170: White pole, lying board

"Everything in the Netherworld will offer its loyalty to Your Majesty. But we are not unfeeling things. In the beginning, Your Majesty indeed had many weaknesses and was far from the ideal sovereign in my heart."

"But the 'Shang Wan Ning' who fumbled her way forward is like a brilliant star in the night sky, making me deep~ly fascinated."

"No, it's not just me alone, but all of us!"

"Whether it's sincerity or pretense, for Yin Gods like us who have been tempered by hundreds or even thousands of years, could we really not distinguish the truth from the false?"

As she spoke, Ling Qi extended her finger and poked the exquisite collarbone of the woman in front of her—wanting to use this slight touch to gain insight into the other's deepest thoughts.

Shang Wan Ning stood there quietly listening, an indescribable and complex look quickly flashing through her beautiful eyes.

"Qi Qi, do you truly feel that by now, I have already possessed the ability and aptitude to become a qualified emperor?" she asked in a slow and slightly hesitant tone, her gaze locked onto the Secretary-General's pupils.

Hearing this, Ling Qi blinked her eyes. Then she hooked her hands around Shang Wan Ning's slender neck and began to act spoiled and coquettish.

"The Great Dao is heartless and treats all things as straw dogs—the seat the Empress occupies is also a bone-chilling path of kingship."

"If the deity sitting in that position does not have a temperament more cold and ruthless than 'it' itself, how can they sit upon it steadily?"

"Actually, I... I have my own selfish motives, and I once deeply loathed myself because of them," Ling Qi paused slightly before continuing.

"I both long for you to become such a supreme existence, yet at the same time, I do not wish to see you turn into that."

Shang Wan Ning raised her hand and gently stroked Ling Qi's cheek, saying earnestly, "As long as one is human, as long as one harbors selfish thoughts in their heart, then bias and error will inevitably occur when viewing things and making judgments. Even for the high and mighty deities, it is the same."

Ling Qi smiled slightly. "Subordinate was merely stating the facts, Your Majesty."

"And... these are also my true feelings."

Shang Wan Ning pulled Ling Qi into a tight embrace. "Regardless, thank you all, Qi Qi!"

[Hmph! I'm just being a bit sentimental occasionally, just a little bit.]

[Who doesn't have times when they're feeling down!!!]

...[It's all over, three whole days have passed. Why does Chief Assistant Lin still look like she's eaten undercooked Jianshouqing? Her face is full of baffling expressions.]

The White-Haired Loli widened her eyes, staring unblinkingly at Chief Assistant Lin, who was fully immersed in performing a hallucinatory plot... Lin Ran held her face in her hands, blinking her large, watery eyes, and said with an adorable expression, "Your Majesty, would you like to sleep together tonight?" Her voice was so sweet it could drip honey.

Hearing this, Shang Wan Ning quickly responded, "I can!"

When Lin Ran heard that Her Majesty had actually agreed to her request, her heart immediately blossomed with joy, her excitement beyond words.

After all, after experiencing the 'lying on a plank' incident, being fortunate enough to sleep with Her Majesty was simply the most enjoyable thing in the world for her.

However, as the saying goes, the ideal is plump, but reality is skinny.

When Lin Ran lay on a soft and comfortable Simmons mattress with a heart full of joy, she tragically discovered that between her and Her Majesty, there was actually a Secretary-General lying across!

Ling Qi was like an insurmountable chasm, forcefully separating the two of them.

Looking at Shang Wan Ning across from her, Chief Assistant Lin felt like crying without tears, grumbling in her heart, "Why is it like this? We clearly agreed to sleep together, but a Secretary-General had to butt in and sleep in the middle!"

Despite being extremely reluctant, things had come to this, and Lin Ran could only helplessly accept this cruel reality.

However, she wouldn't give up so easily. She began to act spoiled toward Shang Wan Ning in a coy voice, while also cautiously extending a straight, beautiful leg, trying to tentatively reach toward Shang Wan Ning on the other side... Although Lin Ran, who was currently drunk, wasn't particularly outstanding in other areas, her ability in the field of charm was maxed out.

Looking outside the blanket, there were no common black silk or lace nightgowns as decoration.

Only a long, moist, and well-proportioned leg was exposed without any cover. The skin was fine and smooth, delicate and jade-like, as if carved from the finest mutton-fat white jade.

Looking further up, her charming and moving face made it even harder to look away.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her clear eyes seemed to be filled with the shimmering waters of autumn, full of charm. Combined with the faint, lingering aura of decadence... the occasional glimpse of her chest revealed a snow-white scenery that made one's heart race.

At this time, Lin Ran's foot had already quietly pressed against Shang Wan Ning's body.

"If you continue to behave so recklessly, you will sleep in the hallway tonight," Shang Wan Ning said, her face as calm as deep water and her heart as still as a lake.

"Yes~"

Lin Ran responded somewhat dejectedly.

Then, she slowly withdrew her leg. She felt secretly annoyed in her heart—how could her exquisite charm techniques fail once again in front of Her Majesty?

[As expected of 'Her,' she really isn't someone who can be easily conquered.]

[Sob, sob, sob, I really want to be able to snuggle close with Her Majesty!]

Although Lin Ran was full of resentment, she could only lie obediently to the side.

Before long, the sound of steady breathing could be heard; she had already fallen into a deep sleep... Ling Xi watched Chief Assistant Lin finish her performance of 'hallucinations appearing after being drunk,' her brows furrowed.

She keenly sensed that the drunkenness emanating from Chief Assistant Lin was becoming increasingly intense, and she seemed to have deeply immersed herself in the hallucinations, unable to extricate herself.

Seeing this, the White-Haired Loli couldn't help but extend her index finger, poked Ling Xi's shoulder, and whispered, "Oh dear, this is just great! Looking at her like this, I'm afraid her condition is getting more and more serious."

Then, she showed a look of worry and said anxiously, "What should we do? If she continues to be drunk like this, I'm afraid I'll really get a severe beating from Her Majesty!"

Ling Xi rolled her eyes in annoyance and explained helplessly, "Hmph, the Wangchuan Brew has no benefits for living people; it easily makes one fall into a drunken stupor or sink into hallucinations."

"For someone like you, being a Yin God, even if you drink a lot, you'll at most sleep for a few hours."

Pausing, Ling Xi's tone became increasingly serious: "Ran'er, for Chief Assistant Lin, the situation is entirely different."

"To her, this Wangchuan Brew is just like undercooked Jianshouqing, Gushu Mushrooms, or Naijiang Mushrooms among wild fungi... extremely dangerous."

"If she drinks too much, it's highly possible she'll turn into an idiot!"