Chapter 264

unedited

With a never ending series of conflicts taking place across the kingdom, the masses were naturally the ones who suffered the most as their land for cultivation crops had been destroyed amidst the war. Even though it may not seem serious at first, it would certainly become catastrophic with time. This was the first problem that Lee Bohan encountered upon ascending the throne, but he never expected Chu Xiang to present him with such a wonderful surprise.

After ascertaining the safety of the sweet potatoes, Lee Bohan would quickly send them out to the regions where the famine appeared most serious for them to grow at once. Furthermore, Chu Xiang too immediately ordered her caravan to send out the supply of sweet potatoes produced from her test planting area to various locations across the country. Knowing that Chu Xiang was the one providing the sweet potatoes for them, the masses naturally loved her from the bottom of their hearts so much so that they even changed the title of the empress from “Wang Hou” to “Chu Hou”.

At that point, the masses had great respect for Emperor Qin and Empress Chu. After all, the pair of husband and wife did join hands to create stability amidst the chaos of war. Moreover, Chu Xiang had even managed to produce a type of sweet potato that satisfied one’s hunger with less. With the two of them receiving the love of their people, there surely could not have been any better of a start to their dynasty than this.

Lee Bohan could not help but ask Chu Xiang, “Are you still not willing to stay behind? The people all address you as ‘Empress Chu’. Half of my kingdom essentially belongs to you.”

Chu Xiang shook her head and chuckled, “I’m still going to leave. What we take from the people, we must give it back to them in return. On the day of my death, everything that I own shall be given back to the people so that I may be worthy of the title they have given me. Your Majesty, you can rest assured and become a wise emperor. For this glory of yours, I shall not partake in.”

Lee Bohan grabbed onto her hand and asked unwillingly, “Even after all these years, you still don’t feel anything for me? Had I not become the emperor, would you have been willing to be my wife?”

Chu Xiang laughed, “If I said I that would, wouldn’t you regret even more? What’s the use of thinking about such things?”

That’s right. Would anything change regardless of her response? After all, he clearly knew her answer to that question very well. The ideal man she sought after was someone who would put his heart and soul into loving her. Lee Bohan had, on the other hand, chosen the position of the emperor over her. In other words, he never even stood a chance to begin with as his goal ultimately clashed with Chu Xiang’s idea of her ideal man.

Biting down on his lips with great reluctance, Lee Bohan finally released Chu Xiang’s hand. As he looked at her figure fading away into the dusk of the night, she slowly disappeared from his world as if she never existed there in the first place.

As an emperor of a whole kingdom, he never should have allowed such a powerful existence like Chu Xiang to remain untouched. However, he truly could not bear laying his hands on Chu Xiang. After all, she was the only woman in this life whom he had any feelings for yet could not attain, so much so that he trusted her to keep her promise of never threatening his position as the emperor.

Chu Xiang had always been a scarily calm and cool-headed person who knew exactly what to do and what not to do. Lee Bohan hated this intelligence of hers, especially since she never even had any thoughts of staying behind for his sake. However, it was also because of that intelligence of hers that he was not worried about her departure. Moreover, he did not have any need to threaten Chu Xiang. After all, for the sake of her family, she would never go against him. Just like the years before, he knew full well that Chu Xiang would definitely support him even if she was on the other end of the earth. This was the reason why he was willing to let her go.

From their first meeting in the imperial palace up till today, every single detail of their interactions with one another flashed past his eyes. Though his eyes were slowly turning red, they eventually returned to normal along with his state of emotion. From this moment forth, he will not have a single weakness. He shall become a brilliant, wise emperor while she exists as a mere fragment in his sea of memories.

With that, Chu Xiang left her position as the empress. Hearing that, everyone could believe their ears. They were especially shocked by their emperor claiming how the two of them were but mere intimate friends, not actual husband and wife. With Chu Xiang leaving just like that, no one knew exactly where she was headed. At most, rumors would spread around the country, claiming that Chu Xiang had shown up in a certain region. And eventually, those rumors slowly turned into legends.

Some people said how she had a handsome young man following her. Some said how she was still incredibly beautiful even past the age of fifty. Some said how she loved fighting for justice and would never ignore anything that she found unpleasant. However, no one actually claimed that they have seen Chu Xiang in person for themselves. Living freely and comfortably for the rest of her life, Chu Xiang — still known as “Empress Chu” by many — had left behind a legend that would be forever remembered for the days to come.

Since Lee Bohan would occasionally receive news of her activities, he figured out during those moments just what kind of life she wanted to live. Even so, he could only chuckle helplessly and continue allowing her to soar freely in the air. Besides, he was already satisfied to receive occasional gifts from Chu Xiang. Perhaps an emperor truly is incapable of finding true love, or at the very least incapable of attaining a woman like Chu Xiang. For them to interact with each other in this way was already more than enough for him.

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