Chapter Seventy-Three: Unification of the World

Madam Mo thought of the question she had just asked and felt a momentary awkwardness. She touched her nose and said, "Jiang Hu has returned. Was everything smooth?"

Jiang Hu nodded. "It went well. The emperor has surrendered."

The Regent let out a derisive laugh. "That’s just like him."

No backbone at all—how did Father end up with such a son?

Mo Nian-nian finally calmed down, her coughing fit had brought tears to her eyes, which made Jiang Hu’s gaze darken.

He suppressed the romantic thoughts in his mind and sat down beside Mo Nian-nian. "The emperor wrote a letter of surrender, yielding all of Nanming."

The Regent looked even more disdainful. "A true emperor defends the nation’s borders, a true king dies for his people. And yet, look at him."

What a pity, all the hard-won foundation his father built, gone.

Madam Mo knocked the Regent with her knuckles. "And why isn’t that a good thing? Think of how many lives have been spared because of this."

The Regent had no choice but to grumble that Madam was right.

Jiang Hu paid no mind to these debates. What he was thinking was that the whole world was now in his hands, and his master couldn’t escape even if she wanted to.

"Master, are you hungry? I’ll make you something to eat." The tenderness in Jiang Hu’s eyes was almost tangible.

"No need, I just ate," Mo Nian-nian waved her hand. She asked casually, "Have you eaten? Why not go eat something first?"

Jiang Hu’s face brightened at this offhand concern, shaking his head. "I’ve eaten, Master. You don’t have to worry."

Jiang Hu’s gaze lingered on Mo Nian-nian, so obviously in love that anyone who saw would have to remark on it.

But Mo Nian-nian seemed completely heartless, enjoying all this with a clear conscience.

Madam Mo gritted her teeth. "Go ahead and act spoiled. Other than Jiang Hu, who could treat you so well?"

With that, she dragged the Regent away, leaving these two reunited lovers their privacy.

Mo Nian-nian was left baffled. Why was she being scolded?

What had she done wrong? She hadn’t done anything at all.

Feeling wronged, Mo Nian-nian hugged herself tightly.

After the “third wheel” left, Jiang Hu’s gaze grew more intense. "Master, I missed you so much."

Mo Nian-nian replied half-heartedly, "Oh, I missed you too."

Her careless attitude made Jiang Hu’s chest tighten, even though he’d experienced it many times before.

He quickly composed himself and began joyfully sharing the events of the past few days with Mo Nian-nian.

"By the way, Master, the enthronement ceremony and the coronation will be held together. The procedures will be a bit complicated—"

"What? Coronation?" Mo Nian-nian pointed at herself, her eyes wide.

She could accept the enthronement; after all, Jiang Hu had unified the continent. But coronation? What nonsense was that?

Jiang Hu’s face darkened inch by inch, his breath turning cold. "Master is unwilling?"

"Maybe you should reconsider?" Mo Nian-nian looked at him hopefully, wishing he’d change his mind.

"Does Master still wish to give me to someone else?" Jiang Hu, who’d only just changed his way of addressing her, reverted to his old self.

The system screamed in alarm to Mo Nian-nian: [Host! The male lead’s malice level is fluctuating again!]

Mo Nian-nian shut her eyes briefly and forced a smile. "How could I? I was just a bit shocked. Being an empress is exhausting."

The mission had come this far—what choice did she have but to grit her teeth and carry on?

"I’ll take care of everything for you," Jiang Hu said, his devotion absolute. Because of her words, light rekindled in his eyes.

Jiang Hu was too busy. After a short while at home, he left again.

Mo Nian-nian was a little irritated. [Jiang Hu’s malice level is still at ten?]

[Yes, it hasn’t budged in a long time,] replied the system.

[Wait, no—it almost went up just now.]

Mo Nian-nian was exasperated. [What more does he want?]

Holding onto those last few points made her miserable.

The system blurted out, [Physical intimacy?]

Realizing its mistake, it vanished from Mo Nian-nian’s sight at lightning speed.

No matter how anxious she was, Mo Nian-nian could do nothing. Jiang Hu held all the initiative.

Privately, Madam Mo sought out Jiang Hu and delicately raised the subject of children.

Jiang Hu’s eyes flickered. "I’ll do whatever my master wants."

That was precisely why Madam Mo was so worried. "Jiang Hu, sometimes you shouldn’t let her have her way in everything. If Nian-nian bullies you, just come tell me."

Jiang Hu smiled, eyes crinkling. "She never would."

Madam Mo looked at Jiang Hu with a mix of comfort and pity. Who knew what kind of virtue Nian-nian had accumulated in a past life to meet someone like Jiang Hu in this one?

"You know what our Nian-nian is like—please be patient with her." Madam Mo patted Jiang Hu’s shoulder.

Jiang Hu replied gravely, "Master is wonderful."

Many times, Madam Mo suspected Mo Nian-nian had bewitched Jiang Hu. Otherwise, why would he be so hopelessly infatuated?

Since neither of them had any objections, Madam Mo had nothing more to say.

During this busy period, with Jiang Hu constantly occupied, Mo Nian-nian’s quality of life plummeted.

Every morning, there were no coordinated outfits prepared, and no one to do her hair.

Bai Shao had married last year, and since Jiang Hu took care of everything himself, Mo Nian-nian hadn’t hired a new maid.

As a result, whenever Jiang Hu was busy, Mo Nian-nian became absolutely helpless.

She finally picked out an outfit she could tolerate, fussed with it for ages, but it still didn’t look as good as those Jiang Hu chose.

With no other choice, Mo Nian-nian put on the disliked outfit and got up. Then came the next challenge: her hair.

She had long, thick, lustrous black hair, and had always been proud of it.

But when she had to manage it herself, she realized just how much work it was.

After five minutes, she’d turned her beautiful hair into a tangled mess and gave up entirely. How on earth were those elegant hairdos so hard?

Jiang Hu and Bai Shao had always managed so easily.

Mo Nian-nian sighed that this was simply not a job for any human being. She grabbed a ribbon and tied all her hair behind her.

Most of the other servants in the house had been sent to help decorate the palace for the new emperor’s enthronement, so Mo Nian-nian’s days were a living nightmare.

She soon found herself deeply pondering: When did she become so useless?

And how did Jiang Hu manage to keep everything in perfect order despite being so busy? Truly, a master of time management.

Mo Nian-nian found herself missing Jiang Hu.

[So, Host, do you want to try the solution I mentioned?] The system looked at her with anticipation, convinced that Jiang Hu’s malice level stubbornly refused to drop because he sensed she didn’t love him.

Mo Nian-nian flatly refused. [No. If you want to, do it yourself.]

The system fell silent, disappointed.

As soon as Jiang Hu returned home, he saw Mo Nian-nian with her hair tied back, looking especially charming. He walked up behind her and said softly, "Master, I’m home."