Chapter 39 Daji (VI) The Wind Rises
Emperor Xin's "nightly revelry" in Zhaixing Pavilion seemed to have reached a certain extreme. However, behind this ultimate "satisfaction" lay a huge emptiness.
The gap between the illusory pleasure brought by the phantom fragrance and the reality of sobriety was like a huge chasm, tearing his spirit apart. He began to seek new stimulation, trying to fill the boundless void.
The first sign is alcoholism.
Emperor Xin arrived at Zhaixing Pavilion later and later, and he always had a strong, almost insoluble smell of alcohol on his body.
He no longer rushed towards Lin Jiaojiao as eagerly as before, but often leaned on the low couch, his eyes blurred, mumbling incoherently, "My beloved... I... I am so happy today..." or "Those idiots... How could they know how happy I am..."
Sometimes he would pull Lin Jiaojiao aside and chatter about trivial matters in the court, his words full of arrogance and contempt for his subjects. Sometimes he would fall into an inexplicable irritability and violence, with a sinister look in his eyes, which frightened the female slaves in the palace.
“Emotional state: Hyperactive (alcohol + residual hallucinogenic aroma), irritable.
Threat Level: Medium (verbal/emotional violence).
Suggestion: Remain quiet and soothe appropriately." Zero's voice analyzed calmly.
Lin Jiaojiao did as she was told. She sat quietly by his side, pouring him sake, listening to him vent, and when he got upset, she whispered soothing words like, "Your Majesty, calm down," and "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, why bother getting angry with a villain?"
Her existence, like cool spring water, could always calm down Emperor Xin's restless heart caused by the aftereffects of alcohol and hallucinatory fragrance. Emperor Xin's dependence on her seemed to be even deeper, but this dependence was accompanied by a kind of morbid possession and...spiritual parasitism.
What is even more worrying is that Emperor Xin began to frequently favor other concubines.
Perhaps the extreme experience brought by the fantasy fragrance made him feel bored with the pleasure in reality, and he needed more fresh stimulation.
He no longer favored Zhaixing Pavilion exclusively, but instead lingered in various places in the harem, indulging in revelry and wine every night, and indulging in the utmost luxury and debauchery.
When the news reached Zhaixing Pavilion, Lin Jiaojiao did not feel jealous, but secretly relieved. At least, this reduced the frequency and intensity of Emperor Xin's "demands" from her.
However, Emperor Xin's indulgence went far beyond this. He became increasingly arrogant and looked down on everyone.
One day, he heard in the court that a drought had occurred in a certain place and the people were suffering. The local officials requested sacrifices and pray for rain. Upon hearing this, Emperor Xin became furious!
"Sacrifice? Pray for rain?" Emperor Xin slammed the table and stood up, his eyes half drunken, his face etched with arrogant sarcasm. "I am destined for heaven! Why should I pray to the gods?! My will is heaven's will. Order! Arrest all those sorcerers who are playing tricks on me and throw them into the scorpion pot! I want to see which is more powerful, their gods or my punishment!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar. Old ministers like Bigan turned pale and fell to their knees, saying, "Your Majesty! This is unacceptable! Blasphemy against the gods will bring heaven's punishment. The people are guilty!"
"Heaven's punishment?!" Emperor Xin laughed wildly. "I am Heaven! Who dares to punish me?! Anyone who speaks nonsense again will be punished with the same crime!"
When the news reached Zhaixing Pavilion, Lin Jiaojiao was reading a scroll by the window. When she heard that Emperor Xin was going to execute the witch and blaspheme the gods, her heart sank suddenly. This would not only arouse public resentment, but might also trigger unpredictable turmoil.
[Zero! What should I do?!] She anxiously asked in her mind.
"Jiaojiao, cry." Ling's voice quickly gave a solution.
【Crying?】 This word made Lin Jiaojiao a little confused.
Ling comforted her, "You can do it. Weren't you great before?" His words made Lin Jiaojiao feel less anxious. She also encouraged herself. Yes, she could do it. She couldn't always rely on Zero.
That night, Emperor Xin came to Zhaixing Pavilion drunk. Lin Jiaojiao did not stand up to greet him as usual, but sat alone under the lamp, with her head lowered, her shoulders slightly shaking, and she sobbed softly.
Emperor Xin was stunned, then sobered up a bit. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Lin Jiaojiao's shoulder. "My beloved? What's wrong? Who bullied you?!"
Lin Jiaojiao raised her tearful face. Her clear eyes were now filled with tears, like broken glass. Crystal tears hung on her long eyelashes, sliding down her smooth cheeks. She looked like a pear blossom in the rain, and I felt pity for her.
"Your Majesty..." Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with endless fear and worry. "I... I heard... that Your Majesty was in the court today... and wanted to... to execute the witch... and... and also said..."
"What?" Emperor Xin frowned.
"They say... they say you are the one who... disrespects ghosts and gods..." Lin Jiaojiao's tears flowed even harder. She grabbed Di Xin's sleeve tightly, as if grabbing a life-saving straw. "My king! I'm scared! I heard... ghosts and gods... ghosts and gods are very powerful! If they... if they get angry... they will bring disaster! I... I don't want anything to happen to my king! I... I only have my king! If the king... if the king..." She burst into tears, her body trembling slightly with fear.
This look, like a frightened baby bird, instantly struck the softest part of Emperor Xin's heart. He looked at her red eyes from crying, listened to the complete dependence and concern for his safety in her words, and the arrogance and violence in his heart were like being poured with a basin of cold water, and were instantly extinguished for the most part.
"My beloved..." Emperor Xin's voice softened, with a hint of barely perceptible panic, "Don't cry, don't be afraid... I... I just..."
"Your Majesty!" Lin Jiaojiao interrupted him, looking at him with tearful eyes, her voice filled with desperate pleading, "I beg you! Don't... don't do that, okay? For me... and for your own sake... I'm really afraid... I'm so afraid of losing you..." She buried her face in Di Xin's chest, her tears soaking his clothes.
The warm tears, like a hot iron, burned Di Xin's heart. He had never seen her so frightened and desperate. This fear was not for others, but for him. This made him feel a strange sense of satisfaction and... a little hesitant.
"Alright, alright... My beloved, don't cry..." Emperor Xin clumsily patted her back, his voice coaxing, "I... I will listen to you. I won't kill those witches! I won't... I won't say anything! I promise you, okay?"
"Really?" Lin Jiaojiao raised her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes, a hint of hope in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, your words are real!" Emperor Xin looked at her dependent eyes and suddenly felt heroic. "I will issue an edict right away! Pardon those witches and priests, let them... let them perform sacrifices and pray for rain! I... I am also thinking about the people!" He cleverly found a way out for himself.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty...you are so kind!" Lin Jiaojiao burst into laughter and leaned on his arms dependently. Her smile was stained with tears, like a pear blossom blooming after the rain, pure and fragile, which melted Emperor Xin's heart.
A "blasphemy" crisis that could have caused an uproar was resolved invisibly in Lin Jiaojiao's tears. Although Emperor Xin still despised ghosts and gods in his heart, in order to appease his beloved concubine and maintain his image of "wise and brave" in her heart, he chose to compromise.
However, undercurrents were surging in the court.
Emperor Xin's excessive debauchery, his arrogance, and his almost blind love for Su Meiren and his obedience to her orders all worried the court officials.
"Alas... the king is now... becoming more and more addicted to wine and women..."
"Yes, the government is in disarray. If this continues, what will happen?"
"The most worrying thing is... the king completely obeys Su Daji's every word! But I don't know if this is a good thing. The execution of the witch was also stopped because of a few tears from her. I don't know whether this is good or bad."
"Hmph! In my opinion, this evil concubine is a disaster for the country."
"Bring disaster to the country? But...but it was her idea to build the Zoo. I heard...the workers and craftsmen on the construction site are being treated very well, a hundred times better than when the palace was being built in previous years! How...how do you explain this?"
"Yes, I've heard that those craftsmen were so grateful to the Sumerians that they treated them like gods!"
"This... disaster for the country and kindness... all in one person? How bizarre!"
"Strange? I think the witch concubine is very clever! She is confusing the king and buying people's hearts!"
"But... the king dotes on her so much, what can we do?"
“…”
The court officials were talking about this matter, and their attitude towards Su Daji was full of contradictions and entanglements. On the one hand, she seemed to have brought "good governance" and even persuaded Emperor Xin to stop some of his atrocities. On the other hand, it was an indisputable fact that Emperor Xin neglected state affairs and lived extravagantly because of her.
Amidst this dilemma, an idea quietly arose in the minds of some quick-witted court officials.
"Everyone..." An official who was on good terms with Fei Zhong lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming, "The king favors Lady Su, simply because he covets her peerless beauty. If... we can find a woman as beautiful as Lady Su and present her to the king..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the people around him lit up!
"A brilliant idea! If the new beauty gains favor, she can take some of the favor away from Concubine Su, and perhaps that will help the king calm down a bit."
"Even better, if the new beauty is ours... then in the future in the palace, wouldn't it be..."
"Yes! Yes! This plan is feasible! No matter how beautiful Su Daji is, she is still the daughter of the Marquis of Jizhou. She has nothing to do with us. If we can offer one of our own..."
"But...is there really a woman in this world who can rival Su Daji?"
"The world is so vast, what's there to worry about? With a huge reward, there will surely be brave men! Let's split up and search!"
A conspiracy against Lin Jiaojiao was quietly brewing in the dark.
They regarded her as a "disaster", but did not know that her "kindness" was real. They wanted to replace her with a new "beauty", but did not know that Emperor Xin's obsession with her had long gone beyond simple appearance and became an almost pathological mental dependence.
Inside the Zhaixing Pavilion, Lin Jiaojiao was oblivious to all this. Having just calmed a storm, she leaned wearily against the window. Ling's voice rang out gently, "Crisis averted. 'Whitewashing' progress: +5%. Emperor Xin's dependence on you: increasing. Attention: The atmosphere at court is shifting; be wary of potential threats."
Lin Jiaojiao sighed softly. [Zero... This road is truly difficult to walk...]
"But you are changing." Ling's voice was full of affirmation. "Every intervention is accumulating strength. Hang in there, Jiaojiao. I am with you."
Lin Jiaojiao smiled and nodded. [Okay, I'll try my best.]
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