Volume 5, Chapter 331 – The Imperial Consort Candidate? Not Impressive (Part 2)

“This morning, I was selecting Imperial Consorts in the Imperial Garden, this is common knowledge. What are they doing here now?”

Lin Tu was slightly displeased.

“Your Majesty, Consort Kang is very curious about the selection process and humbly requests your permission to observe and broaden her horizons!”

The guard hurriedly explained.

“Utterly inconsiderate.”

Lin Tu gritted his teeth. All he wanted was for this Imperial Consort selection to conclude as quickly as possible, yet there were always those who insisted on making things difficult.

“Your Majesty, please do not be angered. If they wish to watch, let them. After all, they are family.”

Consort Hui, feigning wisdom, chimed in.

Lin Tu could no longer hold back his irritation. “Are you instructing me on how to rule?”

“Ah… This concubine dares not… This concubine dares not!”

Consort Hui trembled in fear and immediately knelt to apologize, completely unaware of what she had said wrong.

Qi Huang, of course, knew the reason and inwardly sneered. ‘Serves her right! Trying to taint a cultivator like me, what a vile woman!’

Empress Zheng and Consort Jin exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of schadenfreude.

“And what of Elder Zuo?”

Lin Tu ignored Consort Hui and turned back to the guard.

“Your Majesty, Elder Zuo claims he has urgent business and must see you immediately.”

The guard answered cautiously.

“Such audacity! ‘Must see me’? Who does he think he is?”

Lin Tu flew into a rage, slamming his palm on the table and startling nearly everyone present.

“Your Majesty, it is unwise to antagonize the Immortal Alliance.”

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Consort Jin advised softly. Among all the women present, she was the least afraid of Lin Tu, not only was she the most favored, but she had also borne him an exceptionally talented daughter.

Hearing this, Lin Tu indeed calmed slightly. He took a deep breath and said, “Summon them in!”

“As you command!”

The guard exhaled in relief and hastily retreated.

Soon after, the Kang couple and Elder Zuo entered, each followed by a few attendants or servants.

“We pay our respects to Your Majesty!”

The Kang couple knelt in greeting. Though they were siblings, in official settings, the rites of sovereign and subject had to be observed.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Elder Zuo, standing beside them, merely cupped his fists in a perfunctory salute. As a cultivator, he was not bound by mortal customs.

“No need for formalities. What brings you here today?”

Lin Tu repeated his question for propriety’s sake, then ordered attendants to set up two canopied seats with tables on either side of the pavilion before inviting both parties to sit.

Throughout this, Elder Zuo’s gaze remained fixed on the group of Imperial Consort candidates. Soon, he spotted Ouyang Tong, marked with the doppelgänger’s imprint. A flicker of confusion crossed his face.

‘Strange. I’ve seen Cheng Hongling before, though she was just a child back then. But even after four or five years, her features shouldn’t have changed this drastically. She looks like an entirely different person now.’

Elder Zuo was puzzled but refrained from jumping to conclusions.

Lin Tu, observing this, suddenly realized he had overlooked a critical issue—what if Elder Zuo had met Cheng Hongling or Qi Huang before? If so, the old man might expose the impostor at any moment, ruining the entire charade and turning Lin Tu into a laughingstock.

‘Should I confess the truth to him?’

The thought crossed Lin Tu’s mind, but he hesitated. ‘But if I do, he’ll surely mock me!’

‘Yet if I don’t, and the impostor is exposed, the entire realm will ridicule me. My imperial dignity will crumble, and how will I command respect then?’

After weighing the consequences, Lin Tu decided that being scorned by one man was preferable to being scorned by the world.

Having made up his mind, Lin Tu rose and approached Elder Zuo. “Elder Zuo, a word in private.”

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Elder Zuo looked puzzled but obliged, and the two withdrew from the scene.

The concubines exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of Lin Tu’s intentions. The rest of the Imperial Garden’s occupants were equally lost.

Qi Huang, however, was the only one with an inkling of what was happening, Cheng Hongling had already warned her that the emperor would likely reveal the truth to Elder Zuo to prevent the scheme from unraveling.

Qi Huang hadn’t expected her main body, thousands of miles away, to predict events here so accurately. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration.

Steward Zhong, seeing the emperor depart, wisely paused the selection process.

Meanwhile, Lin Tu led Elder Zuo to a secluded spot and confessed everything.

“What? Qi Huang met with an accident? Then who is the one bearing the doppelgänger’s mark among the candidates?”

Elder Zuo was stunned.

“A fake. I ordered someone to impersonate her.”

Lin Tu admitted bluntly.

“Why would you do such a thing?”

Elder Zuo’s expression grew even more incredulous.

“Since my ascension, not a single Imperial Consort I’ve selected has survived to enter the palace. The realm mocks me for it. This time, Qi Huang must enter the palace, whether real or fake, or else how will I maintain authority in the future?”

Lin Tu explained.

“Hah! So Your Majesty did this to save face?”

After a moment’s thought, Elder Zuo understood.

“Laugh if you must, but an emperor’s dignity is tied to the stability of his throne! So I ask Elder Zuo to keep this secret and not expose the impostor.”

For once, Lin Tu spoke humbly.

“Your Majesty jests. Do I not also have secrets in your hands? How could I dare?”

Elder Zuo replied with thinly veiled sarcasm.

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“Then I thank Elder Zuo.”

Lin Tu offered a perfunctory thanks before changing the subject. “Earlier, the guard said you had urgent business. What is it?”

“Actually—”

Elder Zuo began, only to freeze, his eyes widening in sudden realization.

“What is it?”

Lin Tu pressed.

“How strange! If Qi Huang met with an accident, Cheng Hongling, as her main body, would surely know. Why, then, did she tell me those things?”

Elder Zuo muttered to himself.

“What did Cheng Hongling say?”

Lin Tu demanded.

“She told me Qi Huang arrived safely at the palace and had even regained her cultivation, undergoing the first selection today. That’s why I came to verify it.”

After a brief hesitation, Elder Zuo revealed everything.

“How is that possible?”

Lin Tu was equally stunned.

The two men fell into deep thought. After a while, Elder Zuo asked, “Your Majesty, did you confirm Qi Huang’s death with Cheng Hongling?”

“No. Doing so would be admitting guilt outright. The truth would’ve come out immediately.”

Lin Tu shook his head.

“Aren’t you worried she’ll expose this herself?”

Elder Zuo asked curiously.

“She won’t. The Honghua Sect has its share of clever people. If an Imperial Consort dies, it reflects poorly on me. Since I haven’t announced it, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to provoke me, unless they wish to be exiled from the Western Radiance Dynasty.”

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Lin Tu spoke with absolute certainty.

“Your Majesty is bold and meticulous!”

Elder Zuo was somewhat impressed. Then he added, “In that case, is it possible Qi Huang isn’t actually dead?”

“Impossible. From Steward Zhong’s description, I am certain it was a Heavenly Tribulation. Cheng Hongling herself would perish, let alone a Spirit Gathering Realm doppelgänger. And under such overwhelming pressure, recalling the doppelgänger would’ve been impossible.”

Lin Tu was resolute.

“Then this is truly baffling. What could Cheng Hongling’s motive be?”

Elder Zuo took a deep breath.

After prolonged contemplation yielded no answers, the two eventually returned to their seats.

Steward Zhong resumed the testing. One by one, the candidates stepped forward. Those who scored below six were eliminated on the spot, while those above passed the initial screening.

Most of the hundred-plus candidates had held onto hope, until they saw nine out of ten peers being rejected. Only then did they grasp the severity of the Phoenix Selection Token’s standards.

Qi Huang, however, was unfazed. This was, after all, a selection for imperial consorts, it concerned the royal lineage’s future. There could be no leniency.

Meanwhile, the Kang Couple also cast occasional glances at Ouyang Tong in the crowd. After a while, he unfurled a sound-muffling treasure fan and whispered to a servant beside him, “Ah San, didn’t you say you saw Cheng Hongling at last year’s Evergreen Conference in Yongning Province? Look carefully, is that woman with the lotus-marked forehead her?”

“Your Highness, I can confirm that is not Cheng Hongling.”

Ah San scrutinized Ouyang Tong before answering decisively.

“Hah! Just as I thought!”

The Kang Consort smirked. “Imperial Brother… Imperial Brother… Today, I shall give you a surprise you’ll never forget.”

Amidst the crowd’s anticipation, Steward Zhong finally called out—”Qi Huang.”

The Imperial Garden fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard. Everyone was eager to witness whether the legendary Imperial Consort lived up to her reputation.

Ouyang Tong knew this was her moment. She took a deep breath and forced her trembling legs forward.