Chapter 16: A legend, a figure of war-god caliber!

Outside the palace gate, many people from the Chu family had arrived, even the Chu family ancestor had come out.

They had not received a summons from the Emperor, Li Chen, so they could only wait at the gate.

When the head of the Chu family saw Chu Ruoyan walking somewhat slowly, he even wanted to push her forward with force.

However, his wife stopped this rash action and indicated that this was the imperial palace, so they must be decorous.

The head of the Chu family desisted, but he remained very restless and excited.

The ancestor was advanced in years, and whether the Chu family could gain a foothold in the Imperial Capital depended on Chu Ruoyan entering the palace this time.

The head of the Chu family had been mixing in the Imperial Capital for so many years; he was certainly an old hand.

In his view, given Chu Ruoyan's excellent physical conditions, being summoned into the palace by the young new Emperor who had no imperial consort, there was basically nothing else it could be besides considering her for the position of consort.

He actually hoped that once Chu Ruoyan entered the palace this time, she would not come out.

He had even bribed some eunuchs to go to the Empress Dowager and speak well of her, to provide extra care.

From the moment she stepped into the imperial palace, Chu Ruoyan wore a look of "life is meaningless."

No matter how hard she cultivated, she still could not escape the fate of being used as a tool.

She was filled with rejection toward this place; she felt everything here was cold.

The only warmth in her heart was perhaps the mention by Xiao Ming that he could take her away in seven days.

Following the palace maid, she walked slowly through the magnificent imperial palace. The maid had just received a bribe from her father and was earnestly explaining the rules of the palace to Chu Ruoyan.

Chu Ruoyan's heart was in turmoil; she could not take any of it in, and in a trance, she arrived at the door of the Imperial Study.

Regarding the Emperor inside, she was very unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that she felt a bit of fear.

There was one thing Chu Ruoyan knew: she could not offend the Emperor.

If she made the Emperor angry, then she and her family would all be implicated.

Therefore, Chu Ruoyan squeezed out a smile as best she could, and after the maid announced her, she stepped into the Imperial Study.

At this moment, Li Chen heard someone enter and took a look.

Chu Ruoyan's appearance was stunning enough to dazzle the room.

Her hair, like a black waterfall, made her look ethereal and agile at first glance.

Her light purple eyes shone with starlike brightness, and her delicate nose was high and straight.

Her light pink lips were slightly pursed, and overall she was elegant and dignified.

Her snow-white skin revealed a refined air.

There was a slit in her skirt, and Li Chen could vaguely see a pair of long legs through it.

She wore golden sequins tied at her waist, and her collarbones were clearly exposed, making her appear even more slender.

It was the kind of feeling that made one want to go up and take a bite, to leave one's mark.

At her age, her chest had already developed to a certain scale.

If Xiao Ming saw this, he might bite his lip until it bled.

Because usually, when Chu Ruoyan cultivated with them, she was wrapped up like a rice dumpling; besides her hands and face, nothing could be seen. How could she wear a slit, low-cut dress in front of Li Chen!

This outfit of Chu Ruoyan's had been carefully selected by her family.

The purpose was also very clear: to display all her advantages.

Even in her usual attire, she could already make countless young talents go crazy, let alone now.

She could even imagine the Emperor showing a lecherous look after seeing her.

Thinking of this, she even felt a sense of disgust.

At the beginning, it was just as she expected; upon entering the door, she felt a gaze.

But who would have thought that the owner of this gaze would only say indifferently: "I am still a bit busy, you find a place to sit first."

This answer caught Chu Ruoyan off guard, and she looked curiously at Li Chen.

What came into view was a face of extraordinary handsomeness. The contours of his face were distinct, the lines were firm, appearing both majestic and dashing.

Those deep eyes seemed to be able to see through everything in the world, flashing with the light of wisdom and decisiveness.

His brows were slightly furrowed as he stared at the memorial in his hand; his focused expression made one feel awe.

When Chu Ruoyan saw Li Chen at that moment, she felt the whole world had dimmed.

Only Li Chen was the only brilliance in this world.

What was even more incredible was that the mighty dragon prestige radiated from his body, and his whole person was shrouded in hazy immortal light and mist.

With such heavenly grace and divine appearance, there was a shocking sense of an immortal lord falling into the mortal world.

After seeing Li Chen, Chu Ruoyan was deeply shocked on the spot.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart: so there really is such a thing as a heavenly appearance!

In the past, among Chu Ruoyan's pursuers, the one with the highest cultivation was Liu Hao, the best-looking was Wu Qi, and Xiao Ming could only be said to be refined and possessed of strong combat power.

In the entire Imperial Capital, being able to have these three as pursuers was enough to show how high Chu Ruoyan's beauty was.

!

But today, she truly realized what a real divine appearance was!

The aura radiating from Li Chen's body was probably stronger than Liu Hao by a hair.

Wu Qi's beauty in front of Li Chen was no different from a brick on the ground.

As for Xiao Ming, he could only be said to be the most loyal lickspittle.

Chu Ruoyan stared blankly at Li Chen, for a time actually at a loss for what to do.

She didn't think Li Chen was deliberately leaving her hanging, because Li Chen was the Emperor. The Emperor had to handle national affairs every day and bore heavy responsibilities; how could he delay national affairs because of a small matter like seeing her?

His movements in flipping through the memorials were both swift and accurate, as if not a single word could escape his sharp eyes.

His fingers were slender and powerful, and his posture in holding the brush was extremely elegant, making one feel it was a pleasure to watch.

It couldn't be said that Chu Ruoyan had too much favor for Li Chen after seeing this scene, but at least she wasn't as repulsed as she had been at the beginning.

The "life is meaningless" face she had when she entered the palace was now filled with curiosity about Li Chen.

Chu Ruoyan stood in the Imperial Study for a full half-hour; it wasn't that Li Chen had finished his work, but that someone else had come to the door.

When Chu Ruoyan saw this person, she widened her eyes in surprise.

She had seen this person before, at a banquet of a great noble in the Imperial Capital.

At that time, she had only seen him from afar, because this person was sitting in the innermost seat.

With the status of the Chu family as a second-rate noble family at the time, they could only sit in the middle seats on the periphery and could not contact such a big shot at all.

Chu Ruoyan still remembered that even from far away, she could feel the unparalleled domineering aura on this person.

This person was none other than the fierce general who had performed great military exploits for the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, the Grand General Guo Po.

A legend among the people, a figure of war-god caliber.

At that time, Chu Ruoyan had felt that if she could reach the level of the Grand General, then the Chu family would certainly flourish under her hands.

But that was just a fantasy; out of the billions of people in the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, only one Guo Po had emerged.

This probability was perhaps lower than her reaching the Sage Realm.

But such a Grand General, revered by ten thousand people, was now kneeling before Li Chen like an ordinary old man.

That strong sense of contrast made Chu Ruoyan feel a bit dizzy, and she felt as if she were dreaming.

No, wait, I forgot to kneel when I just came in. Should I kneel now?

Hiss, that doesn't seem right either. The Emperor just told me to find a place to sit when I came in. Does standing here count as disobeying an imperial decree?

Just as Chu Ruoyan's thoughts were in turmoil, Li Chen closed the three-folded memorial in his hand.

Then he placed it on the table and stared at the Grand General before him.

In an instant, an aura of majesty began to spread.

(End of chapter)