Will You Be My Consort?

By contrast, the Rakshasa Phantom, who had been watching from the corner the whole time, was in a completely different mood.

Ever since Xu Tianzhen had raised her hand to stop Qian Yuhan, the rascal hadn't stopped laughing gleefully.

Where Xu Tianzhen couldn't see, the Rakshasa Phantom clutched his stomach with one hand and slapped Qian Yuhan on the shoulder with the other, laughing uproariously. "Hahahahaha! Old Qian, if you ask me, a person—man or woman—just needs a pretty face!"

"Other people go to all sorts of lengths to climb the high branches of a princess's tree. But you? The princess of the number-one nation on the Douluo Continent is rushing to repay you!"

"What the hell are you talking about? How old is she? Don't use your twisted mindset to make wild guesses about a child," Qian Yuhan replied with a frown, thoroughly annoyed.

"Pfft—"

As Qian Yuhan rebuked him with righteous indignation, the Rakshasa Phantom covered his mouth and struggled to rein in his wild laughter. Then he posed a question that seemed to strike at the soul: "Come to think of it, Qian Yuhan, have you ever been in love?"

Love? (⊙o⊙) What was love?

How could love possibly compare to fighting, fighting, fighting! Chopping, chopping, chopping! Killing, killing, killing! That was the real thrill!

Seeing the naked confusion on Qian Yuhan's face, the Rakshasa Phantom smacked his lips and let out a mocking laugh. "No need to guess. One look at you and I can tell you've never been in love. Come, come, let this Rakshasa love expert give you a lesson."

"An expert in love? You?" Qian Yuhan eyed the Rakshasa Phantom suspiciously for a moment, then asked without a second thought, "So, you've been in love? With another god?"

"Uh, no."

"Then you were in love with someone before you became a god?"

"Uh, no, not that either."

"You've never been in love with a person or a god, so what kind of expert are you? An armchair expert?"

Very good. Qian Yuhan, whose ability to trade barbs had improved significantly over the past few years, had just ended the match with a single blow.

"Tch, Qian Yuhan, you really know how to make a person mad..."

Under Qian Yuhan's definitive debunking, the Rakshasa Phantom's smile vanished in an instant. But ever stubborn, he still acted unconvinced and kept arguing, "At least I've watched other people fall in love."

"What the hell does watching have to do with anything? Who hasn't watched?"

This time, Qian Yuhan didn't even spare the Rakshasa Phantom a glance. Instead, he turned to Xu Tianzhen.

"Judging by the look of you, whether or not I accept your repayment doesn't matter anymore. You've already made up your mind to find a chance to repay me. Am I right?"

"Yes." Xu Tianzhen clenched her little fists and shouted bravely, "Will you come back to Bright Capital with me? I'll ask Father to grant you a title."

Tsk, willful little girls spoiled by their parents are such a nuisance...

Qian Yuhan grumbled inwardly, then rubbed his throbbing temples with an exasperated smile.

"You're going to grant me a title right off the bat? That's pretty generous! What title are you planning to ask your father to give me?"

"Hmm." Xu Tianzhen furrowed her brow and actually began analyzing the matter in all seriousness in front of Qian Yuhan.

"According to the Sun-Moon Royal ancestral rules, only members of the imperial family may be made princes in the Sun Moon Empire. You don't have the surname Xu, so you can't be made a prince. You're not a Level 9 Soul Engineer, and you haven't opened up new territory or earned any other great merit, so you can't be made a duke either."

"Marquis and earl also require a certain level of cultivation..."

"As for the lower ranks, viscount and baron... I'd feel embarrassed to give you either of those."

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Xu Tianzhen's eyes lit up as if she'd come up with a brilliant idea. "How about Father makes you a consort? It ranks on the same level as a duke, and best of all, there aren't any special requirements!"

Qian Yuhan ⊙△⊙: "Huh??!"

For the first time in many years, Qian Yuhan wore a bizarre expression, one that mingled astonishment, confusion, and disbelief. It was as if his face were asking:

This can't be right! Am I going deaf at such a young age, or am I hearing things?

Why do I feel like I just heard... some strange word...

In an instant, the whole place fell silent.

Everyone present except Xu Tianzhen froze in unison.

Even Xu Yan, who had been about to step forward and back Xu Tianzhen up, was so startled by her earth-shattering declaration that he stumbled and nearly tumbled headfirst into the slowly flowing lava beside him.

No, my little princess, do you want to listen to what you're saying?

Do you think you can decide who becomes your consort just by pouting at His Majesty? This is sheer nonsense!

If word of this gets out, people will think the princess of the Sun Moon Empire is some cabbage being handed out at their doorstep.

Once we get back, I'm definitely submitting a memorial to His Majesty and asking him to send someone to the imperial mausoleum to check if something's gone wrong.

And you, young man, you absolutely mustn't agree! It's for your own good, and mine too—though mostly mine.

I, Xu Yan, am begging you, please, please don't agree!

Thinking of his little princess getting carried away and turning the whole imperial palace upside down over this, then of the old emperor flying into a rage and overturning his table, only to spare his precious daughter and drag the unlucky Xu Yan off to be caned in the hall as a scapegoat, Xu Yan felt like his head had grown two sizes.

At this critical moment, with his life hanging in the balance, he couldn't spare a thought for the difference in their cultivation or status. He hurried behind Xu Tianzhen and bowed to Qian Yuhan several times.

He hoped Qian Yuhan would throw him a lifeline at a time like this and save his backside, which was already a hair's breadth from the caning bench.

As for Xu Yu, Xu Yu said nothing. He just kept sending messages to his own sovereign: "Old man, are you still in the palace reviewing memorials? Your little cotton-padded jacket is about to fly right onto someone else!"

But Qian Yuhan was still in a daze, his worldview on the verge of collapse. Three questions kept flashing through his mind: Is this reasonable? What on earth is she saying? Is this really the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family's way of doing things?

After all, tens of thousands of years ago, when he had represented the Church in dealings with the imperial families, he had never seen any royal family speak so bluntly and brazenly.

Meanwhile, the Rakshasa Phantom, who had gotten his fill of the spectacle, only laughed harder and harder. By the end, he was clutching his stomach and rolling back and forth on the ground.

"Pfft, hahahahaha~ (＾◇^)/" The Rakshasa Phantom wiped away his tears and took the opportunity to tease Qian Daoliu.

"Oi! Qian Yuhan!"

"If you ask me, you might as well give in! I think swallowing your pride and going to the Sun Moon Empire to be a consort wouldn't be so bad! With that title, I bet you could save at least ten years of taking the long way around. Gahahahahaha!"

On the other side, seeing that Qian Yuhan still hadn't answered, a hint of disappointment flickered across Xu Tianzhen's little face.

But in the very next moment, she once again brought her "astonishing wisdom" to bear, letting her "clever" intellect seize the high ground once more.