151: Can't you just be patient?

The next morning.

As the sky began to brighten, Kuier had already woken up.

She had a splitting headache, and her body felt sore and weak.

But what hurt more than her body was her heart.

The ridiculous and crazy scenes from last night flooded her mind uncontrollably.

She sat up abruptly, revealing fair and tender skin covered in red marks.

Looking down, the eye-catching splash of red on the bedsheets made her head buzz.

She turned her head again to look at Di Yan, who was still sleeping beside her.

“Ah—!”

An extremely low exclamation escaped from her throat.

She covered her mouth tightly as tears instantly broke through the floodgates, rolling down in large droplets.

It's over.

Everything is over.

Not only had she failed to protect her innocence, but she had also defiled His Majesty Emperor Yan, who was her elder uncle!

At that moment, Di Yan's eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The grogginess of just waking up quickly passed; he sat up and rubbed his temples.

The next moment, his movements froze.

His gaze swept over the messy bed, over his own open robes, and finally fixed on Kuier, who was curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging her knees and shivering.

Di Yan's face suddenly darkened.

He saw that drop of red, and his eyes instantly became as sharp as knives.

“Kuier.” His voice carried the low rasp of someone who had just woken up, cold without a hint of warmth: “Tell me, what is going on here?”

Kuier's body shook as she cried even harder, her words incoherent: “I... I don't know, Your Majesty, it wasn't me, it was the drug my Father and the others used, and they set up a barrier.”

“Drugs? A barrier?” Di Yan interrupted coldly: “Kuier, I truly did not expect that you would be such a woman.”

He pointed at that red stain, his tone full of disappointment and anger: “I saw that you were young and have always protected you, even going as far as falling out with your father to maintain proper human relations!”

“But you? You actually took advantage of my drunkenness to do something so beastly!”

“You... have disappointed me too much!”

“No! Your Majesty! It really wasn't like that!” Kuier shook her head desperately, tears blurring her eyes: “It was the drug from Father and Mother! They set the barrier! Kuier was also forced! Kuier never thought it would be like this.”

“Forced?” Di Yan stood up and looked down at her from a height, his gaze full of pressure: “The Harem is my territory, with your sister Consort Xi presiding over it!”

“Even though your Father and Mother are Immortal Kings, to come in under her nose and secretly use drugs and set a barrier would require an Immortal Emperor to act personally!”

“Do you think that's possible?”

Kuier was suddenly speechless.

It was true; sister Consort Xi was a terrifying existence capable of defeating a God Emperor.

No matter how powerful her parents were, how could they possibly hide it from her?

But that drug and the barrier were clearly... “Even if your parents did it.” Di Yan's voice rang out again, filled with the pain of seeing someone fail to live up to expectations: “You possess the Dragon Clan Bloodline and a firm will; could you not even endure a mere drug? You just had to commit such a grave error?!”

He suddenly slammed a fist against the bedpost, making a dull thud that made Kuier tremble again.

“You keep saying that your heart only belongs to Shen Yao and that you are loyal to him.” Di Yan took a step closer, his gaze like a torch piercing straight into the depths of Kuier's heart: “If you truly loved him to the bone, how could you be so easily controlled by a drug and do something that betrays him and, even more so, betrays me?”

“I...” Kuier opened her mouth to defend herself, only to find that every word Di Yan spoke was like a knife stabbing into the softest part of her heart.

It was true.

If she really loved Shen Yao that much, enough to disregard everything, why couldn't she control herself last night?

Why did Shen Yao's face become blurred in her mind when the drug took effect?

Why did she eventually find herself unable to resist pouncing on His Majesty Emperor Yan?

Could it be that her feelings for Shen Yao weren't as deep or as true as she thought?

As soon as this thought emerged, it gnawed fiercely at her heart.

“No, I love Shen Yao, I really love him.” Kuier held her head, crying heart-wrenchingly.

Looking at her breakdown, the sharpness in Di Yan's eyes softened slightly, turning into a complex sigh.

He sat down beside her and reached out to gently pat her trembling shoulder.

Kuier took the opportunity to fall into his arms, her whole body shaking as she sobbed: “Your Majesty, Kuier was wrong. Kuier doesn't know why it turned out like this. Kuier feels so miserable.”

Di Yan held her, his palm stroking her smooth back, and his voice lowered with a strange sense of comfort: “Alright, stop crying. Now that things have come to this, crying is useless.”

“You are still young and haven't experienced these things; it's understandable that you couldn't control yourself for a moment.”

“Perhaps your feelings for that Shen Yao were like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, unable to withstand even a little test.”

He paused, his tone becoming even more gentle: “Now that the wood is already a boat, you are already my person.”

“Let the past be the past.”

“From now on, stay by my side with peace of mind. I will not mistreat you.”

Kuier sobbed in his arms, listening to the steady heartbeat in his chest and smelling the crisp, pleasant scent on his body. Fragmented memories of the extreme pleasure from last night surged up uncontrollably, mixing with the tolerance and comfort he was giving her now. A chaotic emotion she had never felt before began to grow wildly in her heart.

Hatred for her parents, guilt toward Shen Yao, shame and a secret throb of excitement over last night's events, and a complex, hard-to-describe dependence and fear toward the man before her.

She cried hysterically, determined to vent all her grievances, confusion, and pain.

Di Yan said no more, just silently holding her and letting her tears wet his robes.

Until Kuier had no strength left to cry and fell into a groggy sleep in his arms.

Di Yan gently laid her down, covered her with the quilt, and looked at her beautiful sleeping face covered in tear stains, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.

A moment later, he straightened his robes, quietly got up, and left the Panlong Hall.

Imperial Study.

Di Yan sat upright on the dragon throne, the anger and complexity from the morning gone from his face, replaced by his usual calm.

Historical Strategist and Xiao Heng arrived upon summons and bowed.

“Your Majesty.”

“Rise.” Di Yan raised his hand and pointed to the third box on the Imperial Desk: “The dowry sent by the Demon Emperor yesterday—aside from the nine revolutions purple heaven pill and the True Dragon Inverse Scale which I will keep for myself—the rest of the Heaven And Earth Treasures, Immortal Crystals, and Spirit Stones are all here.”

He paused and continued: “Of the various rare Materials and immortal herbs inside, set aside thirty percent to be sent to the Inner Treasury for the Harem concubines to use for Cultivation.”

“Of the remaining seventy percent, give twenty percent to the civil officials and fifty percent to the military generals. Distribute them as quickly as possible to help the overall strength of my Taiyan Immortal Court reach the next level!”

Historical Strategist and Xiao Heng looked at each other, both seeing the shock and joy in the other's eyes.

So many resources were enough to cause the strength of the Taiyan Immortal Court to explode several times over in a short period!

“We obey your command! We will not fail Your Majesty's trust!” The two bowed together, their voices resonant and powerful.

“Go then.” Di Yan nodded slightly.

The two stepped forward to collect all the resources and took their leave.

Silence returned to the Imperial Study, and Di Yan's figure flashed as he disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared in a cultivation room.

Di Yan sat cross-legged and took out the nine revolutions purple heaven pill gifted by Long Yin.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it directly.

“Boom!”

The pure and surging medicinal power instantly exploded within his body, like billions of volcanoes erupting at once!

Di Yan was prepared; the Myriad Evolution Emperor Scripture operated at full capacity as the acupoints all over his body turned into countless whirlpools, crazily devouring and refining this power.

His cultivation began to skyrocket at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Earth Immortal Early Stage!

Earth Immortal Middle Stage!

Finally stabilizing at the Earth Immortal Late Stage, the surging medicinal power gradually subsided.