Volume 5, Chapter 278 – I Don’t Want to Be an Imperial Consort (Part 6)

“Wh—what? Are you joking?”

Cheng Yuan’s mind short-circuited, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.

Qi Huang nearly bit her tongue upon hearing this. The fact that she had turned into a woman was already absurd enough, now she was being eyed by the emperor? How utterly ridiculous!

Cheng Hongling’s delicate face grew even colder at these words.

“Brother Cheng, you jest, how could I dare joke about His Majesty’s decree? He personally ordered me to register your daughter in the household records and then submit her details to the Imperial Consort Selection Register before sending her into the palace.”

Magistrate Dong hurriedly explained.

Cheng Yuan and his family exchanged bewildered glances. After a moment, he stammered, “No… Brother Dong… does His Majesty not know that my second daughter is merely a doppelgänger of my eldest? Strictly speaking, they’re the same person!”

“Precisely why His Majesty sent me to handle this matter. Once registered, wouldn’t she become an independent individual?”

Magistrate Dong parroted Chief Eunuch Zhong’s words as an excuse.

Cheng Yuan almost laughed. Wasn’t this the epitome of self-deception? He wanted to refute, but then something occurred to him.

“If she enters the palace, she might rise to great heights. If Qi Huang truly desires this, wouldn’t my objections only ruin her chances?”

He then turned to Qi Huang beside him. “Little Huang, may I speak with you alone?”

“Alright.”

Though unsure what her nominal father wanted to discuss, Qi Huang obediently followed him.

“Do you want to become an imperial consort?”

At that moment, Cheng Hongling’s voice echoed in her mind through soul resonance.

“Being a consort could never compare to being your doppelgänger!”

Qi Huang answered without hesitation.

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“Are you serious?”

Cheng Hongling sounded uncertain.

“Of course! Is that old emperor as beautiful as you? You know I prefer women.”

Qi Huang reminded her.

Cheng Hongling froze for a moment before her expression turned slightly awkward.

Qi Huang followed her nominal father out the door, walking quite a distance before they stopped.

“Little Huang, be honest with me, do you want to enter the palace as a consort?”

Cheng Yuan asked solemnly.

“Of course not! How could being a consort compare to the path of an immortal cultivator?”

Qi Huang declared firmly.

“That’s what I thought too, which is why I intended to refuse. But you are an imperial maiden personally selected by His Majesty. Entering the palace would guarantee an illustrious future, you might even become empress one day. That’s why I wanted to confirm your stance directly.”

Cheng Yuan explained.

“Father, I was once a man. Do you truly believe I’d trade my dignity for wealth and status? If he ordered you to become a consort, would you agree?”

Qi Huang countered.

“Of course not! I’m a normal man. But you’re different, most of you is now a woman. Even if you agreed, no one would see it as a betrayal of dignity.”

Cheng Yuan spoke gravely.

“True, I don’t even know if I’m a man or woman anymore. But I know I don’t like men, that’s enough. Just reject him outright.”

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Qi Huang had no interest in pondering the complexities of her gender identity and stood firm.

“Very well.”

Cheng Yuan took a deep breath, but the gravity in his expression remained. A troubling thought had struck him, if this “second daughter” identified more with her past self as Huang Qi, how would she ever find a partner? Would she seek a woman instead? His eldest daughter was already entangled with a Holy Maiden from Shuiyu Valley.

When father and daughter returned, Cheng Yuan’s reasoning was far more composed now that he understood Qi Huang’s stance.

“Brother Dong, forgive my bluntness, but His Majesty is engaging in sheer self-deception. Even if registered, they remain one and the same. How can our Little Huang marry separately? If our Little Ling were to marry later, wouldn’t that mean one woman serving two husbands? That violates all ethics!”

Cheng Yuan argued.

“Brother Cheng, you’re overreacting. In the cultivation world, there are cases where a main body and doppelgänger marry different people. Since your daughter is from an immortal sect, she should know this better than I. With separate bodies, there’s no breach of ethics.”

Magistrate Dong scrambled for a rebuttal, he knew the consequences of failure all too well.

“Exactly, Brother Cheng! If even His Majesty disregards ethical concerns, why should you? Don’t you want her to enter the palace? As an imperial maiden, her future is boundless, at the very least, she’ll become an imperial consort. Your Cheng family would then be royalty, soaring to new heights. Isn’t that better than struggling to cultivate in the Honghua Sect ?”

Madam Dong chimed in, fully aware of the stakes. Sacrificing the girl her son loved was painful, but losing their heads was worse.

“Besides, becoming a consort doesn’t hinder cultivation. The palace could even provide better resources, a win-win!”

Magistrate Dong added.

“Too bad I have zero interest in being a consort.”

Qi Huang made her stance clear.

“I’m afraid this isn’t your decision to make.”

Magistrate Dong sighed.

“What? Does His Majesty plan to take me by force? Cultivators are exempt from imperial authority, that was the agreement between him and the Immortal Alliance. If he dares violate this, he’ll face their wrath!”

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Cheng Yuan stood his ground, his daughter’s happiness was at stake.

“The Immortal Alliance may not intervene this time. His Majesty somehow learned that Qi Huang has lost her qi and is no longer a cultivator. That’s why he selected her as an imperial maiden. Do you think the emperor would act without knowing the risks?”

Magistrate Dong revealed the truth.

Qi Huang was stunned. She hadn’t expected the emperor to be so well-informed.

“No qi means not a cultivator?”

Cheng Yuan glanced around uncertainly.

“Without qi, one is indeed not a cultivator.”

Cheng Hongling spoke through gritted teeth. Now she understood the emperor’s scheme.

“So that’s it! I wondered why His Majesty would choose a doppelgänger over the main body. He’s exploiting a loophole.”

Cheng Yuan realized.

“Exactly. Since Qi Huang isn’t a cultivator, she’s an ordinary subject of the Western Radiance Dynasty, under imperial jurisdiction. His Majesty’s selection is perfectly legal, the Immortal Alliance can’t interfere.”

Magistrate Dong sighed.

“Hmph! Whether she’s a mortal or cultivator, she’s first and foremost my doppelgänger. Without my consent, no one can take her.”

Cheng Hongling asserted coldly.

“Niece Hongling, as remarkable as you are, opposing the Son of Heaven ¹ The Emperor is pure fantasy. Take Chief Steward Zhong, for instance, rumor has it he once sparred with Ye Donglai of the Donglai Sect, and the match ended in a draw. Ye Donglai is one of the three supreme experts in our dynasty’s cultivation world. Just imagine how terrifying Zhong must be. And he’s surely not the only such expert in the palace, how else could His Majesty rule so firmly?”

Magistrate Dong advised earnestly. As a magistrate, he often reported to the capital and had seen much.

“A draw with Ye Donglai?”

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Qi Huang’s breath hitched. She had witnessed Ye Donglai’s terror firsthand, had it not been for Yaoyao’s rescue, she wouldn’t be here today.

Cheng Hongling clenched her delicate fists. She knew Magistrate Dong spoke the truth.

“Don’t panic. Have you forgotten? I’ve already expelled all the Qi-Leaking Powder from my body. It won’t be long before I regain my qi. That old emperor miscalculated.”

Qi Huang hurriedly reminded her via soul resonance.

Cheng Hongling froze, then slowly relaxed her grip. Traces of blood lingered under her pink nails.

“Actually, if Niece Qi Huang truly refuses, there’s another solution, have Niece Hongling serve His Majesty in her stead. I’m sure she’d prefer that.”

Magistrate Dong proposed a terrible idea. If accepted, he’d not only keep his position but also his son’s beloved, a flawless scheme.

Madam Dong and her son brightened. Their primary target had always been Qi Huang, if Cheng Hongling could replace her, even better.

“I don’t serve people. I assassinate them.”

Cheng Hongling replied icily.

Magistrate Dong paled but pretended not to hear. “Think carefully, Niece. Your sister likes my son. As her main body and elder sister, can’t you grant her this?”

“What?”

Cheng Hongling was stunned, her questioning gaze shifting to Qi Huang.

Cheng Yuan and his wife exchanged glances, each seeing their own dumbfounded expressions mirrored in the other’s eyes.

“Y-you… what did you just say? I like your son?”

Qi Huang stammered, wondering if she had misheard.