Your Highness, Please Don't...

The two of them sat in the carriage drawn by a Thousand-Mile Horse Soul Beast, and it slowly set off.

Jiang Mingyang sat a little way from Xue Qinghe. After all, he knew Xue Qinghe's true identity. That was Qian Renxue!

In the novels he had read in his previous life, most people wrote scenes where they sat pressed together and Qian Renxue blushed, but Jiang Mingyang didn't dare gamble on that.

What if Qian Renxue really got angry and attacked him on the spot? Wouldn't he be finished? She had at least one Titled Douluo-level bodyguard behind her!

Seeing Jiang Mingyang sensibly sit farther away, Xue Qinghe wondered to herself whether the boy suspected something.

She couldn't let that show on her face, of course, so she said gently, "Cousin Mingyang, why are you sitting so far away? Come over and chat with me. Help me pass the time."

At Xue Qinghe's words, Jiang Mingyang moved a little closer, but he still stayed well away, keeping at least a meter between them. Xue Qinghe gave a slight nod. "That's more like it. By the way, Cousin Mingyang, what's your Martial Soul..."

Jiang Mingyang answered, "Your Highness, mine is..."

Xue Qinghe cut him off. "Why call me Your Highness? Call me Cousin."

Jiang Mingyang glanced at Xue Qinghe. She didn't seem to be pretending, so he said, "Cousin."

The day passed quickly. At dusk, an attendant stopped the carriage in a small town, ordered food, booked rooms, and left.

At dinner, Jiang Mingyang ate with gusto. Xue Qinghe, by contrast, ate with great refinement, even a touch of delicacy, taking one small bite after another.

If it had been anyone else, people might already have mocked him for eating like a woman. But this was Xue Qinghe. Was that womanly? No, that was aristocratic grace.

As she ate, Xue Qinghe considered how she could try Martial Soul Fusion with Jiang Mingyang tonight.

It wasn't that they couldn't perform Martial Soul Fusion once they reached the Imperial Capital. The Crown Prince had plenty of private space. But the first fusion would cause a huge disturbance.

Doing it in the Imperial Capital would be too difficult. They might be discovered.

In essence, the first Martial Soul Fusion was a fusion, while the ones after that were summons. That made the first one far more difficult.

How could she get Jiang Mingyang to... tonight?

Xue Qinghe was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Jiang Mingyang had nearly finished eating.

Jiang Mingyang didn't interrupt her, either. He knew how to read the room. He kept his chopsticks in hand, picking up food and eating slowly. He couldn't let a prince eat leftovers, after all! As long as his chopsticks kept moving, the food didn't count as leftovers!

Once they had both finished eating, Xue Qinghe got straight to the point. "Cousin Mingyang, the path of cultivation is arduous. We shouldn't waste a single moment. Why don't we try Martial Soul Fusion tonight?"

Jiang Mingyang nodded. He wasn't very familiar with Xue Qinghe yet, so whatever she said, he might as well nod along.

Seeing him nod, Xue Qinghe smiled from the heart.

Jiang Mingyang followed Xue Qinghe to her room. She said, "According to the records, Martial Soul Fusion requires a calm mind. Cousin Mingyang, just keep your mind blank and leave the rest to me."

Jiang Mingyang nodded.

The two sat cross-legged on the bed. A pull came from nowhere. With his eyes closed, Jiang Mingyang felt his awareness gradually fade, then slowly return. His whole body and mind felt blissfully at ease, even better than... than...

The moment he woke, he found Xue Qinghe slumped across his legs.

Jiang Mingyang thought for a moment and kept his eyes shut. As long as his eyes were still closed, it didn't count as waking up.

In fact, Xue Qinghe's Soul Power was far higher than Jiang Mingyang's, but she remained unconscious longer because she had led the Martial Soul Fusion.

This sort of unconsciousness resulted from something like a depletion of mental strength. Generally, only time could restore it.

Before long, Xue Qinghe woke and gently moved off Jiang Mingyang's legs.

Seeing how conspicuous her chest had become, Xue Qinghe hurriedly looked at Jiang Mingyang. His eyes were closed, but his breathing had already turned uneven.

Xue Qinghe felt as though trouble had sprung up before her grand undertaking was complete. She quickly said, "Cousin Mingyang, you're awake, aren't you? Stop pretending. Your breathing gave you away."

At those words, Jiang Mingyang's breathing grew even more uneven. There was nothing he could do. He'd done well enough already. Who told Qian Renxue to give herself away?

Jiang Mingyang opened his eyes and spoke with a conflicted look. "Should I call you Cousin Qinghe or Cousin Qinghe the elder sister? Isn't there still Xue Beng among the imperial family's men? Why make you shoulder this burden alone?"

It wasn't that Jiang Mingyang was a good actor. His feelings really were complicated!

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe, who had been wavering over whether to kill him, felt the tension leave her heart. She smiled faintly. "The Empire's situation is far more complicated than you think.

"When my father, Emperor Xue Ye, first ascended the throne, Eldest Brother was born. But he was always cunning and idle, and never won the ministers' support. If someone like him inherited the throne, Heaven Dou would have no hope.

"I was born around that time. To set the ministers' minds at ease, Father announced to the world that I was a boy and devoted himself to teaching me.

"If I proved capable, I would take the Crown Prince's seat as a woman and reassure the people until a successor appeared.

"So after I became Crown Prince, Father had two more sons. But neither of those younger brothers proved capable, either.

"And so I remained Crown Prince, right up to this day." Sorrow tinged her voice, as though she grieved for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

After hearing Xue Qinghe's account, Jiang Mingyang said with feeling, "You've had it so hard, Cousin Qinghe!"

He couldn't help feeling impressed. Xue Qinghe was just too damn good at making things up.

It was a good story, though. For the sake of his life, he nodded repeatedly and said, "You've endured so much for the sake of the imperial family. It can't have been easy. Besides, the imperial family has always chosen the worthy and capable. With your abilities, why shouldn't you become an empress remembered for a thousand years? I'd gladly help you achieve your great undertaking and leave your name in the history books."

Xue Qinghe nodded repeatedly, this time from the heart. "Yes. Enduring all this for the sake of the imperial family has been far from easy. Only you understand me, Cousin Mingyang.

"But word of this must never get out! If it does, the nation will fall into turmoil and the people will suffer terribly!"

Jiang Mingyang hastily promised, "Don't worry, Cousin. I won't tell anyone."

Jiang Mingyang knew, though, that he wouldn't have any freedom for a while—not until he earned Xue Qinghe's trust. Still, being safe was enough.

Their Martial Soul Fusion was complete. From here on, they only needed to grow more practiced at it, so Xue Qinghe was in no hurry.

After all, it would probably be years before she made her move against that woman.

To Xue Qinghe, what Jiang Mingyang had learned today must have been a shocking revelation. Once he had digested it, he should be somewhat more resilient to shocking news. If her identity was exposed after she achieved her grand undertaking, he ought to help her then.

Every night after that, Jiang Mingyang and Xue Qinghe performed Martial Soul Fusion. What appeared was a sword.

It shone with a dazzling light and looked somewhat like Qian Renxue's Angel Holy Sword, though the extra patterns along its sides came from Jiang Mingyang's Martial Soul.

The later Martial Soul Fusions differed from the first. Both of them remained conscious.

What puzzled Jiang Mingyang, though, was that while their fusion produced a sword, the Martial Soul Xue Qinghe summoned during it was still a Swan.

Xue Qinghe explained that although she led the Martial Soul Fusion, its main component was Jiang Mingyang's sword.

If Jiang Mingyang hadn't come from another world, he might actually have believed her.

In truth, the sword produced by their Martial Soul Fusion was clearly a modified version of Qian Renxue's Angel Holy Sword.

Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill let them pour energy into the sword until it grew nearly a hundred meters long and almost two meters wide, then unleash a fatal strike. Its power was absurd. And this was only a fusion between a Soul Elder and a Soul King!