Chapter 156

11.12 - Dog food with vinegar is a whole new experience

translator: xiin

editors: BlueBug & Macabre

Li Yuan's impression of Xue Ling was completely overturned within three days of being with him, and Ying Sheng's image could not have collapsed any more obviously during these three days.

Sometimes, Li Yuan would look at the two of them and his brain would be filled with thoughts like 'so this is what true love looks like' or 'my god, this dog food' or even 'my marriage had been totally wrong'. In just three days, he began to question his life.

The only good thing was that as a minister, Xue Ling was very much in line with his vision for a ruler. He and Xue Ling had exchanged opinions, and the policies they studied and discussed, as well as some future laws and regulations that they wanted for the kingdom in the future were very much in line with Li Yuan's principles. And as a future co-worker, Li Yuan was even more satisfied with Chen Jingzhen.

When he had been with Ji Ronghan, Ji Ronghan had taken the lead in a more obvious way. Even if he was reborn, Li Yuan was still a person from this era, and had been limited by the thoughts from this period and did not think too much of it. Chen Jingzhen was clearly different; most of his ideas came from modern times, and the collision of ideology between the two of them was just as explosive as Xue Ling had imagined. There were many sparks and arguments between them, but many conclusions were drawn that would be of great help to the things Xue Ling wanted to achieve.

Inspired by Chen Jingzhen, Li Yuan suddenly opened the door to a whole new world and discovered that he could show his intelligence and wisdom without standing behind the scenes. There was now an opportunity in front of him - as long as he took that step forward, he could challenge the existing rules.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Although Xue Ling's reign was initially built up through the Zhennan King's military deterrence, the three of them would be the key figures required for its continued success.

Li Yuan ultimately chose to stand beside Xue Ling. He wanted to be separated from Ji Ronghan for a period of time, and perhaps this time would be enough to allow them to clearly consider what kind of position the other party held in their hearts.

Xue Ling didn't care much about what Li Yuan was thinking as long as he could make use of him in the end. Instead, he focused his attention on the ceremony that Ying Sheng had been responsible for arranging - the ceremony for his ascension to the throne.

Back when he had first ascended the throne, Deng Shi had used the excuse that the original owner of his body had cried himself into collapse over the former Emperor's sudden death to push him onto the throne after holding the most cursory ceremony, claiming that his body could not withstand more. His ministers did not even have an opportunity to get close to their Emperor, as he was always placed on the high dragon throne, wearing dragon robes and a heavy crown. The tasseled pearls hung down from the crown had blocked most of his face from view.

Originally, the ministers had never expected a child to know anything, so he had seldom spoken during court and basically went to sit up on the throne for a while every day. He would occasionally doze off, then go back to sleep after morning court was over.

This kind of life as an Emperor was very leisurely, but not something Xue Ling wanted to experience. Ying Sheng wanted to hold a grand ceremony for him so that he could officially come into contact with the court.

Now that Ying Sheng was in the Capital, they had absolute military power in their hands and those ministers did not dare refute them at all. Ying Sheng wanted to take this time to train up a group of imperial troops and secret guards for Xue Ling so that he could go and complete his agreement to lay down this stretch of rivers and mountains in front of him once the situation in the Capital was completely stabilized.

Ying Sheng spent a lot of effort on this ceremony, but by the time it officially began, he found that he did not feel tired at all.

When Xue Ling slowly walked towards him wearing a somber black robe and simple crown, Ying Sheng felt that all his efforts had been worthwhile. He himself was unsure whether his efforts had been for the purpose of pressing the Emperor down on the dragon throne, or whether it was because he simply loved his current appearance. In any case, he felt that this version of Xue Ling that acted as though he was a sovereign descending upon the world suited him best out of all the different ways he had seen him.

He was so good-looking that he could not bear to shift his eyes away, so attractive that he wished he could go up right now, strip him bare, and ruthlessly possess all of him.

The red cinnabar mole in the corner of the little Emperor's eye was very bright. The ministers had some concerns, but did not dare to voice any opposing opinions while Ying Sheng was standing beside him. Moreover, the little Emperor seemed to be a completely different person from the one they had seen back then. His momentum was so strong and powerful that the courtiers did not dare to look him in the eyes. They blushed when they saw him, and then turned their faces away in shame. The momentum on the Emperor's body was not something they could compare to at all.

A month later, the atmosphere in the entire Capital was refreshed, and the imperial court seemed to finally begin to understand. Xue Ling finally unloaded the burden from his shoulders and pushed his way into Ying Sheng's embrace. "... So tired..."

Ying Sheng patted him gently on the back and lowered his gaze to look at him, his gaze incredibly gentle. "It'll be okay after this period of hard work. There will always be all kinds of troubles and panic when you first start."

Xue Ling shifted around, and straightforwardly sat himself down in his arms. "These courtiers are all fools, too. I spent so much effort to teach them, but they still don't understand me at all! They come to me with these strange and unnecessary reports all the time, how annoying."

Ying Sheng lightly massaged his temples for him, drew him closer, and settled him firmly in his embrace. "Isn't it enough that I understand you?"

Xue Ling watched him lean close and wrapped an arm around his neck to give him a kiss. "It's enough. Then We will stop working on these annoying documents today and bless you with Our presence?" Although Xue Ling said such words, in fact, he had no intention of moving at all. "The military report came in from the Northwest just now. General Mo Bei's Qi Family has already responded. It seems that one month was enough time for them to figure out exactly what I want."

"Isn't that very good? Since Qi Sheng himself is willing to submit, I don't have to bitterly fight my way over. I don't want to be separated from you for such a long time." Ying Sheng was not concerned about what the Qi Family might be attempting to do. Their family had always been like this; when the Emperor did well, they listened to the central government, and when the Emperor was confused, they went their own way. In any case, as long as the Northwest was theirs, they still had the final say.

Xue Ling narrowed his eyes. He tapped on the secret reports on the desk and sneered, "Qi Family has been prominent for a long time. Do they think that We will leave them alone as long as they submit?"

"Then just take your time and slowly grind them down. I will make them understand that once the power has been handed over, there is absolutely no such thing as taking it back." He exerted some strength, and Xue Ling once again lay against him.

"The Shu King is claiming that his territory is impermeable and affects his ability to receive news, which was why he had not responded to the previous incident. What do you think?"

"The Deng Family ran to the Shu King's territory. Tell me, what should I think?"

Xue Ling's hand stilled. He knew that his Imperial Uncle was restless, but he hadn't realized that the Deng Family was on his side.

"You were still young then, and don't know what kind of feelings Deng Shi and the Shu King had for each other. Why do you think the Shu King went to his territory in the first place?" Ying Sheng's expression was ironic as he discussed the secrets behind the imperial family. "Deng Shi should be very happy right now, thinking that he can continue to use you since you've retaken the throne."

"I'm still young." Xue Ling's attention was not on these secrets. Compared to the imperial family's chaotic relationships, Xue Ling was more interested in another key point. "But you're quite old~ You even know about these kinds of things. You really deserve to be called an old uncle."

Ying Sheng wrinkled his brow, "Are you disdaining me for being older than you?"

Xue Ling sat up straight. "There's more than a dozen years between us, old uncle."

Ying Sheng met his gaze, and they stared at each other for a good while. Eventually, Xue Ling wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. "Okay, don't be sad. I like you even if you're an old uncle."

Ying Sheng stood up. He swept away the documents on the desk with one hand and placed Xue Ling directly on its surface. "I'm not in a hurry to do it on the dragon throne. We can try the imperial desk first."

Xue Ling raised his chin and spoke a little provocatively, "Are you sure you can do it?"

Ying Sheng reached out and began to remove his imperial court clothing. He seemed to have been shamed into mild anger and annoyance, "I can show you right now whether or not I'm an old uncle and whether or not I can do it."

Shu Heng stepped slowly and silently out of the imperial study. He even closed the door behind him... After serving Xue for such a long time, he had watched as Xue Ling and Ying Sheng's relationship developed, and gone from initially finding it inconceivable to becoming accustomed to it in the end. In any case, that was the Imperial Consort, and regardless of where they wanted to mess around, the most he could do was quietly slip out to guard the door and chew on some dog food.

Anyway, he was not the most miserable one. Mu Ge was even more wretched; he was only being fed dog food, but Mu Ge's dog food was mixed with vinegar~