Sisi did not wear anything befitting of a queen, such as the pearl crown of the Alien Clan she had worn before, or even the python robe of a king. She still had the image of a simple little girl from the Miao clan, barefoot and treading the wind as she approached. There were no attendants by her side, she was all alone, and from a distance, you'd never guess she was the queen who had recently stirred up the Miao Region.

Seeing how curiously the two of them were observing her, Sisi smiled as she touched down, "What, can't recognize me after just a few days?"

Yue Hongling asked in astonishment, "You dress like this even as a queen, don't people complain?"

"I did it on purpose," Sisi chuckled. "To give Pan Wan and the others the impression that I do not crave luxury. I even left those dilapidated plaques, which had been neglected for many years, unchanged. Although some think it's immodest, more people agree with me... After all, everyone has had a hard time these past years; the Miao Region is quite poor."

Zhao Changhe nodded in agreement; indeed, the Miao Region was poor. Previously, it had been thrown into disarray by Zhai Muzhi and Lei Zhentang. Sisi had even transferred food from within the Spirit Clan to support the outside, but the Spirit Clan's resources were not infinite and obviously could not provide long-term support. Although there had been some recovery in the past few months, and he had seen pasturing along the banks of Erhai Lake only a few days ago, sadly, such recovery was limited during winter, and everyone had difficulty getting by.

In a sense, the unification of the Miao Region had been made easier precisely because everyone was at their breaking point. As Sisi said, since it had been bad before, why not try a new system and see if it would be any better?

"So is everything completely stable now?" Zhao Changhe inquired.

"Yeah," Sisi replied lazily. "King Zhao has interfered with the Miao Region without showing his face. If this queen carries out some machinations, don't blame me."

Zhao Changhe simply hoisted her up to sit on his lap and reached up from her slender waist without saying a word, grasping her firmly: "Like this kind of action?"

If in the past there might have been doubts, now that they had used the Unity Gu, which was bidirectional, there was no room left for suspicion. If it were the old days, something as significant as the establishment of a nation in the Miao Region would not have left him idling, simply hiding and practicing his martial arts.

But Sisi was somewhat surprised by his affectionate gestures in front of Yue Hongling. Stealing a glance at Yue Hongling, who was seated aside, she noticed that Hongling showed no particular reaction. Sisi blinked her eyes and said with a smile, "I just heard you two talking about babies."

Zhao Changhe asked in amazement, "You can hear that from so far away, your angle of Wind Control must be different from ours... What about babies?"

Sisi wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, "My lord, it seems you must be heading off to war. So the lady doesn't get jealous anymore when my lord plays with the maid, right?"

Yue Hongling cast her an annoyed glance - of course, that was it; it was clear that they were about to leave. What was wrong with him being affectionate with you? Who bothered with such petty jealousy every day?

But then she heard Sisi laughing, "You're going off to war, but I definitely can't go. I always have to hold down the fort in the Miao Region. In other words, you can't have babies, but I can... "

"Eh?" Yue Hongling's eyes widened.

Twisting her waist, Sisi pressed her lips close, "Does my lord want to have a child of his own... I'm available, you know..."

Embarrassed, Yue Hongling stood up, "Nonsense! What time is it now? You may also need to lead troops into battle at any moment; how can you..."

Sisi found it rather amusing; it was the first time she saw Yue Hongling show such an "anxious" emotion. It seemed women were all the same; they didn't care much about other things, but who the legitimate eldest son belonged to was a matter of concern - even the heroic Miss Hongling seemed to care quite a bit.

With a laugh, Sisi said, "I may not necessarily have to lead troops into battle, you know. Right now, my taking to the field would mean commanding my troops in person, and that's not something I must do. I have capable generals under my command... Didn't Xia Chichi abstain from going into battle too?"

Yue Hongling could not refute the logic and, with puffed cheeks, turned and walked away: "I'm off to practice swordsmanship. You two do as you please!"

"Hehe..." Sisi chuckled merrily.

Zhao Changhe said helplessly, "Why are you provoking Hongling?"

"Why can't I be serious?" Sisi retorted with a laugh.

Zhao Changhe, kissing the side of her face, chuckled, "We are of one heart. Although I can't specifically feel your thoughts, I can sense the emotions behind the joke."

Sisi sighed, "It's over, now I truly have no privacy left..."

She bit her lower lip and said softly, "But you really have to go, don't you?"

"Mhm... I wanted to break through the Imperial Realm before leaving, but it seems I'm just a bit shy of that goal... At this point, it seems unlikely that further seclusion and training will lead to a breakthrough; I probably need to seek enlightenment through the heat of battle," Zhao Changhe explained. "These days, my gains have been substantial... Speaking of which, every time I've taken a pause for reflection, it's been here, and always at the most critical moments; last time was for the Secret Treasure, and this time, it's for the Imperial Realm."

Sisi said, "This means this place is your lucky spot, my lord. Maybe for future breakthroughs, you'll need to come here again."

"Perhaps, that's true. I can now vaguely see some threads of cause and effect, and my connection with this place is far from over; in fact, it's quite substantial," Changhe smiled.

Listening, Sisi seemed pleased and added, "With big events happening frequently, I won't act coy. Whether it's internally in the Spirit Clan or throughout the Miao Region and Dali, it's a time of vigor and spirit, and the people's hearts are with us. Tell me what you need from me; give me some instructions first."

"You don't need to do much, just muster an army ready to move north to Ba Shu at a moment's notice. If Li Shentong is smart, he should already have spies reporting recent developments in the founding of the Dali Kingdom. He should be aware, and just the confirmation that we can muster a military threat should be enough for him to get the message..."

"By that reasoning, he should've sent someone to cause trouble by now, or even earlier, to help other forces here. As long as the Miao Region remained in chaos, it would be to his advantage. The fact that he hasn't done so - is it because he lacks strategic thoughts, or could he actually be a good person?"

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