Chapter 16
Hughes looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people in black robes walking towards them in the distance.
Hughes frowned.
Just then, the man beside him slowly said, "The people from the Elders' Council are coming, and I can't stop them."
"They seemed very uneasy."
"They all came along to see your strength, and by the way," the man paused, "to keep you occupied this time."
contain?
Hughes raised a rare brow, his usually icy expression hardening. "Even a whole group of them combined couldn't withstand a single move from me."
“So the elders probably know they’re superfluous,” the man said, reaching out to remove the hood of his black robe. He paused, then continued, “They’ve come for something else: your choice of empress.”
When news of Hughes's aversion to women, taking a young slave as a concubine reached the imperial palace, even his mother was astonished and said she couldn't believe it, let alone the council of elders who heard the news.
That was absolutely earth-shattering.
But when has Hughes ever needed to ask for anyone's permission to do something?
Perhaps it was because Hughes's gaze was too cold that the group of elders not far away all stopped in their tracks and slowed down.
Even though the two groups were only thirty steps apart, the people from the Elder Council walked extremely slowly.
At the same time, the man's gaze fell on Xia Qian, and his gray-blue pupils reflected Xia Qian's small face. He smiled and nodded to Xia Qian, "Hello."
Caught off guard by this ruthless character's greeting, Xia Qian was taken aback. Clutching Hughes's robe, she instinctively hid behind him, revealing only her small face as she timidly looked at him, "Y-hello."
Her personality is different from what I expected.
The girl in front of me seemed to be a very timid and shy person.
Seeing him was like seeing some terrifying monster; she hid behind her younger brother, refusing to come out and only daring to peek at him with her small face.
Yu Si's gaze followed Xia Qian's small face, but the next second, a cold aura swept over him. Before Yu Si could react, Hughes's handsome face, which always looked indifferent, blocked his view.
Firmly and solidly.
Yu Si smiled, meeting those always indifferent eyes, and couldn't help but ask, "Even I'm not good enough?"
Yu Si and Xiu Si do look somewhat alike, but Yu Si appears particularly gentle.
He was tall and slender, and when he stared at Hughes, it was like looking in a mirror, but the two sides reflected were extremes.
He was probably a few inches shorter than Hughes, with a sickly pale complexion and a skeletal frame. When the night breeze blew, it always lifted the empty space beneath his black robes.
Hughes's features were exquisite yet cold, and when he gazed at someone, he always exuded a powerful and sharp aura.
However, Yu Si seemed to be the extreme of Hughes. Beneath her dark, tousled hair were a pair of extremely gentle gray-blue eyes. Even when she spoke, her tone was gentle and soft, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
For example, right now.
Yu Si looked at Xia Qian and said to Xiu Si, "Xiu Si, the people in the Elder Council already know about her existence."
They don't know about the marking yet.
If they knew, everyone in the Elder Council would probably faint from anger.
The footsteps were approaching, one by one. Yu Si looked at the white skirt peeking out from behind the petite figure of Xiu Si and suggested, "Should we leave her with me for a while?"
Xia Qian was taken aback. Should she put it with Yu Si?
"unnecessary."
Hughes's calm voice came from above her head, "She's very clingy to me."
All she does all day is act cute and affectionate around him.
"Is that so?"
Yu Si's gaze followed, landing on Xia Qian, making her unsure how to face him. Xia Qian tugged at Xiu Si's robe in dissatisfaction, denying in a small voice, "I'm not..." clingy to you.
Meanwhile, the group of elders not far away continued to walk slowly.
"What should we do?" someone suddenly asked.
Everyone knows that the Crown Prince of the Empire is the coldest and most terrifying person.
"The Crown Prince seems even angrier than we expected."
No sooner had the words been spoken than a cold snort rang out, and all the elders looked over to see that the person had not stopped walking and had even quickened his pace in a provocative manner as he walked toward Hughes.
At the same time, the man's voice followed, "No matter how angry he is, he is still His Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire."
"We must not forget that he carries the divine blood of the imperial family!"
The man narrowed his eyes, "How can divine blood be associated with someone of that status..."
Perhaps realizing the other person's identity, a cold glint flashed in the elder's eyes. Ultimately, he found it disgusting and didn't finish his sentence.
A moment of silence fell as the elders exchanged glances. Just then, a strong, resonant voice rang out, "Alright!"
"All of you, shut up."
The other elders spoke up one after another, "Elder Gao..."
The elder at the head of the group didn't even turn his head, but spoke slowly without looking to the side, "It's just that there is such a girl by your side, it doesn't mean that Your Highness will choose her as Empress."
At best, she was just one of the members of the Crown Prince's harem.
If the Crown Prince really likes her, Elder Gao doesn't think that this cold and aloof Crown Prince, who is only interested in war, would be crazy enough to make her Empress. At most, he would just give her the status of a mistress.
Hughes was colder than anyone else. Even compared to his father, the current king of the empire, Hughes was far more cold-blooded and ruthless.
Thinking of this, the leader's expression immediately darkened, and he began to warn, "Look at yourselves now! Does anyone remember that we came here to assist His Highness in subduing the Bright Flame?"
"We're not here to inquire about what His Highness's harem looks like."
The elders fell silent, even lowering their heads.
Just then, a disdainful snort suddenly rang out.
It's unclear who it's mocking.
At the same time, the leader of the group of elders stopped in his tracks.
The elders all stopped in their tracks. The elder in the lead stood before Hughes and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Highness."
The voice was filled with utmost respect.
Upon hearing this, Xia Qian instinctively hid behind Hughes. She looked at the group of shadows that had suddenly appeared on the ground, each one tall and strong.
This world is a world of superpowered individuals. Even ordinary people are very agile. People here live long lives because of their spiritual power. They take good care of their appearance. Even at forty-five, they look like they are in their early thirties.
She couldn't help but take a few more glances, her gaze slowly extending from the shadow. She saw that among the crowd were men and women, all draped in black robes. They were tall and slender, and the spiritual energy emanating from their bodies was powerful and dense.
There was no weak person among this group.
Who could imagine that this group of powerful figures dressed in black robes are actually a group of elderly people in their fifties and sixties?
“Your Highness,” the leader stopped in front of Hughes, “we are all ready.”
He stood at the head of the crowd, and all the elders followed his lead. He was tall and slender, already sixty years old, and his eyes were bright and piercing, showing no signs of senility.
He lowered his eyes respectfully and said, "The elders of the Elder Council are at Your Highness's beck and call."
This is Elder Gao, a core elder of the Imperial Council of Elders.
"Need not."
The elder was taken aback by Hughes's unexpected answer. Before he could react, a hoarse old man's voice slowly came from behind him, "Your Highness."
“We’d better be cautious,” the man said. “Although you ordered us not to follow you before you set off, this is a matter of the survival of the empire, and it’s no small matter.”
"This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity, with only one chance. If we miss this one, the empire may not have another millennium! We'd better be cautious."
"Let's all follow along."
The person speaking now is Elder Zuo.
He was dressed in a black robe, and the bright moonlight shone on him, faintly illuminating the scar on his face.
He had a scar on his face that looked like the Wusong River, grotesque and twisted, stretching across his entire left eye. Even though he wore an eye patch over his left eye, the scar was still very noticeable.
His voice was very hoarse when he spoke, and perhaps because of the scar on his face, Elder Zuo's aura was much more gloomy than that of the others around him.
Xia Qian was a little afraid of him, and she subconsciously hid behind Xiu Si. However, she did not expect that Elder Zuo's gaze would follow her. He suddenly snorted coldly and his gaze fell on her coldly, his eyes seeming to be a warning.
The next second, Elder Zuo shifted his gaze to Hughes and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the Desert Temple is not a place for child's play. It's best not to let any Tom, Dick, or Harry follow us."
Elder Zuo said, word by word, "It's not appropriate."
"It's good that the elders realize they're not suited to follow along," Hughes said calmly.
Elder Zuo was taken aback.
Before he could speak, the voice gave the order, "Elder, you should go back to the inn."
"Your Highness..."
Just then, Elder Gao, who was at the head of the crowd, turned around and looked over. "Your Highness is right. Zuo Di, it is indeed not appropriate for you to come along."
"Why don't you go back and rest, and wait for us?"
With Elder Gao, the highest leader of the Elder Council, speaking, Elder Zuo naturally had no choice but to obey. He glared at Xia Qian with hatred, but unexpectedly, the little slave hid behind Hughes.
His gaze met directly into those narrow eyes.
Elder Zuo was taken aback, unsure how to explain. For the first time, his usually fierce face showed a look of panic. "Your Highness."
The elders watched this scene in silence, all of them taken aback.
That little slave is quite the favorite!
Hughes liked her even more than they had expected.
But she seems really shy, and has been hiding behind His Highness the Crown Prince ever since, so they haven't even seen her face.
However, now none of them dare to underestimate her.
Even the notoriously difficult Elder Zuo was forced to return by His Highness because of her.
Who would dare to provoke this newly favored concubine?
All eyes fell on her. Just then, the earth shook, and Xia Qian swayed. Before she could react, a large, cold hand touched her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.
Xia Qian was taken aback, "Hughes..."
The ground shook violently, and if Xia Qian hadn't been next to Hughes, she would have been thrown over.
But that's not how it's described in the book!
This scene isn't in the book!
Just then, a deafening roar came from beneath Xia Qian's feet. Everyone's eyes fell on Xia Qian, and the roar came again, clearly coming from the ground beneath her feet.
The elders all retreated, exclaiming, "It's here!"
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