A phrase suddenly came to mind: "The emperor guards the nation's gate."
Gu Tang's reputation as a war god was truly earned through countless battles.
There was absolutely no room for error or luck.
Qin Junche couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.
The more you learn about Gu Tang, the better.
The more you see, the more you discover the soul hidden beneath his always nonchalant smile.
He was even more jealous of the already deceased Crown Prince Gu Feng.
He really couldn't understand it.
Just how much charm does someone like Gu Tang possess that would make him willing to give up everything, abandon his dreams and aspirations?
He was willing to guard this galactic empire for his elder brother.
The meal was rather depressing.
Qin Junche booked the entire restaurant, so no one would bother them.
On the mountaintop cliff, only the sound of the wind and the ever-changing clouds above the green mountains could be heard.
"It's delicious." Gu Tang put down his chopsticks and looked around. "The scenery is also very nice."
He smiled at Qin Junche and said, "Thank you, I enjoyed the meal."
Gu Tang paused here, then slowly said, "I am also very happy today."
Qin Junche slowly put down his chopsticks.
He looked up and quietly gazed at Gu Tang: "You want me to leave, don't you?"
"Qin Junche." Gu Tang seemed to sigh softly.
He reached out his hand, his slender fingers pressing gently on the back of Qin Junche's hand: "All good things must come to an end. I've been very happy to have you by my side these past few months."
He smiled and said half-jokingly, "You never became my empress, and now you don't need to stay in the capital star and get involved in the royal power struggles."
"Rights? Struggle?" Qin Junche repeated these four words almost one word at a time.
"Gu Tang," he called Gu Tang's name, "What kind of struggle will there be?"
He asked him, "If it really is your elder brother who returns, will you fight each other? Would you hand over this empire to him willingly and stand under his thumb, right?"
“Yes.” Gu Tang nodded nonchalantly.
He withdrew his hand, stood up, and looked out at the mountains and rivers beyond the cliff with his hands behind his back.
“I’m already fed up with the emperor of this Galactic Empire,” he said. “If my older brother really comes back, I’d love to dump everything on him and get out of this place that I find so disgusting as soon as possible.”
“But…” Gu Tang looked up slightly at the distance, “those idiots…”
He scoffed, "Some people may be truly loyal to my elder brother, but others are blinded by power and desire, dissatisfied with their current positions and wanting more and greater power."
Gu Tang turned to look at Qin Junche, tilting her head slightly, a rare hint of innocence in her expression: "What do you think I should do to deal with people like this?"
"Kill them," Qin Junche said coldly.
Gu Tang tilted her head and looked at Qin Junche for a while, then suddenly sighed softly.
"You really just look like my older brother."
He turned his head and looked back at the magnificent landscape: "If it were my elder brother, he would only execute the ringleaders. He truly is the best and kindest person in the world."
"So he died." Qin Junche took a few steps closer to Gu Tang and said coldly, "People who are too kind always tend to have shorter lifespans!"
"Shut up!" Gu Tang's face suddenly darkened.
For the first time, he looked at Qin Junche with such cold eyes: "You have no right to say that about him."
"He is indeed dead..."
With a muffled thud, Gu Tang struck Qin Junche in the chest with his palm.
Gu Tang's fighting skills are unparalleled. Even if Qin Junche were to fight him with all his might, he wouldn't dare say he could definitely win.
Completely caught off guard, the tall figure was knocked backward by Gu Tang's blow.
He finally managed to regain his balance after retreating about five meters.
"Qin Junche, how dare you speak of my elder brother like that?" Gu Tang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at him coldly. "For the sake of our friendship over the past few months, I will spare your life. Now get out!"
He turned away, no longer looking at the young lover with whom he had been intimate just two days ago: "This Imperial Capital Star cannot contain you. My Galactic Empire cannot contain a madman like you."
"Heh." Qin Junche straightened up.
He casually wiped the corner of his lips, removing the blood that Gu Tang had just slapped out.
"I'm actually thinking about it." He stood there, looking at Gu Tang from several meters away.
The man he fell in love with at first sight, the man he had longed for ever since: "There's always been a rumor on the capital that you'll find a body double who looks just like your older brother. Actually..."
He looked at Gu Tang: "You're not looking for a lover for yourself at all. I already asked, and apart from me, no one else can even step into His Majesty's bedchamber."
Qin Junche took a step closer to Gu Tang: "But every few months, such rumors always spread throughout the capital planet. Whenever..."
He laughed somewhat sarcastically: "Whenever the ordinary people of the capital city are living more and more prosperous and stable lives under Your Majesty's rule, and everyone is about to forget about the former Crown Prince, there will always be rumors like this: Your Majesty has found another lover who looks like the former Crown Prince."
Gu Tang narrowed his eyes slightly and remained silent.
"His Majesty the Emperor understands people's hearts too well. People aren't really interested in other rumors. Only gossip like this, gossip related to the royal family, will interest everyone and make them talk about it during their leisure time, unconsciously spreading it throughout the entire Imperial Capital Star," Qin Junche said.
He said, "Even if it means sacrificing your own reputation, you must ensure that your people never forget your elder brother. Why is that?"
Qin Junche, mimicking Gu Tang, tilted his head slightly and continued as if talking to himself, "First, it makes everyone think that the current emperor is a dissolute playboy, unfit to sit on the throne of the Galactic Empire. Second, the former crown prince, who lives on in people's memories, is naturally the best and most striking contrast. After all, he was once so powerful, wise, virtuous, and gentlemanly... You, the current emperor, are completely incomparable to him!"
Qin Junche took another step closer to Gu Tang: "This way, it will be easier for him to take over your position as soon as he returns, ensuring a smooth transition of power. Right?"
Gu Tang looked intently at Qin Junche.
After a long while, he suddenly laughed: "Yeah, so what?"
He asked Qin Junche, "So what if I want to do this?"
His tone carried a hint of arrogance: "I am willing to go this far for my elder brother, willing to sacrifice myself for him, willing to hand over the Galactic Empire, willing to disregard my own reputation, as long as everyone remembers him forever... So what?"
He asked Qin Junche, "What's it to you?"
"And do the people of the Galactic Empire know this?" Qin Junche looked at Gu Tang and suddenly said loudly, "The virtuous and upright former Crown Prince in their eyes is actually a... uh..."
Qin Junche didn't finish his sentence.
His eyes widened suddenly as he stared in disbelief at Gu Tang, who had somehow appeared before him.
Then, slowly, as if he were in slow motion in a movie, he lowered his head.
On his abdomen, only half of a gleaming dagger was visible.
Half of it had already pierced his lower abdomen.
It doesn't hurt much.
But the biting cold seemed to sweep over his entire body along with the dagger, freezing his limbs and bones.
This also includes the heart that once beat for Gu Tang.
"I wanted to... spare your life," he heard Gu Tang murmur, "but why did you investigate these things?"
He reached out and gently touched Qin Junche's face: "You know far too much."
Chapter 79 The Pure Emperor Forces Marriage Online (13)
The dagger must have been coated with medicine.
The wound wasn't deep or very big.
Qin Junche's fighting skills are unparalleled, so he wouldn't care about such a minor injury at all.
But he only felt his body getting weaker and weaker, and his vision becoming increasingly blurry.
He tried his best to say something, but all he could do was open his mouth and couldn't utter a word.
He seemed to hear Gu Tang speaking to him, but he couldn't hear any sound at all.
The mountain wind gradually receded from him, and even the last glimmer of light disappeared before his eyes.
Qin Junche blinked hard again, his body went limp, and he fell forward.
He did not fall to the ground.
As he fell forward, Gu Tang reached out and caught him.
Qin Junche's head was on his shoulder, and from a distance, the two looked like lovers embracing each other.
Gu Tang took a deep breath and looked down at the dagger stuck in Qin Junche's lower abdomen.
The wound is very shallow.
Since he did it himself, there was no way he could actually put his life in danger.
The most potent ingredient was probably the anesthetic on the dagger.
It works very quickly and can last for at least twelve hours.
So, that's enough time.
"Send him out of the capital planet." Gu Tang reached out and gently straightened Qin Junche's hair and collar.
Then he looked up, his face now cold and distant, the rare gentleness gone.
He looked at the man slowly ascending the steps, his voice becoming serious: "You cannot leave his side for even a moment before the flames of war on the Imperial Capital are extinguished."
"What if the flames of war never go out?" the visitor asked.
“Forty-eight hours!” Gu Tang held out his hand. “I only need two days to resolve this. If it’s not resolved in two days, then I’ve lost. So…”
He lowered his eyes and looked at Qin Junche's handsome profile.
Looking at his tightly closed eyes and the faint shadows cast by his eyelashes on his face: "Take him away from the Galactic Empire."
The man sighed softly.