Take You to the Ancestral Temple

At that moment, Chu Ning was outside the courtyard, breathing in the fresh air.

By the Mandate of Heaven, may I live long and prosper!

Kill the Empress, and I'll be Emperor!

The realm will all be mine!

Once I unify the country, I'll conquer the four kingdoms. The whole world will be mine!

This system's Great Emperors Through the Ages seems pretty extraordinary...

It's even making me want to unify the realm!

But Chu Ning still managed to restrain himself.

So what if I unify it?

Should I unite all the Ten Great Dao Traditions in the Upper Realm Three Thousand Dao Continents, too?

Honestly, that would only take a word from Chu Ning.

"I'm the Immortal Emperor. From now on, you'll all call me Emperor. Anyone who refuses gets executed."

All right, that would take care of everything.

Even if those ten Great Emperors came at him together, they wouldn't be a match for him.

But his wife and child were more important...

Ye Qinglian simply watched the figure sitting on the steps from inside Mingde Hall.

This dog of a man was more capable than he seemed.

Now I've seen what you can do!

But no matter how capable you are, you're still the father of my child and my Emperor Consort!

Try to usurp my throne and see what happens!

A long while later, Xiao Bing returned to report.

"Your Majesty, the cabinet elders and grand secretaries think this method is sound. They only had reservations about one memorial."

Ye Qinglian seemed to have guessed which one.

"The memorial about grain prices in Jiangnan?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Tell the cabinet that this method is the result of careful consideration by me. They can go ahead and implement it."

Xiao Bing nodded and left again.

It was only morning. There was still an hour and a half until noon.

The memorials were all taken care of?

Nothing left to do?

Ye Qinglian found herself even more unaccustomed to it.

Ever since the cabinet had been formed, her workload had eased.

And now Chu Ning had joined her as regent, helping with the memorials. He handled them better than she did, and faster and more reliably, too.

She had no work pressure at all...

She really wasn't used to it. How was she supposed to fill the rest of the day?

Just then, Chu Ning stood up and dusted himself off.

Ye Qinglian hurriedly looked away, picked up a book, and pretended to read.

Chu Ning seemed to notice, but only smiled.

"Your Majesty, what did the cabinet say?"

"They sent one memorial back. Their handling of it was mediocre."

Ye Qinglian answered coolly, still refusing to back down.

Chu Ning thought for a moment.

"The proposal in that memorial about Jiangnan is based on practical experience. Someone tried it before. In the Great Gan Dynasty, it worked more easily in places under the protection of immortals. Your Majesty needn't worry. It just needs time to prove itself."

Ye Qinglian looked up at Chu Ning, her face expressionless.

"Oh? Someone tried it before? Was it that Jiajing from the Great Ming again?"

Chu Ning sighed helplessly. "I'm really not making it up. It's just hard to explain properly..."

"After all this, you're still pretending? Is it because I haven't given you the authority and treatment you deserve, and you're not satisfied?"

Chu Ning smiled and walked over, resting both hands on Ye Qinglian's shoulders.

Her body jolted, but when she realized he was giving her a shoulder massage, she relaxed.

Ye Qinglian was still too sensitive to this kind of physical contact.

"Having you and the child is enough for me. I don't have such great ambitions."

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Ye Qinglian gave a soft snort and dropped the subject, shifting her attention back to the memorial.

"I had Xiao Bing investigate you last night."

"Hmm. What did she find out?"

"You're not from the Great Gan Dynasty. Where exactly did you come from?"

"I probably fell from the sky."

Ye Qinglian scoffed.

"Is that so, mysterious sage? I'm amazed that someone who's never been an emperor is so good at this. Should I hand all government affairs over to you from now on?"

Chu Ning considered it for a moment. When Ye Qinglian noticed, she clenched her fists.

He's actually thinking about it!

Before Chu Ning could speak, Ye Qinglian added, "If you handle them well, the officials in court can answer to you, too."

"Uh... Are you going to tell me that if I do an even better job, you'll give me the throne as well?"

Chu Ning sighed helplessly. "You were the one who assigned me the memorials. You were the one who said there might not be any other work once I finished them. And now, after I've gotten everything done, you're saying things like this. 'To serve a ruler is to walk with a tiger' really isn't a joke, is it?"

Ye Qinglian chuckled.

"Now you feel pressured being around me?"

"I just think there's no point in worrying about this. Your cultivation is so high. Even if I wanted to usurp the throne, what could I do? And with the Ye Family Holy Land behind you, who could take your place? Not even me."

Chu Ning leaned close behind Ye Qinglian and said with a smile, "So if you want to take it easy, you can leave these things to me. You're nearly four months pregnant. Taking care of yourself is what matters most. What's the point of staying tense all day? You don't have to believe that I have no intention of usurping the throne, but you can't doubt how much I care about you."

Ye Qinglian felt a little better at his words, but answered coolly, "Once I give birth to the Dragon Prince, will everyone be calling you Your Majesty?"

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and leaned even closer.

"There can only be one ruler of this dynasty, and that's you..."

Ye Qinglian pressed a hand against Chu Ning's face and pushed him away.

A few ripples stirred in her heart, but she remained calm on the surface.

When did this dog of a man get so close?

Was he changing the subject to make her focus on imperial power, then taking the chance to try something?

What could he even do by getting this close?

Chu Ning sighed helplessly.

"You won't give me a single chance..."

Ye Qinglian smiled, but said nothing.

Give you a chance?

You think I'd give you one just because you can handle government affairs?

Still, Chu Ning's words had dispelled her doubts.

If he could truly take over her work after a few more days, then she could indeed relax.

From then on, Chu Ning could finish everything, and she could review it and offer her suggestions.

That would leave her time to cultivate, and more time to follow Chu Ning's advice and take care of her pregnancy.

She cared about the child in her womb more than anything else.

But there seemed to be someone who cared about it even more than she did.

A strange feeling stirred in her heart as Ye Qinglian looked at Chu Ning again.

Perhaps he really had no intention of usurping the throne. Perhaps he was only thinking of her.

Was he simply taking responsibility for the unexpected circumstances that had brought them together?

At least she now had someone beside her with whom she could discuss anything without holding back. It put her in an excellent mood.

"I've finished all my work for today. The cabinet should send over some more memorials later."

Chu Ning smiled. "Shall I handle them, and you can review them and fill in anything I miss?"

That was just what she wanted...

"Since I've already acknowledged you before the whole realm as my Emperor Consort, come with me to the Ancestral Temple today."

Chu Ning nodded.

"Is this another way of meeting the family?"

Ye Qinglian didn't mind the remark. Her parents and grandparents had all been gone for many years.

"Something like that."

She nodded slightly and rose to her feet. She rested one arm on Chu Ning's shoulder and tore open the void with her other hand.

"Come with me."