"What nonsense are you spouting?" For the first time, the fox demon's expression turned somewhat cold.
"You know perfectly well whether it's nonsense..." Chen Qing glanced around, then lowered his voice further. "I'm not just curious about how you fooled the emperor. I'm even more curious... why you were willing to bear Cui Yan's child."
In the setting he had created, demons could have children, especially the Thousand-Faced Fox, whose children were all peerless beauties and often caused a sensation throughout history.
But the demons had to be willing. Bearing a child exacted a considerable price, especially for reincarnating demons, as it reduced the purity of their bloodline. Very few were willing, so Chen Qing, who knew the rules, was extremely curious.
The fox demon's face went completely rigid. She stood there for a long time before staring blankly at Chen Qing, disbelief flashing in her eyes once more. "How do you... know everything?" she murmured.
"All I know is that someone with the Golden Crow Bloodline can't have a child with you." Chen Qing chuckled, thinking, Otherwise, that would be a bug. The Thousand-Faced Fox's innate ability was already heaven-defying. If she could fuse other demons' bloodlines into it too, what the hell would be left for anyone else to play?
"Then why did you say it was Cui Yan's child?" the fox demon asked with a frown.
"Cui Yan mentioned it..." Chen Qing sighed, recollection flickering in his eyes. "I remember... it was probably shortly after the examination results were posted, before he'd been named third-place laureate. That night... he came running into my room, all excited, grinning like an idiot, saying he was going to be a father. He hadn't seemed that happy even when he passed..."
The fox demon: "..."
"After learning you were the Thousand-Faced Fox, I initially thought you'd deceived Cui Yan. After all, you killed him just a few days later. How could someone so ruthless bear his child?"
"But thinking about it now, something's strange..." Chen Qing looked at her curiously. "To fool the emperor, you had to actually be pregnant, and judging by the timing, Cui Yan was your only possibility."
"But you certainly couldn't have prepared it in advance, because you shouldn't have been able to predict that you'd later be forced onto the Yin-Yang Road. So I'm very curious. Why would you bear Cui Yan's child?"
"Why wouldn't I?" A look of realization appeared in the fox demon's eyes, as though she were remembering something. "We were married for two years. It's not as though you didn't see how Cui Yan treated me. What's wrong with wanting to have his child? In your eyes, do we demons... have no feelings at all?"
"Huh?" Chen Qing laughed. "You had feelings for him, so you ate his heart and liver? Those feelings of yours are more than anyone could bear..."
"What do you know?" The fox demon suddenly shrieked in agitation. "You humans are all the same, always the same! No matter how sweet your words, no matter how you treated me before, once you learn I'm a demon, you're all like that, all like that!!!"
In a daze, she seemed to recall that night, the unfamiliar expression Cui Yan had revealed after learning her identity, and the terrified look in his eyes that had pierced her...
"You humans deserve to die, all of you!!!"
Chen Qing: "..."
This woman actually thought she was in the right? You deceived him into marriage first, and he wasn't even allowed to react after learning the truth?
In the modern world, if your wife suddenly told you one day that she was actually a man who'd undergone a sex change, how would you react? And you were a demon, a demon! Wasn't that even more shocking than a sex change? That was a whole fucking change of species...
Xu Xian had loved Lady White so much, but hadn't he still fainted from fright?
"I was carrying his child, his child!" The fox demon clawed at her hands in agitation until the skin broke. "Did he know what a price I paid to bear his child? Did he know?"
Chen Qing rolled his eyes. How the hell would he know? He wasn't me...
Not bothering to get tangled up in this emotional subject with a woman, Chen Qing asked directly, "Then how did you make the emperor think the child belonged to the crown prince?"
The fox demon slowly calmed down and gazed at Chen Qing. "I had the crown prince's primal yang. I drew out some Golden Crow power and wrapped it around the embryo. Naturally, that old fellow believed it."
"That simple?" Chen Qing froze.
"That simple..." The fox demon chuckled. "Because he's just like you. He doesn't think we demons have feelings. It would never occur to him that I'd bear Cui Yan's child. Everything we demons do has a purpose, so carrying the crown prince's seed would be the profitable choice, wouldn't it?"
"I see..." Chen Qing nodded. The emperor was clever, but sometimes, when people were too confident, they really did overlook certain things.
"But you can't hide it for long." Chen Qing tilted his head curiously. "The ritual to inherit the Golden Crow Bloodline takes place at three. Add your ten months of pregnancy, and you can stall for four years at most. What's the point? Now that you're under their control, you can't do anything either. Why not just reincarnate?"
"I can't reincarnate now." The fox demon shook her head. "If I did, I'd miss it."
"Miss it?" Chen Qing's eyes lit up.
"So there are things you don't know after all." The fox demon immediately smiled. "I thought you knew everything, just like that King of Qin."
Chen Qing frowned. Why did people keep comparing him to that dead fellow?
Still, this was indeed an important piece of information.
The fox demon was stalling, seemingly waiting for something. So was the King of Cold River on the Yin-Yang Road. From his tone, it sounded as though something major was about to happen.
What exactly was it? Had he overlooked something?
"He's here, he's here!"
In the main hall where Noble Consort Dong resided, several palace maids spotted Chen Qing coming to request an audience from afar and hurried, giggling, to Princess Yong'an's bedchamber.
"Your Highness, your prince consort is here!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Xiao Mingxue's face flushed crimson. "We're not even betrothed yet. Keep talking nonsense, and the matron will slap your mouths!"
The maids stuck out their tongues, but continued teasing the princess with giggles. Clearly, Her Highness was not normally strict with her servants.
"Ahem!"
As they played around, a somewhat aged cough rang out. They all hurriedly composed themselves. Xiao Mingxue smoothed her hair and looked toward the speaker. "Matron, you're here?"
"Your Highness..." The newcomer wore dark, elegant clothes and was clearly a matron of considerable standing in the palace. After glaring at the disrespectful maids, she looked helplessly at the princess. "If Your Highness keeps letting the servants behave so improperly, how will you control your husband's servants after you marry?"
The princess lowered her head in embarrassment, but still said weakly, "Mother said that Chen Qing... came from a poor farming and scholarly family. He probably... doesn't have servants, does he?"
"Won't he have them in the future?" The matron rolled her eyes at her. "His Majesty values that prince consort of yours. He's going straight into office as a prefect, and he's also been granted a marquisate, hereditary in perpetuity. And you're a princess. Are you planning to go there and cook your own meals like some country woman?"
The princess stuck out her tongue and muttered, "It's not as though I can't..."
"Hmm?"
"I said you're right, Matron..."
"Hmph!" The matron sighed helplessly. "Her Ladyship has only one daughter, so your dowry will certainly be generous. Once you're married, you'll have plenty to learn just managing those estates and shops. You can't keep being lazy like before."
"Ah, it's that much trouble?" Xiao Mingxue immediately wilted.
"That's what managing a household after marriage entails..." the matron said irritably. "All right, hurry and tidy yourself up, then go meet him. This isn't proper to begin with, but His Majesty and Her Ladyship dote on you. Remember not to lose your manners and make your husband's family look down on you."
"Of course I wouldn't..."
This... didn't count as a blind date, did it?
Following the palace maids' arrangements, Chen Qing drank tea in the reception hall. Outwardly, he remained fairly composed, but honestly... he was panicking a little inside.
This was a reaction carried over from his previous life. As a tech nerd with poor social skills, he had approached every blind date as though facing a formidable enemy. After transmigrating, he had thought he'd changed a great deal, until this moment, when he suddenly realized that some things in his bones... apparently hadn't changed at all.
The emperor might be a bit of a bastard, but in all fairness, he was handsome and imposing. I'd seen those consorts, too, and they were all stunning beauties. Their daughter... shouldn't look bad, right?
Chen Qing felt apprehensive. He was a practical man. Virtue and all that could wait; good looks were king...
"Are you Lord Chen?"
Chen Qing's tea shook, scalding his hand bright red, but he preserved his dignity, looking up and rising with a composed expression.
"This student has yet to take office and is unworthy of being addressed as lord. Your Ladyship is too kind."
Indeed, it was not the princess who had arrived, but Noble Consort Dong.
Naturally, Chen Qing recognized her. When identifying the fox demon, he had sniffed all four noble consorts, and this one had smelled the best... ahem...
"You're too modest, Lord Chen." Noble Consort Dong glanced at his overturned teacup and covered her mouth with a smile. "Even if you've yet to take office, you're already a marquis personally appointed by His Majesty. You mustn't belittle yourself."
"You're right, Your Ladyship..." Chen Qing bowed his head even lower.
Her breasts were so big. I couldn't look at her face, and I couldn't lower my head either. This was so hard...
"Why so nervous?" Seeing how cautious he was, Noble Consort Dong felt the urge to tease him. "Weren't you quite bold in Thousand Cranes Hall that day?"
"Please forgive me, Your Ladyship!" Chen Qing hurriedly lowered his head again. "The situation was urgent. I truly had no choice..."
"All right, look how frightened you are..." Noble Consort Dong giggled.
This lad didn't seem like someone who had frequented brothels.
But of course. If he were that much of a wastrel, he couldn't have passed the imperial examinations at such a young age.
Diligent, ambitious, and simple-hearted, yet able to remain composed when something serious happened at a critical moment. Perhaps her Mingxue had found a good match this time.
"Where's that beautiful concubine His Majesty bestowed on you? Didn't you bring her along for me to have a look?"
Chen Qing immediately panicked and hurriedly explained, "Well... Your Ladyship, this student doesn't know why His Majesty did this either. I promise that before the princess marries me, I absolutely won't..." But his words stalled there.
It seemed he couldn't make that promise yet...
Because judging by that damned emperor's intentions, he apparently couldn't avoid becoming a ready-made father...
What a fucking mess!
Watching Chen Qing falter, a glint flashed through Noble Consort Dong's eyes. There really was something strange about this.
"There's no need to make things difficult for yourself..." Noble Consort Dong smiled. "Just do whatever His Majesty tells you to do, so long as you treat my Mingxue well. I'll explain the matter of that beautiful concubine to the princess."
"Thank you, Your Ladyship!" Chen Qing let out a breath, as though granted a pardon.
"By the way..." Noble Consort Dong abruptly changed the subject. Looking outside the hall, she lowered her voice. "The Duke of Song died suddenly yesterday. Did you know?"
Chen Qing: "Huh?"
Seriously?!!!
The second round of PK starts tomorrow. Rubik's Cube is throwing a tantrum and rolling around, begging you to keep reading!