"HAHAHAHAHA! That Imperial Uncle of mine was actually infatuated with someone in my courtyard!" A thundering laugh echoed from a magnificent chamber. Inside, a wisp of wine fragrance faintly surrounded the room.
Zheng Hong had been in a celebratory mood ever since he learned of Sun Wen's 'pregnancy'. And just now, his guard just delivered an interesting news from Zheng Guozi's movements.
"If I had known that he craved for that ger, I should have had him in bed. Such a shame, the chance already passed." He regretfully sighed when he remembered the time he was chasing after Sun Wen, he neglected his harem.
However, a sneer still formed as he thought of how his Imperial Uncle coveted something once belonged to him. His mood had been too good until he suddenly realized something important.
The regent, who had been abstinent, finally got a wife! And a fertile ger at that! If they ever bore an heir, it would not only threaten him but also his offspring! There was no way to know if Sun Wen would bear a prince or a princess.
The emperor started feeling anxious at this possibility. He had to have a son! His eyebrow jerked as a thought suddenly formed in his head. What if he asked the diviner? Not only the diviner could read his child's fate but also a chance to meet him!
At that thought, Zheng Hong felt extremely delighted and immediately ordered a guard to contact the diviner.
Unfortunately for the emperor, that diviner and a certain man had been too busy in their home for quite an amount of time. There was no way for the emperor to reach him at all.
In the Northwest of the nation, a dam broke and flooded the city. As the people of the Northwest tried to repair the dam, heavy rainfall appeared and continuously fell for a week. It rendered all actions useless, with the people left to seek refugee in other cities or villages.
Due to the flood, all the crops were ruined and the food warehouse was destroyed, leading the people who could not escape the flood to starve.
This matter was reported one month after the harem abolishment. All the officials clamored at the emperor to fix this issue. The Northwest crops had always been abundant which supplied for almost half the nation. Meditating this problem was prioritized.
The emperor had a headache at this point. The treasury could be opened to compensate the people but the matter of crops was a different story.
However, the first thing was to rescue the people that were trapped in the flood. He mobilized his people and tried to campaign to the Northwest, unfortunately, the flood was too fierce that made all the people climb on top of their houses. How could his people pass through the flood?
"I didn't even need to do anything." Sun Gui leisurely leaned back on a hammock that Zheng Guozi personally made for him in the garden to look at the flowers.
His eyes closed as he hummed a familiar melody. Recalling the original plot, Sun Wen and Zheng Hong's affection actually deepened in this period of time. With the 'diviner's' appearance, it was thrown off track. The emperor suddenly became infatuated with Sun Gui so he neglected Sun Wen. Sun Gui was actually surprised at this development, he never meant to seduce the emperor at all but this benefited him nonetheless.
Without occupying the emperor's heart, the system could not grant rewards such as some of the weather controlling power to him. Sun Wen actually used this power for the Northwest when he sneaked out again to join the campaign.
After proving himself possessing unworldly powers, he boosted the reputation of the emperor, making Zheng Hong appreciate him more. The people rejoiced and revered the Zheng Hong as true son of the dragon and Sun Wen as the messenger of heaven.
"But I can't also just leave the people like that..." Although it was great that the emperor's reputation did not rise, the Northwest people still suffered as the campaign had been halted at the gate of the city. Sun Gui rubbed his chin a few times before jumping off the hammock.
His steps were light with his hands behind his back. The attendants silently followed their mistress with smiles on their face.
After the arrival of Sun Gui, the regent's mood had always been good, whereas before, his eyes were always downcast and his stature was gloomy. The whole mansion had been drowning in spring in the past month. All the whispers about the former imperial concubine got cut one by one until only their pure love remained. Their lord was so dedicated to his wife that he broke all the ancestral customs to serve their mistress. Even though, they were baffled at all the weird food being shoved into their mouths, they were also jealous of their pure love for each other.
After a while, Sun Gui finally arrived at the destination. The chief eunuch was standing in front of the wooden doorframe and preparing to announce his arrival. He quickly raised his hand to stop the eunuch with a mischievous smile.
"Dear husband, are you busy?"
A bang and thud could be heard from the other side of the door. It was presumed that someone knocked down the chair for standing too fast and spilled the ink for abrupt movements.
The door quickly opened and a tired face showed itself.
"Ah, my Guigui. Am I dreaming?" Those eyes quickly brightened when they reflected a gorgeous figure. His hands reached out and grabbed the slender waist. Sun Gui fell into a strong embrace as well as pulled into the study. The door had already closed.
"Are you tired? You shouldn't have a taken so many days off." Sun Gui patted the hunch back as Zheng Guozi sniffed in the scent he had been missing. His head was buried in the crook of that neck.
"I don't regret it at all. Spending any time with you has been my biggest reward." Zheng Guozi had taken almost half a month off when Sun Gui arrived at the mansion. All the paperwork that needed revision and evaluation were piling up so he had to reluctantly leave his beloved's side. Furthermore, the recent flood had been causing him a headache, he wanted to offer help to the emperor but that young one kept denying the offer. The people were at stake but the emperor was busy of proving his prestige. Zheng Guozi could only silently provide some essentials with his shadow guards and figured how to resolve the grains problem.
"I have heard about the flood in Northwest with no improvement?" Sun Gui was still hugging the man meanwhile patting his back.
"The campaign makes no advancements for the past few days and the rain is still pouring. The Northwest had never suffered such a long downpour before... And the matter of grains..." Zheng Guozi could only sigh as he shared his burden.
"Even if the emperor was busy elevating his position in court, the words of the commoners still hold some weight. They knew of the flood but not the consequences, I think we should inform them somehow..."
This was just a simple suggestion. However, with the emperor's personality, he craved for the approval of not just the courts but also the land, one of the reasons for his usual excursion in the capital. When the people knew of their food and livelihood getting threatened, a commotion would occur for the emperor to settle. Under such pressure, he would be questioned for his qualifications of the throne, how could that man let that happened? He had to compromise and accept the reinforcement.
Zheng Guozi listened and nodded. This was the most simple method to not alert the dragon. His greed was too big which blinded him to see the people's suffering. If the regent just send the relief without approval, that youngster would definitely raise his guard and think that the regent was scheming something to seize the throne.
The next few days, the whispers on the streets turned into cries. People started crowding in front of officials' homes to inquire about the Northwest situation. They begged the emperor to handle the situation in the once abundant Northwest.
"Your Imperial Majesty! This issue cannot be delayed! You must solve the Northwest flood!" An official cried out as he remembered the people gathering their pitches and forks in front of his house.
"Your Imperial Majesty, the people are the livelihood of the nation, without them, the nation will collapse." Another officially calmly recited to the Emperor.
All the jabbering in court all sounded like criticism to Zheng Hong. He could hear the sneer in their hearts when they explained how reinforcements were needed. Because of his pride, he vehemently refused, but with the sudden commotion of the capital , there was no choice but to grit his teeth and accept.
"I have heard all of your concerns, this matter indeed cannot be delayed. I will accept any reinforcement to help the people." As he said that, his line of sight landed on Zheng Guozi. The expression of the regent's face was calm, but to the prideful emperor, it was a mocking expression.
"Your Imperial Majesty is wise!"
"Your Imperial Majesty is wise!"
...
Zheng Guozi immediately sent troops, bringing all essentials and food to help the stranded people. His soldiers were all trained to be afraid of nothing but the fall of the nation. Due to the flood was not draining, they started to construct boats and searched for all survivors. Camps with temporary tents to provide housing were set up outside the city. The people were all grateful as they had been starving for more than one week. Some cried of joy and some cried of loss, relatives reunited or floating corpses.
Zheng Guozi mobilized the soldiers to quickly fix the dam as well as create gutters to channel the flood to the river. However, with the rain, all of it proved to be difficult.
"You shouldn't have come. This kind of environment is not good for you."
Inside the largest tent, a big man was holding a comb brushing through the silky hair of a smaller man. The smaller man remained quiet for a long time before speaking up.
"Dear husband, this rain... I can contain it. However, you must be the one to 'stop' it." Sun Gui turned around and grabbed the hand holding the comb. His eyes were clear and bright with all the confidence in the world.
"Me?... Do you... actually want the throne?" The latter part became a tiny whisper. Zheng Guozi immediately understood the hidden meaning of his beloved's request.
"For me to survive, as well as the nation, this is what must be done. If not,..." Sun Gui fell into silence. He did not want Zheng Guozi to do something like treason, but if not, the world would not collapse and his soul would be dispersed again. However, if his husband chose to remain loyal, there was nothing he could do but accept it. Maybe he would need to leave this world a bit sooner.
As if sensing his desire to leave, a sense of panic washed over Zheng Guozi. His arms flung over Sun Gui and pulled him into a deep embrace. He then thought about the days that he lived like dead with no ambitions and desires, his only purpose was to maintain the order of the states. His beloved deemed the emperor incapable, then he could only fulfill that request.
"Don't leave yet. Whatever you want, I will give it to you..." Because he knew that Sun Gui cared about the people just like him. With his status as the regent's wife, he did not have to do anything but he still chose to join the rough journey to the Northwest. He dove in straight away to heal the sick and injured as well as commanding forces to distribute the shares.
"...Don't worry, I will be with you." Sun Gui was a bit speechless. He did not think that Zheng Guozi would be able to sense his intention. Moreover, this guy also indulged in beauties! But with Sun Gui's bias toward his husband, the position of the regent was higher leaps and bounds from the emperor. Rationally, the regent actually cared about the people and luckily, the beauty in his arms was the same.
"How can you stop the rain?" There was no doubt in this question but only curiosity.
"Well, did you forget that I'm a diviner?" Sun Gui actually cried a little inside to see his points depleting at a dizzying rate.