Chapter 114 Better Than Him, She Is the Ninth Prince…
Have you ever considered that if your plane crashed, in your parents' eyes it would just be a plane disaster, the wreckage falling into the sea, and you and everyone else on board disappearing without a trace? To them, you're no longer alive.
Fu Jun felt extremely guilty: "It's my fault that they had to send off their child."
Life is unpredictable, and life and death are predestined. Don't be too sad. Those who are alive will look forward, but they must carry love and longing as they move forward.
Fu Jun did not respond; the topic was too heavy.
Okay, okay! I'm just teasing you. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Things will work out in the end. Overthinking won't solve anything, right? Every stage has its own set of thoughts. All you can do is follow your heart.
Fu Yun sighed, "Although you didn't comfort me, there's some truth to what you said."
He remembered reading a very good book before, in which there was an important character who was comparable to the protagonist's life mentor. He said something that helped the protagonist get out of countless predicaments: "When in doubt, ask the spring breeze. The spring breeze is silent, so follow your heart."
This statement coincides somewhat with what Xiao Ba said.
Aside from the parents' hurdle, the current challenge is the one set by Zhilan.
It's certain that he likes Zhilan, but he still feels that love shouldn't be a stumbling block to his career.
Zhilan's offer of a place in the palace might be a lifelong dream that men in this world yearn for but can never attain.
But for him, while relationships are important, his career is equally important.
If you want to walk more steadily and further on the road of life, you must have more resources to rely on.
Being a pampered husband protected by Zhilan means you don't have to work hard and can live a life of ease.
Ke Zhilan is so outstanding, and there are so many men in the world. How long can she maintain her special place in her heart just by relying on her looks and some sweet words?
Besides, it's human nature to be fickle, and this is a matriarchal society. What right does he have to make Zhilan devoted to him for life?
If he only acts as a subservient man following Zhilan around, without having anything to do of his own, he will inevitably become anxious and insecure over time, until he drives himself crazy.
Therefore, he absolutely could not allow himself to fall into such a situation and had to strike a balance between the two.
Fu Jun wanted to balance both love and career.
Of course, for him, a career is not difficult as long as he has enough time.
On the contrary, matters of the heart are causing him great distress, leaving him in a dilemma. To be honest, he has no confidence at all.
Entering the palace would cause a lot of problems, but if they didn't, the two of them had just confessed their feelings for each other, and it would be difficult to explain to Zhilan.
Ugh, this is so difficult.
Even if it's a difficult choice, he has to come up with a useful solution; avoiding the problem won't solve it.
Entering the palace at this crucial stage of development would definitely not work; all subsequent project plans would be shelved, and the career would inevitably stagnate.
He still hadn't figured out whether Zhilan had any other consorts, or whether she would need to take in other male consorts later; these were all unknowns.
Generally speaking, someone of her imperial status would sometimes find herself unable to control her own destiny and would inevitably be forced into political marriages.
Although Zhilan had previously hinted that she had not met a man who suited her, she had not explicitly stated that she had no male concubines in the harem.
Even putting all that aside, there is still the most important question: if the two of them choose to be together after they have reached a mutual understanding, Zhilan, as the ruler of a country, will definitely want to have children.
But she is the emperor, so she definitely won't have children. So who will have this child?
If he were to be reborn, that would definitely not work; as a modern person, he simply couldn't do it.
With a host of problems looming ahead, how can I possibly enter the palace?
But if one refuses to enter the palace, it would be tantamount to disobeying an imperial decree, a case of refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.
No matter what, Zhilan is an empress. For a merchant to challenge the authority of an empress is like courting death. In a fit of anger, Zhilan might just resort to some kind of forced love in a dark room.
After all, in ancient societies ruled by powerful figures, such things were quite common.
By then, the mission probably won't be able to continue, right?
I wonder if the world in the book will collapse when the mission can no longer proceed?
[Mr. Fu, a friendly reminder: please ensure the mission proceeds smoothly, and the central theme of this book must not be altered; otherwise, the mission will be considered a failure!]
Fu Jun asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
[This means that the characters in the book cannot deviate from their original settings or the established trajectory. In more fashionable terms, the characters cannot be out of character (OOC). The Empress's original intention of focusing solely on the strength and prosperity of the nation and not indulging in romantic relationships cannot change.]
In other words, the glorious era of the matriarchal society can only be created by her, not by you. Even if you hold the script, have the initiative and foresight, it doesn't count. Aside from Su Fuyun, whom you've taken over, the life trajectories of other characters in the book cannot be arbitrarily changed, much less replaced.
Fu Jun said dejectedly, "You didn't say that before. You said that as long as I could change Su Fu Jun's tragic ending and make the Empress fall in love with me, everything would be fine. How long has it been, and you've changed your tune again. Are you reliable or not?"
"I wasn't wrong. You change Su Fuyun's tragic death, then assist the Empress in creating a glorious era, and incidentally send her love and warmth, letting her experience the most beautiful things in the world. Your mission will be perfectly accomplished. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"
Fu Yun: "So, my existence is just that of a tool?"
【Otherwise what? You and I are here to serve this book, to serve the female lead! No matter how capable, shrewd, or intelligent you are, you're still just a tool to help the Empress achieve her glorious reign.】
Fu Yun: "Can we stop calling people 'tools' all the time? Shouldn't tools have human rights too? I certainly don't feel any of the ease that tools should have."
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. The fact that you're still alive and kicking is all thanks to this book. It's already quite kind of them to you to only make you a thinking tool, instead of having you try to win over someone you really hate."
Alright, enough with the chit-chat. In short, you need to understand that this book, as a female-oriented, career-driven, wish-fulfillment novel, absolutely cannot change its core appeal. Everything must revolve around the female protagonist's needs. If the central theme changes, the book's world-building will collapse, all the characters will be overturned and formatted, and you'll have to start this mission again with a different system and host.
As for you, the mission has undoubtedly failed. You cannot return alive, nor can you remain here; you can only vanish from this world.
Fu Yun: "So, according to you, the safest way to survive is to avoid getting involved in any romantic relationships with the Empress."
[But this reduces the Empress's enjoyment! In her previous life, she dedicated her entire life to the matriarchal society, never once experiencing true joy for herself. No one by her side could heal her, understand her, or love her. She also lacked a husband she desired, making her somewhat lonely and isolated at the top. Humans have emotions and desires; no matter how powerful she was, she was still just a mortal, needing care and love.]
Fu Yun: "..."
Having a romantic entanglement with the Empress is not an option, nor is not having one. Fu Yun was truly at his wit's end; he had never encountered such a difficult choice before.
Well, let's take it one step at a time. We can't just give up every time we encounter difficulties.
"Can't bear it?" Zhilan's clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out beside her.
Fu Yun's heart skipped a beat; she was startled.
He slowly exhaled, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind. He glanced at Zhilan and saw her staring at him intently, a hint of worry in her eyes that he couldn't quite make out: "Do you think I'm too cruel, making things so difficult for a weak man, letting him soak in cold water back and forth in such a cold weather?"
Fu Yun: "?" Swimming for ten minutes or so shouldn't be considered difficult, right?
[President Fu, the Empress is worried that it might damage her image in your eyes!]
Is that so? Then her worries are unnecessary.
He not only thought it was no big deal, but even believed that swimming could improve physical fitness.
"I don't think so! I think I swim better than him."
Zhilan: "?"
She looked at Fu Jun, puzzled, taken aback by his answer and clearly thought he was joking.
[Hahaha, Mr. Fu, do you have to be so funny?]
Fu Yun ignored Xiao Ba and continued talking to Zhi Lan: "I'm telling you, he swims too slowly and doesn't last long. I don't know how long he'll keep going like this."
Zhilan hesitated slightly: "Do you perhaps have another solution?"
Fu Jun immediately volunteered: "I'm a pretty good swimmer, how about I go down and give it a try?"
Zhilan's pupils contracted, her eyes filled with shock: "You can really swim?"
Fu Jun smiled slightly and explained, "When I was little, I often splashed around in the water, and I gradually learned how to do it."
Actually, as a southerner, I was required to learn to swim from a young age. Swimming lessons were everywhere in the summer, and swimming seemed to be an essential skill that every child had to learn.
However, swimming skills vary from beginner to expert, and the level of skill depends on the individual.
When he was five years old, he fell into the river and almost drowned.
His parents were so frightened that they quickly enrolled him in swimming classes for several years, from age six to fourteen. Every summer vacation, his parents would send him to swimming classes to learn to swim.
Even though he had become the school's swimming champion in the first year of junior high school, his parents never wavered until the high school entrance exam was approaching, at which point they finally let him go.
Zhilan's eyes were filled with heartache: "You must have been very scared back then, right?"
Fu Yun: "Hmm?"
Zhilan said gently, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone bully you anymore. You can seek justice from her anytime you want. Don't worry or be afraid, I'll take care of everything."
Fu Jun: "Huh?"
Did she misunderstand something?
You don't think Su Tan abused him and threw him into the river, do you?
Congratulations, you got it right!
This is a huge misunderstanding, and they've inexplicably played the victim again.
Fu Yun touched his nose and quickly changed the subject: "Let's talk about these things later! Let's solve the immediate problem first. It would be best if he came up and I went down."
Zhilan shook her head: "No, this is too dangerous."
Fu Jun said, "It's alright, there's no danger, I know what I'm doing."
Zhilan turned her face away, refusing to look at Fu Jun, clearly not intending to give in.
Fu Yun immediately moved two steps to face Zhi Lan directly. If she dodged again, he moved again until he blocked her way. He then said angrily, "I said no, and that means no."
Fu Jun shook his head helplessly, not taking it to heart, and simply asked her, "We've known each other for so long, have you ever seen me do anything I wasn't sure about?"
Zhilan looked up at the well opening and fell silent.
Fu Yun pressed on: "I'm serious, this matter must be resolved quickly. If we stay here too long, it will only be detrimental to the current situation. If they receive news that the entrance has been exposed, they may secretly move and make other preparations."
Zhilan frowned slightly, clearly still unwilling to give in.
Fu Yun said in a low voice, "Zhilan, trust me."
Zhilan shuddered, slowly averting her gaze from the rest of the room to meet Fu Jun's eyes, a glint of heat flashing in her eyes: "What did you call me?"
Fu Yun was slightly taken aback, then belatedly realized, "Should I not have called you that?"
Zhilan stared intently at Fu Yun for a moment before slowly saying, "Besides my mother and father, no one has ever called me that before."
Fu Yun said, "Then shall I call you Your Majesty?"
Zhilan smiled and said, "Why should we be so formal? You can call me whatever you want, even my full name Ji Shun. I won't blame you."
"Okay." The tenderness in Zhilan's eyes was like a gentle breeze in March, blowing into every corner of Fu Jun's heart.
Fu Yun felt his face getting hot. He waved his hand in front of his eyes and asked, trying to appear calm, "May I go down now?"
Zhilan frowned, clearly finding it difficult to refuse Fu Yun's request in such a tender moment.
She hesitated and asked, "Are you sure nothing will happen?"
Fu Yun nodded firmly: "No."
Zhilan gave in and said to Yelan by the well, "Yelan, let him come up and let someone else go down."
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