I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

Chapter 308: Wei Ru’s Answer

"Uhm...Isn’t this a little too much?" Yi Chen asked with a hesitant expression, seeing the table he was sitting in front of being filled with a variety of dishes.

Although each and every one of them looked delicious and appetising to the eye, even he knew that with his abilities, he would barely be able to eat half a portion of it.

Wei Ru, who was sitting on the other side, smirked, seeing his reaction. "Young Master Chen need not worry. I’ve ordered this mostly for me. However, you can still try out a few things if you’d like to."

"...All this?!" Yi Chen couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock when he heard her words, "...M-Madam Wei...will you really be able to finish all this?"

Seeing how extreme his reaction was, Wei Ru let out an amused chuckle and said, "Haha, of course I’ll be able to finish it all by myself.

Since I’m not a young woman anymore, I’m no longer obligated to keep up appearances when it comes to eating and thus can freely eat to my heart’s content."

As Wei Ru finished those words, she reached for one of the chicken legs. Placing it on her plate, she poured a couple of sauces onto it and said while momentarily glancing towards Yi Chen.

"That’s the only privilege of being old that I’ve been able to find."

With that said, she grabbed onto the juicy piece of chicken leg and began devouring it with no regard to her appearance.

"..."

’Well...I might as well eat something, I guess,’ Yi Chen thought with a weird expression on his face, seeing how engrossed Wei Ru was in the act of relishing the dishes.

Filling his plate with a few sets of different meats, curries, and noodles, he began eating as well.

However, unlike Wei Ru, he was eating at a rather reserved pace while turning his head towards the banquet hall’s entrance at regular intervals.

A few moments later, when Wei Ru noticed this, she furrowed her brows slightly before raising them in realisation, "Madam Cao Li and the Emperor will arrive after a few more minutes, so Young Master Chen can leisurely enjoy his meal until then. They’ll only leave this place after the banquet is completely over."

"I see..." Yi Chen raised his head in realisation and said while shaking his head in embarrassment, "Was I looking too obvious?"

"Yes...Yes, you were." Wei Ru nodded while slurping a bowl full of noodles.

From the pace at which she was eating, Yi Chen realised that soon there won’t be many dishes on the table for him to consume, so he gestured towards a nearby server to clear the empty plates and ordered a new set of dishes for himself.

As he was munching on salad while waiting for the dishes, Wei Ru asked after emptying the entire bowl of noodles and soup.

"So, what is Young Master Chen planning to do when Madam Cao Li arrives in the hall? Do you wish to befriend her or talk with her about something important?" Wei Ru asked with curiosity apparent in her eyes.

"Well...something along those lines, I guess," Yi Chen answered with a forced smile.

Hearing his response, Wei Ru rolled her eyes in disappointment and said, "Whatever... it was my fault in thinking that Young Master Chen would answer my question now..."

Seeing this reaction, Yi Chen let out a few awkward chuckles and, in an attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere, said.

"Now that I think about it...does Madam Wei have kids? I’ve never heard you mention them until now..."

"Kids? Me?" A bitter smile instantly formed on Wei Ru’s face as she said, "Much less kids, I didn’t even marry anyone in the two hundred or so years I’ve been alive...it’s also one of the reasons why I was able to fake you as my partner earlier."

"A-Ah, I see." Yi Chen nodded when he heard those words. He had earlier just assumed that she had lost her husband because of the disease, not expecting it to be such a case.

Meanwhile, Wei Ru glanced at the ring Yi Chen was wearing on his left ring finger and said, "It seems like Young Master Chen is already married."

"Yes, it’s been almost a year since we got married..." Yi Chen said with a smile as he recalled his memories, then immediately pulled himself together and steered the conversation back to the earlier topic.

"...but how come Madam Wei never got married? From your appearance, it’s obvious that you looked beautiful when you were young, so..."

Hearing Yi Chen’s words, a pleased smile formed on Wei Ru’s face, but she soon erased that expression and, with narrowed eyes, asked Yi Chen in a confrontational manner, "Is Young Master trying to imply that I don’t look beautiful anymore?"

"Well..."

Hearing this unexpected question, Yi Chen was a little taken aback and could only force an awkward smile.

Wei Ru chortled at his reaction and, after taking another fresh bite, continued, "Well, it wasn’t that I wasn’t able to find a suitable person. At that time, I encountered many...both men who found me attractive and the ones I found attractive as well.

However, I rejected them all."

She said, as the smile on her face dimmed significantly.

When he heard this, Yi Chen couldn’t help but frown. It was at that time that the dishes he had ordered had arrived on the table.

However, instead of jumping onto the dishes, he asked the question that had formed in his mind, "Why? Was Madam Wei not fond of the idea of getting married that time?"

"Well, something along those lines, I would say..." Wei Ru said with a bitter smile and continued, "At that time, just like many other young cultivators, I also wanted to devote the entirety of my time in cultivation to ensure that I would be able to escape this disease.

Although my talent wasn’t great, it was still considered a little above average, so I thought that if I were to give up on everything and focus only on cultivating, then reaching the Ninth Qi Absorption Stage before I reached my end would really be a possibility.

Little did I know that even after pouring everything that I had into cultivation, I still wouldn’t have enough time to reach that stage."

She smiled while letting out a regretful sigh and said, "Now here I am still stuck at the First Qi Absorption Stage with barely a few decades to live...If only I had known this would be the outcome at that time, I wouldn’t have taken this decision."

"I see..." Yi Chen acknowledged with a nod while feeling unsure as to what he should say.

From what he knew, the Qi Absorption Stage cultivators could live up to 600 years, so the fact that she was stating that she only had a few decades to live only meant that it was the effect of those yellow tablets.

Just like for mortals, it slashed the life of an individual by almost fifty per cent, something which Yi Chen was able to link up thanks to the information he was privy to.

Finding the silence a little awkward and with the intention of cheering Madam Wei a little, he soon said a few seconds later, "Well...It’s not too late, Madam Wei. You can still look for someone and live the rest of your life together with him."

"That indeed sounds like a dream come true," Wei Ru chuckled with a subtle longing expression in her eyes, but that only lasted for a moment.

Glancing towards Yi Chen, who was waiting for her answer, she suddenly said with a teasing smile, "How about this...would Young Master Chen like to become that someone for me?"

"...I’m married, so Madam Wei would have to look for someone else. I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone for you." Yi Chen stated awkwardly after a brief pause.

"Quite diplomatic you are, aren’t you? Young Master Chen," Wei Ru snorted in amusement and, leaning back on her seat a little, said, "I was just joking earlier. In reality, Young Master Chen is right. However, let me ask you something.

Let’s assume that you are not married and that you somehow know that you’re going to die in six months’ time, would you want to get into a romantic relationship with someone or would you prefer to spend the remaining time with yourself?"

As she finished that question, she expectantly looked towards Yi Chen while biting onto a dumpling.

Hearing her question, Yi Chen knitted his brows in thought and answered, "Well...I would choose to spend the time by myself."

The smile on Wei Ru’s face widened when he heard the response she was expecting and asked, "May I ask why you would do that?"

"...I don’t want to hurt the other person. If we are in a relationship in this period, then it’s natural that they’ll be filled with grief after I’m dead...that would be too selfish of me to do that to a person just so I can enjoy being in a relationship for six months."

"You don’t want to hurt the other person...that it feels too selfish. I feel the same way, Young Master Chen."

She smiled brightly after confirming that Yi Chen believed in the same principles as hers and continued,

"For someone like me who has already lived two hundred years, a few decades are no different from six months to me. Therefore, rather than looking for a partner now, I’ll just calmly spend my remaining time with myself.

That may not be the correct decision, but it’s definitely the decision which I feel is right for me."

"...So that’s why you asked that question." Yi Chen muttered in realisation as he understood the reasoning behind her asking that question earlier.

"Indeed, I wanted to- Oh, they are finally here." Wei Ru’s eyes suddenly went towards the hall’s entrance, making Yi Chen turn to his side as well.