Chapter 1080 A Polite Refusal


    After a few days of endless hustling and bustling, the Ximen n finally started their grand centennial


    celebration. Thousands of guests noisily gathered, their chitchats filled with excitement.


    The square where the ceremony was held was extremely packed and all kinds of performances were


    ongoing. At the front of the square was a tform paved with red carpet which was specially built for


    the honorable attendees. Bryant, his granddaughter, Shirley, and the elders of the Ximen n were


    sitting on the tform. They were epting blessings and gifts from various ns and major forces,


    the royal family, several civil and military officials, and other guests.


    Time flew by without anyone noticing due to the euphoric atmosphere brought about by the celebration.


    Two hours into the celebration, a disciple of the Ximen n came up on the tform and announced


    with a bow, "My Chief, the emperor is at the gate!"


    However, instead of waiting at the gate for the Ximan n to properly wee him, Alston hade


    inside and walked along the main road leading to the square. He was escorted by two masters of the


    Divine Stage, another nine masters of the Supernal Stage and some twenty spirit maniptors of the


    Heavenly Stage.


    Bryant stood up at once. He lifted his elegant robe and ran down the tform to wee Alston. He


    was followed by Shirley, the seniors, and the elders.


    When everyone saw that Bryant was in a hurry, they realized that Alston was here. No other person in


    this world could arouse such a whirlwind of chaos. The noisy square quieted down immediately. The


    crowd parted automatically to make a path for Alston. Everyone echoed greetings of respect towards


    the acting emperor.


    "Greetings, Your Majesty!" The whole square was suddenly filled with everyone''s greetings.


    Alston, on the other hand, marched on with ease. He wore a wide smile across his face as he waved


    his hand towards the crowd. For the people who knew him little, he was asmon as an old shoe,


    but not the insidious, despicable and ruthless monster who tried to murder his own brother for the


    throne and who used every way possible to get rid of those who disobeyed him.


    As Alston pressed forward towards the tform, Bryant and Shirley met him at the middle of the


    square, as well as all other seniors and elders from the Ximen n.


    "Your Majesty!" Bryant stopped in front of Alston and respectfully bowed.


    "Nice to meet you, Chief Bryant, Miss Shirley and all the elders! Please do not be nervous. I am here


    today to congratte your n on your centennial celebration. There''s no need to make such a scene,"


    Alston said with a gentle smile, instructing Bryant to stand straight.


    "Your Majesty, please follow me this way!" Bryant led Alston to the front of the square and up on the


    tform.


    After Alston and Bryant took their seats, the people from the Ximen n and Alston''s escorts stood on


    the opposite sides on the stand.


    "Today marks the centennial celebration of the Ximen n. I prepared some special gifts for you.


    Please kindly ept them!" Alston said and nodded to the guards who were standing on the sides.


    A guard went down, and a momentter, more than a dozen guards carried several big boxes up on


    the tform. The boxes were immediately opened to unravel heaps of gold, silver and jewelries inside.


    Alston had heavily spent on these gifts.


    "I am extremely ttered, Your Majesty! This is so generous of you! But please forgive me. I cannot


    ept these extravagant gifts!" Bryant immediately stood up and cupped his hands to refuse Alston''s


    expensive presents.


    "It''s truly kind of you to say so. Please ept it, these are just some small gifts to show my great


    respect to you and your n! Might I add that I''ve also prepared several special gifts for Miss Shirley,"


    Alston said as he nced towards Shirley who was standing on the opposite side of the tform.


    "Come here, Shirley." At once, Bryant nodded at Shirley when Alston mentioned her name.


    Shirley immediately came forward and politely bowed to Alston. "It''s already a great honor for the


    Ximen n to have Your Majesty here today. I am not worthy of these special gifts!"


    "Please do not refuse these gifts I picked especially for you, Miss Shirley. You will soon be my


    concubine, so please do not be shy. I can give you anything you want even just for a smile!" Alston said


    generously. He nodded at the guard toe forward again.


    Another group of guards went up to the tform, and this time, they were holding several small boxes.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    They stopped right in front of Shirley and opened the boxes for her to see. It turned out that there was a


    piece of treasure inside each box. Each treasure was ced on the level of a middle grade Dark


    Heaven Egg. Two pieces of treasure were the match of supreme grade Dark Heaven Egg.


    For ordinary spirit maniptors, these treasures were valuable and incredibly rare to find. As a matter


    of fact, the value of these treasures was far more than the value of the gold, silver, and jewelries in the


    big boxes.


    The people who saw these gifts grumbled and sighed enviably at Alston''s generosity.


    "Your Majesty, these gifts are far too expensive! We cannot ept these!" Bryant said, pretending to


    be stunned at Alston''s generosity and extravagance. But in fact, these treasures were nothing to the


    Ximen n. Shirley had grown up in piles of these kinds of things.


    "It''s exceedingly kind of you to say that. I know these treasures are nothing to the Ximen n. So, I


    also prepared an incredibly special gift for Miss Shirley." Alston pped his hands as soon as he


    finished his announcement.


    A master at the Divine Stage immediately walked down the tform and ordered his men to clear up


    an area. After that, he gathered his spirit and opened the Magic Spiritual Space. Then, he went in and


    took out a Dark Heaven Insect at the first grade of the three-star level.


    The appearance of the Dark Heaven Insect heightened the atmosphere on the square. People


    immediately talked among themselves. They were surprised that they were able to see such a


    spectacr thing in their lives.


    "It took me two whole months to capture this creature at the Gehenna Border. I am going to give it to


    you as a pet, Miss Shirley. Do you like it?" Alston said proudly, confident that Shirley would be thrilled at


    this magnificent creature.


    Shirley, on the other hand, just smiled faintly. Her face was nothing but a nk expression. As the


    sessor of the first n in this empire, she had seen all kinds of treasures in her life. And for the first


    time, the Dark Heaven Insect was the only thing she felt a little interested in. But she was aware that


    there was a price she had to pay if she epted it. Alston was expecting that she would ept his


    marriage proposal and be one of his concubines. So, even if Alston presented thousands of Dark


    Heaven Insects, it was impossible for her to show any delight at all.


    "Shirley," Bryant murmured, instructing her to show her gratitude to the emperor.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty. I really appreciate your sincere kindness. I never expect so many gifts from


    Your Majesty!" Shirley replied with all of the formalities she could muster.


    "I am happy to hear that you like it. Oh, I want to ask something, if you don''t mind? Can I have your


    reply regarding marrying into the royal family now? I personally would like to give you a few more days


    to think, but they have already prepared for the wedding ceremony. So, I want to know the answer as


    soon as possible." Alston''s words were very polite, but it was clear that he wanted to tell Bryant and


    Shirley that today was their deadline.


    "It''s my honor to be favored by Your Majesty!" Shirley said with a polite nod.


    As soon as the crowd heard her words, the whole square became loud again. It seemed that the


    emperor was going to get what he wanted today.


    A trace of a triumphant smile shed in Alston''s face. Today''s agenda was going smoother than he had


    thought. As the first n, Bryant had the power to stand on the opposite side of the royal family, and


    Alston had already prepared for it. But he was confident in Bryant''s loyalty. Bryant had no reason to


    refuse, and their n would only be promoted by this marriage. Besides, he knew that Shirley really


    appreciated him before, so he believed that Shirley would not refuse him.


    "But I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty. I cannot marry you!" To Alston''s great surprise, Shirley


    suddenly turned the situation around and politely declined him.