Rong Yuan, who had been secretly eavesdropping on the king"s conversation with Gu Lingzhi, instantly broke into all smiles at Rong Han"s words. He felt incredibly happy with his father and he made a silent resolution to put in a few good words for his father to his mother the next time. On the other hand, Gu Lingzhi was stunned by Rong Han"s declaration and her face flushed beet red.
Beside them, Mei Ying added, “Young lady, he is right. Rong Yuan is already a Martial Sage and if you two don"t have kids now, you will not have any in the future.”
As though he was thinking about himself and his lover"s plight, Mei Ying"s voice was filled with a hint of sadness. If he had not been so caught up on cultivating back then, and focused on bearing children with his wife, would him and his wife have children now?
Although Su Ruo did not say anything, Mei Ying knew that it was Su Ruo"s greatest regret not to have any children for them.
“I am content just being able to be by your side all the time.” Having sensed her husband"s dejectedness, Su Ruo stepped forward, held his hand tightly and talked to him telepathically.
The two of them exchanged deep looks, a spark lighting up between them again. It was only through thick and thin that such love between a couple could develop.
“If you are okay, then it"s settled. I will arrange for men to call your father to the palace tomorrow to discuss when your wedding will be held.” Rong Han settled the matter directly as he observed Gu Lingzhi"s embarra.s.sed look.
However, in the next instant, Gu Lingzhi"s expression suddenly fell. It did not escape Rong Han. He asked curiously, “What is it? Is there anything wrong?”
Although he asked this, Rong Han had made a decision already. Regardless of what excuse Gu Lingzhi came up with, he was determined that the two get married. He was eager for his son to marry quickly so that Rong Yuan would finally see how marriage life would be like.
“I...” Gu Lingzhi bit her lip. From the corner of her eye she could see Rong Yuan staring at her full of questions. Thereafter, she awkwardly explained, “My father is not in the Xia Kingdom.”
This was kinder than saying that her father had already betrayed the Xia Kingdom.
As the two returned to the Xia Kingdom, Rong Yuan had received news from his men that Gu Rong had brought a few of his family members to the North Qiu Kingdom.
As such, there was no way for Gu Rong to discuss Gu Lingzhi"s marriage with Rong Han.
Rong Yuan instantly frowned and scratched his head. If Gu Lingzhi"s parents were both not around, who were they going to find to discuss the marriage?
Rong Han was similarly speechless and it was finally Mei Ying who broke the silence in the hall, “Since the young lady"s father has escaped to the North Qiu Kingdom, then let us Elders represent her father for the marriage before we write a final letter to the North Qiu Kingdom. If they do not agree and want Gu Lingzhi to return, would you let her go?”
“No way! I will definitely not let that happen!” Rong Yuan strongly refused almost instantly after Mei Ying finished his speech.
How could he deliver his lady over to others?
“Then?” Mei Ying rolled his eyes. “Although she is indebted to her parents, that is under normal circ.u.mstances. How are others going to look at Lingzhi now that things have come to this?”
With both her parents betraying Xia Kingdom, Gu Lingzhi would still be the topic of gossip even if she exposed the scheme of the North Qiu Kingdom. At a time like this, It was the best choice for her to marry Rong Yuan.
Gu Lingzhi understood this point and looked at Rong Yuan and nodded her head.
However, the reason why she nodded was not because she was afraid of others speaking ill of her. After all, the namelist of spies of North Qiu Kingdom she had with her showed that she was innocent. As Rong Han mentioned, Rong Yuan and her had high cultivation ranks and it would be hard for them to have children in the future.
The reason why she delayed her cultivation for so long was because she had been absorbing the spiritual energy from the Seal on her cultivation that she had gotten while she was in the Cangwu Realm. Once her spiritual energies were stable, she would release the final seal and breakthrough to become a Martial Sage.
Currently, there were no records of two Martial Sages having children in the entire continent.
As Gu Lingzhi sighed to herself, Rong Yuan was elated. He disregarded his discussion with Huo Xuan and bounced over to Gu Lingzhi.
“Lingzhi, that is great! I will immediately get people to prepare for the wedding. You will be the prettiest bride!”
Outside the hall, Yuan Zheng had heard the entire exchange. Without waiting for Rong Yuan to call for him, he stepped forward and began to prepare for the wedding. Yuan Zheng ordered men to get a plethora of red sashes for Rong Yuan until he was happy enough.
Not long later, the news of Rong Yuan marrying Gu Lingzhi spread through Chiyang City. Many young ladies who had a crush on Rong Yuan were heartbroken.
After discussing with Huo Xuan about the alliance, Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi had to entertain a few other envoys from other kingdoms while preparing for the wedding.
However, these envoys did not receive the same treatment as Huo Xuan did. All of them had to pay a hefty price that Rong Yuan used for the wedding, before they obtained the name list of spies for their respective kingdoms. The envoys chatted and established good relations with each other. After all, they were going to be allies soon enough.
Fengyang Kingdom, like the Xia Kingdom, was one of the powerful kingdoms after the North Qiu Kingdom. However, they wanted to take control of a larger land area to obtain more resources for themselves, so they had already entered an alliance with the North Qiu Kingdom. Under the push of the envoys from North Qiu, they reached an agreement to help the North Qiu Kingdom in the future during war. Once the continent was reunited they would obtain a land area that was twice their current size.
Hence, the arrival of an envoy from the Fengyang Kingdom meant something drastic.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I am Xie Jianyu from the Fengyang Kingdom.”
Upon hearing the name Xie Jianyu, Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi both gasped. They had not expected the king of Fengyang Kingdom to send him over!
Fengyang Kingdom was invested in helping North Qiu and this meant that the envoy they sent to Xia Kingdom was a sacrifice. Xie Jianyu"s reputation was high and he was the younger stepbrother of the king of Fengyang Kingdom. He was a renowned Martial Artist who was favored by the previous king of the Fengyang Kingdom. It was only after the relentless persuasion of ministers of Fengyang Kingdom that the position of king was pa.s.sed to Xie Jianyu"s stepbrother and not him. However, in order to make it up to Xie Jianyu, the previous king specially gave the military rights of Fengyang Kingdom to Xie Jianyu.
However, with the military might pa.s.sed to Xie Jianyu, was the king of Fengyang Kingdom unafraid of the threat Xie Jianyu possessed after sending him as a sacrifice to Xia Kingdom?
Xie Jianyu"s stoic face showed no signs of anger or hostility and he wore the typical expression of an envoy. Standing upright where he was, he gave off a sharp aura and his eyes pierced through Rong Yuan"s eyes. It was no surprise that such a man was a powerful person in Fengyang Kingdom.
Could it be…?
Rong Yuan"s expression hardened and he pondered to himself. Gu Lingzhi had made a guess from Xie Jianyu"s expression too and she nudged Rong Yuan silently.
“What? Is this how the Third Prince treats his guests?” Xie Jianyu turned slightly annoyed at Rong Yuan"s silence.
He had already been furious with the fact that he was sent as envoy and the Third Prince"s silence only infuriated him. As if Rong Yuan had been stunned speechless from his sharp demeanor alone, Xie Jianyu"s impression of Rong Yuan worsened. He wondered if what he heard about Rong Yuan was true. Otherwise, why would Rong Yuan react like that?
Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi confirmed their suspicions with Xie Jianyu"s reaction. With a chuckle, Rong Yuan slowly said, “I just did not expect to see you here.”
“What do you mean?” Xie Jianyu questioned, confused at Rong Yuan"s words.
“How could Prince Yi not know?” Rong Yuan"s eyebrows raised and he revealed, “The King of Fengyang Kingdom sent you here as sacrifice.”
“Nonsense!” Xie Jianyu snapped in rage. “I am on good terms with my brother. How dare you say such things!”
“Tsk, that"s a lie.”
Suddenly, Rong Yuan lifted both his hands and clapped it twice. Yet, Xie Jianyu mistook this action as an attack and shot up from his seat, releasing a sharp sword attack towards Rong Yuan.
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