Rebirth As a Fatuous and Self-indulgent Ruler

Translator: Storm in a Teacup

On the other side, Long took Shi’s hand and left.

Naturally, he had noticed that Shi was very strange.

Long thought that something might have happened in his absence…

And it was probably between Shi and Ouyang Chuan.

However, Long wasn’t sure about it.

Although Shi behaved like that before… Long still felt that something was wrong.

Holding Shi’s hand, Long didn’t return to the room, but took Shi out of the inn.

“Where are we going?” Shi raised his eyebrows.

Long smiled. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Shi looked at him. “Oh?”

Long said with a smile, “Don’t you want to go out?”

Shi didn’t answer. Long leaned over and looked at him. “It’s boring here, isn’t it?”

Shi finally nodded slowly.

At present, they were staying in a small county, so it wasn’t so much fun.

Long just wanted to take Shi out for a walk.

Although the county was not prosperous, the scenery was pretty.

Long led Shi to the outskirts.

Naturally, the Shadow Guardians were following them in secret.

Long didn’t allow them to walk in broad daylight.

He just wanted to stay with his empress…

Even outside of the inn, Long had been holding Shi’s hand and didn’t let go of him.

Maybe because of Long’s affectionate behavior, Shi got relaxed and didn’t look so indifferent.

“Brother, why are those two men holding hands?”

“Oh? Where are they?”

“Over there. Both of them are good-looking.”

“Yeah, I saw them. They’re so handsome.”

“Brother, why are they holding hands? Is it because they are silly and they’ll get lost if they don’t hold hands?”

“Not at all. Sometimes dad also holds mom’s hand when they go to the street. Is it because mom is silly?”

“No, it’s not. Mom said it’s because dad likes her.”

“Right. Dad likes mom, so he likes holding mom’s hand. Those two men are also holding their hands. It must be because a man likes another.”

“A man likes another? Can two men do that?”

“Of course. Did you forget Uncle Qiu and Uncle Hao?”

“Oh, that’s right. Mom said that Uncle Qiu and Uncle Hao are a couple, just like mom and dad.”

“Yes, these two men must be the same as dad and mom!”

“Yeah. It’s so nice. I want to grow up soon.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Then I can also stay with a good-looking man!”

“You… Don’t be silly. Let’s go back soon.”

“Oh. Brother, wait for me…”

The two kids’ conversation made people simmer with laughter.

Holding Shi’s hand, Long couldn’t help laughing. “How lovely they are.”

Shi also gave a smile. “Yes, they’re so lovely.”

Long said, “They reminded me of our son.”

Shi looked at Long. “It won’t be long before we get back.”

Long smiled. “Well, I hope so.”

Shi said, “Shall we go on?”

“Of course, we came out just for a walk, didn’t we?”

Shi stopped saying anything and the two of them continued on their way.

Then, they reached Qiushui Pagoda near the outskirts.

The tower was built on the hillside and had twenty-four stories in total.

Buddha statues were put on each floor.

They were not as many as those in the temple and there were only two statues on each floor.

Moreover, those statues had existed for a long time…

It was said that it was originally designed for people to pray for a good marriage and later, it became a Buddhist pagoda.

In the former dynasty, it received great attention because of Buddha’s manifestations.

But the current dynasty didn’t value it at all.

The original emperor didn’t believe in Buddhism at all. Moreover, one of his concubines seemed to be frightened by the Buddha when she was dreaming. The emperor was so angry that he almost ordered people to destroy all the Buddhist temples all over the nation. It could be seen how crazy that man was!

The pagoda in this small county did not escape the misfortune at that time.

For a very long time, people didn’t dare to come here to worship Buddha because the emperor would arrest them.

It happened many years ago.

Later, the emperor didn’t bother to care about it.

When he proposed to destroy all the Buddhist temples, many ministers tried to dissuade him from doing that. Otherwise, the consequences would be worse.

The emperor ignored it and the Buddhist temples in the nation continued to survive.

There were some memories about it in Long’s brain.

However, Long wouldn’t be so silly and mention it in front of Shi.

Shi was led by Long to the pagoda.

“There are twenty-four floors in total. Qingzhou, let’s go up step by step,” Long said.

Shi raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“To worship Buddha,” Long said firmly.

Shi looked at him unbelievably. “Do you believe that?”

“I didn’t believe it in the past, but now I’m willing to believe it for your sake.”

“For my sake?” Shi raised his eyebrows.

Long nodded. “Yes. I’ll do it for your sake, because I want to stay with you all my life, safely and peacefully. I’m willing to believe it.”

Shi was stunned and did not speak.

Long pulled Shi gently towards him and kissed Shi’s ear.

“Come on, Qingzhou. Let’s go to worship Buddha.”

This time, Shi did not refuse.

Long led Shi into the pagoda with a smile. When they reached the first floor, Long began to kowtow and looked very devout.

Shi glanced at Long and then began to worship with him.

From the first floor to the tenth floor, Long didn’t stop at all.

When they got to the eleventh floor, Long slowed down, but he still insisted and didn’t stop.

On the sixteenth floor, Shi said, “Let’s take a rest.”

Long shook his head. “No, I’ll get to the top floor at one go. Someone at the bottom said that if you have any wish, don’t stop until you get to the top. Then the Buddha will hear the wish in your heart.”

Shi stopped talking.

Long said, “Let’s go.”

Shi dropped his eyes and followed in silence…

Although it was exhausting, Long finally reached the twenty-fourth floor from the first floor.

He thought that if he had not spent more than twenty days in the wasteland, he would not have been able to reach the twenty-four floor in one breath. How weak he was in the past!

Perhaps, when his wish came true, he should thank the twenty odd days in the wasteland.

Shi also followed Long and got to the top floor of the pagoda.

Shi was stronger than Long, but he still felt a little tired.

He didn’t say anything because even Long didn’t give up.

“Qingzhou.” In front of the Buddha, Long held Shi’s hand and said, “We made it. I prayed for the same thing on every floor. Buddha can surely hear me, right?”

“Mhmm,” Shi responded coldly. However, the redness of his pupils became much lighter.

“Qingzhou, I love you,” Long said gently.