I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

Chapter 306: Arrival

The carriage kept moving towards the destination as a strange silence hung between Yi Chen and Wei Ru.

Yi Chen’s eyes occasionally met hers, only for him to look away the next instant, unable to understand what was going through her mind.

When he had heard her words earlier, he had chosen not to ask any further and had simply taken a seat on her other side.

However, as more and more time was passing by, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious seeing the amused smile that had been plastered on Wei Ru’s face all along.

Therefore, to get a clearer picture, he decided to regenerate her remarks in an attempt to find any clues for the situation.

[Remark (2/3): Has already accepted her fate (Regenerate: 25,000 EXP)]

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[Remark (3/3): Can be a little unpredictable at times]

Seeing that he didn’t find anything odd, Yi Chen felt a little relieved. However, this only ended up intensifying the confusion in his mind.

’Just what does she have in her mind...’ Yi Chen thought to himself while glancing outside at the changing scenery.

The bright lights that covered the entire city only intensified the closer they arrived to the Imperial Palace, and even the occasional lights from the fireworks could be seen in the night sky above.

A while later, they finally arrived outside the palace.

"That’s the Imperial Palace on the other side," Wei Ru said while pointing towards the towering building built on top of a flight of stairs.

Around it was a vast courtyard which was surrounded by walls with various entries on many sides.

They had stopped at one such entry point, which had a line that was ten people long.

"Let’s go then, Young Master Chen." Wei Ru nudged Yi Chen lightly while he was busy scrutinising a tall figure on the other side of the walls.

"Ah, yes." Yi Chen nodded the next moment and soon joined the line alongside her.

"Invitation."

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"Invitation."

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The guard who was also at the First Qi Absorption Stage kept asking for the invitation cards before allowing the individuals in one after the other and, while at it, confirmed the identity of any accompanying person.

"Madam Wei, about that..."

"Just show your temporary identity card. It would work," Wei Ru stated the next moment, understanding his concerns.

"Ah, alright," Yi Chen nodded the next moment as their turn finally came.

"Invitation."

A card immediately appeared in Wei Ru’s hand when she heard those words and passed it to the guard.

After he was done scrutinising her invitation, he glanced towards Yi Chen with a subtle furrow on his forehead.

Seeing this, Yi Chen immediately passed his temporary identity card to him. However, the guard just glanced through his slip and then turned towards Wei Ru.

"...Madam Wei, your relationship with this young man?" he asked with a hint of awkwardness apparent on his face.

As per the rules, only close family members could accompany a person who had received an invitation. Something which Yi Chen didn’t look like from any angle.

"He’s my beloved, of course," Wei Ru stated proudly while glancing lovingly towards Yi Chen.

"..."

Yi Chen couldn’t help but feel all the hairs on his body stand on end as he felt her piercing gaze.

"...beloved?" The guard couldn’t help but ask again to confirm whether he had heard correctly or not.

"Yes, he’s the one I’m going to marry soon." Wei Ru declared the next instant while locking her arms with Yi Chen and pulling him towards her, "Isn’t that obvious?"

She asked with a subtle furrow on her forehead.

"This..."

"Isn’t that Madam Wei..."

"Didn’t she just say..."

All the people who were standing behind them in the line glanced at each other, different expressions on each of their faces as whispers sounded in their ears.

Some were weirded out by her actions. Many had confused expressions, and some, like the guard, couldn’t help but look disgusted as they stared at her.

However, he ensured that this expression didn’t last for more than a moment and, returning the slip to Yi Chen, bowed towards Wei Ru and said, "My apologies...you may go, Madam Wei."

Snort!

Wei Ru snorted loudly after hearing those words. This was her way of making the guard know that she had clearly noticed his expression.

Even though they were at the same stage and level, Wei Ru was a famous Talisman master while he was just an Imperial Guard. It was clear who held the upper hand.

Tightly grabbing onto Yi Chen’s arms, she moved inside the ten-meter-tall gate. The moment they made their way inside, a towering statue even higher than the Imperial Palace appeared in front of their eyes.

It was exactly what Yi Chen had been scrutinising earlier.

It was erected behind the Imperial Palace in the Imperial Courtyard and towered more than a thirteen-story building.

Despite its size, each part of it was carved expertly with patience and craftsmanship, making it draw everyone’s attention the moment they glanced towards it.

"That’s Heavenly Master Cang Tian’s statue, doesn’t it look wonderful?" Wei Ru stated with a smile while tilting her head up.

Normally, Yi Chen too would have reacted in the same manner and would have been glancing at the statue, but feeling Wei Ru’s arms still tightly wrapped around him, he asked while trying to pull his arm away.

"Madam Wei, Wha-"

"Don’t resist if you don’t want to be kicked out..." Wei Ru muttered under her breath and exclaimed, "Ah! I knew Young Master Chen would also find the statue quite admirable."

It was at that moment that Yi Chen realised that several gazes from all the nearby guests were scrutinising the two of them.

"Y-Yes...the beams of light encircling the statue truly make it look pleasing to the eye." Yi Chen said with a forced smile while realising that things weren’t as simple as he had thought them to be.

Seeing that the two of them seemed quite close, coupled with the matching robes they were wearing, the prying eyes were soon retracted.

It was only when they had walked towards a secluded place that Wei Ru finally said, "It’s okay to speak now."

"W-why didn’t Madam tell me about this before?" Yi Chen asked with a frown.

"Didn’t I say that Young Master Chen will find out why we are dressed alike when we arrive here? Well, that’s the answer." Wei Ru softly chuckled the next moment.

It was also her way of lightly getting back at Yi Chen for still keeping things from her. However, she didn’t tell him that.

"What answer? That I needed to look like Madam Wei’s partner?" Yi Chen asked with a weird expression on his face.

Seeing his expression, Wei Ru smiled in an amused manner and said, "Yes, that’s precisely so. I only got a single invitation, so if one wanted to accompany me, then one would have to be related to me in some manner."

"Then couldn’t you have just said that I was some distant relative of yours?" Yi Chen asked with a frown.

Being labelled as Wei Ru’s partner out of the blue wasn’t a good feeling at all, so his words also carried a subtle trace of irritation.

"My distant relative? With a face like that? Young Master jests, shouldn’t you have a brown discolouration on your face if that was the case?" Wei Ru asked with a meaningful smile.

"Ah..."

It was only then that Yi Chen realised that apart from acting as her partner, there really wasn’t any option at all if he wanted to get inside.

"I apologise..." Yi Chen said the next moment, "I ended up doubting Madam Wei’s good intentions."

Seeing his response, the smile on Wei Ru’s face widened, "If Young Master Chen is truly apologetic, then help me out a little during the banquet."

"During the banquet?"

A puzzled expression formed on Yi Chen’s face the next moment.

However, Wei Ru didn’t bother to answer his question and instead pointed towards the statue behind the palace and said, "The ceremony would begin soon, so let’s hurry; otherwise, we’ll be forced to observe the Emperor and Madam Cao Li from afar..."

When Yi Chen heard those words, he nodded and soon walked alongside her in the direction all the other guests were slowly moving towards.

While he still had a lot of questions in his mind, none of it was more important than fulfilling his mission.

A while later, at the courtyard behind the Imperial Palace, almost a hundred cultivators from all parts of the Kingdom were standing in an orderly manner one behind the other.

Naturally, Yi Chen and Wei Ru were also among them.

Soon, the sound of the drums echoed in the entire courtyard, which was followed by flames rising out from the sides of the pathway that began from the foot of the Imperial Palace all the way to Cang Tian’s statue.

As the flames dimmed a little, two figures standing next to each other made their appearance known.