The Prince Can Do Divination-Chapter 123 - 116: Nascent Grand Scheme, The 2 Beauties Reconcile, Enjoying a Double Blessing
As night fell, stars bloomed like flowers and palace lanterns hung as thick as rain.
Even at night, the Great Yan Imperial Palace was as bright as day. A young woman in red, light martial attire followed behind a tall and sturdy man in a martial robe. Her ponytail reached her waist, which was exceptionally slender. Her face was fair, her eyes shone like brilliant stars, and the faint crimson rouge on her lips failed to conceal the heroic air in her delicate features.
"Father, if the Sixth Prince hadn’t committed a great crime, would you back him?"
Huo Hongling’s gaze flickered. She looked at the handsome man before her—a man who appeared youthful but was actually middle-aged, who was at the zenith of his power in the Great Yan Army and known as the Champion Marquis.
"That question is meaningless."
Huo Qing turned back, looked at his daughter, and shook his head with a faint smile.
In his eyes, such a thing was highly unlikely.
"Instead of thinking about that, you should be thinking about how to get along with the Sixth Prince after your marriage. I worry your temperament will lead you to clash with him. If he ends up holding a grudge against our Huo Family, it’ll just be another problem."
Huo Qing looked at the eighteen-year-old Huo Hongling, poised and in the prime of her youth. A look of heartache surfaced in his eyes, and he sighed. "Don’t blame your father for being unkind and disloyal. You were born into the house of a Marquis Wu, into a life of prominence. Since childhood, you’ve gotten everything you’ve ever wanted. If you wanted fish from the Imperial Palace, someone would go catch them for you. If you wanted to learn a Cultivation Technique, someone would fetch it for you. Whatever clothes you wanted, someone in the manor would buy for you. Now that you’re grown, you must bear the corresponding responsibilities. This is the price of power. It’s a truth I only came to understand much later."
Huo Hongling seemed to have matured a great deal. Her eyes held a deep maturity as she nodded. "A tiger father will have no cowardly daughter. I understand."
"But I just wanted to know your answer, Father. I hope marrying the Sixth Prince is a choice born from necessity, not from a desire to escape."
To her, a choice made from necessity meant stability, whereas a choice made to escape was simple cowardice.
Hearing this, Huo Qing nodded. "I would."
"It wouldn’t be because I want to, but because there would be no other choice. If a day comes when the Sixth Prince needs me to step up, I will have to give it my all, even if the consequences are dire. Because failure would mean utter damnation."
Huo Hongling was satisfied with her father’s answer.
"But why do you ask? I recall you disliking the Sixth Prince, don’t you?"
The Champion Marquis found his daughter’s question rather strange.
"I’ve just discovered that the Sixth Prince is a little different from the rumors, so I couldn’t help but wonder... if he had the chance to contend, could he win?"
Hearing his daughter’s assessment, a look of astonishment appeared on Huo Qing’s rather youthful face.
Before, Huo Hongling would never have said a single good word about Lu Mingyuan.
"Didn’t you say he was a good-for-nothing playboy? That his character was corrupt, all flash and no substance?"
"He’s not an ordinary playboy." Huo Hongling recalled that day when he had carried her on his back to the Imperial Physician’s residence to apply medicine, and her face flushed faintly red.
She also remembered the casual wave of his hand that had unleashed Saber Qi like a dragon, and the palm strike brimming with potent Gang Qi and Overlord Force.
"You mean to say he’s a playboy with great potential?"
Huo Qing’s expression was a little odd.
"Then, during the banquet later, I shall test him and see if that’s true."
"Father, don’t."
Huo Hongling hurriedly tried to dissuade him, recalling Lu Mingyuan’s warning from that day.
"Why not?"
Seeing her reaction, Huo Qing’s confusion only deepened.
Huo Hongling fidgeted with her fingers. "His martial skill is still weak. What if you beat him so badly he can’t get out of bed?"
Huo Qing laughed in exasperation. "What are you thinking? Would I really use my Cultivation to test him?"
"Oh. Alright, then."
Only then did Huo Hongling breathe a sigh of relief.
The suspicion in the Champion Marquis’s eyes grew deeper and deeper.
’Is this still my daughter?’
’She’s not even married yet, and she’s already taking her husband’s side?’
’Something’s not right here.’
The Imperial Palace was vast. The two walked for quite some time before a Palace Maid led them to Yaoguang Palace.
This was the domain of Noble Consort Yaoguang. Compared to the palaces of other concubines, it was three or four times larger. It stood three stories tall, with carved railings, painted beams, black eaves, and vermilion walls. The faint yellow glow of the palace lanterns highlighted its extraordinary grandeur.
As the Champion Marquis stepped through the main gate, he saw that Qi Xingyan and Qi Muxue were already seated. They had arrived very early, meaning he and his daughter were the last to arrive.
Lu Mingyuan was also present, chatting with Qi Muxue. Both had smiles on their faces and seemed to be getting along quite well.
Huo Qing was inwardly annoyed. ’I shouldn’t have gone to inspect the barracks this afternoon. I should have made more time for my daughter to spend with the Prince.’
When Lu Mingyuan saw the Champion Marquis and Huo Hongling arrive, he quickly rose and bowed. "Greetings, Father-in-law."
"No need for such formalities, Son-in-law," Huo Qing said with a slight smile.
With one calling "Father-in-law" and the other "Son-in-law," the distance between the two men closed considerably.
"It seems everyone is finally here," Wang Zhaoyan said from the side, watching the joyous scene with a wide smile on her pretty face.
"My apologies for being late. I’ll drink a cup as a forfeit."
Huo Qing was incredibly forthright. He immediately apologized to everyone present, picked up a cup of wine, and drained it in one go.
"The Champion Marquis is busy with military duties. It’s a rare occasion to have you, so we must drink well tonight," said Qi Xingyan with a light laugh. Though his hair was white at the temples, it was impeccably neat.
"Elder Mr. Qi, you are a man of noble character and great prestige. Shengjing Academy nurtures so many fine talents for the Court; your contributions and hard work are immense. It is rare we have the chance to meet, so I must offer you a toast."
The two exchanged empty pleasantries, each lavishing praise on the other.
’It’s just like going home to see the relatives during New Year’s in my past life.’
Lu Mingyuan found the atmosphere a bit stiff, so he could only lower his head and snack on some peanuts. Qi Muxue and Huo Hongling had no opportunity to join the conversation. Unsure where to look, both sat ramrod straight, their gazes—whether by chance or design—drifting in Lu Mingyuan’s direction in perfect, unspoken unison.
