Blue Wind Imperial City, Central Palace.
Lan Xueruo hurried through the heavy guards and headed straight for the Emperor's bedroom. The palace guards she met along the way all saluted.
"Princess Cang Yue, you're back. The emperor has been thinking about you these days." At the entrance of the emperor's bedroom, a middle-aged eunuch came up quickly with his back bent: "Would you like me to inform him?"
"No need." Lan Xueruo shook her head and walked into the emperor's bedroom.
Cang Wanhe, the 99th emperor of the Cangfeng Empire, reigned supreme and was feared by all. He was already 56 years old this year, and lived a life of luxury in the palace. At this age, an emperor should not look old, but Cang Wanhe was lying quietly on the bed, his face was dull, and his eyes were dim and lifeless, like an old man in his 70s or 80s.
"Your Majesty, Princess Cangyue is back!" His personal eunuch walked in lightly, saying with a happy face.
Hearing this, Cang Wanhe's lifeless face showed a trace of anxiety. He moved his upper body and struggled to stand up: "Hurry, let her in."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lan Xueruo walked in. Seeing Cang Wanhe's face, which had obviously aged a lot, and the earnestness in his eyes, she felt a pang in her heart. She quickly stepped forward and knelt on her knees in front of Cang Wanhe: "Father, I am an unfilial daughter. It has taken me such a long time to come and visit you."
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Cang Wanhe nodded happily. At this moment, there was no dignity of an emperor on his face, only the kindness of an ordinary father facing his beloved daughter: "Get up quickly. It has been more than three months since you last came back from Xinyue City. I have been restless during this period, fearing that something might happen to you. Haha, it's good that you're okay."
"My daughter had a small incident, which delayed us for some time. I am sorry that you worried me." Lan Xueruo stood up and looked at her father, feeling a sour feeling in her nose. "Father, your condition... seems to have worsened again? How could it be like this when Master Gu is treating you personally?"
“Cough, cough…” Cang Wanhe was about to speak when he coughed violently. He took a few deep breaths and said in a hoarse voice, “Perhaps, I am really old. Although this disease is serious, Master Gu will not kill me immediately. But sooner or later, I will be pissed off to death by these rebellious sons… cough, cough, cough, cough…”
After saying a few words, Cang Wanhe coughed painfully again. Lan Xueruo hurried forward and patted his back gently.
At this time, the eunuch's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the prince wants to see you."
Cang Wanhe's body paused, and Lan Xueruo's expression suddenly turned grim. Then, a roar came from Cang Wanhe's mouth: "Let him go! I don't want to see him!"
"Oh, what happened to make Father so angry? Father is ill now, so please take care of yourself and don't get angry."
As a casual voice sounded, a young man in his thirties, dressed in a golden robe, walked in with his hands behind his back. When he saw Lan Xueruo, he squinted his eyes and smiled, "My dear sister, I just heard from the servants that you are back, so I hurried here. I haven't seen you for a few months, and I miss you so much."
"You rebellious son, who let you in? Get out of here right now!" Cang Wanhe stretched out trembling fingers and roared angrily.
"Father, please don't be angry. Be careful not to hurt yourself. I just come to visit you out of concern for your health. If you are unhappy, I will leave immediately." Crown Prince Canglin said with a smile. His casual expression did not show any fear when facing an angry emperor, nor did he show any respect or fear.
"Visit?" Cang Wanhe sneered, "Are you here to see if I have died suddenly in my bed? I tell you, as long as I am still alive, you can forget about getting the throne! Don't even think about me issuing an order to pass on the throne! Get out of here right now!"
"Father, why are you so stubborn?" Crown Prince Cang Lin curled his lips and said, "What kind of existence is the Xiao Sect? Now I have the full support of the Xiao Sect. As long as I ascend to the throne, the Xiao Sect will be at my disposal. Our Cangfeng Royal Family will only become more prosperous and powerful, dominating the world..."
“Shut up… cough, cough, cough, cough…” Cang Wanhe’s face flushed with anger, his chest rising and falling violently: “The Xiao clan has coveted the power of our Cangfeng royal family for a long time, and you rebellious sons actually dared to let the wolf into the house… If you become the emperor, the thousand-year foundation of our Cangfeng royal family will exist in name only and become a puppet of others! I boast of my heroic reputation and might, but I actually raised a group of rebellious sons like you! Get out! Get out now!”
Lan Xueruo also clenched her fists in anger. She could no longer tolerate it and said angrily, "Didn't you hear what father said? Get out now! Father and I don't want to see you again!"
"Tsk tsk, why bother." Cang Lin shook his head and grinned, "Father, you have been on the throne for a long time, it's time to give it up, and even if you don't want to, it will fall into my hands sooner or later. So what if my dear brother Cang Shuo climbs up to the Burning Heaven Sect? In my eyes, he has never been worthy of being my opponent... My dear sister, I heard that you didn't stay in the Blue Wind Profound Palace for the past two years, but ran around outside. Are you in a hurry to find a prince consort? Your brother has quite a few young talents here, would you like to introduce them to your sister?"
“Get lost!” Lan Xueruo gritted her teeth, furious to the extreme.
"Hahahaha! I'll take my leave from then on." Canglin laughed wildly, put his hands behind his back, and walked out slowly.
"This group of rebellious sons... rebellious sons!!" Cang Wanhe was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body was shaking.
“Father, they’ve gone crazy. It’s not worth getting angry over them. Your health is more important.” Lan Xueruo patted her father on the back, trying to calm the anger in her heart.
After a long silence, Cang Wanhe finally calmed down. He smiled sadly and said, "I have always thought that I have raised seven sons of tigers and leopards. I didn't expect that my seven sons...are all a group of jackals. Fortunately, the heavens have shown me some mercy and let me have a daughter like you. Unfortunately, you are a girl, otherwise, I can pass the throne to you directly... But if I really do this, it will also be hard for you... Cang Lin and Cang Shuo, these two rebellious sons, one colluded with Xiao Zong, and the other colluded with Fentian Sect, haha... No matter who of them succeeds in the end, our Cangfeng Royal Family will become puppets of others... The heavens are blind, the heavens are blind."
“Father, don’t worry too much. I will do my best to stop them.” Lan Xueruo bit her lip, her eyes covered with a layer of light mist.
Cang Wanhe smiled and shook his head: "These seven rebellious sons are divided into two camps. They control most of the power in the court. With the secret help of Xiao Zong and Fentian Sect, what can you do to stop them? I hope that if that day comes, you will leave this imperial city and hide as far away as possible. I am afraid that these rebellious sons will use you as a pawn for their own interests... If that happens, I will die with regrets."
“No, father. With Master Gu here, your illness will be cured, and you will live a long life.” Lan Xueruo held back her tears and shook her head vigorously.
"Hehe," Cang Wanhe smiled sadly. He knew his own physical condition best. He even suspected that this inexplicable illness was a conspiracy by Cang Lin or Cang Shuo. He closed his eyes and said sadly, "I have been in power for nineteen years, but in the end I realized that I have failed miserably as an emperor. Let alone teaching these rebellious sons, my first wish when I ascended the throne was to let my Cangfeng royal family wash away the shame in the 'Cangfeng Ranking Tournament'. However, after nineteen years, all I got was the shame that never stopped again and again... No one from my royal family of the Cangfeng Empire can enter the top 100. We have become the laughing stock of the world again and again, and we will never be able to raise our heads in front of those sects. How sad it is!"
Lan Xueruo's eyes flickered, and the figure of Yun Che appeared in her mind. A warm feeling also grew in her heart, which made her feel much calmer. She whispered, "Father, your wish will definitely come true. I have been traveling around the major Xuanfu for the past two years, using the Emperor's Heart Sutra to find such a person. My efforts have not been in vain. Just a month and a half ago, I found this person and brought him to the Blue Wind Xuanfu. I will do everything I can to let him represent our royal family in the next Blue Wind ranking battle... I believe that he will definitely enter the top 100, fulfilling my father's wish and washing away the shame of our royal family."
"The next time?... I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until that time. Cough, cough, cough, cough..." Cang Wanhe coughed violently again, and his breathing became more and more rapid.
Lan Xueruo knew that her father's health was not suitable for him to talk too much. She helped her father cover the quilt and said softly, "Father, you should have a good rest and make sure you get well. I still have some things to do, so I will come to visit you tomorrow...Uncle Dongfang, please protect my father."
After Lan Xueruo's voice fell, an old and deep voice came from above the palace: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will never allow anyone to harm the emperor's hair as long as I am here."
Lan Xueruo nodded gratefully and left the Emperor's bedroom.
No one knew that as the only princess and the youngest child of the Blue Wind Emperor, she carried a great deal of pressure on her frail shoulders, and how much hesitation and heaviness she had buried in her heart...
————————————————————
The central square of Cangfeng Xuanfu was extremely large. Since this was the last day for recruiting disciples this year, it was filled with dense crowds of people. Most of them were young Xuanists who were taking the test, and a small number were Xuanfu disciples who came to watch the excitement.
Although it was already the last day of the assessment, the number of young profound practitioners who were taking the assessment was still quite large. The assessment was divided into 300 groups. With Qin Wuyou's intervention, Yun Che was inserted into the 99th group midway.
The assessment is divided into two parts, namely the mysterious power test and the combat power test. They sound the same, but there are essential differences in the assessment format.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
