Chapter 5 - I [Imperial] Am This Type of Man!
The King of Zhennan stayed behind after the acupuncture to have lunch in a dignified manner.
He spoke, "I have caught many pheasants and rabbits in the South, as well as a lot of deer and pangolin; Would Your Majesty like to see them?"
Ji Jinrong had no interest in this and shook his head.
The King of Zhennan smiled knowingly and said, "I also brought back two famous Southern chefs who are best at cooking game like this, and I'll let them make a dish from it for His Majesty after they pass the examination over at the Imperial Cuisine Hall."
As soon as he spoke the words, the King of Zhennan saw Ji Jinrong's eyes light up slightly, as if a small flame had been lit within.
Ji Jinrong's face was kept extremely calm and impassive: "You have a good heart."
In the end, pheasants, rabbits and whatnot- there wasn't anything to be admired! It was best to serve it on the table for him to enjoy. Ji Jinrong then decided to give the King of Zhennan a little extra credit.
This guy didn't seem that annoying!
King Zhen Nan smiled and sat next to Ji Jinrong to crack open the crab for him to eat.
Ji Jinrong was surprised to see the bright red crab. It smelled a little bit fragrant but was this unnaturally red thing really edible? Nobody used to eat these sort of foods in his world.
The King of Zhennan picked out the crab yolk and leg meat with his chopsticks and pushed them onto Ji Jinrong's dish along with the sauce.
He said, "I originally wanted to have the Imperial Cuisine Hall to finish cutting it before sending it up, but I realised that I had to let His Majesty know what sort of dish he is eating. This is the first time the Imperial Cuisine Hall has made this dish, it is a special recipe from the South and has recently become quite popular in the capital. It's best to eat when the chrysantheums are blooming."
The King of Zhennan thoughtfully poured a small bowl of wine for Ji Jinrong, "Drink a little more wine to warm your stomach."
Ji Jinrong was a bit stunned.
The King of Zhennan's actions really puzzled him. Did the King of Zhennan support the original owner to ascend the throne because he really like the original owner? Perhaps it was because he was too scared deep inside, so he never found out about the King of Zhennan's feelings for him...
The original owner had died too unfairly.
The King of Zhennan spoke loudly, attracting his attention, "Your Majesty?"
Ji Jinrong came back to his senses and lifted his chopsticks to take a piece of crab meat, dipping it into the sauce slightly before tasting it. The crab meat was delicious and the sauce had a unique taste, the right flavour the remove the fishy smell that seafood often had.
He smiled at the King of Zhennan, "Not bad."
The King of Zhennan kept his eyes on Ji Jinrong and only when he saw his satisified smile did he reach out to crack the shell of the second crab.
He spoke in a familiar tone, as if the two were close friends who had known each other for many years, "Although the crab meat is fresh, it is still cold so you shouldn't eat it too much. Have some yellow rice wine to warm up a little. [1] If you really like crab meat, you can ask the kitchens to make so crab meat dumplings in the next few days to satisfy you. After this time of the year, it won't be in season and taste as good."
[1] Yellow Rice Wine is an alcohol that can be used in cooking but also drunk. It removes the fishy taste in sea food and is often drunk during autumn.
Ji Jinrong had just finished savouring a piece of crab yolk and found it to be extremely tasty. Hearing the King of Zhennan name another food, his eyes began to glitter in excitement and his tone was tinged with a little joy,
"Good."
Zhen Nan Wang saw Ji Jinrong eating happily, and his heart also rejoiced.
Naturally, he hadn't known what Ji Jinrong would like, but his body was too weak to eat much of anything, so if he had ordered something heavy, it would only cause him to suffer. He didn't want to be like anybody else beside Ji Jinrong so he couldn't quietly bring some fragrant and delicious food to satisfy Ji Jinrong's appetite.
It truly was a pity that Ji Jinrong's body was so weak, or else he could take Ji Jinrong on a tour to the North and South and eat foods all over the country. Until Ji Jinrong was willing to let him help unblock the merdiians and strengthen his body, it was up to his subordinates to search for famous chefs and ingredients and bring them back for him to taste.
The King of Zhennan then quickly finished off the remaining three crabs.
Ji Jinrong: "........"
The King of Zhennan smiled and said, "Your Majesty's stomach is too weak to handle any more."
He scanned Ji Jinrong's entire body several times. "If Your Majesty is willing to allow me to unblock your entire body's meridians="
Ji Jinrong stopped looking at the King of Zhennan jealously and silently stretched out his chopsticks towards the other dishes, with a look that said "I like these other dishes very much, and I don't want to have any more crabs"
The King of Zhennan smiled.
His master was so cute.
After that, the lunch was surprisingly peaceful.
But only after he had eaten and drunk his fill, the King of Zhennan told Ji Jinrong about the Imperial Supervisor.
Ji Jinrong was slightly surprised. The King of Zhennan would actually talk to him about the imperial government?
The King of Zhennan seemed to sense Ji Jinrong's doubts and explained, "In the past, Your Majesty suffered a lot, and his body was too weak so I didn't want Your Majesty to work too hard, especially in handling the government affairs. Now that Your Majesty is in good health again, it is by no means a problem for you to handle the affairs yourself."
His tone was sincere, "I am willing to return the power to Your Majesty's government."
Ji Jinrong was truly taken aback now.
Was the King of Zhennan testing him? If it truly was 'him,' he would never give back the power that he already had.
Maybe if he said one good word, the King of Zhennan would change his mind and kill kim,.
Ji Jinrong said, "I-" and took the initiative to use his weakness and stuttered for a while.
The King of Zhennan was distressed to hear this. Even though he could have chosen any world that he wanted to go to, he still wasn't able to give Ji Jinrong a completely sound body. It wasn't that he couldn't force the gods to send Ji Jinrong to another one of the worlds he had experienced in the past, it was just that the possible bodies were so unbearable that even if Ji Jinrong did go over there, it wouldn't be much better than being sick in bed all the time.
The King of Zhennan said, "It doesn't matter."
He gazed at Ji Jinrong, "Your Majesty, nobody dares to say anything about it. If anybody has any objections, I have my own preparations."
Ji Jinrong's heart leaped.
He raised his head and met the King of Zhennan's serious gaze with his own.
The King of Zhennan suddenly lifted his hand and gently wiped off an oil stain on his lips,
The atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.
When the King of Zhennan saw Ji Jinrong looking at him in astonishment and surprise, he finally couldn't resist the urge to lean down and kiss Ji Jinrong's soft forehead. After the kiss, he didn't move far away, but just said softly, "Your Majesty, I am willing to do anything in the world for you. As long as-"
Ji Jinrong only felt the numbness in his forehead, the area that had been kissed felt extremely hot. He stood up sharply and quickly retreated a couple of steps from the King of Zhennan.
Seeing this, the King of Zhennan didn't press any closer. He stood up when he saw fit, gazed at Ji Jinrong and said, "Your Majesty, I will step back first."
Ji Jinrong's heart was in turmoil.
Even though he was a few years older than the original owner, he had never had the chance to taste love. The King of Zhennan's aggressive approach made him a little scared and confused. He was completely aware of what the King's "as long as" meant. The price to get out of this predicament and regain his power was to 'satisfy' the King of Zhennan.
Ji Jinrong clenched his fist in anger.
This was bullying! It was outrageous.
It was as if a robber had stole all your belongings, and then told you that he liked you, and if you accepted his 'affections,' he would give everything back to you. What sort of love was like that? The bandit was definitely thinking too much, he was taking advantage of everything he could!
Ji Jinrong went outside for a walk, and when he had finished eating, he began to take a nap. After he had woken up, he found He Tai guarding one side of the door, and the chamberlains then came in as usual to change his clothes and bathe him.
He Tai spoke, "Your Majesty, the King of Zhennan has sent someone to invite you to the Government Halls."
Ji Jinrong replied, "Good."
With his current situation, if he really wanted to make a scene with the King of Zhennan, he would only be at a disadvantage, so he might as well accompany the King of Zhennan to perform his duties for a while and maybe find something that he could use in his favour.
The best thing to do is to find out if the King of Zhennan was "that person" or not - and if not, where is "that person"?
If he can't stop "that person" from destroying the world, he wouldn't be able to return to his dead body, let alone have a body that could return to his old world.
Could the King of Zhennan be "that person"?
Ji Jinrong was a little uncertain.
It was only now that he realized he knew very little about Wei Tingjun. The Wei Tingjun in front of him was very honest and upright, and only when he mentioned that "you will be the one to inherit the throne after the great line" would Wei Tingjun get mad and start to show his emotions. In normal times, Wei Tingjun would only simply refuse to allow anything that would affect his condition to bother him.
Although Ji Jinrong always scolded Wei Tingjun as a "disloyal subject and a traitor", he still thought of Wei Tingjun as a simple young man who had accompanied him since he was a child.
However, if he was really a simple and generous young man, could he influence the decisions of a whole court?
Can he make the neighbouring countries lose their nerve?
It wasn't that he hadn't heard of some things, it was just that when other people talked about it, he subconsciously refused to believe the news. Compared to others, he was more willing to believe Wei Tingjun, who was always by his side.
If the King of Zhennan was really the "powerful existence" that the system had mentioned, then the the King of Zhennan that he was facing now was undoubtedly another side of Wei Tingjun that he had never seen before.
A side that Wei Tingsun would never reveal to him.
Ji Jinrong clenched his fist and instructed He Tai, "Lead the way." After saying this Ji Jinrong felt a little funny again. As an emperor, he didn't even know where the Government Halls, which dealt with government affairs, was really confused - forced to be confused - by the original owner.
Arriving outside the Government Halls, Ji Jinrong paused and lifted his foot to step inside. The Government Halls had windows along each side, and all the hundred chrysantheumums which were on both sides of the building were blooming brightly, and gave a fresh feeling to those that walked through.
Ji Jinrong saw the King of Zhennan, who was sitting there humming a small tune.
The King of Zhennan, sensing Ji Jinrong's arrival, stood and said, "His Majesty is here." He bypassed the hill-like pile of files and came in front of Ji Jinrong, his tone sincere and honest, "I can rest later."
Ji Jinrong: "........"
The King of Zhennan smiled reassuringly: "There will be so much because I went to the South for around half a month at this time and didn't have time to approve it - it wouldn't be like this on a normal day."
Ji Jinrong looked at the King of Zhennan scrutinisingly.
The most unbearable thing for the King of Zhennan was Ji Jinrong's gaze at him, he felt that the long withheld desire locked deep within his body was about to spill out at any moment. He couldn't tell Ji Jinrong that he had no sweetheart from the very beginning, that there was only one person in his eyes from the very beginning - that even if he had to slaughter the heavens and the earth and carry a full load of sins on his back, he would still try to snatch this person back from the heavens.
Because what His Majesty despised the most were people like him who acted against the heavens and the law. His Majesty, too, would have never allowed him to take half a step over the line that had been drawn long ago.
But this was no longer Da Zhou, and his master was no longer seriously ill.
There were many things he would no longer be willing to endure or restrain.
To his master, only a few days had passed since the he had passed through life and into death. To him, however, it had been many lifetimes-
The thought of waiting another day or night had already made him completely crazy.
That line, he had always been bound to cross it.