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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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He looked down at Xiaoshao, who was looking only at him under the faint moonlight.
‘I am Young Master Sima’s rabbit.’
At the cute confession, the thread of his reason grew thin.
It seemed that whenever he was involved with Xiaoshao, whether it was during the play or now, he tended to act impulsively.
He wrapped his arm around Xiaoshao’s slender waist, bent down, and kissed her.
“Eh…!!”
Xiaoshao’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss, but… she slowly closed her eyes and slowly embraced Mancheon.
She stood on her tiptoes and continued the kiss.
When he pulled away slightly, he found her startled expression, clutching his clothes, so cute that he kissed her again.
After a short yet long kiss, their gazes intertwined under the moonlight.
“Sister Nangong, aren’t you disguised as a man? Then why are you being so cute?”
At Mancheon’s playful question, Xiaoshao’s face turned crimson.
“I’m sorry… it’s just… I… I like you… I love Young Master Sima.”
She lowered her head and hid her blushing face, pressing her forehead against Mancheon’s chest like a rabbit digging a burrow.
He smiled naturally at the sight. She was a sister who really stimulated his protective instincts.
At first, he had just wanted to become sworn brothers with her and learn her family’s secret martial arts, but he had never thought they would end up loving each other.
“I like you… I love you…”
He looked down at Xiaoshao, who was whispering words of affection, her pent up emotions bursting forth from the kiss.
He understood the heart of Sakra, who had sent the rabbit to the moon.
How could you leave such a cute creature behind? Of course, you had to take it with you.
‘Hehehe… she doesn’t even know she’s been tricked, and she’s already given me her martial arts and her heart… I’ll help you, trust you, and support you again and again… hehehehe…!!’
He made a vow and held the cute girl in his arms tightly.
He expressed his affection gently, tenderly.
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The Deng Dynasty’s imperial palace, the emperor’s bedchamber.
One of the Twelve Heavens, the rulers of the twelve skies.
The emperor, who inherited the blood of Agni, the god of fire.
“The lazy emperor must awaken and immediately abolish the law of noninterference with the martial world and arrest the wicked martial artists?”
Huoxian threw the memorial he had received today, his face contorted with fatigue and annoyance.
“Those bookworms! They always make it sound so easy!!”
“Your Majesty, please calm down. You’ll harm your health.”
At the sight, the emperor’s personal teacher, Bai Hu, his long white hair flowing, picked up the scattered memorial and organized it.
“And you shouldn’t throw away all memorials just because you don’t like the content.”
He didn’t forget to teach him.
“Those fools don’t know how terrifying the martial world is, so they can talk so easily.”
Huoxian’s body slumped in his chair, as if in despair.
“Teacher, I enjoy eating delicious food. I enjoy indulging in pleasures. I can’t rest often because of my duties, but I enjoy playing.”
As he spoke, Huoxian’s face contorted, and his pupils trembled.
“But… those martial artists are different.”
A hint of fear could be seen in his eyes.
“They are monsters who covet martial arts, the art of killing, more than the pleasures of the world.”
He remembered the nightmare that had happened that day, and it was still really clear in his mind.
“Neither spears nor swords could pierce him… he’s a monster who kills people for a mere bowl of chicken porridge.”
The image of Wu Ming, who had killed the guards like swatting flies and torn his brother to pieces, was like a sharp thorn embedded in his brain, refusing to disappear.
“How pathetic.”
And then, along with fear, a sense of self-loathing welled up, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He covered his face with his hands and called out to his teacher like a frightened child.
“Teacher… the first emperor, Huoguang, unified the world by subjugating the martial artists… but I, his descendant, am afraid of the martial world.”
The emperor’s lament, filled with sorrow.
If it had been the empress or a concubine, they would have cried with him. If it had been a loyal subject, he would have been indignant at his own incompetence for not being able to ease the emperor’s worries.
But… there were no tears, no indignation.
“It seems I have to teach Your Majesty again.”
Only a stern yet gentle voice echoed.
“You can conquer the world on horseback, but you cannot rule it on horseback.”
After all, Bai Hu was the emperor’s personal teacher, the grand tutor. He had to teach him.
“The founder of a dynasty in chaotic times and the ruler of a peaceful era have different roles. It is important to learn from your predecessors, but there is no need to compare yourself to them.”
Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, had neglected his studies and looked down on scholars in his youth, but…
“I was wrong back then. Now that I’m emperor, I realize that studying is more important than riding a horse and wielding a sword.”
after becoming a ruler, he acknowledged the importance of scholarship and advised his son to study hard.
A hero doesn’t need to study, but a leader does.
Contrary to his beautiful appearance, Bai Hu’s words were blunt and direct.
“The emperor’s role is to rule, not to practice with a sword and become stronger.”
His pale blue eyes, which held a hint of blue, turned to the emperor, his precious disciple, whom he had to serve with his life.
“Above all, the emperor is busy.”
He woke up at the hour of the mao (between 5 and 7 a.m.), washed himself, briefly reviewed the day’s agenda, and began his duties with the morning court.
The climate of each region, natural disasters, river repairs, land reclamation, road construction, crop yields, local prices, border raids, military expenses, the operation of the standing army, memorials on flawed laws, and so on.
A truly diverse and immense amount of work poured in.
Of course, the revision of laws and other trivial matters were handled by his subjects, but the final decision maker was the emperor.
Was this a just law? Or was it a law to enrich someone?
When a memorial to impeach an official was submitted, was it a false accusation due to factional strife?
How would his policies affect the lives of the people?
He had to pay close attention and verify everything.
There was no time to waste on the martial arts of a single person.
“Your Majesty, an invisible energy coming out of a sword, a body that cannot be pierced by swords or spears, a being that roams the sky…”
As a royal guard since the previous emperor’s reign, Bai Hu had spent his entire life practicing with a sword.
He was a master of the martial world, one of the Ten Great Masters, the Supreme General of Heaven’s Strategy, the best swordsman in the Central Plains, but…
“Please do not be swayed or afraid of such trivial arts. If a so-called master of the martial world goes on a rampage, hundreds, perhaps thousands, will die.”
He dismissed the existence of martial arts and taught the Son of Heaven that he had a greater responsibility.
“If the emperor neglects his duties and goes on a rampage, enacting flawed policies, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people will suffer and die.”
“This disciple… was wrong.”
And then, his heart softened at the sight of his dejected disciple, whom he had cared for since he was a toddler.
“My words were harsh.”
He immediately bowed in apology and unconsciously approached him, as he had when he used to comfort the usually often crying Huoxian.
“Your Majesty is doing well enough.”
He carefully embraced him and gently patted his back, whispering tenderly.
“Your Majesty, do you remember the story I told you when you were a child?”
“I remember. When I was crying after fighting with my brother for the first time because he was bullying the ducks in the garden…”
Huoxian nodded. Bai Hu had told him many stories, but in a situation like this, there was only one story he would tell.
“The story of Mencius and King Xuan of Qi.”
One day, King Xuan of Qi, a king of the Qi state during the Spring and Autumn period, saw an ox being led to the slaughterhouse for a sacrifice to heaven.
The ox, as if sensing its impending death, resisted with all its might and cried pitifully.
King Xuan, who felt sorry for the ox…
“Let it go. It’s so pitiful, trembling in fear.”
“Yes? Then what should we offer as a sacrifice?”
“Uh… well… a sheep! Offer a sheep as a sacrifice!”
Was the ox pitiful, but the sheep not? The people thought King Xuan had done it to save money, since sheep were cheaper than oxen.
This incident made King Xuan the laughingstock of the entire country.
And in that situation, Mencius came to see King Xuan.
Mencius was a man who advocated for the overthrow of a king if he was not king like, so King Xuan was nervous about their meeting, but… Mencius mentioned the incident with the ox and praised King Xuan, saying he had the qualities of a wise king.
“How can a man who does not even pity an ox he sees with his own eyes pity the people who are far away and unseen?”
Mencius believed that the most important virtue for a benevolent ruler was the heart to pity and help others, the heart of compassion.
That was why he believed King Xuan, who had pitied the ox, had the qualities of a wise king.
“That’s right.”
A smile spread across Bai Hu’s face at his disciple’s answer.
“Your Majesty possesses the qualities of a wise king that Mencius spoke of. What a ruler needs is not the courage of a common man, but a heart that pities the people.”
As a subject of the Deng Dynasty, it was kind of disloyal to think this, but… he was glad that it was Huofeng, not Huoxian, who had died in the attack by Wu Ming.
It wasn’t just because he was his cherished disciple.
On the surface, Huofeng was a filial, magnanimous, and manly person, but… a gloomy light filled Bai Hu’s eyes as he recalled the two brothers’ childhood.
behind the scenes, he was a piece of trash who bullied those weaker than him and took pleasure in it, a person who had no heart of compassion.
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