Ye Shangzhou raised an eyebrow and complied with her.

This was truly a case of Qiao Zhen and Ye Shangzhou being willing to be together day and night. Qiao Zhen had many tricks up her sleeve, how could Ye Shangzhou, an old virgin, possibly handle her? With just a few bold moves, she had Ye Shangzhou completely submissive.

Qiao Zhen figured out another way to deal with Ye Shangzhou: if he gets angry, just sleep with him. There's nothing that can't be solved by sleeping with him once. If that doesn't work, then sleep with him twice.

She chuckled to herself upon realizing this.

When Ye Shangzhou saw Qiao Zhen's mischievous and lively eyes, he felt that this was how Qiao Zhen should look. His heart pounded faster, and he pulled Qiao Zhen into his arms. "You look so beautiful. You should smile more often in the future."

Qiao Zhen snapped back to reality. She looked up at Ye Shangzhou, grinned, but then suddenly frowned. She clung to Ye Shangzhou's arm, her face scrunched up like a bun, and said, "It hurts."

Ye Shangzhou felt a slight itch in his palm. He pinched Qiao Zhen's cheeks, squeezing her features together.

Qiao Zhen pouted, her eyes narrowing into slits. "No, this looks so ugly."

Ye Shangzhou smiled, and in a good mood, he massaged her a few times before bending down to kiss Qiao Zhen's shoulder.

"Hiss—" Qiao Zhen gasped sharply in pain, complaining, "I already said it hurts."

Ye Shangzhou just smiled and didn't say anything more.

Qiao Zhen: [Is there anything that can cure legs?]

Xiao Ling: [No.]

Qiao Zhen: [What use are you? You're just wasting my elixir, I hate it!]

Xiao Ling: [Don't hate him, you'll get to torment him in the next world, aren't you excited?]

Qiao Zhen: [What's there to be excited about? I'll be thanking my lucky stars if it doesn't turn out badly.]

Xiao Ling: 【(。?_?) Don't be so unambitious!】 ← Another bright red exclamation mark.

Qiao Zhen blocked Xiao Ling once again.

Half a month later, Qiao Zhen was flogged several more times. Fortunately, she had a soft pad in her underpants, so Ye Shangzhou ignored it. The guards saw that Ye Shangzhou did not intend to flog Qiao Zhen, so they were very lenient.

As for Qiao Zhen, she felt that being caned a few more times was acceptable, since it didn't hurt anyway, and she could also find out Ye Shangzhou's bottom line. Oh, but those were the bottom lines that Ye Shangzhou wanted to reveal to Qiao Zhen, otherwise the caning wouldn't have been faked.

She also secretly added some elixirs to Ye Shangzhou's tea, but for some reason, even after using four or five elixirs, Ye Shangzhou's leg still showed no improvement.

Qiao Zhen had no choice but to unblock Xiao Ling. [What's going on?]

Xiao Ling: [Sorry, this is a setting issue. Only the hermit Xun Zhou of the Great Night Dynasty can heal his leg. Do you want to start the side quest?]

Qiao Zhen: [Is there a reward?]

Xiao Ling: [No, side quests are just there to advance your main quest.]

Qiao Zhen: [Open, open, open!]

Xiao Ling: [Side Quest 1: Visit Lu Yin, a retainer of Ye Huaijin.]

Qiao Zhen: [Who is Lu Yin?]

Xiao Ling: [I don't know, I don't understand, and I'm not going to answer you. Figure it out yourself.]

In a fit of anger, Qiao Zhen blocked Xiao Ling again.

Her relationship with Ye Shangzhou has stabilized, and now it's time to take a long-term approach.

Qiao Zhen carried tea and pastries into the Imperial Study. She had the freedom to come and go as she pleased, a privilege that was unique to her, but the responsibilities she had to bear were also unique to her.

The responsibility of comforting the Night-Sorrowful Boat.

"Your Majesty, it is almost noon. Would you like to have lunch?" Qiao Zhen placed the food tray on a corner of the bright yellow table. She picked up the ink stick and began grinding it in the inkstone, the jade bracelet on her wrist clinking against the inkstone.

Ye Shangzhou picked up his brush and began to draw on the Xuan paper. Qiao Zhen recognized that it was the map of the Great Ye Dynasty.

Holy crap! What does he mean by that?

Seeing Qiao Zhen staring intently at the drawing he was writing, Ye Shangzhou explained, "Although I am physically disabled, it does not prevent me from waging war. The Great Ye Dynasty has been peaceful for three or four years, and the soldiers have become complacent. It is time to stir up trouble again."

Qiao Zhen lost her grip, and a drop of ink splashed out, landing right on her hand. She casually wiped it away with a handkerchief, leaving a smudged ink mark. "Your Majesty, isn't it a good thing that the world is at peace now?"

Ye Shangzhou countered, "You also think it's a good thing?"

Qiao Zhen frowned and retorted, "Isn't this a good thing? The people are living in peace and prosperity, no longer displaced. Those children have only enjoyed a few years of good life. Please let them go."

Ye Shangzhou felt somewhat aggrieved. "I thought you should share my views."

Qiao Zhen retorted, "Great minds think alike, but I am no hero. Why don't you seek common ground while reserving differences with the court officials?"

"What is the same? What is the different?"

"You and your courtiers both aspire to make the Great Ye Dynasty stronger, but you have different goals. You want to expand the territory, while your ministers want the Great Ye Dynasty to prosper. However, given the Great Ye Dynasty's current status, I believe your ministers have more foresight. It is much more difficult to rule a country than to govern it."

...I'm sorry, she really can't keep making this up anymore. It's really easy for Ye Shangzhou to rule the country. He has military power and his fists are strong enough.

Qiao Zhen: I feel so heartbroken.

Ye Shangzhou looked at Qiao Zhen with little interest, silently dipped his brush in ink, and continued to draw on the rice paper, ignoring Qiao Zhen.

Qiao Zhen looked at Ye Shangzhou and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

That evening, Qiao Zhen nestled in Ye Shangzhou's arms, while Ye Shangzhou held her waist. Qiao Zhen was engrossed in reading a book about the history of the Great Ye Dynasty.

Seeing Qiao Zhen's gaze fixed on the book for a long time, Ye Shangzhou felt jealous, but he couldn't bring himself to show it. He irritably kissed the corner of Qiao Zhen's mouth and said, "Look at me."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!