What I Said Was All Nonsense. Don't Believe It—Absolutely Don't Believe It!

"Your complexion doesn't look too good. Haven't you finished handling today's state affairs?"

Ye Qinglian nodded slightly, but she did not shut him out entirely.

It was nice to have someone to complain to...

"There have been more troubles in Jiangnan today. There are five hundred more memorials than usual, and all of them need to be handled personally."

Previously, she could only relax while resting.

Now that Chu Ning had appeared, she could relax while eating as well.

The food was delicious, its rich fragrance filling the air.

She relaxed slightly and gave a quiet hum.

"The people at court want me to appoint an Emperor Consort and bear a Dragon Prince soon, to secure the foundation of the state."

Chu Ning immediately grinned.

"Even though there's no Emperor Consort yet, there's already a Dragon Prince!"

With a smile, Chu Ning shifted his stool closer without making it obvious.

"Actually, we should put the Emperor Consort matter on the agenda soon. Otherwise, if your belly gets bigger and people find out, that won't be good."

Ye Qinglian likewise shifted her stool farther away.

Did he think she hadn't noticed?

"Once we get married, wouldn't that be easy to explain? We can just say you might be carrying five, six, seven, or eight, so the changes are huge..."

Ye Qinglian shot him a fierce glare.

Five, six, seven, or eight?!

What did he take her for?!

Who could give birth to that many?!

Through gritted teeth, Ye Qinglian said, "I will arrange this as soon as possible. Otherwise, it truly will be difficult to keep up the pretense."

Chu Ning smiled and nodded, having noticed something as well.

"Then it seems that isn't what's troubling you?"

"Just some troublesome matters at court."

Chu Ning did not ask further.

He was not good at that sort of thing. Fighting and brawling were more his style.

Anyone capable of becoming an emperor was no simple person.

"By the way, how big is the Great Gan Dynasty exactly? There are so many state affairs every day, and you have to handle them all yourself?"

"Heh. From north to south and west to east, it spans thirty thousand li of mountains and rivers. What did you expect?"

That meant a territory fifteen thousand kilometers across both ways?

It was a little larger than Huaxia in his original world.

Still, Chu Ning was somewhat puzzled.

"But even with such a vast territory, two or three thousand memorials a day shouldn't be necessary, right? Is there no one at court to help you handle state affairs?"

Ye Qinglian replied flatly, "From military and political matters above to the people's livelihood below, I handle everything myself. What, do you want to share some of the burden?"

Chu Ning shook his head.

"I can't understand that stuff, and I'm not interested in it. But you're far too busy. There are the Six Ministries at court, right? The Six Ministries have hundreds of officials, and there's even a Prime Minister above them. Yet you alone are fully responsible for everything?"

"The Six Ministries are enforcement bodies, while the Prime Minister supervises the officials. Neither handles these matters."

Chu Ning understood.

Qin Shi Huang had worked himself to death like this!

Centralized power, military and political authority united, grassroots affairs reported directly to the throne—his power had been boundless!

"But it must still be exhausting, right?"

Ye Qinglian cast Chu Ning an unhappy glance. "Whether I am tired or not is for me to deal with. You need only lie peacefully in the Inner Palace. Even if you become the Emperor Consort, you must understand that the Inner Palace is not to interfere in state affairs. Do you understand?"

Chu Ning shook his head.

"I'm saying that you can actually categorize some state affairs and let the officials handle them. Aren't they taking things a little too easily?"

Ye Qinglian put down her chopsticks, her competitive spirit rising.

Arguing governance with her?

Chu Ning was still far too green!

"Then tell me, if officials handle state affairs improperly, what should be done?"

Chu Ning replied with a smile, "Naturally, they wouldn't be sent directly to the local regions. Officials would review the memorials and provide their opinions. Once they are done, they would submit them to the Prime Minister for additions before sending them to you for review."

Ye Qinglian sneered. "Heh. What difference is there between that and handling them myself?"

"The difference is enormous. Officials who can serve at court must have some ability. They can handle ordinary memorials. If something is not handled well, it can go to the Prime Minister for a second opinion. By the time it reaches you, it will be for final judgment. You can hear the opinions of all the officials while retaining the final decision. Wouldn't that be much easier?"

Ye Qinglian was slightly stunned.

The reasoning did make sense, but she felt those officials were useless and that it was safer to handle things herself.

Chu Ning continued with a smile, "You could even gather the officials together. Multiple officials could take turns giving their opinions on a single memorial, then the Prime Minister could review it before submitting it to you for the final decision. That way, you would get more possible solutions. Who knows, there might even be decisions astonishing enough to amaze you?"

Ye Qinglian sneered again. "If that is the case, wouldn't the Prime Minister hold more power than I do? I would only conduct the final review. What if the Prime Minister plots something behind the scenes..."

"Look, memorials can be divided into different categories. Officials from Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works can select them and handle them on their own, then submit them to the Ministers of the Six Ministries."

"The Ministers of the Six Ministries can restrain one another."

"If you are worried about one Prime Minister, then appoint three or even five. Let them handle state affairs together and supervise one another. And if that department colludes internally, establish another supervisory department specifically to investigate them..."

"Memorials from the lower levels go through the Six Ministries, then the Ministers of the Six Ministries, then several Prime Ministers, and finally reach you. Your workload will be greatly reduced. If you truly feel something was not handled well, you can give your own opinion for further discussion. If not, simply approve it..."

What Chu Ning described was the cabinet system of the Great Ming Dynasty!

"However, there is one problem with doing this. As emperor, you would become more distant from the realm. If you turned into a foolish ruler, this system could even function without you. So you must keep a firm grip on power..."

"Are you calling me a foolish ruler?"

Ye Qinglian immediately picked out the key point!

Chu Ning smiled and shook his head, placing a piece of meat into her bowl.

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"Of course not. I'm just describing a relatively easier political system. You could even add some method to assess officials."

"For example, officials could set annual targets, which would serve as the basis for their promotion at the end of the year. One record would be filed with you, one with the Prime Minister, and one kept by the official himself."

"Different targets would receive different rewards and promotions. Those who do nothing are merely occupying positions without contributing and should be dismissed. Those who achieve their goals should be promoted."

"This would improve governmental efficiency, and the common people at the lower levels would genuinely feel the improvement..."

At that moment, Ye Qinglian was frozen in place, unable to bring the food at her lips into her mouth.

What was this?

Even though it had not yet been implemented, many of its key points directly addressed Ye Qinglian's weaknesses!

This way, not only could she supervise the officials and hand tedious matters over to them, but there would also be three layers of safeguards to ensure that state affairs remained stable.

It could also greatly reduce her exhausting workload...

Just as a trace of anticipation appeared in Ye Qinglian's eyes, Chu Ning suddenly stopped.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Qinglian, you don't need to take it seriously. I was just speaking casually. As emperor, you definitely understand more than I do. I'm only showing off my meager skills before an expert."

He truly had only said it casually and had not thought much about it.

Chu Ning had no interest in such things.

He was only interested in this Empress!

"Let's just treat it as idle chatter after a meal. It's nothing worthy of being put on display anyway."

What Chu Ning described was actually the political system of the Great Ming Dynasty.

But the Great Ming Dynasty had still fallen in the end. The Examination Law he mentioned later had been promoted by Zhang Juzheng, but reforming such a system was far too difficult. Coupled with incompetent and muddleheaded rulers...

There was nothing more to say.

His wife would definitely do better!

After all, she was a Cultivator!

Yet Ye Qinglian's heart was already in turmoil!

Reforming the official system, processing state affairs in layers, and ultimately having the emperor review them.

As for the officials themselves, because of performance assessments, the poor ones would be directly removed while those with strong achievements would be promoted.

Handling matters in the future would become more convenient and easier, and more capable officials could be freed up to help her take on state affairs!

And she, Ye Qinglian, would only need to sit high upon the throne, control the court, and thereby directly control the realm!

Her workload could even be drastically reduced.

What kind of thinking was this? How could it be so formidable?

But Chu Ning's later words left her utterly dumbfounded.

Nothing worthy of being put on display?

You brought out a political system that did not even exist among the Five Great Dynasties, then casually called it something unworthy of being put on display?

He was looking down on every ruler of the Five Great Dynasties—and on her as well!

Ye Qinglian wanted to hit someone!

Just when she had reached the exciting part, why had it stopped...

"Qinglian, why aren't you eating? Is it not to your taste?"

She had lost her appetite entirely!

Ye Qinglian put down her chopsticks, somewhat hesitant.

Should she say it or not?

If she said it, it felt as though Chu Ning would look down on her.

Honestly, she had never thought of the things Chu Ning mentioned. Even though the Five Great Dynasties each had different political systems, none of them had considered such things.

After all, the Immortal Dynasty relied on the top-tier strength of immortals. With a Cultivator at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm standing guard, no matter what tricks you had, they could simply wipe you out. So they did not care much about developing such systems.

But now...

She seemed to need it.

"Chu Ning."

He looked over at her in confusion.

"What is it?"

Her expression was somewhat unnatural as she gave a light cough.

"Could you explain what you said earlier to me again, more clearly..."

"Just tell me what you want. Whether it is money or power, I can grant it to you."

She did not look directly at Chu Ning, and she spoke as if it were nothing important.

Always proud, she acted as though it did not matter whether she heard it or not. After all, her status and personality were what they were.

But Chu Ning could sense Ye Qinglian's intense desire to hear it!

He suddenly froze.

Ye Qinglian was interested in what he had said?

But this was an abandoned system. It had already been overthrown!

No, the Great Ming Dynasty's system had actually been quite advanced. It only had some flaws, and reform had simply been impossible in that era. But here, with his wife, it could work!

A smile curled across Chu Ning's lips as he looked at her.

"Really? Does Your Majesty keep her word?"

Ye Qinglian had long understood why Chu Ning had suddenly changed how he addressed her. He was using her status as emperor to pressure her.

As emperor, could she go back on her word?

"Yes. As long as it is something you want, I can satisfy you..."

Before she could finish, Chu Ning immediately reached out and grabbed her hand!

With that single grasp, he had seized the entire realm!

"Then what if this subject wants Your Majesty?"