Chapter 1: Chapter One Wu

Wan Wuya, no natal element.

As soon as these words were spoken, the square erupted with a bustling noise.

Even if elemental affinity reaches level ten, lacking a natal element isn't that just an empty sack?

What's wrong with lacking a natal element? Older sister isn't unable to command it?

Nonsense, do you eat with someone else's mouth?

……

The girl defending her older sister, upon hearing this, also Wu Xie fell silent; controlling elements requires elements, one can't rely on heaven, earth, and air alone, right?

Xin'er, let's go.

Only Wan Wuya, taking advantage of the air's inattention, slowly stepped forward; those who understood knew she was manipulating the air.

How imposing! I'd like to see how you maintain grace in a place without air.

Huang Yingkong snorted coldly and flicked his sleeves away; he had no objection to Wan Wuya, merely because she was his future elder sister-in-law, his brother's fiancée.

If one's elder sister-in-law is someone who needs external help to use elements, then if trapped in the Void Land, what should be done?

Watching Huang Yingkong leave, Wan Wuya also pretended to be dejected as she returned to the General's Manor; her lack of an element has likely spread throughout the Imperial Capital.

Inside the General's Manor.

Still, it hit the mark, Wuya.

Didn't the fortune-teller say there was a turning point? On the surface it looks like no element, but actually there are two elements.

The madam's words gave the General a glimmer of hope, but in this world, is there really an element called 'Wu'?

Tell me the truth, are you hiding something?

No, I truly lack a natal element.

A tear slid down the General's cheek; he truly intends to atone with his death.

I will go see Your Majesty, hoping Your Majesty can let our family guard the Great River Fortress, or else our family has already been besieged.

He let out a long sigh, the door burst open, and dozens of soldiers rushed in, only to hear one person ask:

How could the General believe rumors? The Beloved Consort's element is precisely the one called Wu.

What does that mean? But he soon understood; calling off the engagement is impossible, so this must be the explanation.

Your subject is foolish; it's the element called Wu, as Your Highness said—how could I have forgotten I possess this element?

Seeing he had not

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Stubbornness, the stone in the Crown Prince's heart can be considered settled; at least for now he cannot admit that the future Crown Princess lacks an element.

The surrounding scouts have already been cleared by the Crown Prince himself; the Beloved Consort may openly demonstrate to all that your element is Wu, not the absence of an element.

Afterwards, he had someone bring a small hill; all the officers and soldiers know that the Crown Prince's element is stone—whether dust, sand, earth, or rock, he can control them.

Everyone, please watch; the Beloved Consort can make it disappear with a wave of her hand.

By now, Wan Wuya can only comply; although she is not one who likes to put on airs, this is currently the only way to protect her family.

Yes.

She slowly raised her hand, pondered over the small hill for a long time, and finally said, 'Disappear!'

It truly disappeared; she doesn't know whether the Crown Prince secretly helped or heaven pitied her, making her accomplish this task she could never have done.

Wu is the opposite of you; you create, so Wu destroys. The Beloved Consort is named Wan Wuya; just now someone in the Imperial Capital mocked her for lacking an element, how laughable—she clearly has two.

Wan Wuya, how clever, immediately understood the Crown Prince Huang Yinglong's meaning; with a light touch of her jade finger, the small hill reappeared before everyone without any omen.

From this it is evident that the Beloved Consort possesses the power to create and to vanish objects; thus the union of these two powers becomes the Wu, which is nothing.

Illusion and reality are thus; true and false, false and true. As soldiers of the Empire, you must not deceive in warfare and must discern right from wrong—understood?

Those subordinates naturally echoed in agreement, understanding; seeing they had obtained the desired result, the Crown Prince immediately said:

I will now return to the palace, report to the Father Emperor, and casually let those foreign friends who came from afar to check on the Beloved Consort's situation stay.

Having said that, the Crown Prince instantly flew to the Imperial Palace, and those soldiers all followed in unison.

But the General knows this is a crime of deceiving the sovereign; unless his daughter truly is this way, otherwise even the qualification to garrison the border pass is gone.

What is this?

In a panic, Wan Wuya suddenly saw ten characters appear on her nail cover:

Non-being is also being; non-element is also element.

After she spoke, the four family members instantly collapsed limp, their vision a blank white, only the four of them retaining color.

Wait for me.

She instinctively shouted, her jade hand unconsciously lifted upward, as if something was in her hand

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as if there was something.

What's wrong?

The madam immediately inquired.

I just recited that phrase, saw you all leave me, and I shouted loudly.

But in fact, we alone slept for six hours, and you were a moment later than us.

Her father's words made her find it hard to believe; she clearly had just called out—could the dream have been erased?

Right, I felt an invisible force in my hand, as if I—no, yesterday I had accomplished it myself.

She looked at the ten-zhang-high hill in the courtyard; with a light point, the hill vanished.

If saying yesterday she could make the hill disappear, many thought the Crown Prince was helping her; but now she has done it herself.

Even with the Crown Prince's backing, people still think you lack a natal element; this is hardly a bad thing—you should stay close to the Crown Prince, and unless absolutely necessary, do not reveal yourself.

Grand General sighed; Wan Wujiang's entry into the palace as Crown Princess is settled, and the people in the imperial harem are unlikely to make things overly difficult for her, after all, the Empress Dowager and the Empress both like Wan Wujiang.

And in the imperial harem, the present emperor of Summer Brilliance State, Huang Chengde, however, wore a troubled expression.

"Father Emperor, I, your subject, have not spoken a single false word; today I can swear before the Empress Mother and the Imperial Grandmother that Wan Wujiang is a person possessing dual-life element, and she is certainly not the elementless person that ordinary people rumor about."

Having come to this point, the Great Emperor naturally could not say anything else; he believes his son is the one who has seen the truth, otherwise his actions would not be an attempt to salvage the state's dignity at all.

"If that is so, I naturally trust you; the grand wedding will be held on the fifteenth of this month."

"Yes."

"The Crown Prince gave a superficial assent; how could he not know the emperor's intentions? His father, who understands astronomy and geography, yet on the fifteenth of this month the sky is overcast with dark clouds, not a glimmer of moonlight to be seen—if Wan Wujiang cannot turn danger into safety, her fate is obvious."

"In just a few days, the whole city, even the whole country, will know of it; even Huang Yinglong can do nothing about it, so he can only trust the fortune-teller in his dream who can truly turn Wan Wujiang into a dual-element person."

"Just as he was pondering, a person slowly walked up to him."

"Imperial Younger Brother, if I say I deliberately let others think I am helping Wan Wujiang, would you believe me?"

"If you can, you can; if you can't, you can't—when did you also start liking to play with troops and never tire of deceit?"

"It's probably just after having a dream."

(End of chapter)