As Consort Yi spoke, she took the emperor's arm, leaned on his shoulder, and said softly, "Your Majesty, our Jiyuan Kingdom has reached an agreement with those demons, dividing the country into north and south with the Qilin Mountains as the boundary, thus ending the century-long internal strife in our Jiyuan Kingdom."

"The north belongs to those demon kings, and the south belongs to our Jiyuan Kingdom's royal family. Once our Grand Master has refined the elixir of immortality, Your Majesty and I will each receive one. Then... we can live to be a hundred years old and grow old together!"

The emperor's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Undeniably, for someone over seventy years old, the elixir of immortality was very attractive.

The reason he always doted on Consort Yi was not only because she was beautiful and extremely intelligent, which suited his taste, but also because Consort Yi had given him the health-preserving elixirs that the royal family of Jiyuan Kingdom sent every year.

He has been almost free from illness and pain for many years, and even when he turns seventy next year, he will still be in good health.

All of this was thanks to Consort Yi.

"Your Majesty, this longevity pill is different from the health-preserving pills that my elder brother used to send me every year. This one is made from the inner cores of eighty-one kinds of demons and rare and precious materials."

Consort Yi smiled broadly: "If those demon kings hadn't promised to give us the demon cores we lacked so that the Grand Master could refine immortal pills, my elder brother wouldn't have reconciled with those demons. After all... in recent years, our Jiyuan Kingdom's army has always had the upper hand when fighting those monsters."

"My elder brother gave up half of Jiyuan Kingdom for the Longevity Pill. Your Majesty, you cannot go back on your promise to me, otherwise... I will not stand for it!" Consort Yi said sweetly.

"Rest assured, I promised to pass the throne to the eighth prince after my death, and I will never break my promise." The emperor nodded.

The crown prince, whom he entrusted with important responsibilities and carefully nurtured, turned out to be not his biological son.

This was a great blow to the emperor.

He didn't care who would inherit the country in the future, as long as it was his own son.

Although the eighth son is not as talented in both literature and military affairs as the fifth son, he is still quite good.

"Your Majesty, I thank you!" Consort Yi smiled radiantly.

The emperor grasped her hand and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Consort Yi looks really young.

There were almost no wrinkles on her face and hands, and her hands were soft and smooth to the touch, making her look nothing like a 48-year-old woman.

In the emperor's previous understanding, only the mystical masters of the Taiyi Sect could do this.

Consort Ke Yi could also achieve this by relying on the medicinal pills sent by her maternal family, the Kingdom of Jiyuan.

That is why he believed that the Grand Master of Jiyuan Kingdom could refine elixirs to help him prolong his life.

As long as I can live for several more decades, the dynasty's national strength will surely rise to a higher level, and the people will be able to live a peaceful and prosperous life.

With a solid foundation laid by itself, it will be the same no matter which prince inherits the throne at that time.

If all the princes were to pass away, he would choose the most capable grandson to ascend the throne.

"I don't want to know how Chengbang and his family died, but I don't want any more accidents to happen to Chengshao, understand?" The Emperor said with a smile, while touching Consort Yi's hand.

"Your Majesty's words make it sound as if I killed Qi Chengbang and his family," Consort Yi said with a charming smile. "However, they are not considered descendants of our Qi imperial family. Their surnames should be stripped. Your Majesty is too soft-hearted."

"Alright!" The emperor gently patted her back: "No matter what, they have called me Imperial Grandfather for twenty or thirty years, and I have watched them grow up. Let's leave it at that."

Consort Yi wanted to say something more, but seeing that the emperor was getting impatient, she smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I am not so free as to send anyone to meddle in other people's business."

She then changed the subject: "By the way, Your Majesty, do you know that the Ninth Prince married a widowed peasant woman in Weiyang County? She is a widow. Even though the Ninth Prince is now a commoner, he still has royal blood flowing in his veins. If the people of the world knew that he had married a widow, who knows how they would laugh at our royal family."

Upon hearing this, the emperor snorted coldly and said, "He is now a commoner and has nothing to do with our royal family. If others want to laugh, they will laugh at him, not at our Qi royal family."

"Besides, he's just a commoner who knows nothing. How could he possibly marry a young woman from a wealthy family? It's good enough that someone wants him. So what if she's a widow? The laws of our Great Yan Dynasty encourage widows to remarry and have children."

The emperor had already sent people to investigate.

No father wants his son to marry a widow, let alone an emperor.

But ever since he became Ye's son-in-law, the Ninth Prince, who used to be unable to carry anything, is now like a completely different person. He is diligent and capable. Even if Ye doesn't restore his royal status, that kid will still live a good life.

This alone made him very satisfied.

Not to mention that the widow's daughter was quite capable, saving Lao Jiu's life twice.

It's clear that their family is destined to be connected with Lao Jiu, so... a widow is a widow!

The emperor also decided not to intervene.

Consort Yi was stunned, not expecting the emperor to say that.

After she came to her senses, she quickly said, "Your Majesty, I feel terrible after learning about this. The Empress was very kind to me when she was alive. How could I watch her only living son be treated so badly?"

"Your Majesty, I specially sent someone to investigate the widow's background, only to find out that her husband was not dead at all. Do you know who he is? It's quite a coincidence, he is Jiang Mingtao, the son-in-law of the Duke of Anguo. Your Majesty just issued an edict a few days ago to appoint him as a fourth-rank Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, in charge of the autumn imperial examinations in the capital."

This time, it was the emperor's turn to be stunned.

"Then... what about the Ninth Prince?" the emperor asked after a long pause, his face grim.

The emperor's feelings at the thought that his son had married someone else were indescribable.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, it was Jiang Mingtao who was at fault first. Before Ye married the Ninth Prince, she had already severed ties with the Jiang family. Her marriage to the Ninth Prince was perfectly legal and justified." In short, Qi Yanchang would not have to face legal trouble because of this matter.

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "That's good. Qi Yanchang is no longer a member of the royal family. I don't want to concern myself with his affairs, and my beloved consort need not concern herself with them either. I am a little tired. My beloved consort, please go back and rest."

"Yes." Consort Yi smiled and nodded, then withdrew.

After she left, the emperor sat up again.

Ever since learning at the beginning of the year that the Crown Prince was not his biological son, the Emperor felt like the sky was falling. He wanted to kill the Crown Prince, the Empress, the Crown Prince's children and grandchildren, and even the Empress's family...