The Prime Minister's mansion.
Su Mo sat on the threshold, propping his face with his hands, gazing at the distant sky with a forlorn expression.
"Her Highness hasn't visited me lately. And you don't tell me anything either. My birthday is fast approaching, I hope Her Highness hasn't forgotten."
Su Mo was not favored in the mansion, so no one would gossip about the outside world with him. Dark One had been acting strange lately too, keeping his mouth shut. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't leave Su Mo's side.
Alas, Her Highness used to visit him occasionally and chat with him. But for the past two months, there had been no news. He wondered what was happening.
Dark One said nothing, only telling him to wait with peace of mind.
Su Mo would get up and walk a couple of rounds in the courtyard, then squat down to gaze at the ground, and then ask Dark One with full of hope.
His eyes looked out the window day after day, gazing with longing, like a stone waiting for his wife.
"Do you really want to become a eunuch so badly?" Dark One had revealed nothing about Qiao Ci to Su Mo. To this day, Su Mo still believed Qiao Ci was in the cold palace.
Knowing that Qiao Ci possessed martial arts skills, he still worried about her being bullied, being alone, and feeling lonely all day long.
"Ah? Didn't we agree on that back then? Men are not allowed in the palace, and to accompany Her Highness, one can only be castrated. I've been prepared for a long time. Her Highness is a good person, she shouldn't be alone!" Su Mo's expression shifted from bewilderment to determination.
"You love her that much?" Dark One, having seen many people, could tell at a glance whether the person before him was sincere or not towards Qiao Ci.
After a few months together, the young man before him was incredibly pure. He didn't compete or contend, his heart and eyes were filled only with Her Highness, Her Highness. His days were spent either mending and sewing clothes for Her Highness to wear, or cooking delicious food to improve her life...
The stitching and embroidery, even to a rough man like Dark One, seemed exceptionally exquisite. However, Su Mo hadn't given them to Qiao Ci, saying he wanted to make more styles. When he entered the palace, he would put them in her wardrobe, and she could wear whichever she liked.
However, Dark One felt his efforts might be in vain. The attire of that person in the future could not be casual. The clothes Su Mo made, although exquisite, were no longer suitable for that person's status.
As for the food, the busy Qiao Ci had only eaten it once. Most of the rest went into Dark One's stomach. Dark One, who had always been restrained, gained a noticeable amount of weight in just a few months, which testified to its deliciousness.
Upon hearing Dark One's words, Qiao Ci's face instantly appeared in Su Mo's mind, and the bits and pieces of their past interactions surfaced one by one, as if counted on his fingers.
"Love...?" His eyes curved, filled with starlight, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curling up. His pearly white teeth gleamed, and he smiled shyly, meekly saying, "I don't know. I just want to see her. When I see her, I want to keep looking at her, but I never get enough..."
"What a pity, someone can't love anymore after becoming a eunuch~" Dark One teased.
Not grasping the hidden meaning in Dark One's words, Su Mo asked like a good child, "Why do you say that?"
Dark One feared corrupting him, so he didn't say too much. "Don't think about these useless things. Your birthday is coming soon, you should think about how to celebrate it."
"I've already thought about it. Pack my things and go to the palace to serve Her Highness~"
Dark One: ...
Such ambition, tsk tsk tsk.
*
In the prison.
The damp air seemed to brew moisture. In the dim prison cell, there was the smell of decay and rotting corpses.
As soon as Xiao Ren arrived, he started gagging, and immense anger brewed in his eyes.
He never expected those old fossils to actually dare to imprison him in such a filthy place.
With a face full of gloom, he loudly berated the nearby prison guard, cursing incessantly.
The prison guard knew that this emperor had yelled surrender when the enemy was at the city gates, selling out everyone in the Yao Kingdom. He looked down on him in his heart.
In any case, the higher-ups had already given their orders. Whether he could continue to be emperor was still up in the air. They did not need such a ruler who was not ambitious and surrendered without a fight.
The prison guard spat at him and ignored him.
Xiao Ren grumbled for a long time. Seeing that no one paid him any attention, he finally quieted down.
A moment later, Wei Zhu was also brought in and imprisoned in the same cell as him.
Xiao Ren looked at Wei Zhu with complicated eyes. Wei Zhu also looked at Xiao Ren with an indescribable expression. However, she quickly reacted. The King of Southern Barbarians was dead, and now Xiao Ren was the only one she could rely on.
Tears flowed before she could even speak. She stepped forward a few paces and threw herself into Xiao Ren's arms, complaining with great grievance, "Your Majesty, that bitch Qiao Ci has made me suffer so much. I thought I would never see you again."
Xiao Ren's body stiffened. He clearly remembered her intimate actions with the King of Southern Barbarians when the enemy was at the city gates.
However, he felt the same about her words.
He had also been greatly wronged by Qiao Ci.
Xiao Ren thought that he was probably the first emperor to be imprisoned in the heavenly prison.
Then, he remembered that it was this woman in his arms who had written him letters inducing him to surrender. Xiao Ren's hatred suddenly found an outlet.
He pushed Wei Zhu away, raised his hand, and slapped her across the face, shouting, "It's all your fault, you bitch, for bewitching me! How could I, the ruler of a nation, abandon my people and surrender to the enemy? It's all you, it's all your fault! You must have given me a love potion, you shameless woman who serves two masters..."
...
After dealing with the external threat, it was unclear who initiated it, but the ministers began to jointly submit memorials. The common people also spontaneously organized a mass blood-letter petition, requesting Qiao Ci to ascend the throne.
This was also part of Qiao Ci's plan. What was the peak of a person's life if they were just favored in the six palaces? True power lay in being the supreme ruler.
She politely declined a few times before appearing to accept due to overwhelming persuasion.
Witnessing Qiao Ci's series of maneuvers firsthand, Little Spoon was filled with great confusion.
"Are you really just an ordinary female CEO from a modern dimension?"
"Yes, ordinary."
"But how do you understand such intricate troop deployments?"
"Uh, maybe I read Sun Tzu's Art of War?"
"And the manipulation of human hearts, the meticulous planning?"
"Because I have you, the all-knowing one."
It seemed... plausible enough.
Hehe, Little Spoon was useful! Very useful!
Before long, Qiao Ci officially ascended the throne and proclaimed herself Emperor, changing the dynastic name to Mo.
Since she was now Emperor, Qiao Ci would also bear the responsibilities of a sovereign.
The newly established Mo Kingdom, having just experienced warfare, needed to recuperate. Therefore, a series of policies and measures were promulgated, such as reducing taxes, alleviating corvée labor, promoting female education, developing water conservancy, and eliminating corrupt officials.
The people of Mo Kingdom received genuine benefits, and their satisfaction with Empress Qiao Ci grew.
Everything was proceeding as planned, and everything was developing in a positive direction.
The ministers in the court began to focus on her harem. Many officials wanted to offer their eligible sons and grandsons to Qiao Ci's harem. Such a wise and heroic empress would surely leave a profound mark in the torrent of history.
Whoever became her man would undoubtedly be recorded in history and be eternally renowned, bringing unparalleled honor to their family.
Listening to these ministers chatter about how handsome and distinguished their sons and grandsons were, arguing so fiercely that they almost came to blows, Qiao Ci was amused and amused. She quickly spoke up.
"I already have someone in mind, so there's no need for you gentlemen to worry."
The ministers were curious who it was, but Qiao Ci just smiled and remained silent.
Tomorrow was that little fellow's birthday. It was time to fulfill her promise.