Longevity by Picking up Attributes in the Battlefield Chapter 727 - 298: Zhao Feng: How Am I Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Son? I’m Stunned! (2)

Xia Dong’er ascended the steps, taking them one by one.

Amid the gaze of all present.

The Empress of Qin mounted the altar.

As though claiming her rightful throne as the kingdom's mother, the supreme Empress of Qin.

At last!

Xia Dong’er reached the summit of the altar, step after careful step.

Ying Zheng advanced and grasped Xia Dong’er’s hand firmly.

"Efang."

"I’ve finally achieved it."

"With heaven’s grace, I haven’t lost you."

Before the assembled crowd, Ying Zheng stared at Xia Dong’er with burning passion.

Though Xia Dong’er was no longer the young girl who had journeyed back to Qin alongside Ying Zheng, though this woman in her mid-thirties had altered in looks, and though she wasn’t one of the world’s rarest beauties, to Ying Zheng, his Efang remained the most stunning, the finest.

And she stood as his most treasured spouse.

In the instant that followed.

Ying Zheng enveloped Xia Dong’er in a tight embrace.

Determined never to let her slip away once more.

Witnessing the pair on the altar locked in each other’s arms.

Zhao Feng’s face showed a tangled mix of emotions.

"To think back and forth."

"I turn out to be the son of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, carrying the bloodline of the Qin Royal Family."

"Oh heavens, you’ve truly tricked me in a grand manner." Zhao Feng pondered with helplessness.

Yet beholding his mother and Emperor Qin Shi Huang in their heartfelt hug upon the altar.

Their bond ran undeniably deep.

Right then.

Zhao Feng at last grasped why his mother had forever shunned Xianyang—she had fled from it originally.

Without her escape from Xianyang, neither Zhao Ying nor he might have come to be.

More than a decade of nurturing.

The Zhao Feng siblings would never have matured.

"Brother."

"How could our father be the First Emperor?"

"This can’t be real." Zhao Ying struggled to accept it.

All of a sudden.

She and her brother had joined the royal lineage?

Their mother revealed as the First Emperor’s childhood love and wife.

"I never imagined this either."

"Who could have foreseen such a twist?"

Zhao Feng offered a wry grin as well.

Naturally.

Besides the siblings.

Wang Yan, together with Zhao Feng’s numerous concubines, stared wide-eyed in shock.

"Mother is truly the First Emperor’s wife? The Empress of Qin?"

"Doesn’t that make my husband the rightful eldest prince of Qin?"

"The true eldest prince, and with my husband’s battlefield exploits, won’t he surely claim the Crown Prince title?"

"I’ve become the spouse of the eldest prince?" Wang Yan reeled in astonishment.

Only now.

Did she comprehend her father’s odd remarks at times, hinting that her best days lay ahead.

And surrounding Wang Yan, the concubines were utterly stunned by this revelation.

They had wed the eldest prince of Qin, the future Crown Prince’s consorts?

This surge in standing was colossal.

Even if their husband had been Qin’s premier general, wielding vast authority second only to the Emperor, he had remained merely a vassal.

But this shift in status transformed their husband from vassal to royal blood.

"Father."

"This isn’t some prank, is it?"

"Your Majesty as the eldest prince? Then Ying’er is...?" Li You stared blankly before glancing at his father.

"See, I told you—you’re fortunate."

"Your steadfastness earned you the shot at wedding a princess."

"Plus, she’s a trueborn princess; union with Princess Ying will propel our Li Family to the top in Qin." Li Si twirled his beard with a grin.

"Father, you knew the whole time?" Li You gaped at him.

"The day I brought you to the palace to seek the Emperor’s blessing for your union, that very day, the First Emperor revealed it to me."

"If not."

"Why else would the Empress abruptly permit your entry to propose, given Princess Ying as the First Emperor’s daughter requires imperial sanction for marriage."

"You’er, you must cherish the princess from here on, never break your vow to the First Emperor, lest our clan face ruin." Li Si advised Li You gravely.

Wedlocking a princess could hoist their family’s rank sky-high, yet the princess herself embodied a grave liability.

Should the Li Family ever wrong her, doom would follow.

"Father."

"Have no worries."

"Ying’er’s nature is kind; how could I ever slight her?" Li You replied with gentle firmness.

After some time.

Upon the altar.

Ying Zheng gradually loosened his hold on Xia Dong’er.

Then, clasping her hand, he proceeded to the altar’s edge, brimming with thrill and heavenly authority, proclaiming thunderously: "Heaven stands witness, and every soul in the Daqin World stands witness!"

"Today!"

"I hereby appoint my wife Xia Dong’er as Empress of Qin, ruler of the harem, mother to the realm."

This decree.

Marked the inaugural Holy Decree since Ying Zheng’s Fengshan rite at Mount Tai, naming Xia Dong’er Empress of Qin.

"Ministers, pay homage to the Empress."

Led by Wang Jian.

Han Fei and fellow officials promptly knelt and chanted in unified devotion.

Even court ministers nursing grudges bowed low at this juncture, offering worship with fervent cries.

"Efang."

"Have you witnessed it?"

"Today’s Qin lies wholly in my grasp, unlike thirty years past. Now I can shield you, safeguard our offspring and descendants." Ying Zheng regarded Xia Dong’er with tender warmth.

"Yes."

Xia Dong’er gave a nod.

"Come, let us go down."

"See what look Feng’er wears."

Overflowing with joy, Ying Zheng took Xia Dong’er’s hand and stepped off the altar.

Beneath the scrutiny of all.

Ying Zheng supported Xia Dong’er as they descended the altar step by step.

For Ying Zheng.

This day.

He had at last proclaimed his wife to the world, untying a long-buried heart’s tangle.

Descending.

Ying Zheng’s eyes locked onto the odd faces of Zhao Feng and his siblings.

"What’s this?"

"Qin’s mighty Lord Wu’an displays such a face?"

Ying Zheng jested toward Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng’s look grew stranger, words failing him.

Ying Zheng relished Zhao Feng’s current demeanor immensely.

The concealment post-Qi’s conquest had been for this very revelation.

Ever before.

Zhao Feng maintained composure in Ying Zheng’s presence, concealing his thoughts, but now his stunned and intricate expression filled Ying Zheng with satisfaction.

He had anticipated Zhao Feng’s shocked visage.

"I stand here before you, yet you refrain from naming me father?"

Ying Zheng chuckled, eyeing Zhao Feng while continuing his playful prod.

Zhao Feng’s face twisted further into awkwardness.

Though evidence mounted that his mother was indeed the legendary Efang Lady from hidden annals, and he likely the true son of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, uttering ‘father’ here proved impossible for Zhao Feng.

At present.

Zhao Feng truly sensed embarrassment.

Standing frozen sent tingles across his scalp.

"First Emperor."

"The water for the blood recognition rite stands ready."

"Please, First Emperor, conduct the test."

"The Qin Royal Family demands pure blood."

In that moment.

Ying Xi’s voice rang out.

He strode forward bearing a bowl of water.

Spotting Ying Xi.

Ying Zheng’s brows knit,

His displeasure evident.

"Zongzheng."

"Still you persist without yielding."

"Yet."

"I offer fair warning."

"Should this water bear any tampering, I will show no mercy."

Ying Zheng’s icy stare pinned Ying Xi.

At these words.

Ying Xi’s pulse raced, yet he swiftly replied: "I dare not."

"All for the Qin Royal Family."

Observing this.

Ying Zheng smirked faintly: "Well spoken, for the Qin Royal Family."

"To grant your desire."

"I allow you this opportunity."

"Though it’s hardly your sole shot."

Ying Zheng’s features hardened.

With a gesture.

Ren Xiao stepped up and seized the bowl from Ying Xi’s grip.

Next.

Ying Zheng boomed: "All here on Mount Tai, fetch me several bowls of the fog water."

...