Chapter 359: My Kingdom, My Rules

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

She came to his side, leaning gently into his embrace.

“Are you waiting for me?”

“I would do anything as long as I can wait for you.”

Qiao Mai pointed to his heart with her finger, and Yuan Jiaqi immediately felt a warm sensation in his chest.

“What is this?”

“Vitality, hidden in your heart, nourishing your organs. You’ll live a long and healthy life without illness or pain.”

“Wife, you bring such a great gift as soon as you come out of seclusion, but I have nothing to offer you.”

“You do.”

“What is it?”

“Waiting for me is your gift.”

Just as the two were immersed in their affectionate moment, a group gathered in the courtyard.

“Mother, you’re out of seclusion?”

“Mother-in-law, you’re out of seclusion?”

“Girl, you’re out of seclusion?”

The two turned around, smiling at them. “Sorry to have worried you. I didn’t expect it to take this long.”

“You haven’t spent New Year’s with us. You owe us compensation, got it?”

“Sure, let’s have a good meal together.”

“Haha.”

The emperor and empress soon learned about Qiao Mai coming out of seclusion. They visited that night and had become more frequent in their visits.

Ever since Jiamei got married, they showed no restraint.

Coming up with excuses to visit Qiao Mai, they frequently came every few days, causing Jiamei to roll her eyes.

“I think Father doesn’t want to be the emperor anymore. He’s slacking off every day. Just after Eleven was appointed crown prince, he handed over the state affairs to him. It’s outrageous.”

“He should take a break.”

“Father even mentioned to me that he wants to come and live here for a while.

“Sure, we have so many rooms at home.”

After meeting Qiao Mai, the emperor and empress noticed something unusual.

“Mother-in-law, you seem different?” “Yes, my strength has greatly increased.” The emperor swallowed. “Uh, can you fly?”

“Yes.”

“Can you let me take a flight?”

Qiao Mai gave him a disdainful look. “At your age, flying might scare you.”

“Now that they’ve all rested and there are no outsiders, can you show me?” Qiao Mai glanced at her husband. “Do you want to fly?”

“Sure, since we have such an opportunity. Can you carry so many people at once?”

Qiao Mai led them to the courtyard, closed her eyes, and bought a small flying ship from her space.

She waved her hand, and the ship appeared in the courtyard, equipped with a ladder.

Qiao Mai took the lead onto the ship, standing at the bow, looking down at the dumbfounded three people below.

“Come on. It’s not too late now. We can see the candlelights and the stars in the sky.”

The three regained their senses and cautiously looked at the flying ship. Qiao Mai had already read the manual and took the driver’s seat.

The others stood on the side, feeling a bit scared.

Qiao Mai pressed the button in the middle, and the ship started to ascend continuously.

The empress grabbed the emperor’s arm. “Your Majesty, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t worry. We have Qiao Mai.”

Qiao Mai smiled. “No need to be afraid; this ship is safe.”

Finally, the ship reached a certain height and stopped. The three looked down carefully.

“Oh, the houses look so small.”

“I didn’t dare to make it higher; I was afraid you couldn’t accept it.”

Qiao Mai pressed another button, and the ship moved forward slowly, just for them to enjoy the view.

There were no high-rise buildings here, so she didn’t worry about crashing

into anything. This height was safe. Except for birds, nothing could reach them.

“Wow, look, that’s the imperial palace. I never thought the palace we live in is like this.”

The empress was happy like a child, and the emperor, stroking his beard, was also excited. Yuan Jiaqi stood beside Qiao Mai.

“Wife, is it difficult to operate this?”

As the couple enjoyed the night view of the capital, Qiao Mai taught her husband how to drive the ship. Yuan Jiaqi quickly got the hang of it.

“From now on, I’ll take care of this.

“Good.”

The two pairs of in-laws spent time in the night sky above the capital. No one knew about the events that unfolded in the air. After descending from the ship, the emperor’s legs were weak.

For the first time in history, he requested to stay at Lucky Garden as they didn’t bring any guards. They were accommodated in the side rooms of Yuexian Pavilion.

Early the next morning, they hurried back to the palace before dawn.

Recently, apart from bringing Eleven to the morning court, the emperor didn’t care about other affairs.

He spent his days in the empress’s palace. “I’m scared the flying ship will malfunction and fall.”

“Me too. I still haven’t become a grandmother.”

“I’ll send the imperial physician over later to check Jiamei’s pulse for safety.”

“Our in-law is amazing. Mr. Yuan is not bad either; he can already operate the flying ship.”

“I eagerly formed a marital alliance with their family, hoping that in-law could take care of the royal family. The world established by the Li family is not easy to maintain.”

“If our in-law’s airship could be provided to the military, wouldn’t that be excellent?”

“Forget about it. She’s so low-key because she doesn’t want us to rely too much on her. As long as she’s here with us, it’s enough. After all, she won’t stand by and do nothing in an emergency.”

“Then let’s quickly issue the imperial edict for the marriage.”

“I also have this intention.”

In mid -May, the imperial edict arrived at the Qiao family. Princess Tianshui was bestowed in marriage upon the Crown Prince, and the edict explicitly stated that he would only marry Princess Tianshui without any concubines.

This imperial edict instantly left those ambitious officials bewildered. Throughout history, officials always hoped their daughters would climb to higher branches.

Instead of focusing on their duties, they wished to take shortcuts through marriage.

The emperor and Eleven almost faced an attack during the morning court.

“Why not take concubines? Isn’t this letting the royal bloodline gradually disappear by only having one wife?”

They have their opinions, but the emperor has his words.

“What’s the point of having so many children? To fight and kill each other? Or to let you form factions and scheme against each other?”

The emperor wasn’t afraid of them. With power in his hands and Qiao Mai as his in-law, who could intimidate him?

He just had one word for them: F*ck off!

“Your Majesty, what if the future empress cannot give birth to a son?”

“Then we’ll choose from the grandsons. My kingdom, my rules. You only need to be good subjects.”

After dismissing the courtiers, some experienced and cunning princes emerged in the imperial family, opposing Eleven’s marriage to only one woman.

But when they heard that if there were no sons, the selection would come from their descendants, their hearts wavered.

The emperor saw their calculations in their eyes and thought, is it possible?

Qiao Mai won’t let her daughter fail to produce a son. Speaking of which, it seems she hasn’t given birth to a child herself.

No, he must find an opportunity to let the empress chat with Qiao Mai more often.

So, they went to Lucky Garden again.

The weather was hot, and a beautiful tea table was set up in the courtyard of Yuexian Pavilion. The couple enjoyed tea when they had nothing else to do.

The empress held Qiao Mai’s hand and complained, “His Majesty and Eleven were almost devoured by those old courtiers.”

“I’ve heard about it. Don’t worry. Once they are married, my daughter will also give birth to several sons for Eleven.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“By the way, you and Mr. Yuan got married for so many years. Why don’t you have any children of your own?”

“Maybe it’s not meant to be. I don’t mind; as long as I have Chuan’er and Ling’er, that’s enough. Raising children guards against old age. If they can inherit the family business in the future, take care of us, and send us off well, it doesn’t matter whether they’re our own.”

“You’re quite open-minded. With such a huge family business…”

Qiao Mai glanced at her. “What’s wrong with that? Do I have to bear a son?

Then let him divide the property with your daughter in the future?”

“Isn’t that natural?”

“You’re overthinking. People should not be too greedy. Contentment brings happiness. Many people suffer from overwork, anger, and illness. They should have lived to be seventy or eighty, but they died in their fifties.

Broad-mindedness is the way to health. If you and His Majesty want children and grandchildren around you, you must have an open mind.”

“You are right. His Majesty has been surrounded by children and grandchildren for a long time. But I haven’t. I only have one daughter. It’s been so long since her marriage, yet my daughter’s belly hasn’t shown any signs of life..”