Chapter 1843

Inside the Imperial Study, blue smoke spiraled upward from a gilded beast-headed incense burner.

Wu Zhao's hand holding the memorial suddenly paused; her heart felt as if it had skipped a beat in that instant.

But it was almost the very next second.

Wu Zhao lowered her eyes and looked back at the memorial in her hand.

"I am the master of Da Qian, carrying the weight of Da Qian's eternal future, the great foundation left by my ancestors, and the survival of tens of millions of people!"

"The word 'like' is too extravagant for me, and it will absolutely never exist!"

Wu Zhao kept her head down, her voice cold, as if these words had not stirred the slightest ripple in her heart.

That noble face, illuminated by the sunlight from outside the window, was perfect and indifferent.

Xiao Yuan stared at Wu Zhao's expression.

The more Wu Zhao acted this way, the more certain she became.

In her mind, the scene from that day when Wu Zhao went to the Royal No. 1 Club, where Gao Yang spoke of so-called love, Wu Zhao made Li Long repeat it, and Li Long confessed with deep affection only to be slapped directly in the face, seemed as vivid as if it were happening now.

Your Majesty seems to have truly lost her heart.

Or rather, her Majesty had lost her heart to Prime Minister Gao long ago, but because of her status as an emperor, she did not notice, or rather... she was unwilling to admit it in her heart.

Xiao Yuan had stayed in the palace for many years and was well-versed in the ways of survival. Logically, since Wu Zhao had denied it, she should have proactively begged for forgiveness and not continued this topic.

After all, accompanying a monarch is like accompanying a tiger; for Wu Zhao, as an emperor, to be unwilling to admit it, and for her to force Wu Zhao to admit it, was a very foolish thing.

Xiao Yuan bit her lip, her inner self in a state of conflict.

But Wu Zhao was extremely kind to her and had never treated her as a lowly servant.

Others did not know, but she knew.

Wu Zhao suffered too much.

This position of emperor, is it really so easy to hold?

In the silence, Xiao Yuan continued.

"Your Majesty is the emperor, holding the lives of tens of millions of people in Da Qian's two capitals and twenty-four commanderies; one word can send someone soaring ninety thousand miles, and one word can lead to the execution of someone's entire clan."

Xiao Yuan paused after saying this.

Wu Zhao raised her phoenix eyes, those eyes, cold to the extreme and seemingly carrying endless oppressive force, fell directly upon Xiao Yuan.

"What are you trying to say?"

Xiao Yuan felt surrounded by an extremely thick aura of imperial power, making it hard to breathe.

But she bit the bullet and gathered her courage to say: "Your Majesty is indeed the master of Da Qian, but Your Majesty also feels guilty when seeing floods break out in the commanderies and hundreds of thousands of people displaced, shows a smile when seeing bright flowers bloom, and is enraged when seeing corrupt officials bully the people. I say this only to say... Your Majesty is also human, Your Majesty also has seven emotions and six desires, also has human feelings; you can dislike someone, and naturally, you can like someone!"

Hum!

Xiao Yuan's words were no less than a thunderclap in Wu Zhao's mind, a bolt of lightning striking down.

Her fingertips couldn't help but pinch the edge of the memorial, the plain white paper emitting a faint crinkling sound.

Cold sweat seeped from Xiao Yuan's forehead, and she knelt down again.

"This servant has spoken out of turn and deserves to die; I beg Your Majesty for punishment!"

Wu Zhao stared at Xiao Yuan; these words from Xiao Yuan made it impossible for her to avoid this question any longer.

Did she... really like Gao Yang?

No!

Absolutely not!

"On what grounds do you conclude that I like Prime Minister Gao?" Wu Zhao asked in a deep voice, her phoenix eyes narrowing.

Xiao Yuan raised her head and replied, "Your Majesty cannot help but care about Prime Minister Gao, knows every little change in him like the back of your hand, and Your Majesty yourself overthinks and becomes happy or angry because of his changes."

"Your Majesty might as well think, besides Prime Minister Gao, is there anyone else in the world who can make Your Majesty like this?"

Wu Zhao was stunned.

Her phoenix eyes flickered as she began to recall carefully.

Just as Xiao Yuan said, she seemed to treat Gao Yang differently from others.

When Gao Yang was by her side, her mood was exceptionally relaxed; when Gao Yang visited Suiyang Commandery incognito or went on the expedition to Hexi, her heart felt empty.

Only by burying herself in endless memorials and becoming busier than ever could she feel a little better.

When she learned that Gao Yang was in danger in Hexi, that rage toward Great Yan was impossible to cover up.

There was even an impulse that if Gao Yang died, she would use the entire nation's strength to crusade against Great Yan.

But what about others?

Wu Zhao thought for a long time, and it seemed... there really wasn't anyone.

When Zhao Yuheng fawned over her, she couldn't even be bothered to pretend, feeling an aversion that came from the bottom of her heart.

When Li Long said he loved her with a face full of affection, she subconsciously slapped him back.

Xiao Yuan knew that Wu Zhao was contemplating her relationship with Gao Yang.

She struck while the iron was hot, saying, "Your Majesty, in this servant's heart, this fluctuation of emotion is liking, and this unconscious favoritism... is liking!"

Wu Zhao looked up at Xiao Yuan.

Liking... is it like this?

No!

How could she possibly like Gao Yang!

"Nonsense!"

"I am so partial to Minister Gao because he is a high-ranking official of my Da Qian! I naturally pay more attention to and am more tolerant of talented people!"

"Besides..." Wu Zhao looked at Xiao Yuan, as if questioning her.

"I am the master of Da Qian, how proud am I? Wan'er grew up with me, and I treat her as my dearest friend. I know she likes Prime Minister Gao; as a dignified emperor, how could I like the man Wan'er likes?"

"How do you explain this? If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, even if it is you, I will surely punish you severely!"

She had held herself in high regard since childhood; how could she like someone her dearest friend liked?

In Wu Zhao's eyes, this was nothing short of a great insult to herself!

Wu Zhao looked furious, even intensifying her tone.

This also startled Xiao Yuan, who said cautiously, "But Your Majesty, if liking could be actively controlled, would it still be called liking?"

"Liking is a human instinct, just like a baby knows how to nurse when born and will instinctively dodge when in danger; how can it be controlled? Just like this servant and Little Linzi; Little Linzi doesn't even have the root, and even though I know this, I still can't help but like him."

"Liking never follows reason."

Wu Zhao was stunned.

Liking is a human instinct?

Wu Zhao frowned tightly, her imperial heart completely in chaos, and she muttered blankly.

"But I clearly dislike Prime Minister Gao sometimes; how could I like someone I dislike?"

Wu Zhao was puzzled, her voice sounding like an interrogation of her own heart.