This Is What a Villain Is Like

The red candles flickered, and the Golden Lamps shone brightly.

Even above the bed hung row after row of small, bright red lanterns, decorated with wedding symbols and radiating a thick, festive air.

"Your Majesty, what makes you say that?"

A look of surprise appeared on Jiang Lan’s face as he raised his eyes to look at Emperor Xia.

After today, his scheme to seize the National Fortune of Great Xia and the personal fortune of Emperor Xia was a foregone conclusion.

For the past few days, fortune had been rolling in like a surging tide, a torrential river that flooded his Mud Ball Palace.

The day his Destiny Dao Fruit matured to its third stage, it allowed him to directly touch upon some of the mysteries of the river of fate.

He had seemed to be under house arrest these past few days, but in reality, he had been in the palace observing and sensing the True Essence of destiny, gaining insights into its mysteries and glimpsing the faint trajectories of this world.

The plot he once knew had already deviated from its original course, but with the aid of the river of destiny, Jiang Lan could faintly glimpse the future’s direction, allowing him to stay one step ahead.

That was why he viewed the move of marrying Emperor Xia as critically important.

Emperor Xia was the destined true sovereign of this age, and the Celestial Central Province had been a crucial strategic location since ancient times, holding immense significance.

In the boundless Vast Land of Nine Provinces, with the Celestial Central Province at its heart, fortune converged. It was a land of soaring dragons and leaping tigers, which since ancient times had given birth to countless mystical creations and produced innumerable great figures.

In ancient times, the Celestial Central Province was the very core of this world. The Emperor ruled over all, their presence shaking the cosmos. Their fate was so exalted that it was beyond comparison to that of an ordinary Child of Fortune.

The fortune and benefits Emperor Xia could bring him were far more than what was currently apparent.

"If that weren’t the case, then why do you seem so impatient, you can’t even stand to look at me?" Emperor Xia asked, her voice laced with displeasure.

Hearing this, Jiang Lan actually seemed to begin studying her seriously.

Since returning to her chambers, Emperor Xia had shed her wide, outer Red Profound Dragon Robe.

Now, she was clad in a pale pink gown, draped in a light, comfortable layer of white, soft gauze. Her phoenix hairpin lay carelessly on the bed, and her dark hair cascaded down. With her flawless, ethereal beauty, she looked like a celestial from a painting—a stark contrast to her usual imperial majesty.

One could even clearly see her exquisitely defined collarbones and her slender neck, as long and graceful as a swan’s.

"Have I been?" he asked, slightly surprised.

Seeing Jiang Lan looking at her, Emperor Xia met his gaze directly. "Just now in the main hall, during the ceremony and when we drank the nuptial wine, you were looking at me, but your eyes weren’t on my face. What were you thinking about?"

Jiang Lan didn’t rush to answer. After a brief probe with his Destiny Dao Fruit, he shook his head slightly. "I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular. I was just a bit dazed for a moment, and something came to mind."

"What was it?" Emperor Xia pressed, feeling an inexplicable surge of irritation.

Jiang Lan didn’t answer, his expression clearly asking, ’Why should I tell you?’

Emperor Xia took several steps forward, looming over him. A dangerous light swirled in her eyes.

Only then did Jiang Lan speak, his tone unhurried. "Someone once promised to be my wife. I never imagined that day might never come. Instead, I’ve somehow ended up completing the wedding rites with Your Majesty. Fate truly is a fickle thing..."

As he finished, he let out a faint sigh, conveying a sense of helplessness in the face of life’s unpredictability.

Emperor Xia froze. When she processed his words, she knew the person Jiang Lan spoke of had to be Jiang Ruxian.

She was overcome with an indescribable irritation. ’It’s our wedding, and he’s thinking about another woman?’

Jiang Lan seemed to realize his words were inappropriate, so he casually added, "I was just feeling a bit sentimental, that’s all."

A bitter pang of jealousy and displeasure rose in Emperor Xia’s heart. She snorted coldly. "Our wedding may not have been our choice, but it is now a fact and cannot be changed. In public, you must adhere to the etiquette of a Saint Monarch and do nothing to compromise my imperial dignity."

"And you are forbidden from going to places like the Desire Immortal Pavilion anymore."

"Your Majesty, isn’t that overstepping your bounds a bit?"

Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow, not agreeing to her demands. "It is just as Your Majesty said. The matter is settled and cannot be changed."

"But you should understand that we are bound by this marriage and nothing more. If the day comes when the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the Royal Family have a complete falling out, we might even become enemies."

"You promised you would help me, and now you’re going back on your word." Hearing this, Emperor Xia’s brows shot up in anger. She couldn’t believe Jiang Lan was breaking his promise.

"An emperor’s heart is unfathomable. I feel I should reconsider my earlier promise, lest I be betrayed by Your Majesty one day."

"I only learned that the Dragon-Suppressing Seal was missing three days after the fact. It seems Your Majesty still harbors reservations and suspicions about me. In that case, it would be best for you not to trust me so easily." Jiang Lan remained perfectly composed, his expression unchanging.

Emperor Xia’s hand slammed onto the bed with a loud CRACK. If the frame hadn’t been made of a specially reinforced material, her strike would have turned it to dust.

"Jiang Lan..." she said, her voice like ice.

Jiang Lan, looking completely unruffled, picked up the wine pot and poured himself a cup.

"If you make any more of a scene, Your Majesty can have the maids come change the bed tomorrow morning," he said languidly, perfectly calm and unconcerned.

"You’re deliberately trying to anger me..." Emperor Xia stepped forward, snatched the cup from his hand, tilted her head back, and downed the wine in one gulp.

Jiang Lan arched an eyebrow. "You won’t let me drink, you won’t let me go to the Desire Immortal Pavilion, and you still expect me to help you in the future? It’s getting late. Why don’t you go to bed, Your Majesty? You can have anything you want in your dreams."