043 : Dreams and Visions (PART 01)

Yan JinLong always has these so-called 're-occurring dreams."

And in these dreams, he seems to be always looking for someone.

To who is that someone, he is not sure.

It all started when he was still small. Maybe he was just five or six years old living quite a simple life like any other children of the same age. The world isn't as complicated as how adult life works so you could assume that his dreams would be often filled with heroic adventures and whatnot.

This is a fact.

No matter how Yan JinLong becomes someone important in the future, he is still once a simple kid. However, amongst the worlds that he traveled and had seen, there is that scenario that he always stumbles upon.

It is an image of a young man standing under a large wisteria tree.

It was quite an ethereal sight.

A person wearing some light-colored clothes is seen to have his chin tilted up watching the blue, purple, and violet petals of the parasitic plant. His long black hair is pleated in a short braid pattern in the mid-section adorned with jade-colored pins and fine button-locks. A few petals had fallen on his hair creating an illusion of flowers budding right off his head.

The paleness of this person opposes the vivid colors of the tree's exterior, highlighting his existence more than it should be.

He does not know who the person is. The youth had its back on him so he wasn't able to see the person's face. However, he can feel a lingering emotion towards that person. It has been pulling him all over making his soul quiver and craved for a touch.

Yan JinLong wanted to come over.

But before he could address the person or even discern his appearance, the dream will always stop at the crucial moment. He will then find himself conscious, eyes blinking, and somehow will find the rims of his eyes wet from tears.

That scenario will be forgotten long after waking up that always makes him question what kind of a 'nightmare' made him cry.

The dream about that guy under the wisteria tree must have appeared in his dreams at least three times a week but a child with its small attention span will always forget the dream a few minutes after waking up.

After a year or so, the dream also stopped showing as though it never been a part of his dream life.

After that, a lot of things transpired. The young Yan JinLong grew up, joined the army of General Lin under the intention of claiming the crown right after his coming of age ceremony, going to battlefronts to defend his land and conquer a few neighboring lands.

He is ignorant and reckless, making titles and reputations from his achievements making him well-known in many countries.

Yan JinLong would have remained this life of being a warrior for a couple more years if not for the unforeseen news of his Father Emperor who died due to old age. As the crowned prince, Yan JinLong assumed the state of the emperor without any resistance. His contributions far exceeded the other candidates so there is no question for giving him the crown.

It as if he was born just to take the position made by the heavens.

It could be asserted that the country is already prospering under his Father Emperor's management. This is also true to the preceding Yan Emperors that are known for their good judgment of the country. However, the average living had become more flourishing after Yan JinLong took his place.

That is, if the people under the low-income margin could at least eat rice twice a day before, under Yan JinLong's regime, they could eat at least five times a day now. There are also fewer beggars on the streets. The remaining ones that keep on living around the slum areas would be those people who are lazy to pull some work or unregistered immigrants that had taken refuge in the safe city.

Besides, the harvest of food production increased by the year. When Yan JinLong stood on the pedestal, he also carried a few people up to accompany him on governing the country. Two of them would be the Chang Twins while the others are kept hidden behind the curtains to work quietly.

The idea of a new way of farming has been passed on by a scholar to which deem to be effective. This caused the yield of the food plants to increase without ruining whatever ecosystem is around. This plentiful harvest made the farmers rich that allowed them to hire workers thus increasing the job opportunities and lessening jobless people.

This is only the food sector. A lot of reforming happened to the other sides affecting the whole system of the empire. People doubted his ways before but after experiencing wealth and comfort, nobody ever said bad things about him.

Who cares if the Emperor is known for his debauchery?

At least, he ruled his country adequately. If given a chance, surely anyone would want to take a position alongside his bed. Even a bed warmer is enough. If sleeping with him will give you riches and pleasure, then every man and woman would be more than willing to submit.

These are their thoughts after many years of seeing the Emperor brought in beauties in his harem once every month.

But nobody knows the reason why Yan JinLong is doing this.

After claiming the highest position, Yan JinLong fell to a state of stillness.

It is the condition where he was apt to do things according to his plans and was done implementing them. The empire is now in good shape and will be in the future. If ever some problems will come in the way, he has himself and his group of trusted people to resolve it.

So, he is stuck, in the moment of peace - stagnant.

People wished for these tranquil times, yet, Yan JinLong could never be at standstill. He is no longer that young man who would not fear death in battle, no he isn't fearful of death still, but he wanted to be reckless. He wanted to do something like a movement or an agenda that will keep him on 'moving around'.

When the officials heard his words, they only have one suggestion, "Take in a wife."

Yan JinLong is already an adult. Actually, he is supposed to take a few harem members once he reaches his coming of age, but since his mind is on claiming the crown so he ignored this idea and preceded on earning merits. It is only now when the idea of 'taking a wife' went back to his thoughts.

(A/N: I just realized that Yan JinLong is still a virgin after a few years of his ruling. Now you know how he can stand and shoot for a long time hahahha. Lin Mian Mian, here is the answer hahahahha.)

Take a wife...

Yes, he is at the right age to get married. There is nothing wrong with taking a bride. As an emperor, it is his responsibility to continue the lineage of his blood. Seeing that the world is peaceful, it is a good time to raise children.

Yan JinLong did not quickly accept the proposal but answered, 'I will think about it."

Perhaps this idea triggered a long-time memory.

That night, the youth under the Wisteria tree visited him again. However, unlike before, the young man no longer has him face his back. This time, upon his arrival, the person turned around as if expecting his arrival.

He could not see the face distinctly, maybe because of the vivid colors of the Wisteria overtaking the quality of the image, but he could tell that this person is good-looking. There is a smile on that person's face, appearing amiable.

Yan JinLong instantly becomes star-struck.

The emotion that he felt when he was still a kid came rushing back. The longing of his soul returned much apparently; the urge to reach out and embrace this person very tightly until they become one inundated his senses. He desired to reach out; he wanted to touch him, yet...

Yet he is hesitating.

Why is he hesitating?

The young man must have noticed Yan JinLong's perplexed face and thought that it is funny. A soft twinkle of laughter flitted past through his ears akin to a melody of a starting spring. It tickled him, making his ears red. This caused the young man to chuckle once more.

"What are you doing?" The young man asked.

Yan JinLong did not answer.

He did not know what to answer.

The young man is somehow just inquiring rhetorically as he tipped his head up to observe the leaves of the Wisteria fall. A soft wind swayed the resting flow of the tree bringing a few petals to fall in a sideway direction. This caused the scenario to become dynamic, moving the light objects at a pace.

Like the leaves, the person before him also seems to have the tendency to be swept away by the wind.

"I have waited for you for so long..."

The youth suddenly stated. A small tear glistened from the rim of his eyes showing a happy wrinkle.

"I thought that I would never be able to see you again..."

Before Yan JinLong could reach out and embrace the person, he woke up. Like before, he rose with tears dampening his cheeks. He touched it, remembering the image he had seen. He could remember the abnormally large Wisteria tree, the youth observing the petals fall underneath, and his words...

He remembered everything... but there is a sense of ambiguity.

There is the impression of yearning and fondness but at the same time, there is remorse and regret. Why would he feel these emotions towards a stranger that he did not meet yet?

Who is the other person that made him feel so conflicted?

That youth... who is that person to him?

These questions, not even the scholars could answer. Not even meeting the youth the second time on his dream clarified any confusion. It only made Jan JinLong stressed as though he is walking in a thin line. He is not sure where will this thin line bring him but falling from it will surely make him wish that he is dead.

He will never get any answers in this state so the only solution that he thought of is to meet that person.

Only that person could answer his questions.

So, the 'search for the next empress' began. Yan JinLong did not specify any difficult qualifications aside from being beautiful and having long black straight hair. He did not even specify the gender. This caused a mass number of people to go to the palace to audition.

[A/N: Imagine a nationwide contest just to become a bride bruh hahahha.]

Of course, rational Minister Chang MingYu could not just let anyone become part of the harem so he attached more qualifications. From his perspective, Yan JinLong is an upright man who has a worthy lineage and education so the harem members must have the same prestige. Though some of the lower people deserve a title, that would be considered after filtering out the candidates.

And so, aside from being beautiful and the hair length requirement, additional prospects include proper education, a good family background, the merits of the family should be high, must have a good constellation match with Yan JinLong, and good health.

The other ministers approved of his decision, for reasons that it is logical and also they could bring their daughters upfront since they are pretty much qualified. Since that day, the number of beauties inside the palace increased.

Yan JinLong could not figure out the face of the youth in his dreams but he used the 'resemblance' to choose from the filtered candidates. He even asked the person in his dream about its name, but the lack of sense-perception only brought him to a couple of sounds.

-in -ya -ya...

Each time that a beauty with 'resemblance' shows up, Yan JinLong would feel a sudden ecstasy. It is as though he found water after traversing through the hot desert. However, after testing the waters, he will realize that everything is just an illusion produced by the fever of heat.

This person... is not the youth in his dreams.

This person is not the one he is looking for.

It might be due to the disappointment of some kind of mental fortitude that he built over a long period that he no longer cares if he could find that person in his dream. He just somehow drowned himself in the false reality that the person in bed is the one his soul is looking for.

And this false satisfaction is found in his 'most favorite' Yin Mei Mei who has the closest 'resemblance.'

The dream, as though recognizing Yan JinLong's forlorn, also stopped showing.