In the dark

Jiang Ci​‌⁠‌‍‌⁠⁠⁠​‍‌‌‌‌​‍⁠‍‌‌‍‍‌ had a deep impression of Pei Changyun’s pollen allergy.

Sometimes when Zhou Jiuya was away on campaigns, the young Jiang Ci would be sent to live in the palace. He always wondered why, in such a vast palace, there were so few flowers—until the day he accidentally ran into Pei Changyun’s arms covered in pollen.

This caused Pei Changyun to almost go into shock on the spot.

Jiang Ci was terrified by Pei Changyun’s near-death appearance and felt extremely guilty. Unlike the stern and serious Zhou Jiuya, Pei Changyun, though a ruthless and commanding Emperor, was very gentle and patient with children.

Moreover, Jiang Ci was the child of Jiang Jingsheng and Bai Min. Jiang Jingsheng’s title as the Father of Empire Technology was not just for show; it was genuine and well-deserved. Without Jiang Jingsheng, Pei Changyun wouldn’t have become emperor.

And Bai Min was Huo Chao’s most beloved sister. So, from any angle, Pei Changyun was incredibly fond of Jiang Ci. He allowed Jiang Ci to call him “Uncle Changyun” instead of using formal titles like “Your Majesty” or even “Uncle Pei.”

Jiang Ci had free rein in almost 90% of the palace, including the emperor’s bedchamber and study. No matter what trouble he caused, if Zhou Jiuya was too busy to return promptly, the Emperor would just wave his hand and settle everything.

So, when Pei Changyun was on the verge of suffocating from his pollen allergy, the last thing he did was grab Jiang Ci’s hand and reassure him, saying, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, A-Ci, I’m okay…”

Later, Dr. Wen also comforted the frightened and guilty young Jiang Ci, saying, “This wasn’t your fault, A-Ci. His Majesty is allergic to pollen. We know you didn’t mean it, but this is a secret—we can’t tell anyone else.”

Afterward, Jiang Ci tearfully apologized to Pei Changyun.

—This was something his father, Jiang Jingsheng, had taught him. “When you do something wrong, especially if you hurt someone, you must sincerely apologize.”

Jiang Ci’s father’s face had already faded in his memory, but those words stayed with him for a long, long time.

A long time ago, Jiang Ci was also pulled by Jiang Jinsheng and tearfully apologized to He Zhun, whom he had hurt.

So, Pei Changyun’s pollen allergy was something Jiang Ci would never forget. From then on, every time he saw Pei Changyun, he would check to make sure he hadn’t come into contact with pollen.

So at this moment, when Jiang Ci heard from Ye Shu that Pei Changyun had personally transported a large amount of Gardenia Roses to Earth during that eventful battle, he was incredibly shocked and incredulous. He immediately turned to look at Pei Changyun, “Your Majesty, weren’t you…” allergic to pollen?

But halfway through his sentence, Jiang Ci suddenly remembered that this was Pei Changyun’s secret, so he cut himself off. He didn’t finish his sentence, but someone else did. Because the next second, he heard Huo Xianfeng directly expose the Emperor’s long-hidden weakness and secret.

“Pei Changyun, aren’t you allergic to pollen?”

At that moment, everyone turned to look at Pei Changyun in astonishment. Then, as if realizing something, they turned to look at Huo Xianfeng. This was such a secret that even Ye Shu didn’t know about it, so how did Huo Xianfeng know?

Even Pei Changyun himself was shocked by Huo Xianfeng’s knowledge of this secret, as he never expected Huo Xianfeng to know. Pei Changyun’s pollen allergy was known only to those closest to him. As both the second-in-command of the Dawn Legion and the Emperor of the Empire, this kind of weakness certainly wouldn’t be widely publicized.

The Emperor was stunned. He looked at Huo Xianfeng and asked, “How do you… know?”

Before asking, he already had a guess that Huo Chao had told Huo Xianfeng, but Pei Changyun still needed to ask.

He just wanted to know more about Huo Chao.

It was actually quite laughable.

Pei Changyun had been with Huo Chao for so many years and thought he was the closest person to him—at least, before Huo Xianfeng appeared, he believed he was the closest and most trusted person by Huo Chao.

But in the end, he still had to learn about Huo Chao from someone else.

Everyone thought that the person Huo Chao trusted and relied on the most was his consul, Pei Changyun. But after Huo Chao’s death, he left nothing for Pei Changyun.

He left Ye Shu the Forbidden Abyss’ wreckage, asking him to hide the Zerg eggs on Winter Day Planet.

He left Zhou Jiuya orders to take over and manage the Dawn Legion.

He left Jiang Jingsheng his final words, asking him to dismantle the central program chain in the Forbidden Abyss’ core to prevent it from being taken by the Church.

And now, it seemed that these arrangements and plans were all made for Huo Xianfeng, paving the way for him.

The hatched larvae were for Huo Xianfeng’s Zerg army. The First Legion’s presence was to protect Huo Xianfeng, and the Forbidden Abyss was a gift for Huo Xianfeng.

Oh, and there was also this projection video.

Its content and purpose were to ensure that everyone got along well with Huo Xianfeng. Pei Changyun could understand all of this because he had witnessed the Zergs’ terror and danger. In a sense, Huo Chao was binding them and Huo Xianfeng together, putting them on the same ship to fight against the Illusory God Church together.

Huo Chao’s actions were for Huo Xianfeng, and in a deeper sense, for the survival of mankind.

Pei Changyun understood this very well. Having served as Huo Chao’s consul for so many years and later as Emperor, if he couldn’t grasp this, it would be quite laughable.

Everyone said Pei Changyun had despicably and ruthlessly replaced Huo Chao, or at best, that he inherited Huo Chao’s legacy.

But in reality, Pei Changyun was cleaning up the mess Huo Chao left behind.

While also pursuing his own dream.

—He wanted to build a beautiful new world together with Huo Chao.

But Huo Chao died for all of humanity.

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His secrets, his plans, his wishes, his last hopes and attachments to this world—nothing.

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Why…

Why??

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He had always proud of his intelligence and cunningness. He could grasp Huo Chao’s deployment plans with just a glance. Back when he was a teenager in prison, he, as a beta, could control numerous alphas. After becoming consul, no one in the entire Legion dared disobey his orders.

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But this one thing eluded him. He spent three hundred years trying to figure it out and still didn’t understand.

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But in the end, he became the person who understood Huo Chao the least.

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At that moment, everyone at the table was also looking at Huo Xianfeng, waiting for an answer. However, Huo the latter glanced at Jiang Ci and noticed his puzzled gaze, so he paused for a few seconds before explaining,

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At that time, Huo Chao’s “love guide” suggested giving Pei Changyun a gift.

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However, Huo Chao’s grumbling wasn’t about blaming Huo Xianfeng but rather blaming himself for not doing his research beforehand.

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If not for the timely medical attention, Pei Changyun might have died.

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At this revelation, Ye Shu was utterly stunned.

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Because Pei Changyun felt Ye Shu wasn’t qualified to be one of Huo Chao’s closest confidants. Despite being an A-grade alpha, Ye Shu hadn’t attended military school, wasn’t as strong as Zhou Jiuya, didn’t have Jiang Jingsheng’s technical skills, and wasn’t as smart as Pei Changyun.

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And every time Pei Changyun looked at him, he had a condescending and disdainful look which annoyed Ye Shu to no end.

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In fact, the tension between the two was mostly mutual dislike. When it came to serious matters, they still united against common foes. And truthfully, Ye Shu was a bit intimidated by Pei Changyun because he managed subordinates far more effectively than Huo Chao ever did.

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Ye Shu immediately turned to Zhou Jiuya, his gaze sharp and questioning like a blade.

Zhou Jiuya fell silent and immediately avoided Ye Shu’s gaze with a guilty and uneasy look.

——Sure enough, this guy knew about it!

This guy knew Pei Changyun was allergic to pollen but didn’t tell him!

Suddenly, Ye Shu realized that his 300 years of hatred for Pei Changyun might have been a complete farce from the start—perhaps even a joke in their eyes!

No wonder.

No wonder Pei Changyun tolerated him taking the Forbidden Abyss, didn’t interfere for 300 years, and seemed entirely unconcerned. He only took action after Huo Xianfeng awakened on Earth and the Church started its power struggle.

Everything had been premeditated.

Only Ye Shu was kept in the dark—only him!

“What…what do you mean, Pei Changyun?” Ye Shu’s voice trembled as he clenched his fists, his mechanical fingers creaking from the force.

“What did you do with all those Gardenia Roses?”

“What else did you lie to me about? Didn’t you say your plan was to use the Gardenia Roses to attract the Zerg, shut down the Skynet, and have Huo Chao… detonate the nuclear bombs to end it all once and for all?!”

Pei Changyun lowered his gaze, unconsciously placing his hand on his abdomen, as if feeling some discomfort. But he didn’t deny Ye Shu’s words and even admitted calmly,

“The plan was indeed that, and in the end, that’s how it was executed. It’s just…just that someone once told me the Gardenia Roses could attract the Zergs.”

At this, the Emperor glanced at Huo Xianfeng.

“When the Zergs invaded…to save you, we couldn’t stop them.”

Pei Changyun’s tone was too calm, making it impossible for others to see that he was slowly and painfully reopening his bloody wounds for everyone to see.

“I thought the Gardenia Roses could really attract the Zergs and buy time to transfer citizens and use the nuclear bombs…”

He didn’t finish this sentence.

Because this part was official history, known to everyone.

In that unprecedented catastrophe, Marshal Huo Chao detonated millions of nuclear bombs, perishing with the invading Zergs and becoming revered as the savior.

Pei Changyun lowered his gaze and a bitter smile flashed across his face.

“But now, it seems that even though the intelligence was wrong, the plan was still successfully carried out by some twist of fate.”

Whether the Zergs were drawn to Earth by the Gardenia Roses or summoned by the enraged Zerg King, they invaded Earth, and humanity was powerless to stop them.

The final outcome didn’t change.

Huo Chao was still buried in the world-destroying nuclear explosion.

As for the most critical part, Pei Changyun didn’t mention it.

He didn’t say that Huo Chao deceived him.

He didn’t say that Huo Chao lied about the Zergs’ attraction to Gardenia Roses.

That person lied to him that, as long as there were a large number of Gardenia Roses, everything could be salvaged.

Pei Changyun closed his eyes and subconsciously gripped the clothes around his abdomen. Although his face was expressionless, Jiang Ci could feel that he was enduring extreme pain.

—Omegas are naturally very sensitive to emotions.

That was why Jiang Ci was the only one who noticed something when everyone else was looking at Pei Changyun.

“Uncle Changyun, are you feeling unwell?”

This question jolted the Emperor awake. He quickly withdrew his hand and almost immediately denied it.

“—No!”

Such an intense reaction was extremely rare for Pei Changyun, who was always the epitome of calmness, no matter the situation.

Even when Huo Chao died, Pei Changyun didn’t shed a tear. He swiftly took over everything Huo Chao left behind and immediately devoted himself in his work.

—This was one of the reasons Ye Shu hated him.

Because Pei Changyun seemed… completely indifferent to Huo Chao’s death.