Chapter 3956 The Rules
Chapter 3956 The Rules
Long Chen turned to the elder, realizing that it was this fellow whose word truly carried weight.
“Of course.” Long Chen nodded.
The elder smiled and an indescribable expression appeared in his turbid eyes. “Do you know that this won’t be easy?”
“Difficult isn’t impossible, and only something difficult is worth doing. No matter how difficult it is, I must marry Qingxuan,” said Long Chen resolutely.
The elder nodded. “Good. Your majesty, youngsters are full of vigor and don’t pay attention to the rules. In order to not lose your propriety, let this old man take your place to explain. According to the Vermilion Bird Empire’s laws, commoners cannot marry royalties. Thus, you would need to pass the scholar exams or reach the rank of general. Only then would you be qualified to propose to a princess. In order to take the scholar exams, you’ll need to provide three generations of background checks. If there is no record of any crimes, then the lowest requirement would be for you to become a Hanlin scholar.”
“No wonder that pale pudgy fellow was so arrogant. It seems that a Hanlin scholar is actually on par with a princess,” realized Long Chen.
“It is forbidden to use such obscene language in the palace,” said an elder behind Long Chen.
Long Chen then eyed the elder and the latter’s face drooped like noodles. Long Chen had the urge to ask him what obscene language he had just used.
On the other hand, the ancient elder explaining things to Long Chen continued, “A Hanlin scholar spends decades studying and learning. Perhaps one in ten thousand students might reach this rank. They are the pillars of the empire, so naturally their status is not ordinary. The other option would be to reach the rank of general. That would be a struggle on the martial path. You would need to start off as an ordinary soldier, and through accumulating merit, you would rise to the rank of general. That is a rank equivalent to a Hanlin scholar and is also qualified to propose to a princess.”
“Are there any further conditions?” asked Long Chen.
“Of course. Everything I said before is just to gain the qualifications to propose. After that, you will need to present a marriage contract, which must be thoroughly studied by the royal family. In other words, everyone here would evaluate if the marriage contract is acceptable. The main question is your character, your conduct, and your morality. Also, the contents of this evaluation would be the process through which you reached the rank of Hanlin scholar or general. Was there any cheating or immoral conduct? We will vote on this, and if you pass, you will need to undergo three trials. After these three difficult trials are complete, you can get married to a princess. Of course, after all this is said and done, if the princess does not wish to marry you, then everything is meaningless,” said the elder.
“Anything else?” asked Long Chen.
“After you are married, in order to make sure that the bloodline is not lost, the children must take the surname of the mother or one of the other surnames of the Vermilion Bird Empire. For example, Zhu or Huo. In other words, you would be marrying into the Vermilion Bird Empire,” continued the elder.
“Anything else?”
The elder smiled and looked at Yu Xiaoyun. “Other than that, the most important point is that even if you satisfy all these requirements, as the father, his majesty naturally has veto power.”
At this moment, Yu Xiaoyun smiled, looking a bit sinister.
Everyone thought that Long Chen would be dejected or erupt in a rage. Unexpectedly, his expression was still calm and he indifferently said, “None of that is difficult. No matter what challenges you give me, Qingxuan will marry me.”
Seeing that calmness, the experts present were moved. The process that had just been explained to him was frighteningly difficult. Did this youngster really have so much assurance?
Yu Xiaoyun was also stunned. It had to be known that he had veto power. If he rejected Long Chen in the end, then all his efforts would be for nothing. But Long Chen’s confidence made him feel slightly uneasy. Did this youth really come prepared?
Yu Xiaoyun couldn’t help looking at his two empresses. They seemed to rather admire Long Chen’s display, but there was nothing else that he could see.
In truth, Yu Xiaoyun had overestimated Long Chen. How could he have any assurance or preparations? What Long Chen was thinking about was that if they were going to make things impossible for him, then there was no point in doing this.
If they planned to do so, then why bother with the exams or trials? Thus, Long Chen would stick around for a bit and see. If things really were impossible to do, he would just run away with the princess. From the start, he had never cared if he would lose face from doing so. He was capable of enduring all kinds of things.
If Yu Xiaoyun and these royal experts knew what Long Chen was thinking, they would definitely beat this shameless fellow to death.
“Do you clearly understand the rules?” asked the elder.
“Yes, I understand. For Qingxuan, I will put in all my effort. I don’t care what trials I have to go through.” In any case, he had no intention of following their rules, so he instantly relaxed and looked noble.
“According to the rules, you do have the right to appeal once. If your appeal is reasonable and receives approval, you can change the trial to one of more suitable difficulty,” said the elder.
Long Chen hastily waved his hand. “No, no, Princess Qingxuan is an unparalleled fairy. In my heart, she is like a heavenly fairy from the heavens, my beloved that is even more important than my life. Even if I have to die a million times for her, I am willing. You cannot lower the difficulty. If the difficulty is lowered, I will not be able to fully express my sincerity. That would then be blasphemy to Princess Qingxuan. Let me tell you, I will fight anyone who dares to lower the difficulty.”
Seeing Long Chen be so firm, all the elders exchanged glances, startled. It seemed that Long Chen deserved praise for his courage.
“Since that is the case, you can sign the appraisal document. If you cannot pass, you can’t blame anyone else.” The elder took out a document.
Who cared about this piece of paper? If Yu Xiaoyun simply had veto power, all these formalities were nothing more than decoration.
If they wanted to play like this, Long Chen would play with them. When the time came, they would see who beat who and who was more shameless than who. Long Chen had never been afraid of anyone when it came to this regard.
After signing the document, Long Chen took out two small cases, respectfully offering them to Yu Qingxuan’s mother and the other empress.
“Junior came too hastily to be able to prepare any good gifts, but I hope you won’t laugh at me for these meager offerings.”
“Are you trying to bribe the empresses?” demanded Yu Xiaoyun coldly.
“Your majesty, pay attention to your words. This child is offering filial piety. If you blame him for it, that would be too rude. How could the Vermilion Bird Empire’s etiquette be simply tossed aside like that? How can we reject a child’s filial piety?” Yu Qingxuan’s mother smiled and received Long Chen’s gifts.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyun’s expression changed. He suddenly had a bad feeling and looked at his two wives in disbelief. It seemed that these two wives of his didn’t dislike Long Chen. He smelled the hint of a scheme.
“Child, as your seniors, we have nothing good to give you. You have come to my Vermilion Bird Empire to marry the empire’s princess. Whether you succeed or not, for now, you can count as a member of the Vermilion Bird Empire. So, I’ll give you this status plate for now. It will make it easier for you to move within the empire.” Yu Qingxuan’s mother handed a golden tablet to Long Chen.
When they saw this tablet, everyone’s countenance changed and even the ancient elder frowned.
“Empress, aren’t you being a bit inappropriate?”