Tearing the Prince's Clothes after Withdrawing Marriage
Chapter 457 - 456: The Harem of Three Thousand, Suddenly Lost Color

Chapter 457: Chapter 456: The Harem of Three Thousand, Suddenly Lost Color

Longteng Country was fraught with such deep internal strife.

People like Wei Qiong had been secretly supporting Prince Xiaoyao, opposing Her Majesty the Empress.

On the surface, Longteng Country still seemed peaceful, but in reality, it had long since become fragmented.

A faction remained loyal to the late Emperor, led by none other than Prince Xiaoyao and Great General Wei Qiong.

Another faction was loyal to the current Empress.

And then there were those who simply went with the flow, taking refuge wherever they could.

Now that the Empress held power, they submitted to her.

If someday Prince Xiaoyao were to ascend to power, they would also be loyal to him.

Whoever was beneficial to Longteng, they would pledge their loyalty to.

This group of people was currently being ardently courted by both Long Tianliu and Long Hongming.

Overall, even though Long Tianliu had been the Empress for over a decade, she still had yet to secure her place firmly on the throne.

How important, then, was the support of foreign allies to them at this time?

For Long Xinghe to form a marriage alliance, the partner had to be a powerful Prince.

Those like Feng Wuya, who stayed out of worldly affairs and held no power, naturally did not catch the Empress’s eye.

Yet, he was still a prince of Beiming Country; even without any real authority, his status remained.

If Longteng’s Grand Princess were to marry Prince Xiaoyao, she inevitably wouldn’t be able to enter into a marriage alliance with Prince Xuan.

So, how could Long Tianliu allow it?

"Your Majesty, the Grand Princess has recently achieved remarkable military successes. Her strength has grown tremendously compared to the past," said the official from Anshang Palace gently. "Her temperament has also become very different from before. Your Majesty, in my opinion, there’s still room for negotiation. It would be best not to upset the Grand Princess for now."

In the past, all the Grand Princess knew was indulgence in pleasures. The Empress had almost given up hope on her.

Regrettably, the Empress had only this one daughter. Abandoning her was not an option, so she watched the Princess grow up between despair and a slight glimmer of hope.

But recently, for reasons unknown, the Grand Princess seemed to have suddenly grown up.

To be more precise, it was as if she had become a completely different person.

If it weren’t for witnessing the Grand Princess grow up with her own eyes, even the official from Anshang Palace would wonder if she were really the same person.

She had suddenly become very formidable!

Incredibly shrewd, she acted swiftly and decisively, not only achieving remarkable feats but also reorganizing her troops in a unique way.

The Grand Princess now was simply the perfect candidate for Crown Princess.

Previously, the Empress had not appointed the Crown Princess due to the Grand Princess’s foolishness and incompetence.

Now, she was in the process of preparing for the appointment.

This was thus no time to fall out with the Grand Princess.

The Empress severely lacked trustworthy and dependable people close to her; the Grand Princess was now dear to her heart!

"Your Majesty, regarding the marriage proposal, in my view, we can put it aside for now. And as for the Grand Princess’s feelings toward Prince Xiaoyao, she may not truly be so fond of him,"

"Perhaps, the Grand Princess is only after a novel thrill. I don’t see her as someone who would give up on making a name for herself just for a handsome man."

"Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Long Tianliu pondered seriously for a while, and her anger finally began to subside.

Maybe it really was just for a momentary thrill.

After all, Star River had been fond of some exceedingly beautiful men before, but she tired of them and discarded them after only a few days.

Perhaps this time would be no different.

"Since that’s the case... alright, I’ll let her have her fun for a few days. Order someone to make preparations. I’ll receive these guests from Beiming Country," she concluded.

...But Long Tianliu had really miscalculated this time.

She had never expected that Prince Xiaoyao, legendary as he was, could be so... so thoroughly unencumbered!

From the moment Long Tianliu saw him, she suddenly felt as if the three thousand in her harem had instantly lost their color.

His face, pure to the point of appearing untouched by a speck of worldly dust, could not simply be described with the words "extraordinarily handsome."

It was a face that seemed to only belong in the heavens, impossible to exist in this mortal world.

Unmarred and unparalleled, untainted by the slightest hint of worldly concern.

And those clear, black, and lustrous eyes—so clean they contained not a hint of the world’s filth or waves of impurity!

Having been Empress for so many years, Long Tianliu thought she had seen countless handsome men, but never had she seen such a refreshingly otherworldly young boy.

A boy, who looked to be barely in his twenties.

At their first encounter, his dust-free aura struck right into the deepest recesses of her soul!

Especially that silver hair, so heartbreaking yet so intoxicating.

Long Tianliu watched, somewhat transfixed, until Anshang Palace called out several times before she reluctantly brought her attention back.

Long Xinghe felt somewhat nervous.

Indeed, there were many young handsome men in Her Majesty’s harem, but she never usually spent too much thought on them.

But why do Wuya’s eyes today seem so... unsettling?

"This son greets Your Majesty. This is Wuya, the very Prince Xiaoyao from Beiming Country I mentioned in my letter,"

Long Tianliu’s gaze, despite her efforts, swept over Feng Wuya several more times.

Feng Wuya merely nodded slightly, his voice as welcoming as a spring breeze, magnetic and pleasing, comfortably brushing past everyone’s hearts: "Your Majesty, Empress."

The others, with Long Ziyue inclining his body in respect: "I greet Your Majesty."

Chu Qianli, like Feng Wuya, simply nodded slightly: "Your Majesty."

After all, as envoys from another country, there were no great demands on etiquette.

As long as no arrogance was shown, Long Tianliu didn’t mind it.

Only with great difficulty did her gaze move away from Feng Wuya, and Long Tianliu looked at the other envoy from Beiming Country: "And you are...?"

She stood up abruptly, staring at Chu Qianli, her fingertips instantly tensing.

"Your Majesty?" Both Anshang Palace and Long Xinghe, even Long Ziyue appeared stunned, completely unclear as to what the Empress meant.

Long Ziyue hurriedly explained: "This is the Divine Doctor that Ziyue invited from Beiming Country, seventh lady of the Duke Residence, Chu Qianli. Please allow her to examine and treat the ailments of Ziyue’s mother."

Duke Residence, seventh lady, Chu Qianli.

As for the envoys, Anshang Palace naturally had people find out everything beforehand, but they couldn’t inquire about the appearance and temperament of the visitors.

One must see for oneself to have the most direct impression.

The shock in Long Tianliu’s heart somewhat subsided after several more glances.

At first glance, she looked very similar, almost identical, especially the charm within her eyebrows.

But upon closer inspection, her facial features were different; it was only a slight resemblance in her eyebrows.

"Your Majesty?" Long Xinghe turned to look at Chu Qianli before eyeing Long Tianliu again, asking with his gaze: Is something wrong?

Long Tianliu withdrew her gaze, her expression returning to calm.

"If you are indeed a Divine Doctor from Beiming Country, would you mind examining me?"

A trace of something flitted across the depths of her eyes, "Lately, I too have been feeling..."

She meant to say she had been experiencing some dizziness.

But her gaze couldn’t help but fall upon Feng Wuya once more.

Seeing this boy, Long Tianliu didn’t want to show any signs of weakness.

She smiled and said, "Recently, I occasionally feel a bit tired. I wonder if Divine Doctor Chu could perhaps ease my fatigue?"

Alarm bells were sounding within Long Ziyue.

Could it be that Her Majesty had designs on Ali?