C439
C439
The guards and servants knelt down upon hearing this, but Tuoba Rui remained calm and looked at the Eunuch who had issued the decree.
Hua Ruge stood by his side with no intention to kneel.
At the same time, there were also the Cang Lan's envoys and Mu Zixi. They were from another country, so they naturally didn't have to kneel to the Great Zheng Emperor's imperial edict.
The old eunuch looked at Tuoba Rui but did not say a word, because Tuoba Rui had an extraordinary status in the Zheng Clan. He would even kneel if he saw the emperor, let alone give him an imperial edict.
Thus, the most unexpected person in the entire arena was the Marquis of Great Conferred God Stage, Hua Ruge.
When Hua Ruge saw that everyone was looking at him, he calmly took out a black jade and said, "I am the head of Sky Mansion Academy, I might not be happy if my master were to kneel to me."
The three forces had esteemed status, and had always been above the nation. If she were to reveal her identity as a Sky Mansion Academy, others would not be able to find fault even if she did not kneel.
The old eunuch looked displeased, but he did not say anything. He unfurled the imperial edict and read it aloud in his shrill voice.
With the decree of the Emperor, Battle King went to war for the nation, protecting the country in a dangerous situation. I am comforted, seeing that he is already at the age of marriage, I shall personally grant him the marriage to Princess Mu Zixi of the Cang Lan.
Hua Ruge's pupils shrank after hearing the old eunuch's words. The old emperor really had a good plan.
Receiving the imperial edict to send troops to fight against the Da Yu would cause Tuoba Rui to lose a lot of strength, and at that time, he would no longer have the strength to deal with him.
Mu Zixi and the envoys were all smiles, the envoys that were sent to the capital had finally started to take effect.
Now that the Emperor had given the order, even if Tuoba Rui had the intention to go against it, he would not publicly defy the decree.
Tuoba Rui's expression turned slightly cold, and did not speak up immediately.
The eunuch then closed the imperial edict and passed it to him, "Battle King, take the edict."
He still didn't move.
Hua Ruge's face did not look good either, but she forced herself to calm down, and kept quiet and did not make a move.
Seeing that Tuoba Rui did not take it, the eunuch did not rush either. He beckoned the guards behind him to bring a tray over.
Hua Ruge could see very clearly that it was a golden book and a golden seal. Usually, they were handed to the new princess by the emperor at the wedding ceremony, which meant that the identity of the Battle King Consort had already been established.
As long as Tuoba Rui was still Great Zheng's Battle King, Mu Zixi would still be the Battle King's Consort.
The golden scroll and golden imprint shone with an eye-piercing light under the sunlight. Hua Ruge's eyes burned to the point that he almost cried.
Although she knew what Tuoba Rui was thinking, and felt that she wouldn't have to care about reputation, seeing that the symbol representing Tuoba Rui's wife was going to someone else's hands made her heart sour.
Mu Zixi walked forward, and before receiving the tray, he glanced at Hua Ruge, and his gaze carried pride and mockery.
Hua Ruge clenched his fists tightly, his eyes gleaming with the fire of anger.
She knew that she could not act recklessly, once she made a move on Tuoba Rui, she would definitely protect her without a care for anything else. If she did that, not only would there be chaos, the people would even call her the bane of beauties.
Even if Tuoba Rui went against the decree herself, her reputation would not escape her.
Damn the old emperor, he had plotted against Tuoba Rui and set her up at the same time, to avenge his past grudges.
Mu Zixi retracted his provocative gaze and reached out to catch the golden seal and the golden book on the tray.
Hua Ruge closed his eyes.
But just as Mu Zixi's hand was about to touch the golden seal, a destructive sword light flew out, and directly slashed onto the tray. The eunuch holding the tray suddenly retracted his hand, and Mu Zixi was startled as well.
Everyone looked over in surprise and saw that the golden seal and golden book had been cut into two halves by the sword light, completely destroyed.
Following that, everyone's gaze turned from the ground to Tuoba Rui's body. Looking at the baleful aura surrounding him, everyone's brains could not react at all.
What was he trying to do? Rebel?
Tuoba Rui retracted his hand and fixed his cold eyes on the Eunuch who was giving out the decree.
"Battle King, why did you openly destroy the keepsake? Are you trying to rebel?" The eunuch said in a trembling voice.
"This King adheres to his loyalty at the border. How can he do such a disrespectful thing?" As Tuoba Rui spoke, his voice suddenly became stern, and he questioned: "In fact, you're suspicious. Who do you think sent you here to pass down the imperial edict?"
The eunuch was startled by the question, and then he stretched out his neck and said: "This old servant has been in the palace for more than forty years, Battle King should be able to recognize him, you can't slander this old servant for faking the imperial edict just because you want to reject it, right?"
"The great battle between Zheng and Cang Lan is an arch-enemy. How could royal brother grant me the right to send reinforcements? This king sees you as a spy who has been bribed by Cang Lan." Tuoba Rui ordered coldly: "Men, seize him."
The soldiers swarmed over, and the imperial guards were quickly captured. The old eunuch was pressed down by the two imperial guards until he was forced to kneel on the ground.
"Battle King, if you don't believe me, you can look at the seal on the golden book. The Jade Seal is not something this old servant can forge." The old eunuch shouted at the top of his lungs, fighting for the last sliver of hope.
However, everyone felt that what he said was a waste of time, because the golden book had long since been destroyed.
"You are finding excuses for things that have already been destroyed. How can This King believe your way of doing things?" Tuoba Rui said fiercely.
The old eunuch's face was filled with grievance and shock. He thought to himself, "You were the one who destroyed it."
"It's not like I won't give you a chance. This King will send someone to escort you back to the capital to meet imperial brother. When that happens, the authenticity can be determined." Tuoba Rui said in a just manner.
The eunuch actually found this unbelievable.
If he were to meet the Emperor, then wouldn't the crime of Battle King defying the decree be proven?
Tuoba Rui's eyes were sharp, but he did not say anything and only waved his hand.
"Men, take them down." The general gave the order to take all those who had come from the capital with him.
The shattered tray, golden booklet and golden seal rolled at Mu Zixi's feet. Even now, she still had a face full of bewilderment.
She had never expected things to end in such a way.
0
Tuoba Rui's move was really precise and ruthless. He had spoken so clearly against the decree, yet it had caused the Emperor and the people of the world to be unable to say anything.
This kind of scheme was truly frightening.
Hua Ruge's brain was nimble and he had long since recovered from his shock, causing him to feel a little touched in his heart.
With his personality, if he didn't want to marry her, he would have immediately rejected the marriage. Now that he thought of this method, it was definitely to protect her.
After the eunuch was escorted away, Tuoba Rui immediately turned around and embraced Hua Ruge in his arms, as he replied softly, "I'm fine now."
Hua Ruge had truly been panicking just now, and now, she was hugging him back tightly as she felt her own emotions slowly calm down.
Although she would not blame him for his actions, her current situation was undoubtedly better.
Mu Zixi looked at the two people who were hugging each other, and all his previous complacency turned into anger. No matter what, he was still the pride of the heavens, so why couldn't Tuoba Rui look down on him?