201: Chapter 201 The Cloud Emperor Appears! Xia Qingyue Kneels

Lu Chen's feet stepped onto the warm jade floor without any unnecessary movement.

The hem of his black robe hung down, motionless.

The silver hair of Yue Shiyun in his arms draped down from the crook of his arm; the little girl was sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed.

He had retracted most of his Emperors Might, leaving only ten percent.

Even with just this ten percent, Chu Wushuang's knees could no longer support him.

With a thud, he knelt onto the ground. His left knee hit first, followed immediately by his right, the kneecaps striking the warm jade floor with a dull thud.

His folding fan shattered into two pieces, the words "Literature Carries the Dao" on the fan surface split apart.

His Face turned pale—paler than the rice paper on the fan. His lips quivered, but he couldn't utter a single word.

In the silent hall, on the east side seats of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty, Yue Yihao's spine straightened.

It wasn't that he had straightened it himself; it was an instinct surging from the depths of his Soul the moment he saw Lu Chen appear.

He didn't know Lu Chen, but his subconscious told him: This person is on your side.

A Prodigy behind Yue Yihao muttered,

"Is Emperor Yun with Her Majesty the Empress?"

"It must be! Besides him, who else is a walking Emperor in this world?"

The Prodigies of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty looked at each other; the frustration of being crushed by literature just moments ago vanished into thin air.

With an Emperor present, what use was it if you wrote good poetry?

Could you outperform the sages of past and present, or could you withstand even one finger of an Emperor?

On the side of the Great Xia Delegation, the atmosphere was completely the opposite.

The several Prodigies who had been clapping and cheering along with Chu Wushuang just a moment ago were now huddled behind their seats, wishing they could stuff their heads under the white jade tables.

A scholar in blue robes clenched his hands into fists inside his sleeves, his nails digging into his flesh.

He roared madly in his heart: "Chu Wushuang, you madman! You insulted an Emperor to his Face! You've dragged our entire delegation into this!"

The deputy envoy of the Great Xia Delegation, an old man at the Early Stage of the Saint Realm, stood in the back row, his legs already trembling.

He turned his head to look at the main seat.

Princess Xia Qingyue had already stood up; her reaction was extremely fast.

From the moment Lu Chen took that step, to the Emperors Might covering the entire hall, to Chu Wushuang kneeling on the ground, only three breaths had passed.

And within those three breaths, Princess Xia Qingyue had completed all her assessments.

An Emperor had appeared, and Chu Wushuang had insulted the Emperor to his Face. If this debt were calculated against Great Xia, the entire delegation would be finished here.

At best, the peace talks would collapse; at worst, an Emperor's wrath would shake the very Foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty.

She did not hesitate.

She lifted the hem of her pale gold palace gown with one hand, revealing the tip of a satin shoe embroidered with gold thread.

Then she stepped out from her seat, bypassed the white jade table, and appeared in the center of the hall.

She arrived before Lu Chen.

She released her grip on her gown.

Bending her knees, the hem of her palace gown spread out on the warm jade floor, the pale gold fabric blooming like a flower.

She knelt down.

Her movements were so standard that one could not find a single fault, but because she was too rushed, her body leaned forward a bit more than etiquette required.

The high collar of her pale gold palace gown opened slightly at this angle, the neckline loosening a fraction from where it had been tightly fitted.

Lu Chen stood directly in front of her, looking down.

His Divine Sense as an Emperor was always active; he didn't need to deliberately release it, as every detail within three zhang of his body was within his perception.

In the gap where the collar had opened, a section of skin so fair it was almost translucent was exposed, extending from her collarbone to a deeper location, where a rounded, full curve squeezed out a line from the constraints of the palace gown, pressing a cleavage between the two curves.

Hm, well-endowed.

Lu Chen's gaze lingered on that gap for less than half a breath before moving away.

Princess Xia Qingyue knelt on the ground, her hands folded, her forehead lowered.

Her neck was slender, and the skin on the side of her neck was so white in the sunlight that the vascular patterns beneath were visible.

She spoke.

"Emperor Yun, please calm your anger."

With these four words spoken, everyone in the entire Wangyue Tower heard them. Her voice trembled slightly, but every word was pronounced with extreme clarity.

"Chu Wushuang is young and frivolous, speaking without restraint, and has offended the dignity of an Emperor. It is truly a crime deserving of death."

She paused for a beat, then raised her head.

In those eyes marked by a cinnabar mole, fear was pushed to the very bottom, leaving only earnestness and sincerity on the surface.

"But this matter is Chu Wushuang's fault alone, and has nothing to do with our Great Xia Dynasty. I implore Emperor Yun to see clearly and not vent your anger on the diplomatic relations between our two dynasties because of one man's words."

She bowed her waist very low, the loose hair on her forehead hanging down, brushing against her cheeks.

Hundreds of eyes in the hall stared at this scene.

The Eldest Princess of Great Xia, holder of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Spirit Body, the golden branch and jade leaf cherished by thousands, was currently kneeling on both knees before a man, begging for mercy for a fool.

Lu Chen looked down at her; he couldn't bear to let a young girl kneel.

He flicked his right index finger slightly.

A gentle wave of Qi flowed from his fingertip, colorless and formless, supporting Princess Xia Qingyue's arms.

That force was not great, but irresistible.

Princess Xia Qingyue's body was slowly lifted up; her knees left the ground, and she tapped her toes on the warm jade floor, steadying herself.

The sensation of that Qi still lingered on her arms—warm, dense, seeping from her skin into her Meridians, carrying a hint of warmth that made her heart feel hot.

Two faint blushes crept up from her earlobes, spreading to her cheekbones.

She kept her head down, not daring to meet Lu Chen's eyes.

Lu Chen's left hand stroked the silver hair of Yue Shiyun in his arms; the little girl hummed, turned over, and continued sleeping.

He looked up and scanned the room.

"This Emperor has always had a very good temper."

He said this nonchalantly, completely unconcerned.

"Naturally, I will not haggle with a Junior."

Princess Xia Qingyue's eyelashes trembled.

She heard it.

In the five words "has a very good temper," there was not a shred of kindness.

When an Emperor says he won't haggle, it means he hasn't decided how to haggle yet; everything depends on what happens next.

She immediately turned her head and gave a look to Chu Wushuang, who was kneeling on the ground.

The meaning of that look was clear: Shut up, kowtow, admit your mistake, do it now.

Chu Wushuang raised his head.

His Face was still white, but a layer of stubbornness that shouldn't have been there seeped through the whiteness.

After the Emperors Might was retracted by more than half, his bones had hardened again.

He was kneeling on the ground, but his knees were forcefully pushing against the floor, and his whole body was struggling to rise.

And then he really stood up.

Because Lu Chen had said he "would not haggle with a Junior."

Chu Wushuang translated this sentence as: The Emperor, out of regard for the Face of the friendship between the two dynasties, is not convenient to kill people on such an occasion.

In his previous life, he had lived for over twenty years in a world with freedom of speech, and that twenty-year habit of thinking defeated the common sense of the cultivation world at this moment.

He felt that even an Emperor had to follow the rules.

Princess Xia Qingyue's expression changed.

Not only did Chu Wushuang not kneel, but he also puffed out his chest.

He dusted off the ash on his robe and cleared his throat.

"Emperor is truly extraordinary in demeanor!"

He cupped his hands and lifted his chin.

"This Junior was just saying, if an Emperor were to strike a Junior casually, wouldn't this cultivation world be in chaos?"

On the second floor of Wangyue Tower, behind the curtains, Yue Qingxuan's fingernails pierced through the second railing.

Princess Xia Qingyue's right hand gripped her own wrist inside her sleeve.

Chu Wushuang did not see anyone's reaction.

He only saw Lu Chen holding a silver-haired little loli, standing there without making a move.

This was his confidence.

"This Junior was just discussing literature and expressing personal opinions!"

He bowed slightly, his posture perfectly executed, but with not a shred of sincerity.

"When scholars discuss the Dao, they express their own views; one surely cannot resort to violence just because of a few objective evaluations, right?"

The hall remained deathly silent.

The Prodigies of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty opened their mouths wide, Yue Yihao's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, and his Face flushed to a liver-colored hue.

Is this guy crazy? Still talking tough in front of an Emperor?

The people of the Great Xia Delegation were already burning paper money for Chu Wushuang in their hearts.

Lu Chen looked at this fellow countryman; he was too familiar with this type of person.

In school in his previous life, every class had one—relying on the fact that the teacher couldn't hit the students, talking back and challenging them every day, but when they actually got slapped, they would cry and scream about wanting to sue.

The difference was that there was no Education Law to protect him here.

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth twitched, the movement extremely slight.

Yue Shiyun in his arms was startled by that trace of emotional fluctuation; her red eyes opened a crack, then closed again.

Lu Chen patted her back and spoke.

"Oh? Discussing literature?"

He repeated Chu Wushuang's words, drawing out his tone very slowly.

"Then let us place a bet using the literary talent and knowledge you are so proficient in, how about that?"

Chu Wushuang was stunned.