Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 161 : The Bird’s Judgment (4)

Chapter 161: Chapter 161 : The Bird’s Judgment (4)

The magical creatures that hailed from the Blessing Of The Ocean pearls were indeed able to detect lies, but their ability was constrained to the present time.

Such, when one would tell a lie about an occurrence in the past, the bird would not be able to make a judgment. Unless of course, the occurrence left its mark in the present time.

Whether or not Zhang Fengxi lay with Liu Wenyuan in the past was irrelevant. If he did, though, he would have left some traces inside Liu Wenyuan’s body.

It was a simple question. Yes or no.

Liu Wenyuan curled his fingers under his sleeves. His tense face was directed to the floor.

"This subject is not certain," he thus replied.

Liu Yichen snapped his head in his son’s direction in bewilderment.

Not certain? How could Liu Wenyuan be not certain about such a delicate matter??? If he was not certain about having lain with Zhang Fengxi, then how could he be certain about being pregnant with Zhang Fengxi’s baby???

The Wuyang Palace Master was not sure anymore who he was supposed to be mad at. Zhang Fengxi or his own son?

"It seems that Prince Liu Wenyuan needs to carefully assess his current circumstances," the Heavenly Emperor mused with a chuckle. "Don’t you agree, Wuyang Palace Master?"

Liu Yichen wished that he could dig a hole in the floor and bury himself alive.

"I... I... Yes, of course... I am deeply apologetic, Your Majesty."

The Heavenly Emperor sighed.

This court session proved to be a waste of his precious time.

"I trust that both parties have been satisfied today. All of you can go," he said in a dismissive, tired tone.

But Zhang Fengxi was not done yet. Full of determination, he stepped forward and knelt before the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, this subject was summoned here because this subject’s wish to dissolve the engagement to Prince Liu Wenyuan was deemed questionable.

This subject willingly declares here and now that this subject has never dishonored Prince Liu Wenyuan in any way.

Your Majesty, I wish to part ways with Prince Liu Wenyuan, once and for all."

All heads unanimously turned to the bird, who was preening its feathers happily without a care.

"..."

"..."

Zhang Zhiyuan swallowed hard. He could almost feel how the huge rock in his heart disappeared into nothingness.

So it was true. Thank the gods.

Zhang Fengxi, this rascal, had not done anything shameful to embarrass the Longjing Palace.

Even better, he finally chose to walk away from Liu Wenyuan for good. Prolonging this relationship would only do more harm than good.

"Will you not regret it, Prince Zhang Fengxi?" The Heavenly Emperor asked one last time.

"No, Your Majesty. I am fully confident in my decision."

The Emperor turned to look at Head Eunuch Gao.

"Head Eunuch Gao, summon the Royal Scribe to the hall."

"At once, Your Majesty."

A while later, the Royal Scribe arrived with his two junior scribes. The two young men tagged behind their superior with a brush and a freshly prepared ink pad.

"Your Majesty, I am here to answer the summon," the Royal Scribe said, not forgetting to bow before his liege.

"An Imperial Edict shall be issued to both Longjing and Wuyang Palace, regarding the betrothal between Prince Zhang Fengxi and Prince Liu Wenyuan..."

The Imperial Edict was drafted in a shichen. The two junior scribes wrote two copies of the edict. The finished copies were then placed before the Heavenly Emperor, who sealed them using the seal ring that adorned his finger.

Head Eunuch Gao was in charge of reading the Imperial Edict.

"Kneel before the Imperial Edict!" the Head Eunuch said with a thundering voice.

All those who were present in the room immediately fell to their knees.

"His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is wise and benevolent. Seeing that Prince Zhang Fengxi from Longjing Palace and Prince Liu Wenyuan from Wuyang Palace are incompatible with each other, the engagement between the two princes shall be herewith dissolved."

Head Eunuch Gao first handed a copy to Zhang Zhiyuan, who accepted it with both hands.

"I, Zhang Zhiyuan, accept His Majesty’s decision with gratitude!"

And then, the second copy was handed over to Liu Yichen.

"Subject Liu Yichen thanks His Majesty for the edict!"

"His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor departs the court hall!!!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty...!!!" Everyone fell into another round of kneeling to see the Emperor off.

Once the Emperor was gone, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed visibly.

"Liu Yichen, I am sorry for how it ended," Zhang Zhiyuan said while cupping his hands in Liu Yichen’s direction.

"As am I," Liu Yichen answered briskly.

The two palace masters tried their best to put up a convincing performance on the surface after the engagement was dissolved, but the words that they hurled at each other previously cut deeper than blades.

The relationship between the two palaces was hardly salvageable, now that the two princes had broken up in such a disgraceful way.

Despite his deep hatred for Xie Jianyu, Liu Wenyuan still had to perform a perfunctory bow before the Crown Prince when he wanted to pass. The omega gave Zhang Fengxi a fleeting gaze, before he turned around and left with his father without another word.

Zhang Fengxi watched Liu Wenyuan’s retreating back with an aching heart. Just like that, his most cherished romantic relationship in two lives came to an end.

He used to think that death was the only thing that could separate him and Liu Wenyuan. Apparently, he was wrong. The castle that he thought was built from stone and molten iron was actually built from sand. Just as it took him and Liu Wenyuan but a short time to put up the sandcastle, it also took a fleeting moment for the sandcastle to crumble.

"Squeee..."

Zhang Fengxi blinked a few times and looked at the tiny bird that already hopped over from Xie Jianyu’s arm to his. The tiny bird looked up at Zhang Fengxi with a pair of big beady eyes.