Chapter 41
She had already realized that when it came to her sister and matters of affection, she had to appear extremely forceful, otherwise, the other party wouldn't easily compromise.
Lia still wanted to say something, when suddenly a figure slowly appeared behind Morgan—it was none other than Morgan herself.
"This is?" Lia looked at the other Morgan in surprise.
"Didn't I tell you? I can create a Clone whose mental capacity is exactly the same as mine. Right now, your sister is working hard on building roads for you, so shouldn't the little sister show some sincerity?"
Cunning light gleamed in Morgan's eyes.
Once the road construction started, this matter couldn't be stopped. Morgan looked down at Lia, already considering which part of her she should enjoy first.
Lia was indeed stumped by Morgan's actions. Just as she was wondering if she should just give in to Morgan, something unexpected happened.
The Morgan pressing down on her was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder by the other Morgan (the Clone) standing behind her, and then tossed directly outside by the Clone.
"What the heck?" Lia was instantly stunned.
But before Lia could figure out what was going on, the Clone Morgan performed the same action as the previous Morgan, pressing down directly onto Lia.
"Uh???" Lia was a bit bewildered, seeing herself escape Morgan only to be pinned down by the Clone Morgan. What was happening?
"Little sister, ignore that crazy woman. Replenish Magical Power is enough just between us two sisters. As for building roads, let that woman go do it." Saying this, the Clone Morgan lowered her head, intending to kiss Lia's mouth.
However, the moment she lowered her head to kiss Lia, a bolt of purple Dark Lightning shot from behind her, striking toward her waist.
The Clone Morgan snorted coldly, forced to give up kissing Lia, and turned around to conjure a purple Shield. The purple Dark Lightning struck the Shield, and both vanished simultaneously.
"What are you trying to do, woman?" The Clone Morgan seemed very angry.
Chapter 98: Lia: Am I the Vixen?
"Who allowed you to touch my sister?" Morgan glared at the Clone Morgan, her face cold and filled with killing intent.
Her sister was her Exclusive Possession; she wouldn't allow anyone, not even her own Clone, to touch her.
"What do you mean 'your' sister? Is Artoria not my sister too? You want to enjoy her all by yourself and send me off to do manual labor? That's far too selfish!"
The Clone Morgan snorted coldly, seemingly very dissatisfied with the task Morgan wanted her to perform.
"You're just a mere Clone, yet you dare to negotiate terms with me?" Morgan's killing intent intensified upon hearing this.
She had miscalculated slightly. Since the Clone shared the same thoughts as her, it was obvious that she would covet her own sister's body.
But she would absolutely not concede on this matter, even if the opponent was her own Clone. After all, a Witch's possessiveness was extremely strong!
"Heh heh, our strength is equal. You don't think you can beat me, do you?" The Clone Morgan chuckled, her eyes full of mockery.
"Let's take this outside." Morgan's eyes immediately narrowed.
"Fine, let's fight! Do you think This Princess is afraid of you? But let's be clear, if you lose, you go build the roads!" the Clone Morgan retorted, refusing to back down.
"Heh heh, me lose?" Morgan laughed, her gaze growing colder.
Thus, the two immediately left Lia's room and ran outside to start fighting.
However, both knew their battle shouldn't be witnessed by ordinary people, so they immediately set up a Barrier, and then started fighting inside the Barrier.
Lia, watching from the side, was clearly still a bit bewildered, having never expected such a thing to happen.
If she had to describe Morgan in one sentence, it would be: "My Love Rival is myself?"
Lia watched the two fighting desperately, looking like mortal enemies. It was impossible to tell that one was the original and the other was her Clone.
Lia couldn't help but sigh, "Am I the Femme Fatale?"
Since it didn't concern her, Lia simply stayed there and watched. The two fought from morning until night, until finally, one Morgan was defeated.
"Despicable!" The defeated Morgan looked back at the other equally dusty and disheveled Morgan and shouted angrily.
"Heh heh, using my Magic power and still trying to beat me? Go obediently build the Highway in the desert!" Morgan sneered, looking down at the Clone Morgan who was almost completely unable to move.
Although the Clone Morgan possessed the same strength as herself, her Magic power was ultimately finite, decreasing with every use.
But as the Original Body, she was different; she had the ability to recover Magic power during battle. As long as she cut off the Magic Power Diversion to the Clone, that fellow couldn't replenish it!
Therefore, the longer the battle went on, the less chance the Clone Morgan had of winning!
Hearing their conversation, Lia knew the winner had been decided. It was truly a spectacular fight; Lia had been watching from day till night.
Her sister truly possessed every kind of Magic, or at least dabbled in enough to be considered an encyclopedia.
Lia estimated that even if she stayed close to Morgan for a year, she probably wouldn't learn all her skills.
Wait, why was she thinking about sticking close? Didn't that mean she was tacitly agreeing to the whole thing? Lia quickly shook her head, dispelling the wild thoughts in her mind.
After defeating her Clone, Morgan was in high spirits. Seeing the figure of the little white rabbit in front of the door, Morgan felt even better.
Fighting her Clone for so long had nearly exhausted her Magic power. Now was the perfect time to find her sister to "refill mana!"
When she saw Morgan looking at her with lustful eyes, Lia internally cried, "Oh no."
She had forgotten about this! The two of them had used her as the stake; whoever won got to be intimate with her. Now that the winner was decided, didn't that mean she was the next unfortunate one?
Lia really wanted to run away. Judging by Morgan's current state, she definitely wouldn't be her match, but as the saying goes...
...you can run from the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth.
Even if she escaped now, once Morgan recovered her Magic power, this matter would still be unavoidable. It had to come to a conclusion eventually.
"Forget it." Lia watched Morgan walk toward her and gave up struggling... The temperature outside the courtyard at night was icy, just like the mood of the Clone Morgan!
She had already received the Magic Power Transfer from Morgan, but when she heard her sister's forcibly suppressed sounds coming from the room, she knew the two were already doing that thing.
"Damn it, I'm so envious and jealous!" The Clone Morgan clawed at the dirt on the ground, her fists clenched tightly.
She had now received the Magic power that Morgan had re-transferred to her. But how could Morgan have any Magic power left to give her right now? With a moment's thought, she realized this Magic power must have been obtained by Morgan from Lia and then shared with her.
"This Original Body is truly inhuman! Recovering Magic power so quickly means she must be demanding it frantically. How could my little sister, being so delicate, withstand such endless ravaging from the Original Body?"
When the Clone Morgan thought of this, her heart shattered. She worried immensely for her sister's body.
"What are you still doing here? Hurry up and go to Yumen Pass to do what you're supposed to do!" Just as the Clone was cursing the Original Body in her heart, Morgan's voice reached her ears.
"That hateful, Stinky Woman! She's enjoying herself while making me do manual labor!" the Clone Morgan thought bitterly upon hearing this.
However, listening to her sister's sounds of sorrow and complaint here was also torturing her. Fine, she'd better go to Yumen Pass first.
But she wouldn't give up. Go ahead and gloat, but she would make Morgan pay it back with interest later!
Thinking this, the Clone Morgan cast an angry glance at the closed room, then opened a water mirror and headed toward Yumen Pass.
Sensing that the Clone outside the courtyard had left, Morgan let out a soft, cold snort. "Little punk, still trying to fight me?"
Looking at her sister beneath her, who was nearly losing consciousness, Morgan was in a wonderful mood. Sure enough, only her adorable sister was worthy of her affection.
Licking clean a certain transparent liquid from her fingers, Morgan smiled contentedly. She embraced Lia, placing her head upon her massive chest, and gently closed her eyes.
There was no need to rush this matter; there would be plenty of opportunities later. For now, the two of them should rest properly.
After settling the decision to establish the capital in Chang'an, Lia appeared in the main hall the next day for the morning meeting.
She looked half-asleep and half-awake, her state far from optimal. After being tormented by Morgan for so long last night, it would be strange if her spirits were high!
Chapter 99: Lia: I Confess, I Want to Become Emperor
At the moment, the Hexi Corridor didn't have any magnificent palaces, only a barely decent main hall used for daily discussions.
In this main hall, twenty or thirty people were seated around a long, rectangular Round Table. Some Lia knew, and some she didn't.
These officials were also surprised to see Lia appear at the head seat.
Although they had received news of Lia's return the day before yesterday, they hadn't seen Lia show up the next day. Some people were starting to suspect that the Grand Princess and King Arthur were having a conflict.
After all, King Arthur had been away in the Western Regions for so long before returning, and everything in the Hexi Corridor was currently being handled by the Grand Princess Long Fei. That amount of time was certainly enough for the Grand Princess to sideline King Arthur.
However, seeing Morgan sitting beside Lia, looking alluring and charming, the crowd dismissed this speculation. If the two had truly fallen out, they wouldn't be acting like this.
Lia was unaware of their conjectures. Instead, she addressed the crowd directly: "My beloved subjects, among you, some have deliberated with us before, and some were promoted by the Grand Princess while I was conquering the Western Regions."
"But since you are still sitting here now, it means your abilities have been recognized by the Grand Princess. Therefore, I will not interfere with your duties or make any personnel changes."
"Thank you, Your Highness King Arthur!" Many people breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Lia's statement.
If Lia had immediately exercised her authority to shuffle everyone's positions just to show off her supreme power, the officials certainly wouldn't have been happy.
"I have just returned and am not yet fully familiar with the policies and guidelines of the Hexi Corridor, so I will still leave these matters to my older sister to handle. However, today we need to discuss another matter: I wish to establish the capital in Chang'an. What are your thoughts on this, My beloved subjects?"
Lia didn't intend to beat around the bush with these people, waiting for the ministers to suggest founding a nation and declaring herself Emperor. She was explicitly telling those below her.
She wanted to found a nation and declare herself Emperor now. There was no need for them to suggest it; they should just propose a plan.
As for the strategy of "accumulating grain and slowly claiming kingship," that was all superficial. Even if she intended to do that, the people below would present the idea to her in due time.
She wasn't Zhu Yuanzhang, surrounded by enemies, afraid of being targeted if she claimed kingship or emperorship. She wasn't afraid of Northern Wei or the Liu Song Dynasty.
She now possessed Xinjiang and Gansu provinces, plus half of Shaanxi Province. As long as she defended Chang'an, coupled with the newly developed gunpowder, enemy forces simply couldn't break in. There was no need for those superficial formalities.
Hearing that Lia intended to make Chang'an the capital, the ministers below were first startled, then wildly ecstatic.
Once Lia declared herself Emperor, their positions would naturally rise. When a new national regime emerged, there would inevitably be a large-scale appointment of officials, and they would naturally be the first group to benefit.
"Your Highness, establishing the capital in Chang'an requires finding an auspicious date. This matter is too urgent today, and we haven't had time to think about it. Please grant us a few days, and we will surely give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer!"
Hearing Lia's intention to found a nation and declare herself Emperor, this group showed absolutely no opposition, indicating that they were even more eager than Lia herself.
"Mm, I'll leave this matter to you Civil Officials. Be sure to handle it well." Lia nodded.
"Your Highness, how do you plan to arrange matters for the Grand Princess?" an official asked cautiously.
Lia glanced at him, recognizing him. However, since he dared to speak up at the risk of offending her, he was probably quite loyal to Morgan.
"After the nation is founded, I will be the Emperor, and my sister Long Fei will be the Empress. She can participate in court discussions and decision-making. Do any of you have other questions?" Lia looked at the other ministers.
Although the position of Empress was lower than that of Emperor, Lia also said she could participate in governance, meaning Morgan would be able to exercise various powers in the future. As long as Lia was not in the palace, everything in court would essentially be decided by her.
This amounted to having Two Supreme Rulers in one court. It was just unknown if problems would arise later.
The others first looked at Morgan. Seeing that Morgan didn't speak and actually looked quite pleased, they concluded that perhaps the two sisters had already settled this matter long ago.
But why the position of Empress? Wasn't that the position for the Emperor's wife?
But apparently, Her Highness was female herself, so how could she marry a woman? Did she therefore give the Empress position to her older sister?
The ministers couldn't quite figure it out. It wasn't until later that they learned the two were not only lovers but even had a child.
After Lia announced this, the ministers had no heart to report anything else for the day. After all, this matter was too shocking, leaving them with no mind to continue discussing other things.
Now, their minds were focused entirely on setting the date, when to establish the capital, and how to arrange the officials' positions—things that would take them several days to fully process.
Since Lia was going to ascend the throne and declare herself Emperor, the most crucial factor was the local popular support.
Lia's current policies had undoubtedly earned her massive popular support, so some officials were dispatched. Their task was to inform Common People and ensure Lia received their endorsement.
This endorsement, of course, wasn't to be suggested by Lia, but proposed spontaneously by Common People, thereby telling the world.
Although our Lord is a woman, she is unmatched in benevolence and righteousness. Ascending the throne to become Emperor is not her personal wish, but rather Common People Jointly Petitioning and urging our Lord to ascend the throne.
Therefore, obtaining a Joint Petition from Common People was crucial. Although the ministers below knew Lia had actively proposed becoming Emperor, Common People didn't know that.
Thus, even though this matter was proposed by Lia, it couldn't be said that she proposed it, but rather that Common People requested it through a Joint Memorial.
This is called Conforming to Public Opinion, which grants legitimacy.
One can only say that the Confucian School has many tricky methods when it comes to these matters—it's a bit hypocritical. But Lia didn't say anything, as these were all ways to enhance her reputation.
However, in ancient times, there was the saying of the Phoenix Crying on Mount Qi. Should she also create something similar? Perhaps the Dragon Soaring Through the Nine Heavens?
She could have Merlin handle this. If the news spread, wouldn't it be telling the world that the Wu Kingdom was destined to flourish?
Lia thought this method was good, so she summoned Merlin and asked him to create some momentum for her.
With Merlin's help, in both the Hexi Corridor and Chang'an, Common People saw what appeared to be the figure of a Massive Red Dragon in the sky over the past two days. Common People didn't know what it meant, but the ministers were ecstatic.
They hadn't even figured out what justification to use yet, and this dragon in the sky wasn't that declaration to the world?
Chapter 100: Ascending the Throne to Become Emperor
A dragon had appeared in their territory. What did a dragon represent? It meant the Emperor.