The Little Consort's
Eps. 84: Peace with the Future
Nature changes too suddenly. The air temperature becomes very cold. The people of Dongling Kingdom who were still awake wondered what was going on. Nature is suddenly like wrath. But the so-called wrath is actually a form of heartache incarnated from the heart of a king, a queen mother, and those closest to the royal family. Inside the palace there, in a corner near the legendary Houchi Lake, a special woman had just been declared gone for all eternity!
“No! Huang An, you can't go!”
Long Ji Man lowered his head on the edge of the ice bed where Li Anlan's body lay. The extremely painful sense of loss caused his heart to be sliced by thousands of knives. The thousand sharp swords that attacked him were simply not worth the pain he was getting due to this woman's departure.
Li Anlan was like a flower that always bloomed in every season. He had strong roots and leaves, which allowed him to still be able to stand firm in his place. He stood on his own feet, without relying on the help of others. But why is it that now such a powerful root has been deliberately removed from its place?
“Where is this?”
The sound made the entire room that was roaring stop crying simultaneously. Those who were prostrating raised their heads, seeing who had raised the question in this atmosphere of sorrow. Their eyes simultaneously stared at a woman who was sitting on the bed with a confused face.
“Wait! Why does this anachonistic view seem familiar? Did I dream again?”
“Hu..Huang An...”.
The woman turned her head to a man sitting next to her seat. This guy's clothes are so weird. Isn't this the famous traditional Chinese dress? The man's head was also adorned with a beautiful crown. The woman then looked around her. People looked at him strangely without blinking. Their clothes were also as strange as the man's clothes.
He also turned his head to his own body. Strange, she herself was also wearing that traditional outfit. What's the matter? Wasn't he in the hospital and being examined by a doctor because his body had a heart attack and fell in a vegetative state repeatedly?
Tyingg…..
The buzz in the woman's ears spread to the brain. The shadows began to appear here and there. Be ill. His head hurt a lot. Those memories made the confused woman suddenly come to a conclusion: She has returned! The memory is his! This world belongs to him! These people were people he knew!
“Ji Man? No, Your Grace? Why is everyone gathered here?”
“Huang An, are you alive? You have returned!”
Long Ji Man hugged Li Anlan's body tightly without caring about the people around him. From the beginning he did not believe that his Royal Empress was dead. Now all his words have been proven. Li Anlan is awake! The woman had regained her consciousness!
Nature which was originally like wrath, now suddenly calmed down again. The moon is shining brightly again. The thunder disappeared, the wind was peaceful with the direction it was blowing. The water in Lake Houchi was calm as before. The people of Dongling Kingdom were again astonished by the strange situation that had only occurred once in their lifetime.
Tao Zhun stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Just incredible! He was very sure that the woman who used to call him the shaman had already died a moment ago. Now, all of a sudden, he woke up and said as if nothing had happened. The miracle! This is a miracle! A woman has returned from the dead!
“Your Majesty, what really happened? Why are you crying?”
“Huang An, why did you just come back?”
“Where did I go?”
“You fell to the bottom of the lake and were unconscious for one month. Huang An, you don't remember anything?”
Li Anlan who had just regained consciousness was pensive for a moment. He remembered that he had fallen into Houchi Lake, was out of breath, then returned to the modern world in a coma. He remembered that his doctors and aunt there often argued about the tools that supported his body. Slowly, his consciousness and memories of Dongling Kingdom disappeared one by one in his subconscious. However, Li Anlan often let out tears for no reason.
Then, in the life and death situation, Li Anlan remembered an old man who knew who. The man gave her a choice, come back or not. Li Anlan's confused soul then remembered that he had a grudge somewhere. Since his body in the modern world was useless and he would be deformed if he regained consciousness later, Li Anlan chose the option of returning to the old man. After that, he did not remember anything anymore.
So, when he opened his eyes, he was bewildered himself. Part of his memory of his life's adventures in Dongling Kingdom is lost, but the memory of his modern world life is still intact. There was one thing that made him wonder, he seemed to have a task but did not know what it looked like. That was why he was wondering when he opened his eyes earlier. Fortunately, his memory of his life in this world returned quickly.
“So, you're back in your world?” long Ji Man asked after everyone was asked to leave the main room of Xingyue Palace.
Li Anlan nodded.
“Doctor said that I would become disabled. As here, my life expectancy in the modern world is also very small.”
“Doctor? What is it?”
“That's a similar job to Tao Zhun.”
“You won't disappear again right?” ask Long Ji Man again. He really could not bear it if Li Anlan fell ill and was on the verge of death again.
“I... Already have nowhere to go anymore.”
Li Anlan had already decided to return to Dongling Kingdom. Thus, he would have to bear the consequences if he could never return to the modern world forever. Li Anlan would probably be stuck here forever, until he died. It's okay, living in this world is better than living in the modern world but living life like a corpse.
He may never again find all the pleasures of the modern world. There will be no more cars, motorbikes, planes, cruises, playing in amusement parks, riding mills, badminton, gyms, and many other things. Everything that used to be commonplace in modern times will never be able to meet again.
Li Anlan regretted that he did not have time to say goodbye to his aunt and to all his good friends. His only regret was not having time to say goodbye to those who had given him the color of life until he was twenty-four. He also did not have time to thank those who had accompanied him, had treated his wounds, and helped him through lonely days.
“What if you miss your world?”
“Yes, there are many ways in this world to divert longing with something else.”
The woman held back the weight of tears that had piled up in her eye pelup. She doesn't want to cry. Coming back here was his own wish. He should be well through life until his last day comes someday.
“Huang An's. You, no regrets?”
Li Anlan shook her head.
“This is my own choice.”
“You want to cry?”
“No. This great woman like me never cries.”
“There are many things that can make you happy in your world. Now, you choose to return to my place. Huang An, are you okay?”
“I must make peace with the future.”
Long Ji Man hugged Li Anlan's body abruptly. She was so happy that this woman was back. The color on his face was as usual, though not as bright as usual. The color of his lips also returned pink and fresh, not blue like a corpse. After all, Li Anlan would rather stay by his side than survive in his home world.
“Your future now is with me all the time. Can we always create a future for ourselves? Huang An, I'm sure you won't find any difficulty in shaping your future here,” Long Ji Man said as he continued to hug Li Anlan.
Long Ji Man slowly took off his embrace. He looked at the eyes of the vile yet fully shining with great depth and gentleness. This was the softest look he had ever given this woman. Long Ji Man's heart was pounding. Heart's shaking.
“Huang An, I like you.”
Those words just slid out of Long Ji Man's mouth. Li Anlan who heard it was instantly shocked to death. No rain, no heat, where did this man's courage come from to say that sacred thing? Is this man's brain damaged from worrying too much?
“Your Majesty, are you declaring love to me?”
“Do you think?”
“No, this is not true. Out of so many women, why did you fall in love with me?”
“Isn't the reason clear?”
“What?”
“You... You are stubborn, smart to talk, grumpy and often troublemaking. Your temperament is bad and you can't control your emotions. You are also disrespectful and ignorant of temperament, arrogant, annoying, and often argue with me for no reason.”
Li Anlan widened his eyes in disbelief. This man did not declare love, but indulged in all the ugliness of Li Anlan. Such a detailed description of Li Anlan's vices that this man knew. Even Li Anlan himself did not know how many flaws there were to him. These men actually count and mention it one by one.
“Hey, there is no need to mention my ugliness too right?”
“That's what I like about you, Huang An.”
“Your Majesty, is your brain injured?”
“No, I'm speaking honestly. I like who you are. You are open-minded and always rational. Your actions are always based on the truth. Although sometimes it does not make sense, but the end of everything always refers to the perfect value.”
It's great! Just a few minutes ago he said his vices, now this man's mouth is so fluent in saying sweet things! A truly great king!
“No. I will not receive love from a man who has many wives.”
“You've already gotten rid of six for me.”
“Isn't there still eleven more?”
“Wrong. Only six more.”
But this is not a good time to express love. A great war is about to happen. The main culprit who tried to kill him has not been caught and he has not been able to avenge him. There are other important things to do instead of expressing love that he thinks is too ridiculous.
“Wait! Now is not a good time to talk about this ridiculous matter. Your Majesty, we must find the person who killed me first!”
“I've got rid of five women who made you poisoned.”
“Really?”
Long Ji Man nodded.
“Where are they now?”
“At the grave.”
“Hah?”
“I've executed them.”
“Wah, Your Majesty, you're acting faster than me!”
“Everything with the help of your brother.”
Li Anlan had just remembered that he had an older brother here.
“Li Afan help you? She knows my condition?”
“He also knows that you are from another world.”
“Wah, my brother and husband are great too.”
Long Ji Man smiled. She knew this woman would not care so much about her own feelings. Let everything go like running water. As long as this woman survived, then all she had could she bet. The important thing they had to solve now was to find the real main culprit and judge him in front of the people of Dongling Kingdom.
“Before you drowned, did you remember anything?” ask Long Ji Man.
“I saw the shadow of a beautiful phoenix-crowned woman smiling towards me. Your Honor, maybe he did.”
“You sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Big Master seems to have started showing his fangs.”
“Your Majesty, are you thinking of the same one person as me?”
Long Ji Man looked into Li Anlan's eyes while thinking. Yes, he had indeed thought of someone who might be the prime suspect. It only takes strong and undeniable evidence to capture and take down that person. Touching it without providing evidence is tantamount to looking dead.
...***...
...No, Anlan is not dead, calm down. ...