Chapter 432: Say You Love Me

The sun rose, ushering in a new day.

After a grueling battle, Wei Yuan was ultimately defeated, and his dream of becoming invincible in the Avatar-stage shattered just like that. Although the First Consort had barely won and was completely exhausted herself, she had won nonetheless and thus earned the privilege of “cleaning up the battlefield.”

But victory and defeat had been separated by a hair’s breadth. Wei Yuan felt that the cup of wine was the reason for his defeat.

Now that they could finally talk properly. However, Wei Yuan felt a tinge of dread whenever he saw the First Consort’s hand resting on her tummy. This was not the life he wanted.

The First Consort slowly sat up and put on her clothes. Once fully dressed, she actually exuded a sacred and dignified presence, as if even drawing near her would be a desecration. It was like she was a completely different person from the demoness she had been just moments ago.

“When the child was born, his fortune transformed into a dragon and ascended to the heavens. This cannot be hidden from those with keen eyes, nor can the news be contained. I do not hold absolute power within the harem, and His Majesty rarely shows up in the palace these days.”

The First Consort spoke as if she were talking about the weather, but Wei Yuan broke out in a cold sweat when he listened to her until the end.

As a studious student of history, Wei Yuan knew very well what this meant: the child was most likely going to die of a mysterious death before even reaching the age of speech!

The First Consort continued, “My clique does not have a World Ruler. That is our greatest crisis. We cannot always rely on Father[1] to help us either—after all, we ultimately belong to different states. It’s even possible that at some point, he might decide it would be more advantageous for him if this child were dead—no, not ‘might’. Will. He will never tolerate a ruler endowed with dragon qi to emerge in a neighboring nation.”

As she spoke, a look of panic flashed across the First Consort’s face. “That’s right. The one who wants him dead most of all is Father!”

“What can I do?”

The First Consort quickly regained her composure and said, “There’s plenty you can do. The New Year is coming up soon, and it’s time for you to go to the capital again. As long as you obediently follow my orders, the child will be safe.”

Wei Yuan couldn’t help but feel like her choice of words, “Obediently follow my orders,” was off. How would his obedience affect the child’s fate in any way?

Besides, if he were to be perfectly honest, Wei Yuan felt nothing for the child at all. He even felt that the trajectory of his life had been suddenly thrown into disarray. If it weren’t for this child, things would surely be much simpler.

However, he understood the veiled threat in the First Consort’s words and could only smile wryly.

The First Consort continued, “Your current standing is different from when you last went to the capital. This audience with his majesty is the perfect opportunity to build alliances. I’ll give you a list of people to befriend when the time comes.”

“All right.” Since this was also to Wei Yuan’s advantage, he naturally agreed.

“When one’s power is insufficient, being endowed with dragon qi is only going to invite mortal danger. It’s possible that right now, aside from you, me, and His Majesty, everyone else is hoping for his death. That is why you must take the initiative.”

Although Wei Yuan wondered why the King of Jin didn’t want this child to die either, since the First Consort did not mention it, he chose to feign ignorance. After all, he truly didn’t want to know, nor did he want to get involved.

With the serious business behind them, the First Consort smiled faintly. “I hear you wish to go to the Bao Clan?”

“You know about that too?” Very few people were actually aware of this matter. Wei Yuan had never spoken of it publicly either.

“Your Realm of Qingming is basically a hive of spies. Whatever His Majesty knows, I naturally know as well. And whatever we know, everyone else knows too.”

Wei Yuan immediately felt a headache coming on.

“Aren’t you going to purge Qingming? Root out all the spies?”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “Doing so would drag innocent people into it, and throughout history, whenever there’s been a purge, it’s mostly been loyal ministers who were swept away. Besides, if they want to spy, then let them. What difference does it make if they know? First make yourself invincible, then wait for your enemy to become vulnerable. So long as I don’t slack off or become arrogant, no one can defeat me.”

The First Consort suddenly leaned in and covered his mouth with hers. She didn’t let go for a long time before saying, “I think... I’m beginning to fall in love with you.”

Wei Yuan felt another wave of headache coming on.

The corners of the First Consort’s lips curved slightly upward, imbued with meaning that only she knew, before she said, “Bao Yun... I’ve never met her, but I’ve heard of her.”

“How did you hear of her?”

“I’ve looked into her.”

Wei Yuan didn’t have time to worry about the trivialities. He briefly recounted what had happened last time and his current predicament, even though it felt a bit odd to bring it up at a time like this.

The First Consort pondered for a moment and said, “This should’ve been an easy matter to resolve, but someone made it unnecessarily complicated and tangled. Let me guess—there must be someone else preventing you from proposing directly, right?”

Shocked, Wei Yuan hurriedly denied the accusation. “There isn’t!”

The First Consort leaned in, scrutinizing Wei Yuan’s eyes, and said slowly, “I now have your weakness.”

Right on cue, she clenched her fingers. Wei Yuan immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

“You’d better answer my questions honestly. How far have things gone between you two? Do you have a child? Does she know about me? How often do you see each other?....”

The First Consort fired off several questions in rapid succession, but Wei Yuan remained silent, his brow gradually furrowing.

The First Consort snorted and pouted her lips, complaining, “Can’t handle being questioned? Fine then! If you don’t want to answer, then I won’t ask. I’m not asking for much, but if you absolutely refuse to help me, that’s fine too. But don’t come blaming me if the little karma reincarnates!”

Wei Yuan let out a helpless sigh before asking, “What do you want? And how could I possibly refuse you?”

“Is that so? You’ve only just reached the Avatar-stage, and you’re already giving me the cold shoulder. If you were to become a World Ruler in the future, I’m afraid I would have to ask for permission from your doorman first before I’m allowed to step through your front door!”

“O-of course that’s not going to happen!”

Wei Yuan had never handled such a situation before. It was impossible to reason with the First Consort, so he had no choice but to ask her again what she wanted.

The First Consort had looked like she was seconds away from shedding tears, but the expression disappeared immediately upon hearing the question. She said, “First of all, you must not tell anyone about what has happened between us—not even your partner. If necessary, you’ll have to lie about it.”

Wei Yuan struggled for a long time before finally nodding. “I’ll do it.”

“Second, whenever I need to see you, you must come.”

“Third, I want you to help out the little karma as much as you can. Just do your best within reason.”

These weren’t unreasonable requests at all, so Wei Yuan agreed.

However, Wei Yuan was also perceptive. Sensing that the First Consort’s words contained a hidden meaning, he asked, “You keep bringing up the child—is there some kind of trouble?”

The First Consort glared at him and said, “You don’t say?! And you’re only asking now?”

Wei Yuan wanted to say, “When did you ever give me a chance to ask?”

But arguing with a woman at such a moment was clearly not a wise move, so he asked instead, “What exactly is the trouble?”

A faint, barely perceptible trace of worry finally appeared between the First Consort’s brow as she answered, “He was born endowed with dragon qi, but his predetermined destiny is far weaker than it should be. Without the support of external human fortunes of rank, he is bound to meet a violent death.”

Wei Yuan’s expression instantly grew grave. The phrase “External human fortunes of rank” meant, in plain terms, that the child must inherit the throne of Jin, climb to the summit of his cultivation, or die a violent death. There was no other outcome.

Fortune and predetermined destiny were no mere fantasy; Wei Yuan himself had been born imbued with such fortune. If not for the otherworldly fortune, he would never have achieved his current status.

If external fortune was like wealth, then predetermined destiny was like the body. If a person possessed a wealth of fortune but a pittance of destiny, then it was as if a frail person was trying to carry several hundred catties worth of gold on their back—not only would they fail to become wealthy, but they would soon be crushed to death.

Wei Yuan was well-versed in the arts of fortune and feng shui, and he was particularly skilled at fortune-fishing. Naturally, he understood the implications immediately.

However, there were very few ways to influence one’s predetermined destiny. The same held for a fortune of the caliber of dragon qi. Back then, in order to save money, True Lord Xuan Yue had personally tried to slightly divert the otherworldly fortune affecting Wei Yuan and paid the price of a hidden injury that plagued him for over a decade.

If even Xuan Yue had faced such consequences, the First Consort and Wei Yuan could only fare worse.

At this point, Wei Yuan also realized the gravity of the situation, but he still had a question. “Why is his predetermined destiny so weak?”

Logically speaking, fortune and destiny were two peas in a pod. Those blessed with great fortune were often born with powerful destinies as well. Take Wei Yuan, for example. Given his diligence, he would have risen to prominence eventually even without the otherworldly fortune. A situation like his child’s was truly quite rare.

The First Consort let out a soft sigh and was seemingly lost in thought for a moment. She eventually answered, “He bears the karma of the Arhat of Vast Wisdom, Supreme Merit, and Universal Salvation[2]. One might say he is a partial reincarnation of that Arhat. However, some people from back then would rather the Arhat never returned, so they intervened to weaken the child’s predetermined destiny, dooming him to an early death.”

“Some people? Who are we talking about?” Wei Yuan’s expression turned icy.

“The very ones you and I have encountered in the secret realm. You remember that Vajra Guardian? He was just one of them, and the lowest-ranking of them all.”

At the thought of that wrathful vajra from that day, Wei Yuan suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loathing.

This loathing didn’t stem from a sense of predestination, but rather from his innate aversion to those who stood high above, arbitrarily dictating and manipulating the fortune and destiny of others. And now, they had actually dared to lay their hands on his own child!

Rage flared within Wei Yuan’s heart—a fury many times more intense than if those people had targeted him directly.

The First Consort pressed her hand against his chest and said, “It’s not the right time yet. Hold it in.”

Wei Yuan closed his eyes, his mind rapidly turning cold to extinguish his rage. However, the murderous intent had already taken deep root within his heart.

“All right, let’s talk about Bao Yun. Given your current situation, it no longer matters under what pretext you go to meet her—what matters is that you must go; the sooner the better.”

Wei Yuan fell into deep thought.

“There are three solutions you may employ: best, middling, worst. The best solution is to elope with her.

Wei Yuan was shocked and wanted to object, but his weakness was currently in the First Consort’s hand. The woman tightened her grip, and his protest fizzled out.

“The middling solution is to get the Bao Clan to invest in you, and to make money with them. Eventually, someone in the Bao Clan would naturally come to your defense.”

“And the worst solution?”

“Exactly what you’re doing right now; thinking instead of acting.”

“Thank you!” Wei Yuan expressed his gratitude sincerely.

The First Consort shot him a withering glance and asked, “Is lip service the only thank you you know how to give?”

“W-what do you want?” Wei Yuan had a sinking feeling that disaster was imminent.

The First Consort sat up straight, instantly turning into an ice mountain. Her voice carried the chill of midwinter, and her face glowed with such purity that it seemed to radiate light. She then beckoned Wei Yuan with a flick of her finger and commanded, “Come here, kneel down, look up, and tell me you love me!”

1. She’s referring to her birth father, the King of Zhao. ☜

2. Refer to chapter 271. ☜