"Jiang Yi!"
Xu Jiujiu threw herself into his arms in delighted surprise, and all the hurt and sorrow she had bottled up for so long burst out at once.
"Waaah! Jiang Yi..."
The Little Princess offered no lengthy complaints. She simply sobbed her heart out, letting her vulnerable side show.
She was content just to have Jiang Yi come.
An entire court of civil and military officials, more than a dozen grown nephews, yet not one of them could be relied upon. Now, at last, she could cry.
"It's all right now. I'm here."
Jiang Yi held Xu Jiujiu, gently patting her back as he soothed her.
They embraced without saying much, simply nestling together. At that moment, silent companionship and support were the best comfort of all.
After a long while, Xu Jiujiu finally stopped and wiped her tears away.
"Jiang Yi, what you just said..."
She pursed her lips and lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes flickering as she questioned him again, uncertain.
"I said, if no one else is willing, why can't you take the throne?"
Jiang Yi clasped her small hand and gave her a definite answer.
"Wouldn't that go against ancestral precedent...?"
Xu Jiujiu fell silent, hesitating inwardly. Neither the Dai Family nor the Xu Family had a tradition of women becoming emperor.
"Once you become empress, won't that establish the rule for the future? Besides, it's not as though the world has never had a female sovereign."
Jiang Yi smiled, released Xu Jiujiu from his embrace, and led her by the hand to the dragon throne ahead, pressing her down into it.
"Wasn't that woman ten thousand years ago an empress? And with me here, you can rest easy! No one will hurt you!"
Given their relationship, Xu Jiujiu succeeding to the