Time passed like a white colt flashing through a crack.

Before anyone realized it,

another half a year had gone by.

The ruler of Qin still had not established a Crown Prince.

Even though the court officials continued to submit memorial after memorial, the ruler of Qin would only give them a brief glance.

Later on, for those memorials that “urged the establishment of a Crown Prince,” the ruler of Qin did not even look at them.

Qin Siyao also felt that it was not good for her father to keep leaving the Crown Prince position unfilled, so she had asked her father as well, “Is there a suitable candidate to adopt into the line as an heir?”

But Qin Shengtian only smiled at his daughter and said, “None of those people are as good as you.”

Hearing her father’s reply, Qin Siyao only thought her father was teasing her and did not take it to heart.

In fact, Qin Shengtian was indeed speaking plain truth.

In Qin Shengtian’s heart, he truly felt that those heirs the court officials recommended were not even close to his own daughter.

“Enough. As for establishing a Crown Prince, Siyao, you don’t need to worry about it. I already have someone in mind.” The ruler of Qin said with a smile to his daughter.

“Eh? Father already has someone in mind? Who is it?” Qin Siyao asked curiously.

“I’m not telling you, you little girl, just yet.” Qin Shengtian’s lips curled. “When the time comes, you’ll know.”

“Alright...”

Left hanging, Qin Siyao felt a little disappointed, but she did not press further. Instead, she continued sitting to the side, helping her father review the memorials.

In the Imperial Study now, aside from Qin Shengtian’s own writing desk, he had also specially prepared a desk for his daughter.

Qin Shengtian looked at his daughter not far away, and a few traces of emotion rose in his heart.

In the past, when Qin Shengtian did not answer Qin Siyao, Qin Siyao would throw a fit and roll around, insisting on getting a clear answer.

But now, Qin Siyao did not press him. Instead, she seized the time to handle proper affairs.

Qin Shengtian knew this meant his daughter was growing more and more mature.

Yet this maturity made Qin Shengtian feel a bit of heartache and guilt.

The sun gradually drifted westward.

The evening glow had already dyed the sky red. Gentle sunlight climbed past the window edge and fell upon this father and daughter in the Imperial Study.

Soon, a day was about to pass.

“Father, it’s getting late. Your daughter will return to the Frost King’s residence first.”

After finishing the memorial in her hands, Qin Siyao raised her head. Seeing that the sky was about right, she stood and took her leave from her father.

“Going to cook for Xiao Mo again.” Qin Shengtian said with a smile.

“Of course. Now every night I make it for Xiao Mo to eat.” Qin Siyao’s tone carried a bit of pride. “Xiao Mo says the food I make is really delicious.”

“You, cooking for Xiao Mo every day—your father still hasn’t eaten the food you’ve made.” Qin Shengtian sighed.

Qin Siyao could not help giving her father a white-eyed look. “Before, Siyao wanted to cook for Father, but Father kept refusing with all kinds of reasons, alright?”

“Hahaha...” Qin Shengtian laughed loudly. “Wasn’t it because your two older brothers were worried my body couldn’t take it, so they specifically reminded me not to try your cooking lightly? Now your cooking has improved, so Father definitely has to taste it.”

Qin Siyao’s eyes curved into crescents. “If that’s the case, then Siyao will make lunch for Father tomorrow.”

“Mhm, good.” Qin Shengtian nodded.

“Then Father, your daughter will go first. Tomorrow your daughter will make Father a whole table of good dishes!” Qin Siyao gave a slight bow, then walked forward and put all the memorials on the ruler of Qin’s writing desk into a storage bag before leaving the Imperial Study.

“This girl...”

Looking at his somewhat empty desk, Qin Shengtian smiled helplessly.

Ever since her mother passed away, every time this girl left the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Imperial Study, she would take away the memorials he still had not finished reviewing.

How could Qin Shengtian not know? She was worried about his body and did not want him to exhaust himself too much.

“Cough, cough, cough...”

Only after his daughter left did Qin Shengtian stop forcing himself to endure it, and he began coughing nonstop.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Coughing until later, Qin Shengtian picked up a handkerchief and covered his mouth.

When the coughing finally eased a little, Qin Shengtian lifted the teapot at his side and poured several cups of tea.

The handkerchief placed on the desk was stained with blood.

Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, Qin Shengtian began to regulate his breath, and with spiritual sense he inspected his body from within.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Qin Shengtian slowly opened his eyes. Though his expression carried helplessness and unwillingness, what showed more was calm acceptance in the face of life and death.

“Looks like... I stop here.” Qin Shengtian’s lips curled, as if speaking to himself. “So be it. To have lived until now was already not easy. What more could I ask for?”

Putting away the handkerchief, Qin Shengtian undid the isolating formation array, then called toward Eunuch Li, who had been guarding outside the Imperial Study all along. “Come in.”

“Your Majesty...”

Eunuch Li hurried into the Imperial Study and bowed respectfully.

“Summon Prime Minister Li, Grand Marshal Baili, and Imperial Censor Doctor Huo Shu. I am going to draft an edict.” Qin Shengtian said calmly.

Eunuch Li’s heart jolted violently.

His Majesty’s body was growing weaker and weaker, and now he was calling the Three Excellencies over, only to draft an edict—then the edict he was drafting could it be—

a final edict...

“You old thing—what are you spacing out for? Why aren’t you going?” Qin Shengtian pointed at Eunuch Li’s nose, scolding with a laugh.

“Yes, Your Majesty. This old servant will go at once!”

Eunuch Li wiped the corner of his eyes, then hurriedly withdrew, striding quickly out of the Imperial Study.

After Prime Minister Li and the others heard the summons, they immediately set out for the palace.

The next day.

Qin Siyao once again came to the Imperial Study and, as usual, helped her father review the memorials.

Near midday, Qin Siyao personally cooked dishes for her father in the Imperial Kitchen.

While his daughter was cooking, the ruler of Qin specifically summoned Xiao Mo to the palace.

At noon, Qin Shengtian ate the food his daughter had cooked.

Even though Qin Shengtian’s tongue felt that the dishes Siyao made were not as good as what the palace chefs of the Imperial Kitchen made,

in his heart, he felt the food his daughter made surpassed countless delicacies of the world.

“Father, what do you think? Does your daughter’s food taste good?” Qin Siyao asked expectantly.

“Good. It really is good.” Qin Shengtian nodded. “Father also didn’t expect that in this life I would still get to eat the food made by you, this girl. Truly, even if I die, I will have no regrets.”

“Father, why would you say something so unlucky.” Qin Siyao personally served her father a bowl of rice. “If Father wants to eat it, then your daughter will make it for Father every day.”

“Hehehe.” Qin Shengtian neither agreed nor refused.

After lunch, Qin Shengtian had her go to the Censorate to fetch some documents.

And just as Qin Siyao left, Qin Shengtian handed a letter to Xiao Mo.

“Your Majesty, this is?” Xiao Mo asked in confusion.

Qin Shengtian stroked his beard and said with a smile, “This letter—you read it after you return. Remember: do not let Siyao see it.”