In a luxuriously decorated room within the Sun Moon Empire Imperial Palace, the exquisite crystal soul tool chandelier emitted a soft, warm glow, adding a touch of ambiguity and flirtatiousness to the space.
Juzi leaned against the edge of the soft, large bed, her jade-like arms barely supporting her numb and limp body. Crystal-clear teardrops slid from the corners of her eyes, scattering a misty halo. Her eyes were filled with a sense of happiness.
"I should call you Zihuang from now on…"
"I'm sorry for always hiding these things from you." Xu Zihuang slightly bowed his body, gently stroking Juzi's cheek with an apologetic expression.
A highly infectious, charming smile appeared on Juzi's pretty face as she gently shook her head.
"Zihuang, my decision to do this has nothing to do with your identity. No matter who you are, I would still do it. Because you are the only man who has entered my heart. I was just a little surprised that you are actually the only son of Prince Zihuang. And with that, everything I've done has even more meaning. I want to help you take back everything and make you the most noble person on the continent."
Xu Zihuang tenderly held Juzi's jade hand and said softly, "From now on, you are no longer alone. I will always be the pillar behind you."
"Mmm…" Juzi nodded slightly, proactively pulling Xu Zihuang's hand and pressing it against her own chest. Her gaze was so fervent it seemed capable of melting Xu Zihuang.
At this moment, the only impulse in her heart was to follow her true feelings without regard for anything else. The emotions she had suppressed for many years could finally be poured out.
"Don't worry, leave the matters afterward to me." Xu Zihuang smiled gently.
"Just follow my imperial brother's plan, and we will present this gift to him."
Juzi pursed her alluring red lips. It was as if she had been bewitched; her remaining rationality was destroyed. She couldn't help but draw closer to Xu Zihuang's face.
Their feelings intertwined at this moment. Of course, they also harbored thoughts of revenge against Xu Tianran. Both Xu Zihuang and Juzi shared this mindset without prior agreement.
Xu Zihuang took Juzi's other hand as well, interlocking their ten fingers. Then, with gentle movements, he laid Juzi flat on the large bed in the center of the room. The two figures quietly overlapped. Amid the interplay of light and shadow, spring scenery abounded.
…
Sitting in the study, Xu Tianran's eyelids suddenly twitched, and his mood became increasingly irritable.
"Hu—" He let out a long breath, pushed his wheelchair to the edge of the window. But even as he looked at the sky dotted with countless stars, the irritation in his heart lingered for a long time.
"Come!"
"Your Majesty." A man in black clothes appeared from nowhere and knelt before Xu Tianran.
Xu Tianran turned his back to the man in black, frowning as he said in a deep voice, "How is the situation on the Empress's side?"
Because he had nearly lost his life to an assassination attempt by his own brother years ago, Xu Tianran had always been very cautious. Even toward Juzi, he could not fully trust her. During this period, he had kept Juzi confined to her room for recuperation, which was also a way to monitor her.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress has already retired for the night." The man in black responded respectfully.
After a moment of silence, Xu Tianran coldly ordered.
"You may withdraw."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xu Tianran raised his head again, gazing at the bright night sky, and his expression once more turned ferocious.
He had a beautiful Empress like a flower by his side, yet he could do nothing about it. Moreover, he was forced by the ministers to use the method of borrowing seed to bear a child in order to maintain the stability of his rule. Any man would find this humiliation unbearable, but he had no choice.
Being this emperor was truly stifling.
It was only after a long while that Xu Tianran regained his usual expression of keeping his emotions hidden and returned to his sleeping quarters.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The silver moon shifted from west to east, and the night grew deeper.
Under the silver moonlight pouring in from the window, two closely intertwined figures could be clearly seen. Juzi hugged Xu Zihuang's waist and back from behind. Her face showed some weariness, but her complexion was rosy.
To avoid Xu Tianran detecting anything unusual, Xu Zihuang had just used the rich life aura attached to the Golden Life Grass to nourish Juzi's body once more. Her current physical condition was almost no different from before, and she could move freely. However, there was now an obvious trace of charm between her brows.
Still, Juzi had been disguising herself beside Xu Tianran for so many years, so hiding these changes was not difficult for her.
Xu Zihuang turned around and lowered his head to lightly touch her lips.
"Give it to me."
Juzi's pretty face flushed slightly as she removed a white blanket that had been placed on the large bed and handed it to Xu Zihuang. In the center of the blanket were spots of red like cherry stains.
Xu Zihuang stored the blanket in his storage soul tool and instructed Juzi, "I will find opportunities to come over the next few days. Just act as you normally do. Leave the rest to me."
"Mmm."
Juzi leaned her head affectionately against Xu Zihuang's shoulder. She naturally trusted Xu Zihuang completely, and she had also learned from him earlier about the innate ability of the Golden Eyed Martial Soul Avatar. Since Xu Zihuang could freely enter and exit the imperial palace without being detected by any soul masters or soul tools, she had nothing to worry about.
"Zihuang, you should send Ke Ke back. This matter is too dangerous; we can't involve her any further."
Then, thinking that Ke Ke was still in Mingdu, Juzi couldn't help but part her red lips.
"Her home is in Huanglong City in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire."
"Huanglong City?" Xu Zihuang was momentarily stunned, but he quickly reacted. Looking at Juzi with a faint smile, he said, "Actually, that was what I originally planned. Ke Ke Xuejie is a very good person."
"Then you should have noticed it too, Ke Ke likes you." Juzi chuckled, and after taking this step with Xu Zihuang, her mindset had also undergone some changes.
"I don't mind, Zihuang. I've never selfishly thought about monopolizing you. If you think Ke Ke is good, you can try to accept her."
"We'll talk about it later." Xu Zihuang suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He knew that what Juzi said was her truest inner thoughts. However, his feelings toward Ke Ke were only good impressions; they were far from reaching that level.
Once again, he tidied the hair at Juzi's temples. Xu Zihuang nodded and said,
"I'll go first."
"Mmm." Juzi nodded with a smile full of affection. But as Xu Zihuang's figure disappeared before her eyes, the smile on her charming face instantly faded.
She walked step by step to the dressing table and once again put on the hypocritical smile she usually wore when facing Xu Tianran. Only after adjusting it until no abnormality could be seen did she return to the edge of the bed and sit down, preparing to rest.
On the other side, as soon as Xu Zihuang returned to the living room of the three-story pavilion, he saw Ke Ke sitting on the sofa, bored, supporting her chin with her wrist.
Seeing Xu Zihuang, Ke Ke quickly stood up and complained, "Why did you take so long? You made me so worried. Did you see Sister Juzi?"
"I did, and she told me to send you home." Xu Zihuang replied frankly, sitting down beside Ke Ke and noticing that the living room had been cleaned neatly by her.
Ke Ke wrinkled her delicate nose and sniffed. Catching the familiar scent on Xu Zihuang's body, she suddenly widened her eyes and stared at him, her gaze burning with the flames of gossip.
"You didn't go night-probing the imperial palace and stay in Sister Juzi's room the whole time, did you? Did you give her the seed?"
Xu Zihuang gave Ke Ke a subtle look.
"I suppose I did."
Seeing that Ke Ke was about to continue questioning, Xu Zihuang could only helplessly stand up and speak first.
"Alright, don't get involved in these matters anymore. I'll send you back first."
"Okay, okay." Ke Ke pouted aggrievedly, but she also knew that Juzi and Xu Zihuang were considering her safety. As an ordinary civilian with no background, although she had relied on her own talent and effort to graduate from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and become a fairly capable soul engineer, getting involved in such matters was still too dangerous.
However, her mouth was not so obedient. She muttered softly,
"Hmph, what a heartless guy. As soon as I'm no longer useful, you kick me away ruthlessly. You must be a scumbag."
Xu Zihuang ignored Ke Ke's complaints. Once again using the innate ability "Void" of his Golden Eyed Martial Soul Avatar, he brought Ke Ke to Huanglong City in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire. Without lingering, he returned to the pavilion in the western district of Mingdu and began meditating to cultivate.
In the following three days, he would go to the Sun Moon Empire Imperial Palace every night to see Juzi. It was not only to discuss their subsequent plans, but more importantly, to help Xu Tianran fulfill his "wish."
Xu Zihuang had cultivated the Unblemished Golden Body of the Body Sect to its peak using the Ocean Heart and Tang San's divine power. Although his spiritual power had also reached the god level, allowing him to perfectly control the strength of his physical body so as not to harm Juzi, a god-level body meant that his life level was already different from that of ordinary people. It would be relatively difficult for him to leave behind offspring.
There was no shortcut for this kind of thing; he could only try again and again.
On the night of the third day, Xu Tianran's original plan to borrow seed to bear a child also began to be implemented.
Sun Moon Empire Imperial Palace.
This was a quiet room. The space of the quiet room was very large, nearly two hundred square meters, and the decoration had the unique luxury of the imperial family.
A handsome young man was sitting beside a table, enjoying delicious delicacies, looking indescribably pleased and excited.
The young man was named Xu Tianhe. He was of the same generation as Xu Tianran, and their blood relation was very close. Xu Tianran could be considered Xu Tianhe's cousin.
Although Xu Tianhe usually indulged in pleasure and neglected cultivation, resulting in mediocre cultivation, his imperial bloodline was extremely pure, making him the target Xu Tianran wanted to borrow seed from.
"Knock, knock, knock—" Light knocking sounded at the door.
Xu Tianhe's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly stood up, sat upright, and said, "Please come in."
A woman in palace attire walked in from outside the door. Her luxurious, golden long dress accentuated her noble and elegant demeanor. It was Juzi.
The door closed, and the atmosphere in the room gained a touch of ambiguity. Seeing such a peerless beauty as Juzi, Xu Tianhe's expression became somewhat dazed.
At this moment, another tall and straight young man appeared beside Juzi. A purple-golden light flashed from his eyes, and Xu Tianhe's figure stiffened in place, unable to move at all, yet his consciousness remained exceptionally clear.
Xu Tianhe's eyes were filled with terror and astonishment. Because he saw his imperial sister-in-law, whom his imperial brother regarded as his exclusive possession, nestling in the young man's embrace.
"Xu Tianhe." Xu Zihuang's gaze slightly condensed as he recalled the memories regarding this Prince Tianhe.
Within the Sun Moon Empire imperial family, only the emperor's direct line did not have to follow the generational naming constraints. This led to the situation where He Caitou's original name, Xu He, differed from Xu Tianhe by only one character.
According to his father's side, Xu Zihuang should also belong to the Tian generation, which coincidentally matched the generation on his mother's Heavenly Dragon Sect side. However, his real name, Xu Zihuang, violated this generational rule because of the favor bestowed by the previous Sun Moon Empire emperor. It signified that this lineage of his could inherit the title of Prince Zihuang.
Although Xu Tianhe's family had not directly participated in the usurpation back then, they had indirectly supported Xu Tianran's family. However, Xu Tianran would not show any old affection because of this and still treated Xu Tianhe as a chess piece that could be manipulated and discarded at any time.
In the corner of this quiet room, a man in black clothes appeared with vacant pupils.
Seeing this scene, Juzi's expression turned cold. However, she had long anticipated that Xu Tianran would have a backup plan.
Xu Zihuang nodded to Juzi beside him and said, "Begin."
Juzi decisively took out a dagger from her storage ring and stabbed it into Xu Tianhe's heart. Meanwhile, Xu Zihuang walked in front of the man in black and used his spiritual power to implant a segment of memory into him.
This was a special application of spiritual power from the Sea Princess lineage. Having fused with the Sea Princess's Ocean Heart, Xu Zihuang naturally inherited these abilities from it.
With his half-god-level spiritual power, it was enough to ensure that the man in black would not notice anything.
A quarter of an hour later, Juzi appeared in a palace hall.
"Your Majesty, I have finished."
"Juzi, please rise."
Xu Tianran sat upright on the imperial throne and waved his hand toward Juzi with a smile. However, hidden within that smile was a trace of undetectable embarrassment and pain.
"Go prepare first. To maintain activity, we will begin immediately. The imperial physician is already ready."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Juzi merely responded softly and turned to leave. Yet deep in her eyes, there was a hint of mockery.
As soon as Juzi left the palace hall, a black shadow silently appeared in her previous position and knelt on one knee toward Xu Tianran.
"Your Majesty, Prince Tianhe has already died. This subordinate can confirm that it was done by Her Majesty the Empress. A single fatal strike, piercing through the heart."
"Mm, you may withdraw. After the imperial physician finishes the examination, come see me." Xu Tianran said coldly.
"Yes!"
Before long, the same elderly imperial physician from before walked into the palace hall and knelt before Xu Tianran.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress is indeed still a virgin."
Hearing this result, the coldness on Xu Tianran's face instantly dissipated considerably. It was as if he had been relieved of a heavy burden. He let out a sigh and murmured to himself,
"I'm sorry, Juzi. It seems I overthought it. Imperial physician, go ahead. It must succeed. If it does, I will heavily reward you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
In another quiet room, the imperial physician stood with a dazed gaze.
"Xu Tianran, everything you possess will belong to me in the not-too-distant future. Cherish this short period of time."
Xu Zihuang sneered, holding Juzi, who had changed into snow-white middle clothes, as they walked to the bedside.
Meanwhile, every minute and second that Xu Tianran spent sitting on the imperial throne in the palace hall was a painful torment for him. This torment lasted a full hour before the imperial physician finally left the quiet room and came to report to Xu Tianran.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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