Chapter 278: A Conversation Between the Two Sisters (13)

Dusk.

Bu Ye Gong.

Empress Zhuo Ya rarely finds a moment of free time, "hiding" in a royal‑appointed small restaurant, quietly enjoying dinner.

Her dinner is simple: a modest white bread, a bowl of vegetable soup, and three crystal shrimp clusters.

Of course she isn't eating alone; opposite her sits her cousin Jia Di Ya.

Jia Di Ya, as a Shadow Guard General, has a huge daily activity level and appetite; before her lies a spread of large fish and meat, five times or more the portion Zhuo Ya gets.

In a private setting she cares less, grabbing a greasy fried chicken leg with her hand and biting off half in one bite.

"Sister, even the cats I raise can eat more than you."

Zhuo Ya is carefully savoring the crystal shrimp clusters, her favorite snack and a dish unique to Bu Ye Gong.

Don't be fooled by the three tiny pieces; the selection and cooking are extremely elaborate, requiring the royal chefs three days to finish.

Their texture is springy, crisp, and silky, flavor fresh, fragrant, and full, leaving a very unforgettable impression.

After finishing one, she smiles lightly: "It's not about quantity, but essence."

Then she adds: "So, he really is helping you deal with the trouble?"

Jia Di Ya nods: "Yes."

"These days, the city has been flooded with many unfamiliar faces; some are out‑of‑town tourists, but others are potentially dangerous individuals."

"We have been keeping a close watch on their movements."

"As a result, when he arrived, several of the dangerous people we were tracking vanished."

After speaking, Jia Di Ya's face shows relief.

"Cousin, you don't know, the ones who disappeared were people whose strength we couldn't gauge at all, but were definitely extremely dangerous."

"Especially that batch suspected of being Golden Warriors. If they clash in the city, the commotion would be huge, and it might not end well."

"In the end, he lured those Golden Warriors to the outskirts to deal with them, and the fighting there was indeed terrifying."

"When I arrived at the suburban battlefield, I found astonishing combat traces, along with many bloodstains and fragments of clothing."

Zhuo Ya, sipping vegetable soup, stops mid‑action and says, "Bloodstains—was he injured?!"

"No, we analyzed carefully and confirmed it's all Golden Warrior blood. As for him, only some footprints remain, plus some massive Transformation Technique remnants."

Saying that, Jia Di Ya chuckles lightly: "Sister, your reaction is off—you can't really have taken a liking to him, can you?"

Zhuo Ya's lapse lasted less than two seconds; she has already regained her composure.

She smiles brightly: "Whether I like him personally is irrelevant. What matters is whether it benefits the nation."

Jia Di Ya, however, is no ordinary person; she herself is a battlefield‑worn general.

Over these years, with the help of the legendary mage Zhuo Ya, her magical power has risen to the later stage of the Nine Rings. Reaching Ten Rings, even ascending to Legend, would be a matter of one or two years.

She knows Zhuo Ya's temperament extremely well.

In governing the nation, she is naturally a decisive, resolute Empress, but in personal feelings she is no better than a blank sheet.

Perhaps she has witnessed many mortals' loves and hatreds, but some things, seeing others' experiences versus her own, are fundamentally different.

Jia Di Ya instantly sees that her cousin has taken a liking to that guy.

She wipes the greasy corner of her mouth with a napkin and giggles: "Sister, don't brush me off with platitudes; you are indeed an Empress, but also a mortal. Mortals have feelings."

"If I may say, in terms of magic and intellect, he is certainly the supreme figure of the White Continent, and he is also the emperor of the Natural Empire."

"As an emperor, his temperament is extremely profound, far deeper than yours, even surpassing his great‑grandfather; no one knows what truly lies in his mind."

"Moreover, he is quite libertine and has already taken several wives, making him unsuitable as your husband."

Zhuo Ya listens quietly, then laughs: "I only wish to inherit the Radiant bloodline, I never intended to rely on him for a living, so why bother caring about his past?"

"Besides, you think his temperament is deep because you haven't truly understood him."

"In fact, his motives are not hard to guess; his methods of governing the nation easily reveal his goal."

Jia Di Ya retorts: "Oh~ then tell me, what is his goal?"

Zhuo Ya becomes serious, her voice steady: "To establish an overwhelmingly powerful mortal nation, possessing a mighty force that can resist and even crush all alien races, including demons and gods."

"He has always adhered to this, striving for it without any compromise, even if it costs his life."

"You may not believe it, but in Levinde, in Navat, and even in the palace confronting the demon‑colluding grandfather, he acted exactly like that, didn't he?"

Speaking of Levinde, Jia Di Ya instantly recalls past events, remembering that near‑desperate redemption and the breathtaking battle in the Platinum Palace.

The profound memories of the past tell her that her cousin is right.

She shrugs: "Alright, you're right; because of that I owe him a life."

"At least when fighting demons, he truly is a reliable comrade."

"If he weren't the emperor of the Natural Empire, I'd have no objection at all, even fully support him. But he happens to be the emperor."

Zhuo Ya asks: "What exactly are you worried about?"

Jia Di Ya no longer hides, saying straight: "I'm worried the Radiant Empire will become your dowry."

After speaking, the sisters stare at each other, silent for a long while.

"Pfft~"

Zhuo Ya laughs first, then her expression hardens.

"Jia Di Ya, first, the nation isn't mine alone; it belongs to everyone, it can't become my personal dowry. I will never betray national interests for personal feelings."

"Second, if gods and demons truly covet our mortal nation, and the Radiant Empire truly cannot resist their invasion, facing extinction, then the two mortal nations merging and standing together is only natural. But if we can repel the divine pressure, then, given mortal nature, even if I wanted to, we couldn't fuse the two realms."

"After all, the Radiant Empire has over 600 million people. Each has their own will, and even as Empress I can't do whatever I please."

Jia Di Ya understands, feeling much relieved.

She asks softly: "Sister, do you think we can resist gods and demons, especially the returning Lord of Truth?"

Zhuo Ya takes a sip of vegetable soup, then says: "Considering the terrifying combat power the Elves display on the Storm Continent, it's probably difficult."

We have so many legendary crystals, and so many powerful legendary magical artifacts; you are also constantly boosting the power of domestic genius mages. At most two years, and there will appear more than thirty legendary warriors.

Isn't this enough?

Zhuo Ya, this cousin, is completely different from her grandfather; her grandfather would love to attribute all power to himself, while the cousin tries every means to boost the overall strength of the Radiant Empire.

This is also the biggest reason Jia Di Ya wholeheartedly supports her becoming Empress.

Zhuo Ya softly said: "This is not my conclusion, it's the conclusion of the War Simulation Department."

Conclusion is, given the current comparison of both sides' strength, even if we could win, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

Many, many people will die, possibly fifty to sixty million, and even you and I could die from assassination. Many, many prosperous cities will also turn into ruins in the war.

Saying this, seeing Jia Di Ya with a heavy expression, Zhuo Ya laughed and comforted: "Alright, no matter what, this is something for the future."

Elves' strength lies in their 7000-year accumulation. Our strength as mortals lies in the burst of near-modern arcane power. Therefore, the longer the time, the higher our chance of victory.

Besides, isn't he still here?

As long as he is here, we will always have a way out.

Indeed, Jia Di Ya's mood lightened considerably, and she aggressively bit into a steak: "Older sister, at the ball in the Radiant Hall the day after tomorrow, many young people will propose to you."

Zhuo Ya's face instantly showed a hint of worry: "This really is a troublesome matter."

These young people are all domestic major nobles, backgrounds of big interest groups, and she indeed has reached the time to bear offspring; thus, according to tradition, she should choose one of them as her husband.

If she were to reject their proposals at this time, she would have to find a plausible excuse, but the problem is she hasn't figured out what that excuse should be.

Jia Di Ya, however, chuckled: "Older sister, what are you worrying about?"

If he has feelings for you, he will naturally think of a way; if he doesn't have feelings for you, then you don't need to keep thinking about him, right?

That statement is also correct, but it doesn't quite match Zhuo Ya's personality.

This is our matter; how can we leave it all for him to figure out?

She paused, then her eyes suddenly lit up: "I've thought of a good idea."

。。。。。。。。

Natural Empire Embassy.

Emperor Rosen Ziran is diligently handling state affairs, while Luosen's main body is in an underground secret chamber, playing with three Golden Warriors using the branches of the World Tree.

These three guys are indeed full of energy; although their spines are broken, they can still recover a little bit.

To prevent them from breaking out of the 'stone cocoon' and causing trouble, Luosen has to frequently loosen their bones.

Just as he was focused on playing with them, he suddenly received some news from Emperor Rosen Ziran.

Huh~ Someone actually has designs on my maiden.

The news said that the Radiant Empire's various factions have put forward ten talented young youths, preparing to propose to the Empress at the birthday banquet the day after tomorrow.

Ten talented youths, behind them stand five factions, each faction sending two representatives.

These youths are indeed outstanding; at the very least, they all have Six Rings magical cultivation, and the highest among them has even broken through to Eight Rings.

That truly is: they have background, they have ability, they have looks.

Luosen looked at the information gathered by the Foreign Affairs Bureau spies, looked at photos of each young man, and continually sighed: 'Not bad~~ Really not bad~'

Luosen originally thought he himself looked pretty good, but compared to these truly handsome men, he really falls short.

He actually isn't worried that Zhuo Ya will accept the proposal, but this matter will surely bring her a lot of trouble.

I need to think of a way to delay a bit.

The current relations between the two countries are not yet mature; they haven't reached the point where a public proposal is possible.

Just as he was thinking, he received another piece of news.

The news said that the Empress issued an announcement.

The announcement's content is that she intends to find a husband, but this husband must have sufficient wisdom.

To discern this, she has released three major mathematical problems; only those who solve them are qualified to become candidates for the Empress's husband.

Of course, to avoid the problems being unsolvable, the time limit for this test is two years; if no one solves it after two years, the test will be reissued.

Luosen saw the content of the three problems.

He immediately smiled with satisfaction: 'Not bad~ Really not bad~~ Truly my good maiden.'

After a few glances, he knew these three problems were prepared for him.

Because these are currently recognized mathematical problems; two of them might still have solutions, but the third far surpasses this era.

With a mortal's brain, it simply cannot be solved.

Having this problem as a delay, at least for the next two years we don't have to worry about anyone having designs.

Considering that he currently has a lot on his plate, his main body urgently needs to return to Weilan Laboratory; he really can't wait until tonight's banquet.

Luosen thus decided to sneak into Bu Ye Gong tonight.

(End of chapter)