Chen Chu was in no mood to show any courtesy and bluntly told the truth: “You want to sleep with me, not marry me. Back then, Luo Xue slept away half of Chen Qing’s cultivation. Now you want to sleep with me so you can suck away half of my dragon fortune.”
“What, do you really want to become Tianchen’s female emperor?”
Dragon fortune might seem illusory, but it is the most precious thing in this world.
Chen Banruo, though an unprecedented martial arts prodigy in the history of Tianzhou, was precisely lacking in dragon fortune.
Even though Chen Qing had enfeoffed her as Tianchen’s Grand Princess, she still failed to win the favor of the dynasty’s dragon fortune. Not even the slightest bit of it had anything to do with her.
And without dragon fortune, even if she acted heaven-defying and overcame every obstacle to ascend the throne, she would not be able to sit there for long before suffering backlash.
The word “Son of Heaven” is the most exalted in the mortal world.
But if Heaven itself does not permit it, how can you become the Son of Heaven, the emperor of the mortal realm?
When dragon fortune accumulates on one person, it can form an emperor’s fate.
Moreover, those who possess dragon fortune are vastly different from ordinary people in cultivation, destiny, and luck.
In this world today, probably no one has more dragon energy than Chen Chu.
No wonder Chen Banruo was salivating over it and wanted to seize it.
“You bear the dragon fortune of an entire dynasty. What harm is there in giving me half?”
“I can forgo being Tianchen’s female emperor, but I must have this dragon fortune!”
“As long as you agree, name any conditions you like.”
Since the matter had been laid bare, Chen Banruo simply put it on the table and let Chen Chu name his price.
Dual cultivation techniques had appeared in Tianzhou over a thousand years ago; some were complementary for men and women, while others were one-sidedly predatory.
Chen Banruo naturally also mastered a dual cultivation technique that could take half the dragon fortune from Chen Chu.
But Chen Chu was not Chen Fengyi, who wanted to sleep with any pretty woman he saw. He would not fall so easily for Chen Banruo’s trick and quietly have half of his dragon fortune taken away.
“I have no interest whatsoever. Grand Princess, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave.” Chen Chu prepared to say goodbye.
“You really are stubbornly obstinate. Do you know that I, Chen Banruo, have never wanted something I could not get? Chen Chu, I am not on the same level as your several brothers, nor even your nephew Chen Fengyi. I stand on the same level as your Father Emperor Chen Qing… or rather, Chen Qing is not as frightening as I am. Have you thought about the consequences of refusing me?”
Chen Banruo’s expression turned cold as she threatened him, “Do you believe I can force you and Xu Zhaoyue into a ghost marriage!”
Chen Chu strode outside without looking back.
He said lightly, “If you kill Xu Zhaoyue, I can marry Xu Zhaoxing. If you kill Xu Zhaoxing again, I can also marry Shen Zhaoyue. There are so many women in Tianchen. Can you kill them all? Besides, you are not invincible. The moment you place yourself against the entire dynasty, that will be your death sentence, Chen Banruo.”
As the last words fell, Chen Chu had already walked out of the pavilion.
He was completely unmoved by the threat.
Chen Banruo stared darkly at Chen Chu’s unrestrained departing figure, then suddenly laughed. “Chen Qing, oh Chen Qing, this son of yours is stronger than you. But I, Chen Banruo, will definitely get what I set my sights on!”
Chen Banruo turned her gaze back to the poem on the screen and continued reading.
“The maid helped her up, delicate and weak; only then had she just received the emperor’s favor.”
“Cloudlike hair, flowerlike face, golden bobbing hairpins; within the warm lotus bed curtains, they spent the spring night.”
“Spring nights are bitterly short, and the sun rises high before one gets up; from then on, the king no longer holds morning court.”
“…”
“Chen Chu, why does my sixth sense tell me that you and I come from the same place?”
Yueyao escorted Chen Chu to the shore and asked curiously, “His Highness the Ninth Prince, when will you come again? I can come early to pick you up.”
Chen Chu showed a warm smile. “When I come is not important. Whenever you want to see me, Miss Yueyao, you can come to the prince’s residence.”
Yueyao narrowed her crescent eyes. “The Ninth Prince isn’t tricking me?”
“I would not trick anyone, much less you.”
“Good!” Yueyao poled the boat back and shouted loudly, “When I miss Your Highness, I will come to the prince’s residence to see Your Highness. At that time, Your Highness had better not pretend not to know me.”
“Of course I won’t.”
Chen Chu watched as Yueyao steered the swaying little boat into the middle of the river before turning back to leave.
Right on cue, he saw Xu Zhaoxing glaring fiercely at him. She said with disdain, “Your soul has been stolen away, hasn’t it? Why didn’t you just stay in Heavenly Palace? The way you coax women is truly disgusting!”
She really had not expected Chen Chu to be so smooth-tongued. Just look at how delighted he had made that woman from Heavenly Palace.
He had never said such things to her.
She was also worried for her sister.
They had not even married yet, and Chen Chu was already fooling around outside without restraint. How would things work in the future?
But Chen Chu could not be bothered to deal with her at all. “What do you want with me?”
“It is not I who came looking for you. Your fiancée asked me to pass on a message.”
“Speak.”
Xu Zhaoxing was exasperated. He was gentle and considerate toward that woman from Heavenly Palace, but cold and indifferent toward her.
Had she eaten rice from his prince’s residence for nothing?
Or was she just not as pretty as that woman!
But thinking that the important matter came first, she got into Chen Chu’s carriage and quickly explained the agreement her grandfather had made.
If Xu Wei got the military funds owed to the Flying Flower Army from the Ministry of Revenue first, then she would lose her position as marshal of the Flying Flower Army. By then, there would be no hope of controlling the Flying Flower Army.
After hearing this, Chen Chu showed no anxiety whatsoever and said, “Go back and tell your sister that I will handle this matter. Tomorrow, have her come early to pick me up so I can return to Fencheng with her to pay respects to her parents. There is no need to let this affect the trip.”
“No!”
Xu Zhaoxing flared up in anger, but could only force herself to stay patient as she said, “Paying respects is a small matter; the military funds are the big matter. Can’t you tell what matters more? If Big Beard… that is, Xu Wei… really gets the military funds first, what then? Do you still want the Flying Flower Army or not?”
“If you have a way, then hurry up and do it! The sooner we get the military funds, the sooner we can all feel at ease!”
It really was like saying the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is.
She was almost going crazy with anxiety.
Yet Chen Chu still wore an unconcerned expression.
Chen Chu said, “Guess why Xu Wei needs ten days?”
Xu Zhaoxing blinked in confusion. “How would I know?”
“Pig brain.”
Chen Chu blurted it out.
“Who are you calling a pig brain?” Xu Zhaoxing shot back.
“Obviously you.” Chen Chu explained simply, “Think about it. You sisters are anxious… do you think Xu Wei is not anxious too? If he had a way to get the military funds tonight, he would not drag it out until tomorrow.”
“The fact that he says he needs ten days only proves one thing: the Ministry of Revenue cannot currently come up with that much military funds.”
“Since that is the case, why rush for this one moment?”
Xu Zhaoxing thought it over and realized that it did seem to be the case.
But…
“What if Xu Wei said that deliberately to lower my sister’s guard? By the time we return from Fencheng, Xu Wei will already have taken the military funds from the Ministry of Revenue. What then?”
“Kill him.”
Chen Chu answered without hesitation.
Such a simple problem did not require any thinking.
Xu Zhaoxing: “…”
Although she utterly detested Xu Wei and Xu Yong, she had never wished for their deaths.
…
At Grandson Manor.
Chen Fengyi knelt before a tall man in cloud-patterned brocade robes, weeping bitterly. “Grand-Uncle, Uncle died too miserably! You must avenge him!”
Du Hanhai had just arrived in the imperial city, yet the first thing he heard was a thunderbolt of bad news: his son, Du Heng, had been killed in public by the Ninth Prince, Chen Chu.
He flew into a towering rage!
Du Hanhai even wanted to take Chen Chu’s dog life tonight!
But…
He still did not dare kill a prince so brazenly in the imperial city.
He looked furiously at Zhuge Changsheng across from him. “Mister Zhuge, is this how you looked after my son?”
Zhuge Changsheng retorted, “He had his accident at Heavenly Palace. If you want to reason with someone, go find Chen Banruo. Why are you making a scene with me? Do you think I am easier to bully than Chen Banruo?”
Du Hanhai was left speechless.
Those three words, Chen Banruo, instantly cleared his mind.
“In the imperial city, you cannot kill Chen Chu. Tomorrow, Chen Chu will return to Fencheng with Xu Zhaoyue to pay respects to their ancestors. That is your only chance. I will keep an eye on Yu Chenghua over here and will not let him interfere with you.”
“If I help you this much and you still cannot kill Chen Chu, Du Hanhai, you might as well die.”
At this point, Chen Fengyi hurriedly added, “Grand-Uncle, do not hurt Xu Zhaoyue!”
As long as Chen Chu died, Xu Zhaoyue would still be his woman.