Chapter 25: It’s Not Easy to Be an Emperor

The empress did not make things difficult for him immediately. She just looked at him with red eyes. Coupled with her pale face, she looked like a kitten.

In the next second, countless tears welled up in her beautiful eyes and streamed down her fair skin.

“Grandpa Sword God, I miss you so much.”

Lin Ran was stunned and at a loss. Did she mistake him for the Sword God?

He took a closer look at the empress and realized that although her eyes were open, her pupils were unfocused. Clearly, she was not completely awake. It was probably a side effect of the poison.

The empress hugged Lin Ran and no longer had her high and mighty look. She was like a fragile girl who had let down her guard and was crying.

At the age of 20, she was supposed to be enjoying the best days of her life. However, she had to bear the fate of the entire Heavenly Saint Dynasty and disguise herself as a man to prevent others from discovering his gender.

It must be very tiring to be an empress.

She was the ruler of the world with absolute power. Her life was supposed to be glamorous, but not exactly so. It was more like walking on a cliff. She had to be careful with every step. Otherwise, she would end up falling into the abyss and smashed to pieces.

If her true gender was exposed, not to mention protecting the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, she would probably not be able to protect her own life.

Looking at the empress who was different from her usual self, Lin Ran patted her shoulder like he was putting a child to sleep.

“It’s been hard on you all these years.”

These words were like a switch, causing the empress to cry even louder. Her face was smudged by tears as she hugged Lin Ran tightly. Lin Ran could clearly feel the pair of soft breasts. They were as soft and elastic as jelly.

Fortunately, Lin Ran had given the order that no one was to disturb him. Coupled with the fact that the hall was soundproof, there was no need to worry about being discovered.

“Grandpa Sword God, ever since I became the emperor, there have been endless internal and external troubles. The courtiers are plotting against me, and the vassals are eyeing me covetously. The martial world is preparing to take advantage of the chaos to get a share of the pie, but around me, there is no one whom I can trust…”

The empress chattered on as if she had found an outlet to express the grievance that she had accumulated for years.

When Lin Ran heard this, he was slightly shocked. It turned out that the empress knew about the dangers in the imperial court all along. She was more perceptive and insightful than anyone could imagine.

Even if she wanted to change, she didn’t have the ability to do so. She had just ascended the throne and was surrounded by enemies. Besides, shaking up the imperial court wasn’t something that could be done in a short time.

To be able to make the late emperor break the tradition and make a woman the emperor, she must be truly capable.

“The only person I can somewhat trust is that mountain guardian.”

The empress’s voice snapped Lin Ran back to reality.

“But that guy is only good at dodging my attack and is too weak. However, he’s quite tight-lipped and never said a word about my identity. I want to promote him and recruit him into my own forces, but I really don’t know how…”

Hearing the empress’s opinion about him, Lin Ran did not know whether to laugh or cry. From the looks of it, the empress seemed to have a pretty decent impression of him.

Perhaps it was because the empress was under tremendous pressure every day, but at this moment, she was crying like a river. There was nothing about her that looked like a high and mighty empress. Lin Ran was probably the only person in this world who could’ve seen this side of her.

She held Lin Ran tightly like a drowning person clutching at straws.

Lin Ran felt that he couldn’t continue to disguise as the Sword God because this would only cause the empress to believe she had the support of someone who had been gone for long

No matter what, she was the empress and the ruler of the world, so she needed to rely on herself and be strong.

Only by becoming stronger could she deal with all the internal and external difficulties.

However, if Lin Ran didn’t disguise, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself. It was inevitable that the empress would suspect him. Suddenly, an idea truck Lin Ran. “Got it!”

“My life is coming to an end. I can feel it’s about time for me to go. Don’t be sad. I’m happy that before I go, I can still save your life. From now on, you have to walk the path alone. Perhaps it will be difficult and dangerous, but I believe in your ability. You will definitely overcome all obstacles and lead the Heavenly Saint to another glory…”

Lin Ran was just making up some nonsense, but it had a huge impact on the empress and would be a turning point in her life.

From then on, the legend of Empress Sheng Yuan began. Just as Lin Ran had said, the Heavenly Saint Dynasty reached an unprecedented glory. However, this was all in the future.

“That mountain guardian is kind and righteous. He has received my legacy and is considered my disciple. I entrusted him to protect you. If you encounter any difficulties, you can look for him. He’s a trustworthy person,” Lin Ran thought for a moment and added.

This way, the empress wouldn’t suspect him in the future and he would have good reasons to leave the mountain.

The empress’s breathing gradually became regular. Her long eyelashes were still wet with tears. They fluttered uneasily like a butterfly flapping its wings. Coupled with her messy hair and half-exposed shoulders, she was indescribably lovely.

Lin Ran quickly helped tidy up her clothes. After all, should anyone see this scene, her identity would be exposed.

Seeing that the empress had fallen asleep, Lin Ran did not linger, in case she suddenly woke up.

In order to prevent the empress from thinking that what happened just now was an illusion, he specially left the broken sword of the Sword God under the pillow before standing up to leave.

“This should be foolproof.”

When Lin Ran left, he was attracted by the throne hall. “I’ve been in the palace for so long, but I haven’t had the chance to look around.”

Since there was no one around, he decided to explore the palace.