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Chapter 1316: Unforeseen Developments
Second empress? Zu An’s expression was a bit strange. Just moments before, he had been wondering if there was a second empress; now, sure enough, one really had come out.
Maid Xing spoke quietly, clearly trying to resolve their confusion. “The Fiend Emperor’s original madam first empress already passed away many years ago. Later, another woman became the empress, so the world calls her the second empress.” She was Yu Yanluo’s personal maid, similar to a supervising secretary. Naturally, she gathered information in advance, then offered it when needed.
Zu An suddenly realized with a start, No wonder this second prince and the first prince don’t get along. He wondered which side this second empress was on. Perhaps… Was she in a faction of her own?
A soft and pleasant voice asked, “What happened over here? Why is it so noisy?”
All of the men present trembled when those words were spoken. The voice was just too soothing, and yet its tone was extremely dignified and proper. Not only that; it would make one unable to help but think of the bedroom, wishing to take her into their embrace and treasure her for a whole night.
However, they quickly snapped out of their daze. This was the Fiend Emperor’s woman, and she definitely wasn’t someone they could have such thoughts about. As such, all of them stared directly at the ground, lowering their heads respectfully.
Inside the Snake race’s carriage, Yun Jianyue raised a brow and remarked, “Another expert in charm techniques.”
Yan Xuehen nodded and said, “As expected of a fiend woman, full of witchcraft.”
She reflexively looked at Zu An. She felt that Zu An already had so many exceptional beauties, and previously, with her… Thus, he likely wouldn’t end up bewitched by the second empress.
To her surprise, however, Zu An stared directly at the carriage. She was utterly furious!
You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233…
When he noticed the Rage points arriving through the backend, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. He didn’t panic and just felt happy. At least Yan Xuehen’s emotions had still been stirred because of him!
Naturally, he hadn’t stared at the second empress because he really did covet her beauty. Rather, just then, his soul sensed that she seemed to have observed him closely for a moment, so he had returned the look with puzzlement.
Even though Heichi Ran was from the first empress’ faction, she had already passed away. The second empress was the official empress, so he didn’t dare to show any negligence in his behavior. He quickly gave her a summary of what had happened without daring to be too partial.
The second empress remained quiet for a moment before saying gently, “The Medusa Queen is the ruler of a race. If she experiences unfair treatment, it will easily cause the hearts of the other clans to turn against us. This empress believes that this was merely a small misunderstanding that should not be a big deal to clear up. Lion race’s princes, what do you think?”
Shi Min and the others were obviously dissatisfied, but they didn’t dare to show the empress disrespect. They could only say quietly, “The second empress’ words are absolutely wise.”
Either way, they would all meet in the Fiend King Court. There would be more than enough opportunities to get revenge.
“That is good, then,” the woman in the carriage said, nodding in satisfaction. Then, she looked at Yu Yanluo and said, “Medusa Queen, I heard that you only recently returned to the Fiend races. This is a good chance for you to get closer to the other clan leaders.”
“Thank you for your reminder, second empress.” Yu Yanluo naturally acted politely, as the empress had helped her.
The second empress voiced her affirmation, then gently waved her hand, gesturing for the carriage to continue forward.
Hechi Ran had just shown hostility to the Snake race, but now that the second empress had spoken, he had no choice but to back down. Staying there would be way too embarrassing, so he decided to just escort the second empress back to the palace.
Even though Shi Min and the others were eager to seize the opportunity, so many people were watching, so they couldn't publicly go against the second empress’ orders. Instead, Shi Min sneered and said to Zu An’s group, “Count yourselves lucky today. We’ll see who saves you next time.”
Zu An sighed and said, “It should be you people who are grateful for the second empress, that she appeared to save you.”
“Let’s see if your mouth is still that tough the next time we meet.” Shi Min and the others harrumphed. Then, they swaggered off on their lions.
Forget about the Lion race’s princes, even those from the other races just thought Zu An was shooting his mouth off. Zu An didn’t explain himself either. He returned to the carriage and began to discuss things with the three women.
Yan Xuehen was the first to say, “These fiend races really have no sense of established rules. They act out as soon as they do not agree with someone. You have offended so many people, so things might be troublesome in the future.”
Yu Yanluo instead smiled and said, “In my opinion, that might not be the case. This situation is much better than what we predicted.”
Yan Xuehen was stunned, asking, “What do you mean?”
Yu Yanluo explained, “At first, we were worried that once Ah Zu entered the King Court, the Fiend Emperor and the Golden Crow Crown Prince would get revenge on him, so that was why he had no choice but to change his appearance and name. From what I saw just now, though, the Golden Crow Crown Prince isn’t the one who controls the entire clan. The second prince clearly doesn’t get along with him either. Even though the second empress didn’t express anything, we can infer a few things from her decision to help us out of that situation. She’s definitely not of one mind with the Golden Crow Crown Prince.”
“Stone cold woman, the world you’ve lived in so far is just too posh and pretty. Of course you haven’t seen these rougher parts of society.” Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Actually, it makes sense if you just think about it a bit. The Golden Crow Crown Prince was born from the first empress, while this second empress is his stepmother. Judging from her looks, she might not even be older than the Golden Crow Crown Prince. If the Golden Crow Crown Prince really became the Fiend Emperor, what would happen to such a young empress like her? Furthermore, she still has a son herself, a son who is second in line. Even though he’s still young, any mother would make considerations for their own son.”
Yan Xuehen didn’t retort this time. She knew that her knowledge in that regard was inferior. After all, she cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, which stressed untainted thoughts. She obviously didn’t want to dive deeper into such interpersonal relationships and taint the purity of her own thoughts.
Yu Yanluo said with a sigh of praise, “Big sis Yun’s analysis is correct. Currently, there are at least two powers who are keeping the Golden Crow Crown Prince in check. That’s why the risk we faced was quite a bit smaller than we expected.
“Of course, we can’t be blindly optimistic either. The successor’s ceremony is going to happen soon, which will settle everything. So, if these forces are going to fight over something, it’ll definitely happen soon. We absolutely can’t allow ourselves to be unknowingly swept up in it.” She looked at Zu An after speaking, as if she knew he was going to start something.
Zu An laughed and said, “I fear that might not be up to us. I have a premonition that from the moment we arrived in the Fiend King Court, we were already destined to be involved even if we don’t want to be.”
The girls became quiet. They knew that what he said had a large chance of being true.
…
Zu An’s group drew close to the Fiend King Court’s city gates. Because the general assembly was of utmost importance, the guards registered the identities of every single person. Zu An, of course, had already prepared his new identity. Next, however, those soldiers asked for Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue’s names.
As human race grandmasters, their names were familiar to the fiend races’ upper echelon, so they obviously couldn't leave behind their real names. As such, Yun Jianyue said, “My name is Yun Zouyan[1].”
Yan Xuehen’s eyes twitched, but she was struck by inspiration too. She said, “I am Yan Chouyun[2].”
The soldier who registered their names was stunned. What kind of weird names were those? As such, he asked the two women to remove their masks. What kind of individuals were Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, though? They were obviously unwilling.
As the situation grew even more tense, however, a loud and straightforward laugh resounded. A voice called out, “These are my friends. I can testify for them.”
Zu An turned around and saw Kong Qing. At his side was a woman dressed strangely in bridal clothes; it was Paper Bride.
“So it was Sir Kong,” the soldiers said. Kong Qing’s status clearly wasn’t low. When they saw him, they didn’t trouble the two women anymore and let them straight through.
When they entered, Yu Yanluo said gently, “Thank you, Sir Kong.”
“Madam Yu is being too polite,” Kong Qing said with a smile. “I came specially to welcome you all. Hm? Why don’t I see brother Zu?”
Even Paper Bride couldn't help but crane her neck. Unfortunately, Zu An was nowhere to be seen, so she regained her usual half-dead appearance.
Yu Yanluo was already prepared for that question and answered, “He already returned to Cloudcenter Commandery.”
Kong Qing nodded and said, “That’s a wise choice. Coming to the Fiend King Court would be too dangerous. Hm? I don’t seem to have met these people here before.”
Yu Yanluo gave them a rough introduction. Kong Qing said with a sigh of amazement, “The Snake race is full of talents after all.”
He noticed that he couldn't see through those individuals. Does the Snake race really have such powerful backing? Ever since something had happened to the previous Medusa Queen, the Snake race had fallen apart. He had never heard of them having such powerful cultivators before!
“Sir Kong praises us too much,” Yu Yanluo said politely. She didn’t explain anything and continued, “I’ve long heard of the Peacock King’s reputation. This is a good chance to properly greet him.”
Kong Qing said with a forced smile, “I fear that wouldn’t be too convenient.”
“Why is that?” Yu Yanluo asked in confusion. If they hadn’t intended to meet, why had Kong Qing been sent over to welcome them?
Kong Qing said with a sigh, “Right now, forget about our Peacock King, it’d be hard for you to meet even the Golden-Winged Peng King or the Elf King.”
1. This name translates to ‘Yun gives Yan a beating’. ☜
2. ’Yan whips/thrashes Yun’. ☜