Chapter 436: Marrying this wife, no regrets!
“As my imperial husband, your every move is related to the state! So… the empress raises a finger: “My first request to you is, from now on, you must not dally with other women or bring those unsavory women back!”
“This…” Lin Beifan hesitated.
The empress raised an eyebrow, “What? I don’t restrict you from having other women, allowing you to have three or four concubines, and you can’t agree to such a small request? Besides, you have so many women already, do you still want to mess around outside?”
Lin Beifan shook his head, “That’s not it, Your Majesty! I can control myself, but what if someone else can’t? You know, men like me who are attractive are like fireflies in the night, no matter where we hide, we shine brightly, and those women can’t help but come after us. What can I do to stop them?”
The empress couldn’t help but chuckle, “You, a grandmaster, can’t resist the advances of women? Unless you don’t want to resist!”
Lin Beifan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, falling into deep thought, and finally nodded in pain.
The empress didn’t look pleased, making it seem like she had wronged him in some way. Hmph! Men are all big simpletons!
“Second!” The empress raised two fingers, “Minister, you said something right, nobody’s perfect, and I may make mistakes and deceive at times! So, no matter what I’ve done in the past that hurt you, I hope to have your forgiveness and understanding, that you won’t abandon me.”
Lin Beifan instantly became alert, “Your Majesty, did you do something in the past? Is this condition mainly for future confessions of things you did to me?”
The empress, under Lin Beifan’s gaze, seemed somewhat evasive, “Well, not really…”
“Not really, so what did you actually do?” Lin Beifan pressed.
The empress’s gaze drifted even more, “Really, it’s not much, just concealed something from you…” Lin Beifan was shocked, “Your Majesty, you concealed something from me, is it… something serious?”
The empress became even more evasive, wondering if her identity had already been guessed by Lin Beifan. What should she do now?
She lowered her head, not daring to look at Lin Beifan. However, at that moment, Lin Beifan blurted out, “Did you secretly cuckold me?”
The empress burst into laughter.
Lin Beifan was splattered with saliva all over his face.
The empress glared fiercely at Lin Beifan, her eyes burning with anger, and through clenched teeth, she said, “What nonsense are you spouting? Am I that kind of woman? If you talk nonsense again, I’ll rip your mouth apart!”
“Oh!” Lin Beifan finally behaved. But soon he couldn’t help himself and asked, “Your Majesty, what are you hiding from me?”
The empress’s gaze drifted once again, “It’s nothing major, it hasn’t harmed you in the slightest, so don’t worry about it!”
Lin Beifan’s heart felt like it was being scratched, and he asked again, “Can you tell me now?”
“Now is not the time, when the time comes, I’ll tell you! Alright, don’t ask anymore, let’s move on to the next topic!” the empress said irritably.
“Oh!” Lin Beifan complied once more. After receiving Lin Beifan’s promise of forgiveness, the empress’s mood improved.
“Third! I hope that from now on, you will treat me well, pamper me, and not deceive me! Promise me that you will do everything I ask and speak to me sincerely for every word,” the empress said.
Lin Beifan nodded repeatedly, “Alright! No problem!”
“Fourth! When people bully me, you must stand up for me immediately! When I’m happy, you should be happy with me! When I’m unhappy, you should cheer me up!”
Lin Beifan nodded repeatedly, “No problem!”
“Fifth! Always think of me as the most beautiful, dream of me…”
Lin Beifan found something off about this!
The empress was clearly using the conditions I just mentioned to deal with me, using magic against magic, too cunning! Lin Beifan quickly interrupted, “Your Majesty, it’s okay, no need to say more! Anyway, in the future, I will definitely treat you well and never abandon you, so that should be enough, right?”
“Yes, that’s about right!” The empress had a satisfied smile on her face.
At this point, both of them had finished discussing their conditions, and their relationship had taken a significant leap. Lin Beifan looked at the sleeping beauty in front of him, her skin like jade, her face like a silver plate, elegant and graceful, her figure slender and alluring. No matter how you looked at her, she was beautiful! And she was the most powerful woman in the world!
Marrying this wife, no regrets!
The empress also looked at the handsome young man in front of her, his appearance rivaled Pan An and Song Yu, and he was more dazzling than the stars in the sky. He was also among the top in terms of strength!
Marrying this man, no regrets!
“Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan called softly.
“My love!” The empress blushed and lowered her head.
Just as these two were about to take their relationship to the next level, an old eunuch knocked on the door and entered. “Your Majesty, the dragon dance performance with thousands of people in the capital is about to begin! You once said that you wanted to go to the scene and enjoy it with the people! But now you…”
“Go, of course we should go!” The empress lifted the blanket, preparing to get up. But then she remembered that she was still pretending to be ill and weak, so she lay back down.
Lin Beifan was very speechless, “Your Majesty, you’re pretending again, your body is perfectly fine!”
The empress snorted, “Originally, I was indeed fine, but your recent fabricated words made me lose my temper. You deal with it yourself!”
Lin Beifan understood her hint and said, “Your Majesty, let this humble servant help you up.”
“That’s more like it!” The empress huffed but couldn’t help but smile at the corner of her mouth. Then, Lin Beifan helped the empress to sit up.
This was the first time the two of them had such an intimate contact, and they both felt a strange sensation in their hearts. Especially the empress, who blushed with shyness. But when she thought about the fact that they would have such intimate contact in the future as husband and wife, she tried to overcome her embarrassment.
Then, they attended the grand dragon dance performance with thousands of people that night. Although they didn’t say much during the process, through their multiple intimate interactions, the people began to realize that the empress and the current prime minister were indeed getting closer.
They truly matched each other in both looks and talents! Their union was a blessing for the Great Wu!
As a result, the performance was even more joyous and the people danced and sang with enthusiasm. Subsequently, the empress and Lin Beifan’s wedding was scheduled.
This was a true national event, and they had to choose an auspicious date, perform rituals to pay respects to heaven and earth, and follow various protocols, which was quite tedious. Completing this entire process would take more than half a year.
Lin Beifan was overwhelmed by all of this. Fortunately, the Ministry of Rites and experts from the imperial family were responsible for these matters; otherwise, his head would have gone bald. However, the empress showed a keen interest in all these affairs. She asked about them three or four times a day and was very concerned about the progress of the wedding.
Due to the excessive time spent on the wedding preparations, state affairs were delayed. However, she wasn’t worried at all because she had Lin Beifan. She delegated all state matters to him and focused more of her attention on the wedding.
Her face was full of smiles, like a blissful young bride about to be married. At this moment, the harvest of crops was abundant, there were no wars or disasters, and the Great Wu was truly enjoying a period of peace and prosperity.
Meanwhile, outside the realm, chaos still reigned. The Great Xia Dynasty, without the threat of the Allied Forces, had turned against itself. Internal conflicts erupted in the court, among the people, and even within the martial world. It was a chaotic scene.
The whereabouts of the Great Xia Crown Prince remained unknown, but the bounty on him had reached two million taels of silver.
As for the Great Yan Dynasty, they unexpectedly captured the Daoist master who could supposedly refine the elixir of immortality. The Great Yan Emperor also gathered various rare treasures in preparation for the unscrupulous Daoist to create the elixir. Liu Beifan had sold a significant number of dragon bones from his collection.
The Dayue Dynasty, currently under the oppression of the Army led by the Slanted Moon Princess, was steadily retreating and had lost more than half of its territory. It appeared that this dynasty was on the verge of a change in power
The former Allied Forces had now sent their troops into the pre-determined territories, ready to divide the spoils. Due to the intertwined borders and uneven distribution of interests, tensions were rising, and it was likely that a war would break out soon.
At this critical moment, astonishing news came from the Dayue Dynasty. In order to resist the formidable rebel forces, they had sent a powerful Grandmaster into the fray.
This Grandmaster was incredibly formidable, single-handedly facing an army of rebels. He slew several rebel leaders and turned the tide of the battle in favor of the Dayue Dynasty. Now, Princess Ziyue and her rebel forces dared not make a move, and the situation was extremely precarious.
In the Great Wu court, the empress asked sternly, “Esteemed ministers, how do you view this matter?”
“Your Majesty, from what I understand, the Grandmaster from the Dayue Dynasty should be their native Grandmaster, a veteran known as the ‘Wolf Fang Moon.’ His strength has long reached the pinnacle of Grandmaster, and he is incredibly powerful! The rebel forces are no match for him, and it’s likely they will be defeated!” one of the senior officials said.
The empress nodded slightly and asked, “Esteemed ministers, what are your thoughts? How can we benefit from this situation?”
“Your Majesty, our current approach should be to observe quietly and not intervene. Let them fight it out to the death! This way, the Dayue Dynasty will surely weaken, which is highly advantageous for our Great Wu!” another official advised.
The empress nodded once more, and the court officials also agreed that this was the best course of action for the time being.
Then, Lin Beifan stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I have a different suggestion.”
The empress turned her gaze toward him, her eyes narrowing with curiosity, and she smiled, saying, “My dear minister, what different idea do you have? Please share it with me!”
1. Pan An and Song Yu were both historical figures from ancient China known for their romantic stories and poetry.
