Everyone expressed horrified opposition to the emperor’s expedition plan.
The empire had just been established, and a host of problems in the nine star cities had not yet been resolved. Space pirates were still eyeing them covetously. With internal troubles and external threats, how could there be any spare strength for an expedition?
Jiang Jianming heard this news that evening.
Unlike most people, the Commander did not show any surprise or panic, as if he had already guessed it.
He just gazed at the golden roses outside the window, silent for a long time, saying nothing.
The next day, he donned his full marshal’s dress uniform after a long time, put on snow-white gloves, and went to the council hall of the White Jade Palace.
When he stepped into the hall, the atmosphere inside was already so heavy it made one break out in a cold sweat.
Ryann stood ominously at the highest point, one hand pressed on the imperial throne, his face showing traces of anger. Several generals led by Chen Hanke stood in line below, both sides arguing heatedly.
Jiang Jianming walked in with an indifferent expression. Seeing his Commander’s attire, not one guard dared to stop him.
He was thus able to walk past the officials in an almost arrogant manner, saluting, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
It had been a long time since people had seen Commander Aslan up close, and they were all shocked by his gaunt, sickly appearance.
Chen Hanke was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly saluted. “Your Excellency the Commander.”
“—What are you doing here?”
Ryann’s expression changed abruptly. He came down from the high position of the imperial throne in two quick strides. “Who allowed you to come? This is none of your business. Go back.”
Jiang Jianming’s expression remained unchanged as he said in a deep voice. “This subject requests Your Majesty to withdraw the order.”
The surrounding people felt their scalps tingle. Lin Ge stepped forward two paces, anxiously making eye contact with him and saying softly. “Dawn, don’t…”
Ryann got a headache just hearing him refer to himself as “subject” and let out a heavy sigh.
…Jiang Jianming’s illness required rest. In fact, the Commander had long since stopped participating in public governance, only discussing some important policy guidelines with the emperor in private.
So today, when Ryann saw this man come to the council hall without saying a word beforehand, he inwardly cursed, knowing it probably wouldn’t end well.
He simply swept his robe aside and sat back on the imperial throne, supporting his temple with one hand, glaring at the Commander without speaking. It was completely a “Zhen wants to see what you plan to do with Zhen” look.
What was unexpected was what the Commander said next.
“Your Majesty, this subject’s view may be somewhat different from that of the other excellencies.”
Jiang Jianming looked directly upward. “This subject knows Your Majesty is by no means a monarch who exhausts the military and oppresses the people. The interstellar expedition plan contains Your Majesty’s good intentions.”
He said earnestly. “Now the empire is lacking in real crystal ores. If this continues, not only will there be insufficient supplies of medicine and energy, but the resulting social contradictions will inevitably become more acute. Internal coordination is very difficult; developing far interstellar space is the most effective way to solve the problem.”
“In times of famine, people eat people. This subject has… seen it with his own eyes.”
“Civilized morality has always been sung in prosperous times, not in destitute years when survival is difficult. If the expedition is victorious and resources become abundant, many of the problems we face now can be easily solved.”
A murmur of discussion rose behind him, but Jiang Jianming didn’t turn back.
He saw Ryann’s expression change, his eyes widening slightly in surprise, like a stubborn child waiting to be scolded who was suddenly patted on the head and praised.
Ryann sat up straight, his lips moving, the light in his eyes brightening as he looked this way. “Then you…”
“No.”
Jiang Jianming said, “This subject still opposes this expedition.”
“An interstellar expedition is inevitable, but it should not be now.”
Jiang Jianming said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, you are too hasty.”
He stepped forward and said earnestly, word by word. “Your Majesty, there are too many vulnerabilities inside and outside the empire now. The problem is not with the expedition itself, but with other hidden dangers that may erupt during the expedition.”
“Please, at least wait for three more years.”
Ryann’s face gradually darkened.
“…Three years,” he sneered. “In these three years, what do the crystal disorder patients who die due to lack of tranquilizers count for in the Commander’s heart?”
Jiang Jianming bowed his head deeply. “When fortune is not on our side, there’s nothing we can do.”
Bang! Ryann slammed his fist on the armrest of the imperial throne.
He squeezed out three words through his teeth. “Get. Out. Now.”
Jiang Jianming didn’t leave. From that day on, he began to go to the council hall of the White Jade Palace every day, debating and arguing with the emperor countless times.
But Ryann wouldn’t back down. The great emperor soon began preparations with swift measures, determined to launch an expedition to far interstellar space.
Historians of later generations once evaluated the First Holy War as “going against heaven’s will.”
In Jiang Jianming’s eyes, it was indeed so.
Ryann was like a ferocious beast, with heavy reality dropping barbed chains on him. He pulled against that force, roaring as he yanked the clanking chains, wanting to drag the entire empire forward.
But the more he exerted force, the more those chains embedded themselves.
Tearing flesh, hot blood gushing out.
No one dared to approach him. The beast bared its sharp teeth at all advisors with bloodshot eyes.
Only Jiang Jianming tried desperately to stop him, pulling him back with all his might, telling him, “Your Majesty, slow down, slow down, there’s danger ahead.”
They were both anxious, so of course they would argue every day. They argued in the council hall during the day, and continued arguing when they returned to their quarters in the palace at night. No matter how Lin Ge and Sylph tried to persuade them, they couldn’t stop.
Jiang Jianming’s body couldn’t withstand such torment. After a few days, he looked half-dead. Sylph warned him that if this continued, something terrible would happen within a few months. He wiped the blood he had coughed up and apologized softly.
One night, during a thunderstorm.
Jiang Jianming woke up in the treatment cabin, his blurry vision seeing a figure standing nearby.
Ryann stood in the darkness, his expression stern but his face haggard, not having had a good sleep for who knows how many days.
“You fainted in my arms while we were arguing, and you still want to stop me like this?”
He leaned forward, his right hand pressing hard on the glass cover of the treatment cabin. “Why do you have to go to this extent…”
Ryann’s eyes flashed with obsession. “It’s not without chances of victory. You know too, as long as the expedition can yield results, we won’t have to give up anything.”
Jiang Jianming shook his head, breathing lightly.
“You’re in such a hurry because of me…I can’t possibly let you go to far interstellar space in this condition, cough cough…”
They stared at each other, one lying down, one standing and bending over, separated by a layer of glass.
Lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating the room. Ryann’s shadow fell on Jiang Jianming’s face, his eyes seeping with cold intent. “This time, it’s not up to you to decide.”
“You can choose not to love me, and you can choose not to let me love you. But you cannot leave me.”
Jiang Jianming quietly placed his left hand on Ryann’s right hand. Pale, thin fingers, a frail wrist.
He sighed and said, “Can you not manage without me?”
“That’s right, I can’t,” Ryann said immediately.
“If you leave, I won’t be the same as I am now. I’ll become like I was before I met you, I’ll turn back into that monster.”
On this stormy night, the young emperor looked down, caressing the glass cover of the treatment cabin.
“You’re the only person in this world who can restrain the monster. You’re not allowed to die.”
But the broken human inside the glass showed a sorrowful expression, shaking his head. After a long while, perhaps tired, he turned his face away and closed his eyes.
…..
Their dispute dragged the emperor’s expedition plan from spring to summer, and the news of His Majesty and the Commander’s political disagreement successfully became known to all.
“You’re not normal,” Lin Ge said to Jiang Jianming in private.
“You and Kaios never used to argue like this before.”
She analyzed seriously. “When you had different opinions, most of the time he would listen to you; but if he didn’t listen to you, you would always end up listening to him.”
Jiang Jianming: “That was often when deciding on some strategic policies.”
Lin Ge: “Right, so the fact that you’re at such odds with him today isn’t just, or not only, about whether to go on an expedition or not. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Jiang Jianming fell silent. Just as Lin Ge thought he was about to use silence to refuse to speak again, he suddenly slammed the table and stood up—
Jiang Jianming said sternly. “He’s the one who’s not normal!”
Lin Ge was shocked. She had never seen Jiang Jianming have such intense emotions, and was stunned for a moment.
But immediately after, the patient groaned in pain, his trembling hand pressing against his chest, as if in unbearable agony.
“Dawn!” Lin Ge hurriedly supported him. Jiang Jianming grabbed her arm, his gaze fixed, panting. “I can’t stay by his side forever. Even if I survive this year, what about next year, the year after? What about ten years, twenty years from now!?”
“You…”
“He can love me,” Jiang Jianming said with a trembling voice. “And I can love him.”
Lin Ge was stunned for a moment, then turned pale with shock. “What, wait, what did you say—”
“But he can’t love me that deeply, and he certainly can’t be unable to live without me,” Jiang Jianming said. “He can’t lose his identity if he loses me. I absolutely won’t allow that.”
“If I can’t teach him this time, perhaps I never will.”
By the time he finished saying this, there wasn’t a trace of color left in Jiang Jianming’s face. But he gritted his teeth and stood firm, walking forward, passing by Lin Ge.
The height of summer was when they argued most fiercely.
In the council hall in June, in front of several important imperial ministers, the enraged Emperor Kaios threw down the crown used during his coronation.
“Are you the emperor or is Zhen the emperor!?”
The atmosphere was so heavy it felt tangible. The other people in the council hall didn’t dare wipe the cold sweat hanging from the tips of their noses, wishing they could dig a hole to escape.
The Commander bent down to pick up the ceremonial object.
He said, “To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.”
Emperor Kaios stood before the imperial throne, his gaze murderous.
Commander Aslan clutched the emperor’s crown tightly. He gripped it so hard that the metal edges cut into his palm, blood trickling down the crown.
Drip drip, it fell on the red velvet carpet laid on the floor of the council hall. Drip drip, drip drip.
He stepped forward, holding the crown high in his hands.
The Commander said, “Your Majesty, please bow your head to wear the crown.”
Bow to the undefeatable reality, bow to the world that wasn’t as one wished.
The muscles on the Emperor’s cheeks twitched. Suddenly, a faint glow flashed, and the red-gold crystal bones on his wrist moved slightly, lighting up and then fading.
“Commander!” Someone in the council hall was so frightened that they fell to their knees with a thud. “How dare you show such disrespect to His Majesty!”
“Silence!!”
Unexpectedly, the Emperor erupted in fury, as if finding an outlet for his anger, “This is between Zhen and the Commander. How dare you speak of him!?”
Jiang Jianming still didn’t take a step back. Blood gushed from his wound, contaminating the once pristine crown.
The stalemate lasted for a minute. Suddenly, at some point, it was as if some spell had drained the Emperor’s strength.
Kaios staggered back a step in defeat, lowering his head and clutching the imperial throne.
The Commander walked forward expressionlessly, placed the magnificent crown on the Great Emperor’s head, then stepped back and touched his chest.
The court officials were terrified.
The Commander had actually crowned His Majesty… It was known that since the old empire until now, only the previous emperor or the ceremonial official acting on the previous emperor’s behalf had the right to crown the emperor.
You, a marshal, crowning the emperor – in what position are you trying to place yourself?
Aslan truly doesn’t care for his life anymore, everyone thought. Though this wasn’t the first time they had thought so.
His Majesty lowered his eyes, showing no reaction to this treasonous act.
He just waved his hand wearily. “Everyone except Aslan, leave.”
Those in the council hall felt relieved and fled one after another.
The snow-white dawn light shot through the grand doors of the council hall, grazing past the Commander’s shoulders, illuminating the imperial throne at the highest point.
The Commander stood against the light, his face obscured by shadows, his expression unclear.
The young Emperor sat there exhausted, eyes closed, one hand supporting his temple, as if about to fall asleep.
He wore the blood-stained crown. Two or three drops of blood had even fallen on the Emperor’s platinum hair, making the scene look like an exquisite classical oil painting.
After an unknown period, the Emperor’s hoarse voice resonated in the council hall.
“You see, you still ended up crowning Zhen after all.”
“What Zhen wants, who says Zhen can’t get.”
The ending tone carried a hint of laughter, yet it sounded melancholic.
“What you originally wanted was for me to crown you under the imperial flag during the grand ceremony.”
Jiang Jianming’s voice became soft and low, “Everyone has things they can’t obtain, it’s just a matter of how much. You must accept this, otherwise, this subject will die with no peace.”
Die with no peace, he actually used such sharp words. Ryann laughed bitterly, saying softly. “Do you know why Zhen bowed his head?”
Suddenly, the Emperor opened his eyes, abruptly stood up and shouted angrily. “Do you really know why or not?!”
“I know.”
Jiang Jianming looked at his right hand, narrowing his eyes.
He was actually feeling a bit dizzy. He had just undergone an emergency surgery two days ago, the incision was hurting, and his whole body felt weak.
Now with the glaring sunlight shining on him, his vision was going dark, and his chest and stomach were simultaneously contracting nauseatingly. He could barely stand.
Jiang Jianming pressed his sleeve against the cut on his right hand. The dark red blood immediately stained the white military ceremonial uniform and spread quickly.
He said with difficulty. “Your Majesty bowed… not because of the crown, but because I was bleeding.”
“But when I’m gone, what will you do then?”
