LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 485 Yue Emperor's Suspicion_1
The Martial Emperor, despite his reluctance, had no means to oppose the overwhelming power before him.
In the whole of Great Wu's territory, there was simply no one capable of resisting the Celestials. Leaving Great Wu aside, it was feared that the only ones in this world who could contend with the Celestials were the Celestials themselves.
He had heard that Lu Xingqiu somehow obtained a Divine Weapon capable of annihilating Celestials, but Lu Xingqiu had long since turned to dust, and that so-called Celestial-killing Divine Weapon had fallen into Lu Chen's hands.
At that moment, the Martial Emperor clenched his fists with such force that he left several dents in the pure gold Dragon Throne.
The Martial Emperor did not speak then, his gaze fixed unrelentingly on the dozen or so people in the grand hall, well aware that anything he might say now would be futile, and that these individuals might even decide to dispose of him right there and then.
He certainly did not wish to end up like Lu Xingqiu.
Seeing the Martial Emperor's angry face, Xia Tianyuan spoke indifferently, "The Sum Emperor says, if the Great Martial Royal Family surrenders, he is willing to take the Princess Junwan of Great Wu as his bride and bestow upon her the status of Imperial Noble Consort."
Upon hearing these words, the Martial Emperor's mind reeled, seemingly grasping something.
Ever since Wu Junwan went to North Country, although she occasionally sent some messages back, they were all useless information. The designs of North Country's weapons that he desired had still not made it into Wu Junwan's hands.
He had previously thought that Wu Junwan had not gained Lu Chen's trust, and with North Country having many powerful figures, it was difficult to obtain the weapon designs from Lu Chen.
But when he heard that Lu Chen planned to marry Wu Junwan, the Martial Emperor instantly realized that his daughter had likely seen through the empty promises he had painted for her, and thus she had simply defected to Lu Chen.
This realization ignited even more fury within the Martial Emperor. This unfilial daughter had actually betrayed him!
However, discussing this was pointless now, and at that moment, the Martial Emperor's thoughts shifted, and he said coldly, "We are prepared to bow our heads to Great Sum as a vassal."
Upon hearing these words, the entire court of civil and military officials were stunned. They could hardly believe that such words had come from the mouth of the Martial Emperor, whose character they knew all too well.
By all accounts, the Martial Emperor should have chosen death over submission, fighting to his last breath rather than surrender.
As people wondered why the Martial Emperor would utter such words, he continued, "However, Great Wu shall only be a vassal, and the land of Great Wu must still be ruled by us personally."
The ministers understood the Martial Emperor's intentions in an instant—he was planning to endure in hiding.
If he could bow his head and still control the land of Great Wu, then there was a possibility he could acquire those mysterious weapons of Great Sum in the future, and perhaps he could continue to amass strength until one day he would receive the support of Celestial warriors.
So long as he found other Celestials that existed in this world and gained their support, he could shake off Great Sum's control at the first opportunity and restore the Great Wu Dynasty.
Xia Tianyuan naturally saw through the Martial Emperor's ulterior motives and smiled as he said, "Your Majesty, the Martial Emperor, do you really think our emperor would agree to such terms?"
The Martial Emperor said coldly, "If the Sum Emperor is unwilling, then we shall meet on the battlefield, where we would rather die than surrender."
Hearing the Martial Emperor's words, Xia Tianyuan was not angered. He simply stated, "There is still one month's time. The Martial Emperor can take this time to reflect."
With that, Xia Tianyuan turned and walked towards the entrance of the hall, and the oppressive aura that had been weighing on the civil and military officials quickly dissipated.
Once the pressure had lifted, the ministers breathed heavily with relief, grateful that the Celestial had not taken action, for had he done so, it was likely that none present would have survived.
Once the ministers regained their senses, they all turned to look at the Martial Emperor, who by then was sitting with a dark expression and not saying a word.
After a moment, the Martial Emperor raised his hand and brought it down forcefully on the armrest of the Dragon Throne, shattering the pure gold armrests on either side instantaneously.
The Martial Emperor did not say much more. He rose to his feet, swept his sleeves, and departed from the grand hall.
After the Martial Emperor had left, the courtiers within the hall began to discuss among themselves.
Half a month later.
Great Jue, the Empress's Bedchamber.
Dressed in a red gown and wearing a phoenix crown, the Yue Emperor stood by the window, looking at the letter in her hand, her face cold as ice.
Just then, the letter burst into flames and quickly turned to ashes.
Upon learning that Wu Junwan had likely become Lu Chen's woman, she immediately wrote a letter to Wu Junwan, asking whether she had indeed become Lu Chen's.
Initially, the Yue Emperor still harbored a sliver of hope for a negative answer.
But to her surprise, after receiving the Yue Emperor's letter, Wu Junwan did not bother to hide it any longer and straightforwardly admitted it in her reply.
Moreover, she wrote in the letter that she wasn't coerced; she willingly became Lu Chen's woman, which infuriated the Yue Emperor even more.
How could Wu Junwan willingly become that man's woman when, back in the Misty Immortal Sect, numerous outstanding cultivators pursued her, yet Wu Junwan refused them all?
Although Lu Chen had some abilities, he was nothing compared to those Above Celestials of the Misty World, and Lu Chen was so much younger than her—how could Wu Junwan possibly like him?
The Yue Emperor's brows furrowed slightly as she fell into thought.
She felt certain that Wu Junwan must be hiding something else from her.
She didn't believe that Wu Junwan would just marry Lu Chen like that!
With that thought, the Yue Emperor returned to her desk and, taking up her pen, wrote another letter to Wu Junwan.
She now suspected that Wu Junwan might have realized that Lu Chen was not easy to deal with and thus deliberately gave herself to him in order to find a way to get rid of him.
Soon, she had written another letter and sent it off to Yan County.
At this very moment.
In Yan County, Great Sum.
Inside Murong Xue'er's room.
Lu Chen sat at a desk, looking at a portrait on the table, and said with a laugh, "I must say, your painting skills are truly excellent; you truly deserve your reputation as the great talent of Great Jue."
Hearing Lu Chen's praise, Murong Xue'er replied indifferently, "It's just a casual drawing."
Lu Chen studied the painting intently, appreciating it as he said, "This is no casual drawing; there are so many details in the painting, it's clear you have quite a grasp on my physique."
Murong Xue'er gave Lu Chen a speechless look, then said, "Your Majesty came to my room just to look at my paintings?"
Lu Chen smiled faintly, slowly rolling up his portrait and saying as he did so, "No, that's not it."
"I just remembered that it's been a long time since I've practiced calligraphy, so I thought I'd come to you for some practice."
Upon hearing about practicing calligraphy, Murong Xue'er was reminded of the things she and Lu Chen used to do in the study at the North Prince Mansion.
Murong Xue'er realized that Lu Chen, this fellow, must be idle recently and wanted to come torture her for amusement.
She had also heard that the current power structure in Great Sum was quite unique, with Lu Chen neglecting even the court meetings, leaving them to be hosted by others. At most, he would peruse some important documents, but beyond that, he hardly had anything else to do.
At this, Murong Xue'er walked straight to the couch and lay down, then said, "Come on."
Seeing this, Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then said, "What do you take me for?"
Murong Xue'er laughed silently to herself. The lecher was pretending to be a righteous man.
Just as Murong Xue'er was about to say something, Lu Chen used Shadow Shifting to suddenly appear behind her, and the familiar scene of 'practicing calligraphy' began.