The Deposed Emperor and the Empress Dowager

Zhu Juntang looked at Liu Chang'an with earnest intensity. She had imagined their reunion many times: would she be agitated, reserved, or perhaps threaten him like the emperors of old, demanding he reveal the source of his secrets?

She simply hadn't expected Liu Chang'an to return to the scene of that night, picking up right where he left off before he jumped, as if he had never stopped talking.

"Do you think this is a storytelling session? You just jump straight into 'Picking up from where we left off...'"

"You didn't say 'to be continued' last time either, did you?"

While her mind raced with these thoughts, Liu Chang'an stopped speaking, and Zhu Juntang snapped back to reality: "Why did you stop?"

"Later, I became Liu He, turned into the grandson of Liu Che, and even served as emperor for a few days before being deposed by the little girl from the Shangguan Family. I just never got locked up easily again, and I've lived until now, barely scraping by, idling away, and occasionally struggling and striving."

"And then?"

"That's it. I can't make up any more."

"Make up?"

"Yes."

Liu Chang'an and Zhu Juntang stared at each other.

Liu Chang'an's eyes were pitch black, shimmering with a flowing light. Zhu Juntang's eyes were large, with a slight reflective quality like a cat's, making her gaze appear exceptionally bright and spirited. She narrowed her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, and her gaze became long and slender, possessing a young girl's allure.

The night wind grew stronger. Zhu Juntang's rounded, straight legs were pressed together so tightly that not even light could pass through; her white stockings were soft and striking in the night. Her fluffy skirt swayed like petals of a bili flower being stepped on by a butterfly. Zhu Juntang reached out and pointed firmly downstairs: "Jump off the building and show me."

"Not jumping." Liu Chang'an refused without hesitation. "Just because you tell me to jump, I should?"

This was exactly what Zhu Juntang had said to Liu Chang'an back then. She hadn't expected him to remember, but she didn't care about his pettiness; her emotions at this moment were complex.

"You jumped so easily that night!"

She felt a sense of excitement, though she suppressed it, and the blowing wind helped her stay a bit calmer.

It felt absurd, like a dream. She doubted herself, and she doubted the Liu Chang'an before her, wanting to verify it all over again.

What she hoped for most was to stand here and watch Liu Chang'an jump down, come back up, and jump again—ten or so times—until she felt she could slowly accept reality.

"As long as you jump, I can give you everything you want." Zhu Juntang tempted him with full confidence.

Liu Chang'an laughed. What a foolish woman.

"I am Zhu Juntang, the third young lady of the Zhu Family. This building you are standing on is mine. Even excluding the Zhu Family assets, the properties under my own name would easily rank on the Forbes list." Zhu Juntang reasoned calmly. "So what if you have superpowers? You still have to live in this realistic world. You need material enjoyment, spiritual satisfaction, and physical pleasure... As long as you have desires, I can satisfy them all."

As she spoke, Zhu Juntang gestured toward the city below: "I am a fairy. Anyone who can satisfy a fairy can receive satisfaction in return."

Zhu Juntang thought that perhaps the story of Liu Chang'an being immortal was indeed made up, but if that night hadn't been a dream, he must have superpowers.

When she called herself a fairy, she truly believed it. Liu Chang'an had seen all sorts of people, including many suffering from delusions, especially the emperors and nobles who had gone mad.

"According to your hypothesis, I am a person with superpowers. So why would I rely on you to satisfy my desires instead of using my own abilities?" Liu Chang'an was curious about the inner workings of Zhu Juntang's confident, foolish, ambitious, and arrogant mind.

"Clearly, you are not a stupid person. Your refusal to admit it now... whether you admit it or not, is a form of reverence for the world ruled by us ordinary people." Zhu Juntang lifted her chin slightly and walked toward Liu Chang'an step by step. "People need faith and will believe in gods, but rulers do not need a god to truly appear. If a god appears, that god will be eliminated, and the same goes for those with superpowers."

"You can only live a low-key life in this world. Even if your superpowers could help you acquire wealth, how much could you get? Looking at you now, I don't think you are good at using your powers to gain wealth, so this is the reason we can cooperate. You have the power, I have the prosperity of the secular world. We each take what we need; why refuse?"

Zhu Juntang looked at Liu Chang'an with full confidence. She couldn't think of a reason for him to refuse.

"Turn around." Liu Chang'an signaled.

Zhu Juntang turned around with some excitement; it seemed Liu Chang'an was about to perform the jump.

A great force struck Zhu Juntang's backside. She let out a cry of surprise, feeling her entire body fly into the air!

"Splash!"

Water sprayed everywhere. Liu Chang'an had kicked Zhu Juntang into the swimming pool. He had been very careful with his strength; after all, a fairy only needed a small lesson, and he didn't want to ruin his little flower.

Zhu Juntang emerged from the water, brushed her messy hair aside, and slapped the water surface hard, glaring at Liu Chang'an in a rage.

"Liu Chang'an, are you crazy!"

"Zhu Juntang, you're the one who's crazy." Liu Chang'an walked to the edge of the pool, reached out to pat her head, and pushed it down into the water, watching her bob up and down like a buoy. "Of course I have reverence, but why would I revere you? Your stupidity makes you quite adorable."

Zhu Juntang's eyes bulged. She had never been so disheveled. Even if the third young lady of the Zhu Family tripped on the grass, her nannies and servants would be terrified, and every single hair on her head was cared for meticulously. This was the first time she had felt such pain and humiliation inflicted by another; it was strange and infuriating.

Zhu Juntang swatted Liu Chang'an's hand away and climbed out of the pool, standing before him soaking wet.

Aside from her stockings becoming transparent and her dress clinging tightly to her body, the fluffy fabric had simply absorbed a lot of water, and there was no sense of indecent exposure. Zhu Juntang shivered, glared fiercely at Liu Chang'an, and then, trembling, reached out. Her fingers twitched, but she still grabbed Liu Chang'an's sleeve tightly and walked downstairs without a word.

Zhong Qing was waiting downstairs; she couldn't leave Zhu Juntang and Liu Chang'an alone on the roof.

Seeing Zhu Juntang's state, Zhong Qing was startled and quickly called for the servants. With towels, hot water, and blankets being brought over, the scene was chaotic, as if some major disaster had occurred.

"Zhong Qing, stay with him. Don't let him fly away," Zhu Juntang said without looking back. She didn't want outsiders to see her like this for too long; Zhu Juntang had always been an elegant and noble fairy.

Fly away? Zhong Qing couldn't understand, but she knew that Zhu Juntang would want to see Liu Chang'an again once she came out.

Liu Chang'an didn't mind that Zhu Juntang had added a superpower to his repertoire, nor was he in a hurry to leave. He was on night watch tonight; the night was long, and he assumed Fan Jian wouldn't mind him killing time upstairs.

Zhong Qing led Liu Chang'an to the living room. Watching him still holding his hard hat and flashlight, she took a deep breath, suppressing her shock and anger: "What would you like to drink?"

"Tea."

A servant brought over a pot of tea. The fragrance was overwhelming. Liu Chang'an smelled it—it was rare, high-quality tea, though he lacked the metaphysical knowledge to discern which tea tree on which mountain it came from or which master had roasted it.

Zhong Qing watched Liu Chang'an drink the tea. "May I ask what happened just now?"

"She felt I should revere her, so I kicked her into the pool to help her sober up." Liu Chang'an frowned. "Why didn't you remind her that she isn't a fairy?"

"Third Miss Zhu is a fairy, of course." Zhong Qing said each word with deliberate emphasis. She hadn't watched Zhu Juntang grow up from birth, but she had accompanied her for a very long time. She felt a strong sense of belonging to the Zhu Family and held genuine affection for Zhu Juntang; she felt the insults directed at Zhu Juntang as if they were her own. "The Old Madam has called her 'Little Fairy' since she was a child, so of course she is a fairy. Must one be able to fly to be a fairy? Or do you think that because you can fly, those who cannot are not fairies?"

The indignation in Zhong Qing's tone was palpable, yet Liu Chang'an merely laughed. It was just as he thought—she had been spoiled rotten. His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out casually.

The fragrance of the tea grew richer, the porcelain cup clean and warm, possessing a crystal-like translucence. After setting the cup down, Liu Chang'an took a photo with his phone and sent it to his "netizen." He remembered that she also enjoyed tea and would occasionally share tea-related marketing articles with him.

Zhong Qing watched this, then instructed a servant to fetch a tea set to gift to Liu Chang'an.

"Third Miss will surely seek you out again in the future. I ask that you refrain from being so presumptuous toward her from now on." Zhong Qing did not want to threaten Liu Chang'an; in her eyes, this man was mentally unstable. Threats and inducements seemed useless, meaning he could not be dealt with using conventional methods.

"The Master said there are three types of friends who are beneficial and three types who are harmful. To befriend the upright, the sincere, and the knowledgeable is beneficial. To befriend the sycophantic, the fawning, and the glib is harmful. If you truly care for her, you should tell her that she is not a fairy whom everyone will dote upon, rather than indulging her to become even more self-righteous." Liu Chang'an waved his hand. "She is the one being presumptuous, not I."

"Since you like quoting the Master, didn't Confucius also say that a gentleman uses his words, not his hands? At most, she is just a bit proud, yet you kicked her into the swimming pool? She is a girl, and you are a man!" Zhong Qing said, annoyed.

"He never said that." Liu Chang'an corrected her. "I have clearly expressed my refusal to meet with her multiple times, yet you have repeatedly harassed me at her behest. I didn't throw you into the pool, but threw her in as a slight punishment; I have already been very reasonable. Reason makes no distinction between men and women."

Reason makes no distinction between men and women? Zhong Qing truly hoped that when Liu Chang'an found a girlfriend in the future, he would stick to his principles and reason with her every single day.

Yet, what Liu Chang'an said was indeed very logical and clear, making Zhong Qing feel that Zhu Juntang had brought it upon herself and that Liu Chang'an was not at fault at all.

She was unconvinced and desperately wanted to get back at him, but Liu Chang'an was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and his fists were simply too hard.