The Ninth Prince's camp held a meeting, and they all agreed to let Ye Qing agree to the Emperor's marriage as soon as possible.
Many civil and military officials in the Ninth Prince's camp were overjoyed, and they placed all their hopes on Ye Qing.
The Eldest Princess represented the Emperor's trust. Since the Emperor had betrothed the Eldest Princess to Ye Qing, it meant that the Emperor was leaning towards the Ninth Prince's camp.
Once the Ninth Prince inherited the throne of the Sword Dynasty, the civil and military officials recruited by the Ninth Prince would be put in an important position.
A new Emperor would bring in new officials. This was the principle.
On the day the imperial edict was issued, a trusted aide of the Emperor, the Chief Eunuch, came to deliver the imperial edict.
The Ninth Prince led the crowd to congratulate Ye Qing.
However, Ye Qing came late, and he had no intention of kneeling to accept the edict.
The Ninth Prince, Jian Jingyun, was surprised. He quickly tugged at Ye Qing's sleeve and transmitted a message to Ye Qing, "Brother Ye Qing, the Emperor personally bestowed the marriage. You can't refuse!"
The officials in the Ninth Prince's camp, Fengqi Xuan Wang, Heavenly Mandate Xuan Wang, and the others all transmitted their messages.
Their intentions were the same. They wanted to persuade Ye Qing to accept the Emperor's marriage.
The experts in the Ninth Prince's camp had some understanding of Ye Qing. They knew that Ye Qing was proud and arrogant, and it was unrealistic to ask Ye Qing to kneel to accept the edict.
Therefore, the Ninth Prince took a step forward and wanted to take the imperial edict from the Chief Eunuch.
The Chief Eunuch did not dare to be too formal in front of the Ninth Prince. He knew that the Ninth Prince's camp had been growing stronger recently.
Moreover, the Chief Eunuch did not dare to offend Ye Qing, who had been in the limelight at the Bright Sword Conference.
"Haha, congratulations, Ninth Prince. Your Highness, please take good care of me in the future!"
As the eunuch spoke, he handed the imperial edict to the Ninth Prince.
The Ninth Prince nodded and said yes. He wanted to build a good relationship with the Chief Eunuch.
After all, this chief eunuch was not an ordinary person. He could even speak in front of His Majesty.
Just as the Ninth Prince was about to accept the decree, Ye Qing suddenly said unhurriedly, "Who told you to accept the decree, Ninth Prince?
I haven't even agreed yet!
What Eldest Princess Jian Xuanji? I've never even seen her before and I don't have any feelings for her. How can I get married? "
Ye Qing went straight to the point. The ninth prince, Jian Jingyun, was so scared that his face turned pale. He hastily said, "Brother Ye Qing, although you don't have any feelings for each other, you can slowly cultivate them in the future."
The Fengxuan King also walked over and said with a bell-like voice: "Big Brother Ye Qing, the Ninth Prince is right. As the saying goes, love grows with time."
The Heavenly Mandate Xuan King also rushed over to persuade him, "Big Brother Ye Qing, please think twice before you act. If you reject His Majesty's imperial edict and the Emperor blames you, I'm afraid …"
The Heavenly Mandate Xuan King's meaning could not be clearer. If Ye Qing rejected the Emperor's decree of marriage, the Emperor might punish him severely.
At that time, not only would Ye Qing be punished, but the other cultivators in the Ninth Prince's camp would also be implicated.
Of course, Ye Qing knew the consequences of rejecting the marriage. However, for a marriage without feelings, Ye Qing could not accept Ye Qing.
Ye Qing slowly shook his head and looked solemnly at the chief eunuch. He said seriously, "Little eunuch, go back and tell His Majesty that I can't agree to this marriage. If His Majesty wants to punish me, he can punish me, Ye Qing."
Ye Qing's domineering aura was overflowing. After he finished speaking, his figure moved and broke through the air, disappearing.
The Ninth Prince's people were all stunned and completely confused. They did not expect Ye Qing to be so decisive. He rejected the marriage without giving them any chance.
The chief eunuch was also stunned. He did not expect Ye Qing to ignore the big picture.
In fact, the chief eunuch could see the current situation very clearly. As long as Ye Qing nodded and agreed to the marriage with Jian Xuanji, the Ninth Prince's camp would continue to grow stronger in the future.
In fact, the Eldest Princess Jian Xuanji also had many cultivators in the Sword Dynasty around her. Among them were some very powerful generals. They all obeyed the Ninth Princess Jian Xuanji.
If Jian Xuanji were to marry into the Ninth Prince's camp, she would undoubtedly be able to further help the Ninth Prince.
However, Ye Qing rejected the marriage.
After all, Jian Xuanji's appearance was renowned throughout the Sword Dynasty.
There were many young talents in the Sword Dynasty who wanted to spend some time with Jian Xuanji, but they could not.
The news of Ye Qing's rejection of the marriage was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples. It quickly spread throughout the Sword Dynasty.
When the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince of the Sword Dynasty heard the news of the Emperor's marriage, they were originally trembling with fear.
The two princes gathered together to discuss important matters. They hoped that they could temporarily put aside their past hatred and work together to deal with Ye Qing.
Just as the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince were discussing important matters, they heard another piece of news. It was said that the Emperor was going to marry Jian Xuanji, but he was rejected by Ye Qing in public.
When the news spread, the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince were overjoyed. They secretly thought that Ye Qing was definitely done for. He dared to reject the Emperor's marriage. This was a challenge to the Emperor's authority.
One had to know that the Emperor of the Sword Dynasty had unfathomable strength.
He was known as the true number one expert in the Sword Dynasty.
Even the Sword Sage Xuan Wang, who was still in the Sword Dynasty, had once challenged the Emperor of the Sword Dynasty.
In the end, the Sword Sage Xuan Wang lost miserably!
The reason why the Emperor could sit on the throne was because of his own strength.
Under the Emperor's rule, the Sword Dynasty flourished day by day and became stronger day by day. External enemies did not dare to invade recklessly. This was also the result of the Emperor's intimidation.
No one in the Sword Dynasty dared to defy the Emperor's imperial edict.
Ye Qing had rejected the Emperor's marriage and would definitely become the target of public criticism.
The news spread quickly throughout the palace. Even the Eldest Princess, Jian Xuanji, was shocked. She did not expect Ye Qing to be so bold.
While Jian Xuanji was shocked and angry, she admired Ye Qing even more.
Jian Xuanji liked geniuses. She liked unparalleled geniuses who did not play by the rules.
Without a doubt, Ye Qing was the type of person she liked.
He was unrestrained and arrogant.
If it were any other genius in the Sword Dao, they might have agreed to the Emperor's marriage.
However, Ye Qing was different.
While Jian Xuanji was furious, she had a tinge of anticipation and admiration for Ye Qing.
"Alright, since you dare to reject the Emperor's marriage, I will personally experience your Sword Dao attainment. If I win, I would like to see how you deal with this!"
Jian Xuanji secretly made up her mind. She wanted to make a breakthrough in the Sword Dao before challenging Ye Qing.
If she could defeat Ye Qing in front of everyone, it would be great.