My brother is so cunning

Chapter 963 Speak Your Mind
Princess Longji's heart skipped a beat when she saw Wen Rui; this was a typical sign of a guilty conscience.

Her heart pounded with unease. Could it be that something shady had been discovered by those behind the scenes?

That's why Wen Rui was summoned, and at the same time, Wen Rui was also brought here to be questioned.
Longji stole a glance at the Queen Mother. Her expression was as dignified and serious as ever. Since childhood, Longji had been used to his mother’s high and mighty demeanor. Whenever he was looked at by her eyes, which were as calm and still as the water of the Jade Pool, Longji felt that he was not facing a close relative, but a clay puppet.

"Longji greets the Empress Dowager and wishes her a long and peaceful life."

Upon approaching the two, Princess Longji bowed with utmost respect, first to her mother, then to Wen Rui, saying, "This humble servant greets the Creator Heavenly Venerable."

Although she was quite familiar with Wen Rui in private and knew that Wen Rui was always approachable, Princess Longji still had to be very proper in front of the Queen Mother.

Although she was the eldest princess of Heaven, there was no such thing as succession to the Jade Emperor's throne, so there was no crown prince in Heaven.

Here's a little-known fact: Nezha is the third prince and has the right to inherit the divine office of Li Jing, the Heavenly King, while the Jade Emperor has no crown prince. This seems to be a contradiction and illogical.

But in fact, it makes perfect sense.

As the Marshal of Heaven, Li Jing often led troops into battle. The fighting power of the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals was such that he only managed to avoid major incidents by bullying the weak.

However, this does not mean that there is no possibility that the entire army below the marshal was wiped out and killed in battle, with only Nezha, whose lotus body has an extremely strong ability to regenerate, surviving. This possibility not only exists, but is also quite significant.

In this situation, the Third Prince could inherit the Heavenly King's divine office. Setting up a Heavenly King with a Third Prince would be perfectly fine and would greatly promote the rapid reconstruction of the Heavenly Army.

As for why there is no eldest prince and second prince, it is because Jinzha and Muzha are Buddhist monks who have already left home and voluntarily relinquished their right to succession.

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother are as old as heaven and earth, with an infinite lifespan. They have already lived for more than 200 million years, and it should be no problem for them to live for several billion more years.

If these two Heavenly Sovereigns were to have a male offspring, the father-son relationship would be far too awkward. How could there be a crown prince for six billion years?
So the Queen Mother used the divine power of fertility bestowed upon her by the Heavenly Dao to make some adjustments, and simply gave birth to only daughters and no sons.

The eldest princess of Heaven has no right of succession; it's just a title with no real significance.

However, in terms of official rank, Princess Longji's position as a Star Lord is three ranks lower than Wen Rui's position as a Celestial Venerable. According to the rules of Heaven, she should pay her respects to him, otherwise she would be punished for "disrespecting the immortals," and if investigated further, she would be whipped.

As for why a mere lowly stable boy like that monkey can roam freely in Heaven and call everyone he meets "brother," it's because everyone is tacitly playing a trick on him. Who would take a cute, furry golden monkey seriously?

"Longji, I have summoned you here today because I have a very important question for you to answer in person."

The Queen Mother said solemnly, "Remember this: you need not worry about me or your father. Just follow your heart and tell the truth. Whether you agree or not, there is no need to worry. Do not wrong yourself."

She spoke first, explaining that she was afraid Princess Longji would prioritize the greater good and sacrifice herself by serving the demon in order to preserve her birth parents' supreme position in Heaven.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. She knew Longji very well. Back then, for the sake of the greater good, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother sent the Old Man of the Moon to act as matchmaker. She only slightly revealed that this was the will of "Heaven", and she obediently married Hong Jin.

The original dialogue was that Princess Longji said, "Because I broke the rules of the Jade Pool, I have been banished to the mortal world and am not allowed to return to the Jade Pool to reunite with my mother and me."

The Matchmaker only said, "Now that Ziya is about to be appointed general, when the army crosses the five passes, the princess should establish unparalleled merit with Hong Jin, and leave a lasting name in history. When the day of success arrives, the Jade Pool will send banners to welcome the princess back to the palace. This is the will of Heaven." With just these two sentences, Princess Longji agreed to the marriage without caring about Hong Jin's character, temperament, or appearance. She hadn't even exchanged two words with him and there was no emotional foundation between them. Her understanding was heartbreaking.

She has a lot of feelings about a loveless girl who has been kicked out of her home by her parents and is now wandering around. She will do anything to gain her parents' forgiveness and acceptance.

The Queen Mother feared that her child would be as considerate of his parents as he was five hundred years ago, which would force him to make the wrong decision and put him in a very awkward and shameful situation.

Hearing her mother say this, Princess Longji's expression became increasingly unnatural, and she even secretly swallowed her saliva due to nervousness.

She suspected that some things could no longer be kept secret. Her mother had somehow discovered that unspeakable past and was about to expose it to her face!
Wen Rui was also there. Based on Princess Longji's understanding of the Heavenly Court's situation over the past few decades, he guessed that his mother probably wanted to use this as leverage to threaten Wen Rui, to seize upon his scandal, so that he would obediently serve the Heavenly Court and not dare to have any disloyal thoughts.

"Your daughter will obey Your Majesty's command and will speak the truth in every word..."

Although she said that, Princess Longji's heart was in turmoil, and she racked her brains to figure out how to endure this "torture".

Firstly, marital infidelity is a shameful and disgraceful act.

Longji was strictly disciplined by the Queen Mother from a young age. Even the slightest mistake would result in him being driven out of the house and banished to the mortal realm.

Just like a tiger mom who has disciplined her to the point of being obedient, Princess Longji harbors a deep fear of the Queen Mother, afraid of provoking her anger, which has almost become a psychological trauma.

She was established by the Queen Mother as a model couple for all under heaven, a symbol of the stars. If such a scandal were exposed, wouldn't it be like slapping the Queen Mother in the face in front of all the people of the world?

Secondly, while others might not know Wen Rui's temperament, how could she, as his half-sleeper with whom he had shared intimate contact, not know it?

That's not someone you can easily threaten. If the Empress Dowager uses that to blackmail Wen Rui, he'll probably flip the table on the spot.

"It's good that you understand. I will take care of everything for you." The Queen Mother continued, "Longji, I ask you, are you and Longde Xingjun still in love?"

Given the Queen Mother's status, how could she directly ask, "Daughter, do you want to remarry?"

That's why they used such indirect methods to guide Princess Longji's words.

According to the Queen Mother's plan, she first asked Longji if they were in love. In front of Wenrui, an "outsider," even if there were problems in their marriage, Longji couldn't very well say, "We argue and fight every day. I hate looking at him and have wanted to kick him out for a long time!"

As long as Longji answers with the words "affectionate love," everything will be self-evident, and the Queen Mother can use this as an excuse to politely refuse Wen Rui's excessive demands.

"Enough! Stop nagging and dragging your feet. It's just a matter of saying one word. Why all the unnecessary fuss?"

The Queen Mother had a good plan, but Wen Rui, who was standing to the side, was getting impatient and said directly, "Longji, get a divorce and marry me!"

(End of this chapter)