Chapter 598: The Grim Future.
Chapter 598: Chapter 598: The Grim Future.
Then his eyes flashed.
Something fierce rose in them... old, sharp, and still befitting an emperor.
"...It seems I will have to change the plan a bit."
He didn’t want to do this, but it was.... necessary for the glory and future of the Dynasty.
After making his decision, the Fen Emperor was about to call for a servant.
But then the door slowly opened and a beautiful, mature woman stepped inside.
Fen Ling was tall and poised, her crimson robes flowing elegantly around her figure as she walked.
Even in the dim light of the emperor’s chambers, her presence was striking... mature, alluring, and carrying the quiet pressure of someone who had long grown accustomed to standing above others.
Her black hair was arranged with imperial care, while her crimson eyes held a calm that seemed strangely at odds with the chaos outside.
She smiled.
It was a gentle smile, the kind a wife might wear when greeting a husband who had grown old before his time.
"Your Majesty."
Fen Ling walked to the side of the bed and lowered herself slightly, her voice soft.
"It seems you are well now."
The Fen Emperor’s cloudy eyes flashed.
A hint of desire rose in them as his gaze lingered on her... the elegant line of her throat, the mature beauty framed by crimson silk, and the charm that even age and years of court politics had failed to erase.
For a brief moment, the dying man looked less like a worn-out emperor and more like the young man he had once been... a boy who still remembered exactly what it felt like to see her for the first time.
Fen Ling noticed that look immediately.
Her smile deepened, and the formality in her voice faded into something much more casual, almost like two old acquaintances speaking behind closed doors.
"Even at death’s door, you still have the energy to look at me like that?"
She shooked her head slightly, her crimson eyes carrying a faint hint of amusement.
"Your Majesty is really quite lustful."
Hearing that casual tone, the Fen Emperor gave a wry smile.
He sighed, the fierce light from earlier already fading back into the weariness of old age.
"...You really have no respect for a dying man."
Fen Ling chuckled softly.
She straightened and smoothed the front of her crimson robes, completely unfazed by his stare.
"Respect is earned by those who are still alive and have something significant at stake, Your Majesty," she stated, approaching the small table to pour a cup of warm tea.
"But for a dying man, honesty is a much rarer luxury. I thought you would appreciate it."
She returned to the bedside and held out the cup.
Steam rose between them, softening the sharp, calculating look in her crimson eyes.
"Honesty from you? Haha... how generous you are."
The Fen Emperor let out a weak, raspy laugh, using the private name he had not uttered in decades.
Looking down at the tea he was holding, he then softly said,
"Perhaps you’re correct. After all these years as emperor, getting my hands dirty with politics, maybe honesty is exactly what I need at this moment... Big sis Ling."
Fen Ling’s hand paused for half a breath at the name and that soft murmur.
Then she placed the cup into his wrinkled fingers as if she had heard nothing unusual.
Yet at the same time, a hint of nostalgia appeared in her eyes as she looked at the old man before her.
She smiled.
"So you still remember to call me Big Sister."
Her voice softened, tinged with nostalgia for the past.
"How nostalgic. You were just a boy back then, a little prince who ran all this way just to confess to me."
The Emperor’s face flushed slightly.
He immediately waved his wrinkled hand, as if he could physically push the memory away.
"Please do not mention that old source of embarrassment."
His voice, though still weak, conveyed a surprisingly strong protest.
"I was young back then," he explained. "Full of energy, just a boy who hadn’t learned to keep his mouth shut."
Fen Ling’s smile only grew.
"Yes, I remember that," she said, observing him take another sip of tea, clearly amused by the unusual sight of a dying emperor appearing flustered.
"You even knelt so solemnly, as though the fate of the entire dynasty hinged on my acceptance of a child’s confession."
The Fen Emperor almost choked on the tea.
He set the cup down with more force than his frail body should have allowed and turned his face slightly away.
"...You remember too clearly."
"Of course I do."
Fen Ling smiled, her crimson eyes lingering on him with open amusement.
"You were red from your ears to your neck. Your attendants were hiding behind the pillars, too afraid to pull you back."
"I was a prince," he muttered. "Of course, they could not interrupt."
"Haha, and not only that, you were a child who had stolen your father’s ceremonial jade just to appear more impressive."
The Emperor closed his eyes.
"...Must you say everything?"
Fen Ling laughed softly.
"If I do not say it now," she said, "when else would I? You are already lying there talking about mortal endings."
The Emperor was silent for a moment.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
It was small, tired, and genuine.
"...And you still did not accept me that day."
Fen Ling’s gaze lingered on his wrinkled face.
"I did not."
"Since you said I deserve honesty... then may I know why?"
At that question, she looked at him for a while, as if weighing whether honesty was truly worth giving.
Then she answered simply.
"Because you were too young. And I was already standing in a place you had not yet reached."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"And even if I had accepted you... you probably couldn’t have handled me. You would have just died young."
Then she smiled faintly.
"And besides... you were never really my type."
The Fen Emperor let out a breath that was almost a laugh at those words.
"Hah... I see. That is quite a painful honesty indeed."
Fen Ling did not look away and chuckled.
"You asked for it."
"I indeed did."
He leaned back against the pillows, still faintly smiling.
"And now my poor heart is paying for it."
A short silence settled between them for a while.
Then...
The atmosphere changed, and the Fen Emperor’s expression shifted as well, losing the nostalgic look on his aged face.
It was replaced by a far more serious demeanor, that of an old ruler whose moment of carefreeness had passed.
He declared, "Enough of the past."
Fen Ling’s smile thinned, but she did not interrupt.
The Fen Emperor looked directly at her and asked,
"Tell me, after this plague, what do you believe will happen to the Fen Dynasty?"
His voice had become quieter, yet it was more steady.
"I already know what happened while I was unconscious. People dying one after another. Then standing back up as if death itself had become a joke."
His cloudy eyes darkened.
"But I will not waste time asking whether it is real, or who is responsible for it, since I know you won’t tell me."
"What I would like to know, and what I am asking you, is what happens next."
"So please tell me honestly and...truthfully, what do you think my dynasty will become?"
"..."
Fen Ling did not answer immediately.
She slowly sat down on a chair nearby, crossed one leg over the other, and looked toward the window as if she could already see the burning capital beyond it from before.
"...After?" she repeated.
"Yes."
The Fen Emperor nodded and looked at her seriously.
And seeing that look in his eyes... Fen Ling did not soften it.
"Then I will tell you the truth."
Turning completely to face him, the last hint of playfulness disappeared from her expression.
"Following a plague of this magnitude, the Fen Dynasty is no longer a formidable empire. It’s now like a wounded animal... vulnerable, bleeding, and, perhaps most importantly, exposed."
"..."
The Fen Emperor listened in silence.
"The army has been scattered, and the leadership structure of many commands is not completely intact."
Fen Ling explained all of this because even if Li Feng’s immortal master had managed to resurrect everyone, there were still numerous casualties from much earlier... those who had already fallen victim to the plague.
She continued calmly.
"Many officials are dead, missing, or still pretending that they are in control. Ordinary people have watched their neighbors die, collapse, and then suddenly rise again."
"Once people see something like that, the fear does not disappear easily."
"This also makes the ruling family vulnerable. Other powers will not wait for us to recover. They will surely take action while we are still recovering."
"Some will come with armies."
"Some may even come with friendly smiles and offers of marriage."
"...And there might even be some sects involved."
"But no matter how they approach us, they will all have the same goal."
The Fen Emperor sighed.
"Because we are now weak."
Fen Ling nodded once.
"It won’t just be outsiders causing trouble; there could be internal rebellion too. Princes, generals, and hidden clans... anyone with influence and loyal followers will start questioning why they should remain loyal to a ruler who couldn’t even defend their own capital."
The Fen Emperor’s wrinkled face remained calm, but his eyes had grown heavier.
Fen Ling continued.
"So I think... there is a high chance the Fen Dynasty will not survive this."