I Really Like the Male Supporting Character (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 25

Grand Tutor Su had shared both a professional and personal connection with the emperor, standing as both his advisor and his friend. His understanding of the emperor was unparalleled, and he had long guessed where the emperor’s will might be hidden.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Grand Tutor Su walked straight to an unassuming candlestick in the hall. The candlestick was embedded into the floor; it had a brass column about as thick as a wrist, topped with a lotus-shaped holder and a freshly placed white candle.

Grand Tutor Su removed the candle and gripped its lotus-shaped holder firmly before twisting it with force.

A faint, metallic click echoed as the perfectly fitted lotus-shaped holder detached from the column. The brass core was hollow!

Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, none more so than Gu Xiuyan, whose face twisted with rage and shock.

“Impossible!” he cried out in disbelief.

“His Majesty and I discovered this secret compartment in our youth. I never expected that he truly hid it here.” 

Grand Tutor Su retrieved a rolled-up decree, gold and red in color, from within the column. He did not open it but solemnly handed it over to the seventh prince.

The seventh prince refrained from reading it immediately. Instead, he passed it to the imperial clan elders for confirmation.

The family elders knelt in reverence before unrolling the decree. Immediately, the entire assembly kowtowed respectfully on the ground.

Only Wenren Jin, who was holding Ah Luo in his arms, remained standing. A few curious glances turned their way, but no one dared to say anything.

“By the decree of Heaven, the emperor declares… the crown prince, Xiuyan, lacks virtue, justice, and has shown cruelty. He is henceforth deposed… The seventh prince, Qilou, who is known for his kindness and moral integrity, is hereby appointed to inherit the throne.”

Gu Xiuyan slumped to the floor. His face drained of color. Once the reading was complete, shouts of ‘Long live the emperor!’ echoed throughout the hall. Those kneeling outside the hall overheard and likewise kowtowed in reverence.

“Ah Yu, let’s go,” Ah Luo murmured softly to Wenren Jin after casting one last look at the defeated man, who seemed as broken as a lost dog.

Quietly, Wenren Jin responded, “Yes.”

Wenren Jin held his wife close. Their young daughter bounced cheerfully along behind them as they made their way out of the solemn imperial palace.

Signs of recent battle littered the path. Injured soldiers groaned in pain, and bloodstains marked the walls—leaving their dark, blotchy imprints on them.

To accommodate their daughter’s small steps, Wenren Jin moved very slowly.

Ah Luo rested her head on his shoulder. With her gaze, she took in the heavy palace walls around them as she whispered, “Ah Yu, it’s finally over.”

He gently responded with a quiet ‘Mm,’ and tightened his hold on her.

As they passed a hall, they heard a woman crying hysterically, “Where is His Imperial Highness!? Why hasn’t he come for me? I am the noble consort—you have no right to stop me! Your Imperial Highness! Your Imperial Highness!”

The distant cries gradually faded away.

“Shall we explore the world together?” Ah Luo asked gently. “I once promised you that I’d take you to see it all—the famous mountains, the scenic rivers, the snow-covered peaks, the vast ocean. All these years, you have stayed by my side, looking after me and Suisui. Now, let me accompany you to travel again. Shall we?”

“…Okay,” Wenren Jin replied.

“We’ll wander together, see the world until we can’t walk any longer. Then we’ll return to the capital and help our little ones raise their children. How about that?”

“Yes.”

“Winter will soon arrive. When the snow falls, shall we visit Mount Cangwu together?”

“Of course. Anything would be fine.”

“Mm? You’re very agreeable today. How about we have a few more children?”

Finally, her gentle husband shook his head and replied, “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Ah Luo. I took a medicine some time ago—one that prevents future children.”

Ah Luo was so shocked that she nearly jumped out of his arms. She asked, “Medicine? What kind of medicine? You can’t have children anymore?”

As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily drifted downward, and she couldn’t help but worry about their ‘marital happiness.’

Though he couldn’t see where her gaze had gone, Wenren Jin could still sense her thoughts. His ears flushed slightly as he softly reassured her, “It won’t affect… anything else. It simply prevents pregnancy.”

Ah Luo understood what he meant and immediately let out a breath of relief.

In the lighthearted moment, her spirits lifted, and she asked him, “Ah Yu, how did you know where I was, earlier?”

“I could feel you looking at me,” Wenren Jin said.

His senses were keen, especially to the gaze of those he cared about, and even more so if that gaze came from the one closest to his heart.

At that moment, little Suisui piped up from behind her father, “Daddy, that bad man said he wanted Mommy to be his noble consort. Daddy, what’s a noble consort?”

The little girl was sensible and sweet. She walked on her own short legs without complaint. Despite her young age, she knew that her father held her mother as his highest priority, so she seldom clung too tightly to him.

Wenren Jin halted momentarily, but before he could reply, he felt a soft hand lightly brush the back of his neck.

Ah Luo leaned forward and whispered to her daughter, “Sui Sui, a noble consort is just a term for someone’s other wife.”

Suisui furrowed her eyebrows and pouted. “Mommy won’t be that bad uncle’s other wife! Mommy is Daddy’s one and only wife!”

Wenren Jin lowered his head and smiled. His gaze and expression were clear.

Even the prestigious title of noble consort meant nothing in Ah Luo’s eyes. It was no more than a hollow label. What was there for him to fear? She had never faltered in her feelings nor wavered in her loyalty to him. Why should he ever doubt or worry about her loyalty?

She was his, his alone, and had never changed.

Not much surprise happened after the emperor’s will was revealed.

The seventh prince ascended the throne, while the former crown prince became a prisoner. The entire Song family was executed, but the female protagonist, Su Baiwei, and her son were spared—they were, however, reduced to commoners. 

However, the kind, smiling noble consort Ah Luo had once encountered—Noble Consort Ruo, drank poisoned wine on the night of the crown prince’s rebellion and joined the emperor in death.

Grand Tutor Su was reinstated as the grand tutor by the seventh prince, and he was tasked with educating the young princes. Not long after, Zhao Qiuchen announced her pregnancy.

The marquis of Yuanting’s display of bravery on the day of the crown prince’s rebellion earned him newfound respect, though afterward, he returned to his usual carefree ways.

His days of drinking and watching performances became rare; instead, he was often seen wandering the streets with a rosy-cheeked little girl on his back.

A year later, the girl on his back was replaced by a young boy who, from time to time, would gleefully relieve himself on him before laughing toothlessly afterward.

The young lady and young master of the marquis’ household grew up with the help of their extended family, as their parents were rarely seen.

Yet, if anyone inquired, everyone in the capital would know them. They would say that theirs was the perfect match—no other couple in the world was more inseparable than them.

One autumn day, the hills around the capital, which were covered in red maples, had turned entirely crimson. A simple horse-drawn carriage traveled along the main road.

The horse moved slowly, and on the carriage bench sat an intimately close couple.

“I imagine the hills are red again now, aren’t they?” asked the man in white.

The woman beside him, whose beauty had remained despite age, teased, “Yes, but you ask that every time we come here. Aren’t you tired of it?”

“Never,” the man in white replied. His greying hair gently framed his gentle amber eyes, which shone with a profound warmth that only time could give.

He gazed toward the hills while Ah Luo gazed at him.

His face was no longer young; lines had settled on his face, and his eyes were sunken. However, all these marks only made him more appealing—he was like a bottle of wine, which only grew better with age.

“You’ve got a few more grey hairs,” she noted.

Wenren Jin smiled. He turned to face her with mirth in his gaze.

“To me, you only grow lovelier. While I may grow old in your eyes, you remain as youthful and beautiful as ever to me.”

Ah Luo couldn’t hold back a smile. She could feel her heart flutter in her chest. She had grown more bashful over the years; she used to tease him from time to time in the past, but now, a simple smile from him could make her heart race and her face flush.

It seemed she loved him more and more with each passing year. Her love only deepened with time and never waned.

She buried her face in his arms as if she were a young girl and whispered, “It doesn’t seem fair.”

He held her close and slowly replied, “No, it’s perfectly fair.”

If by not having his sight he could get her love, that would be the fairest deal he could imagine.

“Father’s health has been failing, so this will likely be our last journey. We’ll spend our remaining days here in the capital.”

“I’ve seen enough of the world’s beauty, Ah Luo. Now let’s simply enjoy tea and incense together.”

“As long as I’m with you, anything would be perfect.”

Years later, a white-haired old man lay in bed. His hands clasped tightly around a pair of similarly aged, slender hands.

“Ah Luo, I’m going ahead of you. I’m sorry. I promised to be with you all my life, but I can’t walk the last stretch by your side.”

“It’s all right; rest easy. I’ll come to you soon. Don’t you remember? We’re a couple in life and death. We will share even our resting place.”

The elderly woman gently reassured him while holding his hand tightly. His amber eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to see his beloved one last time.

The woman knelt at his bedside. Her face rested in his hand as she whispered the secret she’d kept hidden in her heart.

“On that day, in the lake, I was actually waiting for you. From the beginning to the end, you were the one that I wanted.”

The elderly man’s frail fingers traced her wrinkled face while a soft smile spread across his own.

He remembered—he remembered her appearance. He knew her, everything about her. She was Ah Luo, his Ah Luo.

“If there is an afterlife…” he murmured as his eyelids slowly closed.

Ah Luo knew that there was no ‘afterlife’ for her. She was just a wandering consciousness that had borrowed someone else’s body to spend a lifetime loving him.

Tears trickled from her aged eyes. She gently smoothed her husband’s disheveled hair and lay beside him before silently closing her eyes and allowing her life to slip away.

Behind them knelt their descendants. One middle-aged woman approached. In a trembling voice, she asked, “Mother?”

But there was no reply; only silence filled the room.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting golden rays on the crimson flamboyant flowers outside. Their petals scattered like red rain on the ground.

Somewhere, a stifled sob sounded, startling a little bird that had been peeking curiously through the window.

A gentle breeze drifted in—carrying a faint, unknown fragrance. The elderly couple lay together with their hands tightly clasped. They were as inseparable in death as they had been in life.

Many years later, a tomb raider stumbled upon a flamboyant flower pendant carved from top-quality red jade between their skeletons’ hands. The pendant changed hands until it was eventually preserved in the national museum, where a plaque detailed the beautiful, eternal love story of a lifetime shared by the husband and wife.