The Empress's First Feeling of Ease

The incense and fortune surged twice in a row, and the second time, Ye Qinglian witnessed it with her own eyes.

At this moment, her mind was in a daze.

Perhaps Chu Ning was truly bestowed by heaven, and heaven had also forged their relationship.

In fact, in many ways, Ye Qinglian didn't dislike Chu Ning much; she even found him quite reliable...

However, due to her personality, she was unwilling to outwardly express this approval.

Besides, Chu Ning was definitely the type to push his luck.

If she praised him today, he'd be climbing into her dragon bed tomorrow!

She could take her time. Her attitude was already clear: she trusted Chu Ning, and he had brought such great fortune to the Great Gan Dynasty. As long as he didn't go around seducing other women, her feelings towards him wouldn't sour too much.

Of course, the prerequisite was that he wouldn't attempt to usurp the throne.

Otherwise, the news would only be that the Imperial Sovereign had died of illness and was buried in the imperial mausoleum...

She thought this, and at this moment, inside Qianqing Palace, Chu Ning was cooking in front of her.

He had changed out of his Imperial Sovereign's Dragon Robe and was wearing his usual attire. Ye Qinglian watched curiously from the side.

"These ingredients are indeed ones I've never seen in the palace. Where did you get them?"

"When I have nothing to do, I secretly sneak out of the palace to find some ingredients."

"Sneak out? How did you get out?"

"I flew out."

Ye Qinglian twitched the corner of her mouth. "It must have been Xiao Bing who secretly took you out of the palace. You, fly?"

Chu Ning chuckled. "Believe it or not, your husband is a true master of the world, a very high one at that."

Ye Qinglian narrowed her eyes. "Oh? How high? How much of a gap is there between you and me?"

"A gap of several thousand floors, perhaps."

Ye Qinglian let out a soft snort.

"Indeed, a gap of several thousand floors."

However, Ye Qinglian stared at his retreating back and said sternly, "That cultivation technique, remember to practice it when you have time. Don't be lazy. Xiao Bing said you have some talent in cultivation. I don't ask you to reach great heights, only to seek longevity. If you do this, you can live for quite some time. Otherwise, in a few decades, you'll be an old man, and if your future children see you, they'll think you're the Ye Family's Old Ancestor."

Chu Ning smiled and agreed, promising to live well.

Ye Qinglian didn't say anything more.

She would keep an eye on him, and she would have Xiao Bing keep an eye on him too.

"Speaking of which, why isn't Xiao Bing here? Isn't she your personal maidservant and supposed to be with you at all times?"

"Her cultivation speed has been very fast lately, so I sent her to the Ye Family Holy Land. She only returns at night."

"Returns at night? What a shame."

Ye Qinglian kicked Chu Ning, expressing her displeasure.

Chu Ning smiled and said, "What about in the Imperial Palace? Perhaps her cultivation will be even faster?"

"What do you know about cultivation? You haven't even started practicing yet."

After saying this, Ye Qinglian focused on Chu Ning's busy back.

This guy, he's good-looking, cooks well, and most importantly, is incredibly strategic, even more cunning than her?

She just felt that burdening Chu Ning with so many things would be too exhausting for him.

Even as the father of her child, he shouldn't have to...

"How many more secrets do you have..."

"Actually, I have many more things, it just depends on whether you're willing to know."

Ye Qinglian sneered. "If you cut them off, then there won't be so many!"

Chu Ning turned back in confusion, letting out a "Huh?"

Ye Qinglian hesitated for a moment, then said nothing.

But after a moment, her face turned slightly red, and she couldn't help but clench her fist.

It seemed she had misunderstood...

It took a while for Chu Ning to react.

"Uh... if you want to know, since I'm your husband anyway, it's not a big deal..."

"Get lost!"

Chu Ning quickly turned back, quietly continued cooking, and muttered under his breath.

"You were the one who thought of it first, why is all the blame on me..."

"What are you muttering about? Cook with all your heart!"

After the two finished lunch, they went to Mingde Hall again.

Regarding the progress of distributing memorials from the cabinet, concerning the Jiangnan Flood, local officials had already been arranged to carry out the tasks. Furthermore, cultivators were enlisted to begin cultivating enough grain to help the people of Jiangnan survive.

In other cultivation dynasties, if the common people died, they died.

This situation was an exception only in the Great Gan Dynasty; cultivators were also expected to do things for the survival and well-being of mortals.

From Ye Qinglian's perspective, all the people in the realm were her subjects, and cultivators and mortals were treated equally in her eyes.

Otherwise, Chu Ning would have been executed months ago and wouldn't still be alive.

After reading this message, there was nothing else to do.

Idle, she was truly a bit idle...

Ye Qinglian propped her chin on her hand, sitting solemnly at the desk, feeling lost.

It might take some time to adapt from a state of intense work to such ease.

This would be the norm from now on.

"Chu Ning."

Chu Ning, who was examining the palace ornaments nearby, looked over curiously.

"What is it?"

"Did handling these memorials tire you out?"

"Are you saying you want to dump all the memorial tasks onto me?"

Ye Qinglian let out a soft chuckle, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

Chu Ning waved his hand.

"There's no such good thing in the world where you get to be the Emperor, the memorials are handled by me, and I gain nothing in the end. I'd be losing out big time. I only do things under certain conditions."

Hearing this, Ye Qinglian asked curiously, "Oh? But you didn't ask for any conditions today. Are you saying this now because you think it will be more troublesome in the future and you want to get rid of the trouble beforehand?"

Chu Ning nodded earnestly.

"That's right, I forgot to set conditions. Is it too late now?"

"You might as well state them first, and I'll consider agreeing."

"You'll definitely disagree if I say them, so you agree first."

"The fact that you can say something like that means it's definitely not a good thing, so let's forget it."

Chu Ning decided to struggle a bit longer. "Then what does handling these memorials today count as? Did I do it for free?"

Ye Qinglian's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she let out a scoff.

"Consider it helping the mother of my child lighten her workload, won't that do?"

Chu Ning was speechless and sighed.

"Qinglian, at least give me a chance, alright? If you're this guarded, how can I succeed?"

"I'm already pregnant, what more do you want?"

Her hand rested on the long sword at her waist, and she coldly appraised Chu Ning.

The latter quickly shook his head and earnestly explained.

"It's not about doing anything excessive, but for example, holding hands, or a kiss, of course, the latter is more tempting, right? And it won't affect the child..."

Looking at the shamelessly self-righteous Chu Ning before her, Ye Qinglian's response was simple.

"Heh, men."

She curled the corners of her lips in a sneer, completely telling Chu Ning.

You're dreaming!

With nothing to do and having just eaten, a sense of fatigue inexplicably washed over her, something that had never happened before.

"I'm tired..."

"Then I'll go back to the palace with you to sleep!"

Ye Qinglian's eyes turned dangerous as she stared at Chu Ning, who sighed helplessly.

"It's fine if I escort you back to the palace. You go to your palace, and I'll go to mine. I didn't say we'd sleep together..."

"It's good that you know. Don't regret it when this Qingping Sword of mine ends up on you."

Despite her words, Ye Qinglian was in a good mood at the moment.

Since there was nothing to do anyway, a short nap would be nice.