Chapter 144

Those guards at the gate of the palace were all astonished to see the scene. Who was sitting in the carriage? This grand occasion could be compared with His Majesty’s.

The carriage stopped slowly. A woman in black beside the carriage immediately went forward and reported respectfully, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, here we are at the imperial palace of the Baihu Empire.”

Then, the curtain was lifted and a man came from inside. The man was dressed in white, looked handsome and charming. He was so good-looking that he didn’t seem like a mortal being.

What a handsome man! He and Prince Zhan, the top handsome man in the Baihu Empire, were pretty even.

After coming out, the man in white didn’t rush to get out of the carriage. Instead, he helped a woman get off the carriage. The woman was wearing a phoenix coronet and a suit of faint purple splendid clothes. She displayed a kind of faint halo all over. She was so shiny that one just couldn’t take his eyes off her.

What a beautiful woman! She was more beautiful than any consort of His Majesty.

No sooner had the man helped the woman walk off the carriage than Xuanyuan Lie arrived.

Upon seeing Xuanyuan Lie, the guards at the gate of the palace all prostrated themselves and said, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Xuanyuan Lie paid no heed to the guards who saluted him and only stared at the couple ahead.

Was that the empress of Zhuque? She was a beautiful woman. Putting aside her appearance, she showed an uncomparable demeanor of grace compared with ordinary women. No wonder his good friend was willing to give up the position of the crown prince for her.

Xuanyuan Lie scurried to Duanmu Xue and said with clasped hands, “I’m quite surprised by your visit to Baihu. Please forgive me for not being able to welcome you earlier.”

Xuanyuan Lie’s politeness made Duanmu Xue’s grim facial expression soften. She glimpsed Xuanyuan Lie with her dark purple eyes and then answered casually, “You are being too polite.”

Her voice was light and hard to tell her emotion.

Feeling Duanmu Xue’s estrangement, Xuanyuan Lie looked a bit embarrassed.

When he glanced at Huangfu Che next to Duanmu Xue, Xuanyuan Lie said with clasped hands, “Che, we haven’t met for so many years. You are still handsome and dashing!”

Seeing that, Huangfu Che also replied with clasped hands, “Lie, you also look the same!”

They exchanged glances and smiled as if they returned to the days when they talked cheerfully and humorously back then.

After the two of them exchanged pleasantries, Xuanyuan Lie looked at Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che, saying, “Empress of Zhuque, Che, you two must be tired after such a long journey. Please come with me into the palace for a rest!”

Hearing that, Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che both nodded. They didn’t care about the fatigue. Most importantly, they wanted to see their daughter as soon as possible.

Those guards at the gate of the palace finally took a tumble upon hearing how Xuanyuan Lie addressed the two visitors. They turned out to be the empress and the royal consort of the Zhuque Empire. No wonder His Majesty would receive them on his own.

No sooner had they taken a few steps than they heard the stamp of hoofs and messy footsteps.

They looked back and only saw a luxurious carriage no inferior to that of Empress of Zhuque galloping towards the gate of the imperial palace.

Within several breaths, the carriage arrived at the gate of the palace.

The carriage stopped slowly. The man in black driving the carriage lifted the curtain respectfully, saying, “Your Majesty, here we arrive at the imperial palace.”

“Okay.” A majestic voice came from inside the carriage.

A moment later, an old man in cyan came out of the carriage. The old man displayed an air of majesty, which made others subconsciously feel awed.

Seeing the old man, Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che immediately went forward and saluted, “Greetings, Father.”

Huangfu Cang slightly arched his eyebrows and nodded at them, saying, “When did you arrive?”

Huangfu Che immediately replied respectfully, “We have just arrived.”

Amidst talking, Huangfu Che looked at his carriage.

Huangfu Cang looked along the direction where Huangfu Che stared at and slightly nodded.

He caught a glimpse of Xuanyuan Lie standing beside Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che, and then knitted his eyebrows, “You are the emperor of the Baihu Empire?”

His voice was full of majesty with a sense of coercion for being superior for a long time.

Xuanyuan Lie immediately went forward and slightly bowed to him, saying, “Yes, I am. Greetings, Emperor of the Qinglong Empire.”

Since he was so respected by Empress of Zhuque and Che as well as addressed as father, he must be the emperor of the Qinglong Empire.

Huangfu Cang slightly nodded with a shimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. The emperor of the Baihu Empire had a sense of etiquette.

It turned out that the old man was the emperor of the Qinglong Empire. No wonder His Majesty was so respectful to him and also made a junior salute. They had long heard of this old emperor of the Qinglong Empire. Now as they met him, they found that he was forbidding indeed.

“Where is he?” His majestic voice was clearly full of disgruntlement and anger.

Hearing that, Xuanyuan Lie immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Judging from the deportment of the old emperor of the Qinglong Empire, he must want to teach Mo a lesson!

“Mo is in his mansion. I will send someone to summon him.”

Then, Xuanyuan Lie turned to order a guard behind in a low voice, “Go to Prince Zhan’s mansion and summon Prince Zhan into the imperial palace right away.”

“Yes.” The guard immediately took the order and left upon hearing the order.

After giving the order, Xuanyuan Lie turned around to say to Huangfu Cang respectfully, “You must be tired after traveling a long trip. Please come with me into the imperial palace for a rest. He will arrive soon.”

Huangfu Cang slightly nodded and his face was etched with fatigue. He had shortened the journey that should have lasted half a month to two days. These two days, he almost didn’t close his eyes. He was exhausted indeed.

They followed Xuanyuan Lie into the imperial study of the Baihu Empire.

Shortly after they sat down, a eunuch chanted, “Here arrives Her Highness Crown Princess of Zhuque.”

Immediately, they saw the woman they had long expected to see.

“Xi…” Upon seeing the familiar figure, the three of them stood up together.

“Grandpa…” Upon seeing Huangfu Cang, Duanmu Xi directly rushed over and threw herself into Huangfu Cang’s arms.

“Grandpa, I miss you so much.” Her voice was no longer cold. Instead, it contained the softness and sweetness that a woman around her age should have. It sounded as if she were playing cute.

Looking at Duanmu Xi in his arms, who was like a kitten, Huangfu Cang curled the corner of his lips with his eyes full of deep affection. His whole momentum also softened.

The corners of Duanmu Xue’s and Huangfu Che’s mouths twitched. They were clearly jealous. Xi just neglected them ruthlessly. Why did Xi always ignore them as long as her grandpa was around?

Xuanyuan Lie was also slightly taken aback. Compared with Empress of Zhuque and his friend, Duanmu Xi seemed closer to the emperor of the Qinglong Empire. And the emperor of the Qinglong Empire also seemed to dote on this granddaughter. His eyes were full of affection rather than the majesty he showed outside. He was completely an amiable grandpa.

It was actually fair enough. Since the emperor of the Qinglong Empire could pass down his throne to a granddaughter who didn’t adopt his family name, he must love her very much.

“Grandpa, what brought you here?”

Hearing that, Huangfu Cang pointed at Duanmu Xi’s forehead and said affectionately, “I thought you came here to propose marriage. However, you just got yourself married off in the end. How can I not come?”

Then, Huangfu Cang also took a meaningful glance at Xuanyuan Lie aside.

Hearing that, Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che also turned to glare at Xuanyuan Lie.

Facing these people’s resentful eyes, Xuanyuan Lie hung his head with guilt, expecting that his son could arrive soon.

Duanmu Xi raised her head to look at the tired face of Huangfu Cang and couldn’t help feeling pitiful and guilty.

“Grandpa, I’m sorry.”

She didn’t inform her grandpa on purpose for fear that he would feel anxious. Unexpectedly, the news was still spread to the Qinglong Empire. It would take more than ten days at fastest to travel from Qinglong to Baihu but his grandpa arrived here within two days. Even if he didn’t mention how much fatigue he had suffered, she was still aware of it.

“Silly, you don’t have to be sorry.”

Huangfu Cang was satisfied to know that she cared about him.

Grandpa… Looking at this old man who adored her very much, Duanmu Xi felt so guilty, her dark purple eyes glistening with tears. Her grandpa was in his 60s. And she still made him so worried about her. She was so wrong.

While the two of them were talking, the eunuch’s chant came from outside the imperial study again, “Here arrives His Highness Prince Zhan.”

The first one Xuanyuan Mo came inside and saw was Duanmu Xi. He saw that she seemed to be in a man’s arms and directly pulled a long face with a frown.

He raised his head and looked at that man only to find that the man was also staring at him sternly. To be more specific, the man was glaring at him.

A shimmer of fierceness flashed across his amber eyes. Who was this old man? Why was he so close to her and hostile to him?

Apart from this old man, Xuanyuan Mo also noticed two people glaring at him. He turned around and looked over there.

Upon seeing Duanmu Xue and Huangfu Che, Xuanyuan Mo knitted his eyebrows. They looked so familiar but he just couldn’t think of where he had met them before.

He observed their appearances and took a tumble. These two people should be her parents. She looked a lot like them. The old man next to her should be her grandpa, the emperor of the Qinglong Empire. He didn’t expect that they would arrive so fast.

Upon seeing Xuanyuan Mo, Xuanyuan Lie immediately winked at him and said, “Mo, come and greet your grandfather-in-law and your in-laws.”

Hearing that, Xuanyuan Mo instantly went forward and said to Huangfu Cang with a bow, “Greetings, Grandfather.”

Huangfu Cang glimpsed Xuanyuan Mo and snorted with a wave of his sleeve, “How can I deserve to be called grandfather by you?”

Hearing that, Xuanyuan Mo stiffened with his slightly drooping eyelids. His eyes glistened with dark luster.

Seeing the two of them getting into a conflict at their meeting, Duanmu Xi also felt rather uncomfortable. She knew that her grandpa was mad at Snow for their marriage. Hence, she could only hold Huangfu Cang’s arm and said coquettishly, “Grandpa.”

When Huangfu Cang heard Duanmu Xi’s sweet voice, his face softened then. He could only wave at Xuanyuan Mo and say, “Okay. Okay. Drop the formalities!”

Xuanyuan Mo raised his head and took a glance at Duanmu Xi. He slightly bowed again and said, “Thank you, Grandfather.”

Then, he turned to Huangfu Che and Duanmu Xue, saying with a bow, “Greetings, Father, Mother.”

Duanmu Xue glimpsed Xuanyuan Mo and said nothing while Huangfu Che raised his hand at Xuanyuan Mo and said, “Drop the formalities.”

“Thank you, Father, Mother.”

After greeting, Xuanyuan Mo stood aside, staring at Duanmu Xi with his amber eyes. Somehow, he kept thinking about her these two days. He tried his best to keep himself from meeting her and thinking about her but the moment he saw her, all his self-restraints just broke down. He missed her. He missed her madly.