Chapter 246: Imperial orders

Shen Ning was a little scared.

The situation was like this: Chuyao had asked a small question, and the girl naturally answered honestly, saying it might still be usable later, but she currently didn’t know how to replenish it.

Then Xu Chuyao put her hands on her waist and glared with her beautiful eyes—though this had been her constant posture ever since Shen Ning returned.

“How could you not know? You, you stayed over there for so many days, and this, this… how could you be like this?”

Next, Shen Ning saw her busty wife wave a small hand. “Lie down! I’m going to teach you a lesson!”

Broken Shadow: ‘Chuyao is so kind, she’s actually letting it go with just this.’
Milky Ning Reflection: ‘Chuyao said she’s going to teach you a lesson, what are you waiting for? Lie down already!’
Only the Sexual Repression Reflection spoke words of sober reality: ‘What are you all talking about? She’s clearly CPU-ing you!’

Whether she was being CPU-ed or not, Shen Ning felt that lying down was quite nice; there was nothing wrong with it.

Then, she enjoyed a tingling “promotional match.” The small zaps of electricity didn’t do much damage to a Fourth-rank Spirit Power User’s body, but they did create a rather unbearable itch.

The Sexual Repression Reflection realized belatedly, ‘Oh, I see. Then you really were in the wrong… I could be in the wrong too.’

However, they all knew that as parallel world state slices that could not interfere with reality, they couldn’t actually enjoy such things. They could only lie prone nearby and offer critiques.

Sexual Repression Reflection: ‘To be honest, that was a bit fast. Also, why are you so soft and mushy now? Where’s that stubborn energy you had before we got married?’
Broken Shadow: ‘My good upbringing prevents me from pointing fingers at others.’
Milky Ning Reflection: ‘Chuyao told you to be louder, are you deaf! But it really was a bit fast this time.’

Shen Ning certainly wasn’t deaf, but she wished she were. If she were deaf, she wouldn’t have to listen to their commentary, nor would her face turn completely red amidst Xu Chuyao’s giggling.

19 minutes later, the thunder faded, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. Only the girl’s soft breathing broke the silence.

“Alright, that’s enough of a lesson for this time.”

Xu Chuyao lay down on one side and closed her eyes to check the account balance in her System, her heart blooming with joy.

Although she didn’t know why, her Counter Villain Value had spiked incredibly fast at a certain point earlier, even though nothing special had happened and she had barely spoken.

But this was even better; it meant the Crown Princess was “fully automatic.”

“Didn’t you say the situation was very tense lately?” Beside her, Shen Ning caught her breath and spoke in a puzzled voice. “Why do you still have the heart to do… do this?”

Xu Chuyao opened her eyes and shot her a look, as if saying, *Where’s that energy you had before marriage? Not feeling repressed anymore, are we?*

“The situation changes every day. Besides, when I told you things were tense, that was one week ago. The situation is different now.” Chuyao pointed toward the ceiling. “That vigorous Old Speaker stood up for us.”

She briefly explained the rooftop meeting, including the questions the Old Speaker had asked.

“He even made me think about system reforms ahead of time. The last time I heard that kind of talk, I was busy researching MSI opponents in advance.”

Xu Chuyao was giggling, but Shen Ning gave it some serious thought. “Then have you thought about how to change it?”

“Change what?” Xu Chuyao rolled her eyes. “Look at this Council. They’ve been slacking off for years, and lately they’ve started infighting again. But do you see any impact on the outside world? There is no impact.”

Specific matters were handled by various departments; the Council of Pacifiers’ role was just to hold small meetings occasionally to pretend they were busy. Therefore, even if things settled down and half the people currently in the Council died, it wouldn’t really matter.

“Oh.”

“Don’t just say ‘oh.’ What about you? What did you do after cutting the stone slabs in the corridor?”

“…I don’t know.”

Fine, I should have known you were a dummy. What would you do without Chuyao’s hints?

Xu Chuyao sighed, remembering how she had accidentally let so much slip before without Shen Ning even questioning it. She decided to be even more direct:

“Since the stone slabs can be cut, think about it—can the entire Crystal Stone World be cut?”

“The Crystal Stone World can be cut too?”

Shen Ning didn’t understand.

“Exactly. From the inside, it’s a small world, but when you look at it from The Mortal World… wait for me.”

Xu Chuyao climbed out of bed, rummaged through a suitcase under the desk, and pulled out a Soulstone, tapping it a few times with her finger.

“Look, from The Mortal World, it’s just a glowing stone. Those Aberrant Variants are trapped inside. You need to cut it open from the inside.”

Shen Ning sat up as well, staring at the stone for a long time. Her wife’s words echoed in her ears, and the more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

“Xu Chuyao, you are so smart.”

“Everyone knows that already, so don’t mention it. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Xu Chuyao originally wanted to tell her to think for herself and not ask Chuyao everything, but she changed her mind at the last second. “Can you use even more power now?”

She was referring to the power of emotional resonance with the Aberrant Variants in the Crystal Stone World.

“But the power is still a bit lacking.”

“How can it be lacking? Are you joking with me?”

Xu Chuyao’s eyes widened. She wondered how it could possibly be lacking. The original text said it would definitely be enough, with over 30,000 Aberrant Variants in the Crystal Stone World… Wait, she had a small question too.

“Shen Ning, has your kingdom not been unified yet?”

After a round of questioning, she understood. It really wasn’t. Up until now, there were only about 10,000 people.

“Then what are you doing playing around in The Mortal World? Get back there and get to work. Honestly, all you do is slack off all day.”

And just like that, Shen Ning was driven back to the Crystal Stone World by her wife. She sat alone outside the Fossil Corridor, staring blankly.

Because the core structure of the corridor—the stone slabs—had been cut open, the corridor was now filled with clear, white moonlight, reflecting off the faces of the Imperial Guards stationed at the Holy Lands.

‘Chuyao is too arrogant. If it were me, I’d go back and ravish her right now!’
‘Chuyao sending you back must have some deep meaning. You need to figure it out.’
‘I think everyone should sit down calmly and have a discussion.’

“There’s no need for any discussion, Broken Sister.” Shen Ning felt that Milky Ning was right, and she had already figured it out.

Mellon ran over from a distance. Ever since the Fossil Corridor had “upgraded,” he had been watching over the place for the past few days.

“Miss Shen, you’re back already? I thought you would at least stay the night.”

“There’s an urgent matter.” The girl kept a straight, serious face. “We need to change our expansion strategy, from a Kingdom to an Empire. From this day forward—a Kingdom is about virtue and reputation; an Empire is about blood, iron, and conquest.”

Mellon froze for a moment. “Could you be more specific?”

“Send out the army and directly… capture the people outside and bring them to the Hourglass Square for treatment!”

Chuyao was in such a hurry; she must want to become the Council Speaker. I have to work hard to help her achieve her goal as soon as possible!

*Yawn—*

Xu Chuyao sat in her Councilor’s seat, rubbing her eyes and stifling a quiet yawn.

At 7:00 PM, after pushing Shen Ning back into the Crystal Stone World, Chuyao, whose lower back was a bit sore, had just been about to lie down for a nap when she received an emergency message calling for a temporary meeting.

The last temporary meeting had landed her the position of Councilor, but this time, it didn’t seem like good news for anyone.

Wen Shengqing sat on the far left, with several of his subordinates lined up toward the center. On the other side, the seats for Chu Cang and his group were perfectly mirrored, with the maximum distance maintained between the two factions.

The atmosphere was incredibly heavy, making it difficult to breathe.

Long Jun, not understanding what was happening, cast a glance at the girl, hoping for some information.

“You should have heard about what happened.” The Old Speaker, sitting at the head of the table, spoke in a stern tone. “It’s a huge mess. What exactly is going on? Chu Cang, you tell us.”

Xu Chuyao sighed inwardly, thinking that Old Long was finally showing his age.

He knew his two great generals were fighting for power and that single top position, but years of comfort had dulled his edges to the point that he couldn’t see this was a life-or-death struggle. Between these two men and the teams they led, there was no possibility of reconciliation; it would only end when one side was completely wiped out.

In spite of this, the Old Speaker was still worried about “how can there be conflict at the foot of the Son of Heaven,” clearly failing to grasp the reality of the situation.

“Elder Ye, the ones who had an incident were some of my old brothers. Due to various unexpected reasons, they… they met their end.”

Chu Cang had a look of sorrow on his face as he spoke in a low voice. Seeing his emotional state, the Old Speaker found it hard to scold him and could only continue asking, “What unexpected reasons?”

“A while ago, the brothers were being hunted by certain people. They had to hide everywhere, living in fear every day with their heads on the line. The mental pressure was already immense. It just so happened that something happened to their families, and in a moment of overthinking and being unable to see a way out, they had a mental breakdown.”

While he said “certain people,” his eyes remained fixed in one direction. It was blindingly obvious who “certain people” referred to.

Wen Shengqing let out a disdainful cold snort.

Trying to dump the blame using “mental pressure” wouldn’t stick to him.

Sure enough, the Old Speaker weighed the words and said, “If that’s the case, the problem lies mostly with them. Since they have fought across the land, how could they be so afraid of death? However, Chu Cang, you are also responsible. You should have watched them more closely if you noticed their mental state wasn’t right.”

Chu Cang accepted it readily. “Yes, I was also at fault.”

Xu Chuyao curled her lip secretly and turned to look at Wen Shengqing’s people. As expected, their expressions were quite unsightly.

Chu Cang’s words weren’t just a simple deflection of blame; they were specifically meant for them. After all, the Ghost Party had once been the sharpest blade under Marshal Wen.

On one hand, he was attacking his opponent’s cohesion; on the other, he was strengthening the combat conviction of his own people. Using the lives of six Fourth-rank Spirit Power Users to achieve such an effect—one could only say he was calculating and utterly ruthless.