The empress had also dismissed the ladies and was waiting outside the door of Jinluan Hall for Emperor Jingren. Seeing him come out looking animated, he smiled in relief. “Congratulations, Your Majesty, and a joyous new year.”

Emperor Jingren understood what he was implying.

With a very joyous smile indeed, he said, “It has been quite happy, and it is even happier now that you are here.”

The empress took Emperor Jingren’s hand, and together the two of them went to Qifeng Hall in Kunning Palace. The empress had already prepared a soup to dispel the effects of wine, as well as some tasty snacks, just waiting for Emperor Jingren to arrive so the two of them could watch the sunrise together.

As for Prince Huainan, he hardly got to say a word to Emperor Jingren before he was whisked away to sleep. There were many things he wanted to say to Emperor Jingren, but Shen Junrui wasn’t planning on giving him an opportunity. Tonight, Shen Junrui belonged to Xiao Jinyi.

“Is Your Majesty in a good mood today?” The empress poured soup for Emperor Jingren and carefully served it to him.

Emperor Jingren picked up his soup spoon and sipped some. It made his stomach feel better. The slight furrow in his brow caused by discomfort eased, and he said with a smile, “All right. Some things are finally getting off to a good start.”

He hoped that after today’s experiences, many officials would behave themselves for a long time. But if they meant to wait until the terrain was a little less rocky before starting up again, then they were living a fantasy. Emperor Jingren couldn’t let them get their heads back up.

“Your Majesty is wise,” the empress said, from the bottom of his heart.

He had only lately learned of Emperor Jingren’s plans. Upon discovering that Emperor Jingren intended to set aside Prince Huainan’s assassination attempt for the moment and use him to launch an attack on the ministers, the empress had felt both worry and admiration. He worried that Prince Huainan really would be stupid enough to kidnap Emperor Jingren and admired Emperor Jingren’s boldness and prudence. He had actually shelved the matter of the assassination attempt and instead found a use for Prince Huainan: what a heart and mind it took to formulate and carry out such a plan.

The young emperor was simply fascinating.

The empress understood at last why he had been captivated by Emperor Jingren, despite having had no intentions in that direction to begin with. It wasn’t merely that Emperor Jingren was good to him; it was that, while he was a true emperor, he still struggled to keep his own ideals in sight and not be dazzled by power. He was Emperor Jingren, but he was also forever Shen Junrui. It was truly impossible to say what might make such a wise ruler put everything to one side and devote all his forces to the love of a single person.

Once he had understood Emperor Jingren, the empress knew that everyone who had come here had been given an impossible task.

Their assignment was to make Emperor Jingren fall in love with a certain person, and, as he had done for Su Huailing in the original novel, give up all he had for them, abdicate the throne in some other person’s favor, and become inseparable from his beloved as they roamed the four corners of the earth.

This had indeed happened in the original novel, which was a popular work on the Jinjiang website called To Forsake the World. In the book, Emperor Jingren no sooner met Su Huailing than his mind stopped working properly. All his intelligence and aspiration turned to paste; nothing remained in his eyes or his heart but Su Huailing. For her sake he gave up the nation, abandoning all he had, using that nation as a plaything to entertain Su Huailing like King You of Zhou toying with his nobles by lighting the war beacons to make his queen smile.

However, the holographic dating game based on the novel had improved upon the personalities of the characters. The photon computer had created initial character settings based on the novel, and the artificially intelligent NPCs operated based on their own internal logic. The story had begun at the same point as the novel, but what happened afterward depended on the choices of the NPCs themselves.

But when the characters were restored to their original personalities and the newest data processors entrusted with the NPCs’ new lives, these things…no, these people would act according to their original natures, and the nonsensical character arcs of the original novel would never arise.

A character so perfect and well-developed, a young emperor so determined to be a wise ruler: how could he ever refuse the burdensome realm he had undertaken to rule for the sake of a single person?

Forsaking everything for love wasn’t the mark of earth-shattering devotion; it was abandoning one’s responsibilities for a selfish reason. And was a person who could forsake the responsibilities that were rightfully his truly capable of shouldering such a profound love? When the passions that had swept him away cooled and his mind regained composure, when Emperor Jingren saw his empire in the hands of another, would he regret it? Would he begin to resent Su Huailing? Would he go on to forsake that passion?

The original novel didn’t say. It only went up to Emperor Jingren and Su Huailing retreating to the countryside to be celestial lovers in solitude. As for the future, the outcome was as little described as what happened at the end of a Grimms’ fairy tale when the prince and princess went off together. Yet in reality, the prince and princess would eventually become a king and queen, and perhaps the queen would die young and the king remarry. Perhaps the start of “Snow White” was the end of “Cinderella.” Who knew?

But there was one thing the empress was certain of. Emperor Jingren would never do these things. He would scrupulously carry out his responsibilities, so that no one in Great Xia suffered from hunger, so that no one dared invade this realm!

The empress did not want Emperor Jingren to forsake the world for him. What he wanted was to protect this young emperor, to help him accomplish all his dreams and ambitions, even if that meant Emperor Jingren had children with some unknown woman, even if it meant that the empress had to raise someone else’s child.

So that those eyes would forever remain bright, he was willing to do this.

He would protect Emperor Jingren to the last instant, even if no one knew when that last instant would come. But as the empress saw it, no one knew what the future would bring; perhaps he would die of illness tomorrow. If he suppressed his emotions for the sake of a fantasy, he would forever regret bringing sorrow into those bright eyes. Whether fantasy or reality, what he had was now. Now, he was Xiao Jinyi. He was with Shen Junrui, and they loved each other.

If one day all this truly turned to dust, he would still remember that he had loved an NPC with more integrity, a greater sense of responsibility, and greater allure than any human, and that emotion would remain with him all his life.

Xiao Jinyi wasn’t planning to tell Shen Junrui the truth. He wanted him to remain forever this earnest and hardworking Emperor Jingren, while he bore all the truth and bitterness himself.

Seeing Emperor Jingren take up his soup spoon again, the empress suddenly grabbed his wrist and brought the spoon to his own lips, drinking that spoonful of soup. He said, “I just remembered that I also had wine today. I also need to dispel its effects.”

Looking at the spoon, Emperor Jingren sighed and said, “We recall that your alcohol tolerance is such that two or three jars of wine won’t get you drunk.”

“But drinking this soup from Your Majesty’s hand has made me drunk,” the empress said smoothly.

“We did not do it on purpose.” A vein stood up on Emperor Jingren’s temple. “Our empress is dignified and magnanimous. When did you become so…so lecherous!”

“Your Majesty must not know how the border army and the young women of Mobei carry on at the frontier.” The empress held the spoon to Emperor Jingren’s lips. Seeing him drink from it though he was still outraged, he continued, “Life is hard at the border. The women are tall and sturdy, not delicate like the women of the south, and they have fiery tempers. The border army rarely sees women. When a soldier has leave and comes to the city to make purchases, if he sees a pretty and deft woman, he can’t take his eyes off her.”

Seeing Emperor Jingren listening in fascination, the empress continued, “In the capital, a man staring at an innocent girl like that would make him a lecher, and the girl who permitted him to look at her that way would no longer be innocent. But in Mobei, if a girl doesn’t fancy the man looking at her like that, she’ll walk right up to him and give him a swift kick in the… Well, Your Majesty doesn’t need to know where.”

“We understand!” Emperor Jingren cried, the veins on his temples pounding. It was hard to say whether he was angry that the empress thought he didn’t know or angry that he was telling him about such indecent things.

“If she doesn’t mind his looks, the girl will walk up to the man and ask him about his circumstances and his family, whether he’d be able to stay in Mobei and bring his parents and siblings too.”

“Nonsense.” Emperor Jingren’s thoughts were methodical. “A woman goes to her husband’s home. This isn’t the way it’s done.”

“Of course, but the girl will go on to say, bring your parents to Mobei, and if you die in battle, I’ll remarry and bring your child and your parents with me, raise the children and show your parents the appropriate respect.” The empress’s smile faded. Emphatically, he said, “You protect the nation on the front, and I will give you children and support your parents, so you never have to worry about what you’re leaving behind.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingren didn’t censure the women, as some pedants would have, loftily believing that they ought to erect a chastity arch and remain faithful to their husbands’ memories. Instead, he sighed and said, “The women of the frontier are heroes, each and every one.”

It was heroic to defend the border with one’s flesh and blood, but also heroic to live on alone. And it was his responsibility to give these heroes a peaceful and stable nation.

The empress seized his hand and gently kissed the back of it. “With a ruler like you, the women of the frontier will protect the border, even if they should perish leaving no corpse behind. They will not allow invaders to breach our territory, nor allow foreigners to set foot on Xia soil, even if it costs their lives.”

Emperor Jingren’s face heated. Gravely, he said, “We will not permit a single martyr to remain nameless in death, nor leave their family unsupported.”

He had always worked for this; this was the greatest wish of his life.

“Your Majesty’s wish is my wish.” The empress came close to Emperor Jingren and put his arms around him. “Your Majesty wants the nation to be stable and to have an heir to inherit it, and I will support you in this.”

Emperor Jingren froze. He knew what the empress meant; he was willing to compromise on the subject of the harem selection.

The empress was a man; so why had he never asked about it, never been angry, treating him as he had always treated him? Why, despite knowing that the empress was a man, was he unable to take back his heart from him?

Emperor Jingren now understood.

Because in this country, the only person who could join hands with him to undertake the responsibility of this boundless realm was the empress.

Emperor Jingren hugged the empress tightly and promised in a grave voice, “We will not let you down.”

Smiling, the empress said, “Your Majesty, I am not one to take a loss. Of course my compromise comes with conditions.”

“What conditions?” Emperor Jingren asked, also smiling. “If you want it and it is in our power to grant it, we will give you anything, Jinyi.”

“Your Majesty can give me this without dishonoring the realm, and it is something only Your Majesty can give me.” With a smile, the empress picked up Emperor Jingren and softly said in his ear, “The sun rises late in winter. Sunrise is far away. We have plenty of time.”

“What do you want, Jinyi?” Emperor Jingren asked, eyes wide. He was beginning to have the sense that things were going awry.

The empress bent his head and kissed Emperor Jingren’s lips. Huskily, he said, “The pleasures of a wedding night. Your subject wife wants nothing else.”