"Let’s not talk about Dayan for now. The Crown Prince died young. The situations in Nanzhao and Nanyue are unclear, Dongyi can be ignored, but the Second Prince of Xiqiang, Xi Ling, and the Third Prince of Beili, Beiyue, both have good chances, right?"
[Among all the princes and princesses of the six nations here, only one will inherit the throne in the future.]
Emperor Mingxi’s gaze darkened as it swept past the mention of the "early-deceased" Crown Prince, landing on his grown and underage sons. Aside from Little Thirteen, who was still nursing, and the Eighth Prince, whose seat was empty because he was nowhere to be found, all the others—including the crybaby Twelfth Prince—were present.
The question was whether the sole successor would come from Dayan and whether it would be one of these troublemakers.
The princes, feeling their skin prickle with tension: Being singled out like this every day—this life is unbearable!
Why don’t the princes of Dayan have to leave for their fiefs? If only they could endure a few more years, get their titles, and escape this dreadful place, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the young immortal lord and the divine artifact!
"Only one? These people aren’t up to the task. Out of so many, just one succeeds? Who among Xi Ling and Beiyue—the ones I favor—ended up on top?"
[Beiyue, as you know, is a cut-sleeve. He’s not like Prince Ming, who goes for men, women, old, and young without discrimination—completely unselective.
Beiyue’s preferences are utterly exclusive and absolute—he only likes one specific type of man.
Moreover, he has a condition where he vomits at any intimate contact with women, almost like a case of gynophobia.
This means he’s destined never to have descendants, effectively cutting off any chance of inheriting the throne.]
"But didn’t you say earlier that he had significant support in Beili? Prince Ming provided him with so much financial backing. How could someone with no hope for the throne garner such backing?"
[This so-called support is tied to the schemes of the Beili emperor. While his gynophobia has been well-hidden, walls have ears—his father surely knows his true nature.
That’s why, despite the seemingly high support for him in Beili, it’s all a facade. His father, wary but not overly threatened, tolerates the noise.
That emperor is a cunning one too—I’ll tell you more about his schemes another time.
Now, back to Beiyue. He’s been thoroughly deceived by his own father. Those so-called supporters and followers are nothing but illusions.
Even without Lan Xuan'er interfering and souring their relationship, Prince Ming would have gained little practical help from Beiyue in the end.]
"Beiyue seems like a smart man. Doesn’t he realize his father is setting him up?"
[Lately, he’s begun to suspect something, but for some reason, he’s still investigating in secret.
In this world, fewer than five people know the Beili emperor’s plans—and little Pearl here is one of them!]
"Little Pearl is the most formidable in this world!" Yue Fuguang promptly delivered a loud, flattering remark.
[Hehehe, Little Pearl is Master’s Boundary-Breaking Pearl. If Little Pearl is formidable, then Master is formidable too.]
Once the system finished basking in the praise, it continued: [Xi Ling, the Second Prince of Xiqiang, is the son of Consort Rong and has the backing of her family, the Rongs. On the surface, his chances seem strong.
But within the Xiqiang imperial court, rumors have long circulated that the Second Prince’s birth mother is unknown.]
"So, he’s really not Consort Rong’s biological son?"
Yue Fuguang subtly glanced at Xi Ling, who was engrossed in the dance performance, his eyes practically glued to the lead dancer.
Yue Fuguang inwardly scoffed—what a waste of a handsome face. The way Xi Ling leered now was downright sleazy.
Seated beside him was the Dongyi prince, Shu Ming, whose furtive glances gave off an air of guilty fascination.
Emperor Mingxi and the others, hearing this "juicy tidbit," kept their eyes on the mesmerizing performance while secretly pricking up their ears.
They, too, had heard the rumors—that the beloved Second Prince of Emperor Xi might not be his biological son at all.
This was why Xi Ling’s supporters were so sharply divided.
[Not only is he not Consort Rong’s son, his birth mother wasn’t even from Xiqiang.
To explain who she was, we must go back twenty years, to the bloody succession war that ravaged the Xiqiang imperial family, leaving most of its members dead or wounded.
At the time, the current Emperor Xi—then the nineteen-year-old Ninth Prince, Xi Yan—ventured alone across Death Gorge and Savage Ridge into Nanzhao territory to bolster his eldest brother’s bid for the throne.
Nanzhao and Xiqiang were separated only by a gorge and a mountain range. Xi Yan had heard rumors of high-quality iron ore discovered near their shared border.
After sending men to search the Xiqiang side fruitlessly, he decided to risk crossing into Nanzhao to try his luck.]
"But if the ore was in Nanzhao, even if he found it, how could he transport it back? Wouldn’t he just be handing it to someone else?"
[Back then, Xiqiang was far stronger than Nanzhao. The ownership of Savage Ridge had long been disputed. If iron ore were found there, Xiqiang had ways to claim it.
Disguised as a Nanzhao hunter, Xi Yan spent over a month combing the mountains. He never found the ore, but he did meet the love—and regret—of his life: a Nanzhao herb gatherer named Miao Qingling.
Their encounter was a cliché—Xi Yan was bitten by a venomous snake, and Miao Qingling, using her expertise, saved him. In return, Xi Yan became her guardian, accompanying her on herb-gathering trips.
Though he was already married and she was not, the two grew close, their unspoken feelings lingering between them.
On the eve of Xi Yan’s departure, they ventured into a secluded gorge and discovered a cave filled with rare medicinal herbs—some so potent that even Xi Yan, untrained in herbology but well-versed in martial arts, recognized their value.
Dazzled by their find, they let their guard down and were bitten by a pair of Nanzhao’s infamous "lover snakes"—a species notorious for their aphrodisiac venom.
Miao Qingling, knowledgeable in poisons, knew there were only two cures: either they became each other’s antidote, or they killed the snake and consumed its gallbladder.
Xi Yan immediately chased after the serpent, while Miao Qingling, before the venom fully took hold, gathered herbs and found a cold spring in the cave.
When Xi Yan failed to return, she submerged herself in the spring to resist the poison’s effects.
As she lost consciousness, the cave welcomed its next visitors—a lost sister and brother, separated from their escort.
Finding Miao Qingling in the spring, they recognized her and quickly deduced her condition.
With no sign of the snake, the brother—who had long harbored desires for her—knew he was the fastest remedy. Yet, restrained by her status, he hesitated.]
