"That's Xiao Mingxue?"
When the old women saw Xiao Mingxue come out dressed in Hundred Birds Phoenix Robe, they lost their previous mood of watching the spectacle. They never expected that this little girl, who had only turned sixteen today, could actually carry off this dress!
It's not just about being able to carry it off; the noble air she exudes in every gesture evokes the image of Xiao Mingyue wearing this dress back then.
"This girl's eyes." One of the old women in red said, her tone almost incredulous.
The other old women also rubbed their eyes hard. As long-time servants of the Xiao Household, they certainly knew what this meant!
The dazzling gold in Xiao Mingxue's eyes now—only one woman in the past hundred years has possessed it—is by no means a fluke.
The head nanny was the first to react, immediately Human Dao behind her, "Go and report to the Empress Dowager at once! Xiao Mingxue has awakened the Golden Crow Bloodline!!"
--
"What did you say?"
Inside the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, the old woman, who had been indifferent to almost everything for the past six months, was so shocked this time that she couldn't even hold her wine cup steady. It crashed to the ground with a clatter. The glass, a tribute from Jiangnan, had the extraordinary ability to chill wine and was highly sought after by noblewomen in the capital, costing a fortune. But now, the Empress Dowager barely even glanced at the glass cup that she regarded as a treasure.
"Your Majesty, there's no mistake. The four of us have been observing her closely for a quarter of an hour. Her aura is unmistakable. Although she can't compare to Princess Mingyue, that girl definitely shares the same bloodline as Princess Mingyue."
The Empress Dowager glared at the other person, and after a long while, she swallowed hard before sitting back down in her chair, looking flustered.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?"
"Quickly!" The Empress Dowager's voice trembled almost as she cried out, "Help me! Stop that girl immediately! No one is allowed to take her away, not even the Emperor!!!"
He practically screamed these words!
"Yes!!"
One of the elderly women was incredibly fast, disappearing from the spot almost instantly, while the other quickly stepped forward to help the Empress Dowager up. "Your Majesty, please rest assured, this old servant will take you there immediately."
"Heaven has not forsaken the Xiao Household." The Empress Dowager's voice was almost choked with emotion!
When Xiao Mingyue was ten years old, she awakened her bloodline. Her bloodline was extremely pure, far surpassing her peers. She was the heir favored by all the elders of the Xiao family at that time, and she always believed that she was the most suitable true head of the Xiao family to lead the family.
However, this original plan was overtaken by Xiao Yan, who had somehow gone astray and used his absolute power to force the remaining elders to agree to change the choice of the family head.
Although later, under his leadership, the Xiao Household became an imperial family, she always harbored resentment in her heart.
As expected, the Xiao Household bloodline began to decline in the next generation. Over the years, only one deposed crown prince successfully inherited the bloodline, and he was obviously weak. In her eyes, he was far less outstanding than Fei Jun, the son of Xiao Mingyue.
She even considered supporting Xiao Mingyue to become empress if Xiao Yan died suddenly, changing Fei Jun's surname to Xiao, wiping out the Fei Family, and restoring the rightful heir.
But all of this shattered six months ago. Xiao Mingyue died, Fei Jun disappeared, and even the deposed crown prince was gone. The Xiao Household had nothing left.
Only those useless people who can't even inherit bloodlines, and that Xiao Household who's researching some kind of crooked and evil method again.
When he came to her door demanding that she issue an imperial decree to marry Xiao Mingxue off to the Southern Barbarians, she was already numb. Her own daughter was willing to be ruined like this. This man didn't care about bloodlines at all. He thought the same as her. He never thought about strengthening the Xiao Household. He was still pursuing that same dream of immortality.
hehe
She issued the imperial decree, intending to leave everything else to her. The Xiao Household had no bloodline left, and she planned to wait for death in the palace. In fact, she should have died half a year ago when the bad news of her daughter arrived. She was in a daze every day, only barely indulging in the new goods from Jiangnan, and had no interest in anything else, such as the violent deaths of imperial concubines or the mysterious deaths of princesses.
What does it have to do with her?
But this time it won't work, no matter who comes!
The Empress Dowager hurried along, her eyes red.
This time, if anyone dares to mistreat her granddaughter again, she'll fight them to the death!
Princess Mingxue has entered the palace!
On the other side, Xiao Mingxue was not stopped, but went straight into the palace as ordered. The old nanny who was originally sent to stop her looked confused.
She did heed the Empress Dowager's words, but she couldn't stop it.
It's not a matter of strength. Although this little girl has awakened her bloodline, she has never been trained and there's no way she could possibly suppress Third Rank expert like me.
I couldn't stop them because of just one look and one casual remark.
"Can the Empress Dowager protect me from the Emperor?"
"Of course the Empress Dowager can."
"She can't!" The little maid's eyes were cold, but filled with unwavering determination. "In this palace, no one can defy that man, at least not the Empress Dowager. You know that better than anyone else."
"But Your Highness."
"No buts, get out of the way!"
Your Highness.
"Please thank Grandma for her kindness, but also tell her that I, Xiao Mingxue, will walk my own path!"
In the main hall, everyone stared in astonishment at Xiao Mingxue, who was dressed in a magnificent white phoenix robe, including Wutugu, who had previously disregarded the princess, but whose eyes were now Wutu Gu open.
He originally looked down on women from the Central Plains. In his eyes, those delicate Central Plains women were nowhere near as beautiful as the strong and beautiful women from the Southern Barbarians. They had no muscles at all, and their pelvises could be shattered with the slightest force. They were neither good-looking nor useful. They didn't even have the strength to dance, and they weren't even chewy enough to be used as food.
If it weren't for her identity as a princess of the Central Plains, he wouldn't have had any interest at all.
But seeing the woman in front of him now, he realized for the first time that he was wrong.
There is such a noble woman in this world; such a being could never have been born in a place like the Southern Barbarians.
This really is a phoenix!
" Mingxue greets Father Emperor!"
Below the main hall, the assembled officials stood frozen, their faces filled with disbelief. The old woman who had followed them in, seeing the astonished civil and military officials, immediately smiled. How similar this scene was to the one when Xiao Mingyue had shone brightly in the family trial, leaving all the elders dumbfounded!
Unexpectedly, even after that prince's passing, the Xiao Household has produced another phoenix!
"Interesting." The emperor looked at Xiao Mingxue and smiled slightly. Unlike the other shocked civil and military officials, he didn't seem to be very interested in Xiao Mingxue's suddenly awakened bloodline.
Or rather, he lost interest in the so-called Golden Crow Bloodline a long time ago.
" Chen Qing!"
The emperor spoke softly, and Xiao Mingxue, whose expression had been calm, couldn't help but stiffen. She had actually been very good at holding back, but at this moment she really couldn't hold back anymore.
Is he already here?
"What is the purpose of your visit to the capital?" the emperor asked bluntly.
"I have come to fetch my wife so we can return to Jiangnan to get married!"
Xiao Mingxue bit her lip. It was that scholar's voice, still so gentle, but for some reason, it felt somewhat different from before.
Do you still remember this engagement?
"This was a gift from Your Majesty, and I was instantly captivated by the princess upon our first meeting; naturally, I cannot forget it."
"If that's the case, why haven't you come to propose marriage in three years?"
"Your Highness is of noble birth and cannot take any risks. The situation in Jiangnan has been turbulent for the past three years, and I cannot allow Your Highness to come and risk your life."
"So you have your reasons?" The Emperor laughed. "But now that I have issued an edict to remarry Mingxue, what are you going to do?"
The ministers looked at their emperor, speechless. Why did those words sound so provocative?
They all turned to look at Chen Qing, wanting to know his answer.
Xiao Mingyue kept her head down and didn't turn around to look at Chen Qing, but she was also listening intently.
"What does Your Majesty wish me to do?" Chen Qing looked up, seemingly showing no fear of the emperor.
The emperor smiled, not answering directly, but instead looking at Wutu Gu on his left, who looked impatient. "What does the Second Prince think?"
Wutu Gu sneered and stepped forward, saying, "I don't know the rules in the Central Plains, but in my Southern Barbarians, if two men both fancy the same woman and are determined not to share her, then there's only one way: to decide who gets her with their fists. A dead man can't marry Her Highness, can he?"
"Second Prince, you've gone too far," the Emperor said with a smile. "Our Great Jin also values martial arts. If we're going to settle things through martial arts, that's certainly a viable method. But let's stop short of a fight. Talking about someone dying is just an exaggeration."
"Is Your Majesty joking?" Wutu Gu sneered. "If we're going to fight, why bother with sparring? How can we determine a winner if we stop short of a fight? In our Southern Barbarians lands, there are no sparring matches. In the arena of duels, only the victor survives." As he spoke, he patted the bone ornament at his waist. "Among the collection here is my father, the previous Wutu Gu king whom you all know. I killed him not to usurp the throne. I have no interest in that throne. I only took a fancy to one of his women."
"If he wouldn't give it to me, I had no choice but to challenge him to a duel. And you all know the result: in my Wutu Gu's largest dueling arena, I twisted his head off!"
Everyone: "."
"Since the duel has been agreed upon, there is no such thing as friendly sparring. In our Southern Barbarians, this applies to fathers and sons, brothers, and rulers and subjects alike. The victor is not punished, not even the opposing ruler. If one accepts the duel, the loser must die!"
How arrogant!
Inside the main hall, the aristocratic generals looked at the barbarian who was spouting such nonsense with extremely dark faces.
The emperor smiled gently upon hearing this, nodded, and looked at Chen Qing: "And you, King of Qin, what do you have to say?"