964: Chapter 602 964: Chapter 602 “Be careful!” Jiang Tang cautioned Eryao.
“Don’t worry, Master.
Demons and ghosts can’t escape the palm of my Divine Dragon!” Eryao was so confident.
Eryao still looked like a handsome young man; he quietly flew down from the sky.
He wasn’t afraid, but he didn’t want to alert the enemy too soon; also, he had already sensed dark energy enveloping the Imperial Palace, which definitely didn’t belong to any ordinary ghosts.
The Prince who had just been carried into the Imperial Palace was the son of the Empress; she had two sons, the Crown Prince and Prince Ba.
The one carried in was Prince Ba, who often ventured outside.
He was already 15 years old, but without a Mansion of his own, he naturally lived in the Imperial Palace.
The Crown Prince had his own Mansion already, resided outside, and had even married his principal wife.
However, the Emperor had not yet appointed the Crown Prince, and any prince born to his women could potentially become the successor, so there were many contenders for the position!
The Emperor was fond of Cultivation, of Elixirs of Immortality.
He specially recruited a State Preceptor within the Imperial Palace solely for Alchemy for him; consuming the Pills not only strengthened his body, but also had a revitalizing effect, allowing him to continuously father princes and princesses.
Normally, princes and princesses are quite noble, but given the Emperor’s prolific procreation, with over 30 princesses and more than 20 princes ranging from one year old to adulthood — and eight or nine who were over 15 years old!
Princesses become relatively cheaper when there are too many; some princesses didn’t even have names, and even lacked fiefs.
The situation was slightly better for princes, as the society tended to favor males over females.
This struggle for the Emperorship has always been a bloodthirsty battle among the princes since ancient times.
Several of the Emperor’s daughters had already come of age to marry, and the choice of Consort Prince was quite particular!
Ministers of the kingdom did not wish for their sons to marry princesses; many felt that their sons were the heirs of their lineages, and the status of a princess was not as noble as that of girls from their own Noble Families.
After all, with over 30 princesses, the first few sought sons-in-law with backgrounds, and required marriages bestowed by the King.
A royal bestowed marriage was relatively cheap, and as the ministers were young, they were considered the pride of heaven and did not want their shining futures reduced to becoming a Consort Prince, unable to take concubines or make further progress.
However, later on, it became difficult for princesses to marry well, as their status had declined; Consort Princes could now take concubines!
Moreover, it was said that accepting an arranged marriage was fine, but one couldn’t marry only the Princess; one must take concubines!
The King didn’t care whether his daughters’ Consort Princes took concubines.
Could they really only have his daughter?
The King simply wanted Consort Princes to consolidate the position of their kingdom; marrying off a princess meant providing support for the royal family and his sons.
The princes were essentially choosing brides from daughters of prominent and powerful ministers to secure their positions!
For the sake of power and gain, and it being a bargaining chip, Prince Ba had reached the marriageable age of 15 and was now going out to discreetly survey the Noble Family Girls in the Capital City for their beauty, character, and who was worthy of a prince’s status.
The princes living in the Capital City were unconcerned; despite several months without rain causing people’s suffering, they still lived in luxury.
After a whole day and night of rain, the ministers presented memorials to the King early in the morning, congratulating him on the long-overdue rain, a happy and auspicious event.
The King, having continuously asked the Heavenly Master to pray for rain, thought it had been a success.
He was unceasingly praising the State Preceptor for his superior Spells.
Deep down, the State Preceptor knew it wasn’t his doing, but what did it matter if the credit for nature’s Laws fell upon him?
The State Preceptor received many rewards from the King, including beautiful women, money, and even boys and girls.
These were all demands of the State Preceptor, who, if successful, wanted to be rewarded with boys, girls, beautiful women, and gold and silver treasures.
The State Preceptor made such bold requests, naturally because they served his practice.
The King, in his desire for rain to come and for his own Longevity, had over the years provided the State Preceptor with numerous boys, girls, and beautiful women.
The State Preceptor resided in a corner of the Imperial Palace, in a courtyard that didn’t require any other guards, protected by his own Formation.
Having received the boys, girls, beautiful women, and a large bounty of gold and silver treasures, he returned to his courtyard.
These impoverished children, these beautiful girls, were collected from impoverished families that, stricken by drought over these years, struggled so much that they were forced to sell off their children!
This presented an opportunity for certain individuals, with officials doling out trifling sums to purchase these innocent souls.
At this time, the children and beautiful women appeared dazed and numb; they were unaware of the fate that awaited them, which might well be death.
The State Preceptor held a Soul-Collecting Banner, intending to capture the souls of these boys, girls, and beautiful women within it when suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door of his courtyard.
“Boom, boom, boom, State Preceptor, the Empress requests your presence!”
Somewhat impatiently, the State Preceptor opened the courtyard door and inquired of the palace maid at the gate, who happened to be one of the Empress’s Palace Maids.
“State Preceptor, Prince Ba has been bewitched.
He’s immobile and requires your attention,” she said.
Upon hearing about Prince Ba’s enchantment, the State Preceptor’s usually expressionless face showed a flicker of kinship.
More than half of the King’s fifty-plus children could be attributed to the State Preceptor’s assistance.
The King’s women, capable of birthing so many children, and the King himself, unaware of a secret among them.
The King yearned for longevity and desired a harem befitting a powerful man.
He required the Pills from the State Preceptor, which certainly improved his prowess!