26: Chapter 26 Miss Prime Minister, Do You Like Children?

Su Chen was taken aback.

He had realized that ever since returning from Lianzhou City, this young girl had developed a particular fondness for throwing out ambiguous questions to test him.

First it was the cicadas, then it was poetry and distant places.

"Xiao Yu, what do you think then?"

"In the entire Great Qian, I fear there is no one more suited to answer this question than you, the Prime Minister."

"Will you choose your own poetry and distant places, the clear breeze and bright moon, freedom and ease, or will you choose the vast lands of Great Qian and its common people?"

Zhuge Jinyu's delicate body trembled, and she dared not meet his gaze.

Her poetry and distant places...?

To lay down the heavy burden of being Prime Minister and seek a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters.

To be with Sir from dawn until dusk, listening to him tell those bizarre and fantastic stories of the Blue Star.

To enjoy the spring flowers and autumn moon with him, and never again have to worry about court disputes or the fires of war at the borders?

If it were like that, perhaps she could live a few more days.

This thought was extremely tempting; once it came to mind, it could not be shaken off.

It made the very tip of her heart tremble.

If she could accompany Sir, even simple meals would be years of poetry and wine.

But...

She could not possibly let go of Great Qian.

Not to mention the dying wishes of her sister, brother, and father, nor the responsibility of the Zhuge Family to serve as Prime Ministers for generations.

She had traveled to so many places, seen so much suffering, and she could no longer sever her ties with Great Qian.

Furthermore...

There was also Sir.

Sir must also hope for her to become a wise Prime Minister of Great Qian, rather than an ordinary person.

Thinking of this, she did not look at Su Chen.

She only replied in a voice that was extremely soft, yet exceptionally firm and clear, as if it could be carved into stone.

"Sir, this time, Jinyu will choose the peace and prosperity of the nation."

Su Chen nodded quietly.

He did not ask what "this time" meant, nor did he ask if there would be a next time.

It was just like a conversation between a man and a cicada from a long, long time ago.

The man said if they were to meet again today, they would have to wait until next year.

The cicada said if they were to reunite, they would have to wait until the next life.

It was just that no one knew whether they were the cicada or the man.

He gave a soft "Mm," his voice sounding somewhat muffled through the veil.

"Then... continue walking forward."

...

The two continued to move forward.

At the end of the snack street was a neighborhood.

The roads were clean and tidy, and the buildings were orderly.

The snack street was the property of the commoners from the original slum, and this place was their residence.

The Zhuge Family had provided the funds to buy this entire neighborhood.

And the peddlers operating businesses here only needed to pay a certain amount of rent to use the stalls and rent the houses here.

This was a business concept that Su Chen had brought from the Blue Star.

Without a doubt, this was still too advanced for the "ancients" of the fantasy world.

Standing in front of the neighborhood were several servants of the Zhuge Family.

There were also quite a few onlookers discussing it heatedly.

"Hey, this new neighborhood is really nice. Why can't I live here..."

"Don't pretend. I still remember that this time last year, you were calling everyone who lived in this area beggars!"

"I have to say, our new Prime Minister, even though she is young and a little girl, really has impressive methods to be able to renovate this area into what it is now..."

"You don't say, the current Emperor and the Ministers of the Six Ministries are all here. It is said that the Prime Minister and that mysterious State Preceptor will also..."

Seeing Su Chen and his companion appear, several servants of the Zhuge Family went to greet them.

"You..."

Su Chen felt both angry and amused.

The young girl had really learned to be bad; she had started using all sorts of ways to set traps for her Sir.

"You even gave me the title of State Preceptor. Tell me, do I look like one of those babbling charlatans?"

"Sir, don't be angry. You naturally don't look like one."

Zhuge Jinyu's fox-like eyes curved into crescents. Su Chen felt his anger drain away, and he had no choice but to let it go.

The two walked into the neighborhood.

Soon, a group of people wearing flying-fish uniforms appeared.

They surrounded the two in the middle.

"You even called out the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You, this little Prime Minister, really have quite the official authority."

"Not at all, not at all. His Majesty is also inside; they are mainly here to protect him..."

The young girl rubbed her nose.

But Su Chen was not a fool.

What did she mean by saying the little Emperor sitting on the side was only protected by a few Embroidered Uniform Guard experts, while everyone else was crowded around the Prime Minister and the State Preceptor?

Never mind the Embroidered Uniform Guard, almost all the civil and military officials whose names one could mention were crowded around the two of them.

It was fortunate that Liu Dou was a silly child.

If it were a more shrewd emperor, this kind of display by Zhuge Jinyu would be like the rebirth of the Nine-Thousand-Year-Old.

It would be enough to lose one's head.

"Greetings to the Emperor, greetings to the Prime Minister, greetings to the State Preceptor!"

The commoners in the neighborhood also knelt down along with the civil and military officials.

Su Chen could tell that while there might be a few among the civil and military officials who were insincere, the eyes of the commoners in the neighborhood were filled with gratitude and respect.

After all, without Zhuge Jinyu, they would still be sleeping in dark corners that never saw the sun.

"Rise."

Zhuge Jinyu lifted her hand slightly, and both Liu Dou and Su Chen followed her up onto the high platform.

Only then did Su Chen realize that today was the inauguration ceremony for this neighborhood.

The ceremony was slightly tedious; Zhuge Jinyu read from a pre-written manuscript, while the commoners and the civil and military officials shouted "Long live," which went without saying.

Until the end.

Huang Ying sang out loudly.

"Next, I invite the Emperor and the Prime Minister to inscribe the name for the new neighborhood!"

Zhuge Jinyu took the ink brush without hesitation. Without much thought, she moved the brush with the grace of a dragon and snake, inscribing characters on the plaque.

"Jinchen Neighborhood."

She finished, smiled, and looked at Su Chen.

"The capital of our Great Qian is already nicknamed Jinguan City. Naming this place Jinchen happens to echo that Jinyu perfectly."

Immediately after, the audience below and the civil and military officials erupted into deafening cheers.

In any case, they did not know the true meaning of this name.

It was merely that whatever Zhuge Jinyu said, they listened to.

As soon as she finished speaking, the Young Prime Minister had already leaned in close to Su Chen, smiling brightly.

"Sir~"

"What do you think of this name?"

Su Chen frowned.

"It's passable."

The young girl felt a bit disappointed at these words, and her head drooped.

"Really, Sir? This was the final surprise I prepared for you before I leave for the southern expedition. Does Sir actually not like it?"

But before she could be disappointed for more than a few seconds, a pair of semi-ethereal hands gently lifted her drooping white hair.

"Xiao Yu was raised by Sir. Even if the name is just passable, Sir naturally likes it."

Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but laugh through her tears.

"Sir is terrible. You have to play deadpan humor with me at a time like this!"

The two were interacting like this on the stage, but the crowd below had already exploded into a frenzy.

"Is this... is this really the Prime Minister?"

"It is hard to imagine this is the same Prime Minister Zhuge who just finished suppressing the rebellion in the east..."

Who was Zhuge Jinyu?

Since she entered the political arena in Great Qian, she had always presented herself as an iron-blooded Female Prime Minister.

Not to mention seeing her in a maidenly state, even seeing her with a smile on her face was something the civil and military officials rarely witnessed.

But now, Prime Minister Zhuge was actually "flirting" with that newly appointed mysterious State Preceptor.

This undoubtedly caused many people's jaws to drop.

There were even quite a few young masters who regarded Zhuge Jinyu as their dream lover who looked on in shock.

However, even so, not a single person harbored any hostility toward Su Chen because of these personal matters.

Because, under the tireless multi-channel propaganda of Zhuge Jinyu and Huang Ying, all of Great Qian's current domestic reform measures had been attributed to Su Chen.

He, this "State Preceptor," had already become an existence like a god in the hearts of the common people of Great Qian.

"Since that's the case... Xiao Yu, I also have a surprise for you."

This "surprise" was something he had told Huang Ying about privately, and Su Chen hoped she had not forgotten.

Sure enough, Huang Ying nodded and walked in front, signaling that she would lead the way.

Su Chen, accompanied by the curious Zhuge Jinyu and Liu Dou, followed behind.

Behind them were the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the civil and military officials, acting like tag-alongs.

They were also very curious about what the "surprise" Su Chen mentioned was.

Under the leadership of Huang Ying, everyone stopped in front of a tall building that rose high in the neighborhood.

Amidst many small, low houses, it stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens.

Faintly, one could hear the sounds of children's laughter and singing.

"Sir... is this building the surprise you told me about?"

Zhuge Jinyu looked left and right, but could not see anything unusual about this building.

"Yes, Prime Minister Zhuge."

"Prime Minister Zhuge, do you like children?"