V2C125

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Shi Ying winced and blurted out, “A marriage between the White and Red clans?”

“Yes,” the emperor coughed intermittently, “didn’t you see the White King and the Red King coming to ask for a marital grant today? Ahem… the union of these two clans will be the foundation stone to ensure your succession to the throne… you must attach great importance to it. Now that I am seriously ill… this matter… is better for you to take care of it in person.”

“…” Shi Ying was speechless, and for a moment even his breath froze.

He stopped paying attention to what his father was saying, and his mind just echoed one single thought: a union? A marriage between the two clans? How could that be possible? So, this was the reason for her presence in the Imperial Palace today?

She… she would agree to marry Bai Fenglin?

Shi Ying clutched the Heavenly Ring within his hand, and his expression changed abruptly in a mixture of emotions, remaining silent without uttering a word, trying his best to control his feelings. Even though the emperor was a dying man, he noticed the change in his son’s eyes and slowly stopped speaking.

“Ying?” He frowned and questioned his son, “What’s on your mind?”

“She…” Shi Ying couldn’t help but to speak up, and his voice sounded strangled, “Did she agree?”

“She? Who are you talking about?” In that moment, a flash of light suddenly struck the dying old man’s mind and he suddenly remembered something – right, that lone daughter of the Red King, Princess Zhu Yan, was rumored that in the past, she apparently had practiced magic and had once cultivated under the Jiuyi Sect. Ying… was he referring to her? Could it be that the two of them knew each other?

The emperor’s heart sank violently with a sense of ominous premonition.

Yet Shi Ying merely blurted out that single question, and stopped speaking again. He bit his lip slightly and lowered his head beneath the lamp, burying his face in the shadows so that his expression could not be seen.

Yes, that statement, the question he asked was completely unnecessary.

That girl is as fiery as fire, and as long as she has a hint of reluctance in her heart, who could possibly force her to do anything? Since she has come to the Purple Palace with her father today, it means that she has already given her consent – it has only been half a month since she returned the Jade Bone to him at the top of Meng Hua Peak. How could her mind and heart change so radically already?

“As far as I know, cough, cough… Princess Zhu Yan had no objection.” The emperor observed the expression on the face of his firstborn son, and his tone became somewhat gruff with a hint of provocation, “What do you think of this marriage…?”

Shi Ying’s knuckles shook slightly, and his grip tightened upon the imperial ring even more, but he gave no reply.

“If you think it’s inconvenient…” the emperor spoke slowly.

However, in that moment, he heard Shi Ying blurt out, “There is nothing improper about it.”

The emperor was struck for a moment, not expecting him to consent so easily, and could not help but freeze what he was about to say and take a closer look at his eldest son – Shi Ying tilted his head up from under the lamp, without a trace of emotion on his calm face, as if the momentary loss of concentration earlier was just a hallucination.

Yes, given the state of things, what else can be said?

In just half a month, even his own mindset had completely shifted, so who was he to demand from others that they should remain the same as before? What’s more, she had made it clear from the start: because of the shark’s death, she would never be able to forgive him and would never accept anything from him – and since that was the case, she should move on with her own life. She had chosen this path by herself, so what could him as an outsider possibly do?

Shi Ying remained silent for a long time, his fingers spasmodically gripping the imperial ring as he finally spoke, “Since this union is so important, I will make good arrangements and try to facilitate the process.”

“Good.” The emperor gazed at the expression of his eldest son, coughed and nodded, and then asked, “Then… the matter of appointing the Crown Prince’s Consort…”

“The investiture is a major event.” Without raising his head, Shi Ying replied faintly, “I will go to meet the White King and discuss it with him in detail. Everything is for the betterment of Kongsang.”

For just a moment, the fierce light faded from the depths of his eyes, as if had never existed before. Those bright, starry eyes remained calm, but beneath that calmness was a concealed and unspeakable darkness, as if blood was dripping from the edge of a blade right into his soul.

The emperor looked upon him with a sudden weight on his heart.

When Shi Ying left, the gravely ill Emperor could no longer sustain himself and collapsed in a crumpled pile, panting violently. Wondering what was on his son’s mind, a deep grief settled in the old man’s heart, which he was unable to contain.

“You can no longer afford to exhaust your thoughts,” a voice suddenly whispered behind him. It was the Grand Master who had just dismissed the White and Red Kings and returned quietly to his sick bed, “You have reached the end of your life, you should live one day at a time, so don’t exert yourself so much.”

“Alas… I am worried about Shi Ying.” The emperor murmured, “There are too many unfinished matters. If I don’t end dealing with those, I just won’t feel at ease even if I die.”

“It is rare,” the Grand Master looked at the dying man and couldn’t help but smile, “to think that after a lifetime of muddled enjoyment, you would suddenly become this wise and virtuous towards the end of your life.”

The Grand Master’s voice was full of sarcasm, yet there was no malice in his eyes.

“That’s right.” The emperor smiled weakly and miserably, “I… we carry the same blood in our veins, after all… who is more or less foolish than the other?”

“Originally I thought you might not be able to deal with Consort Qing, but I didn’t expect you to be able to single-handedly pacify the harem by yourself,” the Grand Master nodded as he checked on the emperor’s Qi pulse, “It’s rare to be able to enlist two Sword Saints.”

The emperor muttered, “After a lifetime ruling as an emperor… there is always a possibility to make a friend or two, right? Ahem… the Sword Saint sect, owes me a favor… which is now considered to have been repaid.”

“So this is how it is.” The Grand Master frowned slightly as he looked at his elder brother, “Are you holding on so hard like this, because you want to take care of everything before you die? In fact, you don’t have to, I will make good arrangements to keep the Kongsang Dynasty running smooth.”

“Did you… thought that I would let this wench Consort Qing to snatch the empire?” The emperor sneered, his fingers clenching spasmodically, and his eyes filled with angry killing intent, “As long as there’s still a breath in me… I will personally take revenge for Autumn Water and bring this witch down.”

The dying emperor coughed violently, unable to articulate the following words.

“Alright, alright, I know you wanted to take revenge for the Autumn Water songstress.” The Grand Master hastened to gently stroke his back, “Now that Consort Qing is dead, you can be relieved.”

The emperor leaned back on the bed with a weak grip on the brocade, his eyes somewhat disoriented as he gazed at the tall ceiling, and remained silent for a long time before he whispered, “Yes… I can have some peace of mind. Now that Shi Ying is back… ahem, I am also relieved to have you by his side to assist him…”

The Grand Master patted the emperor’s shoulder and nodded in silence.

“It’s just that… I can recognize my own self from back then in Shi Ying’s body.” The emperor was staring into the void and said softly, “Did you see it? He… doesn’t seem too keen on marrying the Princess of the White Clan as his queen…”

The Grand Master jerked and paused, looking at his elder brother with confused eyes.

“Don’t worry, he will marry the White King’s daughter.” The Grand Master fell silent for an instant before speaking up, “Shi Ying is a man of exceptional wisdom and calm determination who would never abandon the world for his own selfish reasons.”

“Is that so? As my son… he is the exact opposite of me.” The emperor smirked and looked at the Grand Master, “Ah-Jue… you have raised my son to become a brilliant emperor.”

Da Si Ming laughed bitterly and shook his head, “I am only doing this for the future fate of the nation of Kongsang.”

“The fate of the nation? You divine officials who claim to be able to see through the destiny of the Heavens… cough, always saying these esoteric and mysterious words,” the emperor’s voice was weak and conveyed an aura of death, “What will happen in the future, and who can really tell for sure?… People always live in the present. I don’t want him to be like me…”

“You are almost dead, why do you still have to think so much?” The Grand Master shook his head and detoured from the subject of the emperor, “Shi Ying has his own destiny, and he will naturally understand the choices to be made.”

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