Preparing to follow the Star Beasts to find Blue Star required extensive preparation, and every day was filled with pressure.

Returning to the empire, relieved of the heavy burden, Shi Xing felt completely relaxed, much like on the mothership.

Back at the empire, he began dealing with the backlog of work that had accumulated over the past three months.

Neither Shi Xing nor Chi Yao felt particularly rushed to clear everything out in a short time. Backlogged tasks and urgent matters were laid out on their desks daily. On productive days, they could work late into the night. On days when motivation was low, they'd push a few items to tomorrow or help each other handle some tasks, which was a common occurrence.

Shi Xing found his days were well-organized and not monotonous, and felt relaxed.

So, by the time the backlog of official duties was finally cleared, another month had flown by.

Then, in accordance with postwar regulations, the two began their official leave.

It's impossible not to handle official business every day, but the amount of official business is small. Only the major ones are placed on their desks, while the rest are handled by Bi Zhou, the Clerk's Office, the Presbyterian Council, and the Senate.

Oh right, during the three months they were away from the empire, Bi Zhou completely took on the responsibility of the empire's internal affairs.

Chi Yao reviewed all of Bi Zhou's official documents, and the two agreed that as Bi Zhou was about to come of age, they could gradually assign him internal affairs documents. In other words, they were formally delegating the power and responsibility that belonged exclusively to him as a direct descendant of the royal family.

Chi Yao and Shi Xing both thought it was a good thing.

Bi Zhou, who had been struggling with domestic affairs for three months, felt a wave of dizziness upon hearing the decision.

Chi Yao: "It's only a matter of time."

Bi Zhou looked distressed. "Can't you just wait until I'm an adult?"

Chi Yao: "There are fewer direct descendants of the royal family now, so you'll have to get used to it."

The meaning is clear—no.

Bi Zhou left carrying his official documents for the day.

After discussing the important documents with Shi Xing, Chi Yao packed up and went out to have some fun.

The empire was vast. The capital city is no small place either.

In both his previous and current lives, Shi Xing had never fully explored all the famous tourist attractions in the capital and the empire.

Finally having some free time, and with Shi Xing having passed through the maturation period and Chi Yao's mental sea fully recovered, the two of them no longer needed to bring any extra officers. Just the two of them ensured their safety while also maintaining the privacy of their date.

The first few times, Fei Chu also wanted to go and play, so he followed along.

After two such encounters, he felt his face was glowing brightly between the two of them, so he stopped accompanying them.

Shi Xing extended the invitation twice more, but Chi Yao stopped him the third time, saying, "Forget it, maybe he doesn't like this kind of atmosphere with fewer people. Don't force him."

They always have something to say, and it's not good to leave Fei Chu hanging.

Shi Xing understood the implication and stopped pressing the matter.

“Have fun~”

As they left their dormitory, Fei Chu, lying on the sofa playing video games, waved goodbye.

Chi Yao: "Why don't you go home too?"

They were given a holiday, and all their entourage were given a holiday as well.

Fu Qing went home, Chang Yue went home, Xu Jin went to visit an old friend, Er Ya did not belong to the Empire, and returned to her own planet after only two days in the palace. These days she is preparing to go to the original star field of Blue Star. She will contact Shi Xing every now and then, so they are aware of Er Ya's movements.

Fei Chu was on high alert. "No, cousin, my dear cousin, please don't try to persuade me to go back."

"My family is going crazy trying to set me up on blind dates. Just for the sake of my fighting star beast with you, let me have a couple of days of peace."

Chi Yao chuckled lightly, ignored Fei Chu, and left with Shi Xing.

Today they planned to try two restaurants and then check out the bustling night market in western Beijing.

After visiting all the tourist attractions in the capital, Shi Xing thought they’d had enough, but Chi Yao led them further out.

Still traveling alone, piloting a small mothership converted into a spacecraft (to avoid drawing too much attention), the journey stretched on for half a month.

Shi Xing saw many scenes that only appeared on the StarNet.

The sky above the pink sea was ablaze with the colors of sunset, and in the distance, the sea and sky blended into one.

There were sea creatures, existing only in the Empire, possessing intelligence and capable of interacting with children, their enormous size terrifying nonetheless.

In the desert, the Night Tree, curled up to knee-high during the day, would unfurl with the desert winds at night, its canopy enormous, its leaves sprouting and growing rapidly. Near sunrise, it would bloom, the flowers resembling the tree’s shape, withering at sunrise, the blossoms falling with the wind. Each flower had the potential to become another Night Tree.

With Chi Yao's approval, Shi Xing collected a flower and put it in a glass jar.

The unique ecosystem of the rainforest is rare, in which all animals possess spiritual power and beast cores.

There's also a city on the other side of the capital, currently in the height of summer.

The surrounding rural areas have well-developed farmland, with fully mechanized farming and sowing. Farmers only need to assist the machines and check the fields daily.

They ate freshly picked crystal fruits and crystal rice, chatted with the curious children in the temporary wooden house, and lay on the lawn at night watching fireflies dance across the sky, their colorful lights like rainbow dots...

They also went to the North, stayed at Marshal Tan's house for a day, greeted old friends, and another day the two of them built an igloo and spent the night under the aurora.

The last stop on the return journey was the treehouse.

Er Ya had already returned before leaving the empire.

Shi Xing hasn’t ye,

The mother tree smelled the scent of its kind on Shi Xing and was very happy. Chi Yao's childhood gardening skills finally came in handy. At the mother tree's suggestion, he pruned the mother tree into a very... retro style.

The tree crown looks like a ball.

The mother tree and Chi Yao had disagreements along the way. Chi Yao wanted to prune according to the most popular method found online, but the mother tree would stop him from pruning some branches. So, one wanted to prune, and the other would stop him from time to time. As a result, the final effect... Shi Xing felt that it was probably not what either Chi Yao or the mother tree originally wanted.

But the mother tree was still very happy.

The two stayed in the tree nest for a few days. After returning to the palace, they had to resume work, so Chi Yao decided to tidy up the things in the tree nest first.

In the past two days, Shi Xing also received the elders' new plan regarding the wedding.

Actually, preparations had been made earlier, but they couldn't be put to use.

Because the preparations were based on the premise that Shi Xing was a senior medical practitioner, this included the pre-wedding publicity, the wedding ceremony itself, and the arrangement of wedding elements.

However, Shi Xing's growth has been too rapid. If things proceed according to the original plan prepared by the Elders Council, it would be inconsistent with Shi Xing's current standing and the information previously made public.

Therefore, from the moment they returned to the capital, the elders overturned all the original plans for the wedding and began planning from scratch.

During their trip, Ren Yanyong frequently messaged the couple, asking for their suggestions and inquiring about their wedding preferences. After much effort, they finally came up with a plan.

"Your Highness, if you and His Majesty approve, you can start making arrangements as soon as you return to the capital, and it can be completed in a month."

"The elders are planning the honeymoon trip after the wedding. If the wedding is finalized, we will work harder on the travel plans."

At some point, Ren Yanyong started calling Shi Xing by omitting the first character of ;"Little Prince".

Of course, it wasn't just Ren Yanyong who did this; it seemed contagious, as all his subordinates had recently changed their way of addressing him.

Shi Xing replied to Ren Yanyong that he had received the document, opened the file, but did not turn on the projected content for a long time.

The sunlight flickered before his eyes, and Shi Xing realized something, so he looked outside.

Outside the window, one can see the branches of the mother tree.

After checking the work done at the tree nest today, Chi Yao received Ren Yanyong's plan. Chi Yao found Shi Xing in the tree garden.

It seemed like he hadn't been there long. Shi Xing neither spoke nor approached; he simply stood there, gazing silently in the direction of the mother tree, lost in thought.

Upon seeing Chi Yao's arrival, Chi Yao finished discussing the tree nest with Shi Xing and then brought up the Elders' wedding plan. Just as he mentioned it, Chi Yao looked up and found that Shi Xing was lost in thought.

The gaze passed through him and looked behind him.

Suddenly realizing something, Chi Yao softly called out to Shi Xing.

Shi Xing snapped out of his reverie, smiled sheepishly, and said with his head down, "I was just thinking that the intergalactic conference about the return of Blue Star is about to begin."

Yes, it was decided a long time ago. After each planet has sorted out its internal affairs, they agreed to hold a meeting next week.

A specific plan will be presented at that time.

After thinking for a moment, Chi Yao said softly, "There's no rush for the wedding. We can discuss anything you're thinking of."

Shi Xing was taken aback. He looked up and saw the clarity and understanding in Chi Yao's eyes, and couldn't help but smile.

He laughed at himself for not being able to hide anything from Chi Yao, as it was easy for him to figure her out.

Fortunately, Shi Xing didn't intend to hide it.

After hesitating for a moment, Shi Xing looked up, his gaze becoming much more determined. "Your Highness, I want to finish dealing with Blue Star before holding the wedding."

This suggestion is actually a bit presumptuous.

Because of his race, and in order to protect the law, the wedding has been postponed for almost two years.

Having finally dealt with the Star Beasts, the Elders Council actively made preparations, and the public was discussing it extensively. When people saw it on the StarNet, most were looking forward to it.

But he...

Looking at the mother tree again, Shi Xing gave an apologetic smile. "Isn't this request rather impolite?"

Chi Yao: "Want the truth?"

Shi Xing nodded.

"A little."

Over the past month, Chi Yao has carefully read everything Ren Yanyong sent him and offered suggestions.

Although he didn't show it on his face, he definitely had expectations in his heart.

Shi Xing lowered his head.

Chi Yao stepped forward. "But I can understand."

A slender finger was extended towards Shi Xing, who hesitated for a moment before reaching out to grasp it.

The dry body temperature interaction brings warmth in winter.

During their eye contact, Shi Xing could see the tenderness and understanding in Chi Yao's eyes.

Chi Yao: "Let's do it this way."

Shi Xing was stunned again, then stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Before Shi Xing could say anything, Chi Yao casually raised his hand and tapped his partner on the forehead, making Shi Xing cover his head for the first time in a long time. He laughed helplessly, "A wedding can only be successful if both people are willing, right? One is focused, and the other has other things on their mind. What kind of mess is this!"

"Your Highness..."

"Am I wrong?"

Shi Xing choked, then quickly changed the subject, feigning weakness, "You hit so hard..."

"No, take your hand away, it's definitely not red."

Shi Xing feigned innocence, saying, "I feel pain."

Chi Yao took it seriously and immediately became earnest. "Take your hand away, let me see."

Shi Xing: "..."

Chi Yao insisted on seeing, but Shi Xing, not wanting to give himself away, began to hide.

After a while of fooling around, his hands were finally pried open. The spot where he was hit wasn't red, but the skin around it, which Shi Xing had been pressing down on because of the pulling, turned red.

There's a price to pay for cheating, and Chi Yao tapped Shi Xing again.

This time, he didn't hold back, and the sound of his knocking brought tears to Shi Xing's eyes.

"Little liar," Chi Yao gritted his teeth.