Dao Companions Help Me Live Forever

Chapter 72: The Princess's Choice

On the hill, a gentle breeze blew as Yu Lan held onto Yu Xian's arm, resting her head on his shoulder and whispered softly,

"It seems like Sister doesn't want to leave."

"Why do you think she doesn't want to leave?" Yu Xian asked with a slight smile.

Yu Lan shook her head, "I don't know, it's just a feeling."

Yu Xian sighed, "Of course she doesn't want to leave. She has her natal family and her husband's family in the capital, and she's also taking Heng'er with her. What's the point of wandering the world with us? It's better for her to stay behind and let Heng'er have an additional stepfather."

This was a very practical question.

If the princess was alone, she might mistake passion for love and follow him to the ends of the earth in a moment of confusion. But the princess was not like that.

So she was destined to consider many things, and her own needs would be put aside.

Not to mention that their feelings for each other were not as strong as they seemed.

It was just a case of being attracted to each other's looks, a result of the princess's loneliness in the palace.

Even if their feelings grew over time, how much of it was genuine love?

"Should we still go?" Yu Lan asked weakly. "Sister only has the prince to rely on now."

"Yes, she only has me to rely on," Yu Xian said after a moment of silence.

"We will eventually leave, let's give each other some dignity," Yu Xian said.

If the princess was willing to go with him, he wouldn't mind bringing a princess to the cultivation world. But he definitely didn't want to bring her son along.

Otherwise, what would happen when her son had his own son and grandson? Would he have to take care of them too?

If he didn't, how would he and the princess get along?

Cultivation was not child's play, and he didn't want to drag his family along. It was simply a dream.

Even his own cultivation of demonic arts was a tightrope walk, let alone taking care of others.

From beginning to end, he had never denied that he was a selfish person. When it came to his own core interests, everyone had to step aside.

Yu Lan obediently nodded, "I'll listen to you, my lord."

At this moment, Yu Lan was secretly grateful that her parents had sold her off. It allowed her to follow her lord without any worries or concerns.

Otherwise, she would probably be as conflicted as the princess.

Yu Lan secretly glanced at Yu Xian's almost cold profile and thought to herself, no matter where they went, as long as she stayed with her lord, it would be fine.

...

Three months later.

The chaos in the capital subsided.

The rebel army believed in the Mahayana sect, a mix of soldiers and believers.

Now that their leader had died and most of their elite forces had perished in the Foundation Building battle, leaving no heirs or successors, the rebel army was left leaderless.

As a result, they split into seven different factions after a period of infighting, all vying to become the emperor.

At this time, a young official from the Yue Kingdom stepped forward. First, he consolidated the remnants of the Yue Kingdom's army in the name of the late emperor, and then he crowned a new emperor.

He personally persuaded three of the rebel factions and promised to incorporate them into the newly formed Imperial Guard.

Thus, the rebel army transformed into a regular army and cooperated with the court to drive out the remaining rebels.

The people of the capital deeply resented the burning, killing, and looting by the rebel army when they entered the city. When the court issued a call to arms, they eagerly joined the army, bringing their own rations, and the court quickly rebuilt its military strength.

In addition, due to Lin Zhen's desire for a quick decisive battle, the rebel army had entered the capital, making it seem like an impregnable fortress in the central and northern regions.

Now that the rebel army had been defeated, the various counties quickly declared their allegiance and returned to the rule of the Yue Kingdom.

In less than half a year, the rebel army retreated one after another, until they took up a defensive position along the Cang River, preparing to govern from across the river.

Only the high-ranking officials who understood the situation knew that defeat was inevitable, so they hurriedly made money and retired, and the strength of the rebel army declined day by day.

...

One year after the great battle in the capital.

Peace and liveliness returned to the streets, and only the faded white lanterns hanging outside each household spoke of the past pain.

People always had to live, right?

The dead were already dead, but the living had to live well.

However, things were different from before. The topics discussed in the streets were no longer the gossip of the upper court, but the continuous good news from the frontlines.

Those generals and martial arts masters had become the new idols of the common people.

Inside the imperial palace.

The gates of the Golden Luang Hall, where court sessions were held, were tightly closed.

On the high steps.

A woman wearing a dragon robe was angrily adjusting her clothes, and she scolded the man behind her,

"

"You're just good at ruining people. This dragon robe is all dirty."

Yu Xian lazily sheathed his gun and lay on the throne known as the supreme, retorting, "You were clearly excited just now, shouting so loudly."

The person on the dragon throne was none other than Yu Xian and the queen.

No, now she should be called the Empress Dowager.

As for the young prince, he naturally became the new emperor.

As the saying goes, in the mountains, there are no tigers, and the monkeys become kings.

Before the cultivators from the Jiang and Lin families arrived, Yu Xian, as the only Foundation Building cultivator in the Yue Kingdom, was undoubtedly a god.

The queen did not want to wander with him and live an ordinary life in the future.

Yu Xian had no choice but to push his former lover, helping her son ascend the throne and achieving his own small achievement of a corrupt harem.

After all, almost all of the direct bloodline of the former emperor in the capital had died.

In the Yin Transformation Blood Demon Art, there was a secret technique called Blood Fusion, which could refine a possession container to help cultivators possess the bloodline of their own clan, preserving 80% of their cultivation base and even a portion of their physique.

However, the secret technique required a longer possession time.

And the Elder Jiang had chosen the emperor as the cauldron, so the direct bloodline of the emperor became the nourishment.

The Prince of Fu originally intended to come to the capital to seek reinforcements, but he ended up delivering himself to the door. After all, he was the emperor's own younger brother, with close blood ties.

In the end, the great nephew, the Prince of Fu, took advantage of the situation.

Of course, the main reason was that Yu Xian, who played the role of a loyal courtier, had physically convinced the majority of the old ministers.

If they didn't agree, they would be remnants of the rebel army and would be subjected to severe punishment, with their families exterminated.

In addition, those who opposed Yu Xian all died in accidents, so even the dumbest people knew how to choose sides.

Just as the queen was reminiscing, Yu Xian's voice came.

"I'm leaving, the future path is up to you all."

The queen's expression changed, "You're leaving? What about me and Heng'er?"

Then she seemed to think of something, snorted coquettishly, and voluntarily squatted in front of Yu Xian.

"You just want to ruin me, right? I agree then."

But Yu Xian pushed the queen away and said seriously, "Please behave yourself, Your Majesty."

The queen stood still in place, "Are you really leaving?!"

"Now that the situation in the capital is stable, the defeat of the rebel army is only a matter of time. Moreover, you are now in the Innate realm, enough to protect yourself. As for Xiao Bai, it is best to keep it as a hidden card and not expose it."

Yu Xian stood up and said lightly, "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. I have given you a choice."

The queen's gaze fell into reminiscence.

It was a year ago when Yu Xian asked her for the second time if she wanted to travel and enjoy the mountains and rivers, regardless of worldly disputes. When peace was restored to the world, she and Heng'er could return to their previous life.

There was also a new choice.

She chose the second one.

So Heng'er became the new emperor, and she became the Empress Dowager.

For her personally, she was not attached to power. Whether it was the Empress Dowager or the queen, it didn't matter to her.

But her son couldn't accept it.

Originally, her son should have been the next Prince of Fu, governing a county, respected by tens of thousands of people, instead of being confined to a small Prince of Fu Mansion, becoming a idle county prince.

Heng'er was still young now and might not be able to distinguish between the two, but in another two years, she didn't know if her son would resent her.

She just wanted to give her son the best.

"As long as you're willing, I can give you anything. Why do you still want to leave?"

Tears welled up in the queen's eyes.

She thought that Heng'er becoming emperor and Yu Xian staying wouldn't conflict. In order to compensate Yu Xian, she agreed to even the most absurd requests.

But Yu Xian still wanted to leave.

Yu Xian said, "Do you remember when I told you about cultivators? The Yue Kingdom is already too small for me."

"You..."

The queen fell into silence, and after a while, she said, "Can I go with you?"

Yu Xian looked at the queen in surprise, but when he saw her struggling eyes, he smiled.

"Of course you can, but I hope you won't regret it."

"Here's the deal, I'll give you three days to consider. Three days later, I'll wait for you outside your palace at night.

I'll wait until the sun rises."

Upon hearing this, the queen stood still for a while.

Her tears unknowingly flowed down, and then she hugged Yu Xian tightly, whispering in his ear as if crying and complaining.

"Ask me one more time."

PS: End of Volume 1.

(End of this chapter)