With the return of Blue Star and support from various planets in place, and the Empire having finished its duties and extraneous tasks, Chi Yao and Shi Xing's wedding was officially put on the agenda and treated with great seriousness.

  "Um?"

Chi Yao raised his eyebrows, signaling Ren Yanyong to repeat himself.

Clearing his throat, the old chairman adjusted his gold-rimmed reading glasses (which he had recently gotten specially), and repeated, "The new residence has been completed, and all the test indicators have met the living standards. All preparations for the wedding are now complete, and we are just waiting for the date to hold the ceremony. Although His Majesty and His Highness married early, they have never held a ceremony before. Therefore, according to tradition, you will separate for half a month before the wedding and meet again after the ceremony to move into the new residence."

Ren Yanyong smiled broadly.

Chi Yao's smile crumbled slightly without him noticing.

However, Ren Yanyong couldn't tell that, out of politeness, he was still maintaining a very forced smile.

"Is there such a tradition?" Chi Yao asked.

Ren Yanyong: "This is an old tradition of the royal wedding, it existed even before the current star calendar was established, Your Majesty, you should know this..."

That's what he said, but when confronted with a sudden question, Ren Yanyong still felt uneasy.

Since Shi Xing came along, Chi Yao has become increasingly impatient with internal affairs that involve not doing practical work but rather refining rules and regulations—in other words, Chi Yao hasn't liaised with the elders' council for a long time, and at the beginning of this year, Ren Yanyong has been handing over work to Shi Xing.

Thinking about it this way, Ren Yanyong really wondered if Chi Yao still remembered the complicated royal marriage procedures.

It was impossible for Chi Yao not to remember.

He remembered it after thinking about it carefully.

When he remembered, his face fell even more.

It turns out it’s true.

What kind of outdated tradition is this that has never been abolished?

Isn't the point of having a ceremony to have fun with your partner?

This rule is great, it’s fun, but you’ve lost your partner..

The main purpose of asking this question was to get Ren Yanyong to respond, so that Chi Yao could take the opportunity to think about whether there was any excuse to circumvent this rule. After being married for so long, he and Shi Xing should probably avoid doing these superficially fancy things that are essentially a form of separation, which is detrimental to their relationship.

"Oh, I remember now."

Just as Ren Yanyong was about to finish his explanation, Chi Yao finally spoke.

After thinking for a moment, he sat up straighter and asked seriously, "If we're separated, how will Shi Xing stay during this time?"

Ren Yanyong had clearly planned well: "Accommodation has already been arranged in the capital, and you can also stay temporarily at the Tree Nest. It all depends on Your Highness's wishes. The Elders' Council suggests staying at the Tree Nest, but from an office perspective, staying in the capital is naturally the best option. Of course, as I said before, it all depends on Your Highness's wishes."

  “……”

Altright, here are the options.

Chi Yao tapped the table with his long fingers, changing the angle, "Since we got married, we've never been apart, and Shi Xing has gotten used to having attendants around..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ren Yanyong interrupted, "This has been discussed with Attendant Xu. Attendant Yan will be with His Highness recently, taking care of His Highness's daily life, while Attendant Xu will be with Your Majesty, taking care of your daily life."

Looking at Ren Yanyong's smiling face, Chi Yao choked up for once.

After a brief stalemate, the atmosphere became extremely dry.

Reluctantly, he blurted out one last sentence, "I'm alright, after all, traditions matter, but Shi Xing is still young. Being separated for so long, he might not be used to it, right? Perhaps we could just..."

Ren Yanyong enthusiastically took over the conversation again.

"If Your Majesty is alright, then there is no problem."

Chi Yao: "?"

Ren Yanyong rubbed his hands together and said happily, "The elders' council has already done the work on His Highness Shi Xing. Since you also think there's no problem, that's great."

Chi Yao: "???"

Ren Yanyong left in high spirits.

Before Chi Yao could even react and stop him.

The reason is simple: once this step is completed, all the elders' preparations before the wedding ceremony will be finished. Then, the preparations for the wedding venue setup can be arranged a week before the ceremony.

After preparing for so long, they can finally take a breather and rest.

Looking at the empty study, Chi Yao: "..."

Chi Yao: "..........."

Although Ren Yanyong is about to retire, ... if his eyesight gets worse, he should retire now!

After sorting things out, Chi Yao took a deep breath, dialed the document office's communication line, and asked Shi Xing about today's schedule.

Having received the reply that he could check military affairs, Chi Yao planned to discuss this so-called "tradition" with Shi Xing at noon.

However, as the old saying goes, "The righteous path is one foot high, but the evil path is ten feet high."

Chi Yao has a good plan.

Unfortunately, Shi Xing never returned.

Xu Jin reported that after the Elders' Council unilaterally "discussed" with him in the morning, Ren Yanyong had taken Shi Xing to another residence in the Empire. When he dialed Shi Xing's communication, Ren Yanyong's old face appeared on the other end, and he recited the so-called traditional rules to him again, repeatedly telling him not to meet, otherwise it would be bad luck.

Chi Yao: "..."

"What about official duties after that? There will always be a time when they need to be handed over, right?"

Suppressing his impatience, Chi Yao gritted his teeth and tried to find a reason.

Unfortunately, since they weren't face-to-face, and through the gentleness of the radio waves, Chairman Ren couldn't discern the true tone of those words.

He said very considerately, "Your Majesty, you can just give it to me. I will pass on the documents that His Highness needs to review."

"Oh, Your Majesty, you must be worried about the specifications of His Highness's residence. The elders will send the details of the residence to your communicator later. It is arranged according to the specifications of your residence. Rest assured, His Highness will not feel uncomfortable."

Chi Yao: ".............."

Very good, Ren Yanyong has already learned to answer questions quickly without any instruction.

After the call ended, Chi Yao put down his chopsticks.

Fei Chu asked in surprise, "Cousin, why did you leave?"

Lunch has only just started, and we haven't even touched our food much!

The answer was perplexing: "I'm full."

I'm so full of anger!

There was no Shi Xing during lunch break.

There was no set time for dinner either.

What went even further after dinner was that, following tradition, Ren Yanyong insisted on making them experience the feeling of a normal newlywed couple—he had the robot pack up and take away all of Shi Xing's belongings.

Chi Yao remained silent, simply watching the robot tidy up.

As time went on, Chi Yao's expression became increasingly terrifying.

Xu Jin sensed something was wrong and asked a question, receiving a response that left him speechless.

Chi Yao looked at the robot expressionlessly. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something."

The tone of voice was indifferent when speaking, but this sentence was quite normal.

However, only this one sentence is normal.

Xu Jin: "What is it?"

Chi Yao: "I'm thinking, is this an arranged marriage?"

Xu Jin: "!"

Chi Yao retorted, "Isn't it said that in a second marriage, people pack up their ex's things to avoid upsetting the new spouse? In my first marriage, we're not even divorced yet, and not only are they not allowed to see me, but they're also going to search all my things?"

"Ah, the Elders' Council... how thoughtful."

Xu Jin was completely speechless.

The last sentence doesn't sound like a compliment...

The technology of life in the new era of the Empire is truly intelligent. The robots that have been serving in the bedroom for a long time not only plundered everything belonging to Shi Xing, but also, as if mocking him for losing his companion, they emptied the bedside table of all kinds of liquids, leaving nothing behind.

Chi Yao took a deep breath and held back for a long time before he managed to refrain from using his mental power to defeat the robot.

Even if it only takes a simple wave of the hand.

Even if he could calmly blame the robot for being ignorant.

Even if...

Fearing he would lose control if he stayed any longer, Chi Yao went for a stroll outside the palace after dinner for the first time.

Outside the palace, the streets and alleys were filled with the flags of the Empire and Earth, heralding the arrival of a landmark marriage and creating a festive atmosphere for their wedding.

As he walked down the street, not only passersby but even children were talking about his wedding with Shi Xing.

But after walking around, all that came to Chi Yao's mind was an ancient saying from who-knows-when—

All the excitement belongs to them; I have nothing.

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