Chapter 135: I Suspect You Guys Are Setting Me Up
“Brother, I heard that the higher a Snake-Beast Sentinel’s rank, the longer their tail becomes. Just how long is yours?”
“Brother, after you Sentinels of the Snake-Beast type undergo beastification, how do you solve ‘the three urgencies’?”
“Brother, can your snake tail coil someone and throw them into the sky? I want to try it, hehehe…”
The girl on his back chirped away with endless questions until Wanyan Jin finally reached the limit of his endurance. He spoke in a cold voice, “Does Your Highness not know that a Guide once had her waist snapped by a Snake-Beast Sentinel’s tail?”
Upon hearing this, Xie Qiang immediately clutched her small waist in terror.
That sounded like an upgraded version of the “broken arms and legs” plot. Xie Qiang had no doubt that if she followed the original storyline, the female supporting character would likely be coiled and snapped in half by Wanyan Jin or some other Snake-Beast Sentinel.
She couldn’t help but slump her head down miserably, looking like a kitten that had lost its spirit. “There are always unruly subjects out to get me,” she muttered.
One moment she was calling him “Brother,” and the next she was calling him an “unruly subject.” As expected, her desire to repair their relationship was a sham; her true intent was to toy with him.
Wanyan Jin involuntarily quickened his pace.
He arrived at the Emperor’s study as quickly as possible and set Xie Qiang down immediately, as if casting off a burden. He shoved the winter flowers into her hands. “Your Highness should go in first. I will go find some healing medicine.”
Xie Qiang said nothing. She watched Wanyan Jin’s hurried departure, blinked for a moment, and then limped into the study while clutching the flowers.
Seeing her in such a disheveled state, Emperor Xie immediately stood up and walked over, supporting her arm with a worried expression. “Qiang’er, what happened to you?”
“How does Wanyan Jin handle things? You only went out for a moment, and yet he let you get injured?” Emperor Xie’s tone was dissatisfied as he helped Xie Qiang sit in his own office chair. “How can someone like this be fit for the role of Imperial Consort?”
“If Brother is unwilling to be the consort, then so be it.” Xie Qiang sat down, arranged the winter flowers into a vase on the desk, and looked up at Emperor Xie with a smile. “I’m not lacking this one Imperial Consort anyway.”
“You don’t like him?” Emperor Xie arched an eyebrow.
“I like him, but not in that way.” Xie Qiang propped up her cheek, thinking for a moment. “After all, we had friction when we were young. I feel like being siblings is quite nice.”
“I see… Is Qiang’er afraid he will betray you?” Emperor Xie pondered for two seconds, then lightly punched his palm, looking pleased. “Then Father shall create a younger Imperial Consort for you! That way, you can personally groom and cultivate him from a young age. How does that sound?”
Xie Qiang: “???”
Is that even human speech? I’m not that perverted!
Seeing Emperor Xie looking eager as he increasingly felt this was a great idea, Xie Qiang hurriedly waved her hands to stop him. “Father, there’s no need! I suddenly feel that Wanyan Jin is also quite suitable to be an Imperial Consort!”
“Is that so?” Emperor Xie wore a look of doubt. “Qiang’er, you don’t have to force yourself. Father will always put your thoughts first.”
“Really?” Xie Qiang also wore a look of doubt. “Then can I choose not to marry Wanyan Jin?”
“These flowers are truly beautiful. Qiang’er must have picked them specially for Father, right?” Emperor Xie immediately lowered his head, reaching out to fiddle with the winter flowers in the vase.
“…I just picked those at random.”
“As expected of Qiang’er! Even flowers picked at random are so beautiful!” Emperor Xie praised her, then turned his head toward the door. “Why hasn’t that boy Wanyan Jin returned yet? Father will go out and take a look. Since your foot is injured, just stay here and rest.”
As he walked toward the exit, he called out to Xie Qiang, “Qiang’er, if you get bored, you can look over the proposals on the desk!”
With that, Emperor Xie strode through the doorway and slammed the door shut with a loud thump.
Xie Qiang stared at the closed door and then looked down at the messy pile of proposals on the desk.
Strange. She had a very bad feeling about this.
Not long after Emperor Xie left, the study door was pushed open. Xie Qiang’s eyes lit up, but she found that the person returning was neither Wanyan Jin nor Emperor Xie, but the Aide who always followed the Emperor.
“Princess?” The Aide was quite surprised to see Xie Qiang. He scanned the study and, seeing no sign of Emperor Xie, couldn’t help but ask, “Where is His Majesty?”
“He went to find Wanyan Jin. Wanyan Jin went to the infirmary to get me some healing medicine,” Xie Qiang answered honestly.
“That’s impossible.” The Aide frowned. “I just came from the infirmary. I saw Wanyan Jin, but I didn’t see His Majesty.”
Xie Qiang: “Hmm?”
“He must have snuck out to play again. Tsk, even confiscating his optical computer can’t stop him from slacking off!” The Aide rubbed his temples, looking utterly helpless.
“…Does he slack off often?” Xie Qiang found this somewhat hard to believe.
“It’s only been a thing for the past three years. Perhaps he’s just too tired and doesn’t want to do it anymore.” The Aide stepped forward to tidy the desk and, suddenly realizing something, shot a glance at Xie Qiang.
For some reason, Xie Qiang suddenly felt a chill on the back of her head.
“Why doesn’t the Princess handle these? There are several urgent proposals in here that need to be reviewed by noon today.” The Aide pushed a stack of proposals half a meter high in front of Xie Qiang. “Since you are going to inherit the throne in the future anyway, it’s good to get some early exposure!”
Xie Qiang: “…”
I suspect you guys are setting me up, but I have no evidence.
“By the way, the national treasury has been empty lately. When you encounter proposals requesting funding, try to give as little as possible.” After saying this, the Aide claimed he was going to find the Emperor and hurriedly left.
Xie Qiang had no choice but to bite the bullet and deal with the proposals.
After reading just one, she felt the winter flowers were so interesting, the office desk was so interesting, and the optical computer was so interesting—anything was more interesting than reviewing proposals.
No.
Xie Qiang tried to pull herself together, hypnotizing herself: “I am a person who is going to be the Emperor, after all. How can I be so negligent with work!”
She stared diligently at a proposal filled with requests from nobles for resource development funding. Unfortunately, the Aide who understood these matters was gone, and she couldn’t ask how much funding would be appropriate.
Just as she was feeling troubled, Wanyan Jin returned.
Her eyes lit up, and she waved him over. “Brother, come here quickly and help me look at this!”
“How much funding is appropriate for this?” she asked, pointing at the contents. “I’m not very clear on this area. You’re the Financial Officer, so you must understand it better than me, right?”
Wanyan Jin lowered his eyes and scanned it. “700,000 Star Credits is enough.”
“700,000?” Xie Qiang’s face instantly darkened. “And yet he had the gall to open his mouth so wide and ask me for 3 million Star Credits???”
She indignantly gripped the metal pen and wrote a few words on the proposal: I’ll drop a zero for you. 300,000. Take it or leave it!
“300,000 probably won’t be enough; that’s just the base cost.” Seeing Xie Qiang acting so recklessly, Wanyan Jin couldn’t help but frown and remind her, “The nobles won’t do anything that yields no profit.”
“Oh, I see.” Xie Qiang agreed verbally but set the proposal aside and continued to the second one. “What about this one? They’re asking for 8 million Star Credits. How much should I approve?”
Wanyan Jin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. After scanning it, he estimated a figure. “2.4 million Star Credits should be about right.”
Xie Qiang immediately set pen to paper: Approved for 800,000 Star Credits. Scrounge up the rest yourself.
“Princess!” Wanyan Jin frowned as he watched. “Stop fooling around. These are affairs of state, not a game of house!”
“…” Seeing Wanyan Jin being so fierce, Xie Qiang put down her pen and pushed the entire thick stack of proposals in front of him. “Then you do them.”
Wanyan Jin hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he pulled over a chair and began reviewing them.
A successful smile crept onto Xie Qiang’s lips. After applying the healing medicine to her ankle, she dragged her office chair close to Wanyan Jin’s side and poked her head over to look at the proposals with him.
Recommended Reads
