Chapter 175: Second World: Master Of Deception

The news of the Marshal's return to Valim capital safe and sound had already spread like wildfire through out the entire empire with various broadcasters making it their headline and the main topic of discussion. This sparked a debate across the empire on whether the emperor's call to attack the zerg race was premature and without basis. If the Marshal was really held captive by the zerg how could he walk out of these vicious creatures' territory unscathed that is if he was even captured by the zerg in the first place.

The emperor's plan had blown up in his face without prior warning with his subordinates starting to question his decisions. It was not only his premature decision to go to war with the zerg but other various scandals associated with with him that had other officials questioning whether he was even fit to rule. The final nail in the coffin was His Majesty's decision to engage the now disgraced Princess Huangzhi to the crown prince of Nibiru empire. The two nations had been on opposing sides throughout history and even went to war centuries ago with both sides suffering heavy losses before signing a peace deal.

They had spend more than a century without getting into each other's business yet now the emperor had decided to establish ties that could only end in disaster. The two empires were like oil and water, they just couldn't mix regardless of how hard you stirred. Though the officials thought this way and sometimes discussed among themselves they would never be brazen enough to say anything and chose to watch from a distance awaiting the great show.

While the Marshal's arrival to the palace with his arm wrapped around Prince Xieshu's waist was being live broadcasted on Valim Network, Emperor Zhao was busy tossing stuff around his pavilion yelling at anyone and everyone who crossed his path. He even went as far as striking a servant just for breathing too loud. He not only had to deal with the news of the Marshal's return but also Zhao Huangzhi who was refusing to be married off to Nibiru empire's crown prince.

He naturally couldn't vent his anger towards the Marshal for ruining his plans so he could only vent to the people around him. "Your Majesty," said a terrified servant who was unlucky enough to draw the short straw and had to announce that the Marshal was seeking an audience with the emperor. "The Marshal has entered the palace and is seeking audience with His Majesty." All this was said with his head lowered while praying to his ancestors to come out this unscathed but of course, that was only wishful thinking as the emperor flung the scorching hot cup of tea at the servant without warning.

"You dare mention him in my presence! You must courting death!" bellowed the emperor causing whoever heard it to cower in fear that is except for Zhao Huangzhi. Ever since the Marshal went missing she hadn't slept well worrying about him. She even went as far as kneeling outside her father's door begging him to send people to look for Qie Ranzhe. Though this action seemed heartfelt it held a motive behind it with her servant anonymously posting online footage of her kneeling with captions like 'Humble Princess begs for the Marshal's safe return' or 'Princess Huangzhi kneels for the Marshal while Prince Xieshu is nowhere in sight'. This was her way to show the Marshal that she was better than Zhao Xieshu and would do anything for him. She hoped her message would reach his ears once he made his return and improve her favorablity with him.

After almost an hour of waiting outside the pavilion, Qie Ranzhe was finally permitted in. To be honest he just wanted to be with Zhao Xieshu but his fiancée abandoned him and went to pavilion leaving him behind to deal with the drama king who apparently had been throwing a temper tantrum these past few days. Though he was sad when Zhao Xieshu ditched him he actually wasn't going to allow his omega to see the emperor with him as he was well aware of Emperor Zhao's temper and how he beat Zhao Xieshu before. His protective instincts naturally wouldn't allow the two to be in the same room but he couldn't help but pout at the speed at which Zhao Xieshu ran away.

When he entered the main hall the emperor was seated on his throne his body taut while drinking a glass of wine as though trying to calm his nerves. He was angry that this cockroach just wouldn't die but had to put up a front and pretend to be pleased with his safe return. Qie Ranzhe found this laughable, he could obviously tell the man's expression was conflicting with his true feelings which were bottling up inside him inching closer to exploding and showing his true face. 

Qie Ranzhe had to commend the emperor's resilence. Even though Emperor Zhao hated him to the core he still stayed in character without revealing his true nature. If Zhao Xieshu hadn't opened his eyes he would never have known Emperor Zhao's true intentions and would have continued to be deceived by the king of deception.

"I am truly happy you returned safe Marshal Qie otherwise I was prepared to blow up the entire zerg race to avenge you," said the emperor with concern in his eyes truly worthy of the title 'Master of Deception'.

"It was purely by luck that I managed to get out of there alive though its a mystery to me how I ended up free falling into the zerg territory when I was meant to be in Tristan. My man are conducting a thorough investigation. I will be sure to inform His Majesty of the outcome," said Qie Ranzhe hoping to end this meeting that was obviously a waste of his time.

"Mn," responded the emperor without showing a glint of panic though internally he wished to speed up Zhao Huangzhi's union to Nibiru's crown prince and get some backing because knowing Qie Ranzhe's expertise it was only a matter of time before he tied this incident back to him.

"Will be hosting Princess Huangzhi's wedding in a weeks time and your presence is expected both you and Zhao Xieshu," said the emperor as a servant passed the Marshal a wedding invitation, "I will naturally leave the security detail to you so please have that taken care of."

"Isn't this ceremony a bit rushed? Prince Xieshu is older and was betrothal to me first so naturally shouldn't the princess' wedding come after ours?" asked Qie Ranzhe with an unreadable expression but he already knew the answer to that question and was simply curious to see what type of excuse the emperor could come up with.

"That child has disgraced the entire family with what she did to you so it would be best if she gets married as soon as possible so she won't cause problems for the two of you," he said almost breaking out in a cold sweat. If the Marshal dug into this any further his plan might not even see the light of day.

"Why Nibiru's crown prince? Considering our history with the empire of Nibiru wouldn't it be best to find another noble family in Valim Empire to marry the Princess?" said Qie Ranzhe his purpose unclear. Maybe he just enjoyed tormenting the emperor.