IN THE IMPERIAL HALL, LILY was already seated in front of the emperor, sipping a cup of tea leisurely. The two maidservants stood behind her, expressionless.
His Majesty, Emperor Jun, smiled as he pondered the reason for the girl's unexpected visit. Since she was already the head of the Pei family, Emperor Jun had no other option but to give a face to such a young lady.
The girl possessed the ability to mobilize a million armies. Although he had not seen a single soldier from the Pei family, he did not dare take the risk of offending them.
He remembered his father telling him to be cautious. The empire was said to be powerful only because of the Pei family. If one move caused them to leave the empire, the Immortal Dragon's reign would be over.
Although he was initially sceptical, he didn't want to offend them after seeing how the envoys from other countries regarded the Pei family with vigour and respect. They had even expressed their envy of the empire's fortune.
"Our imperial chef's cooking is the best; would Young Miss Lily like to try some?"
"No need; this cup of tea will suffice; thank you for your hospitality, Emperor Jun," Lily said flatly.
'Emperor Jun' rather than 'Your Majesty'. This only summarizes the Pei family's attitude. None of the previous generations had demonstrated that they belonged to the empire.
Even Duke Pei, who had a good relationship with the previous emperor, did not let down his guard; always saying emperor this, the emperor that.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Empress have arrived," announced the head eunuch.
Emperor Jun frowned slightly. He had no idea why the empress also came. But, since she was going to be Lily's mother-in-law, he thought that it was important as well to strengthen their bond.
The two newcomers immediately greeted the emperor first before giving Lily a look.
Crown Prince Ace was instantly dazzled. He always felt astonished as soon as he looked at Lily's face. She was so stunning that no compliment could do her justice.
Unfortunately, Lily was too stiff. She would move at least three meters away from him whenever he approached her. Even if she was complimenting him on his good qualities, he could tell she wasn't sincere. It was as if she was simply describing what a fish looked like after being fished out of the pond.
"Lily," Crown Prince Ace tried to sound amiable, but it only resulted in awkwardness.
Lily swept a gaze in his direction before putting down the cup on the table. She didn't beat around the bush as she said, "I am here to break off my engagement with the crown prince."
Empress Yen's heart quivered. This was the thing she feared the most. She hadn't expected Lily to appear and announce her intention without first sugarcoating her words or providing a reason.
Emperor Jun, on the other hand, was stupefied. His eyes widened in surprise before contorting into an ugly expression.
"Young Miss Lily, what do you mean by this?" Emperor Jun inquired, his face darkening. He clearly wasn't taking this declaration lightly.
Lily was unconcerned about their reaction. "I've already told you, Emperor Jun, and if I'm not clear enough, I want to end this engagement."
"At the very least, tell me why!"
Bang!
The table in front of Lily had been reduced to dust in an instant.
The onlookers' expressions paled. They turned to look at the maidservant who had slapped the table into dust. They couldn't believe a maid could be so powerful. The maid appeared thin and did not seem to be skilled in martial arts. Then, their gazes were drawn to the other maid standing to Lily's left. Would this maid have the same strength?
As expected of someone who was raised by the Pei family, they were all extraordinary!
Emperor Jun wanted to scream in rage but restrained himself. This was blatant disrespect for him, a monarch, and all he could do was swallow his anger and indignation.
Lily's eyes were filled with mockery. She had lived twice in the same lifetime and witnessed how shameless and foolish this emperor was. Since she had no respect for him from the start, anyway, there was no need to be polite.
"Please accept my apologies, Emperor Jun," she said after a minute of silence. But she wasn't being sincere. "My maidservants were raised to protect me. You—- raising your voice earlier--- it made them think that you have ill intentions."
Emperor Jun forced a smile. "It's this emperor's mistake," he could only take the blame. "This emperor was simply feeling surprised; after all, the engagement was the idea of my imperial father and your grandfather—- breaking it off, does your grandfather even know about it?"
Lily cocked her brow. "Of course, and he agreed," she lied without batting an eye. Anyway, she was certain that her grandfather had already realized his error and was mulling it over in his room. It was not considered dishonesty.
"He really did?" asked Emperor Jun in disbelief. He met Duke Pei yesterday, and he didn't see anything amiss. He was sure that the girl's decision was only made today, but the duke agreed just like that.
"It seems like Emperor Jun didn't know," Lily decided to be the magnanimous one and explain the reason to him. "When the late emperor made the decree, it was when Emperor Jun was just a normal prince," the emperor's face wasn't right upon hearing those words, but Lily still continued, "So he was expecting that the crown prince wouldn't be raised to become a monarch, someone who wasn't entitled to accept a lot of concubines. Do you understand what I mean, Emperor Jun?" She didn't wait for the emperor's response as she added, "Have you forgotten? Our family only accept in-laws who are chaste, and the crown prince is no longer one."
Emperor Jun turned to face his son. The crown prince's expression was off, and he had already concluded that what the girl had said was true. He had the urge to beat his son to death, but with outsiders' presents, he couldn't do so. He didn't know where did he go wrong. Emperor Jun did not lack in giving the crown prince a reminder every day to remain chaste. In the end... he let out a frustrated breath.
However, he still couldn't let go of the idea of being in-laws with the Pei family. The millions of armies tempted him. As a monarch, if he gained such power, his position would be secure, and he would no longer have to be wary of others.
"Young Miss Lily, who said such unscrupulous rumour to you? It's obvious that someone is trying to sow discord!" Emperor Jun acted enraged, seemingly hating the person who gossiped about it.
'Really shameless,' Lily thought.
"The prime minister's daughter," she replied. "Regardless of whether it's true or not, our family would not take a risk; however, if you insist on disgusting me further, we have an ornament that can tell whether someone is chaste or not; would the crown prince like to try it out?"
Crown Prince Ace became enraged. "Are you trying to humiliate me?!" How could he face his imperial brothers and other people if he truly tried?
Swoosh!
This time, it wasn't a display of strength, but of agility. The second maid appeared in front of the crown prince without anyone noticing; a dagger was in her hand, an inch away from the crown prince's neck.
"Don't!" the empress shrieked out. She wanted to help her son but was afraid that it would aggravate the girl even more. She looked at Lily pleadingly, then said, "Young Miss Pei, my son is in the wrong. Please don't lower yourself to his stupidity."
Lily waved her hand. Then, the maid swiftly went back to her original position. "The empress' paternal family is good. I'll give you this face for them." she said before turning to face the pale crown prince, "You saw how my maids reacted to your father's outburst earlier, but you didn't take it as a lesson. I really don't know what will happen to this empire once you take the throne."
She stood up after saying those words. "My decision is firm; unless you show me that the crown prince is chaste, it will not waver." She was about to leave when she remembered something. "By the way, it appeared that the prime minister's eldest daughter and the crown prince have an ambiguous relationship; it would be best to conform them to the marriage that they've been longing for to protect the woman's reputation."
After that, she left for good.
Although she appeared to care about the woman, after stating that the two had an ambiguous relationship, whether the two would marry or not, the prime minister's daughter would undoubtedly lose her reputation.