Mùróng Zhuó took a deep breath, struggling to calm his emotions, and said, "I hope Your Majesty will be a monarch of your word, so as not to disappoint my sister and me in our devo—"
Why did that sound a bit awkward? Realizing he had slipped up, Mùróng Zhuó panicked and hastily explained, "Your Majesty, I meant our devotion to you!"
Good grief! I almost thought I was about to hear some monumental secret, though Mùróng Zhuó recovered awfully fast. I hope the guy doesn't pull some massive plot twist on me later! Ugh... I actually have goosebumps...
Filling my head with these BL thoughts is completely unacceptable!
Who knows when my brain will finally catch up to the rhythm of my body? My mind is that of a woman, yet my bodily reactions belong to a man...
After a moment of contemplation, Mùróng Zhuó said, "Your Majesty, it is getting late. Your Majesty, please rest!"
"Yet this is the first time you have ever let your humble servant stay and trouble you for so long."
The little stick-in-the-mud actually had a warm smile on his face; how rare. Still, he looked remarkably handsome when he smiled.
I was momentarily struck dumb, completely at a loss for how to reply. After all, the former me was probably, roughly... most likely truly awful!
Right now, I couldn't help but wish I could drag Little Fate Master out and flog his corpse eight hundred times.
A man's mouth is a deceiving ghost. I secretly lamented in my heart: I've just been reincarnated, my brain hasn't fully booted up yet, and right out of the gate I have to go to war with a neighboring country? Landing such a massive mess right at the start—it seems being the CEO of a country is truly no easy job!
"How could I know in my youth of the world's bitter hardships? Gazing north at the Central Plains, my spirit towers like mountains." I must not become a decadent youth; I must be an ambitious one. Rise up, Pikachu... Rise up, Yún Zhāo.
"Dreams are like stars illuminating the path ahead, struggle is like a sword breaking through lost ways."
Mùróng Zhuó's figure receded further and further away until he stepped out through the palace doors. A sudden wave of anxiety hit me as I remembered there was still a question I had forgotten to ask him. I immediately gave chase, calling out eagerly, "Prime Minister..."
Hearing the call, he paused, standing still amidst the mottled light and shadows outside the hall, his tall and slender figure straight as a pine or cypress.
For a moment, I was speechless. Past memories and the person before me inexplicably overlapped. When he turned his head back, in that instant, it felt as though time had shifted out of place—the face of my ex-boyfriend from my past life merged with the face of the Mùróng Zhuó before me. A wave of familiarity washed over me, stirring up turbulent emotions in my heart.
"Your Majesty," he gave a slight bow, breaking the prolonged silence, "do you still have business?" His voice was clear and crisp, yet it dragged me right back from my trance to reality.
I walked up to his side and asked in a low voice, "Do you still remember a woman named Su Ya?"
As the words left my lips, I saw a flash of surprise—fleeting as a shooting star streaking across the night sky—pass through his handsome eyes. A moment later, however, he shook his head and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject does not know any woman named 'Su Ya'."
She didn't know? He actually didn't know the me from his past life. It seemed he truly wasn't my ex-boyfriend from before. Or perhaps he had drunk the Soup of Forgetfulness, and roughly speaking, he really was just Mùróng Zhuó!
After he left, I raised my eyes to look at the sky—goodness gracious! In just this short while, the moon had already set and the stars were slanted?
Just as my thoughts were in utter turmoil, Eunuch Gui quietly approached and whispered by way of reminder, "Your Majesty, it is time for the morning court session!"
"What? I haven't even slept, in fact, I haven't even closed my eyes..." This, this ancient corporate slave reputation is truly well-earned. To go to court without sleeping—is this something a human being can actually pull off, for crying out loud?
Oh, heavens above! I am human! Not a robot...
"Your Majesty, wash your face, change your clothes, and go! You haven't attended the morning court in three days, the ministers are probably getting impatient." Sensing my reluctance, Eunuch Gui went all out trying to brainwash me.
Me? I accept no brainwashing, and I certainly accept no flattery. No way, I'm going to sleep, I'm going to catch up on my beauty sleep. No matter who comes to wake me, it's a no-go—I accept no counter-arguments whatsoever!
"I am feeling unwell today, I am going back to sleep!" Before the words had even faded, I moved like the wind, giving Eunuch Gui zero chance to speak, blocked him right outside the hall doors, and then slammed them shut with every ounce of strength in my body.
Seeing that I was somewhat annoyed, Eunuch Gui didn't dare follow me inside. Instead, he simply waited outside the hall doors and said softly, "Your Majesty, please stop throwing a child's temper tantrum."
I pulled the duvet over my head, clamped my hands over my ears, and chanted silently in my heart: *I hear nothing, I hear nothing, just an old turtle chanting...* trying to shut Eunuch Gui's voice out completely.
"Your Majesty, if you do not attend court today, the ministers will have things to say. Besides, if you don't go to court, Consort Li's father will be delivering the money to the treasury, and you won't even get to see it!"
The moment I heard the word "money", my spirits instantly revived and I wasn't sleepy in the slightest. Feeling as though I'd been injected with adrenaline, I sat straight up from the bed with a start, and shouted loudly toward the outside of the doors, "Someone come, dress me!"
Several young palace maids hurried in. One carried a basin of water that was still rippling slightly, splashing a few droplets; another held up the dazzling dragon robe, its golden threads gleaming in the candlelight; yet another held washing utensils. Every single one of them wore a nervous expression, moving with utmost caution.
I climbed down from the bed, only to feel lightheaded and heavy-footed. With a physique this tall, the gravity must be pretty substantial! The moment that thought crossed my mind, my body felt heavier than ever. Being good at physics really is a curse after all! I couldn't help but inwardly lament my fate.
I hurriedly washed up, put on the heavy dragon robe, and had my appearance tidied by the maids.
I preened in front of the mirror from side to side. Sure enough, women all love vanity; even though I was currently in a man's body, I couldn't help but admire the sight of myself wearing a dragon robe.
My gaze swept over the items in the maids' hands and finally landed on the brilliant dragon robe. This dragon robe was truly exceptionally gorgeous; the dragon patterns embroidered with gold thread were so lifelike they seemed ready to soar into the air at any moment. Dazzling gemstones dotted the collar and cuffs, flashing with brilliant light. I couldn't help sighing inwardly—magnificent though this dragon robe might be, the responsibilities one had to shoulder while wearing it were incomparably heavy!
"Eunuch Gui," I rubbed my temples and called out in a raised voice, my tone slightly hoarse from exhaustion, "hurry and fetch a few more cups of tea for me. Make sure it's the strongest kind, the one that fights off sleepiness best!" Hearing that, I couldn't help thinking of the coffee I loved in my past life—one cup when you can't push through, another cup when you're tired and sleepy! Drink a little coffee, ruin your stomach and wreck your liver, you'll be done for sooner or later...
Still, to be honest, this tea was exceptionally good. At least through thousands of years, it had remained firmly rooted in the long river of history without ever sinking or fading away in the slightest! This tea carried the heritage of our ancestors and the charm of China; it was something that could never, ever be looked down upon.
Before long, the sounds of talking and light footsteps drifted from outside the hall. Immediately afterward, Eunuch Gui entered the doorway leading the way with a hunched back, followed by several young eunuchs dressed in blue cloth tunics. Each of them steadily held a teacup in both hands, the lids tightly closed to prevent the heat from escaping. Eunuch Gui hurried forward a few steps, dropped to his knees before me, and rattled off, "Your Majesty, the freshly brewed strong tea has arrived. It is all the finest tribute tea from this spring, rich and mellow, guaranteed to refresh Your Majesty's mind."