Volume 1, Chapter 30: The True Heiress is a Powerhouse
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“He has everything now, so I’m not doing this mission anymore!”
【He only has the position of emperor. In truth, he has nothing.】
“How could he have nothing? The throne was willingly handed to him by his mother. His years as a hostage were difficult, but he came back in the end, didn’t he? Now he holds all the power. What is there to worry about? He obviously has no wishes left.”
An Qianqian would never admit that she was simply being lazy. Fulfilling someone’s wish was difficult enough; fulfilling the wish of someone who had no wish at all was even harder!
【You can’t do that, Host! Ask him one last time. If he truly has no wish, then… then we’ll restart this world. It may be a little troublesome, though. A year ago, a transmigrator took over the body of Si Chengnian’s mother, which was how he managed to ascend the throne and become emperor. If we restart the world, two worlds will be affected.】
“Get lost!”
“Lock it in the black room.”
Furious, An Qianqian went back to the courtyard to lie in the sun. She had known at first sight that the empress was a transmigrator, but the woman bore great merit, so An Qianqian had never exposed her.
Whatever happened with the mission, she had no intention of doing it all over again.
After being angry for one second, An Qianqian was too lazy to remain angry and continued basking in the sunlight.
After serving her for so long, Chuntang had already figured out An Qianqian’s habits.
At times like this, all she needed to do was bring over some fruit and quietly fan her.
“Lingyi, I’m entrusting all the palace affairs to you.” An Qianqian casually handed over the imperial seal.
Chuntang and the others watched in surprise as Lingyi accepted it without hesitation.
“Your Highness, Lady Lingyi may be efficient, but palace affairs are deeply tangled. She may not be able to handle them properly.”
An Qianqian did not even open her eyes. “Let her do it. You’ll see.”
Chuntang pressed her lips together and did not try to dissuade her again.
When she saw Lingyi carry the imperial seal to the side hall to deal with affairs, she followed and watched carefully.
To her astonishment, Lingyi handled matters even more steadily and efficiently than the palace’s senior attendants. Chuntang was secretly astonished.
Having handed over everything she needed to do, An Qianqian continued to bask in the sun at ease.
By the time Si Chengnian returned, An Qianqian was still asleep in the reclining chair.
He lightened his steps as he approached. Bending down, he removed his outer robe and gently draped it over her.
Her lashes trembled. She did not open her eyes, but instead edged toward where he stood, like a cat greedy for warmth.
He chuckled, crouched beside her, and lightly brushed his fingertips across her sun-reddened cheek.
When An Qianqian woke again, she found herself lying in bed, with Si Chengnian holding her in his arms.
“What time is it?”
“Almost ten at night.”
Si Chengnian rested his chin against the crown of her head. His voice was husky with sleep. “You fell asleep in the courtyard, so I carried you back.”
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An Qianqian burrowed deeper into his embrace and murmured, “Si Chengnian, do you have any wishes now?”
He kissed the back of her neck. “Didn’t I say before that I only wanted to protect you?”
“That isn’t your wish. It’s a wish I can help you fulfill.”
“Then… stay by my side forever.”
“Forever?”
An Qianqian froze for a moment. Her first thought was of countless lifetimes.
But then she reconsidered. No, that was not right. For an ordinary mortal, forever meant only one lifetime.
“So what you really want is for me to stay with you until we grow old and see this life through together?”
“Yes. Are you willing, Qianqian? That is my wish.”
An Qianqian hurriedly summoned the system.
“System, Si Chengnian just said that his wish is for me to accompany him for one lifetime.”
【Wish detection in progress… Wish detection complete. The wish is genuine. Host, please fulfill it as soon as possible.】
“A mortal’s lifetime can be long or short. I could just kill him, then kill myself afterward. That would still count as one lifetime, and the mission would be complete.”
【Host, you must not! Murder is against the law! Besides, he is the emperor of an entire nation! If he dies, the already turbulent Flame Nation will fall into even greater turmoil.】
【Think of the suffering of the common people. Can you please spare them?】
“Enough. I was only saying it. I never said I would actually do it. A mortal’s life is no more than thirty thousand days; it passes in the blink of an eye. Fine, I’ll accompany him. I don’t care anymore.”
As long as she could complete the mission, what did a few extra decades matter?
She could do it!
“Qianqian, do you… agree?” Si Chengnian had waited a long time without receiving an answer, and his voice carried a trace of unease.
“Of course I agree. It’s only one lifetime. It’s nothing to make a fuss about. I’ll stay with you, so don’t worry.”
Si Chengnian suddenly tightened his arms around her, squeezing her until she could barely breathe.
“You mean it?”
His voice was taut with incredulous joy. When he lowered his head, the tip of his nose brushed her cheek and made her squirm. “Qianqian, say it again.”
Pressed nearly breathless in his embrace, An Qianqian helplessly patted his back. “Let go. You’re going to break me.”
But he refused to release her. Instead, he buried his face in the hollow of her neck and laughed softly. His warm breath heated her skin.
“That’s wonderful… Qianqian, that’s wonderful…”
Only after laughing for a long while did he raise his head.
“Qianqian, it’s so late. Would you like something to eat?”
“Eat… you!”
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…
A mortal lifetime was no more than a fleeting hundred years.
Throughout his entire life, Si Chengnian guarded only An Qianqian.
Together, they purged the imperial court and led the Flame Nation to new heights.
Because the Merchant Nation was An Qianqian’s homeland, the two nations developed side by side and remained peaceful and stable for at least three generations.
An Qianqian had never intended to have children, but she could not withstand the system’s daily nagging.
In one go, she gave birth to four sons. Lingyi and Chuntang handled nearly all of their eating, drinking, and other needs.
When the eldest prince turned twenty and came of age, Si Chengnian passed the throne on to him.
On the day of Si Chengnian’s eightieth birthday, he sat beneath the covered walkway, basking in the sun. Clutched in his hand was a piece of warm jade An Qianqian had given him the year before.
He was old now, and his health had declined with each passing day. In recent years, he had begun to fear the cold.
With the warm jade An Qianqian had given him, he was at least able to live a little more comfortably.
At that moment, An Qianqian came over carrying a bowl of ginseng soup. Her white hair was loosely coiled, and her movements had grown much slower.
“Drink this. The imperial physician says you haven’t looked well these past few days.”
He looked up and smiled. The light in his eyes was still the same as in his youth. “When I’m gone, you…”
“Be quiet.”
An Qianqian cut him off and raised the bowl to his lips. “You said that last year, and now you’re saying it again.”
Si Chengnian obediently opened his mouth. The warmth of the ginseng soup slipped down his throat. He smacked his lips like a child begging for candy.
“This year is different… I feel that I’m close to leaving.”
“When you leave, I’ll leave with you. The realm is already at peace. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Si Chengnian laughed softly and coughed twice. His breathing gradually weakened, yet he still clung tightly to her hand.
“Qianqian, I have no regrets in this life… In the next…”
“There is no next life. This life has been wonderful for us, and that is enough.”
An Qianqian hurriedly stopped him, afraid he might say something about being together for countless lifetimes.
“Yes. We have lived very well in this life. When I’m gone, you must continue to live well… Live…”
An Qianqian suddenly felt his body grow heavy. When she looked down, his eyes were already closed, a smile still lingering at the corners of his lips. The warm jade slipped from his hand and rolled into her lap.
She did not cry. She only held him a little tighter. Just as she had on the countless nights they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, she gently patted his back and began to hum the little tune he had always loved to sing to her.
Late that night, palace attendants came searching for them. Beneath the covered walkway, they found the two of them nestled together, their bodies covered in a thin layer of frost.
An Qianqian’s head rested against his shoulder, fine crystals of ice clinging to her lashes. She still held the piece of warm jade in her hand.
She had gone with him.