The Whole World Knows That the Crown Prince Loves Her

“Why does Father Emperor assume that someone with spirit lineage can touch me?”

“Have you seen it, Father Emperor?”

“You were not in the capital, where could I go to see?” The Emperor retorted, somewhat annoyed. “Nangong and Nangong Qing Le informed me of your situation. After Nangong Qing Le assured me that she could touch you, I hoped that you would marry her.”

“Although it hasn’t been confirmed, both you and she are currently in the capital. If you don’t believe it, you can try it.”

“No need.”

“I promise to marry the young lady from the Nangong family.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” Emperor Qi looked at him and said, “But I will only marry Nangong Qi’s daughter, the real daughter.”

“Are you suspecting Nangong Qing Le’s identity?”

“You can rest assured, Father. The Nangong family places great importance on lineage and wouldn’t make a mistake.”

“But…”

The Emperor looked at Emperor Qi, his expression becoming more serious the longer he looked. “Don’t you like Huang Quan? Why are you willing to marry Nangong Qing Le?”

“Father, as I said, I will only marry Nangong Qi’s daughter.”

“Nangong Qing Le is Nangong Qi’s daughter!” The Emperor exclaimed. “Stop bringing up such nonsense.”

“Qi Er, you are the Crown Prince of the Tianqi Empire. Behind you is the Tianqi Empire. Father will never force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But regarding your choice, Father has always hoped that the person you marry in the future will be someone you truly love.”

“As long as it’s someone you like, identity doesn’t matter.”

“I have taught you this since you were young. How could you…!”

“How could you be so fickle?”

To marry someone else despite loving someone truly!

“Utterly despicable!”

After listening to the Emperor’s words, Emperor Qi didn’t argue back, he just quietly looked at him.

“Enough!”

The Emperor slammed the table. “You may leave. Go back and think carefully about who you want to marry.”

“In your Eastern Palace, there can only be a Crown Princess, no concubines, and certainly no other random people. I hope that you will focus on one person, and be together for a lifetime.”

“Father Emperor, I take my leave.”

The Emperor waved his hand wearily. “Go.”

Emperor Qi turned and left the study.

“Your Majesty.”

After Emperor Qi left, the attendant by the Emperor’s side spoke up. “I don’t understand, Your Majesty. Why won’t you allow the Crown Prince to take concubines?”

In the great and small empires, which Crown Prince only married one person?

Even if there were, it was usually because the Crown Prince insisted on marrying only one person. Why is it that here, under Your Majesty’s decree, it’s suddenly not allowed?

“Sigh…”

The Emperor sighed. “You don’t understand how difficult it is to be with the one you love.”

The attendant: “???”

From Your Majesty’s words, could it be that there is someone Your Majesty loves, but due to status, you couldn’t be together?

“That shouldn’t be.”

“When Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, he served by Your Majesty’s side. Your Majesty has always been affectionate by nature, but he never showed any particular fondness for anyone…”

“Anyway, the heart of a sovereign is inscrutable.”

The attendant sighed inwardly and didn’t ask any further.

Emperor Tianqi sighed as well.

How did Qi’er become like this?

He used to worry that Qi’er wouldn’t develop any romantic feelings, but now…

Well, it’s better to not have feelings at all than to have them and act like this.

Sigh…

Emperor Tianqi felt immensely tired.

Seeing this, the attendant tried to console him. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has always been resolute. He must have his own reasons for doing this.”

Emperor Tianqi sighed. “I hope Qi’er truly does, as you say.”

162

Inside the palace, Huang Quan remained unaware of what was happening.

After a good sleep, she headed to the Imperial Academy to continue with the competition.

Fourteen matches were scheduled for the day. One participant was exempted, and six students drew their numbers for the matches.

At the competition venue, Nangong Qing Le looked at her number calmly, but her heart was filled with anxiety. She hadn’t faced Huang Quan yesterday, and she wasn’t sure if she would today. If not today, then she’d have to wait until the day after tomorrow…

Soon, the matches began. The supervising teachers announced, “The exempted number is… number eight.”

Number eight?

Who was it?

As everyone wondered who it might be, Feng Jiuyuan chuckled lightly and produced his number, saying, “Oh, why is luck so bad today? I ended up with the exemption.”

“I was actually looking forward to competing.”

Others: “…”

After hearing Feng Jiuyuan’s words, nobody wanted to compete against him. It would be too risky. However, with Feng Jiuyuan’s strength, he could likely advance even without the exemption. The exempted participant was Feng Jiuyuan, and the other six participants included Huang Quan, Jing Chen, Nangong Qing Le, and another student from the Imperial Academy.

As luck would have it, the other student from the empire had very bad luck. The numbers they drew matched with Jing Chen, Huang Quan, and Nangong Qing Le respectively for their matches.

With this arrangement, the final four participants were determined to be Huang Quan, Jing Chen, Nangong Qing Le, and Feng Jiuyuan, who had the exemption.

Tomorrow’s matches would start with two-on-two battles. The winners of each match would compete for first place, with the winner taking first and the loser taking second. The losers of the two matches would compete for third and fourth place. Therefore, there were still four matches left.

However, the upcoming matches would be even more intense, so even with only four matches remaining, they would be split across two days.

Today’s matches ended quite early. Unable to leave first, Huang Quan went back to the inn with the headmaster and others after speaking with Di Qin.

This was the first time Huang Quan had returned to the inn with the headmaster and others since the competition began.

As they exited the competition venue, Huang Quan noticed many students looking at her excitedly.

As she walked past, Huang Quan overheard them saying…

“You see, that’s Huang Quan. Even though she doesn’t have spiritual roots, she’s stronger than any of us!”

“Yeah, not only is she strong, but she’s also beautiful. She’s amazing!”

“She’s really incredible…”

The students’ voices were not quiet, and both Huang Quan and the headmaster heard them.

With an unbeaten record, Huang Quan had dominated her way into the top five with absolute strength, much to the headmaster’s delight over the past two days.

“Girl, you have no idea. Several teachers have asked me.”

“What did they ask?”

“They asked how we managed to train you to be so formidable.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Quan raised an eyebrow. “How did you respond, headmaster?”

“Of course, I told them that our teachers put in their utmost effort, combined with your extremely high talent, which is why you’re so formidable.”

The headmaster added, “And I wasn’t lying about that.”

After all, the teachers at the academy did indeed put in their utmost effort to teach the students.

“Headmaster, isn’t that still considered false advertising?” a student chimed in. “Huang Quan hasn’t even practiced in the academy. That’s the biggest false advertising.”

The student’s remark elicited laughter from others.

The headmaster pretended to scold them. “Hey, you little rascal, don’t you want the academy to do well?”

163

The student laughed and hid behind Ming Zhao, saying, “Headmaster, I was just joking.”

“I’m a student of the academy, so of course, I want the academy to do well.”

The headmaster snorted. “That’s about right.”

The group returned to the inn, still teasing each other along the way.

Once back at the inn, the headmaster ordered a variety of dishes. After everyone had finished eating, the teacher asked the others to return to their rooms, leaving only himself and Ming Zhao behind.

Seeing them stay behind, Huang Quan knew they had something to discuss. “Headmaster, teacher, feel free to speak your minds.”

The headmaster said, “Tomorrow’s match. Your opponent is one of them. From the beginning of the competition until now, none of them have shown their true strength. They’ve won each match easily. But tomorrow’s match is different. Tomorrow’s match determines the rankings, so they will surely give their all. You must be careful.”

“Of course,” Huang Quan said. “Tomorrow, I will also give my all. I will definitely take first place.”

The headmaster looked at her solemnly. “Girl, I believe in you.”

Ming Zhao nodded. “I believe in you too.”

None of them had shown their true strength, and Huang Quan was no exception. So Ming Zhao wasn’t too worried.

Huang Quan’s matches ended in the blink of an eye, even more effortlessly than theirs. So to some extent, Ming Zhao felt that Huang Quan was more formidable than any of them.

He just didn’t say it out loud.

“Oh, right.”

The headmaster remembered something and looked at Huang Quan. “Girl, didn’t you ask about the rewards for the competition before?”

“Yes,” Huang Quan nodded. She still remembered.

But what she asked about wasn’t the rewards announced publicly, but the special rewards that weren’t mentioned.

“I wanted to tell you earlier, but every time the competition ended, you ran off with the Crown Prince, so I thought it could wait. And by the time you returned, it was too late, and I wanted you to rest well. That’s why I’m telling you now.”

Huang Quan chuckled. “Headmaster, please continue.”

“This time, in addition to the rewards announced publicly, there are also rewards from the High Priest.”
“The High Priest?”

Huang Quan was a bit surprised. “So, is this the reason why the High Priest appears at every match?”

“That’s indeed one reason, but the more important reason is because of the Crown Prince,” the headmaster explained.

“I see,” Huang Quan responded, indicating that she understood.

The headmaster continued, “The High Priest discovered a site rumored to contain spiritual medicines and treasures, as well as legendary artifacts. Once this news spread, everyone wanted to find the site. However, despite searching for a long time, they couldn’t locate it. Only the High Priest knew its whereabouts. Many people tried to approach the High Priest for information, but he remained silent. Perhaps tired of their pestering, the High Priest eventually informed them that he would take the top five winners of this competition to the site.”

“Just because of this?” Huang Quan asked.

The headmaster nodded. “Yes.”

“But even if the High Priest doesn’t take them, couldn’t others follow him to the site?” Nangong Mian, sitting beside them, questioned. “They don’t have to participate in the competition.”

“It’s different,” the headmaster explained. “Those who go with the High Priest will receive his protection, while those who follow behind him won’t. The High Priest has profound cultivation and can foresee events. Following him can help avoid many dangers. That’s why the young masters of the Mirror Snow Palace and the Nine Abyss City are participating in the competition.”

“However…”

After some contemplation, the headmaster added, “Jing Chen volunteered to come, but Feng Jiuyuan was forced by his father.”