sovbooks Chapter 4 Childhood Sweethearts
Chapter 4 Childhood Sweethearts
Luo Qingluan entered the palace, passing through numerous palace restrictions.
The closer they got to Qin Xiao's palace, Zichen Hall, the heavier their steps became.
Countless images flashed uncontrollably through my mind.
It was Qin Xiao, the young boy from her childhood, who would immediately get up even if she knocked him to the ground with a wooden sword. His eyes were stubborn and bright.
It was during her time as Crown Prince that she was the one who studied late into the night in the Imperial Study, standing shoulder to shoulder with her in front of the sand table, pointing to the landscape, and expounding on his strategies for governing the country with great enthusiasm.
He was the new emperor at the beginning of his reign, surrounded by thousands of people, dressed in imperial robes, with a calm gaze, and already showing the demeanor of a ruler who could rule the world.
But these images were ultimately shattered by the lazy, weary figure on the dragon throne and the repeated edicts for selecting and taking concubines over the past year.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Confront him? Advise him? Or break ties with him completely?"
Luo Qingluan asked herself a question and clenched her fists.
What was concealed in the sleeve was not a weapon.
Instead, it is a warm and smooth jade pendant.
That was a birthday gift Qin Xiao gave her many years ago when he was still the Crown Prince.
Qin Xiao said, "Seeing jade is like seeing the person."
May she forever remain valiant and protect the Great Yong.
Now, carrying this jade pendant, she confronts the incompetence and depravity of the person who gave her the jade.
"If he remains obstinate..."
As Luo Qingluan pondered, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes: "Even if it means bearing the eternal infamy of insubordination, I will wake him up!"
"We must not allow him to continue such absurd behavior, ruining the late emperor's legacy and destroying the person he once was!"
……
at the same time.
Inside the Zichen Hall.
It was completely different from the wine pools and meat forests, and the soft and fragrant jade that the officials had imagined.
The palace was spacious and quiet.
It could even be described as deserted.
Contrary to rumors, Qin Xiao did not have women on either side of him.
He simply sat cross-legged on a large, cold jade chair, looking utterly bored.
There was not a trace of decadence or debauchery in him.
He's more like a hermit forced into seclusion, bored out of his mind.
If a cultivator were present and observed this with their divine sense, they would be horrified to discover…
The entire floor, walls, and dome of the Zichen Hall.
They all faintly flowed with spiritual patterns that were invisible to the naked eye.
These spiritual patterns, centered on the cold jade chair beneath Qin Xiao, spread out silently like a spider web.
The palaces connecting the various concubines in the east, west, south, and north.
Jade beds and jade chairs in the concubine's palace.
It's not simply about luxury.
Rather, they are individual nodes of this massive formation.
The "Hehuan Immortal Scripture" requires the use of pure Yin energy for cultivation.
However, if one were to cultivate the land personally every day, it would be both time-consuming and laborious.
In terms of the efficiency of cultivation, it is not the best.
This "Nine Revolutions Yin-Absorbing Array" is a highly efficient cultivation method provided by the system.
As long as Qin Xiao circulates his cultivation technique, the formation will activate automatically.
In a gentle and secretive way, he slowly absorbed the faint primordial yin energy from the concubines' bodies.
Through the array's network, they converged on the cold jade chair beneath Qin Xiao.
Then he refined and absorbed it.
"Why!"
Qin Xiao sighed, looking at the slowly changing numbers on the panel, and muttered to himself:
"When will this ever end?"
"The concubines are all mortals, not a single one has spiritual roots, so the efficiency is too low."
"Doing everything by yourself is less efficient and might even make you sick from exhaustion."
"Sigh, let's see if we can squeeze some tools for detecting spiritual roots out of the system..."
"Then, we'll try to find a woman who possesses spiritual roots."
"When I established my foundation, I received a gift pack; I should receive one when I reached the Core Formation stage."
"To quickly form the Golden Core..."
Thinking of this, Luo Qingluan's pretty face unconsciously appeared in my mind.
"If only Qingluan could be obedient and throw herself into my arms..."
Suddenly, Qin Xiao's expression froze.
A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
My divine sense detected that Luo Qingluan had arrived at the palace.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
But something's not right.
Since he began his "absurd" ways after ascending the throne.
This female general, who was his childhood sweetheart, would rather avoid him than see him.
Did the sun rise in the west today?
Before long, a palace maid's cautious announcement came from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, General Luo Qingluan is requesting an audience outside the hall."
"Announce."
Qin Xiao replied immediately.
Half an incense stick later, the palace door was slowly pushed open.
A tall, imposing figure in crimson, exuding an aura of resolute determination, walked in step by step against the light streaming in from outside the door.
Then, the palace doors slowly closed behind them.
It blocked out external light.
The lighting inside the Zichen Hall was rather dim.
Only a few palace lanterns remained, emitting a halo of light.
Luo Qingluan stepped inside, but immediately froze.
She imagined countless scenarios.
Perhaps it's filled with music and dancing.
Perhaps it was because he was surrounded by beautiful women.
Perhaps it was the overwhelming smell of alcohol...
Any one of them would be enough to make the fire in her heart burn even brighter.
However, no.
There was nothing there.
It was spacious and quiet.
Even cold and desolate.
There was no decadent music as I had imagined.
It has no powdery fragrance.
There was only a faint, almost imperceptible sandalwood scent.
Qin Xiao sat cross-legged on a large, cold jade chair, dressed loosely in a black casual outfit, his dark hair unbound and casually draped over his shoulders.
He rested his chin on one hand, looking utterly bored.
How could this be the behavior of a tyrannical ruler indulging in the pleasures of women?
He seemed more like a mischievous teenager who was locked up and had nothing to do.
More like the prince she remembered, who would run to the edge of the martial arts arena after finishing his heavy political duties, watching her practice swordsmanship, and showing a similar expression of taking a break.
The imagined scene is vastly different from reality.
Luo Qingluan's resolve suddenly crumbled, and she stood there stunned for a moment.
The prepared questions stuck in his throat; he simply didn't know how to begin...
Qin Xiao yawned lazily: "Oh, what a rare guest, Qingluan. Weren't you always avoiding me? Why did you come here on your own initiative?"
Luo Qingluan snapped out of her daze, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and bowed respectfully according to the etiquette of a subject: "Your subject, Luo..."
"Alright, alright, no need for all this formality."
Qin Xiao casually waved his hand, interrupting, "What, you finally couldn't contain your curiosity and wanted to see for yourself how I live a life of debauchery? Is the current situation disappointing you?"
Luo Qingluan straightened up, the nameless anger in her heart rising again. Her brows furrowed, and her voice was slightly cold: "Even if Your Majesty is young, there will always be times when you are exhausted and weary. I understand."
These words were already barbed!
But Qin Xiao, upon hearing this, not only didn't get angry, but instead laughed, his shoulders twitching slightly:
"Qingluan, Qingluan, after all these years, your mouth is still so sharp."
"I'm the emperor now, how dare you speak to me like that?"
"Aren't you afraid that in a fit of anger, I'll punish you for the grave offense of disrespect?"
"Or, why not just add you to my harem, so you can experience firsthand whether I'm exhausted or not?"