Xiao Jinyi said nothing. He just held Emperor Jingren's hand tightly, as if he was afraid that the little emperor would shake him off.
However, Emperor Jingren did not shake him off, allowing Xiao Jinyi to interlock his fingers with his. He lowered his head, his eyes fell on their clasped hands, and said in a deep voice: "I think you can't say it. Since there is a fragrance that can make a specific person have a specific dream, and there is a way to make a person feel too painful so that he can't feel the pain, then it should be possible to prevent a person from saying something that must be kept secret. After I ordered the execution of Yan Xu, before the execution, Jing Xixian tortured Yan Xu again, using all kinds of snake pits and ant holes. It is said that Yan Xu was so scared that his courage broke, but he still said nothing. Jing Xixian admired his former commander in his words, but I felt that Yan Xu wanted to say something but couldn't say anything."
"I can only say one thing," Xiao Jinyi took the little emperor's hand and kissed the back of his hand gently, "I am sincere, and my feelings for Your Majesty are also sincere."
Xiao Jinyi wanted Emperor Jingren to believe his sincerity. He tried desperately to promise something, but Emperor Jingren said confidently, "Of course. If you were fake, I wouldn't be able to rest assured to be with you. The reason why I like Xiao Jinyi is because I can see Xiao Jinyi's sincerity."
"Your Majesty is wise." Xiao Jinyi said sincerely. For a little emperor like this, no one's hypocrisy could be hidden from him.
But it was precisely because of this wisdom that Xiao Jinyi was very worried. He was willing to lie to the little emperor for his whole life, but Emperor Jingren was unwilling to live in lies. He stubbornly insisted on finding out the truth, even though he had already discovered that the truth might be something he could not bear, he still resolutely investigated.
"Your Majesty," Xiao Jinyi said sincerely, "I beg Your Majesty not to investigate further. Your Majesty will always be the emperor of this country. We will never hurt anyone in Xia Country, nor will we affect anyone. At most, at most, they have some improper thoughts about Your Majesty. With Your Majesty's intelligence, you will definitely be able to find these people and drive them away so that they have no chance to hurt Your Majesty, okay?"
He would rather the little emperor deceive himself all his life than live so clearly.
Emperor Jingren stared at Xiao Jinyi for a long time before he turned his eyes away silently, not looking at Xiao Jinyi's sincere eyes: "It's too late."
These words were like a pair of scissors that cut the rope around Xiao Jinyi's head. The huge rock above his head finally fell down, smashing his expectations into a puddle of mud.
"I have already guessed what you said. Especially on the eve of leaving the capital, several people who I had been secretly monitoring disappeared in the mansion at the same time. Half an hour later, they reappeared at the same place, as if they had disappeared out of thin air. At that time, I knew that your existence might really be caused by ghosts and gods, and mortal power could not contend with it at all. And if you really want to do something to Xia Kingdom with such power, I will be powerless to stop you. And you did nothing, and still worked hard to live conscientiously. I knew that this power that prevented me from discovering the truth was also restricting you, making it impossible for you to do things beyond the power of mortals. The most excessive thing was just using incense. At that time, I didn't want to investigate anymore, and I didn't want to think about it anymore." Emperor Jingren's face was full of fatigue. He looked very tired.
Emperor Jingren was so tired that he seemed like he would collapse if he said one more word, but he continued, "If it weren't for the battle between you and Huyan Xi, I might have kept this question in my heart forever, and regarded it as my own suspicion, and would never touch this matter again. But unfortunately, your and Huyan Xi's martial arts that are beyond human reach have made me feel alarmed. If they only have improper thoughts about me, I naturally have the confidence that I will not let the villain get his wish, and I am willing to let this matter go. But Huyan Xi threatens my country, the northern border, and tens of millions of people on the border. I can't let it go."
Such persistence is his little emperor. Xiao Jinyi buried his heartache in his heart and asked calmly: "Then your majesty, what do you think?"
"I probably already thought of the answer, but I just don't want to admit it." Emperor Jingren closed his eyes tiredly, leaned against the bed, and whispered, "Hu Yanxi not only treated the people of Xia as ants, but also abandoned his own army. In his heart, these people are insignificant. This just hits the nail on the head that I didn't even dare to think about before. His attitude makes it impossible for me to deceive myself anymore."
"I, I..." Emperor Jingren's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, but the Queen's inner strength was strong, and she still heard what Emperor Jingren said, "I and my kingdom are probably fake. Maybe some god or Buddha used some great magical power to make the people in the storybooks or biographies conscious, but I... after all, it's fake."
"Memories are fake, kinship is fake, the country is fake, even I... This is a country where even I myself am fake." Emperor Jingren opened his eyes, and even though he was in pain and tired, he still said this.
Xiao Jinyi was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe. He hugged the weak-looking little emperor tightly and said, "You are not fake. If you were fake, what would I do?"
Even though it was always clear that this was just a world made up of data, who said that the little emperor must be fake? He was clearly living so realistically, more soberly than anyone else. Even if they were just a set of data, this world had been running for four years, and all the NPCs had been living in the virtual world during these four years, how could it be fake!
"Then tell me, is this body of mine that hurts, gets sick, and bleeds real? Is this body of yours that doesn't hurt and has unparalleled martial arts skills real?" Emperor Jingren asked calmly.
Xiao Jinyi couldn't answer. He couldn't tell Emperor Jingren such a cruel answer. But he couldn't explain the electronic world to Emperor Jingren, or the reality in the virtual second dimension. Must one be truly alive with flesh and blood? If so, what are the countless movies about intelligent AI with emotions exploring? Who stipulated that data processing capabilities cannot think independently when they reach a certain level!
As long as you have thoughts, you are alive.
"The Queen's wound has ruptured. Even if you don't feel any pain, I will still feel heartbroken." Emperor Jingren seemed to have regained some strength. He broke free from Xiao Jinyi's arms, untied the bandage, and helped him apply medicine again to stop the bleeding.
The cold water drops fell on the hand of Emperor Jingren who was applying medicine. His hand paused slightly, but he did not look up. He did not want to see a big and strong man crying, nor did he want to cry with him to sympathize with him.
There was nothing to sympathize with. Shen Junrui was the king of Xia State, with a vast territory and the responsibility of millions of people. Even if all this was false, as long as he existed and could keep thinking, everything was true.
"From your physical condition, you probably just can't feel the pain, but you have all the injuries you should have. Yan Xu didn't come back to life after being beheaded. Even if he didn't really die, it seems that he will be restricted and can never come back here." Emperor Jingren said calmly, "I don't know what you are doing here, but I think you haven't achieved your goal yet, so don't die, and don't let your body become disabled and inconvenient because you are not afraid of pain."
"I will recover from my injuries," Xiao Jinyi said, "Hu Yanxi was beyond my expectations and his purpose is unknown. I must capture him alive and ask him about the whereabouts of a person."
Emperor Jingren was silent for a while, took off the pendant that had been hanging around his neck and placed it in Xiao Jinyi's hand.
"This is the only gift you gave me, and I always carry it with me. But thinking back to your eyes at that time, I think I gave it to the wrong person, right?" Emperor Jingren said calmly, "I am not the one you are looking for."
Holding the pendant with the body temperature of Emperor Jingren in his hand, Xiao Jinyi's iron-like arms were actually shaking. His obedient and sensible little emperor, who was clearly the emperor of the nine-fives, the son of destiny in this world, cherished this insignificant little prop of his so much and always carried it with him. His cherishment of this pendant was clearly his cherishment and love for himself, but now he had to return it to himself intact
Is the task important, or is the emotion important
In the conflict between reason and emotion, Emperor Jingren chose to keep some of his feelings in his heart, and continued to be a responsible emperor step by step. He chose to return the pendant and keep his feelings in his heart forever. Emperor Jingren was always rational. He was able to suppress all his willfulness and do what he should do.
But it is precisely because of this that it makes people feel more distressed and sympathetic.
There was no emotion in Emperor Jingren's eyes when he looked at the pendant, but Xiao Jinyi could clearly sense the reluctance and sadness in the little emperor's heart.
Everything is an illusion, only this thing may be real, but he wants to return this only reality.
For Xiao Jinyi, he will probably never be able to let reason prevail.
Raising her hand and putting the pendant back on Emperor Jingren's neck, Xiao Jinyi said, "This is my family heirloom, which is more important than my life. I am giving my most precious thing to Your Majesty, please accept this gift from me."
When the pendant was worn on Emperor Jingren again, Xiao Jinyi understood. In his heart, the mission was above life, and Emperor Jingren was above everything else.
He couldn't even bear to see the little emperor frown, and just wanted to hold him in his arms and cherish him.
Emperor Jingren touched the pendant around his neck, his expression unchanged, but his fingers were reluctant to move away from the pendant. He whispered, "You just said that you wanted to find someone through Hu Yanxi. I feel that you seem to have regarded me as that person, and this pendant should be the only token of finding someone. Do you want to give it to me?"
"No," Xiao Jinyi lied bluntly, "This is just something I wanted to give to His Majesty."
Emperor Jingren held the pendant and said, "Xiao Jinyi, you don't have to look at me with guilt. You did nothing wrong."
"You are not wrong, you people are not wrong, and this country is not wrong either."
"I am the one who is wrong. I should have done what I should do like everyone else, instead of trying to figure things out."
"Life is hard to live in. I shouldn't live so clearly."