More than a month has passed since Lin Yan ascended the throne.

Even after moving into the magnificent palace, Lin Zhenghong and Ye Lan still felt like they were dreaming.

wrong!

They wouldn't even dare to do that in their wildest dreams!

My own daughter became the empress?!

They were even granted the titles of Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager...

Night slowly fell.

Having just finished a vigorous workout, Ye Lanxiang, drenched in sweat, nestled in Lin Zhenghong's arms, panting softly as she sighed:

"Brother Hong, I still feel like I'm dreaming."

"Me too, this is all too unreal. I knew our daughter was capable, but I never imagined she was capable to this extent, becoming an empress as a woman!"

This was completely beyond Lin Zhenghong's imagination.

His family had been farmers for generations, and it was extremely difficult for anyone to become a scholar. His younger brother studied for many years before finally passing the imperial examination and becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

And his daughter, who had never even been to school, became the emperor...

Lin Zhenghong is a complete henpecked husband.

In his eyes, his wife was the most perfect, so he didn't think that the fact that his Lin family's genes could produce such a remarkable daughter meant that she must have inherited the intelligent genes from her maternal family.

Although it had just ended, holding his beautiful wife in his arms, he began to feel restless again.

With his beautiful wife in his arms, he naturally wouldn't compromise himself, so he took Ye Lan to continue what they hadn't finished before.

Although Lin Zhenghong is now nearly forty years old, he has never stopped working.

Even after moving into the palace, he couldn't stay idle. He not only did many chores himself, but also exercised every day.

Therefore, he remained tall and imposing, and still incredibly powerful in bed, leaving the delicate Ye Lan unable to resist him.

Amidst the ripples, Ye Lan suddenly remembered something. She frowned, took a deep breath, and asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Um... Brother Hong, do you think there's something wrong with my body? Why haven't I gotten pregnant again in so long..."

Speaking of this, Lin Zhenghong felt quite proud. He gradually slowed his movements, adjusted his breathing, and then spoke:

"Hehe! This is all thanks to our daughter. After the New Year, she and Doctor Shangguan developed a contraceptive for men. One pill can last for half a month, and it's very effective with no side effects. Our son-in-law has been taking it too. Childbirth is too hard. Now we have three children, so we don't need another baby at all."

At this moment, Ye Lan was deeply moved.

She had heard of male contraceptives, but she never expected her husband to be so conscientious as to take them so early.

She couldn't help but reach out and climb onto the man's broad back, letting out a soft, sweet cry:

"Brother Hong—"

Lin Zhenghong couldn't resist the stimulation and kissed her lips hard, continuing what he hadn't finished earlier.

...

After ascending the throne, Lin Yan realized that being an emperor was no easy task.

Over the past month.

She worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, without taking a single day off, let alone having time to be intimate with Xie Muqing.

After all, although they had repelled the Northern Rong army last time, the Northern Rong were not to be trifled with; even the two generals of the Xie family had not been able to completely annihilate them before.

In the past, emperors valued civil officials over military ones, and civil officials were paid far more than military officers. The civil official group often embezzled military pay, to the point that soldiers in many places didn't even have enough to eat.

The Xie family is a special case because of the halo of their ancestors, which is why they have such a high status.

However, other military officers did not have such good family backgrounds, so many of them and their soldiers had long harbored resentment towards the imperial court and had become much lazier in their fighting.

Since Lin Yan took office, he has greatly improved the treatment of military officers, and their pensions are much higher than before.

With improved benefits, military discipline naturally became stricter.

First, the previous system of military prostitutes was abolished, and soldiers were absolutely forbidden from burning, killing, looting, raping, and plundering civilians.

Any violation will be severely punished!

Of course, considering that soldiers in the army might feel lonely and empty, Lin Yan set up family quarters, allowing soldiers' families to live with the army for extended periods.

Soldiers will also receive holidays and silver rewards for getting married.

This greatly boosted the soldiers' morale.

The militia members who joined her in the rebellion were also rewarded one by one.

Those who wish to continue serving in the military can directly join the Xie family army—oh wait, now it's the Lin family army—and those who leave will also receive silver.

However, after the last surprise attack...

Many militiamen, having experienced the thrill of killing the enemy, did not want to leave. As a result, the number of Lin Family Army members increased from more than 10,000 to 50,000!

However, Lin Yan values ​​martial arts more than literature.

In the past, merchants had a low social status and were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, which caused many merchants to feel resentful and even collude with enemies.

In order to change this situation and to increase the loyalty of merchants to the state, Lin Yan issued an imperial edict.

Merchants could still participate in the imperial examinations, but they would have to pay an extra two cents in taxes.

The imperial edict caused an uproar both in the court and among the common people.

After all, the policy that merchants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations had been in effect for over a thousand years, and people had long been accustomed to it.

Now that this policy has been introduced, ordinary people don't have any particular thoughts, but businessmen are extremely excited.

Nowadays, "all other pursuits are inferior, only studying is superior."

No matter how much money merchants make, they cannot gain respect from others. Even if they spend money to buy a nominal official position, they still cannot take the imperial examination.

And what merchants have the least shortage of is silver.

As long as they could pass the imperial examinations, they would be willing to give up half of their wealth, let alone a mere two cents in taxes.

Suddenly, businessmen became even more active in doing business!

Unlike before, they now abide by the law more strictly when doing business, since their children are going to take the imperial examinations and cannot afford any blemishes on their records.

...

Tonight, Lin Yan was handling state affairs in the Imperial Study as usual. When she looked up and turned her sore neck, a tall and slender figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

Seeing her tired and exhausted appearance, Xie Muqing felt a pang of heartache, but also a sense of relief.

After gesturing for the waiting palace servants to leave, he knelt down beside Lin Yan, rubbing his handsome face against her thigh, and looked up at the woman in front of him with a wronged expression.

"My wife, stop looking at memorials all day and take a look at your husband. Do you remember how many days it has been since you last properly looked at your husband? Could it be that you're tired of me and want to find a new concubine to enter the palace?"

Hearing his voice, which was full of sourness, Lin Yan chuckled and couldn't help but reach out and touch that handsome face that could make anyone lose their mind.

"No new concubines will be entering the palace. Besides, are you really that insecure about yourself? How many men in the world are as handsome as you? It's just that there's too much mess left by the previous dynasty. I've been exhausted these past few days, but thankfully it's finally over. It was my fault. I won't neglect you in the future."

As long as there's a pole, Xie Muqing will climb it. Now that Lin Yan has apologized, he naturally wants to get some benefits.

"Then, my wife, how about rewarding me...?"