Toward this woman before him, Zhan Qingcheng could be said to have reached a new height of disgust.
But right now, he had no desire whatsoever to deal with her — and in truth, there had never been any time he had any desire to.
Seeing him turn and walk away, the Empress Rong, who had traveled a long and dusty road, immediately rushed after him: “A’Jiu…”
“Get out of my sight!” Zhan Qingcheng flicked his wide sleeve, and the Empress felt a surge of deadly cold air strike her head-on.
Her heart lurched with alarm, and she immediately sidestepped to avoid it.
Watching Zhan Qingcheng’s figure stride swiftly away, the Empress Rong felt despair in her heart — yet she still held on to that last shred of hope for him.
“A’Jiu, I traveled a thousand li from the imperial city to chase you to Ning City, then followed you all the way to the Southern Wilds to find you. And yet you kept leaving without a word. Now I have gone through great hardship to return from the Southern Wilds, all just to see you as soon as possible — and you…”
His footsteps did not slow in the slightest at the Empress Rong’s words. Both anxious and furious, she rushed after him, yet didn’t dare draw too close.
“A’Jiu, are you truly going to be so heartless toward me?”
The courtyard of the Dragon Military Academy was filled with passing students. Seeing the Empress pursuing the Ninth Prince in such a manner, they didn’t know whether they ought to step forward and pay their respects.
But from the look of things, neither of the two seemed to care about formalities at all. What mattered most was that the two of them were… truly strange.
Was the Empress trying to chase after the Ninth Prince herself?
Though the Ninth Prince was indeed of breathtaking appearance, he was still a man. A woman chasing after a man was absurd enough. But what was most important was that this woman was no unmarried young girl — she was an older woman with a household, children, and a husband.
Indeed, truly an older woman — she looked as though she could be the Ninth Prince’s own mother, yet she could still carry on in such a shameless manner.
Students and guards alike lowered their heads one by one, not daring to look directly — though in truth, every single one of them was paying the closest possible attention to the two figures’ every move.
Unfortunately, the Ninth Prince appeared to have not even half a shred of feeling for the Empress Rong. Not only did he fail to stop at her calling out to him, but on the contrary, his pace only grew faster.
“Have someone go out to search for that girl. Report to me the moment there is news,” he said to Yu Jingfeng beside him.
He couldn’t say why, but there was a faint, persistent unease in his heart — an inexplicable sense of unease.
“Yes.” Yu Jingfeng nodded, then departed at a brisk pace. As for Nanmen Rong, who continued to trail behind the Ninth Prince — Yu Jingfeng felt nothing but disgust for her, and nothing else besides.
This woman was truly like a stubborn ghost that wouldn’t leave. Relying on the real power in her hands, she had actually grown bold enough to conduct herself in this manner.
Looking throughout all of history, one had never heard of such a thing. The Nanmen Clan was truly far too brazen.
“A’Jiu!” Nanmen Rong finally caught up behind Zhan Qingcheng. She bit her lip, her fingertips trembling incessantly.
Though she felt something indescribable in the way she had always indulged Zhan Qingcheng, this had reached the absolute limit of her indulgence.
“A’Jiu! I am asking you now, in front of everyone — do you or do you not wish to be with me?”
The people who had retreated to a distance all around were seized by another wave of shock. Even their brows couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat — not from fear, but because even they felt mortified on her behalf.
Zhan Qingcheng finally stopped. He turned to look at the woman standing not far behind him, his eyes exactly as they always were.
Indifferent. Distant. Cold. With an added measure of disgust.
“You are this Prince’s imperial sister-in-law. That you would say such things to this Prince — you feel no shame, yet this Prince fears you will taint this Prince’s reputation.”
“A’Jiu, you have never cared about the world’s gaze. You are not that kind of person at all. A’Jiu, as long as you agree, I can set aside everything for you — I can even set aside my identity as Empress…”
“That identity of yours as Empress means nothing in this Prince’s eyes. When this Prince sees you, all this Prince feels is revulsion.”
“You—!” Nanmen Rong was overwhelmed by a surge of rage, her blood churning, and she nearly couldn’t hold back a mouthful of blood that surged to her throat.
“A’Jiu, don’t think that just because this Palace has feelings for you, you can do as you please. You…”
“This Prince has no need of your feelings. Are you not aware — you are utterly repulsive?”
This time, Zhan Qingcheng truly intended to leave. He was never one for saying things in anger, but this time, the Empress had genuinely made him furious.
Of course, what angered him was not this woman herself, but rather her husband — the reigning Emperor Qiwen.
A man who could not even keep his own wife in check — how could he have the ability to govern a nation?
A nation like Bei Mu placed in the hands of such a person — what future could it have?
Both husband and wife were truly disgraceful beyond measure.
“Zhan Qingcheng, you dare to publicly humiliate this Palace in this manner — are you not afraid that this Palace’s one hundred thousand troops will raze your Ninth Prince’s Manor to the ground?”
Nanmen Rong had this time truly reached despair. She had believed the Ninth Prince harbored at least some feeling for her — yet he had actually called her utterly repulsive!
How could she endure it? How could she?
No matter how deeply she cared for him, she could not tolerate him treating her in such a fashion!
“Someone, come — seize the Ninth Prince for this Palace!” she commanded in fury.
The entourage trailing behind her immediately surged forward — yet not a single one of them truly dared to lay a hand on Zhan Qingcheng.
This was the Ninth Prince’s territory. The entire Military Academy was filled with his people. Here, they were hopelessly outnumbered.
And that was to say nothing of the fact that the Ninth Prince himself was a martial artist of exceptionally formidable skill. Even if they faced the Ninth Prince alone, they could not overpower him.
“Your Majesty the Empress, there are matters of greater and lesser urgency. His Majesty has sent people several times urging you to return to the palace for an audience. Your Majesty, perhaps we should first…”
“Insolence! Who gave you leave to speak here?!” Nanmen Rong swept her palm out and sent the palace maid who had spoken crashing to the ground.
She fixed her gaze on Zhan Qingcheng’s retreating figure, her eyes blazing with a fury fiercer than any she had ever known.
For A’Jiu’s sake, she had already done so very much — yet this man had truly remained utterly unmoved.
What she could least bear was that he had actually called her utterly repulsive.
She would drag him back, take him to her own domain. She would make him bow his head, make him apologize to her.
Make him admit that everything he had just said was spoken in anger. Make him admit that he had feelings for her.
“Zhan Qingcheng, don’t you dare leave!”
With a sharp rush of air, Nanmen Rong leapt upward, her five fingers curled into claws, lunging with full force toward Zhan Qingcheng’s shoulder.
“Protect His Highness!” The guards of the Dragon Military Academy immediately stepped forward, but because the woman before them was the reigning Empress — and a woman at that — they found themselves somewhat reluctant to act decisively.
But then Zhan Qingcheng suddenly stopped. He turned back to look at Nanmen Rong as she lunged toward him, and the force in his palm gathered in an instant.
A slender figure came bursting through the courtyard entrance, calling out urgently: “Mother, be careful!”
But that warning came too late. With a tremendous crash, Zhan Qingcheng’s palm struck Nanmen Rong squarely in the chest.
Like a kite with a severed string, she went flying in an instant. She struck the ground with a loud impact, coughing up blood, unable to rise again. Watching the cold and unhesitating figure of Zhan Qingcheng turn and walk away, her eyes were filled with utter disbelief.