The world is broken, the cubs mend it

In the eighteenth year of Yuanyuan's reign, the Yuan Dynasty enjoyed peace and prosperity.

The people live and work in peace and contentment, and the scene is thriving.

Even in ancient times, she could not escape the fate of being urged to get married, and the ministers were busy planning to build a harem for her.

Portraits were sent to the palace like water every day, and the ministers were eager to send their own sons into the palace to be queens.

"This one is nice, with big eyes that look watery, how attractive is it?"

"This one is also good. The neckline in the portrait is so wide open. It looks like a playful one."

"Oh my! This won't work. A mole on the face will bring bad luck to your wife. You have to eliminate her immediately."

"..."

Yuanyuan looked through the portraits on the table in annoyance, listening to 007's nagging voice in her head, which made her already bad mood even worse.

"I don't like any of them. Take all these portraits and burn them for me."

She was so busy dealing with state affairs every day that she had no energy to waste on the harem.

"There is no conflict between pursuing a career and opening a harem. You are the emperor, not a monk."

007 sighed and thought she was unromantic. He didn't even know how many batches of portraits had been burned.

"Shut up..."

Yuanyuan rubbed her forehead with her slender jade-like fingers. Every time the topic of selecting a concubine was mentioned, she became more excited than the court officials.

The current eunuch in charge of the seal is Wu Xian. He took her order, took the portrait out and burned it completely with fire.

But just as he was walking back and forth, he met the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice who was on duty. The minister stuffed a portrait into his arms and told him to be sure to show it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, this is what the Minister of Justice just forced upon me."

He carefully unfolded the portrait and placed it on the desk, with a small note tucked inside.

"Isn't this the person painted in the picture?"

Yuanyuan unfolded the portrait and took a glance at it, then picked up the small note inside and took a look at it. She then stood there in a daze as if she had been struck by lightning.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was good-looking, but he was a dozen years older than her. He divorced his ex-wife two years ago and has not remarried since.

The note said that she wanted to enter the palace to be his concubine. He knew that he was not worthy of being the queen since he had already married once, so he volunteered to be an ordinary concubine.

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?"

Wu Xian saw that she looked unhappy and asked cautiously.

"..." Yuanyuan took a deep breath and crumpled the portrait into a ball. "Now, before he goes far, tell him not to have any more delusions, or I will punish him severely."

The empress's words were golden, and the ministers were most afraid of hearing the word "severe punishment" from her, because that meant a real beating.

Sure enough, when the Minister of Justice heard this, he ran away in fear.

Looking at the remaining memorials on the table, Yuanyuan picked out some important ones for review and handed the rest over to the Imperial Household Department for processing.

Now her bedroom has been moved to Zhaohua Palace, and it takes some walking distance to get to Wangyue Tower.

After finishing her daily government affairs, she loved to walk slowly to Wangyue Tower to have lunch with her father, and occasionally put on casual clothes and go out of the palace with her father to play.

Pei Zhiyan was wearing a white robe and watering the flowers in the yard with a watering can in his hand.

Seeing the child rushing in, he put down the things in his hands and smiled at her.

"What happened today? You are so angry."

"..."

Yuanyuan sat on the stone bench in the yard and told everyone about today's selection of the concubine and the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice's recommendation for her bed.

"If you don't want to choose a concubine, then pick a suitable child and raise him by your side in the future. This will also shut up those people."

It is the emperor's duty to produce royal heirs. If she is unwilling to open a harem, she will inevitably have to engage in verbal battles with court officials for several years.

"Daddy, don't you ask me why I don't want to be chosen as a concubine?"

Yuanyuan understands that she does not belong to this world, and the only thing that keeps her here is the bond with her father.

Besides, she didn't want to have any more affairs with unnecessary people.

"If you don't want to, then you don't want to. There's no need to ask why."

Pei Zhiyan never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do. If she wanted to tell him something, she would tell him. If she didn't want to say it, she had her reasons for not wanting to say it.

"Dad, what delicious food did you prepare for lunch? I'm starving!"

Yuanyuan smiled happily at him, and her eyes lit up instantly when she talked about food.

"As usual, all your favorites."

Since Pei Zhiyan stopped participating in government affairs, he has had more free time every day, and occasionally he would study and prepare some delicious food for his children.

"Dad always says this, but he never tells me what dishes he is cooking."

Yuanyuan stood up and ran quickly to the small kitchen, sticking half of her head in to see what was going on inside.

There are spareribs steaming in the pot. When you open the lid, the aroma will waft into the air, making you drool.

"Be careful, it's hot, why are you still acting like a child?"

Pei Zhiyan saw her pick up the ribs and stuff them directly into her mouth, and couldn't help but worry that she would burn her mouth.

"No matter how old I am, I am always Daddy's child."

Yuanyuan was eating the soft, salty and fragrant spare ribs in her mouth, and asked her old father to give her two more pancakes. The pancakes would only taste good if they were full of soup.

"..."

Pei Zhiyan saw that she was almost as tall as himself, shook his head helplessly, and put two pancakes in the pot as she requested.

"Daddy, let's make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tomorrow."

Yuanyuan ate from the bowl and did not forget to prepare food for herself the next day.

"Do you really think I'm a cook in the imperial kitchen?"

Pei Zhiyan sounded very unhappy, but as long as it was his daughter's request, he would try his best to satisfy it.

"How can the chefs in the imperial kitchen compare to my father? The food my father cooks is the best in the world."

As an emperor, Yuanyuan has many restrictions on him. He is not allowed to take the same dish too many times when eating.

Unlike at her father's place, she can eat whatever she wants and do whatever she wants, and no one watches her every word and action.

Only when she is with her father is she the freest and happiest child.

"Smooth talk all day long..."

Pei Zhiyan couldn't hide the smile in his lowered eyes, and it was obvious that these words were very useful to him.

The child protected him just as he had said, and used his little shoulders to support him for the rest of his life.

The previous dynasty was full of troubles and disputes, so he could only do his best to make his children happier and give them a little space to relax when they were tired.

Yuanyuan just wanted her old father to stay with her safely. Although she felt tired of the government affairs, she actually enjoyed it.

She can not only control her own destiny, but also change the destiny of people all over the world. This is the greatest significance of her daily hard work.