Chapter 81 Getting Married With That Woman


    A n who had its private estates in the Holy Dragon Empire meant that it not only had a regional


    jurisdiction of an area, but also was allowed to recruit troops and form its own forces. For example, the


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    Ximen n and otherrge ns of Holy Dragon Empire all had their own estates and armies and held


    respective influences in the empire. Of course, the prerequisite for anyone to acquire an estate was


    gaining the absolute trust of the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire. Without this one thing, one would


    never be officially offered an estate. The emperor had a deep-seated fear that anyone with a private


    army would try to stage a revolt. Gradually, by relying on his strong army, he might be


    domineering and disobey or even try to overthrow the emperor''s rule. If that happened, it would be a


    nightmare for the emperor. It was because of this paranoia that the emperor seldom offered anyone an


    estate.


    So, when the emperor announced that he would bestow an estate upon Prince Basil, it also indicated


    that he trusted him most among all his sons.


    "Your Majesty, I think the matter of offering an estate to Prince Basil still needs to be discussed further.


    After all, he''s still quite young and I''m afraid it will be tedious for him to take on such a heavy


    responsibility," Priest Dean immediately advised. He was determined to stop the growth of Rocky''s


    power, knowing that Rocky might take revenge for the times that he had been unkind to him. What


    puzzled him most was why the emperor''s attitude towards Rocky had changed dramatically. Was it just


    because of Rocky''s outstanding performance at the Dragon Birth Festival? To an extent, his guess was


    correct, but there were many other reasons as well.


    Other officials also seconded Priest Dean''s advice, one after another.


    "I also have considered that. I''m thinking of arranging a royal marriage for him. Basil has to get married


    before he can obtain the estate. Those are the terms of my offer. Once he gets married and settles


    down, he will naturally shoulder all the responsibility," the emperor said seriously. He was not making a


    hasty decision to offer his son an estate. As the emperor, he had to be cautious about any of his


    decisions.


    As soon as the officials heard the emperor''s words, they breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that


    the emperor''s offer would be very conditional indeed.


    "Your Majesty, may I ask whom you are eyeing to be Prince Basil''s betrothed?" Priest Dean asked


    hesitantly. Usually, a royal marriage was a union between the major ns of the Holy Dragon Empire.


    He had to find out which n would gain the support of Rocky and would stand behind him in turn.


    "The Ximen n," the emperor said simply and narrowed his eyes. He was waiting for his officials''


    The officials including Priest Dean and other princes were quite started, to say the least.


    As thergest n of the Holy Dragon Empire, the Ximen n was quite influential, its grasp extending


    to nearly all corners of the kingdom. Its power was beyondparison and other ns typically did not


    dare challenge it. Among ten of the Holy Dragon Empire''s royal spirit maniptors, there was one from


    the Ximen n. Thus, it could be seen that the status of the Ximen n in the Holy Dragon Empire


    was so high that it was far beyond the scope of ordinary people.


    Moreover, the Sky Army led by General Bryant of the Ximen n was the strongest and the best elite


    army of the Holy Dragon Empire. It was an invincible force and was known for terrifying countless


    enemies on the battlefield before the war even began. The Ximen n was consequently one of the


    most important pirs of the Holy Dragon Empire, if not the most prolific one. If they changed their


    allegiance and stopped being loyal to the emperor, they could try to overthrow his rule and throw the


    Holy Dragon Empire into a chaotic, bloody mess.


    But the Ximen n was well-known for their loyalty to the Holy Dragon Empire for generations past. All


    the members of the n had pledged their allegiance to the royal family and had never been suspected


    of any disloyalty.


    The reason for the startled looks that the officials wore was primarily because of the Ximen n''s high


    status in the Holy Dragon Empire. If the emperor arranged a marriage between Rocky and a daughter


    of the Ximen n, Rocky would be the son-inw of the Ximen n and gain the n''s loyalty.


    Without any question, it would be a very terrible thing for those who had crossed Rocky. With the power


    of the Holy Dragon Bead and his marriage into the most powerful n, no one in the Holy Dragon


    Empire would dare to belittle him. He would have so much power at his fingertips! Naturally, anyone


    who had been Rocky''s enemy would want to stop the arranged marriage.


    "The Ximen n? But Your Majesty, I don''t remember there being any eligible woman from the n..."


    Priest Dean asked, a little confused.


    "Of course there is! Doesn''t it have a youngdy? The granddaughter of General Bryant! If I remember


    right, she is also the most talented royal spirit maniptor of the Ximen n to have lived in recent


    decades," the emperor replied at once.


    "Your majesty, are you talking about Shirley?" Lena asked, feeling rather stunned.


    "Yeah, I mean her. I think she is the best choice. She is about the same age as Basil. And they have a


    simr background. Their marriage would be a perfect match!" the emperor nodded, apparently greatly


    satisfied with this arrangement.


    ''Shirley? Isn''t she that mean and aggressive girl with a t figure? Basil''s father is going to marry her to


    me? How can anyone stand her bad temper? He must be kidding! Geez!'' Rocky''s thoughts raced. He


    grimaced a little. He had suffered great pain when Shirley had lost her temper and hit him so hard. It


    had been a shameful experience. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he''d be forced to marry her!


    As soon as other people present heard that the emperor nned to marry Shirley to Rocky, their


    expressions looked rather peculiar.


    They all knew a lot about Shirley, a young and toughdy. Although she looked gorgeous, with her


    long, muscr legs, she was also fond of dressing rather masculine. She was also known for her fiery


    temper. A good number of princes and aristocrats had suffered a lot when they tried to chase after her


    and learned that her temper was easy to be stoked. Most of them avoided her as much as they could.


    Of course, there were some of them who just wouldn''t give up after their suffering and continued to


    chase after her. But they all met a miserable end just the same.


    Apart from that, Shirley always acted in undue confidence and looked down upon her peers. Her


    confidence was built on her outstanding talent as a spirit maniptor, coupled with her identity as the


    granddaughter of General Bryant. Even more, she was so arrogant that she refused to be courteous to


    the young men from the royal family. Although countless men showed great interest in her, they were


    all eventually driven away by her aloof and superior characters. Gradually, she turned into their dream


    girl, and only as far as that.


    So, the officials on the spot all believed that if Rocky married Shirley, he would probably suffer a lot. Of


    course, Rocky himself was thinking the same. But just as he was about to refuse the emperor''s


    proposal, he heard a tender voice ring out abruptly, "I object."


    It was totally unexpected that this opposition hade from Lena, the neenth generation witch of


    the Holy Dragon Empire.


    If Rocky raised an objection, it would be understandable. However, Lena''s objection was pretty


    strange, because the arranged marriage didn''t have anything to do with her.


    She had spoken impulsively, blurting it out. She couldn''t be more aware of Shirley''s bad temper. She


    believed that if Rocky married Shirley, then he would be bullied by her every day. She had toe to


    his defense! There was also a secret reason that she had to speak for him. Since she had been


    growing up with Rocky, she always had a particr concern for him. Lena was in denial, but her


    feelings for him were deep.


    "Lena, why do you object?" the emperor asked, a little bit surprised. Like others, he also thought it was


    odd for Lena to object to his arrangement.


    Rocky himself, too, thought it was odd. He thought, ''Maybe Lena likes me, so she doesn''t want me to


    marry Shirley.''


    "Because..." Lena cast a nce at Rocky and responded seriously, "Basil''s strength has just reached


    the Earthly Stage. The most important thing for him now is to try his best to improve his strength. If he


    diverts his attention to married life, he will not be able to progress as quickly and efficiently as before. I


    think it''s better to put off the arranged marriage."


    Upon hearing Lena''s exnation, Rocky was a bit disappointed. It turned out that Lena was just


    worried that the marriage might hinder his improvement in strength.


    "The Witch made a good point. Yet, their marriage is still imperative," the emperor said and nodded. He


    agreed with her reasoning, as it was also one of the many things he had taken into consideration. He


    had taken many things into ount when it came to the marriage of Shirley to Rocky.


    Seeing the emperor''s expression, Lena seemed to guess what he was thinking and became slightly


    stunned, while her hand clenched a corner of her robe. If the emperor was really thinking like what she


    was guessing, she would be more unwilling to see Rocky marry Shirley. Nevertheless, if the emperor


    persisted in his idea and carried it out arbitrarily, she would be helpless. As a Witch of the Holy Dragon


    Empire, she was not allowed to disobey the emperor.


    "Your majesty, if it is for that consideration, I think Prince Basil was not the only choice. Other princes


    are also qualified to be the possible candidates," Lena said at once after a moment''s hesitation.


    Although she knew it would be hard to persuade the emperor to give up the arrangement, she still


    wanted to have a try.


    "But, I''m afraid it has to be Basil this time," the emperor said in a firm tone. Meanwhile, he thought that


    Lena showed excessive concern for Basil. He had to talk to her after the meeting. He had thought that


    other officials might have a second opinion about his arrangement. But it never once urred to him


    that Lena would be the first one to object.


    Lena frowned deeply and grew quiet. She had summoned all her courage to protect Rocky in her own


    way. But obviously, she had failed.


    When the several other princes and officials heard the puzzling exchange between the emperor and


    Lena, they werepletely confused. But they were smart enough not to ask further. If the emperor


    chose not to say why in public, then it was no use probing.


    ''It''s strange. I can sense that he seems to be hiding something from us...'' Rocky thought, also feeling in


    his gut a suspicious sense.