Weipotian spoke slowly, “These days, I have received much affection from all of you. In truth, in terms of family background and appearance, you are more than a match for me, and I am not entirely ungrateful. But according to the imperial laws, even as the one who inherits the title, I can only have one main wife and two secondary wives, no more.”
The smiles on the three noble ladies’ faces were rather forced. They knew this well. Actually, even being a secondary wife was already a great concession for them. But given the current situation, how could they not compete?
Noble-born daughters were naturally wealthy and privileged, but behind their splendid lives lay corresponding responsibilities, one of which was arranged marriages. This was a mission bestowed upon them by their families. Take the marriage contract with the Prince of Bokwanghou as an example. If they succeeded, it would lead to a new life with new rights and obligations, offering vast opportunities. If they failed, they would have to start over.
Falling in love regardless of social status and being willing to marry into a poor family was a plotline found only in tales and operas. For them, whether for themselves or for the sake of their families and future children, they had to strive for a good match.
Even if they truly encountered someone they loved without regard for anything else and were willing to give up everything, it was not a matter of merely accepting poverty. The noble clans would never tolerate such defiance of the family system and the disgrace to the family honor. Not only would the young ladies be confined to isolated courtyards, but the poor lads who dared to consort with them would face severe punishment, even death.
This was the price of being born with everything; rights and obligations were always equal. To break free from these constraints, there was only one way: to become strong enough to break the shackles of birth.
As the three noble ladies were feeling uneasy, Weipotian suddenly stopped talking and brought up another topic, “Ah, yes, I almost forgot, Zining is also reaching the time when he should settle down.”
“Song Qi? Wasn’t he already engaged to a clan woman?” Nan Gong Ling asked curiously. These noble ladies did not know about the conflict between Weipotian and Song Zining and, seeing that both of them were close to Qian Ye, assumed they had a good relationship.
Weipotian waved his hand casually, “How could that clan woman sit in the position of Song Qi’s wife? It will be annulled sooner or later. You may not know, but in the recent decade examination of the Song Clan, Zining made a name for himself, rising to second place in the line of succession. Don’t forget, he is nine years younger than Song Zicheng. Who knows, he might become the future clan leader!”
After the major examination, the Song Clan did not publicly announce the results, although it wasn’t hard for those with a keen interest to get the news. However, these three noble ladies were indeed hearing about it for the first time.
The clan engagement of Song Zining was a significant problem, but not entirely unsolvable. Even if they themselves were not suitable, they had their own sisters and close friends, and if they formed a marital alliance, it would be beneficial.
The three noble ladies and their companions were inwardly agitated, but outwardly calm. Only the flickering in their eyes slightly betrayed their thoughts.
With Song Zining’s momentum, he was already a strong contender for the clan successor. Even if he did not become the clan leader, he could at least be a grand elder. In time, Song Zining should be able to attain a marquis title, and with some luck or exceptional martial prowess, he might even secure a territory, passing the title down for generations.
Such a bright future, though not as secure as the position of the Prince of Bokwanghou, was still enviable among the young generation of the empire. The three noble ladies, while verbally counting the girls around them, couldn’t help but secretly entertain some hidden thoughts: what if it were themselves? And how would their families react?
When a group of women gathered together, it was impossible to keep any secrets. By nightfall, all the noble ladies knew about Song Zining’s current status and value.
Suddenly, Song Zining received many invitations, mostly from direct invitations from the noble ladies. It was hard to refuse. One or two would have been fine, but when the invitations exceeded five, Song Zining realized something was wrong.
Weipotian, hiding in the operations room with Qian Ye, laughed happily. He had suddenly lost a portion of his firepower, making it quieter. On the other hand, Song Zining was detained, and with these ladies, he couldn’t participate in Qian Ye’s western expedition.
Each of these noble ladies was of high status, and even the accompanying clan women were not lowly. Once they were bedded, they must be married. Imagining Song Qi, the lecher, surrounded by beautiful women but unable to do anything, Weipotian laughed even harder.
Qian Ye had no idea what was going on, but he noticed Weipotian often giggling oddly, which was quite unusual.
Earlier, when Weipotian came to find Qian Ye, he brought along a war general, saying he couldn’t go, but he was concerned about Qian Ye and wanted his guest general to join the western expedition.
Qian Ye did not immediately agree. An additional war general would certainly increase the team’s strength, but such a war general, esteemed as a guest by the clan, was not so easy to mobilize and might not fully obey orders on the battlefield. Besides, the general’s original duty was to protect Weipotian, so why would he suddenly agree to leave the prince’s side?
However, Qian Ye soon found out the reason.
The door of the operations room was suddenly pushed open, and Song Zining entered. Without a word, he gathered a cluster of sharp, leaf-like blades, flinging them all at Weipotian. Weipotian, clearly prepared, activated the Thousand Mountains stance, blocking all the attacks.
The Wei Family’s guest general, instead of intervening, retreated awkwardly to the side. Then, at Weipotian’s excited wave, he bade farewell to Qian Ye and hurriedly left the operations room.
Then, a chaotic fight ensued.
After the two had fought to exhaustion, Qian Ye finally understood the cause. Weipotian had deliberately prevented Song Zining from joining the expedition, and to make up for the loss of combat power, he had sent his guest general to Qian Ye. No one knew what kind of benefits Weipotian had promised the general to keep him silent and compliant.
Qian Ye was exasperated with the two troublemakers, but the Lady Yinguo, upon learning of the matter, was delighted, believing her chance to win the battle had come. She patted her chest and declared, “Don’t worry, I’m here, and I can handle it!”
Qian Ye’s face darkened further. If there was someone unreliable, Lady Ruying was definitely one. On the battlefield, she would never listen to his commands.
On the eve of the western expedition, Qian Ye resolved that if there were any major issues, he would only let the three of them handle different directions, never allowing them to work together.
Soon, the designated time arrived, and the Dark Flame mechanized battalion set out, marking the beginning of the western expedition.
Qian Ye and Zhao Ruying sat in the command vehicle, departing with the main force, while Weipotian and Song Zining were dealing with the noble ladies, their moods vastly different.
Song Zining, having been easily outmaneuvered by that wild boar, seemed deeply stimulated. In just two days, he used up the amount of paper he normally used in half a month, practicing calligraphy and painting tirelessly. On the night before Qian Ye’s departure, he claimed to have grasped the essence of “Deep Dusk,” and was on the verge of breaking through to the sixth stage of the “Three Thousand Drifting Leaves Decree.”
Meanwhile, Weipotian, in a joyous mood, touched the sensation of swirling origin power for the first time during his fist training. Though they took different paths, both had made progress in their martial abilities.
In the command vehicle, Zhao Ruying sat opposite Qian Ye, slicing fruit with a military knife, and said casually, “It seems I’ll have to deal with that damned earl, but it won’t be cheap! Let me show you this.”
She kicked a small black box beside her, and the lid popped open, revealing a palm-sized, fist-thick silver solid projectile. The patterns of the origin power arrays on the projectile were straight and filled with a murderous aura.
Qian Ye was surprised and asked, “What is this?”
Zhao Ruying bit into the fruit, “A special cannonball for mountain demolition. One shot can blast a lower-tier dark earl like Stuka to near death. Of course, its price matches its power. With this, we don’t have to fear that old earl. But after this, I want compensation. After the war, I want twenty percent of the spoils, and I pick first.”
“What do you want?”
“Slaves, prisoners, and civilians, but no elderly. Demons are best, werewolves are acceptable, but arachnomorphs are useless.”
Qian Ye frowned, “You’re still in the slave trade?”
“It’s not a slave trade, but something worse! It has nothing to do with you, and it’s best you don’t ask. Besides, this isn’t my business; I’m just helping a friend.”
Qian Ye pondered for a moment, “Alright, but I doubt there will be many prisoners from this war.”
“Civilians are fine too,” Zhao Ruying said, her casual tone sending chills down one’s spine.
Qian Ye was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m curious about your past.”
A noble lady, a legitimate daughter of a feudal lord, turning out like this surely involved a lot more than just a deviation in education. It might have been a very unpleasant experience.
Zhao Ruying looked at Qian Ye and smiled, “A child, don’t imitate adults asking too many questions. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
Qian Ye chuckled, amused. This lady wasn’t much older than him, but she always liked to act mature. Still, it was amusing to see such a beauty referring to herself as an old hag.
This reminded Qian Ye of a phrase Song Zining once said, “If you’re beautiful enough, anything you do looks good.”
However, Qian Ye didn’t plan to let Zhao Ruying take the initiative. This was not just about the distribution of spoils, but also the control of the command. A powerful ally who didn’t follow orders could sometimes cause a lot of trouble.
Qian Ye took a small box from his pocket, opened it, and revealed three origin bullets, saying, “Actually, if Stuka really comes, I won’t let him off easy.”
Zhao Ruying immediately recognized the tiny markings on the three origin bullets, her expression changing slightly, “Special-made silver fireballs from the Song Clan?”
“Exactly,” Qian Ye snapped the box shut.
“That requires at least a level-six gun to unleash its minimum power, but I don’t see you having one.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t waste.”
They fell silent, each focusing on their cultivation. Before a big battle, accumulating more power was always beneficial.
Purple-black origin power surged around Zhao Ruying, emitting an aura similar to the West Polar Purple Qi, but compared to Zhao Jundu’s bright, majestic purple fire, it carried a stronger sense of slaughter and bloodshed.
Qian Ye silently circulated the Mystical Chapter, digesting the stored essence blood. From the previous reconnaissance, he had absorbed a full amount of essence blood, and since then, he had been busy with various affairs, without proper cultivation to digest it.
After completing a full cycle, a cluster of dark origin power dispersed, devoured by the blood qi in his body. Perhaps due to the real vision, Qian Ye saw the dark golden blood qi devour nearly half of the dark origin power, and then the pair of golden wings seemed to grow a little fuller.
The purple blood qi, on the other hand, consumed less of the dark origin power, and soon, tiny purple lights overflowed from the blood qi, flowing to every part of the body. Wherever these faint glows reached, whether organs, bones, or flesh, there was a slight tingling sensation, and new strength seemed to surge from every drop of blood, making the body even stronger.
This was the process of the purple blood qi strengthening and transforming the body. In comparison, the dark golden blood qi now seemed focused on cultivating the original wings.
Qian Ye slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a wisp of black qi, which pierced a small hole in the vehicle wall.
Zhao Ruying, still meditating, suddenly said, “I’m really curious about what cultivation technique you practice.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage