Chapter 1902 – Journey (6)
Once again, one line had shattered whatever composure Rui Yi had mustered and turned it into utter shock.
Yun Wuxin was trying to think up a way to help Rui Yi when her father’s unexpected request destroyed her concentration. Instead of being aghast at her father’s behavior though, a kind of strange excitement and expectation lit up inside her…
Ohhhh!
Father is showing that side of him again!
Surprisingly, Cang Shuhe appeared to realize what was going on immediately. She smiled and shook her head a little.
“I… I… That… I… cannot… possibly… I…”
Rui Yi could barely form a coherent word. She had clearly never faced such a situation before, and whatever quick-wittedness she displayed earlier had escaped her completely.
“This is an order, not a request. Your willingness matters not, only your obedience does,” Yun Che continued harshly.
After she barely recovered herself, Rui Yi made sure to avoid Cang Shuhe’s eyes and shook her head strongly. “I cannot… I cannot! The young miss herself has not… not… with you, so how can I possibly…!”
“Hah! Who was the one who said she would accept any punishment for her miss? In fact, this isn’t a punishment at all. This is a favor bestowed upon you by your great emperor, but your first reaction is to fear and spurn it!? This is your so-called atonement? Your loyalty to Consort Grace!?”
Yun Che’s voice abruptly grew harsher.
Rui Yi could face down Yun Che’s killing intent without fear, but this? She was literally seconds away from bursting into tears.
It had been more than a year since Cang Shuhe became Yun Che’s imperial consort, but she hadn’t actually slept with him yet.
If she were to sleep with Yun Che before the young miss… how could she ever face her again?
“Your Majesty, I… this servant will accept any punishment, but not this! Please… please!”
She shook her head with all her might. Her eyes finally watered with fearful tears.
“Your Majesty, you can let her go for now, right? She has learned from her mistake,” Cang Shuhe finally said.
“Hmph! She asked for this,” Yun Che replied with a hmph, but the sight of Rui Yi’s tears was enough to convert all of his earlier irritation into pure satisfaction.
Usually, the fierier a woman, the deeper her weakness ran. In Rui Yi’s case, one metaphorical poke at Cang Shuhe was literally enough to make her cry.
“You may take your leave, Rui Yi.”
The attendant looked like she had just been pardoned from death when Cang Shuhe said this. She hurriedly bade her goodbye before escaping from the bedroom.
Yun Wuxin watched her fleeing back with deep sympathy.
Rui Yi never dared to meet Cang Shuhe’s eyes until she was gone.
“The fierier a woman, the more a man will want to bully her. In this case, it looks like Your Majesty is not an exception to the rule either,” Cang Shuhe commented smilingly.
She said “bully”, not “punish”. It put the situation in a rather interesting light.
“Her?” Yun Che said disdainfully, “Who can be fierier than Qianying?”
“Speaking of Consort Shadow, there is one thing I’ve been rather curious about for a while.” Cang Shuhe shot him a probing look. “Who is the hunter, and who is the hunted between you and Consort Shadow?”
“Do you even need to ask? Of course it’s…”
Yun Che suddenly cut himself short as an uncertain look overcame his features. He… actually didn’t know the answer to that question.
Cang Shuhe didn’t wait for Yun Che’s answer. Instead, she picked a small jade bowl from a table and turned to Yun Wuxin. “Will you give this soup a taste, Wuxin?”
Yun Wuxin accepted it immediately and with barely suppressed excitement. She said, “Did you make it just now, Auntie Shuhe? Auntie Rui Yi told me earlier that your soup is good enough to make a soul ascend to heaven.”
An elegant smile crossed Cang Shuhe’s lips as she replied, “That may or may not be true, but you won’t know until you taste it yourself, right? Take it slow.”
Yun Wuxin removed the cover and carried the bowl to her mouth without hesitation. Right before the soup was about to touch her lips though, she abruptly noticed that her father was shooting her an unusually intense and… nervous? Look.
“…” Her movement slowed for just a moment. Then, she dipped the bowl and began drinking the soup.
Yun Che was going to ask her how it tasted, but he realized that Yun Wuxin wasn’t done after the initial sip. She leaned back a little and slowly drank the whole bowl.
For some reason, she didn’t put down the bowl immediately after she was done drinking. It was like she was moving in slow motion.
When she finally set the bowl down, there wasn’t a single drop left inside of it.
“Mm…” Yun Che made sure to school his features and his gaze into a perfect mask of calmness before asking casually, “How does it taste?”
Yun Wuxin pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It’s very tasty. There’s just this… strange taste that I can’t quite put a word to yet.”
“S-strange taste?” Yun Che’s eyebrows were literally trembling with tension. “Can you describe it?”
“Give me a moment…” Yun Wuxin searched her mind seriously for a moment before breaking into a wide smile. “I got it! Let’s call it… a father’s taste.”
For a second, Yun Che was lost for words. Then, he broke into laughter and said, “Ah, I knew it. The gap between my and Consort Grace’s culinary skills is too big after all.”
“No,” Cang Shuhe said smilingly, “to come this far in less than five or six hours of experimentation… you are already the most impressive man in the world, Your Majesty.”
“…” Yun Wuxin kept smiling. There were so many things she wanted to say, but couldn’t when she actually tried to.
The soup had contained “a father’s taste”… and her own faintly salty tears.
She knew how much her father doted on her. She knew even better that he was constantly tormented by self-blame and regret.
She had long since put down her resentment and anger toward him after learning everything that had happened to him during those darkest years. All that remained was a deep sorrow for him. However, her father still couldn’t let go or forgive himself to this day.
He was the universe’s highest king, and yet he never stopped trying to make up to her and become a better father.
I have not seen even one speck of the world yet, but if there is one thing I’m absolutely certain of, and it is that I’m already the luckiest and happiest daughter in the world, father.
Eastern Divine Region, Brahma Monarch God Realm.
A golden barrier parted as Qianye Ying’er stepped out from behind it, golden hair swaying hypnotically to the swaying of her perfect body. Her beauty was that of an unholy combination between a terribly cold soul and a fantastical, practically impossible appearance. Even the light of heaven would dim in shame in her presence.
A girl in yellow robes hurried up to her and bowed deeply. “Welcome back from your seclusion, Master.”
It was clear that Qianye Ying’er had just finished her cultivation. The thin sheen of sweat clinging to her pale white skin looked as delicious as the essence of moonlight. It was to the point where the girl had to look away so that her heartbeat wouldn’t run faster than it already was.
A two-month seclusion wasn’t long by any means, but the progress she had made was acceptable.
Although she was already a level ten Divine Master, the blood of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor ran in her veins. She was nowhere close to her ceiling yet, and when she did reach it she was sure to exceed Qianye Fantian.
“Did anything big happen in the past two months, Yue Ying?” Qianye Ying’er asked.
“No. Everything is peaceful and stable,” Yue Ying replied. “The Brahma Kings have chosen six extremely talented profound practitioners who stand a good chance to inherit the Brahma Monarch divine power from the younglings. They are just waiting for you to confirm the selection…”
“… the old master’s recovery has exceeded expectations. Last month, the old master himself said that his strength would return to its peak in just one or two years. However, he won’t be healing back the seventy percent lifespan he lost.”
“… there is one more matter. Four days ago, a group of rebels belonging to the remnants of the Holy Eaves Realm tried to incite a rebellion to the west. They have all been captured and controlled. We were going to pass them over to the Glazed Light Realm, but since you are here now, please dispose of them as you wish.”
“Holy Eaves? Hmph. This sect truly is rich in jokes and idiots.” Qianye Ying’er sneered. “Cripple them all and exile them to an uninhabited star realm.”
“Ah?” Yue Ying looked up in surprise.
“What? Do you object?”
“No, of course not.” Yue Ying hurriedly lowered her head again. “Your slave servant hears and obeys, I will send the order right away.”
Yue Ying was Qianye Ying’er’s personal attendant since when she was still the Brahma Monarch Goddess. In the past, forget people who rebelled against her, she would’ve killed even people who had become worthless to her without question.
Naturally, she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.
Yue Ying was about to take her leave when Qianye Ying’er suddenly called out to her. “Wait.”
“What are your orders, Master?” Yue Ying hurriedly turned back around.
“Where are Yun Che and Wuxin right now?” Qianye Ying’er asked. This was the fourth month of their journey. Assuming that they hadn’t altered their plans, they should be in the Western Divine Region right now.
Yue Ying replied, “Emperor Yun and the princess are in the Southern Divine Region, Master.”
“Southern Divine Region?” Qianye Ying’er frowned a little. “Why are they still there? Did something happen to them along the way?”
Yue Ying hurriedly clarified, “Of course not, Emperor Yun is peerless and without equal. It’s… it’s because his stay at the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm was… longer than planned. He has been staying there for more than a month, and he still hasn’t taken his leave yet.”
“…” Qianye Ying’er frowned in puzzlement for a second. Then, her golden eyebrows sank heavily.
“Could it be… Cang… Shu… He!?”
“Yes, master…” Yue Ying answered with trepidation, “According to our spies from the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm, Consort Grace… has been sleeping with Emperor Yun for the past month…”
Crack!
Yue Ying shut up. The sound of breaking teeth and the sudden drop in temperature were all the signals she needed.
“I knew it…” Qianye Ying’er uttered furiously, “I knew that woman was no normal woman!”
She was pissed at Cang Shuhe, but she was even more pissed at that waste of breath, Nan Wansheng! He called himself the number one god emperor of the Southern Divine Region, and yet he couldn’t even fuck one woman and decrease her number of competitors by one!
It was bad enough that she had lived long enough to steal her man, but she even managed to hold Yun Che’s attention for more than a month! She couldn’t even imagine what kind of magic she had put on that horny bastard!
In the past, the Qianye Ying’er that Yue Ying knew was a schemeful and selfish woman who did everything to become a powerful Brahma Monarch God Emperor.
Today, Qianye Ying’er had achieved her dreams, but the only thing she thought and cared about was Yun Che. In fact, she was often nowhere to be found when she was needed for something major. Of course, it was because she had run off to Yun Che’s.
To say that the surviving Brahma Kings were exasperated would be the understatement of the year.
“There is no need to be concerned, Master,” Yue Ying consoled her master carefully, “Be it in terms of appearance or strength of relationship, that Consort Grace is in no way your superior. Emperor Yun is with her probably because she is a fresh face—”
“Scram!” Qianye Ying’er cut her off coldly. “This is between me and that woman. Your opinions are unnecessary.”
“I… I have transgressed… I shall take my leave now,” Yue Ying hurriedly apologized before making a beeline for the exit.
“Wait!”
Qianye Ying’er called out to her again, but the anger in her voice hadn’t vanished in the slightest. “I want those Holy Eaves rebels killed and their bodies fed to the profound beasts at Frost Brahma Ridge!”
“… yes, Master!”
A long time passed after that, but Qianye Ying’er was still fuming with jealousy.
“That dog… he’s not leaving my place for at least three months!”