Imperial Cultivation

Xiao Ruoling and the others' moods sank as they followed the old, white-haired eunuch inside.

They arrived at the back garden of the courtyard and saw a stunningly beautiful woman reclining on a chaise lounge in a small pavilion surrounded by flowerbeds.

She wore a flowing cloud brocade palace dress, interwoven with gold and silver threads, clinging to her graceful figure.

Her lotus-like face was radiantly beautiful, and a golden step hairpin adorned her cloud-like hair.

One delicate, rosy hand propped up her smooth, fair chin as she seemed lost in thought, her brows furrowed together.

Hearing footsteps, she cast a gentle glance, rose, and sighed, "Junior Sister, you've finally come."

"Senior Sister, what's wrong?" Qin Ruolan asked, puzzled.

She had originally thought that her Senior Sister simply missed her and, having not seen her for two years, had summoned her to chat and catch up after hearing that she had come out of seclusion.

Consort Hui sighed softly, "Zhao'er is likely going to die."

Qin Ruolan paused, her expression changing slightly, "The Ninth Prince?!"

Consort Hui sighed, "Yes, he was being playful and went to Xiluo City to sightsee, attempting to climb the summit of Mount Luoshen, where he was severely injured by a demon clan expert."

"What about the guards?" Qin Ruolan frowned, "How could they allow the Ninth Prince to be injured?"

"He snuck out, wanting to travel incognito and explore the martial world on his own," Consort Hui said with a helpless expression. "He deliberately shook off his guards, with only two hidden guards following behind, and as a result…"

"How severe is the injury?"

"He's already used the Great Brightness Heart-Protecting Pill and has been holding on for three days, but judging by the situation, I fear his life cannot be saved."

The Ninth Prince's mother passed away when he was three years old, and Consort Hui raised him as her own.

At that time, Consort Hui had no children of her own.

Three years later, Consort Hui gave birth to the Tenth Prince, followed by two princesses.

The Ninth Prince had been unruly and extremely dull since childhood, disliking and resisting cultivation, still dawdling in the Qi Transformation Realm at the age of twenty-two.

The royal family's secret art is one of the most supreme cultivation methods in the world, yet he remained in the Qi Transformation Realm after twelve years of cultivation, both due to his poor talent and his laziness.

Although Consort Hui was not his biological mother, she had raised him, but he was not close to her.

Outsiders looked at it as if Consort Hui had mistreated him.

The current emperor had many children—twenty-eight princes and thirty-four princesses.

The Ninth Prince was an insignificant existence among the princes and princesses.

Among the princes, the top ten were all granted the title of 'King.'

This Ninth Prince wasn't even granted the lowest title of 'Duke.'

Some princes whose mothers had high status were granted the title of Duke at birth.

Princes whose mothers had ordinary backgrounds, even if they weren't granted titles at birth, would often be granted the lowest title of Duke upon adulthood to establish their own residences.

Consort Hui had tried to plead with the Emperor on his behalf, but because of his unruly nature, frequent troubles, and low cultivation level, the Emperor disliked him and refused.

Therefore, although he was an adult, his residence was still a Prince's Residence.

Such a prince would be the easiest to kill, but killing such a useless prince was truly unnecessary.

It wouldn't demonstrate the demon clan's power.

Consort Hui sighed, "After thinking it over, if it wasn't just bad luck, then it's probably because he was going to the Phoenix Dynasty to become a驸马 (imperial son-in-law)."

"驸马 (imperial son-in-law)?" Qin Ruolan asked softly, "Senior Sister, what's going on?"

"Ah… Junior Sister, you've been in seclusion for two years. Many things have happened in these two years."

"What major events have occurred?"

"Our army suffered a major defeat, and we sought peace with the Phoenix Dynasty."

"Junior Sister, our army isn't weak; we shouldn't have suffered a major defeat, right?"

Although the Phoenix Dynasty's army is strong, the Jade Scenery Dynasty isn't weak either.

"The Phoenix Dynasty produced a genius general who defeated our army repeatedly."

Qin Ruolan's expression changed slightly.

"Fortunately, the Yuanzhen Dynasty wanted to take advantage and launched an attack. The Phoenix Dynasty, riding on its great victory, was about to deal with the Yuanzhen Dynasty, so we desperately tried to hold them back, which allowed us to reach a stalemate and seek a truce."

"Ah… the balance has been broken," Qin Ruolan frowned slightly. "This is troublesome."

The three dynasties were in a tripartite balance, fighting each other, mostly in local conflicts, and it was difficult for a major war to break out due to mutual fear.

The emergence of a genius general in the Phoenix Dynasty broke the balance.

Once the balance is broken, restoring it often requires a fierce war, even a national war.

Once the three major dynasties are at war, the extraterritorial battlefield will inevitably be affected. If the demon clan launches a large-scale invasion, the world will surely be plunged into misery.

"One of the conditions for our truce is for a prince to go to the Phoenix Dynasty as a 驸马 (imperial son-in-law)."

"A prince to become a 驸马 (imperial son-in-law)?" Qin Ruolan shook her head. "They're deliberately humiliating us."

Marrying off a princess was already humiliating enough, but now sending a prince to be a 驸马 (imperial son-in-law) makes the Jade Scenery Dynasty even more embarrassed.

This is equivalent to marrying off a prince, and this prince is also essentially a hostage.

"We can only agree to this condition to achieve a truce," Consort Hui said. "The entire court is holding back their anger, and they will eventually avenge this."

"The Ninth Prince…" Qin Ruolan sighed.

Without asking, she knew why the Ninth Prince was chosen; without asking, she knew how tragic the Ninth Prince's situation would be.

Consort Hui sneered, "The Phoenix Dynasty's Twelfth Princess has reached the age to marry a 驸马 (imperial son-in-law). On our side, there are only three who are the right age: the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes. The Eighth Prince is a Duke, and the Tenth Prince has better talent."

Qin Ruolan nodded slowly.

The Tenth Prince was Consort Hui's own son, and the Eighth Prince's mother was Consort Xian.

Both of them had been granted the title of Duke.

The Ninth Prince, being unruly and dull, was naturally the best choice.

"The demon clan suddenly attacked and killed the Ninth Prince. This is because they received news and wanted to sabotage the truce, with malicious intentions."

"The Ninth Prince absolutely cannot die," Qin Ruolan said. Consort Hui sighed, "We've tried every method. The director of the Imperial Hospital has tried, the palace's providers have tried, and even the Emperor has personally treated him, and the Great Brightness Heart-Protecting Pill has been used."

"An attack from a demon clan Spirit Venerable…" Qin Ruolan shook her head. "It's difficult to save him. Haven't you asked the four Spirit Venerables of the nation to take action?"

"The four Spirit Venerables are all in deep slumber. How could we disturb them for such a small matter?" Consort Hui sighed heavily.

"Ah! These past two days have been killing me with worry!"

Qin Ruolan said helplessly, "The Ancestral Master is also in slumber. Otherwise, we could ask the Ancestral Master for help."

"That demon clan Spirit Venerable is malicious. Even if the Ancestral Master awakens, they may not be able to save Zhao'er," Consort Hui shook her head. "He was born with bad luck. Sometimes I think, his passing away like this might not be a bad thing for him."

"Senior Sister, be careful what you say!" Qin Ruolan said quickly.

Consort Hui snorted, "What's there to be careful about? My reputation as a poisonous woman has already spread throughout the world!"

"…I'll go see the Ninth Prince," Qin Ruolan said with a look of pity.

She had visited the Fu Hui Palace often and had seen the Ninth Prince countless times.

The Ninth Prince was unruly but very respectful and close to her, even more so than to Consort Hui.

Perhaps her appearance resembled the Ninth Prince's biological mother somewhat.

Consort Hui stood up, "Come with me. He's in his own Prince's Residence."