The way he looked at the Empress was no different from the way he looked at his own attendants.
Empress Lu had truly been a failure of an empress. She seemed surrounded by splendor and prosperity, yet aside from His Highness the Crown Prince, perhaps no one in the palace had ever truly taken her seriously.
She was a chess piece.
And at this moment, she was one as well.
So Wen Xu revealed himself outright. There was no point hiding any longer. He had originally reported the case merely to test the reaction of that person in the palace, but he had not expected him to sit so steadily. "National Preceptor, I have long admired your name."
Wen Xu's eyes were covered, but that did not stop Empress Lu from recognizing him, nor did it stop the National Preceptor, Lan Qiao, from seeing his face clearly.
"You—"
Empress Lu's face was filled with terror, while Lan Qiao's... held stunned disbelief. Thanks to that unmistakable face, Lan Qiao had nearly instantly confirmed the newcomer's identity. Yet precisely because he knew, he found it impossible to believe!
How could an imperial descendant with an Imperial Destiny possibly enter the path of cultivation?! Could the Heavenly Dao truly be nothing but a decoration?!
His entire sect had labored with such painstaking devotion, even using secret treasures to help the Zhou Household stabilize the realm and prolong the royal clan's destiny, yet they had only attained this meager cultivation. But this person—
No matter how steady Lan Qiao's temperament was, he could not help cursing the thieving heavens in his heart for being so biased.
In truth, ever since the celestial signs had appeared that night, National Preceptor Lan Qiao had suspected that the child born bearing an Emperor Star Destiny might still