Close Combat Mage

Chapter 148 – The Meaning of Beauty Pt. 2

“That….” The Empress knit her brows at Suo Jia’s words. If anyone else had asked this question, she definitely would’ve thought that the opposing party was dishonoring her. However, she knew that Suo Jia would only dare to ask such an audacious question because of a legitimate reason, and so she had to reply honestly.

The Empress firmly shook her head and said, “No…. I can’t possibly fall in love with you. In my eyes, you’re just a child; how could I develop feelings for a child? You’re still too young; you don’t even count as a man yet. How could I love you?”

“Pa!” Abruptly snapping his fingers, Suo Jia’s eyes lit up as he said, “That’s right! That’s exactly it. Think about it… right now, there are a ton of beautiful women in their twenties surrounding the Emperor, but he’s already over 50 years old. It’s possible that he wants people that are refreshing, but the only one that is able to actually move his heart is someone of similar age as him, after all!”

Suo Jia continued, “I’ve read in a book before that love is a link between hearts. There’s a generation gap between the Emperor and those children, so there’s absolutely no way they can form a bond. It’s just like how your Highness wouldn’t attempt to form a bond with me. In your eyes, people like us are just naive children that don’t understand true love.”

After hearing Suo Jia’s words, the Empress began to tremble uncontrollably. She couldn’t deny the fact that what Suo Jia said made sense. It would be difficult for a mature, wise person to love a mere girl. It’s possible that one could just be greedy for something fresh, but actual feelings could only develop between those of similar ages.

Suo Jia continued, “You can change your identity. If you were the Emperor and he was the Empress, would you be willing to abandon the woman that you once had a mutual love with, the woman that can understand you, for the sake of clinging onto some young, inexperienced vixens?”

“Ah….” The Empress was becoming more and more alarmed at Suo Jia’s words. All of this reasoning was obvious, and yet she had never considered them before.

Seeing the Empress’s expression, Suo Jia grew more confident and continued, “Actually, after so many years, the countless beautiful children never took your empress position, right? This already clearly explains it…..the Emperor’s heart still only belongs to you!”

“Pata…pata…” Large tears began to drip out of the Empress’s eyes. That’s right….His Majesty still maintained a friendship with her. Although it wasn’t the same as how she felt, he had still treated her very well this whole time.

Suo Jia shook his head and said, “It seems that I’ve hit the nail. Right now….you are still in His Majesty’s heart. Moreover, with your current status, you need a majestic presence, dignity, the presence as the ultimate female, rather than enchanting and charming looks. That’s why I said that your drawing is useless. The appearance there admittedly may be able to make one an Empress, but it’s not enough to keep one there. Being promoted to an Empress depends on beauty, while maintaining that position requires a majestic bearing!”

The Empress subconsciously touched her own face, and murmured, “But if I can’t recover my former beauty, the Emperor will ignore me. If I’m not always by his side, our relationship will gradually fade.”

With a confident smile, Suo Jia shook his head and replied, “That’s wrong. Who said that I can’t recover your former beauty? I’m just saying….it can’t be the same as the one in that drawing. In reality, there are many types of beauty; a youthful appearance is not the only definition!”

Suo Jia studied the Empress’s face and figure closely, and he murmured, “Actually, your Highness seems like a semi-finished product. Although the years have aged you, your original state is still there. Moreover, I feel that what your Highness needs is maturity, steadfastness, aristocratic, majestic presence, and an imposing manner. These are what are suitable for an Empress. If I turn you into a young girl, would you be able to keep the other concubines under control?

The Empress bitterly smiled and shook her head, “Then tell me, what should I do? How can I recover his Majesty’s heart, yet become the ultimate female and control the concubines?”

“Hm….” Rubbing his chin in thought, Suo Jia didn’t answer the Empress’s question. Instead, he asked another one, “Your Highness, you’ve seen both Emma and Wen Ya. If you were to use flowers to describe them, what would you say they were?”

The Empress confidently replied, “Emma is innocent and cute, like a pure lily. On the other hand, Wen Ya is passionate and bold, like a blossoming rose. That’s the feeling I get from them.”

“Pa!” Snapping his fingers, Suo Jia smiled and said, “That’s right, your Highness’ perception is very accurate. However, have you never thought about this before? Although lilies are pure, they are not bountiful, and even appear to be naïve. “Pure” and “Clueless” go together！

A lily’s beauty was admittedly refreshing and pleasing, but it wasn’t rich enough. The naive feeling it had made it hard for others to believe in them. While it was true that others could be momentarily infatuated with the lily, the feelings are still superficial in the end. There was no way that someone like that would be able to stably take over the role of an Empress!

“Mm…” The Empress sighed in praise at Suo Jia’s words. What he said couldn’t be more right. Although a lily was beautiful, it wasn’t appropriate for an Empress. A lily wasn’t dignified enough, majestic enough, or imposing enough!

Suo Jia continued, “As for a rose, it is indeed passionate and bold, with a mesmerizing beauty. Although it definitely has enough passion, does it have enough of an awe-inspiring presence? Would a woman as passionate as a fire be able to intimidate the concubines? Would it be enough to make the ministers believe in you? Would such a woman be suitable to be Empress?”

Furiously shaking her head, the Empress said hurriedly, “No, no, no….that definitely won’t do. That’s a huge mistake. The royal family needs stability and power. Every word and action must be cautious, without a single mistake. If one is too passionate and bold, it would give others the feeling of instability, and the people wouldn’t put their faith in them.”

With a smile, Suo Jia nodded and pointed to the picture in the Empress’s hands, “It can be said that your Highness’ youthful appearance is enchanting and charming, an appearance that any man would die for. However, your Highness’ current appearance gives me the feeling that your lovely appearance was only enough to bring you to your current position, while wanting to remain there requires you to cast off that aura!”

The Empress smiled bitterly and shook her head, sighing, “Lord Suo Jia, you’re really too amazing. You don’t know how many times our Mother Empress has punished me for my excessively frivolous words and actions. That painful period was one that I really cannot bear to look back on. When I was simply looking at someone, people would say I was throwing flirtatious glances at them. Only after I had aged did people gradually stop criticizing me.”

“Haha….” Suo Jia couldn’t help but laugh at the Empress’s words. With her previous looks, anyone would think she was casting flirtatious looks at people every time she looked at someone. Because her eyes were bright and lively, they would always seem flirtatious to others, even if they weren’t.

“I admire you, I really admire you. Lord Suo Jia, in your opinion, what look would best suit me?” The Empress said sincerely as she looked at Suo Jia respectfully.

Suo Jia’s eyes narrowed slightly at her question, and he said in a low voice, “The most appropriate appearance for you would be the ruler of flowers, the rich peony. It’s refined and dignified, naturally beautiful, and has an imposing, noble air. Anyone that sees it would respect it. This is the type of appearance and temperament an Empress should have!”

Suo Jia extended his hand and lightly massaged the skin of the Empress’s face. “In addition, if you want to regain the Emperor’s heart, you can’t become too youthful. You should maintain whatever age you’re supposed to be. I can help you get rid of wrinkles, and reshape your figure, but your charm and ambience, would stay the same; your current presence is something that one wouldn’t be able to learn, even if they tried!”

Suo Jia smiled, “Maintaining your temperament and body is necessary. The graceful and luxurious manner you hold yourself, and the elegant charm you have, is something that can only be cultivated after being an Empress for so long. It can’t be learned in any other way. If you lost such a precious trait, it would be a shame.”

“However….is this really enough to attract the Emperor’s attention again?” The Empress asked with concern.

Suo Jia smiled confidently and said, “Your Highness, although you may not believe what I’m saying now, I will still say the same thing: Different age groups have different types of beauty. With your current state, I can guarantee that you will still be Holy Light’s number one beauty, even if you’re 40 or 50 years old!”

“What! How is that possible? How could an old, 50 year old woman be Holy Light’s number one beauty!” The Empress cried out in shock.

Suo Jia indifferently replied, “Does your Highness doubt Suo Jia? In that case, would you dare to make a bet with me?”

“Bet? What would you be betting?” The Empress asked in interest.

“Pa pa….” Clapping his hands on his chest, Suo Jia proudly said, “I’ll use my life to bet. If I can’t make your Highness return to the position of Holy Light’s number one beauty, I’ll commit suicide to apologize for my fault!”

“Ok!” The Empress’s eyes suddenly shone with a keen radiance as she firmly replied, “The bet is on! If you can really do so, then I’ll give you the Fire Phoenix Necklace!”

“Heavens!” Suo Jia couldn’t help but gape in astonishment at the Empress’s words. She was indeed the Empress, to think that she had two parts of the Fire Phoenix equipment set! The Fire Phoenix equipment set only contained 6 pieces: earrings, a necklace, a head ornament, a ring, a bracelet, and an anklet. Yet the Empress had two out of these six! That was way too crazy; the Fire Phoenix equipment set was, after all, a peak-grade equipment set!