A single day.
That was all the time that Chen Yuqiu was given—for that was the amount of time it took for Bujian Yue to return from the Lingchen Star Realm.
That being said, it was natural for Chen Yuqiu and the palace officials to not have any time to settle all matters.
After all, other than informing the entirety of Planet Hong Xiao, they also had to inform all the parties within the star region—that the empire's emperor had changed.
Throughout the course of this incident, there were a few individuals who had been foolish enough to object, and much like what Bujian Yue had said that day, all who dared to rebel were sacrificed to his blood sword.
Overall, the process of informing the various parties, and having them swear fealty went smoothly soon after a few rebellions were put down.
However, even before anyone was able to get through half of their entire workload, representatives from the Lingchen Star Realm had visited—informing Chen Yuqiu and the people beneath her, that they would be ready to merge their star region into the Hong Xiao Star Realm in a month's time.
During the detail exchanging process, the events that transpired in the Lingchen Star Realm were told to all parties present, and were later spread to the general populace.
In the end, dealing with the various matters took Chen Yuqiu and the palace officials a bit more than a year.
...…
The day after the end of having to deal with official government duties, Chen Yuqiu arrives outside of Bujian Yue's residence.
Despite having become emperor, Bujian Yue hadn't bothered to move into the emperor's courtyard, and has chosen to stay in his original residence.
"…"
Stepping into Bujian Yue's courtyard, and approaching the former's room, Chen Yuqiu raises her hand to knock, but—
"Enter."
"…"
Opening the door, Chen Yuqiu sees Bujian Yue seated at the table, and towards the former, the latter gestures at the stool, and says—
"Sit."
"…"
As Bujian Yue sips on a cup of tea, while Chen Yuqiu takes a seat, silence looms between them.
Judging by the thick layer of makeup beneath Chen Yuqiu's eyes, she's clearly trying to hide some dark bags.
"…"
Twitching an eyebrow, Chen Yuqiu didn't know how to open her mouth.
Throughout this entire time, Chen Yuqiu had made several attempts to get Bujian Yue to deal with his royal duties. However, the latter had never responded, and simply left all the important decision-making matters to her.
Eventually, Bujian Yue sets his cup down, and asks—
"Do you know why I made you imperial chancellor?"
"…Can I be honest?"
"Of course."
"To torture me?"
Smiling subtly, Bujian Yue refills his cup, along with another.
Sliding the second cup over, Bujian Yue says—
"I take it that you don't enjoy being the second most powerful figure in this star region then?"
"Having to deal with such a nonsensical amount of paper work for over a year, along with having to deal with various old foxes, who the hell would?"
Disregarding her dignity as imperial chancellor and Bujian Yue's strength as emperor, Chen Yuqiu goes on a rant, as she complains about the matters that she's had to deal with in recent times.
"Because of all that nonsense, I haven't been able to sleep without getting drunk on wine! Do you understand how difficult it is to find wine that I can get drunk on?! Making matters worse, I've found several strands of white hair on my head due to accumulated stress!"
Allowing Chen Yuqiu to get everything off her chest, Bujian Yue waits for the former to finish, prior to remarking—
"I figured that you'd be able to perform this role well. Besides, over the course of working as imperial chancellor, you've established a great deal of karma with this entire star region. As a result of this, hasn't it become easier for you to draw in the natural energies of Heaven and Earth as of late?"
"…"
Unable to refute this, Chen Yuqiu narrows her red eyes, and asks—
"Any intend on performing an official coronation?"
"So long as the people are aware that there is an emperor, why bother?"
"…I figured as much."
Saying this, Chen Yuqiu picks up the cup, and takes a sip.
Momentarily, she asks—
"The other members of the imperial household, what happens to them going forward?"
"Exile them, give them a governing role—doesn't really matter, do as you see fit."
"…It's as if you-?"
"I have no intention to stay as emperor for long."
"Why?"
With how vast the entirety of the Hong Xiao Star Realm is at this time, being able to sit on its throne, it's a position that many would covet.
However, since all those within the imperial palace know that Bujian Yue is the Imprisoning Heaven—the origin of this star region, none of them had the courage to challenge his authority.
Taking a sip of tea, Bujian Yue replies—
"The moment you're strong enough to uphold the position of emperor, I will abdicate the throne to you."
"…?!"
Widening her eyes, Chen Yuqiu chokes on her tea, and begins to cough.
Waiting for Chen Yuqiu to cease coughing, Bujian Yue tosses a handkerchief at her.
Catching the handkerchief, Chen Yuqiu wipes her face clean, and remarks—
"It feels so stupid looking back at all those idiots competing over the throne."
Chuckling lightly, Bujian Yue says—
"Wealth, status, power, all are just as worthless in death. This life…"
Raising a heavy sigh, Bujian Yue pauses, before continuing to say—
"This life is but one of my many stops on this journey through reincarnation."
"Reincarnation?"
"In one life, I saved a world. In another, I created a sea of blood beneath my feet. I think it was the 768th reincarnation, where I lived out the life of an Imprisoning Heaven, thus creating this star region, where I am currently living in as Bujian Yue."
"…"
Smiling subtly, Bujian Yue remarks—
"I've yet to finish my journey, and I'm still far from reaching my goal, so I won't stop here."
"…"
Confusion is rather evident on Chen Yuqiu's face—towards the words that Bujian Yue had said. However, assuming that Bujian Yue had been speaking the truth, then it makes sense for him to abdicate his throne to her in the future—for possessing the role of emperor would only serve to hinder his journey.
Paying no heed to Chen Yuqiu's confusion, Bujian Yue remarks—
"Compared to all the lives that I've lived through, this one in particular is probably one of the lonelier ones. Still, I suppose that makes it all the easier to discard it near the end."
"…Going through all those reincarnations, how are you able to maintain your sanity?"
"The easiest way is to erase the memories of my past lives—leaving only the necessary details behind. Occasionally—like this life, I would recall the memories of my first life. When that happens, I tend to carve out a History."
"History?"
"Memories of the vast heavens. Each star region possesses its own History—contained within the star region's own River of Time."
"What purpose is there to carve out a History?"
Taking a sip of tea, Bujian Yue answers—
"It's an absolute rule—that the older and more ancient something is, the more powerful that they become. If the star region themselves are capable of possessing History, what's there to say that the carvers—the main characters of these Histories, cannot gain some special benefits when they've carved enough History out?"
"…I don't really understand."
Shrugging a shoulder, Bujian Yue speaks no further of this topic, and instead asks—
"As the second most powerful figure in this star region, you're feel to pursue genuine love now, so any plans?"
"…"
Twitching an eye, Chen Yuqiu replies—
"Being the second most powerful means that my standards are high, and at this point… Most people won't even dare to approach me with that sort of intent…"
"Well, you've got plenty of time."
"Most of that time will be spent on work…"
"You could just change the system of government into something that is less reliant on a single decision-maker—once you've ascended to the throne."
Raising an odd chuckle, Chen Yuqiu remarks—
"And let the ambition-filled dogs slowly wrestle away my control over them, and watch as they do something stupid that would end up destroying the entire star region?"
"Quite specific."
Drawing in a deep breath, Chen Yuqiu says—
"If there's something that I've learned in recent times, it's to never underestimated people's stupidity and their ignorance. The former emperor and the Lingchen Emperor, they were playing with fire—without knowing that there was a puddle of oil right beneath their feet."
"Trying to prevent others from making a world-ending mistake, that would only tire you out in the long run. You'd be better off packing your belongings, and absconding before the fire hits the oil puddle."
"…"
Raising a frown, but seeing the logic in these words, Chen Yuqiu replies—
"…I'll keep that in mind."