Chapter 2985 - 2986: A Changed Person

Chapter 2985: Chapter 2986: A Changed Person

"You’re the only one? How long have you been here?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

"Aren’t you going to ask if I’m plotting something? Or if I intend to use her?" King Rui’s voice carried a tone of mockery.

"If you were really plotting something, would you admit it even if I asked?" Bai Ruozhu said.

King Rui laughed, "Women being too smart is not a good thing. I can’t imagine how Jiang Yichun gets by every day."

"That’s none of your concern." Bai Ruozhu’s face fell, daring to ridicule her.

"Don’t worry, I won’t harm her, I just want to protect her." He looked into the distance, lost in thought for a moment, and then said softly, "I won’t fight for the throne, you have my word."

"Then what did you seize back then?" Bai Ruozhu sneered, "You talk as if you weren’t interested in the throne. Who was it that caused the chaos then? Who was it that schemed to usurp the throne?"

King Rui sighed, "My mother consort was killed by the former empress. On her deathbed, she asked me to avenge her. I’ve been enduring, using poison to blind myself, just to get this revenge and make him suffer unbearable pain, but..."

He sighed again, "When I finally sat on that position, I realized how damn troublesome it was!"

He even swore, showing how agitated his emotions were.

"You have to get up before dawn. Not attending court is seen as being incompetent and immoral. After court, you have to meet ministers, review memorials, handle all sorts of affairs, and by night, I have to be arranged to accompany the women of various factions. Damn, I’m a freaking emperor but I still have to be their bedmate?"

Bai Ruozhu burst out laughing, thinking of it from a different perspective, the Emperor has to fulfill his duties every night too.

"Otherwise, you end up alone in a massive palace, cold and dull, and it’s hard to leave the palace whenever you want." King Rui mocked, "Later, I realized that the biggest revenge on him was letting him suffer in the deep palace. Why should I torture myself?"

"There are countless people in the world who wish to be Emperor, you’re just not used to it yet." Bai Ruozhu said, holding back a laugh.

"I did usurp the throne, but I also did one thing right." He paused, "I made her my empress."

Bai Ruozhu looked serious, "Stop pretending to be deep here. Haven’t you hurt her enough? Not getting what you want is best, that’s why you can’t let go, right? But have you thought about what this place is? What’s her identity? If people find out you’re at the Meng Residence, the whole Meng Family will suffer."

"No one will find out!" King Rui’s tone was unusually confident, "I’m not King Rui anymore, I’m now called An Jin!"

"But I still recognized you," Bai Ruozhu said, dissatisfied.

King Rui suddenly took a step closer to her, "Take a good look at my face!"

Bai Ruozhu was stunned, looking at his face?

She stared at him closely, then uneasily took out the Night Pearl and shone it on his face, not finding any traces of a human skin mask.

"You..." She almost cried out, damn, is this plastic surgery?

"Do you know what I’ve been through?" His eyes flickered like a ghost in the night.

He touched his own face and forced a bitter smile, "The most powerful poisonous insect was used to fix my heart, but the poisonous insect poison was too strong. My whole body started to rot, the skin fell off, grew back, rotted again, and regrew repeatedly."

"Shedding like a snake must be painful, right? I went through eighty-one rounds of decay and rebirth. Every time, I wanted to die, but it wasn’t hatred that drove me to live, it was her!"

The fire in his eyes turned to water, like a deep sea.

"I just wanted to see her again, to see if she’d think of me, if she’d be sad knowing I’m alive, would she smile?"

His eyes slowly became moist, "So I endured, trying every way to come to her side, but I dare not say who I am, and she won’t know who I am."

He tilted his head back, swallowing the tears, "I’ve died, my appearance has changed, I’m no longer King Rui, I’m now An Jin, so what if? Unless you report me."

Bai Ruozhu was completely stunned, eighty-one times of skin shedding and renewal?

This is definitely more painful than cosmetic surgery!

"What’s this poisonous insect? Who treated you?" Bai Ruozhu asked in surprise.

"Someone you know, he said he’d give you a poisonous insect and you’d definitely recognize me." King Rui said.

Bai Ruozhu was even more shocked, was it Elder Shougu? But why would Elder Shougu help King Rui?

"Afraid I’ll get you to talk?" King Rui chuckled, "My grandfather once saved him, he owed the Yang Family a favor, and he used that favor to save me."

Bai Ruozhu thought of the Heart Fixing Insect, she’d heard of it, but she didn’t know if Elder Shougu had one, and the Heart Fixing Insect shouldn’t be that painful.

Perhaps Elder Shougu had no choice but to save him and worried that his ambition wouldn’t die, so he deliberately gave him some tribulations.

As for mentioning her, it should also be a reminder from Elder Shougu, letting him know the world is not devoid of people who can recognize him.

With this clarity, Bai Ruozhu breathed a sigh of relief.

With the formidable presence of Elder Shougu, if he truly stood by King Rui, Tang Yin wouldn’t reclaim the Jiang Mountain.

"Will you let her know?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

King Rui didn’t rush to respond, and after a while said, "I still don’t know, every time I hear her cry secretly at night, I want to tell her, but I’m afraid, afraid if I say it, I won’t be able to stay by her side anymore, she has a fierce nature."

Yes, don’t be fooled by Meng Jinse’s soft and cute appearance, she’s fiercer than most ancient women. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to assassinate King Rui when isolated and helpless.

"She’ll gradually forget you, you should let go." Bai Ruozhu thought it was a pity, but considering Meng Jinse’s identity, they would not have a future together.

"I’ve already changed into a different person, not King Rui anymore, just a guard named An Jin. Why can’t we have a chance together?" King Rui asked unwillingly.

"Can you hold back for a lifetime without saying anything? Can your subordinates all keep the secret?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

King Rui smiled bitterly, "By the later stages of mending my heart, I escaped alone, even my voice has changed. Even face-to-face now, they wouldn’t recognize me. I’ve completely severed ties with my past."

Bai Ruozhu was momentarily speechless, the sudden familiarity she felt earlier she thought was due to the familiar back figure, but now looking at him again, no matter how she looked, there wasn’t a hint of familiarity.

It seems truly as Elder Shougu said, it was because of the poisonous insect that she had that sense of familiarity, but anyone else wouldn’t recognize him.

Why else didn’t someone as familiar as Meng Jinse see through it?

"I mean no harm, just hope you’ll keep my secret." King Rui said again.

"Why should I?" Bai Ruozhu retorted.