Chapter 279: This Is My Imperial Harem, Not Yours

Of course, Xiao Yang wasn’t drunk. That little bit of wine had only made her a bit tipsy.

By the time Rong Yin carried her to the carriage, she was wide awake.

But even awake, she didn’t stir, content to just lie in Rong Yin’s embrace.

Rong Yin could clearly sense her low spirits. He gently brushed aside a stray lock of her hair. “Did things not go well with Prince Jing, Your Majesty?”

Xiao Yang rested her chin comfortably on his arm and said languidly, “I just wanted to play the victim to tease him a bit, but I think I took it too far and actually hurt his feelings.”

She admitted she had affection for Prince Jing and his son, but it was an affection born from a combination of trust and mutual benefit.

They just got along well, and their relationship was decent. As for any heartfelt connection, it wasn’t really that deep.

‘I’ve never considered myself part of this world.’

‘I’m a transmigrator. The original owner’s parents were strangers to me, so how could I possibly have any feelings for an uncle and a cousin?’

‘When I first went to the Prince Jing Mansion, it was purely to use them to secure my footing and strengthen my position.’

‘It was like a corporate partnership. I sought them out for my own benefit, and we ended up with a win-win situation. We got along, and there was mutual trust.’

‘Familial affection… I really didn’t feel much of it.’

‘That’s why I was able to say what I did that day so carelessly.’

‘It was just a smokescreen to confuse my enemies. Nothing was off the table.’

‘Prince Jing being all awkward for so many days was clearly an act. But because we have a good relationship, I tolerated it and was willing to come and placate him.’

‘I was just going through the motions, not even bothering to put much effort into the act. But Prince Jing took it to heart, and that made me feel a little uncomfortable, too.’

Xiao Yang was, for once, confused. “I thought I didn’t care about family ties, and I didn’t want to get too close to anyone, but… maybe that’s not entirely true.”

‘It’s a bit fuzzy, yet also a bit clear. I just don’t want to admit it to myself.’

‘Matters of the heart are always a challenge for me.’

Rong Yin didn’t know what she had said to Prince Jing, but seeing her look so lost, a soft, loving light flickered in his eyes.

‘Family ties?’

He had no say in the matter, nor did he want one.

He leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye. “If you can’t figure it out, don’t force it. When it comes to feelings, let time give you the answer.”

Xiao Yang looked up at him for a moment before suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a natural kiss.

It wasn’t a kiss of fiery passion, but one of gentle reassurance.

Xiao Yang closed her eyes, sighing inwardly. ‘I’m actually starting to crave the warmth this world has to offer.’

‘I’ve always tried to stay detached, to be a mere spectator, yet I’m rationally watching myself get pulled in deeper and deeper.’

‘I don’t want to be captivated by this world, but I have no way out. In fact… I don’t even want to leave anymore.’

‘What’s a cold, empty villa compared to the Imperial Palace?’

‘But this world has no electricity! No airplanes! No cars!’

Having moped all evening, the Emperor suddenly shot to her feet and ordered Prince Jing and Xie Liuzheng to be dragged into the Imperial Palace.

“I want electricity!”

“I want cars!”

“I want airplanes!”

‘I am the Emperor! What I want, I must have!’

Prince Jing: “…”

He was confused, but if His Majesty commanded it, he would do it.

“Alright, alright, alright. Your uncle will make it for you. I’ll get right on it.”

‘Her Majesty is the Emperor, but she’s also just a kid.’

‘What can you do when your niece wants something? You just have to find a way.’

Xie Liuzheng was the more rational one. “Your Majesty, electricity is one thing. Cars… might be doable. But aren’t airplanes a bit out of our league?”

‘Will that thing even fly within the next hundred years?’

‘We’ll all be dead and gone by then.’

Xiao Yang took out a notebook. Written on the cover was: *A History of Aircraft Development and Engine Research Technology*.

It was a hand-copied version written in charcoal, but its contents were way beyond their current capabilities.

Xie Liuzheng’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Your Majesty, where did you get this?”

Xiao Yang smiled, her expression radiating ‘nuclear kindness’. “A gift from the system.”

‘If the system can abduct people from that other world, stealing a bit of tech should be child’s play, right?’

Of course, it could have refused. But then Xiao Yang might have thrown a little fit and set the world’s progress back by a decade.

So, the system *could* have sent her back. The only problems were that her original body was dead, and due to the different flow of time, many years had passed. It could send her back, but it couldn’t guarantee she’d be alive upon arrival.

But none of that mattered anymore. All she had to do was get the technology she wanted.

And so, Prince Jing’s enslavement continued.

Meanwhile, Xie Liuzheng threw herself into a new round of research on seed technology.

「A few days later.」

Xiao Lv arrived at the Imperial Palace with his bawling son in his arms and promptly shoved the baby at Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang’s eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”

Holding a register, Xiao Lv calmly began attending to his work. “His grandfather is busy at the Ministry of Industry, his mother has been at the Research Institute for three days straight, and his father has business to attend to. So, I’ll have to trouble Your Majesty to watch him for a little while.”

Xiao Yang and the drooling baby stared at each other, speechless.

The baby broke into a wide grin. “Heh heh… Aba, aba…”

Xiao Yang watched, horrified, as a string of drool dripped from his mouth right onto her Dragon Robe.

“!!!!!” ‘For this offense alone, I could have his entire clan executed, you know!’

“Even so, you can’t just dump him on me! What about Consort Meng? The wet nurse? The palace maids?”

‘With all those people around, how could it possibly fall to me, the Emperor, to babysit?’

Xiao Lv looked up and smiled. “This servant saw that Your Majesty has been bored lately. I brought you a toy.”

Xiao Yang: “!!! He’s not a toy!”

As it turned out, he was quite fun.

The child, Xiao An, was surprisingly well-behaved.

The wet nurse had come along as well, so once he was fed and burped, he was perfectly content and didn’t fuss.

Xiao Yang took him directly to the Imperial Garden to watch the beautiful ladies dance.

The little guy was only five months old and couldn’t sit up yet, so he could only crawl. But even lying on his stomach with his butt in the air and his head craned up, he watched the performance with rapt attention.

He’d watch until he fell asleep, and then wake up to watch some more.

The palace maids in the harem were all swooning over his cuteness.

While trying to curry favor with Xiao Yang, their eyes kept drifting toward the baby.

Don’t be fooled by his small size and lack of teeth—the little guy already had a thing for pretty faces.

If a pretty palace maid approached, he would grin and drool. If an average-looking one came by, heh, he’d offer a token smile and that was it.

If a plain one approached, he would simply turn his head away.

All the palace maids who were selected to enter the palace had comely features, yet he somehow managed to grade them on a curve.

‘This isn’t just a smart baby; this is someone who didn’t drink enough of his Meng Po Soup! Was the Meng Po Soup watered down?’

Xiao Yang grabbed him by his little collar and spanked his bottom. “You little brat! This is my harem, not yours!”

“WAAAAH…”

The baby, who had been perfectly happy all day, finally burst into a fit of hysterical sobs.

Under the sympathetic gazes of the onlookers, the great demon lord, Her Majesty, grinned with pure wickedness.

By the time the little baby was returned to his father, his tiny face was still streaked with tears, looking utterly pitiful.

Xiao Lv: “…”

‘Son, you’ve suffered.’

It had been Prince Jing’s idea to have Xiao An accompany the Emperor for half a day. He had said that Her Majesty seemed to be in low spirits lately and that the child might liven things up.

Xiao Lv hadn’t thought anything of it, so he had simply scooped up his son and brought him to the palace.

He hadn’t expected the child to get along so well with the Emperor, but he also hadn’t expected Her Majesty to be so wicked as to bully a baby.

‘An absolute tyrant!’

However, Xiao Lv had no idea that the chaotic, topsy-turvy relationship between his son and the Emperor had only just begun.