Tie Qingniu lowered his head. "Marquis, you are a True Lord among the top hundred of the Heavenly Gang Ranking, master of a hundred thousand Demon Lotus Sect followers. You command three hundred thousand Cangming Army soldiers, hold the status of a Core Disciple of the Origin-Initial Devil Sect, and have a marriage agreement with our Iron Household.
"Even if you have no intention of joining the struggle for the heirship, others will not think so. I dare say that whichever imperial prince wins you over will gain a tremendous increase in strength! His hopes will soar!"
The room fell silent for a while.
Qing Chen raised his eyes toward the window. A hundred-zhang pleasure barge sailed across the lake, dozens of crystal lamps hanging from its prow. The lake water crushed their reflections into a flowing expanse of starlight.
He abruptly changed the subject. "What about Emperor Jingtai? What sort of sovereign of the Immortal Dynasty is he?"
At those words, Tie Qingniu's body went rigid.
What did he mean? How had the subject suddenly turned to this? Talking about imperial princes and powerful ministers was one thing.
But once the conversation touched upon that sovereign behind the imperial throne, who had not revealed his true face for centuries, Tie Qingniu still felt a chill down his back, even here in a mere inn, even with tens of millions of li of cloud and mist between them.
"The sovereign's heart is unfathomable." But Tie Qingniu desperately wanted to curry favor with this Devil Lord whose star was blazing. Steeling himself, he said quietly,
"The Iron Household is loyal only to the sovereign of Great Jin, so we know a little. In his early years, His Majesty devoted himself to good governance and displayed extraordinary skill. Later, he became somewhat...