Even though Luo Shangyu acted as usual, what had happened earlier still weighed on Qin Yu’s heart.
Luo Shangyu could choose not to care, but Qin Yu couldn’t let it go.
She didn’t want to hurt Luo Shangyu’s feelings because of it.
Qin Yu kept looking for an opportunity to apologize, but either the timing was wrong or she lost her nerve.
The words of apology remained stuck in her throat.
In the blink of an eye, the two had already finished bathing and gone to bed.
Luo Shangyu extinguished the light in the bedroom and said, “Go to sleep quickly. Tomorrow, you have to oversee the state as the Crown Prince, and you need to wake up early!”
In the darkness, the sound of their breathing was audible to one another.
On the oversized bed, the two were very close under the same blanket.
Qin Yu felt this was the best time.
The day was almost over, and this was her last chance.
“Luo Shangyu?” she called out tentatively in the darkness.
“Hmm?” Luo Shangyu was not yet asleep.
“I…” As the words reached her lips, Qin Yu lost her nerve again.
She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and said loudly in one go, “Luo Shangyu, I’m sorry!”
“What’s wrong?” Luo Shangyu asked, feigning ignorance.
“I… I listened to the rumors others spread…” Qin Yu said in a low voice, “Today, someone said you were bringing troops back to rebel, and I… I believed them a little…”
“That’s only human nature, isn’t it? After all, I brought so many troops back without notifying you in advance. It was an oversight on my part,” Luo Shangyu comforted her.
“But you were willing to go and persuade Zhong Changgong for me, yet I was doubting you…” Qin Yu said, pulling Luo Shangyu’s hand toward her.
“It’s my fault. I’ll never do it again. This time, you can punish me however you want.”
Luo Shangyu was startled and tried to pull her hand back, but Qin Yu held on tightly, making it impossible to break free.
“What do you mean by this? Let go!” Luo Shangyu said, growing a bit anxious.
“Luo Shangyu, I failed your loyalty. I should receive the punishment I deserve.”
“Alright, alright,” Luo Shangyu said, using her other free hand to stroke Qin Yu’s head comfortingly.
“I forgive you. Why do you insist on me punishing you? Just make sure you can truly and completely trust me next time.”
“It’s precisely to prove that I trust you completely that I’m letting you punish me however you want!” Qin Yu whispered, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Luo Shangyu was somewhat amused by Qin Yu’s words.
She didn’t want to punish her, but to satisfy Qin Yu’s request, she gave her a light swat on the bottom.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“Yes.” Only after receiving Luo Shangyu’s light swat did Qin Yu completely let the matter go.
After all, Qin Yu believed that Luo Shangyu’s willingness to punish her meant she had truly forgiven her.
***
Qin Yu overseeing the state as the Crown Prince meant she needed to manage the many affairs of the country.
At 8:00 AM, Luo Shangyu woke Qin Yu up, urging her to get into a working state as soon as possible.
Qin Yu arrived at Weiyang Hall with bleary eyes.
Today was her first day overseeing the state, and she wanted to conduct her first day of work in this grand hall.
Entering the hall, Qin Yu stared blankly at the dragon throne before her.
Overseeing the state meant exercising the Emperor’s power.
In other words, Qin Yu needed to sit on the dragon throne and learn to issue orders just like Qin Ling.
Looking at the throne that so many people dreamed of, Qin Yu could hardly suppress the excitement in her heart.
She finally had the qualification to control the entire country and decide the course of the Phantom World’s history.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Qin Yu found it very wide—it could easily fit two people.
Seeing Luo Shangyu standing to the side, Qin Yu pointed at the seat and said, “Come and sit here with me!”
“Me?” Luo Shangyu was shocked, “I can sit there too?”
“I need someone to help me. Right now, the only person I can trust 100% is you…”
Qin Yu looked at Luo Shangyu with pleading eyes.
With a nervous heart, Luo Shangyu cautiously sat down beside her.
Qin Yu wrapped an arm around Luo Shangyu’s shoulder and said, “Now that you’re here, don’t leave. From now on, you must help me handle the official documents!”
“Alright…” Luo Shangyu agreed helplessly.
Even if Qin Yu hadn’t made such a scene, Luo Shangyu would have helped her handle the court affairs regardless.
It was just that with Qin Yu acting this way, Luo Shangyu felt like she was being forced into a conspiracy.
“Since you’re responsible for handling the documents for me, shouldn’t you have a proper title as well?”
Luo Shangyu waved her hands, wanting to refuse, but Qin Yu had come prepared.
She pulled out an imperial decree she had written at some unknown time and read it aloud to Luo Shangyu: “I hereby title Luo Shangyu as the King of Ji and the Regent King.”
“This isn’t appropriate…” Luo Shangyu waved her hands in refusal.
She could barely accept being named the Regent King, but being named the King of Ji was a bit too much for her to handle.
The title of King of Ji was originally granted ten thousand years ago to a young girl named Shen Xiyu.
She was a legendary King of Magical Creatures and the partner of the Chengji Empire’s then-heir, Qin Luoxue.
Ever since then, the title of King of Ji was held by those who were extremely close to the current heir and possessed immense strength.
Luo Shangyu didn’t feel she had that kind of strength.
“Don’t worry about it so much. It’s just a title.” Qin Yu held up the decree and said, “Luo Shangyu, are you intending to defy an imperial order?”
Left with no choice, Luo Shangyu could only accept Qin Yu’s appointment.
Since she had accepted the appointment, Luo Shangyu was determined to work hard so she wouldn’t fail the trust Qin Yu placed in her.
The desk was piled with yesterday’s memorials and documents.
Fortunately, these files had already been reviewed and processed by the Grand Secretariat, so Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu only needed to give them a brief look.
Better yet, these documents had already been marked according to their importance.
Consequently, the two could skip a large number of useless memorials, greatly increasing their review speed.
After finishing the memorials, Qin Yu took out a file and spread it across the desk.
“This is the register of all officials in the court, large and small. Over the next few days, we must distinguish between those who support me and those who support Qin Yi. This way, we can define our target range and prepare to uproot the Qin Yi Group in one fell swoop.”
Luo Shangyu nodded in praise after hearing this, but she soon realized a problem and asked, “Then how are you going to judge who belongs to Qin Yi and who is on our side?”
“That’s easy,” Qin Yu said, “At the upcoming morning court session, we’ll intentionally act out against Qin Yi to provoke him. We’ll see which of his cronies jump out to speak for him.”
“If someone helps him, they belong to Qin Yi. Once we catch a few of those spineless cowards and interrogate them, we’ll get the list of the Qin Yi Group from their mouths!”
Hearing this, Luo Shangyu clapped in admiration and asked, “That’s a great method! But what if Qin Yi’s cronies aren’t willing to jump out and speak for him?”
“Then we’ll just arrest Qin Yi directly and interrogate him!”
Luo Shangyu listened and couldn’t find anything wrong with that logic.
She nodded, agreeing to Qin Yu’s plan.
Now, the two of them just had to wait for the court session to implement their strategy.