After Chang Ji, the veteran general, stated his position, the others also decided to drop the matter.
They couldn’t force King Xing Tian to betray his word.
Their thoughts echoed Chang Ji’s. Even if Xu Xing chose not to form marital alliances with the gentry of Guanxi Road, thereby losing many benefits of rule, they, as ministers, still wished to serve such a loyal and honorable lord.
If they forced King Xing Tian to go back on his word, he might hold each of them accountable. The loss would far outweigh the gain!
As for the gentry of Guanxi Road... marital alliances were not the only way to divide and win them over. It was just that marriage alliances were among the easiest political maneuvers. If the gentry truly harbored rebellious intentions, could they really rely on a single marriage tie? Unlikely.
"Ming Gong values relationships..." Gongyang Yi said, fanning himself with his feather fan. "I admire him deeply and would not dare to interfere further in his personal matters."
If these words had co from Monk Shang, his forr lord, he would undoubtedly have offered further admonishnt, while inwardly dismissing Monk Shang as a man of "no great strategy."
However, such matters were always subject to double standards. Xu Xing had been so brilliant and martial for so long that an occasional decision based on personal inclination in a minor affair was hardly significant. On the contrary, it served to highlight his "profound sentint and righteousness" as Ming Gong.
"Deep affection for an old love is hard to abandon..." Xu Xing began, then added, "This king has failed to live up to your high hopes for ..."
Seeing that everyone had stated their positions and would no longer interfere in his marriage, Xu Xing also rose and put on a show of sincerity.
In just three more years, I can achieve a breakthrough into the Innate Realm. Besides, what I’m currently cultivating is no longer the Stony Heart thod, but the Buddhist Internal Skill "Eight-Ard Bright King Sutra," which cultivates both internal and external aspects. For Buddhist Cultivation thods, preserving one’s vital yang energy is crucial. If I frequently deplete my yang energy, my progress towards a breakthrough will undoubtedly slow down significantly. Furthermore, Lü Zu himself said: ’A maiden of sixteen, her body soft as butter, a sword at her waist to slay foolish n. Though no heads are seen to fall, secretly she drains your marrow dry.’ Another point: I am now an Immortal Genius with prospects on the Immortal Path. Although I’m not fully confident of achieving eternal life, living for two hundred years after breaking through to the Innate Realm shouldn’t be a problem. To watch old acquaintances pass away, even if one were unfeeling, would still bring much sorrow. I don’t resist won. But undoubtedly, female Immortals are better!
Yunniang... Consider this my compensation to you: I grant you the position of my first wife. If the chance arises, the title of Empress will also be yours... A pure courtesan as Empress. That would truly be unprecedented in this world...
Xu Xing closed his eyes slightly, recalling the few days he had spent with Zhao Yunniang in the prison.
Among those experiences, what had touched him most deeply were the words Zhao Yunniang had spoken to him on the day of Princess Anren’s grand wedding.
"’The dowry of Princess Anren is comparable to a ten-mile-long wedding procession! Tongji Street in Liren Alley was packed solid, all with Princess Anren’s dowry—rouge from Shenghe Tower, Flying Immortal Embroidery from Jiangnan, fur clothes from the Northern Frontier, and so on. Each of those things is worth a thousand gold taels, but the Prince is giving Princess Anren cartloads of them...’"
"’The musicians playing in the streets are officials from the Taile Departnt, and Taile Cheng Wang Mojie himself composed the music.’ ’And there are the poems Scholar Su wrote for Princess Anren...’ ’The elders say that not even the Emperor and Empress’s grand wedding had such splendor!’"
Zhao Yunniang’s words, filled with envy, were deeply engraved in his mind, aided by his White Destiny [Broad Knowledge and Strong mory]. He wasn’t a sentintal man, but he was willing to fulfill Zhao Yunniang’s wish if it was within his power.
Better to die fighting like a mantis than to starve in quiet desperation. Although his [Righteous Thief] Destiny had already crumbled, his fundantal character remained.
I shall tread the Heavenly Street over the bones of nobles and ministers! Who says... a pure courtesan cannot beco Empress? I, a Demoted Immortal Being in this mortal realm, am determined to defy these worldly conventions! The fist is power! And Immortality—that is power that transcends the mundane world!
「Jiangnan East Road, Gucheng City.」
After Zhao Yunniang departed from Station Post and traveled down the Cao River into Jiangnan, she did not follow the plans laid out by either Xu Xing or Han Sui. Instead, she took an alternate route, secretly disguising herself and heading to Jiangnan East Road—a destination diatrically opposed to their intended landing spot in Jiangnan West Road.
Having experienced the fickleness of human nature at Wangyue Building, she was inherently cautious. With the thousand taels of silver given by Han Sui, and so savings she and Xu Xing had accumulated, she felt she could go anywhere in the world.
To prevent anyone from coveting her beauty and attempting to rob her of her wealth and person, she followed Xu Xing’s advice: first, she disguised herself as an unattractive woman, then she hired so able-bodied won to act as bodyguards.
Along the way, she found an Escort Agency, restored her appearance, and under the na of the Lu Family of Jiangnan, commissioned the agency to escort her to Gucheng City and protect her through childbirth.
The Lu Family of Jiangnan was a preeminent noble house. Zhao Yunniang’s beauty was considerable, and she planned her every move with caution. The people at the Escort Agency mistakenly assud she was a lady of the Lu Family involved in so internal strife over favor, which was why she had to seek an Escort Agency from another region to protect her during childbirth.
Under the protection of the escorts, no one dared to make advances on Zhao Yunniang. The escorts themselves, intimidated by the Lu Family’s prestige, also dared not treat her disrespectfully.
After more than half a year, Zhao Yunniang successfully gave birth to a son, whom she nad Zhang’er.
One month after giving birth to "Lu Zhang" (as she had nad him, using the Lu surna for cover), news reached Jiangnan East Road, which neighbored Jiangnan West Road. The Imperial Court Soldiers had been defeated by the Eighteen Rebel Kings. However, the ritorious official leading the rebels was known as "King Xing Tian," and most people did not know that King Xing Tian’s true na was Xu Xing.
Therefore, Zhao Yunniang harbored no thoughts of traveling to Mount Siming to reunite with Xu Xing. He must have died in the Sky Prison, she believed. During this ti, she even secretly held rites to mourn him.
However, events took a turn when Lu Zhang was three months old.
The news that Mount Siming had carved out a territory in Guanxi Road spread like wildfire across the North and South of the River. Previously, Xu Xing had been an "unknown young general," hardly noticeable among the rebel kings. But after establishing himself in Guanxi Road, Xu Xing seed poised to eclipse even the King of Sorrow in prominence.
Through this, the news that King Xing Tian was, in fact, Xu Xing, spread throughout the Imperial Court and the Jianghu. Word also spread that the Xu Family of Qingmu County in Guanxi Road was subtly gaining official positions within the Imperial Court.
These pieces of information were enough for Zhao Yunniang to realize that King Xing Tian of Mount Siming was indeed Xu Xing, the forr death-row prisoner from the Sky Prison—her husband.
But Zhao Yunniang still did not go to find Xu Xing.
"Mada," Xiu Lan began softly, "King Xing Tian’s montum is established. He has replaced the King of Sorrow as the master of Guanxi Road. If you go to Guanxi Road, you will be his rightful wife, and the young master could also be entrusted with significant responsibilities by King Xing Tian..."
That night, in the main bedroom, Xiu Lan saw Zhao Yunniang still frowning by candlelight, gazing silently at the infant boy in his cradle. From the adjoining room, the robust woman offered her counsel in a low voice.
The robust woman’s na was Xiu Lan. Due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, she had been sold as a slave at the Shenjing Yaxing. Fortunately, Zhao Yunniang had rescued her and consistently treated her with kindness. Moreover, Xiu Lan found herself in the unfamiliar Jiangnan East Road with no one else to depend on. Thus, over ti, Xiu Lan willingly beca Zhao Yunniang’s confidant and servant.
Zhao Yunniang, for her part, feared that her false claim of being a Lu Family lady would be disproven, so she urgently needed soone to help maintain her cover. Therefore, she had confided in Xiu Lan that she was King Xing Tian’s first wife.
"If he had escaped from prison as a re civilian," Zhao Yunniang said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief as tears welled up, "I would have followed him without hesitation. But he has beco King Xing Tian, and now there’s even talk of him becoming Emperor... How could I dare go to Guanxi Road to see him?"
"If I went to Guanxi Road..." she added, her voice choked with emotion, "I’m afraid even the affection between husband and wife would be gone."
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