Princess Zhaoling (End)

In the end, Li Lianhua agreed to the marriage.

Whether as Li Xiangyi or Li Lianhua, he had always treasured his bonds above all else.

The Li Lianhua of today had lost his friendship and his love. Qin Po, his master's wife, was the only person he still cared about.

Now he had a child of his own flesh and blood, the continuation of the Li Household, his own bloodline. How could he turn a blind eye?

Li Lianhua cared far more than Zhaoling did about this child, conceived through scheming.

After Zhaoling laid out the advantages and disadvantages, the emperor was naturally pleased with Li Lianhua in every way. The experience Zhaoling had gained over this period had left her lacking neither cunning nor skill, and her martial arts were not bad either. She had no need to fear being held in check by her husband.

Moreover, Li Lianhua, as the princess's husband, cared nothing for fame or fortune and could resolve the danger to their bloodline. As things stood, he was a son-in-law his father-in-law found more pleasing the longer he looked.

Qin Po was also very pleased. By becoming Zhaoling's husband, Li Lianhua would be free of the danger surrounding his origins, and she would live to see him marry and establish himself. How could she not be happy?

After all, judging by how little Li Lianhua had cared about anything before, he had seemed destined to die alone.

Fang Duobing was also very pleased. Li Lianhua had been cured of his poison, and Fang Duobing no longer had to be forced by his family to marry the princess. Besides, he had offended the princess, and his own father had been up to no good. There was no way Fang Duobing could enter the imperial court now.

Now he could roam the jianghu freely, just as he pleased.

Di Feisheng was also very pleased. Although Zhaoling had nearly angered him to death back then, he had broken through and rebuilt himself. With Li Lianhua's help, he had now broken through to the eighth level of Sorrowful Wind in the White Poplars. His meridians had recovered, and his martial power had greatly increased.

And from time to time, he could still spar with Li Lianhua. He could not have been happier.

The one who was dissatisfied now was Zhaoling. Li Lianhua had once avoided her as though he could not get far enough away, but now he was like a sticky piece of taffy she could not shake off. He spent all day trailing around her with a bowl of medicinal tonic, annoying her to death.

Of course, Li Lianhua had not fallen in love with Zhaoling just because he had slept with her. It was just that his body had been like a spent crossbow at the time. Even though Zhaoling had somehow used a precious medicine to cure his poison, his body had still been very weak then.

Given the state of his body, it was hard for him not to worry about the child in Zhaoling's belly. In particular, even while pregnant, Zhaoling insisted on studying the art of rulership with the emperor every day, which was even harder on her body.

So every day, he pestered the imperial physicians into prescribing plenty of tonics to nourish her body and replenish her vitality, then chased Zhaoling around to make her take them.

Had Zhaoling not been hampered by her pregnancy, and had Li Lianhua not been running fast as his martial arts gradually recovered, she would have given him a few slashes with her sword, one way or another.

Li Lianhua kept pestering her like this until the day she gave birth. Zhaoling bore twin boys, and the emperor, Li Lianhua, Qin Po, and the others were all beaming with joy. Only Zhaoling cursed in anger, "Damn!"

What angered Zhaoling was that she actually had to get pregnant again. It was infuriating.

Forget talk of blood ties and the trustworthiness of family bonds. Zhaoling believed only in power and looked down on everything else. Children were merely tools for her to achieve her aims.

The reason Zhaoling decided to become pregnant again was that she had decided her heir must be a girl. Only if her next heir was also a woman would she be safe from betrayal by her heir, and her future accomplishments as a ruler would not be erased.

When Li Lianhua came in to see her, Zhaoling said bluntly, "Li Lianhua, these two children are yours. Let them take your surname, and you can name them."

Li Lianhua immediately understood what Zhaoling meant and had no objection. He had always believed that women were no less capable than men, so he had no objection to Zhaoling's plans. He merely thought, It will be hard on our daughter, though.

Zhaoling gave a derisive laugh. "Holding great power is better than marrying and bearing children."

After Zhaoling spent five years developing a pill to conceive a daughter, she finally became pregnant again.

By then, the emperor was also terminally ill. He forced himself to hold on long enough to pass the throne to Zhaoling.

When Zhaoling sat on the imperial throne and the people hailed her with cries of "Long live Your Majesty," she smiled in satisfaction.

Though she had exhausted her mind and strength in this life, she had achieved her goal in the end, had she not?