40.

While Yang Ze and Yang Che were busy watching the play, an entirely different scene was playing out somewhere else.

....

Inside the Cang family of Yuyang city, a family meeting was going on around a large table. In the head position, an old man was sitting quietly, and just beside him was a young woman.

She has a pair of indescribably magnificent eyes as if the world's essence lay deep within. Her two tranquil pupils, clear like crystals, were like the radiance of a flowing dream, and her two black thin and curvy eyebrows, were similar to a pair of crescent moons. Her jade-like skin and creamy face were as white as snow under the dim lights in the room. Her lips were like the world's most delicate petals and her nose was of the most beautiful of sculpted white jade, high and proud with an innate nobility. Her soft and shiny black hair fell gently behind her shoulders.

Her figure was wonderfully moving and delicate to the extreme. Looking from afar, her physique was so graceful that it was simply too hard to describe. Under the azure long skirt, one could faintly make out a pair of exquisite and slender legs. Her dress floated in the wake of her slow walk and her jewellery occasionally twinkled on her delicate, womanly figure. The perfect arcs of her waist, breasts, and buttocks were indescribably lovely. She radiated an incomparable, soul-shaking charm and had a kind of proud appearance and attitude that transcended this world. 

She was the granddaughter of the current patriarch of the Cang family, Cang Yue.

Tales of her beauty were famous throughout Yuyang City. It's just that she never made an appearance outside, so there were very few people who had actually seen her.

"Yue'er, what do you think?"

The old man looked at his granddaughter and asked in a gentle tone. Since the death of her mother, she became as cold as ice. Never displaying her emotions to others. Eight years ago, she stopped speaking to others too. It was as if the only thing in this world that was of interest to her was the cultivation.

Though he was gratified for her hard work and talent, sometimes he would mourn for her silently. At the age when the young woman makes a lot of friends and roams the world, she stays alone in her room; cultivating silently.

"Whatever."

With an emotionless voice, she continued further.

"If it helps ease the small problems, then I don't mind."

Though she was talking in such a tone, there wasn't a single person in the room who dared to reprimand her.

"Yes, niece Yue do not need to worry, it's just a formality."

"Yes, yes. You just need to stick with him till the end of the marriage. After that, you don't have to waste time with that waste anymore."

"Must we let our Yue'er marry such a waste? Can't we at least look for a decent talented young man?"

The entire meeting was boiling with discussion. There were some who were in support of the marriage, while there were some who were strictly against it. After all, the fame of the second young master of the Yang family was already resounding throughout the city.

"You can discuss among yourselves."

With these cold words, Cang Yue stood up before leaving the room.

"Yue'er." The old man called out in a low voice before standing up and looking at others with a fierce expression on his face. If not for the need of chasing after her, he would have given these guys a good lesson.

"The decision is final." With the words that were filled with anger, he rushed outside the room after Cang Yue.

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In the Yang family, Yang Ze and Yang Che both were lying in the small garden outside Yang Ze's house. The small patches of green grass were acting as a cushion for them.

Both of them just lay there in silence, lost in their own train of thoughts. It wasn't until half an hour passed. Yang Ze broke the silence.

"How are you feeling?" This guy ran out of the play as soon as it ended. It was one thing to feel sad in the heat of the moment, but even after such a long time, he could still see the conflict and sadness on his face.

"Yang Ze..."

"What do you think the prince should have done."

Hearing this question, Yang Ze went silent for a while.

"I don't think he could have done anything. He never was more powerful or influential than his father, he didn't have enough wisdom or plans. All in all, he was doomed to fail from the very beginning."

"Really??"

"Was there really no other way?"

Looking at Yang Che who was clenching his fist in desperation, Yang Ze smiled in his heart.

'Good guy, even after an hour, you still think about that love story.'

In his eyes, this guy was like a kid who fantasize about the various outcomes of the story. These kinds of people love to put themselves in the shoes of the characters from the story and fantasize about an entirely different scenario where things would have been different.

"Well, there is just one thing that can save the love of the prince and that woman."

"REALLY? WHAT IS IT?" His voice was exceptionally excited.

"Well, well, well."

Smiling mysteriously, Yang Ze looked at him.

"Oh come on. Yang Ze... No, big brother Yang Ze. Won't you help your little brother?"

"Ahem." Coughing embarrassedly, Yang Ze raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.

"If the prince could kill the emperor, he would be able to save himself from this terrible fate."

"Not to mention saving himself and the woman he loves, he would also be the new emperor of the entire kingdom. It's a win-win situation."

"After all, the emperor has lived his life already. What is the use of that old fossil?"

Listening to Yang Ze, Yang Che's eyes flashed for a long time. No one knows what he was thinking, but after a long time, he seemed to reach a decision.

"Thank you brother Ze."

Standing up, he bowed to Yang Ze sincerely before walking out of there.

"Huh?" Startled by this sudden turn of events, Yang Ze didn't know what to do. One moment they were lying here comfortably, the next moment, Yang Che left suddenly.

"Meeh... Screw it." Shaking his head, his eyes drifted again into the stars. Unknowingly, with every passing second, his eyelids seemed to be heavy until he fully closed them and fell asleep there.

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.

.

"Da-da-da-DUM". It was the loud sound of drums that woke him up from his sleep.

"It's starting."

"Let's hurry."

"Let's go, let's go..."

The excited voices soon filled up the entire Yang Manor. Yang Ze who just woke up looked around in confusion for a while before he remembered there being the entrance exam for the Xuanwu Academy.

Washing his face, Yang Ze changed his dusty robe and stepped toward the center of the city where the exam will take place. There were a lot of speculations in his mind about the format of the exam. Will it be a written test? Will they be fighting each other? Or will there be something entirely different?

By the time, Yang Ze reached that place, it was already crowded.

"Huh? It's the stadium." Yang Ze remembered watching the play last night here.

Looking around, there were a lot of groups standing quietly at a distance from each other. From one glance, he could make out the Yang family which was standing in the left corner. Leading the family was a young man in his late middle twenties.

"Yang Hai." He was too familiar with the figure of that person. It was his elder brother.

Just behind him was the figure of Yang Deyi, his cousin who used to be a pain in the ass for him. Looking further back, he finally saw the familiar figure of Yang Che standing there quietly.

"Something's wrong." How powerful were his eyes who were at the peak of Qi Guiding; just a single glance and he could see Yang Che seemed to be in a daze. It was as if he was still lost in his train of thoughts.

"HOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN."

While Yang Ze was busy looking at him, a loud sound suddenly attracted his attention.

In front of him, a giant ship more than thirty meters long slowly descended from the sky.

"What the?"

Yang Ze wasn't the only one surprised. The entire crowd was suddenly boiling with excitement. To them, this was a scene straight out of a fairy tale. This once again showed them the immense power and means the Xuanwu Academy holds.

Though the ship was quite big, it didn't raise any dust or storm upon landing. It was as if a leaf fell silently into the ground.

At this moment, a stairway rolled down the ship upon which the figures of some people were walking slowly.

No one knows who, but someone in the silent crowd shouted at top of his lungs.

"THEY HAVE ARRIVED."