novelraw Chapter 89 : Marriage Alliance?
Chapter 89 : Marriage Alliance?
Chapter 89: Marriage Alliance?
The light from the glazed lamps of the Jingjue Palace flowed through the magnificent yet oppressive great hall, but it could not dispel the heavy air that loomed within.
“Bang!”
A gold goblet inlaid with glittering gemstones was smashed violently to the ground. Fine wine splattered in all directions, staining the expensive exotic carpet beneath.
The King of Jingjue shot up from his throne, the deep hollows of his eyes burning with flames of fury that nearly erupted into substance.
“Outrageous! A pack of fools courting death and destruction!”
He roared, his voice like rolling thunder, making the palace walls tremble.
“To provoke the Great Zhou, that crouching tiger, was already madness enough—yet now they’ve brought upon us a catastrophe of the heavens, and still have the shamelessness to come before me, begging for an alliance? Do they wish to drag the entire Jingjue down into the grave with them?”
Below the throne stood two high ministers in ornate robes and three generals clad in armor with swords at their waists, each one as if crushed beneath an invisible boulder, silent as cicadas in winter.
The same helplessness and deep worry were etched upon every face, as though dark clouds hung over their heads.
The dead silence stretched on, suffocating.
At last, a high minister with a carefully trimmed goatee—Jingjue’s Grand Preceptor—cautiously took half a step forward.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to soothe the enraged monarch.
“Your Majesty, please quell your anger. Your health is of utmost importance.”
He chose his words carefully. “As far as I know, this newly ascended Prince of Anxi, Jiang Zhaoming, is still young and impetuous, his foundation yet shallow.
He is far from the old Prince of Anxi, who had long-established power and deep roots. Perhaps... we are not entirely without room to maneuver?”
His words, like a stone dropped into still water, instantly drew every gaze toward him.
Another minister, seeing this, quickly bowed and echoed with a faint trace of urgency in his tone.
“The Grand Preceptor speaks wisely. Your Majesty, please consider—there are turbulent undercurrents within the Great Zhou imperial family, and the succession struggles are complex. This young Prince of Anxi has not yet fully secured his position. He would hardly wish to create a new formidable enemy out of thin air, especially—”
His respectful gaze swiftly swept across the three generals standing in the hall like towering mountains—Yuchi Sheng, Jiduo, and Fumiluo.
They were the pillars of Jingjue, the three Golden Body cultivators.
“Especially since we, Jingjue, are a nation that possesses not one, but three Golden Body powerhouses. According to reliable reports, even in his Anxi Prefecture, that Yue Fei is their only Golden Body.”
The King’s heavy breathing eased slightly. He sat back down upon the throne, his fingers tapping restlessly against the armrest.
A glimmer of shrewd calculation flashed within the clouded eyes of the Grand Preceptor. Lowering his voice further, he leaned in slightly.
“Your Majesty, perhaps the word ‘surrender’ is too harsh—unbefitting of Jingjue’s dignity. Why not use a gentler method... to turn blades into silk and jade?”
He paused, studying the King’s expression.
“I have heard that this Prince of Anxi is around thirty—still in the vigor of youth. Our royal family, too, has a precious pearl awaiting marriage within the inner chambers. A marriage alliance, perhaps... would be the best solution?”
“Marriage alliance?”
The King of Jingjue raised a brow, his tapping fingers froze as he sank into thought.
That phrase was like a faint bolt of lightning, cleaving through the gloom that had long weighed upon his heart.
Indeed!
From a national standpoint, Jingjue neither wished nor dared to become a true enemy of the Great Zhou.
And that young Prince of Anxi had only just taken control of his territory. The troubles from Great Jin in the north had only recently settled.
Would he truly wish to open another front to the west of his prefecture, falling into the quagmire of a two-front war?
If a marriage alliance could dissolve this potential calamity of swords and spears into nothingness—
Then Jingjue might even seize this chance to climb into ties with the royal lineage of Great Zhou. This was practically a heaven-sent opportunity!
The more he thought, the more feasible it seemed.
The King’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed. He suddenly slapped the armrest, producing a crisp sound, and a long-lost smile surfaced upon his face.
“Marvelous! Truly marvelous! The Grand Preceptor is indeed the mind and wisdom of Jingjue!”
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze burning as it fixed on the Grand Preceptor.
“Then, according to you, which of our esteemed princesses should shoulder this great duty, and forge a marriage that concerns the very fate of our nation?”
As soon as his words fell, the entire hall seemed frozen in amber.
Silence.
Even the flames flickering within the glazed lamps seemed to hold their breath.
All eyes locked on the King and the Grand Preceptor, waiting for the name that could alter Jingjue’s destiny to fall from the latter’s lips.
But the Grand Preceptor seemed to recall something. He lowered his head even further, almost tucking his chin into his robe.
His throat worked as he croaked out, his voice as dry as sandpaper.
“Your servant is dull of wit. This matter touches the royal bloodline and the honor of the nation—this humble one dares not speak rashly.”
He had deftly avoided the scorching hot coal of responsibility, fearing even a single misstep would incur the monarch’s wrath.
Immediately, the King’s oppressive gaze swept slowly toward the other four below.
His eyes first landed upon his son, Yuchi Sheng.
The future King of Jingjue almost instinctively lowered his head at once, avoiding his father’s eyes. The minister beside him hastily bowed his head as well, not daring to meet the King’s gaze.
Within the vast hall, only two armored generals remained upright—Jiduo and Fumiluo—still standing tall like two silent iron towers.
The King’s gaze finally settled upon them.
In that suffocating silence, Jiduo and Fumiluo—two generals who had once fought shoulder to shoulder defending Jingjue—turned their heads at nearly the same moment, their eyes clashing sharply in the air.
No words were spoken. Yet in that instant of meeting, invisible thunder exploded between them.
They clearly saw in each other’s eyes—shock, disbelief—
And the fury of a volcano about to erupt.
The King’s heart sank heavily.
Seeing the unconcealed anger and pain in the eyes of his two beloved generals, he suddenly remembered.
The royal bloodline of Jingjue was thin—there were only four princesses.
Two of them were already married, devoted to their husbands and children, utterly unfit for another marriage alliance.
To do so would not only invite humiliation but also trample the royal dignity beneath the feet of others.
The young Prince of Anxi would surely see it as an intolerable insult—and the eyes of all the people in the realm would pierce straight through the spine of the royal house.
That left only the other two jewels of his bloodline.
The King’s gaze shifted with difficulty from the storm-tensed faces of Jiduo and Fumiluo.
Many years ago, he had personally promised to betroth each of the two princesses to these two generals.
Now, after all these years, the engagements between the generals and the princesses were known throughout the nation as tales of loyalty and romance.
But now, this marriage alliance concerning the fate of the kingdom... was to become the blade severing that beautiful promise.
The King’s fingers unconsciously dug deep into the jeweled grooves of the throne’s armrest, his knuckles turning white.
He opened his mouth, yet his throat was blocked, unable to utter a sound.
How could he have forgotten such a thing?
The hall was filled with nothing but suffocating silence—
And the heavy, volcanic breaths of Jiduo and Fumiluo, barely restrained in their chests, as if about to erupt.