’What’s going on?’ Gao Neng glanced behind him. The Great Elf who had grabbed him was nodding gently, seeming to motion for him to speak up.

But would Gao Neng speak?

He would not.

So, he just stood there silently, not saying a word.

Seeing Gao Neng remain silent, the Elf Queen frowned slightly. ’Since you’ve been questioned, shouldn’t you step forward and loudly proclaim your "story"?’

’Ambushed on the road, narrowly escaping with your life... it’s not a hard story to tell, is it?’

But Gao Neng stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, the murmurs from the other Princes grew louder, and there were even voices of suspicion among them. Elf Queen Una could no longer tolerate it.

She had no choice but to speak again.

"Prince Jami was ambushed by the Human Alliance on his journey here. I have already received the report on this matter. For the Prince to still choose to come to our Dark Night Elf Clan and propose marriage is truly remarkable!" Elf Queen Una practically ground out the words.

"Ambushed?"

"What a coincidence... Why isn’t he saying anything himself?"

"..."

The other Princes were naturally not entirely convinced.

But just then, Elf Queen Una directly announced the start of the Royal Courtship Ceremony.

Although the other Princes still had their doubts, Una had offered an explanation. With the official start of the ceremony, they naturally wouldn’t dwell on the matter any longer.

After all, there were over twenty Princes present...

’What’s one more? It’s not a big deal, right?’

Just as they were thinking this, the water in the cold pool began to ripple.

Just like last time, the Seventh Princess emerged from the cold pool. Her jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders, her beauty intoxicating the Princes in attendance.

The difference was that this time, Seventh Princess Wu Dingxiang had changed into a more magnificent ceremonial dress.

It was a long, emerald-green gown embedded with nine rubies. It looked noble and holy, and exuded an aura of nature.

"WHOA!"

All eyes in the hall immediately focused on Seventh Princess Wu Dingxiang.

The Princes were stunned.

Even though they all had their own agendas, they could never refuse something so beautiful. There wasn’t one among them who didn’t want to possess the Seventh Princess for himself.

Except... for Gao Neng.

Because right now, all Gao Neng wanted to do was sneak away.

However, the pressure from the Great Elf standing behind him was too immense. He predicted that if he tried to run, he would inevitably be caught and dragged back.

’I’m just a fake Prince! What is this? Are they seriously expecting me to compete with these other Princes? That makes no sense...’ Gao Neng had no idea about the agreement between the Dark Night Elf Clan and the Royal Race, nor did he know what conditions had been set between the different peoples. Naturally, he couldn’t immediately figure out what was happening.

So, he decided to watch more and listen more...

’Yes, just watch and listen. As for competing?’

’There’s no way I’m competing.’

...

Seventh Princess Wu Dingxiang’s appearance successfully captured everyone’s attention, signaling the official start of the Royal Courtship Ceremony.

And what followed was, in Gao Neng’s eyes, a classic, tear-jerking melodrama...

After making her appearance, Seventh Princess Wu Dingxiang began her performance. She started by shedding silent, sorrowful tears, and then her weeping gradually turned into choked sobs.

In an instant, the Princes’ hearts were broken.

"Why is the Seventh Princess crying?"

"On this joyous occasion, is the Seventh Princess troubled by some sorrow?"

"Is it something we’ve done wrong?"

"..."

The Princes all spoke up one after another.

But the Seventh Princess just kept crying, her tear-stained face a picture of pitiable beauty.

Finally, Elf Queen Una stepped forward.

"Ding Xiang has grown up by my side since she was a child. She has never taken a single step outside the Dark Night Elf Clan. My daughter..." As she spoke, tears welled up in Elf Queen Una’s eyes.

The Princes immediately understood.

’She can’t bear to part with her!’

’What a display of true emotion!’

’Such a deep bond between mother and daughter!’

’In that case...’

’Should we just take both of them home?’

While the Princes were lost in their chaotic thoughts, a Great Elf standing behind Una stepped forward. Behind this Great Elf stood several rather old Elders.

"Princes, you have all seen it. Her Majesty the Queen truly cannot bear to see the Seventh Princess leave. However, the Princess’s courtship is a major affair, so the council of Elders of our Dark Night Elf Clan has reached a resolution!" The Great Elf finished, then paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

"What resolution?" the Princes immediately asked.

"If any Prince is willing to marry into our Dark Night Elf Clan, our Seventh Princess will give him priority consideration. The wedding can be held here in the Elf Royal City today!" the Great Elf declared in a firm tone.

"WHAT!"

"Marry into the clan?!"

"You actually want us to marry in?"

The Princes were instantly in an uproar again.

They were all direct-lineage Princes of their respective clans. If they weren’t, they would have had no right to propose to the Elf Queen’s most beloved Seventh Princess in the first place.

Moreover, many among them were successors to the title of Clan King.

’Make them marry into the Dark Night Elf Clan?’

’Wouldn’t that mean giving up their claim to become Clan King?!’

"Impossible! How could we possibly marry into the Dark Night Elf Clan!"

"That’s right, absolutely impossible!"

"In terms of status alone, the Dark Night Elf Clan has no Strongest among them! For us to marry the Seventh Princess is already a great honor for the Dark Night Elf Clan, and you want us to marry in?!"

At least half of the Princes rejected the idea immediately.

Their goal was to obtain the special abilities of the Dark Night Elf Clan, and perhaps even pull the clan into their own faction. How could they possibly marry in?

However, the other half of the Princes remained silent.

But they weren’t thinking about marrying in either.

Instead, they realized that this move by the Dark Night Elf Clan was clearly an attempt to break the agreement.

"Her Majesty the Queen, we only wish to ask one question!" the Prince from the Beast Race stepped forward.

"Please, ask your question, Prince of the Beast Race."

"Today, must the Seventh Princess choose a Prince from among us to be betrothed to?"

"Mm, yes." Elf Queen Una nodded.

"In that case, can we understand it to mean that if no Prince here is willing to marry in, the Seventh Princess will still choose from among us regardless?" the Beast Race Prince asked again.

"Of course." Elf Queen Una nodded again.

"Very good. I have no more questions. Now, the Princes present can make their choice." The Beast Race Prince gave a slight smile. He had achieved his goal.

And in fact, it was just as he had expected.

Hearing this, the other Princes instantly understood.

The agreement between the Ancestors and the Celestial Race forced the Elf Queen to marry off the Seventh Princess. If none of them agreed to marry in, the Seventh Princess would still have to marry one of them.

’Since that’s the case...’

’Who would be stupid enough to stand up and choose to marry in now?’

"We all refuse to marry in!" a Prince immediately declared.

"Yes! We refuse!"

"We refuse!"

Once one spoke up, a second and third naturally followed.

Then, more and more Princes spoke out, not a single one willing to marry in.

This scene, naturally, made the Seventh Princess cry even harder. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her whole body trembled in the cold pool, a heartbreaking sight to behold.

The Great Elf who had spoken seemed to have anticipated this. Without any surprise, he spoke again. "Princes, we know this is an outrageous request, and it is merely a unilateral demand from our Dark Night Elf Clan. You are all free to refuse. Of course, after refusing, you will certainly lose some opportunities..."

"There’s no ’opportunity’ to be lost! If we all refuse, the opportunity is still equal for everyone!" This time, the Princes didn’t wait for the Great Elf to finish speaking.

"That’s right, just make your choice!"

"None of us will marry in! Please, let the Seventh Princess choose!"

"That’s right!"

The Princes all chimed in, one after another.

Gao Neng had been silently watching the show from the side. He felt the Seventh Princess was quite the actress; at least in terms of crying scenes, her talent points were pretty good.

’Of course, she’s still a far cry from me.’

’If I were the one performing...’

’I’d rip open the front of my shirt and scream my lungs out: I won’t marry! I just won’t! I’d rather die than marry out...’

’That way, probably only a Prince who could stand being cuckolded would still want to marry her, right?’

’Of the twenty-plus Princes here, who likes the color green?’

’No one!’

’Then naturally, she wouldn’t have to get married.’

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a kick to his rear from the Great Elf behind him, and his entire body lunged forward off the wooden platform.

At the same time, he heard a loud shout.

"The Thirteenth Prince of the Wood Elf Race is willing to marry into the Dark Night Elf Clan!" The one who spoke was, of course, the Great Elf standing behind Gao Neng.

"..."

Silence. Dead silence.

And then, the entire hall erupted into an uproar.

All the Princes stared at Gao Neng in disbelief, because they all knew that the Wood Elf Race also had a Strongest.

’A Prince from a race that has a Strongest is willing to marry into a race that doesn’t?’

’What the hell!’

’You must be a damn spy!’

"Prince Jami is willing to marry in, this is wonderful! Princess, Prince Jami says he’s willing! You won’t have to be separated from the Queen anymore!" the presiding Great Elf immediately exclaimed with delight. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

But the other Princes’ faces were grim.

Because once "Gao Neng" agreed to marry in, the balanced, unified front was shattered. If nothing unexpected happened, they were all about to miss their chance with the Seventh Princess.

"Damn it, this Jami must be completely blinded by lust!"

"To actually give up the competition to be Clan King just to marry the Seventh Princess, what a useless fool!"

"Other than being handsome, this guy is completely worthless!"

"What right does a Prince like that have to compete with us?"

The Princes were all extremely displeased. They were unwilling to simply hand the Seventh Princess over to such a useless Prince, but they themselves did not want to marry in.

’What are we supposed to do?’

’It’s a complete dilemma!’

"Prince Jami... are you really willing to marry into our Dark Night Elf Clan?" Seventh Princess Wu Dingxiang seemed to snap out of her stupor, asking with tears still in her eyes.

"No, I’m not willing!" Gao Neng shook his head.