Chapter 445

The woman was in plain clothes, her eyebrows like a painting, her waist slender, and her face carried a touch of coldness, like a fairy who didn't eat the food of mortals, invisibly giving people a sense of being thousands of miles away.

Dai Xiaoyao caught a glimpse of the person coming and a flash of doubt crossed his eyes, but he still bowed respectfully and said, "This son pays respects to Mother Empress."

In Dai Xiaoyao's impression, his Mother Empress had been ascetic since she was the Empress, and after the late Emperor passed away, she used the excuse of praying for blessings to find a temple far away from the Imperial City, focusing on worshiping Buddha and ignoring worldly affairs.

It was said that the Empress Dowager pitied all living beings and was praying for blessings for His Majesty and for the people of the Star Fall Kingdom.

In fact, this was just a nicer way of saying it. In reality, Dai Xiaoyao's father suffered from the common ailment of most emperors: he played too wildly, but he was actually incompetent in those aspects. Every time, it was a matter of a few breaths, and he was both bad and loved to play, which always left the Empress Dowager unsatisfied. So, gradually, she developed a disgust for the affairs between men and women and could only use worshiping Buddha as an excuse to escape the late Emperor.

Perhaps the Empress Dowager felt that this kind of thing was meaningless to begin with.

Today, the Empress Dowager suddenly returned, and Dai Xiaoyao already had some guesses in his heart.

"Xiaoyao, you and Wuchang are born of the same mother. If you capture him one day, do not forget the brotherhood." Sure enough, the first sentence the Empress Dowager said hit Dai Xiaoyao's guess right on the mark.

Dai Xiaoyao already had a strategy for this. He helped the Empress Dowager to the main seat and then explained with a smile, "Mother, it is not that I covet my elder brother's throne, but..."

Dai Xiaoyao spoke from the daily advance of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's army to Dai Wuchang bringing the Eternal Day Empire's garrison troops into the Star Fall Empire, and he added oil and vinegar to describe how those Eternal Day Empire garrison troops bullied the people of the Star Fall Empire, etc., clarifying the hardships of the Star Fall Empire struggling in the cracks between great powers, and he promised again and again that even if he caught Dai Wuchang, he would at most keep him in captivity.

The Empress Dowager listened the whole time without interrupting, and there was no emotion on her face. When Dai Xiaoyao finished saying everything, she nodded and said, "Remember what you said. Mother will set off to return to the temple tomorrow."

If an outsider were here, they would definitely be amazed at the Empress Dowager's youth. Time had not left a single trace on her face, and sitting with Dai Xiaoyao, they looked like a pair of siblings chatting.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager wanted to leave, Dai Xiaoyao frowned slightly and tried to persuade her, "Mother, can you stay for a few more days and chat with this son?"

"The Star Fall Empire is now waiting to be rebuilt, and it all requires your hard work. How can this old body of Mother's delay your important affairs? It would be more practical to return to the temple to pray for blessings for you and Wuchang."

Dai Xiaoyao looked at the Empress Dowager and then said from the bottom of his heart, "Mother is joking with this son. Your grace is peerless; even if all the beauties of the Star Fall Empire were added together, they wouldn't be one-tenth of yours. How can you talk about being old? If Mother wants to go back to pray for blessings, then..."

Dai Xiaoyao hadn't finished speaking when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind!

What was he struggling with just now? He had no beauties to offer Li Chen, and it was best if they were married women!

Then what was this person in front of him!

The appearance of this thought made Dai Xiaoyao feel that it was absurd, but at the same time, he secretly felt it was incredibly feasible.

Just kidding, don't I know how beautiful my mother is? Back then, the King of the Star Fall Empire almost went to war directly with several neighboring kings who coveted his mother's beauty just to make her his Empress!

But it was precisely because this was his own mother that Dai Xiaoyao felt it was absurd. Wasn't this finding a new father for himself?

Wait! Father!

The kings of the southern countries were all scrambling to be dogs for the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty. If I directly send my mother over and let Li Chen become "my father," wouldn't that be a super promotion in rank? By then, wouldn't all the kings of the southern countries be a head shorter than me?

You are dogs of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty? Sorry, I am the son-emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty!

Thinking of this, Dai Xiaoyao couldn't help but feel a flash of excitement in his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he changed to a worried face and sighed, "Mother, the most important thing right now is not the rebuilding, but... sigh!"

Seeing Dai Xiaoyao's appearance, the Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows and asked, "What is it? Could it be that you need Mother to work for it?"

At this point, the Empress Dowager's eyebrows relaxed and turned into a smile, "That's right, you are about to ascend to the throne, and there are many things you don't understand. Your father didn't cultivate you as a successor back then, so you know very little. Speak up, Mother will try her best to help you." At this time, the Empress Dowager still thought Dai Xiaoyao had encountered some trouble in government affairs.

"Mother, then this son will speak. My difficulty now is finding beauties, but it is not a matter concerning this son, but a matter concerning the national destiny of the Star Fall Empire." Dai Xiaoyao told the Empress Dowager one by one about Li Chen moving into the inner palace recently, and after the southern countries presented princesses, he discovered that Li Chen preferred mature women, and all countries began to send their empresses.

"What does this trivial matter have to do with national destiny? Our Star Fall Empire has many beauties, so we can just send them."

Other countries have sent them; if the Star Fall Empire doesn't send them, wouldn't that be slapping the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty in the face? Without Li Chen needing to speak, other countries would use this as an excuse to attack the Star Fall Empire! The Empress Dowager naturally understood this principle.

"Mother, you should know about Zhu Zhuying. Back then, I was fooling around outside, and now that she has become a Heavenly Strategy Imperial Consort, she has rounded up all the beauties of the Star Fall Empire into the palace to take revenge on me. Now, this son has no one left to send!" Dai Xiaoyao smiled bitterly.

"You mean...?!"

The Empress Dowager was very confused at first, until she saw the look in Dai Xiaoyao's eyes when he looked at her.

For a moment, she naturally understood Dai Xiaoyao's meaning. While her eyes widened in disbelief, her heart was also full of helplessness.

In the past, she would have slapped him, but now she knew she couldn't.

There was no other way. The Star Fall Empire was small, and in front of such a great power, it couldn't afford a single mistake. Although Dai Xiaoyao's idea was a bit absurd, it was the decision a rational emperor should make.

For a moment, the Empress Dowager didn't even know whether she should be happy that Dai Xiaoyao already possessed the temperament a qualified emperor should have.

"Mother, if we don't offer her, we won't be able to hold onto the Heavenly Strategy's thigh. Now the southern countries are reshuffling. Many countries that have obtained Heavenly Strategy equipment are expanding their territories and achieving great hegemony, while those that don't can only be devoured!"

At the end of his words, Dai Xiaoyao slammed the table and stood up, "Forget it, it's better to strike first! Our vast Star Fall Empire, with more than ten generations of kings passed down to this day, actually lets the surrounding small countries eye us covetously. What kind of decorum is this!"

At the end of his words, Dai Xiaoyao roared, "Someone, get my battle armor!"

Saying this, he was about to go and fight the surrounding countries to the death.

"Xiaoyao, you are impulsive. Your previous decision was absolutely correct. Mother is very gratified that you can become a qualified emperor. In the future, you must always remember that you have millions of Star Fall Empire citizens behind you." The Empress Dowager sighed long and hard.

In fact, she was full of rejection for the affairs between men and women in her heart, but since it concerned the entire Star Fall Empire, what did it matter if she suffered some grievances? Anyway, didn't she serve the late Star Fall Emperor like that? It was just a matter of a few breaths!

"Mother, you... sigh, it's all this son's incompetence." Dai Xiaoyao flicked his sleeves and sat back in his chair, but he was already overjoyed in his heart.

"No need to say more, let's do it sooner rather than later." The Empress Dowager waved her hand.

(End of chapter)