Chapter 120: An Arranged Marriage?
After bathing, Yang Ye stepped out of the pool. With Shao Xing and Aili’s assistance, he donned a loose black robe.
“What a hassle! I still have to go pay respects to that ‘father king.’ Xiaoqing, wait here for me.”
After the two maids withdrew, Yang Ye spoke to Long Xiaoqing.
“Be careful, husband! I’ll wait for you right here,” Long Xiaoqing replied.
With a heart full of unease, Yang Ye, clad in the black robe, left the hall and ascended the stone steps toward the grand and imposing royal palace above.
...
“Xiaoqing, your name is so strange!”
“Xiaoqing, where are you from?”
“Xiaoqing, how did the princess come to favor you so much? Letting you bathe her personally—this has never happened before.”
“The princess treats you so well; you’re really lucky!”
...
As soon as Yang Ye left, eight maidservants gathered before Long Xiaoqing, chattering incessantly.
Long Xiaoqing glanced coldly at the eight and said sharply, “How the princess treats me is none of your concern!”
The moment she finished, the eight maids immediately fell silent.
“What are you yelling about? This is the princess’s palace—show some manners!” Shao Xing snapped, frowning and sneering.
“That’s right! Just a country girl, thinking that because she’s gotten close to the princess, no one else can touch her,” sneered Jing Xing disdainfully.
“Slap!”
No sooner had Jing Xing spoken than Long Xiaoqing struck her across the face with considerable force.
All eight maids were cultivators at the Star Lord level, and Long Xiaoqing’s blow was powerful. Jing Xing spun several times on the spot, half her delicate face swelling immediately to the size of a peach.
“You—how dare you hit me!” Jing Xing clutched her cheek and glared coldly at Long Xiaoqing.
“Aili, go quickly and summon Ban Rou, the steward. This country wild girl actually dared to raise her hand—she’s breaking palace rules,” Shao Yao said with a gleam of triumph in her eyes.
The eight maids were deliberately trying to provoke Long Xiaoqing. Seeing how well the princess treated Long Xiaoqing, they were all jealous. Despite accompanying the princess for many years, none had received such special treatment.
Ban Rou, the steward Shao Yao mentioned, was the palace official responsible for overseeing the maids, known for her strictness and rigidity. If Long Xiaoqing fell into her hands, she would suffer dearly.
...
Upon hearing this, Aili immediately turned and headed for the palace gate.
Long Xiaoqing snorted coldly and, with a flash, appeared before Aili.
Aili halted, about to scold, but Long Xiaoqing suddenly struck. With a soft pop, she pierced Aili’s chest and promptly tore out her heart.
“Pop.”
Long Xiaoqing crushed the heart, sucking a drop of fresh blood into her mouth.
Even taking only a single drop was a great restraint for Long Xiaoqing.
After all, humans were a delicacy to her. Just as humans eat various beasts, dragons eating humans was not strange.
Eliminating these eight maids was a task Yang Ye had assigned to Long Xiaoqing before leaving.
These eight had long accompanied Lan Xingchensha, and if Yang Ye impersonated Lan Xingchensha, they would easily see through the act.
Yang Ye didn’t want to constantly mimic Lan Xingchensha’s behaviors—that would be exhausting.
Indeed, upon his return, Shao Xing and Aili had already noticed something was off.
Seeing Aili’s death, Shao Xing, Jing Xing, and the others were horrified.
They never expected Long Xiaoqing to be so formidable, killing Aili with one strike without any resistance.
Discarding the shattered heart, Long Xiaoqing coldly surveyed the remaining seven maids.
“The princess has long held a grudge against you. You’ve been secretly colluding with the palace guards outside. Don’t think the princess doesn’t know,” Long Xiaoqing said icily.
The seven widened their eyes in shock.
They had planned to find a reason to get rid of Long Xiaoqing, never expecting the princess to know their secret.
However, such matters were common in the palace.
The Lan Star clan was open-minded and long-lived; most palace maidens engaged in such behavior. Though against palace rules, it was tacitly tolerated as long as no pregnancies resulted.
Shao Xing’s expression shifted, then she coldly said, “Sisters, let’s unite and kill her!”
How could seven maids stand against Long Xiaoqing?
Moments later, all seven lay dead at her hands.
...
While Long Xiaoqing dealt with the eight maids, Yang Ye, disguised as Lan Xingchensha, entered the palace.
In the broad, shadowy hall, Yang Ye stood, gazing deep into its dark recesses.
Suddenly, a powerful aura descended, forcing Yang Ye to his knees.
Even at his current level, he could not resist this overwhelming presence.
Star Sovereign? Or perhaps Grand Star Sovereign?
Or maybe even the Divine River Realm...
Yang Ye pondered the opponent’s cultivation.
At that moment, a five-colored star river appeared in his mind.
Grand Star Sovereign...
Based on Nezha’s explanation of the realms, Yang Ye finally understood.
His current realm was equivalent to Star God, still a whole realm below the Grand Star Sovereign.
“Damn it! Just give me time, and I will become the next queen of the Lan Star clan!” Yang Ye gritted his teeth and vowed inwardly.
A tall, middle-aged man clad in a splendid black robe appeared before him.
The king of the Lan Star clan, Lan Shen Yuan.
Within the secondary star domain, Lan Shen Yuan was one of the top ten experts, having ruled the Lan Star clan for hundreds of thousands of years by Earth’s reckoning.
“Hundreds of thousands of years to reach Grand Star Sovereign—that’s some terrible talent...” Yang Ye’s heart fluttered nervously, afraid of being seen through. To calm himself, he indulged in wild thoughts.
Yang Ye knew well that progress became increasingly difficult at higher cultivation stages. Reaching Grand Star Sovereign after so long was already considered astonishing talent in this main star domain.
The main clan valued Lan Shen Yuan greatly.
Even the strongest in the main clan only reached the late Divine River realm.
If Lan Shen Yuan could ascend to the Divine River realm, the Lan Star clan would rise accordingly, moving into the primary star domain and standing on equal footing with the main clan’s branches.
“Good! You have advanced to the Star God realm in a short time,” Lan Shen Yuan said coolly, glancing at the kneeling Yang Ye.
At this moment, within Yang Ye’s star sea, a simulated star sea resembling Lan Xingchensha’s aura and cultivation radiated from him.
If he could not achieve this, Yang Ye would never have risked coming to Lan Star.
“Thank you for your guidance, Father King,” Yang Ye said respectfully.
Lan Shen Yuan nodded. “Prepare yourself. The main clan will send someone soon to arrange your marriage.”
Hearing this, a thousand wild curses surged through Yang Ye’s mind.
(End of chapter)