So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Xie Xun wanted to kiss her again, but Ning Yu noticed his unusual demeanor and quickly changed the subject, "Someone will be coming in soon, I should go back now."

"Stay here with me."

Xie Xun didn't really care what was wrong with her; she could only stay by his side anyway.

Several stacks of memorials were piled on the imperial table. Ning Yu sat on a stool next to him, watching him deal with the memorials he had been working on all morning with a bored expression. His face was sometimes sunny and sometimes gloomy, making people afraid to approach him.

In the middle of the night, she summoned several ministers and generals who came to deliver battle reports and palace affairs. When they came in, she wanted to go to the warm pavilion at the back, but the dog emperor pressed her down in her seat and wouldn't let her move.

Afraid of being seen by others, she had a moment of madness and bent down to hide under the imperial table.

Ning Yu hid for half an hour, as several elders of the council came to hold a meeting, and various noisy sounds came one after another, making Ning Yu's legs numb from squatting.

She pulled the deerskin from the stool, placed it on the ground, plopped down, and rubbed her aching calves.

A beam of light enveloped her, and she looked up with her beautiful fox-like eyes, meeting his lowered gaze.

Xie Xun saw her looking up at him and saw that she looked rather disheveled and pitiful. He looked into her eyes and his fingers twirled the jade ring, wanting to reach out and help her up.

Ning Yu turned slightly to hide, not wanting anyone to discover that she was hiding here; if word got out, she would lose all face.

"His Majesty."

A deep voice came from below, and Xie Xun looked up and met the eyes of the Xie clan elder sitting below.

What is Your Majesty looking at? Did you even listen to what they said? Right now, the former Crown Prince Xie Jingchen has already reached Beihai, and rumors are spreading everywhere, causing widespread panic.

The most important thing right now is not the southern campaign, but to quell the domestic unrest and dispel the rumors. If there are dissidents in the court who want to welcome back the former crown prince, their families must be exterminated and their hearts destroyed first.

Once Xie Jingchen returns to the capital, he will surely kill them all and wipe out the Elders' Council. Crown Prince Xie Jingchen must die; he must not be allowed to return to the capital.

"Your Majesty should now issue a warrant for conquest and return all these humiliations to the southwest, instead of sending other tribal leaders to lead the expedition in a half-hearted manner."

"Bahrain and his clan have surrendered, and Xie Jingchen has led an army of 80,000 into the North Sea camp. What use do you gentlemen think the southwestern clans are to us?"

The people below were not fools; they naturally understood the new emperor's meaning: he wanted to eradicate the southwestern clans completely, leaving no one alive.

"But this—shaking such a huge foundation, how can Great Xia stand firm in Hongchuan? Is it going to lead to a ridiculous situation where two emperors coexist and rule separately along the river, making us a laughingstock to the world?"

Xie Xun knew that Xie Jingchen was tyrannical in court, yet he had managed to remain the crown prince for many years. Besides the late emperor's favor, the most important factor was his ability.

If he hadn't allowed other tribes to conquer first, Xie Jingchen wouldn't have fallen for his trick and opened up the waterway to the north for him.

What does it matter if a group of people die? As long as we can conquer Ximisha, swallow up Moxi, and quickly launch a northern expedition to divide up half of Shangliang's territory, not to mention Daxia, Hongchuan will also be trampled under our feet.

The pinnacle of power is a ladder built from the corpses and lives of countless people, and only one person can ever reach the top.

Xie Xun looked down at the woman at his feet, and slightly curled his lips. Everything in the world, everything within the yellow earth, belonged to him. No one would dislike this kind of power, and he would share it with her to make her happy.

Ning Yu was so sleepy she was almost asleep when she noticed the gaze above her head. She subconsciously looked up and met his eyes.

Her eyes were misty with tears, her features were exquisitely beautiful, and her bright, beautiful eyes looked at him, making him want to lean down and kiss her.

Xie Xun suppressed the beast within him and kicked her, signaling her to come over herself.

What's going on? Ning Yu's drowsiness was chased away. Hearing that the people in the hall hadn't left yet, she rubbed her eyes and brows. She should have known better than to hide here. Sitting there would have been better than this.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when her hand was pulled and placed on his lap. She was startled, and he lifted her chin, his rough fingertips caressing her pink lips, which were not rouged with lipstick, and kneading them a few times.

Ning Yu winced in pain. This dog emperor was either a tyrant or a foolish ruler in the future. He must be thinking some filthy things.

She was drowsy from the noise of the ministers, so she sat on the deerskin, hugged his legs, and closed her eyes.

Xie Xun paused, glanced at her stomach, and withdrew his intention to torment her. He had indeed lost his temper last night, and she needed to rest properly.

Ning Yu didn't know how she fell asleep. It was true that she was prone to sleepiness after becoming pregnant, but she still couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep while hugging his legs in front of so many people.

When she woke up, Xie Xun was carrying her to the bedroom in Changxin Palace. A long wind blew, blowing up their robes. She leaned against his chest, drooping her eyelids and spacing out for a while before she was fully awake and pushed him away.

"Put me down, I can walk by myself."

Seeing that she was awake, Xie Xun lowered his eyes and asked, "Should we summon the imperial physician?"

Ning Yu knew what he meant, secretly rolled her eyes at him, and obediently said, "No need."

The palace servants of Changxin Palace saw the two from afar and hurriedly came to greet them, lifting the beaded curtain and burning incense in the censer, making the entire palace brightly lit.

Xie Xun placed her on the soft couch and went to the washroom himself.

As darkness fell, the two went to bed to rest after their meal. Perhaps because it had been a while since he had held her while sleeping, Xie Xun felt a fire rising in his lower abdomen as soon as he touched her body.

His hands, which were not at ease, roamed over her body. Ning Yu grabbed them and said, "Your Majesty has three palaces and six courtyards. If you are not satisfied, you can go and summon beauties to serve you."

Xie Xun certainly didn't have the ridiculous idea of ​​keeping Ning Yu's chastity. He just found Ning Yu so interesting that he couldn't get enough of sleeping with her. He lost his sense of propriety and became addicted to her. Naturally, he wanted to give her everything and only wanted her.

But when he heard her tell him to sleep with the woman next to him, he felt uncomfortable no matter how he listened. He squeezed her waist and hips harder and pressed her into his arms.

"Don't worry, I'll go to sleep tomorrow and have a bunch of kids for you to raise."

That lunatic! This dog emperor is nothing but a wicked creature in a beautiful shell. Don't listen to him; he'll drive you crazy.

Ning Yu mocked him, "Your Majesty should be more restrained and marry fewer women, otherwise you might be cuckolded without even knowing it."

Ha, Xie Xun's displeasure vanished inexplicably, replaced by a hint of pleasure in his eyes. Was she jealous? His Ning Yu was now vying for his favor. "Then I'll just sleep with you."

Ning Yu paused. Sure enough, men's words are deceitful. They dare to say anything in bed, but once they get out of bed and pull up their pants, they don't recognize each other. Do they think they can't see the imperial edicts with red ink on the table in the council hall?

She pretended not to hear his promise, closed her eyes, and prepared to go to sleep. Let him raise the child himself; who wants to raise his child?

Seeing that she ignored him, Xie Xun pinched her a few times harder. She hissed and turned over, trying to turn her back to him.

He pulled her back into his arms, and when she opened her eyes and glared at him angrily, his expression melted away like ice and snow, and he lowered his head to kiss and bite her lips and tongue.

He had to admit that he enjoyed teasing her like this.