Chapter 118 - 99: Hidden Guard Sikong Rui
Under the light, his fingers were pale and slender, like the well-kept hands of a young master from an official family.
The man was dressed all in black. Jiang Xian was tall for a woman, but he was a good half a head taller than her, about the same height as the Emperor. ’This man is supposed to be good at hiding, a "gentleman on the beams?" If he hung from the ceiling, he’d be a beam himself.’
A silken sash cinched a narrow waist, accentuating his tall, straight posture.
His features weren’t exceptionally handsome. He emerged expressionlessly, his aura clear and cool like an ice sculpture in summer—transparent, yet radiating a faint chill. He had monolids, with narrow and deep-set eyes, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips.
It was hard to say if he was handsome or not. He just had a forgettable face, but his eyes were clean and sharp, and they were currently gazing at her in a daze...
"Ahem."
Jiang Xian cleared her throat. Deep down, she was quite pleased.
’A completely loyal and competent employee!’
’And one I don’t even have to pay! Who wouldn’t want that!’
The moment she cleared her throat, the Hidden Guard’s eyes lit up, and his low, soft voice held boundless joy.
"Mama!"
"..."
’This isn’t the employee I wanted. Can I return him?’
The young man didn’t just shout the word; he threw his arms around her.
Because the young man’s aura held no trace of lust, and his excited embrace was like that of a baby bird that had finally found its mother, Jiang Xian was more baffled than angry. He hugged her, repeating, "Mama." His tone was filled with infinite dependence, like someone who had drifted alone in a vast ocean and finally found a piece of driftwood they would never let go of.
Jiang Xian asked the system, ’Why did he just start calling me Mama right out of the gate?’
System: ’Before the Host drew him, the character existed in the void. In essence, the Host created him. You are his creator, so it’s reasonable for him to call you his mother.’
’Great. Suddenly, I’m a mom.’
’Considering the prize wheel also had an old crone on it... If I’d drawn an eighty-year-old woman who rushed up and called me Mother... The mental image is too beautiful. I daren’t think about it too deeply.’
Jiang Xian used a bit of strength to pull his arms off her.
"I’m not your mom."
The young man looked down at her for a moment, then readily switched tracks. "Papa."
And just like that, her sudden motherhood turned into sudden fatherhood.
Jiang Xian pressed her fingers to her forehead and corrected him. "Your father and mother are the people who gave birth to you. You are a creation of the system. It’s not appropriate to call me Mama. I have another title for you."
Deprived of the right to call her Mama, the young Sikong Rui looked a little wronged, but he still listened obediently to her command. He asked in a small voice, "...Then should I call you Master?"
"No, that’s a bit too... you know."
Various titles spun through Jiang Xian’s mind before she settled on one she was most familiar with. "Call me... Boss."
"Boss...?"
It seemed the system had uploaded some basic knowledge into Sikong Rui, but he was still unfamiliar with this term. "Mama doesn’t own a shop."
He thought only shopkeepers could be called Boss or Proprietor.
Jiang Xian explained to him that a boss is someone who hires employees, and employees work for the boss.
"But a boss and an employee have an employment relationship. You’re not paying me, so how can you be my Boss?"
’An employment relationship sounds so distant,’ he thought. ’Not nearly as good as mother and son.’
"Silly child,"
Jiang Xian smiled, poised and serene. "There are unscrupulous bosses in this world who don’t pay their employees. Although I’m not giving you a salary, I’m giving you shares. You work for me, and when I make it big one day, the shares you hold will be worth a fortune."
She was an expert at selling this kind of dream.
Sikong Rui didn’t care about money; he just liked clinging to his creator. "Boss."
Despite his ice-cold aura, his reply was meek and obedient, like a young, hardworking ox. "What mission does Boss have for me? Whether it’s to kill someone or to seize a hidden treasure, I’ll do it immediately."
The black-clad youth before her was completely open. His features were clearly aloof, yet he wore a warm smile.
"There’s nothing urgent for now. Just protect me from the shadows. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, you don’t need to reveal yourself."
Although he hadn’t received a special mission, Sikong Rui still responded with grave solemnity. "I will protect Boss with my life. If anyone dares to touch a single hair on my boss’s head, I’ll make them answer with their own. Anyone who wants to kill my boss will have to step over my dead body first!"
Jiang Xian was filled with a sense of solemn respect.
’This is...’
’What a corporate-slave thing to say!’
’To give your life for a job—he has a truly enlightened mindset.’
※
Soon after, the Empress Dowager announced that she would be taking Noble Princess Consort Rong and Noble Lady Gu to Jingxin Temple for seven days.
During the final morning greeting before their departure, the concubines of the harem used every ounce of their lifelong self-restraint to suppress the joyous glee on their faces.
Hui Pin, however, couldn’t help but let her smugness show. "It seems you two won the Empress Dowager’s favor while praying to Buddha! The chance to hear the abbot’s teachings is rare. You must truly pray for the good fortune of Yan Chi on this trip."
Noble Princess Consort Rong glanced over coolly.
"Since Hui Pin is so envious, I shall go and request that you be brought along."
Hui Pin: "...Bringing me along might be inconvenient, wouldn’t it?"
Princess Consort Zhang’s gaze drifted to Jiang Xian, and she noticed that today, she smelled of fish maw and chicken soup. It made her hungry.
"It might be difficult to arrange provisions for an additional concubine of the ’Fei’ rank, but the protocol for a ’Pin’ rank is quite simple. It’s just one extra person, after all. It’s no trouble,"
Noble Princess Consort Rong said with a smile. "In that case, Hui Pin is truly a very ’convenient’ person, isn’t she!"
The very ’convenient’ Hui Pin’s face turned green.
※
Before her departure, Jiang Xian redeemed three uses of [Charming Dream Incense].
[Name]: Charming Dream Incense
[Type]: Single-Use Consumable
[Function]: When burned after a living person falls asleep, this incense will cause them to dream of content specified by the Host.
[Note]: The beauty enters his dreams night after night; from then on, the King forgoes his morning court.
Jiang Xian had seen this single-use consumable in the System Mall many times and had always found it a bit useless. After all, if she were in a position to burn the incense, it meant the Emperor was right there with her. Why would he need to dream of her? She’d already be in his arms!
But now with Sikong Rui, she could finally accomplish the feat of lighting incense from a distance.
Jiang Xian instructed, "Burn the incense for three consecutive days, then leave the palace and find me at Jingxin Temple."
Sikong Rui accepted the order, his eyes lingering on her, full of reluctance to part.
Jiang Xian asked him what his problem was.
The little worker bee whined pitifully, "It’ll be three days before I see Boss again. I’m sad."
Jiang Xian patted his shoulder, thinking this kid had truly learned from the master—he’d feel awful if he went a single day without trying to impress the boss.
※
The Empress Dowager’s procession out of the palace was astonishingly grand; it was no exaggeration to say she was escorted for miles.
Because he was there to see off his own mother, the Emperor didn’t dare let his gaze stray too much toward the Noble Consort and Jiang Xian. He very properly expressed his concern for his Mother Empress, showing no reluctance at all to see the two of them go.
On the first day, the Emperor thought he could bear it.
Until night fell, and he began to dream...
The sheets were damp by morning.
Waking with a start, the Emperor reached for the pillow beside him, only then remembering she had left yesterday morning. By last night, Jiang Xian was already staying at Jingxin Temple. And here he was, in the palace, coveting a woman who was near the Buddha!
The Emperor sat quietly on his bed for a moment and murmured, "Amitabha."
He hoped the Buddha would forgive him.