BXBX NOVEL Chapter 995: Written Invitation
Qing`er stared at Qin Wentian’s smile, feeling somewhat upset in her heart. Her beautiful eyes flashed with a stubborn look. She turned to Princess Changping and said, "Aunt, I will be staying here temporarily with him... can you arrange a courtyard for us?"
Princess Changping was startled for a moment. Her eyes flashed as she stared at Qing`er, only to see Qing`er looking straight at her without evading her eyes. This caused Princess Changping to sigh silently. It looked like this lass’s obsession was truly very deep.
"Okay, but if your father starts to blame me, I will make it clear that this is your own idea." Princess Changping shook her head.
"Mhm." Qing`er nodded in agreement.
Princess Changping then issued a command for the finest courtyard to be cleaned, before leading Qing`er and Qin Wentian over. "The environment of this courtyard is beautiful and elegant. There are many rooms here, and both of you can choose one for yourselves."
After speaking, she cast a deep glance at Qing`er. Qing`er didn’t seem to understand her meaning and said nothing. She lightly nodded in thanks, and Princess Changping turned and departed the area.
"Qing`er, I’m fine. There’s no need for you to do this..." Qin Wentian was touched by her act, understanding Qing`er intentions.
"Stay here in the royal palace for some days at least, okay?" Qing`er inclined her head, looking at Qin Wentian. Staring into her eyes, how could Qin Wentian bear to reject her? He nodded, "Okay. I will accompany you for a period of time. I will make other plans only after I’ve broken through to immortal foundation."
To Qin Wentian, he still had another important target: to establish his immortal foundation. It didn’t make a difference to him where he did it, and he might as well accompany Qing`er by accomplishing it in this place. As for the contempt and cold disdain that the rest of the royal palace regarded him with, he truly couldn’t care less.
In the Royal Palace, among the estates of the nobility...
"What? Princess Qing`er allowed Qin Wentian to stay at Princess Changping’s estate? And she’s even moved into a courtyard with him?"
"Princess Qing`er is too deep in this. She is disregarding her own reputation to let everyone in the royal palace to know of her determination."
"Bastard! What person is this Qin Wentian exactly? How did he make Princess Qing`er so besotted with him? If Princess Qing`er can treat me like that, I won’t even mind if I died!" a young man roared loudly, filled with intense animosity.
This was the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire. What status did Qing`er have? She knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to go directly against her father by getting Qin Wentian to move into her residence. Hence, she decided to move in with Qin Wentian in a courtyard of Princess Changping’s estate instead? This already told everybody of her determination. No matter what, she had to be together with Qin Wentian.
By doing this, Princess Qing`er’s reputation would surely be damaged. The entire attention of the royal court was all on her.
"The Cloud King has entered the emperor palace, and he wishes to seek an audience with His Majesty." Another great commotion was occuring in the royal palace. An imposing figure could be seen soaring through the air above the royal palace, heading straight to the emperor palace. The guards didn’t stop him; the Cloud King was one of the trusted subordinates of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and had rendered many great merits before. He was one of the rare few who had the authority to enter the emperor palace whenever he chose. His arrival only needed to be reported before he stepped into a place forbidden to most—the residence of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor.
"Yun Ting begs an audience with Your Majesty." Outside the forbidden location, it was impossible for the Cloud King to enter directly like Qing`er could. Hence, he had to wait outside before approval for his entry was granted.
"Cloud King, what’s the matter?" The voice of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor rang out.
"Qin Wentian is bewitching the Princess, and he must have ulterior motives in his heart. My granddaughter, Xia Lian, has died because of him. I beseech Your Majesty to punish him with death." The Cloud King did not dare to complain about Qing`er, so he could only shift all the blame onto Qin Wentian. If the Evergreen Immortal Emperor had already agreed to Qin Wentian and Qing`er before this, he wouldn’t have come to the emperor palace at all. But it seemed that the Evergreen Immortal Emperor didn’t agree, and Qing`er’s stubborn decision to move in with Qin Wentian had given the Cloud King another angle to attack this problem. Perhaps the Evergreen Immortal Emperor would now have some prejudice towards this Qin Wentian due to Qing`er’s actions.
Although the Cloud King was of the nobility, he didn’t allow hatred to cloud his mind. It was fine for the junior generations to have conflict with each other. But if he were to directly act against Qin Wentian before he knew the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s attitude, it would be disastrous if this ended up incurring His Majesty’s ire. After all, since Qin Wentian had already been brought to the royal palace by Princess Qing`er, no matter who it was, everyone would still have to give the princess some face.
"I already know about Xia Lian’s death, and she was the one in the wrong. Qing`er brought Qin Wentian to the Everpeace Marquis Manor to be a guest, yet she verbally insulted and humiliated Qin Wentian, and even attempted to kill him. But she has already died, and in your heart, you should understand clearly who was right and who was wrong. Hence, I won’t say anything more. Cloud King, do your best and focus on your cultivation. Try to break through to the emperor realm as soon as possible. We should not concern ourselves so much with matters of the junior generations... Just let them handle their matters themselves."
The Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s voice rang out. The Cloud King’s heart was as clear as a mirror. He bowed and replied, "I understand, Your Majesty. Yun Ting will leave now."
After speaking, the Cloud King immediately turned and departed without saying another word. Since His Majesty had already spoken, he knew what he had to do.
The Cloud King returned to his manor, and no one else went to bother Qin Wentian. Rumors of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s intentions soon circulated around the royal palace; the matters of the junior generations should be handled by the juniors themselves with no interference from the elders.
The attitude of His Majesty with regards to Qin Wentian and Qing`er seemed to have been made clear. He didn’t support them, but because he doted on Qing`er, he had no strong objections to it as well. He was fine with letting things follow the course of nature.
"It’s really true that the love His Majesty has for Princess Qing`er is incomparable." Many sighed. What was regrettable was that the princess’s heart had already been stolen by an outsider.
After the Evergreen Immortal Emperor made his stance clear, the voices of discussion within the royal palace gradually died down. The Everpeace Marquis Madam brought Xia Lian’s corpse back home, leaving with hatred in her heart. However, she couldn’t do anything. Nobody dared to force their way into the royal palace and let alone the fact she was merely the wife of a marquis. If she tried to do something, she might even implicate the Cloud King.
Right now in Princess Changping’s estate, within the courtyard where Qin Wentian and Qing`er were staying at, a formless layer of runic light enveloped the entire place. This was a formation that could block out the prying senses of others. In the royal palace, all the manors and estates owned by nobility had many formations akin to this. Nobody liked to be spied on. One’s immortal sense could still break through the layer of light if they forced it, but doing so would result in an alarm being sounded. This action was nothing less than a provocation and most of the time, no one would choose to do so.
The environment of this courtyard was truly beautiful, and had been intentionally selected by Princess Changping. This courtyard spanned over tens of miles, situated amidst mountains and lakes. Jade pavilions were built in the center, and the waters of the lake rippled with fish swimming freely within. Qin Wentian currently had a rod in his hand and was trying to fish. The commotion in the outside world was simply cacophonous. He wanted some peace and quiet. Fishing was able to train the tranquility of one’s heart, bringing him some peace. It also allowed him to make preparations with regards to the state of his heart for his breakthrough to the immortal foundation realm.
Qing`er sat beside Qin Wentian, and the two of them resembled a celestial couple—both were extraordinary and outstanding individuals.
"Father is worried that I will be trapped by emotion, thus affecting my cultivation," Qing`er said quietly, staring at the waters of the lake.
"I can understand His Majesty’s feelings." Qin Wentian smiled. "Although my talent isn’t bad, Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants are ultimately counted as weaklings in the vast immortal realms. Immortal Foundation is merely the true beginning. The Evergreen Immortal Emperor must be worried that you will encounter danger if you follow me."
Qing`er turned and looked at Qin Wentian, only to see a smile on his face. Qin Wentian was also an intelligent man, so how could he fail to understand the intentions of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor? Refraining from openly objecting to their relationship was already beyond his expectations. Although his talent was extremely high, his cultivation was too low. Anyone from the royal palace could smash him to death with a single strike. Although his talent might be enough for him to step into the Immortal Emperor Realm in the future, the path leading to there was filled with too many obstacles. Having more talent didn’t mean having a lower chance of dying.
"Am I that good-looking?" Qin Wentian saw that Qing`er kept staring at him and couldn’t help but laugh. Qing`er rolled her eyes, and she glared at him before shifting her eyes back to the lake.
"After the baptism by the Sacred Luminance, our cultivation foundations are more stable than ever. It shouldn’t be too difficult for us to establish our immortal foundations. Will you return to the Royal Sacred Region after breaking through?" Qing`er murmured.
"I think so." Qin Wentian nodded his head.
"Bring me along okay? I will accompany you to fetch Qingcheng." Qing`er’s voice was filled with gentleness, causing warm currents to rise in Qin Wentian’s heart. But what would happen if the Evergreen Immortal Emperor learned of Qingcheng? What attitude would he have? Most probably, even Qing`er herself didn’t dare to tell her father about this. The pressure they would face would be greater than imagined. It was somewhat ordinary for powerful experts in the immortal realms to have wives and concubines. But considering Qing`er’s status, as well as the prestige of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, those kings and marquises would surely be rushing in line to kill him once they learned of it.
Only Qing`er didn’t mind.
"Qing`er," Qin Wentian called out gently. Qing`er shifted her gaze over, only to see an endearing warmth in Qin Wentian’s eyes, as though he wanted to melt her into a puddle. Qing`er averted her eyes, not daring to match Qin Wentian’s gaze directly.
At this moment, Qin Wentian moved forward. Qing`er froze, and her heartbeat quickened. A moment later, Qin Wentian kissed her on her fragrant lips, and a feeling of wonder bloomed in Qing`er’s heart, her heartbeat pounding more intensely.
Qin Wentian broke the kiss after a short moment. Staring at the ice-like beauty in front of him, he could see her blushing deeply, painting her face with a lovable shade of red, akin to the clouds at sunset. He could feel a boundlessly deep love stirring his heart.
"Qing`er, I will definitely marry you in full honor and glory. I won’t allow your status as the princess of an immortal empire to suffer the slightest bit of dishonor." Qin Wentian’s eyes gleamed with his determination.
Qing`er’s eyes shifted nervously, staring ahead. She tried her best to suppress the emotions in her heart, to show none of it on her face. However, currents of warmth flooded her entire being. This must surely be what love felt like!
"I will return first to rest." Qing`er stood up, before turning and walking away. With her back to Qin Wentian, a radiant smile could be seen on her face, as resplendent as the shining stars.
Qin Wentian continued fishing. Something was tugging at the rod, but he didn’t seem to notice... He licked his lips, still thinking about that kiss he shared with Qing`er, especially that slight jolt of electricity when their lips met.
Today, countless young men within the royal palace couldn’t sleep after knowing Qing`er had decided to stay in the same courtyard with Qin Wentian. Their imaginations were running wild from not knowing what might be happening. They couldn’t wait to tear Qin Wentian into pieces! She was a princess with a lofty status, exuding a natural cold arrogance. Her talent was outstanding and her features were flawless. The moment they thought about the possibility of the pure jade-like princess being tainted by that bastard Qin Wentian... they felt like their hearts were crawling with countless ants.
But all of them were helpless. His Majesty didn’t say anything, so what could they do? Did they intend to barge right into the estate of Princess Changping to forcefully separate the two?
During the second day, countless people were still monitoring the situation at Princess Changping’s estate. And early today, there was already someone who had sent out a written invitation.
This written invitation was sent from the Qi King Manor. Not only was the invitation delivered to Princess Changping, many of the nobility received it as well. This was an invitation to the junior generation for a banquet. Not only that, Qin Wentian was included in the guest list as well.
"The son of the Qi King has ended his seclusion. But if I remember correctly, he should be in the midst of establishing his immortal foundation, right? Can he bear to exit his seclusion midway?"
"Seems like the reason for him doing so was because of Qin Wentian. He has always been a pursuer of Princess Qing`er." Many were silently speculating. Now, Qin Wentian had a rival. The son of the Qi King had outstanding talent and had returned from the City of Ancient Emperors numerous years ago. "Back then, he was almost one of the top few rankers in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. If I remember it correctly, he should be ranked #5. And now, after such a long period of seclusion, I wonder how strong he’s become!"