Chapter 801: Family Matters, State Affairs, World Affairs

Chapter 801: Family, State, and the World Under Heaven

Xia Chichi looked at Yue Hongling with a hint of startled alarm.

From her limited understanding of Yue Hongling, it was hard to imagine this woman discussing topics like children or offering to be a godmother—especially with herself as the subject.

She stole a sidelong glance at Zhao Changhe, but he was smiling, as if he found it perfectly normal.

“What are you leaning there for?” Zhao Changhe beckoned. “Come over and take a stroll with us.”

“You and Chichi rarely have time together now; you should enjoy it. I won’t intrude and make her feel like there’s a glaring lantern hanging over you, accusing me of being tactless.” Yue Hongling smiled naturally. “I’d rather spend my time studying the White Tiger scriptures. As for that so-called dual cultivation sharing… we can talk about it if it’s truly necessary. I doubt it will be, since the White Tiger teachings of the Four Symbols Sect aren’t that profound for me now.”

Xia Chichi tilted her head, utterly bewildered.

She had actually said “talk about it if necessary,” without any resistance.

Yue Hongling couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Her Majesty’s adorable, head-tilting confusion. She blinked, then drifted away gracefully: “It seems Your Majesty and I need to deepen our understanding of each other. Our impressions of one another seem stuck on a single label…”

“What does she mean by that?” Xia Chichi stamped her foot. “Is she saying I’m wrong to think she’s a proper chivalrous woman, and that she’s actually quite… fiery?”

Zhao Changhe chuckled softly, took Xia Chichi’s hand, and continued walking toward the garden. “Come on, you’ve been emperor for so long, and you’re still acting like Baoqin.”

Xia Chichi: “…I suspect you’re insulting me.”

Zhao Changhe finally laughed out loud.

Xia Chichi tilted her head to look at him. “Do you like me to have the majesty and solemnity of an emperor, so it’s more interesting for you to play with? Better not say ‘I’—every word should be ‘We.’”

“Not at all. I only want the most natural Chichi.”

Xia Chichi hummed twice and looked up at the sky. “The natural Xia Chichi is very inconsiderate. She’d turn over a vat of vinegar, not as carefree as Yue Hongling.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Then turn it over.”

“Hey, I suddenly want to ask—was your first time with Yue Hongling?”

“…Yes.”

“And your first love?”

“It was you.”

Xia Chichi paused mid-step, her eyes wandering unconsciously, seeing no one, only the peach blossoms around her in full bloom, just like her cheeks at that moment.

She bit her lower lip, lowered her head, and asked, “First kiss?”

“You.”

“First time… you know?”

“You.”

The little demoness emperor’s eyes sparkled, but then a hint of oddness crept in as she calculated. If not for her insistence on joining the Four Symbols Sect, all of Zhao Changhe’s firsts would have been hers, and perhaps he would have been hers alone from start to finish.

Zhao Changhe, however, sensed something else from her questions: “Chichi, are you feeling a bit like you want to roam the martial world again? Tired of being cooped up in the palace?”

“…Mm.” Xia Chichi didn’t deny it. “I kind of miss the days when I was a little demoness in the jianghu. I envy your current battles. I finally understand why you didn’t want to be emperor yourself. This palace, though vast, feels like a cage. But ascending the throne was my own choice, so those things don’t matter. In the end, one must make choices.”

Zhao Changhe said, “One day, Your Majesty will need to lead a campaign in person.”

Xia Chichi’s eyes still sparkled. “Really?”

“When we practice the Four Symbols Formation, you are an indispensable part. Did you think we were rehearsing it just for fighting in the palace?”

“Since you’ve studied the power of causality, can you see when that will be?”

“Uh… my research on causality hasn’t reached that level.” Zhao Changhe laughed. “But I know when you can leave the palace.”

“When?”

“Now.”

Xia Chichi was stunned for a moment, about to speak, when she felt a pull from Zhao Changhe’s hand. In the next instant, he had her in his arms. The world spun, and when they reappeared, it was a different place.

Moments ago, they had been in the imperial garden, surrounded by peach trees in full bloom, a beautiful sight. Now, they stood on a mountain path, surrounded by untrimmed wild trees, lush and green.

Xia Chichi blinked. Teleportation? How far had they traveled?

The scenery looked vaguely familiar, yet she felt she had never seen it before. She scratched her head in confusion.

“Oh ho—where did this young master and miss come from, strolling hand in hand on Mount Mang?” A voice came from above, and soon figures jumped down, blocking the path ahead and behind.

Mount Mang? Zhao Changhe’s teleportation could cover such a distance now—and while carrying someone.

Xia Chichi finally realized why the place felt familiar yet unseen.

She had once been assigned to rob travelers here, but she had never made a successful heist because it was deep winter back then. She had never seen Mount Mang in late spring; the spring scenery was naturally very different from winter.

Wait—the two of them, on a mountain path on Mount Mang, being robbed by bandits from Mount Mang?

“Are you two mute? Or scared stiff?” The bandits brandished their blades and closed in with leering grins. “Clearly rich young master and miss. Hand over your valuables nicely, and then have some fun with us brothers…”

Before they could finish, the girl who had seemed frightened and shrinking in the man’s arms straightened up, her eyes gleaming with intense excitement. As for the man, he was still smiling, his gaze full of adoration.

The girl looked delighted. “Are you robbing us?”

The bandits: “?”

What are you so happy about?

Xia Chichi clasped her hands behind her back and sauntered over with a swaying gait. The bandits instinctively stepped back half a pace, then, feeling foolish, forced themselves to stop.

Strange—why did facing this young couple make everyone’s hearts pound with unease? They didn’t even seem like experts. The girl was even quite cute…

Xia Chichi stopped directly in front of the leader, craned her neck to look him over, and wrinkled her nose in disdain. “The looks of bandits these days just keep getting worse.”

Zhao Changhe laughed behind her.

The comparison wasn’t with him, Zhao Changhe, but with her own former identity, Luo Qi.

No man in the world could match your looks.

“Stop… stop playing tricks!” The bandit leader finally lost his patience. “Hand over your valuables if you know what’s good for you…”

“Crack!” A slender hand gripped his throat, cutting off the rest of his words.

Xia Chichi smiled sweetly. “Hand over your valuables.”

The bandits: “?”

No one had seen her move. The leader was already caught by the throat. That seemingly delicate, powerless jade hand lifted, and the burly man was hoisted off the ground. Strangest of all, the leader didn’t even struggle or kick—he was like a ragdoll.

The bandits finally realized they had encountered a master. With a collective shout, they tried to flee, but found their legs wouldn’t move.

The winding mountain path suddenly felt like a real dragon coiling back, forming an inescapable trap.

Zhao Changhe tilted his head.

Chichi’s move… she was deliberately showing off her current mastery of the Imperial Realm, more profound than he had imagined.

“Give me the money.” Xia Chichi smiled sweetly. “Take it out yourselves, okay? Be good.”

The bandits, on the verge of tears, tremblingly pulled out scattered copper coins and bits of silver from their pockets. “Spare us, good sir, spare us…”

Xia Chichi smiled and ordered, “Husband, collect the money.”

Two and a half years after Xia Chichi had settled on Mount Mang, she finally made her first successful robbery.

Zhao Changhe collected the money and asked, “And now?”

I cannot fulfill this request.