Chapter 25: The Prince is a Woman 25

Joy, shock, bewilderment, complexity... all sorts of emotions and strange thoughts flooded Ye Ji's mind.

It was too noisy, so noisy it felt like he was splitting apart.

Ultimately, what lingered most in his mind was joy.

What Ning Zhen had just said—that he alone was enough, surpassing everyone else!

His goal had been achieved, and he was happy. However, the question of who would be on top and who would be on the bottom was indeed something that needed consideration. Ye Ji regained his composure, his starlight-like gaze falling upon the person before him.

A-Zhen remained expressionless, standing right where she was, watching him and waiting for him to speak.

Thinking of the other's past still left Ye Ji feeling somewhat displeased. But he had already promised that as long as the other party agreed, he would not pursue matters of the past.

His fists clenched and unclenched, clenched and then loosened again. The questions he wanted to ask never made it past his lips, and instead, he only succeeded in making himself angry. Ye Ji's eyes darkened; he wondered when the other had started collecting beauties. If they were to have today, he should have made his move sooner.

...To lock them up.

No, to arrange for people to watch them every step of the way, ensuring no messy individuals could get close.

"In the past, you..." Ye Ji finally spoke, but he still couldn't bring himself to ask. His irritation grew; the mere thought that there had been others by the other's side made him furious—furious that he had acted too late.

He had to blame Ning the Old Dog for poor upbringing!

What fault did Ning Zhen have? The other was young back then; if the family had taught them properly, would they have been exposed to such things so early?

A-Zhen: "Does Your Majesty want to ask if I am the one on top or the one on the bottom?"

Listening in, 997 was silent: *Host, this isn't good.*

He began to doubt his very existence as a system. Was this his usually obedient, gullible, and honest host?

What on earth had happened here during this busy period?

The mission progress was actually quite good, and no errors had occurred in the process. Since no alarms had been triggered, he hadn't paid much attention, continuing to busy himself with organizing data and keeping an eye out for newcomers who were easy to trick (not really), or rather, easy to talk to, to see if he could trick (not really) another one into signing a contract.

Ye Ji felt stifled, especially seeing her ask such things with such an innocent face. He added another tally to Ning Guangjun's debt in his heart.

"How could a man be the one on the bottom?" A-Zhen said with a dead serious expression, then added, "Are we in conflict? It seems we need to negotiate."

Ye Ji: "..."

He wanted to kill someone.

Right now, he wanted to kill two...

Mentioning these things, how could this person speak so calmly, without even a blush or a skip of the heart? One could only imagine how absurd their daily life must be.

997: *This is going to be the death of me!*

"Your Majesty is a favored son of Heaven. Originally, I am not someone who concedes easily..." A-Zhen spoke again.

Ye Ji had been struggling with his thoughts, but hearing this, his heart began to throb. Regardless of whether this person's affection for him was due to his status, power, or something else, he remained confident—no one could surpass him.

"We take turns," A-Zhen added seriously, looking for all the world like someone who had compromised far too much for him, leaving him speechless. "What does Your Majesty think?"

Ye Ji remained silent. He had said he wouldn't blame the other, so he couldn't show anger over this matter. However, he could be angry at those messy people—though, of course, he could only vent that anger internally. Having finally reached this stage, he didn't want to drive the person away.

He just hadn't recovered yet.

Unexpectedly, the person in front of him suddenly leaned in, gazing at him with eyes that were incredibly sincere: "Is even this not allowed?"

It was as if, if he didn't agree, he would be the one in the wrong.

"It... is allowed." Ye Ji closed his eyes, his clenched fists loosening, though the veins on his forehead pulsed.

He couldn't refuse.

This person's influence over him was growing larger and larger.

In the past, he couldn't bear to drive them away or kill them; now, it was even more impossible.

A-Zhen smiled, her eyes fixed on his face: "Actually, I have liked Your Majesty for a long time."

Ye Ji almost blurted out: *Then why did you mess around with others?*

Fortunately, he didn't say it. That was the other's past, and he had promised not to pursue it; bringing it up would only damage their feelings. They hadn't even truly spent time together yet, and if he offended them now, he wouldn't know how to fix it.

When he said he wanted to keep this person here, he was planning for a lifetime.

"Remember what you said," Ye Ji's voice was cool. "If you choose to stay by my side, you cannot provoke anyone else, and you must understand that you have no other choices in this life."

Once he had them, he would never let go.

If the other dared to run, he would certainly lock them up.

Perhaps he should arrange for a room to be prepared, just in case. This person's martial arts were very strong; an ordinary room wouldn't hold them. The walls would need to be reinforced with iron. Iron wasn't a beautiful color; it would be fine to decorate the surface with gold.

Ye Ji's eyes deepened: "If you ever dare to run, do not blame me."

He wouldn't kill this person; he couldn't bear it.

So he would lock them up, confining them within a meticulously crafted room where no matter how high their martial arts, they could never break through the iron-clad walls.

Facing the aura of danger emanating from Ye Ji, A-Zhen felt no fear at all.

Because she knew him too well.

"I won't run," she said. Those eyes, which usually looked upon everyone with a hint of gentleness, now held an indescribable emotion.

Ye Ji wanted to say more, but the person in front of him suddenly moved closer, wrapping their arms around his waist and leaning their entire body against his chest.

Ye Ji's whole body stiffened. Before meeting Ning Zhen, he had never imagined that anyone in this life could get so close to him. His mind had always been filled with how to be a good emperor and how to strengthen Northern Xia. He had never felt lonely, as if he had never even thought in that direction.

It was as if his innate mission was to be the Emperor of Northern Xia and to serve the nation.

It wasn't until Ning Zhen appeared that he experienced the torture of constant longing, only to realize that his heart had never been whole. That one missing piece could only be filled by this person.

Feeling the warmth in his arms, Ye Ji slowly tightened his grip to pull the person closer. At this moment, his fractured heart was finally mended.

"If you dare to run, I will lock you up," Ye Ji emphasized, his arms tightening further. "And from now on, you are not allowed to mess around with those messy people anymore."

A-Zhen responded with a soft: "Okay."

She never had.

Her heart had long since been occupied by this person; how could there be room for anyone else?

He was just imagining things.

No, it was all that old man's rumors; look how angry he was.

"Since you are willing to stay by my side, I will proceed with plans to marry you." Ye Ji was already considering this. Setting aside his slight irritation, he was, overall, quite joyful.

Since the other had agreed, marriage was the only way to make it official and secure.

"Does Your Majesty intend to restrict my freedom?"

"Didn't Your Majesty promise me power and wealth? And now that I've agreed, you want to confine me to the inner palace." A-Zhen looked up; she simply loved teasing him.

Ye Ji fell silent. He possessed conventional thoughts.

As soon as she mentioned it, he knew his previous words were inappropriate.

He was being too impatient, too eager to keep the person by his side.

"I will do whatever you wish."

"How about I grant you a princedom first?"

Prince Ning was already mad; granting another princedom was nothing; he knew what he was doing.

(End of Chapter)