In order to obtain the second Substitute Doll. In order to double my cultivation efficiency. What does it matter if I have to act?
Just like a few months ago when he forced Xiang Ning to call him "father", Xiang Ning showed her authority as a minister after a long time.
"Your Majesty, in order for your reign over this land to be everlasting, you must make Lü Chunqiu's daughter the Imperial Noble Consort. This matter absolutely cannot be negotiated." Fan Li's gaze towards the Empress only had dominance and iciness left!
Xiang Ning shuddered, as if a memory deep in her mind had been awakened. This man who had often been defending her recently and helping her resolve worries and difficulties, was the prime treacherous minister of Great Chu after all!
"This Emperor... understands..."
Having settled the Empress, the task was halfway completed. All that was left was Lü Chunqiu's side.
Fan Li had no intention to wait for Lü Chunqiu to take the initiative. He still needed to provoke him a little!
"Your Majesty, lend me the Jade Seal passed down in your state for a moment." Fan Li said to Xiang Ning.
"What are you trying to do?!" Xiang Ning was badly frightened!
The Nation's Jade Seal passed down through the Great Chu's imperial lineage for generations?
To her, other than the Overlord's Spear, this was her greatest treasure. Nourished by the aura of generations of Chu Emperors, the Jade Seal not only had strong offensive and defensive power, but also an extremely low requirement to use.
As long as one was the Emperor of Great Chu, even with just the Golden Core Realm cultivation, one could easily control the Jade Seal. And one wouldn't exhaust their aura as easily as with the Overlord's Spear.
'The Overlord's Spear is my trump card. But the Nation's Jade Seal is my hidden ace. Such a useful emperor's artifact, only I and the Empress Dowager knows its mysteries. Why does Fan Li want to borrow it?' Xiang Ning thought too much.
Fan Li borrowing the Nation's Jade Seal was truly for its most ordinary usage: to stamp the imperial seal.
"Quickly hand it over!" Seeing her dragging her feet, Fan Li hardened his tone.
Xiang Ning shuddered in fright. She thought to herself, 'Why doesn't heaven strike down this traitor? Forget it. Anyway, he's not the Emperor, so the Nation's Jade Seal would be useless even if he had it.'
Thinking so, Xiang Ning finally reluctantly took out the jade seal from her sleeve with great unwillingness on her face.
Fan Li received it with one hand, then casually grabbed a blank imperial edict from the desk.
"So you wanted to write an imperial edict?" Xiang Ning first heaved a sigh of relief, then felt somewhat vexed. Without her agreement, Fan Li actually dared to arbitrarily write an imperial edict?
Wasn't this a false edict? Moreover, right in front of her?
Xiang Ning held in her anger as she stared wide-eyed at what he was going to write. If Fan Li went overboard, even at the cost of her life she would tear up this edict... Then smash the Nation's Jade Seal on his head!
Fan Li lifted his brush, dipped it in ink, then steadily lowered the tip onto the imperial edict.
A slash.
That was it?
Fan Li only wrote a slash, then put down his brush and stamped the seal.
"Duke, what is the meaning of this?" Xiang Ning couldn't help but ask.
Fan Li laughed. "It's called 'eight words with one slash'."
Eight words?
Xiang Ning listened in puzzlement.
Fan Li then summoned a little eunuch and ordered him to send the imperial edict to Marquis Wenxin's estate.
The little eunuch watched the entire time Fan Li falsely wrote the imperial edict, yet didn't dare make any objections.
Receiving the edict steadily, the little eunuch kowtowed on the ground, then swiftly headed towards Marquis Wenxin's estate.
Marquis Wenxin's Estate.
Lü Chunqiu was instructing his daughter in her cultivation. Confucian and Taoist cultivation wasn't meditative cultivation behind closed doors or meditating to comprehend the Way, but rather the Six Arts.
Namely, Rites, Music, Archery, Chariot-Riding, Calligraphy, Mathematics.
What Lü Fubao was cultivating right now was "Calligraphy".
"Father, when can Fubao attain your level of achieving aura through brushstrokes?"
As Lü Fubao spoke, her twin buns swayed along with her body movements, appearing extremely cute.
She was emulating Lü Chunqiu's calligraphy, a single character "King".
With three horizontals and one vertical, it was an extremely simple character, yet Lü Chunqiu had written it out of the ordinary.
One could see a visible clear aura slowly rise from the character like a pillar, shooting straight towards the horizon. Achieving aura through brushstrokes!
Lü Chunqiu's single character "King" actually gave rise to an aura that connected Heaven, Earth and Mankind!
"With your vast aura cultivation, perhaps after another twenty years of practice, you may attain one-tenth of your father's standard."
Lü Fubao instantly felt dejected! "Twenty years? By then Fubao would become an old hag..."
Lü Chunqiu roared with laughter.
He further instructed: "Additionally, everyone has different inborn fate structures. For instance, your father and you both have blessed and long-living top-tier fate structures. But above you and me, there is an even nobler True Dragon fate structure, which belongs to the Son of Heaven.
If someone with the Son of Heaven fate structure also happened to cultivate vast aura, then the color of the word aura he achieves wouldn't be your father's mysterious cyan, but rather the golden-yellow exclusive to the Son of Heaven."
Lü Fubao curiously asked: "How is the golden-yellow color different? Is it stronger than the mysterious cyan?"
Lü Chunqiu nodded and told her, "The Son of Heaven's fate structure is supremely noble! As the saying goes, 'Under heaven, nothing isn't the king's land; of the borders of the land, nothing isn't the king's ministers.' Among the three thousand cultivation Daos, no matter which a person with the Son of Heaven's fate structure cultivates, he can suppress opponents at the same stage and realm as him."
"Ah! Doesn't having the Son of Heaven fate structure mean being undefeated among peers?!" Lü Fubao's eyes shone brightly as she unexpectedly revealed a yearning expression. "Father, in the future when Fubao marries, I must marry the Son of Heaven!"
It turned out girls mature early. Ever since Fan Li's previous visit, it was as if something innate had awoken within Lü Fubao. She actually imagined her lifetime event of marriage and what kind of man her future husband would be, not just once.
Upon hearing this, Lü Chunqiu was stunned for a moment. He also recalled Fan Li's proposal before leaving.
Pledging allegiance to Great Chu, Lü Fubao may become the Imperial Noble Consort.
Could this be... heaven's will?
Lü Chunqiu shook his head in vexation.
Ming Emperor Jiajing was an extremely authoritative ruler. With him present, Lü Chunqiu truly didn't dare casually pledge allegiance to another state.
"Father, an envoy has come from Great Chu's travelling palace."
Just as he was lost in thought, his daughter's voice interrupted him.
Lü Chunqiu looked over to see the visitor was a little eunuch. But what he held in his hands was clearly an imperial edict!
"What's going on here? Great Chu's Emperor is conferring an imperial edict to this Marquis? Could Great Chu's Emperor be so lacking in propriety, not understanding his place?"
Lü Chunqiu had some doubts as he took the initiative to walk over.
He thought to himself that if this little eunuch from Chu didn't understand the immensity of heaven and earth and dared to arrogantly order him to kneel to receive the edict, he would definitely drive the other out.
Then, he would accept Jiajing Emperor's recruitment and pledge allegiance to Great Ming!
The young eunuch approached Lu Chunqiu and his daughter but did not read out any doubts. Instead, he wore a smile and said, "Lord Hou, this... please take your time to read."
As the imperial edict was not personally written by Xiang Ning, the young eunuch dared not refer to it as the 'imperial edict.'
Lu Chunqiu was momentarily stunned and instinctively reached out to accept it. The young eunuch hurriedly excused himself as if he had just thrown away a hot potato.
Watching the eunuch leave in what seemed like a hasty escape, Lu Chunqiu couldn't help but suspect that the imperial edict might explode at any moment!
"Dad, quickly open and see what it says!" Lu Fubao was curious.
"Oh... alright..." Lu Chunqiu responded while carefully unfolding the imperial edict. However, as the scroll slowly unraveled, a vast expanse of blank space greeted them. For quite some time, there were no visible words.
"Could it be that they sent me a blank imperial edict in their haste?"
Lu Chunqiu pondered, but suddenly, he noticed ink marks appearing on the edict. However, before Lu Chunqiu could read the content, an unparalleled bright yellow energy burst forth from the imperial edict, soaring into the sky!
In an instant. The bright yellow energy connected heaven and earth, resembling a pillar that supported the three realms!