Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

Chapter 871: Chapter 876-877: Nalan Yiren in Love (Part 2)

It turned out that under the spread of the poison, Chen Mo’s mouth had already swollen into something like a beehive puppy, even more serious than after their first kiss; his face was affected too, so he couldn’t coordinate his muscles to make any expression.

And Nalan Yiren, who had quickly straightened her collar and was planning to continue lecturing Chen Mo, lifted her gaze and saw his current appearance. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter with a "puchi," then realized this reaction didn’t fit her persona, and forcefully tried to rein it in—resulting in her facial expression constantly shifting, looking like she was barely suppressing her mirth.

"Serves you right." Nalan Yiren’s lips hooked up, and she no longer pursued the matter with Chen Mo, turning to leave.

"Wuwu... wuwu... wuwuwu..."

Chen Mo was trying to tell Nalan Yiren to wait and help detoxify him, but once the words came out, they all turned into muffled "wuwu" sounds.

Chen Mo had originally wanted to chase after her, but considering this poison would only last for half an hour, he dispelled that thought and decided to let her revel in it for a while.

That night, Chen Mo did not go to find Wu Mi and the others to attend him in bed.

Because after half an Hour, Chen Mo discovered that while the swelling had gone down a bit, it still hadn’t fully subsided.

With such a humiliating look, Chen Mo would never let his women see him; he planned to spend the night alone in his sleeping hall.

...

Observatory.

The night was like flowing water.

Moonlight hung over the vast rear garden like a thin veil of mist.

On the third floor of the Observatory, Nalan Yiren had just finished her bath and was seated before the dressing table. At this moment she wore a white low-cut Palace Skirt she had never worn before; her figure was graceful, with a wide expanse of snowy skin at her neck and chest. Perhaps because she’d just soaked in hot water, she no longer looked so deathly pale; a faint flush rose under her skin, and her jade-like face was coldly gorgeous.

Holding a comb, Nalan Yiren stared at her own reflection in the Copper Mirror, maintaining that posture, dazed for almost half a quarter of an hour.

Flashing through her mind were scenes of kissing Chen Mo in the rear garden just now; her gaze was slightly unfocused, as if savoring the memory.

Only after quite a while did Nalan Yiren come back to herself; she hurriedly pressed down the strange flutter in her heart, then muttered curses at a certain someone under her breath.

But as she cursed, she couldn’t help recalling those images again. She even lifted a slender jade finger to rest against her own lips, and deep in her maiden heart a subtle, indescribable feeling suddenly welled up.

She really liked this feeling.

...

The next day, before dawn.

Chen Mo was woken by an eunuch calling from two zhang away, saying that Your Majesty should go to morning court.

Mm, morning court has always been very early since ancient times.

Generally between three and seven in the morning.

For morning court, the Ministers have to arrive outside the Meridian Gate at three in the morning and wait until around five, when the palace gates open and the hundred officials can enter the Imperial Palace.

As for Chen Mo, he basically had to get up around that time to wash and prepare for court.

Back when Chen Mo was still a subject, attending morning court was optional.

But now that he was the Emperor, he couldn’t skip it; if he missed court, the more blunt-spoken Imperial Censors would admonish him, saying that Your Majesty was becoming lax.

If he missed too often, the Ministers would submit memorials.

At the same time, the histories would record it.

However, this kind of situation generally wouldn’t happen with a founding ruler.

Throughout history, most founding rulers were very diligent.

Chen Mo also wanted to set an example for later Emperors of Great Wei; ever since his accession, he hadn’t missed a single court session, and had diligently handled state affairs.

But the result of that was that he was not only exhausted, it also delayed his Cultivation.

Chen Mo even wondered whether, in his previous life’s history, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty Cabinet and the Qing Dynasty Grand Council might have had this as one of the reasons.

In any case, he had already decided in his heart to form a Cabinet. When his child grew up, he would directly pass the throne to Chen Jia; being Emperor was just for the thrill, there was no need to keep doing it, and it easily caused disharmony between father and son.

Especially in this world where individual Power could sometimes rival an entire army—strengthening his own might was enough.

He walked to the Copper Mirror; his mouth had gone down, no more numbness, so it wouldn’t affect today’s morning court.

...

Several important matters were raised in today’s morning court.

The first was Geng Songfu’s remonstrance, saying that Chen Mo’s illustrious achievements could rival those of the previous dynasty’s Grand Ancestor Emperor, and that he should go to Ziwei Mountain to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, the so-called Fengshan.

Ziwei Mountain was the highest mountain under the sky.

Since several thousand years ago, Emperors had performed Fengshan there, and it later became a symbol of receiving the Mandate of Heaven. After that, any Emperor with some accomplishments would go to Ziwei Mountain to perform Fengshan, proclaiming his illustrious deeds to Heaven.

In short, it boiled down to one sentence: any Emperor with real ambition, if he didn’t go to Ziwei Mountain for Fengshan, then his reign would not be a Perfection.

Among the Emperors of the previous dynasty, they were quite self-aware; except for Song Taizu, the dozen or so Emperors who followed never went to Ziwei Mountain for Fengshan.

Of course, precisely because of this, Chen Mo felt that at the very least he should surpass Song Taizu in merit before going for Fengshan.

Otherwise, it would make Chen Mo feel that the Great Wei he had founded was inferior to the Great Song Dynasty they had built.

And Song Taizu was the one who beat Jin Xia so badly that they couldn’t straighten their backs for hundreds of years, and he himself stepped into the First Grade Celestial Human Realm.

He was still some way off from that.

So regarding Geng Songfu’s proposal of Fengshan, Chen Mo refused.

The second matter was the Shu Residence.

Wu Yanqing reported that Zhao Liang, who had been sent to Shu Residence to station troops, and the officials dispatched to assume office there, had been driven back by Yang Xian.

And this was not the first time.

This made Chen Mo frown slightly.

Previously, after Yang Qingqing returned, Chen Mo had specifically asked her to write another letter back, explaining his bottom line to Yang Xian.

Yet to this day, no reply had come.

Combined with what Wu Yanqing had just said, it was obvious Yang Xian hadn’t agreed to Chen Mo’s demands.

Since that was the case, he couldn’t be blamed for what came next.

"Where are Wu Yanqing, Nalan Yiren, and Diwu Fusheng?"

"We are here, Your Majesty." Wu Yanqing, Nalan Yiren, and Diwu Fusheng stepped forward one after another.

"We appoint Wu Yanqing as Southwest Dao field army commander, Nalan Yiren as deputy commander, Diwu Fusheng as Military Advisor. Mobilize ten thousand Divine Martial Guard and thirty thousand Xianzhen Guard, forty thousand troops in total, and march on Shu Residence. Under the premise of striving to avoid battle, bring Yang Xian back to the Capital for Us." Chen Mo said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wu Yanqing, Nalan Yiren, and Diwu Fusheng answered respectfully in unison.

As for why Chen Mo appointed Nalan Yiren as deputy commander.

It was because many Ministers had heard of her strength, but had never seen it with their own eyes. Moreover, Nalan Yiren was neither a follower who’d risen with the Dragon, nor had she rendered any great service to Great Wei, yet right off the bat she was made State Preceptor, such a lofty post. Inevitably there would be gossip, that Chen Mo was appointing based on personal ties.

Even though Chen Mo’s prestige was enough to suppress it, if it could be resolved, it was better to resolve.

This expedition to Shu Residence was precisely to pad Nalan Yiren’s record of achievements.

Once she returned from Shu Residence, no one would dare wag their tongues anymore.

After that came the matter of rotation.

Chang En, Cui Shuang and the others had guarded the Border Pass for nearly two years; Youzhou was bitterly cold, so it was time to rotate them back and send others to stand watch.

Zhao Liang and Liang Ying volunteered.

Both of them were Middle-Grade Martial Artists.

As for Liang Ying, after Liang Ji was conferred as Princess Consort Lan by Chen Mo, the Liang Family had arranged for him, a younger generation, to enter the military; he was also an elite seed the Liang Family was focusing on cultivating.

Chen Mo also understood why the two of them had volunteered.

The former had once been a general under Prince Huai, and had surrendered to Chen Mo as a defeated general. Though he later rendered merit and was made a Marquis by Chen Mo, he was always excluded from the core; the important posts never reached him.

So Zhao Liang likely wanted to earn more military merit to raise his own status.

As for Liang Ying, that went without saying.

Chen Mo granted the requests of both men.

...

Morning court ended.

Just as Chen Mo returned to his sleeping palace, Yang Qingqing, having heard the news, came to him with reddened eyes.

Chen Mo originally hadn’t wanted to see her, because he could already guess why she was here.

But after thinking it over, he still agreed to see her.

Sure enough, as soon as Yang Qingqing entered, she dropped to her knees with a thump in front of Chen Mo, begging for leniency on behalf of her father, Yang Xian.

Chen Mo sighed, stepped forward to help Yang Qingqing up, and said, "We already gave him a chance, more than once."

"But Your Majesty, he... he’s still my own father after all..." Yang Qingqing’s eyes were brimming with tears.