Chapter 1518: End of an Age
After daybreak, the grand ceremony began on the altar outside the Imperial Tomb. The first task was to announce the death of the late Fiend Emperor, and the second was to announce the ascension of the new Fiend Emperor.
The Second Empress thus became the Empress Dowager. Because the young prince was still too young, there were many duties she had to take over.
All of the representatives of the different clans attended the ceremony, gathering below the altar. They all sighed in amazement. It was said all across the world that the Second Empress was incredibly beautiful. Today, they discovered that her reputation was fully justified.
Furthermore, her complexion even looked a bit rosier than usual. Many people thought, Your husband just died, and yet you’ve become even more beautiful. Which man did you end up giving yourself to?
Of course, those were just playful thoughts. Not even enemy clans would really believe such a thing had really happened. Her son was now the new Fiend Emperor, and she had become the true ruler of the Fiend races. People tended to be in good moods during happy occasions, so it was natural for her face to be glowing like that. As for the loss of her husband, it was the royal family, the place that lacked feelings and affection the most.
The Second Empress walked along the carpet and up the stairs. It was the most important moment. As the Empress Dowager, she had to receive the bows of the new emperor. At the same time, she had to crown the new emperor in the late Fiend Emperor’s place. She was dressed in splendid clothes; her long dress dragged behind her along the stairs, resembling a phoenix tail.
At first, she walked in a graceful and poised manner. Suddenly, however, her figure trembled and her beautiful brows furrowed.
Aunt Xiao, who was following beside her, was startled and quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” the Second Empress said, shaking her head. A hint of bashfulness flickered across her face.
Just then… ‘that’ had trickled out. She had actually been trying hard to control it along the way. However, the stairs were so long that it really challenged her willpower.
That guy really does pour like a waterfall…
She hadn’t slept all night, and dawn had broken before she realized it. Then, Aunt Xiao and the others had led the maids in to get her dressed. Time was just too tight, so she hadn’t had time to bathe at all.
Fortunately, her dress was extremely grand, so it was also extremely st.u.r.dy. It prevented a shameful display. She took a deep breath, then continued up the stairs.
In people’s eyes, the Second Empress’ every action was dignified and n.o.ble. Apart from being a bit too lovely and charming, there wasn’t a single flaw they could pick at.
However, the Second Empress’ thoughts returned to the previous night’s charming and gentle events. Zu An had deliberately told her to deactivate the formation. She had guessed what he was thinking, and hadn’t been all that willing deep down, but she was just as unwilling to offend him over such a thing.
Thus, at first she had decided to use silence to express her rejection. Unfortunately, Zu An had charged straight in like a battering ram. The empress had been utterly defeated from practically the first encounter. As she had her own sense of pride, she had bitten down on her red lips to put up a weak final defense; however, the more she did that, the more Zu An took advantage of her.
She hadn’t thought too much of it, and just a.s.sumed her charm had completely drawn out the instincts hidden deep within him. She even felt a bit of pride. Still, Zu An was just way too rough! It really was too… too good.
Before absolute force, her resistance was completely meaningless. Soon afterward, she had become unable to hold it in, giving Aunt Xiao a real fright.
She had never let herself go like that before, nor had she ever experienced such a feeling, where every single one of her cells was cheering with everything they had. At that instant, she had felt as if she had lived all her previous years for nothing. She was unsure whether she could ever feel as happy as she did at that moment again.
And yet, the moments that followed had completely overturned even that admiration…
She hadn’t expected that not only was Zu An so formidable in cultivation, he was also even so… formidable in ‘that’ kind of thing. No, he was even better at the latter. She was pretty confident that he was unmatched in that field. At that moment, she finally understood why he had so many stunning beauties around him.
Whether it was the Medusa Queen, the Elf Princess, the two ridiculously beautiful grandmasters, or even the Ocean races’ Mermaid Princess… Any one of them would be a woman whom most people could only long for but never obtain. And yet, those women all surrounded Zu An!
She had found it really strange before. Had these women all gone mad? They were all the best of the best, and yet they had to wrong themselves and share a man? However, after the previous night, she finally understood. She was still too naive.
After a long night of battle, she discovered that not only was she not tired today, she was even glowing with life. Even the injuries from the conflict from the night before were completely healed.
As the Fiend Empress, she naturally had more knowledge and experience than most. She had experienced such intimate contact before, so she immediately noticed that Zu An’s blood essence carried extraordinary apt.i.tude. It was absolutely amazing for women.
Even though she usually had a charming demeanor, that was just to win over the court ministers. No one had ever heard of her having any ambiguous relationships with others; she had never been a particularly licentious woman. However, the previous night had changed her completely, and she just couldn’t get enough.
At first, she had only planned to borrow Zu An’s transcendent apt.i.tude blood essence to nurture herself. Eventually, however, she unknowingly completely fell under his spell. For a moment, she even had thoughts about birthing his child. She had completely opened her body and mind to him.
However, when the celebration began, she gradually recovered her reason. Her status was way too sensitive. If she gave birth to another son as the Empress Dowager, that would be a catastrophic event. As such, she had to purge those thoughts for now. At least… at least until the court’s situation stabilized. Then, there would be a chance.
Aunt Xiao quietly observed her expression the entire time. When she saw the empress’ sweet smile, others wouldn’t know, but she definitely knew what was going on.
Do you really have to act like that while looking that beautiful… Aunt Xiao thought inwardly. However, she quickly recalled what she had heard the previous night, and she couldn"t help but bite her lip.
…
The Second Empress finally arrived at the top of the stage. Then, she crowned the young prince according to tradition.
Just like that, the Fiend races’ new Fiend Emperor came to be!
The different clan representatives all showed the new Fiend Emperor a bow. When they saw his young and tender appearance, they all had their own thoughts. One thing they all acknowledged, however, was the end of an age.
Then, the new Fiend Emperor and the Second Empress led their subjects in the sacrifices toward the previous Fiend Emperors, and particularly the late Fiend Emperor. Only after completing all the prior tasks did they start the festivities.
The new emperor started to bestow rewards on the different ministers. The first was Zu An, who was given the t.i.tle of Regent.
When those of lower status first learned of that, they were all shocked. They all began to wonder just what kind of ridiculous person this was, that he would be given such an outstanding position. However, those who truly had authority weren’t surprised in the slightest. The only reason why the young prince had been able to become the new Fiend Emperor had been due to Zu An’s support, after all.
Still, even though Zu An’s status was great, he didn’t have any foundation in the Fiend King Court. Furthermore, he was even a human. There was no way he would be able to shake the authority of the old hierarchy. As such, no one was particularly opposed to it.
Then, the Elf race, Snake race, Ocean races, Demon races, and Tiger races all obtained generous rewards. They were the ones who had contributed considerably in the previous night’s battle. The Peac.o.c.k race and Great Peng race were also given some rewards to appease them.
The Golden Crow Guards’ high-ranking officers were completely changed. Furthermore, the Second Empress aggressively promoted the Xiao Clan and the trusted aides she had built up over the years.
As for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, they had also done a lot. The Second Empress wanted to reward the two of them, but their statuses on the human side were special and they didn’t want to get too involved with the Fiend races. As such, they were simply tactfully thanked.
…
The different forces congratulated Zu An. Zu An replied to them nonchalantly, then looked around for a certain ice-cold figure. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find her no matter where he looked.
He felt dejected. This is bad. Big sis Yan didn’t just leave out of anger, did she?
Her temperament is already like Xiaolongnu[1]; how can her tendencies be the same too?
It wasn’t just him. Even Yun Jianyue was looking for Yan Xuehen. The two of them were clearly sworn enemies that couldn"t coexist, and yet now, she felt a bit unnatural when she didn’t see the other woman around. She just felt that something was missing. However, she really couldn"t find Yan Xuehen, so she asked around. She found out that Qiao Xueying had sought Yan Xuehen out the previous night, so she went to the Elf race.
When she saw Yun Jianyue arrive, Qiao Xueying was alarmed. After all, she had just contacted Yan Xuehen the previous night to face the other women together. Yun Jianyue’s disciple was naturally one of her targets.
When she saw Yun Jianyue arrive, Qiao Xueying’s first reaction was to think, Could it be that last night’s events were exposed?
It had to be said that the pressure the Devil Sect Master gave off really was quite great.
1. Xiaolongnu is the fictional female protagonist of the novel ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’ by Jin Yong. In the novel, her physical appearance is described as follows: "Skin as white as snow, beautiful and elegant beyond convention and cannot be underestimated, but appears cold and indifferent". She trains the protagonist Yang Guo in martial arts, and they eventually fall in love. ☜