworld.
Springtime in Paradise Lost remains forever for him.
She played a melody called Love in the underworld.
She became his queen in the underworld.
Li Jia highly approves of the story of this young couple. Hades is one of the few warm and pure-hearted men in the whole book. Unlike his other two philandering brothers who like to have casual relationships with women, he is a genuinely good man.
A pure and kind goddess of spring × a taciturn and gentle lord of the underworld.
I really like this kind of pairing with Li Jia; a little sunshine should be paired with an iceberg! (≧ω≦)/
If only we could ignore Zeus as our biological father.
"Master, we cannot artificially change the plot. Even if you are unwilling to help advance the plot, Demeter will eventually meet Zeus and give birth to the goddess of spring."
"Fortunately, you were one step ahead and registered your marriage with the goddess of marriage. Now no one will send Demeter to the ninth level of the funnel-shaped hell. We just need to follow the plot points to assist in the deduction."
Li Jia twitched the corners of her mouth, a forced smile that didn't reach her eyes. She felt that the system had a strange kind of confidence.
You mean that no matter whether I push them or not, they will always meet, right?
"Yes, Master, this is for the birth of the Goddess of Spring."
"Persephone spends four months of each year in the underworld. During this time, Demeter, overwhelmed with grief, neglects life on earth, and thus autumn and winter come into being."
"This is Demeter's divine duty, and also a symbol of the changing of the seasons. We cannot prevent the birth of Persephone, but can only assist her."
After thinking for a while, Li Jia readily agreed.
The system was somewhat suspicious. Why was it being so agreeable today? Ever since it discovered that the owner of the salted fish was no longer considering his own life and had developed self-destructive tendencies.
The system was truly afraid of this troublesome person, and tried to negotiate with her in a very polite manner.
After all, if this mission fails again, it will have to go back to the Transmigration Bureau to be remade.
This is too embarrassing, so no matter what, we can only succeed and cannot fail!
Li Jia smiled knowingly. She had agreed to follow the plot, but she hadn't agreed on how to follow the plot, whether it was a good plot or a bad plot.
For example, she could reveal Zeus's true nature in advance, letting Demeter know what kind of person Zeus was, so that she wouldn't be too heartbroken.
After the breakup, you can ask Winslow to prepare some kebabs and wheat juice. If that doesn't work, pregnant women can't drink wheat juice, so prepare some grape juice instead. Try to talk to her and comfort her.
There are plenty of handsome men out there, why be hung up on just one? Especially a foxtail grass, which will flock to any woman it can find.
I also need to borrow several more books, including "How to Take Care of a Pregnant Woman's Emotions," "The Golden Recipe for Pregnancy and Childbirth," "The Companion's Handbook," "How to Take Care of a Baby," and "Preventing Postpartum Depression."
She helped Demeter give birth to Persephone in a pleasant physical and mental state, and helped her recover well during her postpartum period.
The system learned of Li's thoughts, and six dots flashed in its brainwaves.
Didn't you say that the process doesn't matter, only the result?
Using magic to defeat magic left the system speechless.
Indeed, with the successful birth of the Goddess of Spring, half of the mission was accomplished. Persephone was able to keep Hades in check, preventing the war of the gods from breaking out, and the entire mission was completed.
Single, divorced, with kids, rich and powerful, and the son-in-law is Pluto—it seems like a worthwhile deal no matter how you look at it.
"Then we will do as our master says."
Since I'm an NPC, how should I assist in advancing the story? How did they originally meet in the book?
The system can then take Li Jia into the original storyline. In the original book, the sky and the earth are connected in many ways, yet they maintain their own mystery and order.
Zeus could not tolerate Hera's coldness and indifference after their marriage. Although he had taken her by force and thus gained the power of the king of the gods, the two made an agreement to remain separate, with Hera only fulfilling her divine duties.
However, Zeus had a ailment that all men in the world had: Hera's beauty was breathtaking, and what one cannot have is always the best. They were already married, and Hera had become his queen. It was only right that he possessed her and had her.
In the dead of night, he forced his way into Hera's palace, but before he could even get close, he was pushed away by red divine power, his whole body stinging and itching unbearably.
"Don't have any thoughts you shouldn't have."
Her red eyes were bloodthirsty; she glanced at him, thinking he was a fool who didn't know his own mortality.
The man was horrified to see the silver snake in its true form behind her, its tongue flicking as if it wanted to tear him apart and swallow him whole.
They had no choice but to abandon these filthy thoughts.
While Zeus was recuperating on Mount Meru, he was bored and, through his mirror of light, peeked at the beautiful scenery of the human world, where he saw the perfect Demeter.
He and she had only met a few times and were not well acquainted.
At that time, Demeter, as the goddess of agriculture, was focused on sowing seeds on the earth and did not notice that someone was spying on her.
When he saw what Demeter was doing on the land, the people's hearts were with him.
Zeus knew that if he could establish a closer relationship with Demeter, he could better rule the earth and consolidate his position.
If he could have two goddess wives, his power would become even stronger and beyond question.
He then devised a plan. He had already discovered that Demeter often went to that valley with its fertile soil and clear springs to cultivate new seedlings.
The next day, he transformed into a handsome and extraordinary ordinary farmer, holding a few strange seeds that shimmered with a faint light in his palm, waiting quietly in the valley.
When Demeter appeared carrying a bamboo basket, he deliberately opened his hand, and the radiant seed indeed made the goddess stop in her tracks.
"Where did this superior breed come from?" Demeter asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Zeus laughed and fabricated a story: "It was found by chance in Xining. Even in barren land, it can yield a full granary of fruit."
The goddess immediately invited him to explore agricultural techniques together, and Zeus readily agreed. He spoke eloquently about farming techniques and soil moisture, and found himself quite compatible with Demeter.
She gradually lowered her guard, completely unaware that the person before her was Zeus.
In the days that followed, Zeus would always come with new methods or stories from afar, and Demeter would gladly share her cultivation experiences.
Feelings blossomed amidst laughter and conversation. Zeus's gentleness gradually won over the goddess, and the two eventually followed the path of fate, growing closer and closer.
By the time Demeter realized what was happening, she was already pregnant.
In the early morning, the scent of wheat from Demeter's hair still lingered on the man's shoulder, and the woman's beautiful sleeping face rested in his arms.
How peaceful and serene this moment is.
Soon, that sweet warmth was abruptly shattered by unease.
He looked down, and the marriage certificate mark on his chest, which connected him to Hera, was fading from a dazzling gold to a dark red.
That was a sign that Hera's wrath as the goddess of marriage was burning on the other side of Mount Olympus.
He recalled the whisper he had made to Demeter that night: "I love you, and you will be my only wife in this life."
Zeus felt it was absurd at that moment. Thinking of his queen, whom he couldn't afford to offend, he no longer cared about any promises and could only vaguely say, "My mother at home has passed away, and I need to rush back to deal with it."
They disappeared into the morning mist of the valley without looking back, as if they had slipped on oil.
He wasn't alarmed, because he knew his goddess would fulfill her duties as the goddess of marriage and clean up the mess for him.
Less than half a day later, Hera's peacock chariot rolled over the wheat ears in the valley and stopped in front of the wooden house, its silver snake-patterned wheels leaving deep ruts in the mud.
She lifted the carriage curtain, her gaze as cold as ice, peering through the thin, dusty gauze window.
The woman sat on a wooden stool, her hands gently resting on her slightly protruding belly, her fingertips carrying a tender warmth, her eyes filled with a gentleness that surpassed all other things in the world.
That was the radiance of motherhood quietly blossoming.
Hera looked at that tenderness that had never appeared before her eyes, a cold smile curving her lips, her knuckles unconsciously tightening around the carriage curtain.
Hera pushed open the wooden door and came in. Demeter recognized her; she was the most just and also the most ruthless god in the world.
Demeter, clutching her lower abdomen, looked at Hera warily and questioned her about how she knew she was there and what her purpose was in coming.
Hera cut to the chase: "Do you think I wanted to set foot in this wretched place? Fool, Zeus has deceived you; you are pregnant with his child."
Demeter froze on the spot, her face turning deathly pale. She clutched her lower abdomen tightly with both hands and murmured, "He is Zeus... No, it can't be. How could my husband be Zeus?"
That notoriously promiscuous man who liked to leave his seed everywhere.
Hera scoffed. She had expected this situation; women in love are always willing to deceive themselves.
She then took out her mirror and showed her how Zeus took a liking to her and how he disguised himself as a mortal to approach and seduce her.
Demeter is a goddess of reason and intellect.
Disbelief quickly turned into doubt, and finally, they silently chose to accept it.
Demeter knew exactly what Hera was going to do.
As the goddess of marriage and queen of the gods, Hera had to fulfill her divine duties, and Demeter had heard of Hera's jealousy.
At this moment, she adopted the most humble posture, begging Hera to spare her child.
Unexpectedly, Hera forced a stiff smile, her tone softening slightly: "Women can understand women, women can protect women, it's not your fault."
"Although I am a superstar, I am also the goddess of marriage, and it is my duty to protect the rights of women and children."
She paused, her gaze falling on Demeter's lower abdomen: "Should we keep it?"
Women have absolute choice regarding the birth of their children.
It is her right to leave or stay.
No one has the right to criticize her.
"Of course, she is my child. No matter who her father is, I will keep her, raise her well, and make her happy every day."
When Demeter spoke of her child, her eyes held an unprecedented firmness.
"Let's take the little guy back to Polo Wheatfield."
"No one will disturb your lives anymore."
Demeter looked up abruptly, tears welling up instantly. She glanced at Hera and said, trembling, "But you have failed to fulfill the divine duty of the goddess of marriage, and the sacred mountain will surely punish you."
"Don't cry, expectant mother."
Hera interrupted her, a rare hint of tenderness flashing in her eyes.
"She will be a very beautiful girl."
...
The rest of the plot flashed through Li Jia's mind briefly in words.
Hera accepted the divine punishment.
The following spring, the goddess of spring was born in the fields of Polo, and from then on, the four seasons were distinct.
The wind blew in through the window, ruffling her curly hair, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in her heart.
Li Jia raised her hand to press her eye sockets, and her fingertips touched something wet, only then realizing that she was crying.
All the helplessness, anger, and heartache that had been bottled up inside turned into scalding tears, which streamed down through my fingers and left a small, dark stain on my pillow.
"What wrong has she done? Is it only because she is a goddess that she has to suffer all this..."
Li Jia's voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded. Seeing Li Jia shed tears because she felt sorry for Hera, the system, though it did not understand human emotions, remained silent.
The system's mechanical voice fell silent in my mind, and even the usual notification sounds were nowhere to be heard.
Let the owner cry for a while.
The book "100 Ways to Comfort a Girl" states that comforting a girl after she has cried is the most effective way to do so.
It also searched its database for a whole bunch of comforting quotes about vulnerability, such as "I bought a fish today called 'I will love you to death'".
"I ate a peach today, guess what kind of peach?"
"Loving you is an inescapable fate."
"When I achieve great success, I'll take you to explore the world."
The author himself: ...How I invented this little (clumsy) cute thing -_-
Fortunately, before the system could utter those even more heartbreaking cheesy pickup lines, the person beside her noticed Li Jia's movements.
Hera sat up and pulled her into her arms, gently wiping away her tears with her fingertips, and patiently asked, "Why are you crying?"
"I had a nightmare. I dreamt that you were punished by the gods for protecting others and bled a lot."
Li Jia's voice was filled with uncontrollable grievance: "His Majesty clearly did nothing wrong, yet he keeps taking the blame for some damned people."
"You even have to sneak around to protect others... Divine punishment is so painful, why can't you protect yourself first?"
Hera looked down at the trembling body in her arms, gently stroking her back to help her relax, her fingertips lightly combing through her messy hair.
Who told her about divine punishment?
Is it Doreen?
Or Artemis?
It seems there's no way to hide it from her after all.
She paused for a moment, her voice carrying a barely perceptible softness: "Because some things are more important than your own safety. Just like now, your tears will hurt a thousand times, ten thousand times more than my suffering of divine punishment."
As he spoke, he secretly kissed her cheek again; the touch was exquisite.
Herla reached out and measured her waist. After half a year of recuperation, she had achieved some success, which made him very gratified.
He whispered, "Okay, stop crying. The me in the nightmare wasn't that fragile. The me in reality will protect you even more."
"I will protect you too."
"Your Majesty, you must believe me."
She will drive away all things that would cause her to suffer divine punishment.
Fearing she wouldn't believe him, Li Jia gently nuzzled Hera's arm, saying, "I'm informing you as your wife, so you have to believe me."
"I believe you. I've never disbelieved you."
The system couldn't stand the couple's public displays of affection. It seemed that those random books weren't necessarily true; sometimes people are more reliable than books.
Once you leave the plot point unattended, it disappears.
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