Zither Emperor Chapter 381 Chapter 116 Heading to Faran Part 1

381: Chapter 116: Heading to Faran (Part 1) 381: Chapter 116: Heading to Faran (Part 1) Xiang Luan’s face showed a trace of a bitter smile, “What you see is only what puts me above others.

Indeed, I have a noble identity, as the princess of The Number One Empire of the Continent, countless people e to flatter me.

And my natural beauty attracts a vast number of suitors.

But among them, how many truly like me for who I am?

They are only enamored with my appearance and my status.

I really wish I could be like an ordinary girl, find my own true love, and live a peaceful and happy life with the man I love.

But I can’t.

As an Imperial Princess, there are many things I must do, and this identity has destined my future marriage to be a political sacrifice.

What good is being beautiful?

Even the most beautiful women will someday age.

When I’m old and faded, will anyone still like me?

No matter which kingdom I marry into, I am doomed to have no freedom, let alone happiness and joy.

Whenever I think about my future life, I feel surrounded by darkness.

This trip to Faran was something I specifically requested from my father.

Rather than marrying someone I don’t like and living a dull second half of my life, it’s better to make a glorious sacrifice for the Empire.”

This was the first time Ye Yinzhu had heard Xiang Luan express her true feelings.

In that moment, she shed all her defenses, and only then did Ye Yinzhu realize that Xiang Luan was just a girl, a girl who needed pity and love.

“Elder Sister Xiang Luan, is there anything I can do to help you?” Ye Yinzhu really did not know how to fort Xiang Luan.

Xiang Luan nodded earnestly, “Of course there is.”

Ye Yinzhu asked, “How can I help you then?”

Xiang Luan gazed into his clear eyes, and after hesitating for a moment, she uttered two words, “Marry me.”

Upon hearing her words, Ye Yinzhu couldn’t help but be shocked, “Senior Sister, don’t joke like that.

You are an Imperial Princess, and I, how could I possibly…”

Xiang Luan snorted coldly, “What’s so impossible about it.

You are the person my father values the most.

Plus, you have the identity of a Foreign Silver Dragon.

As long as you propose to my father your wish to marry me, I think there’s a high probability he will agree.”

Ye Yinzhu said with some awkwardness, “But, but, Senior Sister, we don’t have that kind of feelings between us!

How, how can this be…”

A fleeting look of sadness crossed Xiang Luan’s eyes, “I’ve thought about this for a long time.

Rather than marry into another country, to someone I pletely do not know, it’s better to marry you.

At the very least, you’re a good man; at the very least, you wouldn’t mistreat me, and I could have the freedom I desire.

I know you like Haiyang, but don’t worry, I won’t cling to you.

All I want is a title.

As long as you can lead the Milan Warriors to victory in the uping Seven Nations Seven Dragons ranking battles, even if you propose to marry both me and Haiyang at the same time, I think, my father would agree.

As long as you’re willing, I’ll talk to Haiyang, how about it?”

“I, I…” Ye Yinzhu was at a loss for words as he looked at Xiang Luan.

He never expected that Xiang Luan would make such a request.

At this moment, having never truly faced matters of love, he was pletely unsure of how to respond.

Xiang Luan glared at Ye Yinzhu fiercely and turned to walk away toward the distance, saying as she walked, “Forget it, let’s wait until we can both return to Milan alive.”

“Senior Sister, where are you going?” Ye Yinzhu quickened his step and followed her.

“To bathe.

Isn’t it fine for you to e and protect me?” Xiang Luan said naturally.

“Bathe?” Ye Yinzhu was momentarily stunned, his mind flashing back to the strange feeling when Xiang Luan had thrown herself into his arms the first time.

Xiang Luan said, “Right before we set up camp, I found a clear river not far from here.

I’m a girl after all; I can’t be as easy-going as Haiyang.

I need to bathe every day, or I’ll be unbearably unfortable.

In the team, only Haiyang and that Silver Dragon are female.

I can’t use that Silver Dragon, and Haiyang is not skilled in martial skills.

Thinking it over, you are the one who gives the most sense of security.

Anyway, you are a guy without guts, so just guard my clothes, got it?”

Ye Yinzhu wanted to refuse, but Xiang Luan walked faster and faster.

How could he let a girl like her, who hadn’t even fully grasped the true mystery of a Divine Music Master’s abilities, face any danger alone in such a desolate place?

And since she was the Imperial Princess, Ye Yinzhu couldn’t just drag her back; reluctantly, he had no choice but to follow her.

By this time, the sky had pletely darkened.

Although summer was on the wane, the air remained hot and stifling.

The setting of the sun did not bring coolness, as the earth, having been baked all day, was taking this opportunity to release its stored heat.

Passing through a forest, as expected, the soothing sound of flowing water reached their ears.

Xiang Luan didn’t look back at Ye Yinzhu but instead shouted with joy and ran towards the sound of the water.

Left with no other choice, Ye Yinzhu had to follow her.

Xiang Luan was wearing a long dress, which made running quite inconvenient, and with poor visibility at night, she nearly stumbled over branches and stones on the ground several times.

Fortunately, with Ye Yinzhu close behind her, he managed to catch her and prevent a real fall.

About three hundred meters later, they had emerged from the forest, and just as Xiang Luan had said, a clear river appeared before them.

The river was not very wide, only about thirty meters across, and in the moonlight, one could see the clear water flowing slowly.

Ye Yinzhu, relying on his keen senses from the Amethyst bloodline, carefully surveyed the surroundings and detected no trace of magical beasts.

“Hey, aren’t you going to turn around?

Or do you want to watch me bathe?” Xiang Luan already had her hands on her clothes, ready to undress.

Ye Yinzhu hastily turned around, “Senior Sister, please be quick.

It wouldn’t be good if everyone realizes you’re missing.”

Xiang Luan did not speak but chuckled stealthily.

Although only rustling sounds could be heard, it still made Ye Yinzhu’s face burn with embarrassment.

After all, being stimulated by an extreme beauty like Xiang Luan was truly intense.

The thought of her naked body so close at hand!

Though Ye Yinzhu had a strong will, it was impossible not to have some thoughts—as he was, after all, a normal man.

“No peeking, okay?” Just as Ye Yinzhu was about to sit down and meditate, Xiang Luan suddenly popped her head out from beside him, giving him quite a scare.

He could vaguely see not only her long cascading hair and beautiful delicate face, but also her bare, fair shoulders.

“Senior Sister, please bathe quickly.” Ye Yinzhu promptly closed his eyes tightly, not daring to move an inch for fear of accidentally touching Xiang Luan’s naked body.

Xiang Luan laughed like a bell, “You really are a little boy.

Keep an eye on my clothes for me; they’re right behind you.” The sound of water followed, along with Xiang Luan’s fortable moan, indicating she had surely entered the river.

Swallowing hard, Ye Yinzhu’s heartbeat noticeably quickened.

He didn’t know much about love, but his healthy body and manly instincts were even stronger than those of ordinary men.

His mind fluctuated between hot and cold as desire, firmly suppressed by reason, kept battering against his defenses.

The sound of water and Xiang Luan’s fortable moans arose intermittently.

In order to lessen the strange effects of these sounds, Ye Yinzhu took out his Haiyue Qinhui Zither from the Sumeru Divine Ring and began to play gently.

Without any spiritual power, just playing the zither naturally, the soothing and ethereal “Green Water” floated through his fingers.

True to his title as a genius Divine Music Master, the moment Ye Yinzhu’s hands touched the zither strings, the desires in his heart gradually faded.

Nothing existed for him beyond the zither, a state all Zither Sect disciples must first achieve to bee powerful.

Ye Yinzhu was undoubtedly an outstanding figure among them.

With his zither, it felt like he had everything.

Listening to the music, Xiang Luan made no other sound except for the water.

If Ye Yinzhu were to look at her now, he would surely find her clear eyes misted with a veiled beauty, as water droplets threatened to fall at any moment.

Xiang Luan was already nineteen years old, two years older than Ye Yinzhu.

On the Ryuzakinus Continent, at her age, it was time to marry.

As she had clearly told Ye Yinzhu, being the only daughter of Emperor Silvio of the Milan Empire, her marriage could not be a matter of personal choice but was destined to be sacrificed for the benefit of the state, for political purposes.

Her best options were the princes of the three allied kingdoms of Milan.

Having been doted on by Silvio since childhood, Xiang Luan had managed to postpone her engagement until now.

But her identity was unchangeable, and even Emperor Silvio could not indefinitely delay this marriage.

He had to provide an explanation to the royal family and his subjects.

Before she left with the team this time, Silvio had given her an ultimatum: among the eleven eligible princes from the kingdoms of Palermo, Ascoli, and Flore, Silvio’s final concession was to allow Xiang Luan to choose one of them to be her future husband.

Freedom was what Xiang Luan cherished most since childhood; she despised political marriages.

Though she had grown up surrounded by adoration, her true moments of happiness came after entering the Milan Magic Martial Academy and finally gaining a measure of freedom.

She treasured this feeling and feared losing it more than anything.

Whenever she thought about being wed to an unfamiliar, unknown man, her heart filled with profound fear.

She liked Ye Yinzhu—at least the kind of liking found among friends, or rather, Xiang Luan herself didn’t know what love truly meant.

But whenever she saw Ye Yinzhu with Haiyang, witnessing the smiles Haiyang gave because of him, deep down, she felt something she had never experienced before: envy.

Xiang Luan was an intelligent girl and knew full well how vital Ye Yinzhu was to the Milan Empire.

Marshal Xi Duofu was getting old, and as a new generation of foreign Silver Dragon and genius student of the Divine Music Department, as long as Ye Yinzhu was willing to serve the Empire, he might very well take Xi Duofu’s place in the future.

With his magic rank, his acplishments could even surpass those of Marshal Xi Duofu.(To be continued, for follow-up, please visit , more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)