"..."
Lu Chen heard this and was rendered speechless.
Even this old man couldn't escape the Law of True Fragrance?
Just a moment ago, he had said that even if he died, he would never agree to Lu Chen and Luo Li being together.
And now he had changed his tune so quickly. Was he really going to arrange their betrothal today?
That was quite something.
"Hahaha. Today is too soon. How about the day after tomorrow? I'll announce it today, and the day after tomorrow, we'll hold a grand imperial feast in the palace and settle the engagement between Little Eleventh and Little Luo Li!"
Seeing Luo Zhenshan's true-fragrance expression, the Azure Emperor couldn't help laughing aloud.
Hearing this, Luo Zhenshan smiled and cupped his hands toward the Azure Emperor.
"In that case, we'll do as Your Majesty says. This old subject will return at once to bring the good news home. I shall take my leave first."
Luo Zhenshan rose and cupped his hands toward the Azure Emperor.
"Fine, go!"
Watching Luo Zhenshan leave, the Azure Emperor looked at Lu Chen beside him with a beaming smile. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
"Little Eleventh, why have you come to see Imperial Father this time?"
"Imperial Father, Chen'er just missed you."
Lu Chen pouted as he spoke.
"Imperial Father is always so busy. You handle all kinds of affairs during the day and cultivate at night. You don't have any time to spend with Imperial Father, so Chen'er missed you and came to find you."
"Oh, my precious Little Eleventh."
Seeing Lu Chen's aggrieved expression and hearing his childish words, even the dignified Azure Emperor's heart nearly melted.
He directly scooped Lu Chen up into his arms.
"Chen'er, it was Imperial Father's fault. From now on, if you miss Imperial Father, come straight to me."
The Azure Emperor pinched Lu Chen's chubby little cheek as he spoke.
"Okay, Imperial Father."
"But Imperial Father, do you still remember the promise you made to Chen'er a few days ago? You promised to grant Chen'er one request."
Lu Chen nodded, then immediately stated the main reason he had come to see the Azure Emperor.
"Oh, of course I remember. What is it? Have you thought of your request?"
Hearing this, the Azure Emperor smiled and asked curiously.
"Imperial Father, Chen'er wants you to take a day off today and spend the whole day with Chen'er. The two of us can leave the palace and stroll around the imperial capital, taking a proper day of rest."
Lu Chen stared at the Azure Emperor with watery eyes and spoke in a childish voice.
The moment he finished speaking, the Azure Emperor froze.
When he came back to himself, the Azure Emperor instinctively hugged Lu Chen tighter.
"Good child, good child. Imperial Father has wronged you these past few years."
"Imperial Father, Chen'er isn't wronged. As long as Imperial Father is well, nothing else matters."
Those words from Lu Chen were like the final blade, stabbing viciously into the Azure Emperor's chest.
At that moment, the Azure Emperor's eyes even began to sting.
How precious was his promise?
Yet his own son was willing to waste one of his promises just to let him rest for a day and spend that day with him.
Thinking back to how he had ignored Lu Chen and his mother over the past few years, the Azure Emperor felt that he truly wasn't fit to be called a man.
The Azure Emperor roared madly inside.
"Fine, we'll listen to Chen'er. Today, we'll leave the palace and have a good time."
The Azure Emperor patted Lu Chen heavily on the shoulder as he spoke.
Half an hour later, the Azure Emperor had changed out of his imperial robes into a black brocade outfit, while Lu Chen wore a bright-red short jacket. The two of them walked through the imperial palace.
The father and son walked hand in hand through the palace. The princes, consorts, ministers, guards, eunuchs, and palace maids all stared in bewilderment when they saw the pair in plain clothes, holding hands and chatting merrily.
What the hell was going on?
Were the Azure Emperor and the Eleventh Prince playing cosplay?
"Greetings, Imperial Father. Greetings, Eleventh Brother!"
As the Azure Emperor and Lu Chen were about to leave the palace, they happened to encounter the Seventh Prince, Lu Ren, who was around twelve years old.
Seeing Lu Chen and the Azure Emperor holding hands and chatting merrily, a venomous look first surfaced deep in Lu Ren's eyes. He then hurriedly saluted the Azure Emperor and Lu Chen.
"Hmm?"
The Azure Emperor glanced at Lu Ren and merely nodded indifferently. He then immediately lowered his head and continued chatting with Lu Chen with a full-faced smile.
"Little Eleventh, have you thought about what you want to do after leaving the palace?"
"Imperial Father, let's eat baked flatbread and mutton soup together!"
Lu Chen spoke with a cheerful smile.
"Good, let's eat baked flatbread and mutton soup together."
The Azure Emperor laughed heartily. Pulling Lu Chen along by the hand, he didn't even spare Lu Ren a glance as he brushed past him.
He left Lu Ren trembling all over in place, his face twisted and his expression gloomy.
"Imperial Father, can Ren'er leave the palace and play with you too?"
Suddenly, heat rushed to Lu Ren's head. He turned and shouted toward the Azure Emperor and Lu Chen.
Yet the only response Lu Ren received was the laughter and chatter between the Azure Emperor and Lu Chen.
Imperial Father was unfair!
Having been utterly ignored, Lu Ren's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared inside.
Then Lu Ren ran frantically toward the Spirit Marvel Hall.
A half-step Grandmaster's speed was extremely fast. He moved like a gust of wind, and in the process, he directly crashed into a palace maid who had no time to dodge.
The palace maid didn't even have time to scream before her body was smashed into pieces, dying horribly on the spot.
"Imperial Concubine, I want Lu Chen dead! I want that beast dead! You have no idea—he's now enjoying Imperial Father's favor and acting like he's untouchable. I can't endure it anymore. I want him torn limb from limb!"
At the Spirit Marvel Hall, Lu Ren came before the Spirit Consort and roared through clenched teeth, his eyes seemingly burning with flames.
"Ren'er, don't worry. As long as Lu Chen is alive, your mother will never give up. It's just that the situation is rather special right now. That little beast Lu Chen has monopolized His Majesty's favor and is standing at the center of attention. We still can't touch him for the time being. Otherwise, once His Majesty finds out, whoever touches him will die."
The Spirit Consort let out a long sigh as she spoke.
However, just as the Spirit Consort finished speaking, another red slip of paper suddenly appeared out of thin air before her.
The Spirit Consort's expression changed when she saw the red slip. She reached out and picked it up. Three words had been written on it in black ink: "Second Person."
Seeing the slip of paper, the Spirit Consort's expression changed drastically. She looked around and shouted angrily.
"Who is it? Who's pretending to be a ghost?"
Two inexplicable, eerie slips of paper had appeared out of thin air on two consecutive days.
The first, the second...
What did this mean?
These two slips of paper gave the Spirit Consort an intensely uneasy feeling.
"Empress!"
At that moment, a woman in red appeared before the Spirit Consort and spoke to her.
"Empress, news has come from the Ling Mansion. After the Eighth Young Master of the Ling Mansion died horribly last night, the Seventh Young Master also inexplicably died in his bedroom just now. At the scene, only a cabinet full of tokens was left behind. The tokens had the words 'Death-summoning Talisman' and 'Netherworld' written on them!"
"What? Seventh Brother!"
The Spirit Consort's expression changed drastically when she heard this. Her entire body swayed, and she subconsciously staggered back two steps.
"Who is it? Who exactly is targeting my Ling family?"
The Spirit Consort gritted her teeth bitterly.
However, at that very moment, the Spirit Consort happened to glance at the red slip in her hand. Her expression froze, and she stood there stunned.
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