12: Matriarchate

"Really! Do you choose a headstrong and rebellious man when there are still gentle and obedient men? Why don't you just say you like women directly instead of that gesture?!" Her mother raised her voice, shook her head, and sighed in revolt. He looked at the big man in the corner with his aggressive eyes, and the more he looked, the angry he got.

Hagan "..."

"Mom, we already had a relationship with him and you're implying that I still don't take responsibility?"

Hearing this, Hagan involuntarily covered his face. Ah, still that night...

When the Emperor's mother heard this, she hesitated a little. A man's honor cannot be trampled on like that.

"If so, I'll reluctantly train him to be an honorable wife-" the woman said with a headache.

Hagan, on the other hand, was sitting on the bed silently with a dizzy expression.

The two honorable women in front of him understand their words, but cannot perceive what they mean.

He retained his dignity, finally agreeing to go under the woman he loved so boldly… but oh… I guess something is really weird.

His entire worldview collapsed when he saw the delicate-skinned and scented men standing at the door.

Each of them glared at him enviously and shyly at the woman next to him. And if he hadn't seen their flat chests and tall stature, he wouldn't have found words to describe these genderless delicate faces.

Hagan "..."

All his life, because of his frightening face, even men in his world deviated when they saw him. Now he's come to the part where men are delicate, wasn't his face a little too much, too much, too much attention-grabbing?

And if she understood the culture of this world, it is that gender roles are the opposite of their world.

He doesn't know the terms to describe what he means to this world, but in his world, I think it was the equivalent of a bearded woman...

So instead of embracing a fragrant, delicate man, such a strong woman would come into her world and be held at first glance at the man with the scariest face possible... she squinted her eyes with a confused expression, she just can't understand this aesthetic! And his head is on fire as he wants to perceive!!

The empress' mother finally turned her sharp eyes to him, her scrutinizing gaze formally smashing her into a thousand pieces, and then turned her head. He spoke with an aggressive expression, snorting.

"I can accept that, but you'll get Haremine Meimei too..."

Meimei...meimei...meimei... the name kept bumping into Hagan's head, echoing in the press...meimei...that wasn't a girl, was it?!

He didn't think this world was wide enough to tolerate homosexuals. So it's a boy's name...a boy's name is Meimei...

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. That man, who would be known by his name as his face, as masculine until the end of his world, was met with contemptuous eyes for being feminine in this place.

He wanted to laugh but couldn't. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Finally, he rolled his eyes and fainted.

"Emperor mother!"

She rushed to the man she thought fainted because her words were heavy on her husband and because she didn't want to share his woman with another man like her people, she anxiously ran to her mother and cast a disapproving glance.

Feeling guilty under those eyes, the woman grunted and finally left the room, leaving them alone.

***

"Call the doctor!"

She was fussy, big warm hands gripped hers as her hands trembled. "I'm fine, I just lost my sight..no need"

To be honest, Hagan still isn't sure.

To drop everything and take the position of a woman's wife.

The cultural structure of this place was quite opposite to that of his cognition.

What's more, he wasn't sure if that was true.

He bent the press and remained silent. Everything that has happened so far is enough to lower the mood.

But at that moment, hot fingertips lifted his chin.

He was stunned when he lifted his head to face the woman. Those eyes exude a strong and reassuring feeling. But more of a depth with endless enthusiasm and love...

"Hagan... I've spent a long time in your world... well enough to know your culture... I mean..." He bowed his head. He spoke with a smile and indulgence that climbed his lips.

"I still feel like you haven't gotten over our relationship and you're forced to accept it. Yes, taking responsibility by taking on a woman is a more dominant issue here, we are a more conservative society than one-night stands like you. I shouldn't have judged like in this society... don't misunderstand.."

He smiled, lifting his head, and involuntarily concealed his hurt mood with that expression. "I'll never force you if you want to go if you're hesitant to stay... I can be at the bottom..." He lowered his head and whispered the last words.

His eyes widened and indescribable feelings filled his chest, as Hagan felt the gentle grip on his fingers for the first time, his heart connecting.

The societies of their world are loose rather than very oppressive. Homosexuality is still excluded, but not so much that it becomes deathly or socially uninhabitable. But this place is different. It's a little more authoritarian and holds power.

That's how the woman in front of him grew, and in one go... how much to compromise that...how...

She hid her expression by tilting her head. She clenched her hands into fists.

To be honest, he can't resist this woman's affection.

No matter how silly it sounds.

Such a strange person… he held a predominant position in his heart. And in just a few days!

His eyes reddened. He wasn't sure if it was because the commodities their society placed on men had changed here, but he wanted to cry.

He is an orphan without a family. He was used to being alone and alone until he appeared in this female world.

Now she felt more and more greedy for this love she never had before.

What to say? How to say? Why does the heart in his chest go so crazy to go out and get into her arms?! He felt that if he kept beating at this speed, he would die...

His expression was not seen as he lowered his head, and the silence made Efial lower his eyes in resentment.

Really... can some things be insurmountable...

From where? Aren't these just some silly set of rules? No idea who invented it?

If gender roles are going to be this dominant, look at two different societies and see the difference and understand the absurdity...

She may be more tolerant of boys than girls because of her nature, after all, society gives them a hard time. But she would never favor anyone because of her gender. He believed in omnipotence, not gender where the probability was 50%. When he looked at society, because of many unnecessary women, men are exposed to such accusations ... so he did not hesitate to open positions that would give them power. Supported talent.

But his thoughts alone weren't enough to bring it down...

These norms… she flinched as the man slowly grabbed her wrist as pulled back her hand. She was stunned when she lifted her head in surprise. The man covered his face, turned his head, and spoke with the reddest face possible. "I am for equality"

Equality...

Her face started and then her eyes lit up.

The empress of the country was willing to go under a man... If this had been heard, it would have caused a such shock that there would have been a riot.

And man...

The man who, in his world, would perhaps be regarded as strange and humiliated... yielded. He obediently bowed to a woman.

"Equality…" His eyes sparkled as he parted his lips. This word! These are the words that will make your heart flutter as soon as you hear them.

"Well, then who will be upstairs the first night?" The man leaned back, blushing even more when suddenly the woman lifted her head and asked with a serious expression. She averted her gaze, being teased for the first time, and can't even get used to it. He also finds it difficult to believe that he was involved in such an event.

***

"Mom, I can't believe you're involved in this!"

Efial stroked his hair a little nervously.

Is he at the head of a country and incapable of choosing his wife?!

His mother sat down and said, "I just wanted you to have a virtuous wife, that man, even his origin is questionable.. what place in the world could raise such a man?!" It was still weird.

"Tch, she's such a sweet one"

His mother "..."

"Girl, for years I was worried that I wasn't interested in men, even your harem was empty and you didn't even hold a man's hand. I was having a seizure here thinking it was bad enough to go to a woman and have silly thoughts...and you...oh, you were just blind!" The emperor bitterly admitted that his beloved daughter was blind.

There was a knock on the door and the man entered. "Dad-" Efial couldn't help softening his voice.

Seeing his wife, the emperor finally concealed his sharpness and raised his lips.

The man is graceful and tall enough to wear in his long, bright green outfit. He has slanting eyes and his breath is filled with the scent of fresh mint.

He bowed his head softly. "I saw the emperor"

The woman extended her hand, pulled the man into her arms, and pampered the man in her lap with a sigh "You still don't let go of the formality". Pale pink climbed onto the man's white face and said, "Efial is still in the room—"

"Drop that ugly thing! I still don't understand how a beautiful man like you can have children with such rebellious genes. Not even his brother!" He had a headache. The man looked at her with some concern and spoke in a soft tone. "Don't be nervous, you'll have a headache" their long fingers teasingly wrapped around her neck.

Efial "..."

Really... even years later, he still can't get used to his mother's face change.

"Mom, speaking of my brother. I found him-" He coughed and detonated the bomb.

"What?! You say you found that rebellious boy!" His face changed rapidly.

Efial was a little nervous and thought he was going to pray for his brother.

His older brother is a restless man. He ran away from home a long time ago and disappeared.

Efial was hesitant... It would be more accurate to say that he recognized her the moment he saw her, and that does not confuse the scent. What's more, this smell comes from another man's body... He bent his head and finally coughed and confessed under his mother's sharp gaze.

"Yuyeil, she's in the other world. Moreover, she looks like she's in a relationship with another man-"

-Bamm!

The broken object shattered on the ground.

He pursed his lips and remained silent.

Her mother is really scary...

The woman angrily knocked over the things, the man frightened into her arms. The woman finally calmed down, stroking the man's hair and softening her tone, "Okay, don't be afraid."

Adan nodded and sat obediently with a pale face.

The woman grumbled, "I can't believe I scared you because of that stupid thing." My man placed delicate kisses on his face. The man began to blush silently as if he still hadn't gotten used to it.

The shyness that appears on her pale face is seductive and delicate.

The woman's gaze became firmer and firmer, and from there she focused only on the man in front of her.

Efial "..."

Hey! He's still in the room, aren't you bothered by that? huh?

Indeed, at that moment she spoke with a disgusted expression, raising her head. "I'll leave it up to you to take care of that cry. Bring it anyway. Bring the person you had an affair with! This bullshit can't go on any longer. And since you've already chosen your mate, I don't think I need to tell you to arrange an appropriate ceremony!" He ended his sentence in an authoritative tone. After taking one last sharp look, "Get out, don't spoil our mood"

How overwhelming and direct!

Efial came out with his lips twitching and closed the door with good manners. It was as if he heard a muffled groan from inside as he closed it...

Her mother is just impatient.

Especially when it comes to his father.

She didn't understand either.

How could such a kind man fall into the hands of a vicious man like his mother?

Surely the problem had to be his mother! He must have threatened or even kidnapped. So her father would have to marry her.

He couldn't think otherwise!

***

Anying grumbled for a while, then left. What kind of man is this?! She slept with him and he's still unresponsive?!

"Oh," he sighed until he left. Anyway! It will give him some time. And as soon as he got used to his presence… a light blazed in his eyes like fire. He licked his lips and the mole under his eye reddened. He'll eat it. Without even bones.

After Anying left, Yanzhing looked after him.

Yanzhing "..."

She doesn't understand this man at all.

He sighed deeply and decided not to think too much. He has a lot of work to do!

So he sat down at the table and focused on the papers.

***

Yanzhing stood in amazement as he arranged and completed the final form of the documents in front of him.

What a joke.

That great heir died before he became emperor. But he was reborn and became emperor of a smaller region?

He mocked.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he shone like a clear piece of the soul free from all emotion.

It doesn't matter what happens now.

Even everything is ruined. Even if it's starting over. He will come back and take what is his. Even if it's an invasion. It didn't mean that he didn't officially write it anyway, that he didn't have it.

He lowered his head and a creepy smile slowly climbed onto his lips.

The emperor's father had many concubines. So much so that his mother's existence is truly forgotten.

And even his siblings are just as many.

If you have many children, love, and friendship in that family will be a little different. Especially in royal families, this is most evident.

His mother died very early.

The obscure woman, whose face he could not even remember, secretly took him out into the garden every night.

"Yanzhing, do you still remember?"

The moonlight made her eyes brighter.

Even if he doesn't remember his expression, the chill that emanated from those eyes is still in his mind like it was yesterday.

"Yes Mom" Yanzhing replied with an expressionless face. That face is different from the expression a child should have.

The boy lifted his head and began to speak. "Gender doesn't matter. It's just a norm placed on people. For a person, it just lies in himself"

"On the contrary, social behavior tends to change according to the person in front of it."

"I have to be strong. So the gender I was born with can only be destroyed, right?"

"TRUE." The woman nodded in agreement. "I have hidden your gender and raised it until now. But now you have come to the moment to choose. This is purgatory. You only have one chance.

Choose your gender. Choose your way, Yanzhing. Choose your destiny"

The boy in the moonlight raised his head. Kneeling in front of her mother, "Yanzhing prefers to hold power in her own hands. To hold power through marriage requires trust. Yanzhing hates it."

At that moment, the woman showed her first reaction. A crazy smile, squinting his eyes.

"Then my child, you are a man. A man! You cannot cry! You cannot laugh! You cannot be weak! Braid your heart with an iron wall, so that no one can reach it!"

Then the woman prepared the symbols she drew on the ground.

"I will give you all my strength, in this den of wolves, don't be prey. Become a hunter and smash them all"

The 10-year-old boy watched his mother die.

His mother is seriously ill.

She would like to be her protector if possible,

But he will die.

If he was going to die, he would leave everything he had saved to his child!

***

The magic circle has been activated. Blood flowed heavily. The boy's feet stepped on the puddle.

Towards the body of his dead mother.

He bent down and kissed the unconscious woman's forehead.

"Rest in peace Mom" She closed her eyes with her hands. He pressed his trembling lips.

When it shows weakness, it becomes bait.

The woman dropped it to the ground and stood up.

The garden is where his fiercest rival is.

Her mother refused to let it go, even using her corpse.

The morning of that day was eventful and noisy.

Empress, the head wife was found dead in the garden of the second wife.

Cause of death unknown.

This suspicion turned everyone's eyes to the second wife.

No one thinks that one would kill oneself to harm the enemy, so no one is suspected.

And because of the suspicions that arose, the second wife suffered a great loss, even if the evidence could not be found.

At that time, everyone stared at the little "child", who was left unattended due to the death of his mother, and wanted to crush the snake's head when he was little.

Including the third wife.

Before the funeral was over, the third wife knocked on his door that night.

Ordinary servants were humiliated and beaten. A random excuse was enough for that. The woman wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to send her mother's servants and place her spies.

He was just a prince, and there is nothing more plentiful and worthless in this palace than a prince, she.

So many secret wars his father didn't even care.

She was too weak to stop the servants from leaving.

What could a child do?

Everyone thought so.

Indeed, the boy did nothing. He didn't even react.

"Look at the idiot, he can't even understand when faithful men from his mother go like this..."

"It's a shame, such a strong woman did all this preparation for nothing"

"The act of the third wife is tantamount to ripping off her forearm, but is she content to just watch it?"

.

.

.

They all mocked.

That very talented woman's son was nothing more than that.

But when it gets dark and the first night of the funeral takes place.

A head appeared silently beside the coffin.

It is the unclaimed head of the third wife.

And his body... scarier. It was ripped apart by wild hounds.

He had died in that face of pain.

Everything else... was pointing to the second wife?

This is bullshit! Maybe, but with clear evidence.

As Yunzheng wiped the blood from his hand, he turned his emotionless eyes to the moon.

The servants gathered around him all knelt and waited.

"You're what's left of my mother, but if you can't handle even such a simple thing, you better go so you don't become a burden."

The voice was cold, never carrying the innocence a child should have.

Cold sweat ran down everyone's backs and he continued to stand with a pale face.

That moment was an unforgettable moment of brutality.

The boy appeared silently inside. Since the third wife was her territory, she wanted to leave the servants completely out of the room and "have fun" with them on her own. Before the whip fell on them, it had been shattered into pieces and swept away into dust.

The woman was startled, and the child jumped on her as her bowels continued. Those small and weak hands covered his mouth and pressed like hard iron.

"Hhhnnp-"

It's so suffocating that tears come from your eyes. One hand wrapped around his mouth and the other around his neck. "Third mother" had a steady tone. Even his movements were only mechanical, like a trained robot. "I can only get rid of you for standing in my way on my way to my destination." Her eyes widened! Hearing these words from a child at this age!

The other princes were also brutal, but at most they mutilated each other!

He struggled, feeling the lack of oxygen in his brain. He gasped greedily as a small hand relaxed and let him breathe. Just as he was about to reach the relief of surviving, the boy grabbed his chin and pulled it out.

She had taken precautions not to scream.

"Of course, if I kill you like that, he'll be suspicious." It whistled softly and a few dogs came in!

—To be continued