Du Lin’er collapsed onto the ground, her left hand trembling as she covered her bright red, swollen cheek, her incredulous expression still carrying a hysterical hatred.
“Your Majesty, you hit me? You hit me for that bastard? What kind of bewitching pill did Chen Chu feed you to make you let him run wild like this?!”
“My brother will not let him off. He definitely will not let him off!!”
Her voice was shrill, like a mad shrew.
Smack!!
Chen Qing delivered another slap, his voice low and cold.
“Empress, he is not a bastard. He is my, Chen Qing’s, ninth son. I will not allow you to say that a second time.”
“Yu Chenghua!”
Yu Chenghua hurried over, bending at the waist and awaiting orders. “Your Majesty!”
Chen Qing turned sharply, hands behind his back, and said coldly, “Take the Empress back to Qifeng Palace and confine her there. Without my order, she is not to step outside the palace grounds.”
“Yes!”
Yu Chenghua received the imperial order and immediately turned to look at Du Lin’er, who had made a complete mess of herself, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Empress, please do not make things difficult for this old servant.”
“House arrest? Fine. Very well! Chen Qing, you have probably forgotten that without the support of the Overlord Sword Sect thirty years ago, you would never have ascended to the throne! Chen Qing, remember this: the Overlord Sword Sect could raise you onto the throne, and it can also drag you down from it!”
“I’ll be waiting in Qifeng Palace, waiting for you, Chen Qing, to come begging me!”
The Overlord Sword Sect had always been Du Lin’er’s greatest source of confidence.
“You, too, get back to your books!”
Chen Qing’s tiger-like eyes turned to Chen Fengyi, who was trembling in fear. For some reason, the eldest grandson he had once adored now filled him with inexplicable disgust.
Infatuated with women, idle and ignorant, utterly lacking in generosity, petty and jealous… what part of that looked even a little like the Imperial Grandson he should have been?!
“Yes, Grandfather Emperor, this grandson will go back to studying right away.”
Chen Fengyi slunk off in disgrace.
Chen Qing added another point to the list: cowardice.
After the Empress caused such a scene, Chen Qing was in no mood for anything else. He sighed and looked at Chen Chu. “A single night as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. The Empress was my Crown Prince consort when I was still the Crown Prince. No matter how I punish her, I will not kill her.”
Chen Chu nodded, showing that he understood.
…
After leaving the imperial palace and arriving at the carriage, Chen Chu immediately frowned when he saw the carriage.
Yu Fengcheng explained in a low voice, “Your Highness, Miss Xu, your fiancée, is in the carriage.”
So it was her.
Chen Chu nodded and got into the carriage.
Inside, Xu Zhaoyue sat in a refined posture, her delicate hands resting neatly on her thighs. Smiling brightly, she rose to greet Chen Chu. “Xu Zhaoyue of Duke Xu’s estate pays respects to His Highness the Ninth Prince.”
Chen Chu inclined his head in return.
The carriage rolled on.
Xu Zhaoyue studied Chen Chu for a while before stating her purpose. “Zhaoyue is about to marry the Ninth Prince. Two days from now, I would like to return to my hometown’s ancestral tomb in Fencheng to inform my parents. I hope Your Highness can accompany me.”
That was only natural.
Chen Chu understood and said, “The day after tomorrow, Miss Xu, come to the Ninth Prince’s Residence to pick me up.”
“Very well!”
The conversation between Chen Chu and Xu Zhaoyue did not sound like that of a couple about to marry. Instead, it felt more like a pair of friends bound by courtesy.
Still, it was their first meeting, so that was understandable.
They were still some distance from Duke Xu’s estate. After thinking for a moment, Xu Zhaoyue took the initiative to start the conversation. “Your Highness was very imposing at the morning court today. From now on, no one in the imperial city will dare call Your Highness Cursed Blood anymore.”
Chen Chu smiled. “Do you think I was just hiding my ears while stealing a bell?”
Xu Zhaoyue shook her head seriously. “Not at all! Your Highness has the ability to silence all the court ministers. That is Your Highness’s skill! Besides, although Your Highness has half a wasteland bloodline, it is still the most noble bloodline of the wasteland. Your Highness was born the most exalted person under heaven, unmatched by anyone.”
Xu Zhaoyue brought up Chen Chu’s bloodline without any attempt to avoid the subject, frank and fearless. Chen Chu not only did not get angry, he also accepted Xu Zhaoyue almost immediately.
He said, “Miss Xu is even better than I imagined.”
Xu Zhaoyue grew interested. “Why not tell me, in Your Highness’s imagination, what kind of woman was Zhaoyue?”
Chen Chu considered it and replied, “Although not like the common rumors of someone built like an iron tower, with a tiger’s back and bear-like waist, who likes to eat human hearts and livers and drink wine out of human heads. Still, I imagine that a Young Commander who can command 200,000 Flying Flower Army must at least be fierce as a tiger and quite bold and heroic.”
After all, her reputation was well known, so that was the proper way for Chen Chu to think.
Xu Zhaoyue found it amusing. “So from the start, Your Highness had no expectations for this fiancée of yours?”
“Correct.”
“And now that Your Highness has seen me, what do you think?”
Chen Chu said, “Beautiful beyond compare, peerless in grace, just a little darker in complexion.”
She had spent years in the army; if she could still keep her skin as white as jade, that would be strange.
“Hehe.” Xu Zhaoyue smiled leisurely and said, “I am the opposite of Your Highness. From the moment His Majesty issued the marriage decree, I knew about Your Highness… sharp brows, bright eyes, refined and otherworldly, with not a single flaw. The only thing I heard was that Your Highness’s temperament was a little cold. But after meeting you today, I finally understood that a reputation is not as good as seeing someone in person. Your Highness is not cold; you simply choose who to be warm to.”
“I am very satisfied with Your Highness.”
Only after meeting Chen Chu in person did she understand why Zhaoxing had fallen for him. A Ninth Prince of noble status, clear-browed and bright-eyed, with peerless appearance and extraordinary cultivation at his side… how many women under heaven could possibly not like him?
“Your Highness, see you the day after tomorrow.”
Xu Zhaoyue got off the carriage and said goodbye cheerfully.
“See you the day after tomorrow.”
Back at the residence, Xu Zhaoyue went to see her grandfather at once.
Xu Bainian was lightly fishing by the lake. When he saw Xu Zhaoyue return, he asked with a smile, “You met him. How did it feel?”
Xu Zhaoyue stood beside him, her picturesque eyes fixed on the lake, and said, “I heard that at the morning court the Ninth Prince said, ‘It is not that Heaven does not allow it, it is that I, Chen Chu, do not allow it.’ At first, I thought he was an extremely arrogant prince with unmatched dominance. But that dominance was excessive, and he lacked steadiness. After I truly met him, I found that his speech was refined and his character open and straightforward. He gives the feeling that he can take up a blade, mount a horse, and kill enemies; then dismount and govern the realm.”
“What is most frightening about him is that he does not try to guess the Emperor’s will, nor does he curry favor with His Majesty. But he knows very clearly where His Majesty’s limits are, and he will never be blamed for this matter!”
“In the past, the Imperial Grandson was favored, but he treated His Majesty’s favor like a command token, indulging in wine, women, horses, and song, and doing all manner of absurd things.”
“Now His Majesty favors the Ninth Prince, and this favor in the Ninth Prince’s hands has become an incomparably sharp divine weapon, one he uses to cut down every dissenting voice in the imperial city!”
“The Ninth Prince killed Du Heng. On the surface, it looked as if he hated being called ‘Cursed Blood’ and acted recklessly. In truth, he was establishing authority, striking once so as to avoid a hundred blows. From now on, as long as the Ninth Prince stands unshaken, who would dare mention those two words, ‘Cursed Blood,’ again?”
“For others, taking one step and seeing three more is already extremely difficult. The Ninth Prince takes one step and sees at least ten. He has a level of scheming far beyond his age.”
Xu Bainian nodded. The Ninth Prince, Chen Chu, had indeed given the entire imperial city a tremendous shock.
Most people in the imperial city could see the Ninth Prince’s toughness and arrogance, but only a few could see clearly that whether it was suppressing the Imperial Grandson or killing Du Heng, everything he did was to pave the way for himself.
He was paving that road lined with mountains of corpses and seas of blood… the Imperial Road!
Xu Bainian was already certain that the Ninth Prince would definitely fight for the succession!
And at the very least, His Majesty was tacitly allowing it.
Still, Xu Bainian’s face, wrinkled like a withered tree, revealed fatigue and disappointment…
The Flying Flower Army would soon no longer belong to the Xu family.
As if she had not noticed, Xu Zhaoyue continued calmly, “As long as he can pass the Overlord Sword Sect, he will truly have a chance to soar straight into the sky and achieve the supreme throne. His Majesty was right: if the Xu family is going to choose the Ninth Prince, the one who marries him can only be me. Zhaoxing is not qualified enough.”