The back of the imperial palace of the Chu Yun Empire could be reached after passing through a wide stretch of woods.
Having just fallen asleep not long ago before being roused, Ji Ziyu and Ji Ran finally put on their intricate and luxurious garments with the help of Zier and the other three maids. Inside the carriage, Ji Ran tossed and turned, dozing off continuously until, in the end, he simply sprawled over Ji Ziyu and snored away to his heart’s content.
Therefore, when he was roused once more, wrapped in a thick snow-fox fur cloak, and stepped out of the carriage to be hit by the cold wind, all his sleepiness instantly vanished.
Everyone had departed together from the back gate of the imperial palace, and naturally, they arrived together as well. With the 15th Princess, the 16th Prince, the 17th Prince, and the 18th Prince all undergoing their talent tests, the number of people following the royal progeny was naturally substantial.
As soon as everyone stepped out of their carriages and beheld the breathtaking scenery, which looked as though it had been carved by divine axes, they could not help but gasp in admiration. In the Chu Yun Empire, where heavy snowfalls were extremely rare, when would they ever have the opportunity to witness such a spectacle?
Even Ji Aotian wore an expression of awe. Quite earnestly, he said to the person beside him, who was draped in a fiery-red fox fur cloak, “Well, did you or did you not feel it was worth it to come out upon My command?”
That person’s face was almost entirely concealed by the hood of the fiery-red fox fur cloak, revealing only a sharp, delicate chin. Beneath the chin were fire-type magic crystals inlaid as buttons on the fox fur cloak. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the deerskin boots on his feet were also embedded with fire-type magic crystals.
Although fire-type magic crystals could provide warmth, embedding them into clothing was no easy task. Craftsmanship aside, the primary challenge lay in regulating the temperature of the fire-type magic crystals. Beneath each and every one of those fire-type magic crystals lay not only ingenious craftsmanship but also a magic array.
Ji Aotian’s deep affection for him was evident for all to see. He merely let out a meaningless syllable, leaving it unclear whether or not he agreed with Ji Aotian’s words.
Ji Aotian was not annoyed either; he simply stood there, waiting for the Saint to approach.
The Saint was the messenger of the gods within the Holy Temple and had served the emperors of the Chu Yun Empire through every generation. However, they were not required to bow deeply even upon meeting the emperor. After hastily offering a brief salute, Corain Allen said to Ji Aotian, “Your Majesty, let us proceed with the ceremony without further delay.”
Ji Aotian nodded. “I’ll leave it to you.”
The suspended holy altar was capable of conducting talent tests for ten people simultaneously, so the princes’ and princesses’ talent tests were naturally arranged to take place together.
The young child standing beside Helena Winnie turned his head with a measure of curiosity to look at Ji Ziyu and Ji Ran walking behind them, and then whispered to his birth mother, “Royal Mother, which one of them is the rumored ‘Black Child’?”
Ji Ran and Ji Ziyu, walking behind them, were dressed in identical outfits. Their hoods were drawn tightly, and the collars of their fur cloaks were pulled up to cover their mouths, leaving not a sliver of skin exposed. Yet, the more tightly concealed they were, the more curious the people who had heard the rumors for so long became. That Black Child who represented disgrace, that Black Child without a royal name, and that Black Child whose mother’s favor had burned to ashes ever since his birth…
A look of disdain crossed Helena Winnie’s gorgeous and charming face. She said to Ji Zilun, “You’ll find out soon enough! Your Imperial Father is right here right now, so stop looking around!”
Ji Zilun let out an “oh” and obediently turned his head back, continuing to walk down this long path leading toward the holy altar.
We’ll be able to see soon enough…
Chapter 015: The Little Bun’s Journal — The Black Child
To say the least, looking down from above, the holy temple and the holy altar were situated not far below, and walking across that bridge resembling ice sculptures should have been simple enough. Yet, walking this path was truly far from an ordinary distance.
Originally, there were dedicated flying mounts provided for everyone. Golden Roc birds how majestic they were! A single one could easily carry a dozen or so people with absolute ease. However, as had been mentioned, the moment everyone stepped out of their carriages and laid eyes on the holy temple and holy altar, they found themselves beneath ice bridges and ice sculptures carved by divine hands. Beautiful as it was, while letting the Golden Roc birds fly across was not an issue, carrying people on them would be somewhat dangerous!
No one here could afford a fall; if even a single person tumbled down, would that not be a catastrophe?
Consequently, everyone had no choice but to obediently trudge along that long suspension bridge which they had initially praised as ingenious and unimaginably beautiful, but now regarded with the weary thought of why it had to be so long.
At first, everyone still had the heart to appreciate and immerse themselves in the beauty of a crystalline world hung with icicles. However, after walking for a long time especially the imperial concubines of the inner court, the various princes, and the mages assisting them with their talent tests each and every one of them was utterly exhausted.
Ji Zilun was accustomed to being pampered and spoiled on a daily basis, and having never endured such hardship, he had already pouted and thrown a massive fit earlier. However, after receiving a single sweeping glance from Ji Aotian, he instantly turned utterly well-behaved and dared not utter another word. Now, he could only trudge along while holding back his tears.
The other guards escorting the group to the holy altar looked at the 15th Princess, the 17th Prince, and the 18th Prince with a hint of astonishment.
The 15th Princess was over seven years old and was the oldest child here. Yet, the 15th Princess was a princess, after all! By now, she had even removed her hood, and her pretty little face was flushed bright red, yet not a single complaint was heard from her.
What was even more astonishing were the 17th and 18th Princes!
The one who had removed his fur cloak halfway along the journey was indeed the 17th Prince. They had heard that the 17th Prince possessed noble, beautiful light-golden eyes akin to moonlight, alongside white, pure hair resembling drifting snow. Therefore, the one with long white hair who had walked for so long while maintaining a chilly expression devoid of any rosy flush on his face was certainly the 17th Prince.
When this prince stood there, they could not tell whether the weather was colder or if this prince was colder. He seemed to have melted entirely into the snowy landscape, evoking an indescribable sensation in short, a feeling that made people instinctively wish to keep their distance.
And what about… the 18th Prince? Was his health not poor? Was he not so sickly that he was on the verge of dying young? Having walked for such a long distance, neither had he removed his hood, nor had his pace slowed down in the slightest.
In truth, Ji Ziyu was having a rather difficult time walking. The cold affliction within his body could not be expelled, making him utterly unable to withstand the freezing temperatures. In this frozen wasteland, wrapped in such heavy garments and walking for so long, he still felt no warmth. Most importantly, because of his eyesight, he had to concentrate much more intently on his surroundings in an unfamiliar place, causing his energy and stamina to be depleted exceptionally fast.
However, Ji Ziyu would not act spoiled and ask others to carry him either. Even little Yu walked so obediently without uttering a single complaint, so how could he, a transmigrator, have the face to expect others to take care of him?
Ji Ziyu had known from the very beginning that Ji Ziran definitely could not walk the entire distance. After walking halfway, he heard Ji Ziran’s suppressed, hoarse gasps lodged in his throat. Later on, Ji Ziyu was certain that if that fox fur cloak were pulled open, the trembling of Ji Ziran’s entire body would be impossible to hide from anyone.
He walked over, took Ji Ziran’s hand, and a continuous stream of warm qi flowed through his hand and into Ji Ziran’s body.
Ji Ziran was momentarily stunned, then pursed his lips and smiled.
The rest of the road still required him to walk on his own, but the cold Qi within his body was no longer as oppressive. He also felt completely reassured and stopped paying hyper-vigilant attention to his surroundings, deciding that enduring a bit longer would be manageable.
“Waah—!” Ji Zilun had been keeping his eyes fixed on Ji Ziran all along. They were about to remove their heavy garments to step onto the center of the holy altar, which meant he would finally get to see that so-called Black Child.
However, when the hood of that silvery-white fox fur cloak was removed, a head of dense, pitch-black hair appeared before everyone’s eyes. Then, once the entire fox fur cloak was taken off and those large, pitch-black eyes blinked into view, Ji Zilun actually cried out, “Royal Mother! That’s a demon… Right, a Black Child or whatever must be a demon!”
The surrounding area fell into a dead silence. Clearly, the majority of people had heard those words, and indeed, many of their eyes revealed expressions of agreement.
Such an intense, ink-black color, when contrasted against the snow-white background, the translucent ice, and Ji Ziyu standing right beside him, felt terrifying and filthy.
The Black Child—he actually turned out to be a Black Child. He must be a demon, or the product of a curse.
Chapter 016: The Little Bun’s Journal — The Results (Part 1)
Between two steep cliffs stood the holy altar, crystal-clear and seemingly sculpted from pure crystal. Accompanied by falling snow and the mountain wind howling ceaselessly across the precipices, a silence that felt almost palpable hung in the air.
After a short while, everyone heard a voice so bewitching that it was impossible to distinguish gender burst into a chuckle. The person who had walked all the way beside Ji Aotian, protected effortlessly by Ji Aotian’s wind-type magic the entire journey, removed his own hood. Then, with a pair of emerald-green eyes sizing up Ji Ziran, he said, “I’m an elf, and he’s a demon—they actually match quite well.”
Ji Aotian also laughed. “Well now, how about it? Would you like to live with My little eighteenth for a few days?”
Hearing these words, everyone’s expressions turned somewhat peculiar.
It was always said that King Yue was enchanting enough to bewilder the sovereign. At a glance, his appearance did not seem extraordinarily breathtaking, yet every movement of his always seemed imbued with a captivating charm that made people sink into addiction. If he were to speak a few more words in that voice, he certainly possessed the capability to beguile the ruler. Yet the Emperor of the Chu Yun Empire was no ordinary man either. Looking at Consort Xue possessing fresh, moving beauty and holding the title of the First Beauty as well as the Pearl of Kaoli, the stunning beauty who was the birth mother of the 16th Prince, Consort Shu, each of them was a top-tier beauty. Why, then, did Your Majesty bestow endless, exclusive favor solely upon King Yue?
There were indeed quite a few people whispering underneath that King Yue was precisely the sort of demon capable of fascinating people’s hearts.
With just a single sentence like that from King Yue, the Emperor actually entertained the notion of transferring a prince into his care. Such influence was truly formidable.
At the same time, this also demonstrated just how unfavored the 18th Prince truly was. It was rumored that his name consisted of only two characters, and now, right here in public, hearing it spoken from the Emperor’s mouth made it sound like mere merchandise used to curry favor with King Yue.
Xueyi Wright clenched her fists tightly. The words that had reached the tip of her throat were swallowed back down because Ji Ziran suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand.
Ji Ziran held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His hand was small and soft, and pressing it against Xueyi Wright’s hand felt as though he were pressing directly upon her heart. In an instant, she snapped back to sobriety.
To come into conflict with the Emperor at a time like this the worst outcome was undoubtedly something they would have to bear.
Helena Winnie lowered her head, looking as though…