25: Chapter 25 Giving the World to Him

"Do you know why your father, the head of the Zhuge Family, was never able to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm in his entire life?"

"I..."

Huang Ying sighed.

"Young Lady, the taxes for the Zhuge Family have already been collected by the Heavenly Dao for eight hundred years into the future."

"It is all because the first family head was simply too stunningly talented."

"So much so that the later generations of the Zhuge Clan have to pay the price for him."

"Do you know why, including your father, so many generations of Zhuge Family heads, despite having peerless cultivation talent, insisted on suppressing their own realms and only meddling with political schemes and the art of Heavenly Calculation?"

Zhuge Jinyu lowered her head, but there was not a trace of dejection in her expression.

Her relatives and elders had all died too early. At that time, she was still an overlooked daughter of a concubine, so naturally, no one had explained these things to her.

But as she slowly grew up, how could she, with her snow-white intelligence, not realize it?

What the Zhuge Family excelled at was the art of manipulating the Heavenly Dao.

The first head of the Zhuge Family even cultivated to the late stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm because of this.

Yet, because of this, he incurred the hatred of the Heavenly Dao, not only dying in the tribulation himself but also implicating the descendants of the Zhuge Family...

Looking at the history of the Zhuge Family, anyone who was extremely skilled in the path of cultivation was almost always short-lived.

Including Zhuge Jinyu's mother.

Her mother was a collateral member with no blood relation to Zhuge Yuan, extremely skilled with the sword, and had reached the Spirit Transformation Realm by her twenties.

Because of this, she attracted the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

A dignified Spirit Transformation Realm expert actually died in childbirth just like an ordinary woman.

For a long time, Zhuge Yuan did not place importance on Zhuge Jinyu's training, which was to a large extent, even to protect her.

"Huang Ying, I certainly trust you..."

"However, unifying the world requires power, and resurrecting... Sir, also requires power."

Besides Huang Ying and a few other death warriors whose hearts had been branded with poisonous oaths by the Zhuge Family, she really had no one else she could trust.

"But Young Lady, your body..."

Zhuge Jinyu picked up the pitch-black medicinal liquid in front of her, drank it in one gulp, and smiled calmly.

"Tell me, how much longer can I live?"

"If you do not continue to cultivate and just maintain the status quo, I fear you can live for another dozen years or so."

"If you continue to cultivate desperately, I fear it will only be seven or eight years..."

"Seven or eight years, that is enough."

Zhuge Jinyu set down the cup.

"Enough for me to conquer this world, and enough for me to see Sir's face."

Huang Ying pondered for a long time before finally sighing softly.

She knew her master's temperament, but she still wanted to try to persuade her once more.

"Young Lady, that 'Sir' might not truly know your feelings; he might just be treating you as a tool to unify the world..."

"I know, Sir loves the world, perhaps not me."

Zhuge Jinyu nodded, not denying it at all.

"But that doesn't affect my love for him, does it?"

"Since he loves the world, I will conquer this world and give it to him."

"Young Lady..."

"Enough with the 'Young Lady' talk. My time is limited. Quick, what is the situation in the Southern Frontier?"

"Understood. The chieftain of the Miao lands in the Southern Frontier, Huo Meng, has repeatedly led troops to harass our dynasty's southern border. There have already been cultivators engaging in battle with the army he leads, and we have suffered slight losses..."

"The army of the Southern Frontier is extremely barbaric and skilled in brute force. Most of our dynasty's people are not skilled in body cultivation, making it difficult to resist..."

Zhuge Jinyu frowned and made the final decision.

"Three days from now, I will lead the troops on a personal expedition."

"Logistics and equipment must be prepared for me within these three days."

"Then Young Lady, what will you do in these three days..."

"Accompany Sir."

...

"Is this the slum district? It doesn't look like it?"

Su Chen teased, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Zhuge Jinyu heard his teasing and blushed slightly.

"It was all Sir's planning; Jinyu was only responsible for the execution..."

The two were currently standing at the entrance of what used to be the dirtiest and most chaotic street in the Imperial City.

But now, after Su Chen's planning and the renovation by Zhuge Jinyu and others, this place had become the most popular snack street in the Imperial City.

On both sides of the smooth bluestone road, shops stood in rows.

There were stalls selling various exquisite handicrafts, as well as snack shops with large pots set up, steaming with heat.

Some stall owners even used some of the 'modern recipes' that Su Chen brought from Blue Star.

Things like barbecue, hot pot, stinky tofu, and jianbing guozi... everything was available.

All kinds of flashy signs, under the enhancement of spiritual power, were almost no different from modern ones.

Zhuge Jinyu had changed out of her solemn Chancellor's robes and was wearing an ordinary moon-white ru-skirt.

Her cloud-like white hair was tied up with a simple wooden hairpin, and she had even deliberately applied some light makeup to cover her complexion.

Only at times like this could one see a bit of the youthful beauty that matched her age on her.

And Su Chen, under her constant pestering of 'Sir this, Sir that,' had also briefly transformed into a human form.

He was dressed in an elegant cyan robe, with a thin white veil covering his face, obscuring his specific features in a hazy manner.

Of course, the reason Su Chen wore a veil was not because he was ugly.

It was because Zhuge Jinyu hadn't wiped the mist off the mirror yet, and he actually didn't have a face at all right now.

Despite this, the upright and free-spirited Su Chen still attracted many sideways glances.

The two walked side by side on the street.

The distance was neither too far nor too close, just right.

Closer than friends, more distant than lovers.

Zhuge Jinyu carefully, yet couldn't help herself.

She let her sleeve touch Su Chen's illusory arm, which he had manifested, as if by chance.

It seemed that only in this way could the Young Prime Minister confirm that she was really strolling the street with Sir.

Through the veil, Su Chen curiously examined this 'commercial pedestrian street' of the Fantasy World.

Although it was far from the modern commercial complexes in his memory.

But in this Fantasy World, being able to have such a scene was already considered quite rare.

Passing by an accessory stall, Zhuge Jinyu caught sight of a peach blossom hairpin.

The transparent hairpin shimmered with a mysterious radiance under the moonlight, quite beautiful.

This kind of small trinket, which could absolutely not be considered rare in modern Blue Star, was completely capable of forming a dimensional strike against the women of the Fantasy World.

"Want it?"

Su Chen looked at the young girl with a smile.

"Our Prime Minister Zhuge would also like things that little girls like?"

"..."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Then do you want it or not?"

"..."

"Nod for yes, shake for no."

"Since you neither nod nor shake, I will take it as agreement and buy it for you."

In a daze, the young girl had already cradled the hairpin in her arms.

"Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Yu, this thing is meant to be worn on the head, not for you to hold in your arms!"

The Female Prime Minister pouted.

"This was given to me by Sir."

"It's different!"

"Sigh, then suit yourself..."

After walking only a few steps, the two were attracted by the aroma of barbecue.

On the charcoal fire, the meat skewers sizzled, grease dripped down, and bursts of tempting aroma erupted.

The stall owner was a burly man with a full beard, sweating profusely as he flipped the meat skewers, his shouting loud and clear.

The stall owner's sign was quite unique; on a rough wooden board, two lines of large characters were scribbled in charcoal:

"Only food, love, poetry, and the distance cannot be let down."

This phrase was naturally another dose of 'poisonous chicken soup' Su Chen had brought from Blue Star.

The young girl was slightly lost in thought.

She was born in a deep, secluded courtyard. If not for meeting Su Chen, her predetermined fate would have been no different from a bird in a cage.

When she grew older, her shoulders immediately bore the heavy responsibility of the entire Great Qian.

Poetry and the distance were too far away from her.

"Sir..."

Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice was very soft.

"If you were given a choice... would you be willing, as this sign says, to be a carefree person, roaming the mountains and rivers, pursuing poetry and the distance?"

"Tasting all the delicacies of the world, seeing all the scenery of the world."

"Or would you choose to remain in this troubled secular world, taking on the responsibility of the nation, the prosperity of the country, and the peace of the people?"

The question was abrupt, even carrying a bit of silliness.

But she asked it extremely seriously.

Her gaze first fell on the sign, then turned to Su Chen's side profile covered by the white veil.