Chapter 92 (1/2)
Chapter 92
Jun Qian Che simply says, “Zhen does not hate them . ”
Mo Qi Qi looks at him in surprise, raising her eyebrows, “Since you don’t hate them, why don’t you make some with the concubines in your harem?”
Jun Qian Che glares at her .
She stares back at him in confusion, “Why are you looking at chenqie like that, Your Majesty? Did chenqie said anything wrong?”
“The first child will be closely affiliated to the throne and will be considered as the most likely candidate to inherit,” says Jun Qian Che, secretly reading her expression .
Mo Qi Qi does not seem to worry about it at all, “Good; as long as he is your child . ”
“Do you really not understand zhen‘s meaning or are you only pretending not to?” Jun Qian Che finds it hard to understand Mo Qi Qi these days .
“Chenqie is not wrong though . It does not matter who gives birth to them, the most important thing is they are your flesh and blood, isn’t it so?” says Mo Qi Qi innocently .
“Do you really think so?” Jun Qian Che studies her expression intently .
Mo Qi Qi nods earnestly, “Of course!”
Jun Qian Che sneers, “Giving birth to the heir will determine the fate of the kingdom, zhen cannot simply decide on it before weighing every options carefully . One wrong move and the court will be in an uproar, the back palace will be a warzone . ”
Mo Qi Qi sighs emotionally,”I really cannot understand what is in you people’s minds . Is there a need to worry so much over having a child? Little children are so cute, they come to this world with a heart as clean as a piece of blank paper; as long as you colour it carefully, they can be happy . It is because of you people’s so-called consideration and trickery that they have to live their life surrounded by intrigue from the moment they were born . Such a tiring existence . It is no wonder that they grow up killing their family members without a shred of mercy . Everyone says that there is no such thing as familial love in the imperial family, but the truth is, that only happens because you lot instill too much negativity in a child’s life from the get-go; it is an unhealthy upbringing . ”
“That is enough, just eat,” says Jun Qian Che, not wishing to further the topic . The current her is very naive, completely different from how she used to be . In the past, all she could think about was how to solidify her position and how to climb onto his bed . Now, she could actually talk about imperial children so calmly; she has indeed changed .
After breakfast, they go to the village head to ask him about the way out .
The head kindly offers to personally send them off . They thank him before following him as they walk out of the village .
The path leading out of the village is filled with villagers, gathering to send them off . They even prepared a ration of dry food for them, as well as ample amount of silver for their journey home .
Mo Qi Qi and Jun Qian Che originally reject their offer . However, the villagers persist and under constant persuasion, they finally accept the food but adamantly refuse the money .
Realizing that they really are not going to accept the silver, the villagers cease from forcing them .
After bidding the villagers goodbye, the two of them follow the village head to the river, where a small boat is waiting for them .
They sit on the boat as the village head navigates them away .
Two hours later, the boat pa.s.ses under a small bridge . The village head brings the boat to the bank and anchors it there . He turns to them amiably, “Mr . Jun, Miss Mo, once you cross that bridge, you will find a little forest . Beyond that little forest, you will find a road . Just follow that road and you will be well on your way home . ”
“Thank you, sir . We will not be able to find our way out without your help,” says Mo Qi Qi in grat.i.tude .
“You are too courteous, Miss Mo . I wish you two the very best . ”
“Good deeds will be repaid with kindness,” says Jun Qian Che sincerely .
The village head laughs before waving at them, “Take care, I will leave first!”
“Goodbye, village head sir!” Mo Qi Qi waves back at him enthusiastically .
Once the village head’s boat is far away, Mo Qi Qi and Jun Qian Che cross the bridge .
Mo Qi Qi, already unhappy with him to begin with, turns to him angrily, “Your Honorable Majesty the Emperor, I know that you are the ruler of the common people, but you had been in a sticky situation and someone had willingly helped you, could you at least lower your precious self to thank him? The village head is not young and yet he rowed the boat for hours to help us, the least you could do was thank him! That’s what people call ‘common courtesy!'”
“Are you admonishing zhen?” Jun Qian Che glares at her, offended .
“Chenqie is not admonishing you, chenqie is only telling you how to interact with strangers!” says Mo Qi Qi smoothly .
“They are all zhen‘s people; in what way did zhen not know how to interact with them?”
“They are all zhen‘s people; in what way did zhen not know how to interact with them?”
“Just because they are your people does not means that you automatically know how to get along with them . You are in charge of their livelihood, yes, but that does not mean that you know how to mingle with them,” Mo Qi Qi raises her eyebrows tauntingly at him . She has always been friendly and knows how to ingratiates herself with strangers; she sure feels a sense of superiority over Jun Qian Che at the moment .
Jun Qian Che looks at her in disdain, “Zhen rules over them; there is no need for zhen to mingle with them . ”
Mo Qi Qi almost chokes on her own breath when she hears that, “How arrogant! So what if you rule over them? Does that means that you do not have to communicate with them? Don’t you ever heard the saying, ‘the government and the people are one’? Only when you truly know the people that you are ruling can you finally rule effectively . You need to understand their concerns, their worries . You need to share their burden . Only then can the kingdom be prosperous!”
“Zhen has always encouraged officers to a.s.sociate with the common people, but zhen is not your regular official . Zhen’s purpose is not to solely serve the common people, but also to serve the entire world . Peace can only be kept through the appearance of majesty and power . Zhen cannot lose that appearance in front of the common people,” explains Jun Qian Che patiently .
“But I am sure you could put that pretense down when they do not even know who you are! How could you repay the village head’s kindness and the villagers’ warm welcome with such indifference? Or perhaps, you thought that since they are your people, it is only their responsibility to treat you kindly! In fact, I bet you think that they should be thanking you instead, for giving them such a peaceful kingdom!” Is his heart really made of stone?
“Once we are safe, zhen will order people to reward them!” It is not that he is indifferent to his people, he is just used to concealing his feelings . He will remember other people’s kindness, but he will not say anything to anyone . He is the Emperor . Sometimes, treating other people well will only harm them, so he needs to be extra careful in everything he does .
“Do you think they want your reward? They didn’t even know who we are and were not even expecting anything in return when they helped us . They helped us purely out of the kindness of their hearts . It is only right for you to express grat.i.tude when someone helps you . This has nothing to do with rewards, nothing at all! Didn’t anyone teach you how to thank people when you were little?” He does not even have the basic common sense .
Mo Qi Qi does not know how imperial children are raised and has therefore mistook his action as rudeness .
“No,” says Jun Qian Che casually as he walks on with large strides . All that he was ever taught was how to protect his position, how to win the throne . No one has ever taught him how to interact with other people, because the son of the Heaven is above everyone else .