While Qing Chen and Qing Xiong rushed toward the palace.
Inside the palace, in the Royal Study.
"Your Highness! His Majesty he…"
"Out of my way!"
The Princess strode up the steps, shoved open the Royal Study's doors with both hands, and barged in, ignoring every attempt to stop her.
Startled by the noise, the Martial Emperor of Great Han—Han Cheng—looked up, saw the fury and defiance on his daughter's Face, and sighed as he set down his brush.
Feigning ignorance, he asked, "Shouldn't you be busy preparing for your wedding? What brings you here?"
"Father, I will not marry!" Han Qingyue declared, every word ringing clear.
Han Cheng was unsurprised; he had expected it. "You must marry."
His tone was even harder than hers.
"Father, would you truly force your daughter to wed a worthless rake like Qing Chen?"
"If you insist I marry such a vile, shameless creature, I'd rather die to keep my innocence!"
Han Qingyue had met Qing Chen only a few times—usually the memory-less version who pestered her for her beauty.
But from court gossip and her own people, she knew him to be utterly despicable.
In her eyes, a parasite harmful to nation and people ought to be erased.
Ordered to marry him, the proud Han Qingyue flatly refused.
Above all, her heart already belonged to another.
"Very well. Attendant—present the Princess with a white silk!"
Han Qingyue had thought her threat would make her doting father relent; instead, Han Cheng agreed without hesitation.
Before she could speak, he added, "Once you're gone, Father and every member of House Han will soon join you."
Only then did Han Qingyue grasp that the rumors of the Chen family's supremacy were no exaggeration.
She was certain Chief Minister Qing Xiong had threatened her father with the lives of the Han clan and the fate of Great Han itself.
Realizing this, she bowed her head, eyes hollow, and silently accepted her fate.
"If my life alone can save my people and preserve the throne, then—I will marry."
Watching her force the words through clenched teeth, Han Cheng felt his heart tear; he hated his own helplessness against the mighty minister.
He waved the old eunuch with the white silk out of the room.
Only father and daughter remained in the Royal Study.
"Qingyue, Father will do everything possible to keep you from being wronged in the Chen household." It was the only promise he could give.
Han Qingyue gave a soft "Mm," turned, and said, "Then your daughter takes her leave."
She knew the Chen father and son were the true villains; blaming anyone else was pointless.
After this, her already-zero regard for Qing Chen and Qing Xiong plunged into the negatives.
She swore: even if Qing Chen took her body, he would never have her heart.
That heart would forever belong to that one figure.
Leaving the Royal Study, two lines of tears fell as she thought, 'Brother Feng, Qingyue is fated to miss you in this life; if there is a next, I will not fail you!'
Though the wedding was rushed, its pomp was grand; civil and military officials filled the hall.
Even courtiers at odds with Qing Xiong attended for the Martial Emperor's sake.
When someone asked why the bride and groom were absent, Qing Xiong raised his cup and laughed, "That impatient boy has already fetched his bride and is preparing for the bedding!"
The remark only deepened everyone's impression of Qing Chen as a worthless hedonist.
Qing Chen cared nothing for their opinion, nor did he try to change it.
In his view, every second saved in completing the System's wedding procedure brought him one second closer to the Undying and Imperishable Body.
Until he had that, his heart would stay in his throat.
In a blink, the scene shifted to the Qing estate.
Qing Chen stood outside the bedchamber, drew a deep breath, pushed open the festively decorated bridal room.
The moment he stepped in, a System panel popped up and a voice sounded in his mind.
[Congratulations, host. Quest completed: Undying and Imperishable Body +1!]
[Bind Undying and Imperishable Body now?]
'Bind!'
Without hesitation, he answered in his mind when the two choices appeared.
[Binding Undying and Imperishable Body…]
[Undying and Imperishable Body successfully bound!]
'That's it?' He felt no tangible difference before and after.
His body simply felt… the same.
To dispel his doubt, the System promptly said: [Rest assured, host; Undying and Imperishable Body is active!]
'Fine…'
Since the System had spoken, Qing Chen shelved his doubts.
He dismissed the panel; with the body secured, a new problem loomed.
Judging by his former self's conduct and his memories of Princess Han Qingyue, he knew better than to expect her devoted affection.
She was, after all, scripted as the destined heroine and future Heavenly Mandate Empress.
A scalding-hot potato—wasteful to discard, painful to hold.
He had considered divorcing her once the Undying and Imperishable Body was his.
But doing so would instantly unbind the System; though the body would remain, relying on it alone to defy the protagonist and escape death felt flimsy.
After weighing the pros and cons, he resolved: the protagonist would remain in seclusion for another twenty-nine years; before that, he would milk Han Qingyue for every advantage the System could grant.
Strength first; everything else could wait.
As a seasoned web-novel reader, he understood better than anyone: in Xuanhuan worlds, the mighty rule.
While he was lost in thought, the System delivered the perfect timely aid.
[Main quest issued. View?]
'Main quest? Let's see it!'
He wondered what fresh torment the System had cooked up.
[Main Quest: Make Han Qingyue willingly consummate your marriage!]
Willing consummation… Qing Chen could hardly believe the System wasn't setting him up.
Between childhood-sweetheart tropes, hero-saves-damsel clichés, and the Protagonist Halo, how could the destined heroine ever willingly bed him?
Still, a main quest implied—at least to him—there had to be side quests.
Yet before he could ponder further, the reward line seized his full attention.
[Reward on completion: Great-Emperor cultivation!]