Chapter 286: The Emperor's Chosen Son-in-Law

If Niu Youdao had been here, he would certainly have recognized the two women speaking. They were two members of the group he had encountered on his journey toward the Great Snow Mountain, the same group that later departed aboard a flying mount. The young woman who had disguised herself as a man was Hao Qingqing. The plainly dressed older woman was Lady Pei. Lady Pei looked much the same as before.

Hao Qingqing, however, was completely different. She had changed into traditional nomadic dress, and the waterfall of hair she had once coiled up was now worked into countless small braids. The style lent her an air of wildness and willfulness. She was still beautiful, but her charm had taken on an entirely different flavor. Hao Qingqing was one of the princesses of the State of Qi.

Like the other princesses, she was a daughter of the emperor of the State of Qi, but her birth was more exalted than most. Her mother was the current Empress of the State of Qi. Among all the Empress's children, Hao Qingqing was her only daughter. It was easy to imagine how deeply favored she was.

At Hao Qingqing's question, Lady Pei turned a cold look toward the female cultivator who had chased after the princess and now stood uneasily beside her. The woman lowered her head slightly, apprehension on her face.

The princess enjoyed hearing stories about affairs outside the palace. The woman had merely mentioned a few things from the city, but who could have expected such a strong reaction? After asking several questions, the princess had become unable to sit still and started clamoring to leave the palace. There were matters the female cultivator did not know. Lady Pei, however, did. She waved for the woman to withdraw, caught Hao Qingqing by the wrist, and dragged her back inside.

"Third Aunt, let go of me!" Hao Qingqing struggled all the way.

Only after dragging her back into the room did Lady Pei release her arm.

"Princess, stop making trouble."

Hao Qingqing glared. "Third Aunt, has Niu Youdao come to the Qi capital?"

Lady Pei said, "So what if he has? What does it have to do with you?"

Hao Qingqing asked, "Did Yuan Gang come too?"

"..."

Lady Pei was speechless. She had known exactly what this wretched girl was thinking about. What kind of mess was this?

The dignified Grand Princess of the State of Qi had met a strange man for the first time without knowing anything about his background and openly declared her affection for him. Apart from this princess, Lady Pei doubted there was a second woman beneath Heaven capable of doing something so outrageous.

Fortunately, outsiders had not known Hao Qingqing's identity at the time. Otherwise, the State of Qi would have lost every scrap of face. Lady Pei herself would have had no way to explain matters after returning either.

That was why she had decisively contacted the people assigned to receive them and had Hao Qingqing taken back, afraid that if things continued, some accident would happen.

"I advise you to abandon that idea. Nothing between you and Yuan Gang is possible. You still remember what the Empress told you, don't you?"

"Aiya, you're so long-winded. I'm asking whether Yuan Gang came!"

"He didn't."

"Really?"

"Why would I bother lying to you?"

"I heard lots of people want to challenge Niu Youdao, and that Niu Youdao accepted. Tomorrow morning they're fighting at Flying Waterfall Terrace on North Mountain outside the city. Is that true?"

"So what if it is? What does it have to do with you?"

"I want to go watch. Don't you want to see something this exciting? That bastard is awful. I really want to see someone beat him until he's looking for his teeth all over the ground!"

"No!"

"Yuan Gang didn't come, so what are you afraid of? Besides, we're in the capital. What could possibly happen to me? Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

"There's no point telling me any of this. Whether you can leave the palace isn't for me to decide."

"Fine. Then I'll go beg Imperial Mother. I'm only going to wander around near the capital. Imperial Mother will definitely agree!"

"..."

The next day, three ordinary-looking carriages stood outside a side gate in the towering walls of the imperial palace. Hao Qingqing emerged swaggering through the gate in plain clothes, once again disguised as a man. Lady Pei, Liu Fenghai, and Chai Fei accompanied her as guards for the outing.

Considering how complicated the situation was around the capital, especially with no one knowing what might happen during today's affair, there were more than only those three protectors. Six additional cultivators left the palace as well. Like Hao Qingqing, all nine retainer cultivators had altered their appearances. Hao Qingqing climbed into the middle carriage with Lady Pei, Liu Fenghai, and Chai Fei. The other six split into groups of three and entered the front and rear carriages. The carriages set off.

They had barely traveled any distance before Hao Qingqing became impatient.

"Why are we going so slowly? Faster, faster! If we arrive late there won't be any good places left..."

Flying Waterfall Terrace on North Mountain lived up to its name. A broad waterfall plunged down through the mountains, magnificent and imposing. Above the waterfall lay an enormous expanse of flat stone. That was how Flying Waterfall Terrace had received its name. Quite a few people had already gathered around it. Many concealed their true appearances. They repeatedly glanced at the sky, while groups murmured quietly among themselves.

On slightly higher ground overlooking the terrace, in one of the best places from which to watch the fight, Huyan Wei was present as well. The group standing there consisted entirely of people with some status and standing.

"The sun is already this high. Why hasn't anyone arrived yet?" Huyan Wei muttered.

From time to time, he braced both hands against his lower back, plainly uncomfortable standing. The real problem was that the injury to his backside had not healed. Originally, the affair had nothing to do with him. He might not even have known about it.

But he happened to be stuck at home recovering from his injury and could not go roaming around. Bored out of his mind, he had chatted idly with the cultivators of his household and happened to hear about today's fight.

When he learned that some of the household cultivators planned to come see what was happening, he had nothing better to do anyway, so he shamelessly pestered them into bringing him along to watch the excitement.

"Uncle Heng, are all those people cultivators?" Huyan Wei asked from his high vantage point, pointing toward the crowds scattered below.

Heng Tianduan was the second-ranking cultivator among those attached to Supreme General Huyan's residence. At the moment, he too was disguised and had concealed his true appearance.

"Probably," Heng Tianduan answered with a nod.

Huyan Wei said, "Quite a few are wearing false faces like you, Uncle Heng. Are they cultivators from the great mansions and powerful households around the capital?"

"I don't know, but I imagine quite a few are."

Just then, the dozens of cultivators standing on the high ground stirred. Space here was limited, and too many people could not fit. Yet ten newcomers suddenly squeezed their way up. Some among those who had arrived earlier obediently moved down, surrendering the best places for watching the fight. The ten newcomers were Hao Qingqing and her party.

Lady Pei held the status of an imperial palace protector. Once she quietly revealed her identity, people naturally yielded their places.

Huyan Wei looked back, then froze. "Why are you here?"

Hao Qingqing froze as well. She had not expected Huyan Wei to appear at a gathering of cultivators like this.

Her eyes immediately widened. "This isn't your family's land. Why can't I come?"

Huyan Wei waved a hand dismissively, turned his back on her, and continued watching below. Hao Qingqing bared her teeth. Without warning, she kicked out.

Her foot struck Huyan Wei squarely on the backside, as though she wanted to send him flying off the cliff with one blow.

"Ah...!"

The kick landed right on his injury. The pain nearly made Huyan Wei jump out of his skin. Worse, he happened to be standing at the cliff edge. The result of taking such a kick there could easily be imagined. His arms windmilled wildly, and he nearly toppled over. Fortunately, Heng Tianduan was beside him. He reached out, caught Huyan Wei by the arm, and hauled him back.

Then he looked over his shoulder. "Princess, please conduct yourself with restraint."

"Princess!" Lady Pei rebuked softly as well and pulled Hao Qingqing away.

Immediately afterward, she and Chai Fei and the others cupped their hands toward Heng Tianduan.

"Senior Brother!"

Heng Tianduan gave a faint acknowledgment, turned back, and said nothing more. They were all cultivators of the imperial loyalist faction and, within that faction, disciples of the same lineage. The reason lay in the Huyan family's refusal to develop its own power within the cultivation world.

Huyan Wuhen did not engage in indiscriminate wealth-grabbing and therefore did not possess the financial resources to maintain a cultivation faction of that scale. The emperor actually liked this aspect of him. As a result, the emperor personally assigned cultivators to protect the Huyan family. Hao Qingqing gave a cold snort. She plainly found Huyan Wei irritating to look at.

The real reason his mere presence put her in a bad mood was that Imperial Father actually wanted to marry her to this bastard who constantly haunted brothels.

"Eh?"

Hao Qingqing suddenly seemed to discover some enormous delight. Pointing at Huyan Wei, she laughed so hard she could barely contain herself.

"You're actually crying! Huyan Wei, I barely kicked you. A kick that light wouldn't even crush an ant, yet you're crying. Are you even a man?"

Everyone looked toward Huyan Wei. There really was moisture shining in his eyes. Those who did not know about the wound on his backside were somewhat surprised.

"You..." One hand covering his backside, Huyan Wei pointed at Hao Qingqing with the other, his face filled with grief and indignation.

He was like a mute swallowing bitter herbs, suffering without any way to explain himself. He could hardly announce that his own father had given him military strokes. And the other party was a princess. He could not exactly beat her back.

He had heard as well that the emperor intended to marry this unruly princess into the Huyan family, forging a marriage alliance. His father's attitude seemed relatively neutral.

Huyan Wuhen apparently had no desire to form a marriage alliance with the imperial clan and become entangled in the rights and wrongs of the royal house. Huyan Wei himself had even less desire to become a prince consort who could never hold his head high. Combined with Hao Qingqing's unruly temperament, he thoroughly disliked her. If he married a woman like this and brought her home, would he still have any life left to live?

Without even looking over, Heng Tianduan raised a hand and pressed down Huyan Wei's arm, forcing him to stop pointing at Hao Qingqing. Lady Pei also tugged at Hao Qingqing, signaling for her to behave. In truth, the senior and junior disciples all understood something perfectly well. Some matters were probably not things the Huyan family could politely refuse simply because it wished to. The emperor was determined to create a marriage alliance with the Huyan family.

It was only because Huyan Wuhen had politely resisted that the emperor had not forced the issue and had instead been waiting for the right opportunity to bring the match about.

The reason this princess had remained unmarried to her current age was, put plainly, because she had been reserved for the Huyan family. Sooner or later, this quarreling pair would probably become husband and wife. The reason was simple. The Huyan family controlled the strongest iron cavalry in all of the State of Qi, and indeed beneath Heaven. Huyan Wuhen was the very soul of the Valiant Cavalry. He was not someone another man could simply replace. Remove Huyan Wuhen and the army's soul would disappear.

With every faction and influence then stepping in, the Valiant Cavalry would likely no longer remain the finest cavalry beneath Heaven. That concerned the State of Qi's national strength. No rash move could be made.

Under circumstances like these, how could the emperor possibly relax his efforts to bind the Huyan family closer to the throne? A marriage alliance was inevitable. The Huyan family's eldest and second sons had both married long ago. Naturally, the emperor had fixed his eyes on Huyan Wei long before now. And Huyan Wei was hardly young anymore. The reason he still had no wife was not that he lacked the qualifications. Rather, many people understood the situation perfectly well. Who dared snatch away the son-in-law the emperor had chosen?

It did not matter that the two disliked one another. It did not matter that Huyan Wei frequented brothels and had ruined his own reputation. The emperor did not care about that.

Under the weight of the greater political situation, sooner or later this pair would have no choice but to be pushed together. Hao Qingqing's appearance thoroughly spoiled Huyan Wei's mood. He was already losing patience with staying here.

Irritably, he asked, "Has that Niu Youdao arrived or not?"

Hao Qingqing, who was scanning the surroundings, answered without thinking, "He probably hasn't arrived yet."

Huyan Wei turned his head. "How do you know he hasn't? You're talking as though you know him."

Hao Qingqing brightened again. She lifted her chin at him provocatively, smug from head to toe.

"Who's like you, you short-sighted wastrel? Apart from those cheap women in brothels, who do you even know?"

"That's right. Listen carefully. I really do know Niu Youdao. I've even eaten at the same table with him."

"How about that? Convinced?"

[End of Chapter 286]