Huangfu Lingxuan, who was watching his great-grandchildren play in the garden, turned his gaze in another direction after he sensed the arrival of two powerful auras towards his Huang Clan residence. "What do they want? Why did they suddenly come without telling me first?"

After a few minutes, a guard led Shangguan Qingyin to walk towards Huangfu Lingxuan, followed by An Yizhu. The guard immediately left the place and returned to the gate afterwards.

"What brings you to my residence today, Queen Qingyin?"

"Old Huangfu, please drop your formalities." Huangfu Lingxuan only smiled at Shangguan Qingyin. "I came here today to discuss the marriage of my son, Song Tianzun, to your granddaughter, Huang Meizhen."

Huangfu Lingxuan stared at Shangguan Qingyin dumbly. "What did you say? The marriage between Prince Tianzun and my Meizhen?"

"Eh? Don’t you know that they’ve been in a relationship for decades?" Shangguan Qingyin was confused by that, as was An Yizhu, who was standing behind her.

Huangfu Lingxuan sighed. "Meizhen never told me about their relationship, and I’ve never seen them together, so I was truly shocked to hear that."

"Young people these days are really good at hiding their relationships, Old Huangfu."

"How did you know that the two of them were in a relationship?"

Shangguan Qingyin immediately explained to Huang Lingxuan about her previous conversation with her eldest son. "If it weren’t for this matter, my son probably would never have revealed his relationship with Huangfu Meizhen to me. He loves her, and he refused to marry Xuanyuan Yueyao for her sake. Unfortunately, my husband couldn’t possibly refuse Emperor Xuanyuan’s request, and they will get married in the next six months."

’Emperor Xuanyuan wants to marry Xuanyuan Yueyao to Song Tianzun? Why have I never heard of that plan?’ Huang Lingxuan wondered in his heart. "Qingyin, I know you and your husband can’t refuse his request, but I will never let my granddaughter become a concubine, so—"

"Of course not." Shangguan Qingyin interjected, "If there’s any woman worthy of being my eldest son’s queen, it’s Huangfu Meizhen. Xuanyuan Yueyao may be Emperor Xuanyuan’s niece, but she’s not fit to hold the position of a queen. That’s why I came here directly to talk to you, and I want my son to marry your granddaughter before his marriage to that woman. If you agree, we will hold their wedding next month, so she will be my son’s first wife."

"Honestly, I can’t decide on this matter because I don’t know anything about their relationship, and I have to talk to my granddaughter first."

"In that case, you should call Huangfu Meizhen back, and the two of us will talk to her about this matter."

"Alright." Huangfu Lingxuan contacted his granddaughter, asking her to return to their clan. "Since when did Emperor Xuanyuan decide on this matter?"

"Last night, Emperor Xuanyuan contacted my husband, and Empress Jiang contacted me to discuss this matter." Huangfu Lingxuan frowned because this marriage matter happened so suddenly. "They didn’t tell us the real reason behind their sudden decision, even though we asked them. Xuanyuan Yueyao is indeed a good woman, but she doesn’t have the qualities to be a queen. At first, I had no choice but to agree to their marriage, but my eldest son suddenly told me that he had been in a relationship with your granddaughter for decades, so I immediately decided to hold their wedding first. This way, your granddaughter will become my eldest son’s first wife, and that woman will become his concubine."

"Do you think Emperor Xuanyuan will accept his niece as a concubine?"

Shangguan Qingyin smiled at that. "Old Huangfu, you’re close to Emperor Xuanyuan, so you should already know his character, right? He wants to marry his niece to my eldest son, but he didn’t mention that his niece will become the next queen of this Song Kingdom."

"Yes." Huangfu Lingxuan nodded. "After all, Xuanyuan Yueyao is only Emperor Xuanyuan’s niece, so he should know that he cannot force you or your husband to accept her as the next queen. However, I have many questions about his sudden decision, which is contrary to his character." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Do you think there is another purpose behind Emperor Xuanyuan’s sudden decision?"

"Emperor Xuanyuan is not that kind of man, and he upholds righteousness, so I believe that he has no ultimate motives behind his decision." Huangfu Lingxuan fell silent. "There may be other issues that I don’t know about that caused him to make this sudden decision, but I can’t guess his real reason."

"Then—"

Thud

Huangfu Meizhen had just landed in the area, and she was slightly surprised to see Shangguan Qingyin. "Why are you in my clan, Aunt Qingyin?"

"Am I not allowed to visit your clan and Old Huangfu, Meizhen?" Huangfu Meizhen raised an eyebrow at the playful smile on Shangguan Qingyin’s face. "By the way, it’s time to change the way you address me, right?"

"What do you mean by that, Aunt Qingyin?" Huangfu Meizhen asked in confusion.

"Aiyo! You’re pretending not to know, huh?" Huangfu Meizhen was increasingly confused by Shangguan Qingyin’s attitude. "Are you ready to become the next queen of this Song Kingdom, Meizhen?"

Huangfu Meizhen froze in her spot, her pupils constricted, and her jaw dropped. "This... what...?"

"Meizhen, when are you going to tell me that you are already in a relationship with Prince Tianzun?" Huangfu Meizhen looked at her grandfather in shock. "If Qingyin hadn’t told me about the relationship between the two of you, I would never have known that you two had a decades-long relationship. No wonder you keep refusing my request to get married; you’ve been his girlfriend for a long time."

’What the hell is going on? Why didn’t Tianzun tell me that his mother already knew about our relationship?’ Huangfu Meizhen cursed inwardly. "How did you know about our relationship, Aunt Qingyin?"

"Call my mother-in-law first, and I’ll explain everything to you." Shangguan Qingyin smiled playfully.

An Yizhu, standing behind Shangguan Qingyin, teased Huangfu Meizhen. "Sect Master Huangfu, your relationship with Prince Tianzun has come this far, and you two will be husband and wife soon, so it’s time to address my queen as your mother-in-law."

’Tch! I have to call Tianzun now!’ Huangfu Meizhen contacted Song Tianzun, asking him to come to the Huangfu Clan. "Mother-in-law, please explain everything to me."

"Oh! Such a shy daughter-in-law! You’ve always been strict in leading your sect; I didn’t expect you to have such a shy side." Shangguan Qingyin teased her.

Huangfu Meizhen was even more embarrassed and awkward because of that. "Please don’t tease me, and please explain everything to me."

"Hehe," Shangguan Qingyin wanted to tease Huangfu Meizhen further, but she didn’t want to make her future daughter-in-law even more embarrassed, and she explained to her about Emperor Xuanyuan and Empress Jiang’s request. "Because of the matter, my eldest son was forced to reveal his relationship with you to me, and I immediately came here to talk to your grandfather. Xuanyuan Yueyao is indeed a member of the Xuanyuan Royal Family, but I never liked her character, and I like yours more. That’s why I want you to be my eldest son’s first wife and the future queen of this kingdom, and that woman will be his concubine."

Huangfu Meizhen massaged her forehead to relieve her dizziness. She didn’t want to share Song Tianzun with any woman, but she knew that his parents couldn’t possibly refuse Emperor Xuanyuan and Empress Jiang’s wishes, and he had no choice but to marry Xuanyuan Yueyao. "Is this decision final? Is there a chance to change it?"

"This decision is final." Huangfu Meizhen wore a miserable look because the situation had suddenly changed from her original expectations. "Meizhen, I can understand your feelings, but we cannot change Emperor Xuanyuan and Empress Jiang’s decision. My eldest son will marry Xuanyuan Yueyao in six months, so I want to hold your wedding with him before that, and you will be his first wife. If you are willing, An Yizhu will start taking care of everything today, and you two will get married next month."

"Mother." Song Tianzun landed beside Huangfu Meizhen. "Why didn’t you tell me about this matter earlier? I already told you that I would talk to Meizhen about this matter first, but you beat me to it and talked to her."

"Isn’t it no big deal? You and Meizhen love each other, and neither of you has much time to think, so I came here to ask her to marry you."

"But—"

Shangguan Qingyin shook her head at her son and asked Huangfu Meizhen. "What’s your answer, Meizhen? If you agree to marry my eldest son, An Yizhu will start taking care of everything today."

"Meizhen." Huangfu Meizhen looked at Song Tianzun in a lost manner. "You know that I love you very much, right? I don’t want to marry Xuanyuan Yueyao, but I can’t refuse Emperor Xuanyuan’s request. Please marry me and be my first wife, Meizhen."

Hanfu Meizhen buried her face in Song Tianzun’s chest. "What can I do? I love you too much, and I can’t possibly lose you. Although I don’t like you having another wife, neither of us can refuse Emperor Xuanyuan’s request, so I can only accept the situation."

Shangguan Qingyin smiled and looked at An Yizhu, who immediately disappeared from the Huangfu Clan. "Other than the matter of their marriage, I wanted to ask you about a few people, Old Huangfu."

"Hmm?" Huangfu Lingxuan looked at Shangguan Qingyin . "A few people? Which people are you referring to?"

"If I’m not mistaken, their names are Tang Xiao, Tang Yin, Mu Qingge, Mu Yan, and Xing Xing." Huangfu Lingxuan frowned, while Huangfu Meizhen looked at Shangguan Qingyin in shock. "Hehehe! You two don’t have to react like that, right? After all, they appeared in this kingdom, so it’s not difficult for me to find out about them. I know you want to protect them, and I asked about them without any bad intentions."