Chapter 669: A New Marriage in Chaotic Times

Chapter 669: A Wartime Wedding

As Longque had suspected, these past months had seen more bed scenes with him than in the previous two years combined—or rather, not even ten days had passed since the heroes slew the dragon, yet it felt like more had happened than in all the months before.

Wanzhuang and Yangyang, the first of the court faction, had all been taken within ten days...

The karmic ties of the previous two years had blossomed into fruit one after another in these days, but there was also a pressing sense of urgency, as if time waited for no one.

The current situation was extremely tense; it was no longer possible to think, "You're still young, I'll wait a few more years," or even to indulge in pretenses like, "What you feel for me might not be love; let's give each other more time."

Now there was a feeling of living from day to day. No matter how confident and arrogant Zhao Changhe appeared on the outside, he knew deep down that he was merely a martial artist who had just stepped into the Third Secret Vault, while his opponents were all in the Imperial Realm—many even at the Second Layer of the Imperial Realm, like the Sea Emperor.

In the past, Xia Longyuan had stood at the forefront, objectively drawing the attention of gods, demons, and top-tier experts like Tiemuer, so no one had ever focused on Zhao Changhe. But now, he had not only replaced Xia Longyuan's significance to this world but had made it worse—bearing the guilt of possessing multiple pages of the Heavenly Book was no joke.

The reason nothing seemed to have happened yet was simply that time was too short; any moves others might make were still on the way, not that they hadn't started.

Zhao Changhe truly felt that if he kept being pretentious, he might lose even the chance to be pretentious later.

I admit it: I am lustful. I want to devour you, whether it's love or not.

Cui Wenjing felt the same way, and presumably Yangyang did too. What young girl would be so eager to marry? But everyone feared waking up one morning to find gods and demons descending upon the world, barbarians pouring through the passes, and the Cui family possibly wiped out. In that case, how miserable and desolate would it be? Better to have a splendid wedding now.

It wasn't really about insisting on marrying before Xia Chichi; that held little meaning. She was the emperor—could you really try to claim the position of principal wife? Even if you went first, you could only hold an empty seat.

Well... according to human logic, Zhao Changhe was the empress, and everyone else belonged to the empress's harem...

Of course, in this age of gods and demons, logic had changed. Imperial power was no longer so impressive. Qinglong was merely a subordinate of the Night Emperor, and Zhao Changhe was the Night Emperor in their eyes. If you wanted to be strict, Xia Chichi was just another faction leader with a larger dowry. After all, it was Zhao Changhe himself who had subdued the Cui family, riding alone to settle Qinghe; the New Han court had contributed nothing. Whether it was the Cui or the Tang family, they recognized Zhao Changhe, not Xia Chichi. Even the two venerable masters of the Four Symbols Sect had knelt before him, sucking on lollipops...

Thus, the nature of things was increasingly resembling ancient times, and this court was becoming more like an appendage of the Night Emperor.

Now, the women's minds were filled with a strange feeling: it seemed no one could claim the title of principal wife, and none felt comfortable thinking they could overshadow the others. If Xia Chichi insisted on competing, it might cause the newly stabilized New Han court to tear itself apart from within. That was why she hadn't dared to marry in the name of the emperor before; if she had, subduing the Cui family this time might have been much more troublesome.

Those with sharper instincts might even secretly think that this matter might not follow the order of arrival. Perhaps a newcomer would emerge in the future, overwhelming everyone and earning universal respect...

Cui Yuanyang secretly wondered if she could gain some confidence by acquiring the abilities of the ethereal one from back then.

The sky was just beginning to lighten. Zhao Changhe sat by the window in his robe, watching the heavy snow outside, holding a secret letter from Xia Chichi.

Cui Yuanyang also woke up, clutching the blanket to cover her jade-white body, gazing tenderly at the man by the window: "Aren't you going to rest a bit more? You... you were so long last night... you didn't sleep until midnight."

Zhao Changhe put down the letter, turned to the bedside, and bent down to kiss her: "Actually, I don't need sleep anymore now."

Cui Yuanyang's eyes widened: "Can the Third Secret Vault completely forgo sleep? Father still seems to need it."

"No... the Third Secret Vault still requires cultivation to replace sleep." Zhao Changhe no longer feared being explicit with his newlywed wife: "Mainly, your virgin essence is nourishing me; that cultivation replaces sleep."

Cui Yuanyang also felt that her spirit was excellent, and her newly broken First Secret Vault had grown significantly. She couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, Brother Zhao, if you find a few more, wouldn't you reach the Imperial Realm?"

Zhao Changhe laughed: "What kind of Imperial Realm would that be? The Imperial Realm of women?"

"Is that not allowed?" Cui Yuanyang bit her lower lip: "I'm willing to let Brother Zhao rule over me."

You little vixen.

Speaking of which, she was truly obedient in bed—whatever position he wanted, whatever he asked her to do, she did. Combined with her petite frame and youthful face, it gave a great sense of dominance and conquest. So much so that even though it was her first time last night, he couldn't help but go on for a long time...

Zhao Changhe found it somewhat amusing. He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment: "Maybe there really is such an Imperial Realm, but its combat power would surely be poor. We can't take that path."

Cui Yuanyang's seduction failed, so she had to follow up: "Then what path is Brother Zhao taking?"

Zhao Changhe said, "I used to think it was the power of blood and slaughter, which is widespread among living beings and actually very strong. The ancient Lie relied on this. But in my later cultivation, I dabbled in too many other directions, and gradually I felt that relying solely on the power of blood and slaughter was too narrow. Lie ended up with his lamp extinguished and his body dead. What use is it to replicate another Lie? Now, my path to the Imperial Realm is somewhat confused; I don't have a very clear direction. I need to find it."

Cui Yuanyang asked, "Is the Imperial Realm considered immortality? It sounds so mysterious."

"Immortality?" Zhao Changhe thought for a moment: "This world has nothing to do with immortality. Beings of different powers fight for what they need; it can only be called high martial arts and mysticism. Ah, never mind. Give me a kiss."

Cui Yuanyang didn't understand why Zhao Changhe wanted to define a mere word, but it didn't matter. Her husband's gentle kiss made the newlywed bride very happy. She asked softly, "Then... the weather is bitterly cold, and the blankets are warm. Do you want to come back in?"

"Ha... you little nympho." Zhao Changhe tapped her nose: "Who was it last night that was crying, saying she was swollen and needed a rest?"

"Hey!"

"No one heard."

"Hmph." Cui Yuanyang turned her head: "What did Xia Chichi's letter say?"

"So that's what you're worried about? Seeing me reading a letter early in the morning, feeling like you've been cuckolded?"

"Hmph."

"But this letter is different from yesterday's imperial decree..." Zhao Changhe couldn't help but laugh as he spoke: "I've never seen an imperial decree so improper, while the secret letter is perfectly serious."

The secret letter was naturally about exchanging opinions on attacking the Wang family, without a single mention of Cui Yuanyang from beginning to end. The thick jealousy and bitter-wife aura seemed never to have existed.

"Be good. This is not a time for indulgence and rest." Zhao Changhe rubbed the little girl's head: "I need to reply to Chichi. Today, we should prepare for the campaign..."

Cui Yuanyang's eyes widened: "So fast? Don't you even need to send the letter?"

"Well... because attacking the Wang family relies on the troops here from the Cui family and a pincer attack from the Jianghuai Army. Wan Tianxiong was beaten into a vegetative state by Wang Daoning, and Wan Dongliu is gnashing his teeth in hatred, training day and night waiting for this day."

Cui Yuanyang said, "But don't underestimate the Wang family. Even without Wang Daoning, their foundation is still very strong."

"Actually, the Wang family has lost their footing and missed the initiative because of Wang Daoning's death... If the Wang family had another wise strategist, they should have launched another active attack immediately. At that time, your family was reconciling with them and wouldn't have blocked their path. They might have been able to borrow the road to pass through, sending a surprise force straight to the capital, and we would have been much more passive." Zhao Changhe smiled: "Once they missed that fleeting opportunity and fell back on passive defense, even hoping for help from the likes of Huangyang... I can only say that Brother Daozhong didn't disappoint me; he's indeed quite mediocre."

Cui Yuanyang: "..."

Zhao Changhe didn't say more. He sat back by the window and picked up his brush to write a reply.

Cui Yuanyang also got out of bed and came to his side to help grind the ink.

Outside the window, snowflakes fluttered; his new wife, with her red sleeves, added fragrance to the scene. It looked beautiful, but it was only the first day of peace in their marriage. Cui Yuanyang had never hated the chaos of war and longed for peace as much as she did at this moment. When the drums of war sounded, commoners could only sing a song of a newlywed's farewell. Fortunately, they could still fight together.