Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 367 The Rebellion Begins
The dragon race's problems were naturally not brought to the court for public discussion, and were instead ridiculed by a large number of other races and subjects.

Moreover, this also involves the Prime Minister's mistake, so Long Qinghuang is still willing to give Long Yan some face.

Although Lu Xingzhou's words made Long Qinghuang somewhat question Long Yan's intentions, was it really just that he didn't care, or was it deliberate?
But she didn't show it so recklessly on the surface. She was drinking tea in the imperial study, observing Long Yan and the others as they entered with her beautiful eyes, seemingly as if everything was normal.

With a soft "click," a teacup was placed on the table. Long Qinghuang spoke leisurely, "I haven't considered marriage and reproduction before... and some things have been overlooked. Recently, I've been thinking about having little dragons, and upon reflection, I wonder if there's something wrong with the reproduction of our dragon race?"

Long Yan hurriedly said, "The dragon race is too strong, and powerful life forms often have difficulty reproducing. But the Heavenly Dao has opened a window, allowing the dragon race to be reproductively isolated from other races, thus maintaining balance... Currently, there are 10% more sub-dragon species than a hundred years ago."

"How many times less pure-blooded dragons are there compared to a hundred years ago?"

"Uh, nothing has changed."

A hundred years isn't even enough time for an old dragon to die, so of course nothing changes. Long Qinghuang said calmly, "Then how does it compare to a thousand years ago?"

Long Yan wiped away his cold sweat: "It's down by 20%."

These words made the atmosphere even quieter.

There seemed to be an invisible pressure looming over everyone in the Imperial Study, making it hard to even breathe.

A thousand years ago, before the dragon race unified the demon realm, there were many wars and considerable casualties. Even under such circumstances, there were at least ten thousand dragons. But now, the demon realm has been unified for hundreds of years, and all races are thriving, while there are only a few thousand dragons left.

Long Qinghuang believed that the sea dragon clan, which had already separated, would not do such a thing.

Even the sub-dragon species didn't increase much, only by about 10%...

Is this the kind of data that dragons, who love to spread their species everywhere, should have?
Of course, reproduction is difficult, including the slow reproduction of subspecies. This is indeed determined by the characteristics of the race. Long Qinghuang's face was ashen as she said calmly, "In just these few years, the number has decreased by 20%. If you give us a few thousand more years, will there be no dragons left?"

Long Yan and the others lowered their heads and remained silent.

Among them were pure-blooded dragons. Long Qinghuang turned to them and asked, "Long Ao, Long Zhan, neither of you has a child?"

Long Ao and Long Zhan both said, "Yes, there are no pure-blooded ones. There are some subspecies, but not many."

"Is it because they don't want to have children?" There's no real survival pressure in the Demon Realm, so Long Qinghuang couldn't understand why. Even if the dragon race faced difficulties in reproduction, it wasn't this difficult—even high-ranking officials of the Demon Court were childless?
“I can’t have children.” Long Ao sighed. “Anyway, I’ve tried my best, but there’s no other way but to have children with another race.”

Have you visited the holy mountain?

"I've been there, and it was somewhat helpful. It made it a little easier for concubines from other clans to get pregnant, and even some of the women they casually slept with outside got pregnant, though not many. In any case, my wife's belly is still not showing any signs of pregnancy."

Long Qinghuang was silent for a moment: "Does the Prime Minister have any measures in mind?"

Long Yan said helplessly, "It's not that people don't want to have children, it's that they can't... What other measures can be taken to address the reproduction problem in the Demon Realm besides seeking help from the Holy Mountain?"

Long Qinghuang was furious: "You only know how to look for the Holy Mountain? I could find the answer even if I just grabbed a pig demon from the mortal realm. Is this the conclusion you're giving me, Prime Minister?"

Long Yan kowtowed: "Your subject is incompetent."

In fact, Long Qinghuang herself had thought of many measures to encourage childbirth, such as rewards or tax exemptions, but these are only for those who do not want to have children... Seeking policy solutions for infertility is useless.

Regardless, the fact that the Prime Minister hadn't considered these incentive measures still deeply disappointed Long Qinghuang. She said indifferently, "In any case, the incentive measures should be put out first. I want to see the details of the Prime Minister's measures tomorrow morning. Don't tell me that the Prime Minister doesn't even know these things."

"Yes."

"Once the measures are finalized, distribute them to the dragon clan privately, without holding a court meeting."

"Yes."

"You may leave." Long Qinghuang rose listlessly, her mind heavy with worries as she strolled back to the inner palace.

His feet unconsciously led him toward the Palace of Rebellion. When he reached the palace gate, he suddenly looked up at the plaque of the Palace of Rebellion and gave a slightly bitter smile.

I didn't expect the situation to be this serious... Even if Long Yan has selfish motives, Long Ao and the others are pure-blooded dragons and don't have such selfish motives, but they clearly told me that they couldn't have children.

This left Long Qinghuang, who had been confident that she could solve the problem by introducing some policies, feeling somewhat frustrated. This wasn't a political matter; it was a medical one.

What the hell?

Do we really need Lu Xingzhou to come up with a solution?

Long Qinghuang stared at the "Palace of Rebellion" for a long time. Was he really going to let him get cocky?
But this problem is extremely serious; it involves the extinction of our species. If it is not discovered and no measures are taken… Long Qinghuang dares not imagine what will happen thousands of years from now.

The Dragon Lady pouted resentfully and finally stepped into the hall.

As it turned out, neither Lu Xingzhou nor his disciples were there. The worried Long Qinghuang hadn't even noticed that they weren't in the hall. She was stunned for a moment, then opened her divine sense to look and saw Lu Xingzhou squatting in the Imperial Garden, with Xiao Kui and A Nuo squatting on either side, playing with mud with great interest.

...I won't let you leave the palace, and you've become so repressed? You've even started playing in the mud.

And why are you always so close to a palace maid?

Long Qinghuang was furious and appeared beside the three of them with a "whoosh".

Xiao Kui is saying, "It's broken! It's broken~ It's out~"

The next moment, his collar was tightened, and he was lifted up.

Xiao Kui turned her head in shock, then immediately transformed into a quail: "Your Majesty."

Long Qinghuang's expression was dangerous: "What's broken? What's coming out?"

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and saw the ornament being held in mid-air by the Demon Emperor, and couldn't help but laugh: "Breaking out of the ground. What is the dignified and reserved Demon Emperor thinking?" Long Qinghuang: "..."

They then realized that the group wasn't playing in the mud, but observing the tender shoots of several plants breaking through the soil.

"Ahem." Long Qinghuang coughed lightly, curled up the little palace maid in her hands and tossed her far away, then squatted down in her place: "What is this?"

"I noticed that His Majesty's Imperial Garden only has ordinary flowers and plants that are not yet in season, so I took the liberty of replacing them with some beautiful and useful medicinal herbs."

Long Qinghuang's gloomy mood was lifted by her words: "Yes, yes, that's what the mistress of the harem should do. When they're fully grown, I'll accompany you to admire the flowers."

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "Look at you, acting like a tyrant."

The banter was so overtly flirtatious that Long Qinghuang was actually more pleased to be called a tyrant, and she chuckled and said, "So what if I'm a tyrant who's obsessed with men? Didn't you make me be one?"

Lu Xingzhou said meaningfully, "You'll just do whatever I tell you to do?"

Long Qinghuang's beautiful eyes flickered, revealing a charm rarely seen before: "I am capable, but... can you?"

She killed the conversation with a single sentence, and Lu Xingzhou, with a sour face, looked down at the flowers and ignored her.

Long Qinghuang found him increasingly adorable, which made her even happier. She smiled and asked, "What kind of flower is this?"

"It's for treating infertility," Lu Xingzhou said leisurely. "The combination of these different types of flowers and plants here is all for this purpose."

Long Qinghuang's expression changed slightly.

These flowers must have been planted before the topic was brought up yesterday; he was prepared in advance.

After all that, it turns out that Lu Xingzhou didn't solve the problem with wisdom this time, but rather with his technical skills as an alchemist.

"So..." Long Qinghuang hesitated, "Is it really a problem that can be solved with medical treatment?"

"It's not entirely certain, but we can give it a try. Also, the effects of human elixirs on demons are unknown, so we'll have to try that too. In short, the inability to conceive isn't something an emperor can solve with a decree, is it?"

Long Qinghuang gritted her teeth: "Is this why you're so sure I can't solve it?"

"Yes."

"We also have healers in our demon realm, and a sacred mountain!"

“If the Holy Mountain could solve the problem, wouldn’t it have been solved long ago…” Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, “I’m even afraid that the root of your problem lies in the Holy Mountain. This is not only futile, but also like handing a knife to someone else.”

Ah Nuo glanced at her master. In the past, when her master spoke of phrases like "trying to catch fish by climbing a tree," he would inevitably hesitate a little, but now there was not a ripple at all.

It's true that both the spring breeze and the fish are just passing through.

Long Qinghuang's expression was extremely serious: "You can't just say that."

“Yes, I had no basis for my opinion, it was just a casual remark.” Lu Xingzhou said calmly, “Then Your Majesty may continue to find your own way, I will continue to cultivate my flowers.”

Long Qinghuang glanced at the flowers and plants in front of her and felt that they seemed to be the roots of the dragon race. Her mind became much more solemn, and she almost wanted to call in guards to watch over the courtyard.

On second thought, she felt that she shouldn't make a big fuss and attract attention; it would be better to just be a seductive concubine growing flowers and having fun in the harem.

The dragon maiden's tone unconsciously became much more ingratiating: "Then, then why don't you try refining some pills first? I'll find a dragon to secretly test the medicine for you later."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her: "Is Your Majesty admitting defeat? Do you really need my help?"

Long Qinghuang then remembered that he had come with conditions, and that he had said he would make her feel very embarrassed.

Although Long Qinghuang felt that she could still find a solution from places like the Holy Mountain, and that the witch doctors in the Demon Realm should also have a solution... it was clear that she was now much more apprehensive and dared not be as certain as she had been yesterday.

Even if a skilled alchemist could handle it, Long Qinghuang wouldn't dare entrust such an important matter to an untrustworthy alchemist like Chen Yu. What if he harbored malicious intent and added something else, making it even worse? That would be disastrous. Besides, most alchemists aren't skilled enough.

She dared not block the road again, and said cautiously, "Although I can still try... but... but it's always right for you to test the medicine first. How about I agree to a small condition?"

Lu Xingzhou finally stood up.

Long Qinghuang subconsciously stood up with him.

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, expressionless: "Hands behind your back."

Being ordered around like this, and in such a humiliating way, made Long Qinghuang realize why he needed her to put her hands behind her back. The feeling of wanting to laugh outweighed the shame, and she indeed put her hands behind her back, pouting slightly: "Satisfied now?"

She thought Lu Xingzhou would kiss her directly, but instead he stretched out his index finger and lifted Long Qinghuang's chin.

Long Qinghuang: "..."

Lu Xingzhou said, "How many times have I challenged you? Let me show you what it feels like."

This time, Long Qinghuang truly felt a strong sense of shame, biting her lower lip slightly and glaring at him stubbornly.

His hair was disheveled, but his eyes were defiant.

The little sunflower, which had been left far away, peeked out from behind the tree.

The name "Palace of Rebellion" is truly fitting...

(End of this chapter)