Chapter 320: Old Fox
"Thank you, Your Highness." The patriarch slowly stood up while maintaining the proper formality one should show toward royalty.
As for Dream Butterfly, she could only let out a sigh.
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first, Patriarch Ximen," she said with a smile. Meeting with Ximen Hong had already wasted some of her time, and she still needed to visit other places.
"Please wait, Your Highness!" Ximen Hong spoke, stopping Dream Butterfly in her tracks.
Seeing that his lady had stopped, Ximen Hong cupped his fist and bowed in the same manner officials did when reporting or proposing something to royalty before looking straight into his lady’s eyes.
"Your Highness... right now, your status in the Underworld Palace should leave a lot to be desired. Lord Wei, even though he truly loves you, might be unable to raise your status at will under the authority of his master, the Underworld Lord."
"Lord Wei is also the sole disciple of the Underworld Lord, so he might be unable to act entirely according to his own will. I understand that he must bear great responsibility within the Underworld Palace, and one day, he will certainly inherit it, provided no one is able to shake his foundation as the sole disciple of the Underworld Lord."
What Ximen Hong had just said was the story that the Lord of Death had decided to roll with.
Wei Chen was his sole disciple, and he was the Underworld Lord, the name these people had already heard a long time ago because of the fake Underworld Palace incident.
He had done this to give Wei Chen some face, so these people would give his best employee the respect the guy deserved, even though the guy was just a punchable foul mouth.
Listening to Ximen Hong, Dream Butterfly frowned.
"What are you trying to say, Patriarch Ximen?"
Ximen Hong bowed before adjusting his stance and said,
"It may be hard to hear, but I’m going to say this since it’s for your own good, Your Highness."
He looked straight into Dream Butterfly’s eyes.
"Your Highness, your status inside the Underworld Palace right now is unworthy of you. Your... concubine status stems from your former position as the head mistress of the Immortal Dream Garden. And it is not a status that people with power and influence would appreciate, making you... the face of the house."
Dream Butterfly glared at Ximen Hong. She was beginning to understand what kind of conversation this would lead to...
"Your Highness... don’t you want to gain a better standing in the Underworld Palace? A position that’s worthy of you! Of course, I wouldn’t dare imply that you should disregard Lady Mo. But you should gain a better status!"
Ximen Hong baited her. He was trying to judge his lady’s reaction so that he could tailor his words accordingly and minimize the backlash.
Dream Butterfly looked at the old fox in front of her, then glanced at the startled Ximen Hao. It was clear that Ximen Hao hadn’t known that the conversation would turn in this direction.
"Continue..."
Ximen Hong politely nodded. His cupped fist and respectful stance remained unchanged.
"Your Highness... don’t you want a better status within the Underworld Palace for yourself? The entire Ximen Clan is ready to support Your Highness so that you can take back your birthright from that traitor, Lin Zhendong!"
"With the status of the Empress, surely Lord Wei would raise your status to that of a second wife! Equal in standing to Lady Mo..."
Ximen Hong had initially wanted to continue and add, "And maybe more significant than her," but judging from the information he had gathered and the subtle shift in his lady’s eyes, stating that out loud would surely ruin the negotiation.
As for Dream Butterfly, she didn’t know what was inside Ximen Hong’s head.
’So this is his true objective, huh? Getting a ride to Heaven by supporting me,’ Dream Butterfly thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. ’Typical old fox.’
She let out a sigh.
"I appreciate the concern, but... I’m fine as it is..." She smiled.
"It’s enough that I know he loves me, and he doesn’t treat me with contempt. He gives me time and shares his warmth with me. I don’t need some vain status or anything like that." She paused.
"Thank you for the offer, Patriarch Ximen... I’ll consider this conversation as if it never happened. Please don’t bring it up again."
Dream Butterfly’s eyes suddenly grew sharp.
"Or else..."
She left the words hanging before walking out of the private garden. This time, she didn’t turn back.
After Dream Butterfly left, Ximen Hong slowly unclasped his cupped fist and stood straight, looking at the entrance where his lady had just left.
"Father..." Ximen Hao started. "I don’t think we should pursue this. I know that if Lady Dream Butterfly were to become an Empress, we, the Ximen Clan, would rise."
"But right now, we have already gained enough prestige. The royal palace doesn’t dare play tricks against us anymore. They have stopped alienating us, and they give us more respect now that they know we have a deep connection with the Underworld Palace!" Ximen Hao said.
Hearing his son’s reasoning, Ximen Hong snorted.
"Hmph! You are too shallow. A tie made of friendship, no matter how deep it is, will never surpass a tie made by marriage." He turned toward his son.
"And that kind of tie is what the Song Clan is trying to secure, and the two ladies of the Wei Estate don’t seem to object. Do you think our status would still be the same in Lord Wei’s heart?"
Hearing what his father said, Ximen Hao wanted to retort, but he stopped midway after opening his mouth. He was unable to come up with any reasoning to refute the fact.
This was a fact that had been proven throughout human history.
"Also..." Ximen Hong paused, looking at the entrance where Dream Butterfly had vanished, as if looking further into the future.
"It’s not only about our status in this mundane world. It’s more than that."
Ximen Hong muttered to himself. He didn’t know about Wei Chen’s true status, so he could only analyze the situation based on the information he could get his hands on, especially the information provided by his son.
And according to what his son had glimpsed from Wei Chen, it seemed that Wei Chen had a great deal of authority within the Underworld Palace, second only to his master and his four wives.
It looked like no one in the Underworld Palace had the right to command him. Furthermore, his son had noticed that the sole daughter of the Underworld Lord seemed to enjoy Wei Chen’s company.
This could potentially be a sign that his master greatly favored his disciple, so he allowed his daughter to come and play with him. Perhaps, over time, she might even develop feelings for his sole disciple.
Thus, the Underworld Lord could maintain his control even after retiring to the background to pursue higher cultivation.
And what kind of cultivation could a man who could suppress people from the Immortal Realm possibly be pursuing?
Ximen Hong was sure that the people from the Immortal Realm had used some kind of artifact to descend with their full power, yet the Underworld Lord had still easily suppressed them with only a single command!
There was only one answer...
The Immortal Emperor!
What kind of cultivation was the Immortal Emperor?
From what he had consulted in the old scrolls and records that the clan had kept in its vault, the Immortal Emperor was not merely a cultivation realm. It was a state of being.
A being that stood above all others!
But this realm could only be achieved by one person. Thus, to obtain the opportunity to achieve it, people would often stake everything on this endeavor.
This had led to many calamitous wars, wars in which the blood could form rivers, wars that would change the state of the earth and shape the heavens forever!
He didn’t want the Ximen Clan to one day vanish in such a war. Thus, he needed to secure a safety net for his clan.
The easiest one he could think of was through his lady, Dream Butterfly.
After Ximen Hong remained silent for a moment, he finally let out a sigh.
"Maybe now I can only leave it to fate..." he muttered under his breath before turning back toward his lodging, leaving his son alone in the private garden to mull over their conversation.
Maybe in the future, his son would have a daughter, and she might be able to marry into Lord Wei’s household.
’Ugh... why don’t I have at least one daughter?’ Ximen Hong thought to himself, disappointed.
— Meanwhile —
Wei Chen was now sitting inside the observation room, behind a one-way mirror that allowed him to look into the interrogation room beyond it.
Inside the interrogation room, a person sat in front of a scary-looking man who worked as an interrogator.
The person being interrogated was none other than Gu Tianshan, the current Patriarch of the Gu Clan.