Rest in a Demon's Embrace [BL]

Chapter 167 - The Emperor’s Love

"Are you telling me that Cao Haolong has forcefully changed the prince that the Cao family supports?"

This question was asked throughout the whole Cloudsoar City, but with different emotions contained in the words, depending on the one asking.

The Emperor held a bit of surprise and amusement within his voice as he asked, while the Fourth Demon Prince was full of hatred and anger.

Jiang Luo was already well aware of his disadvantages when compared to his younger brother, Jiang Yao, but due to the lack of interest in the throne, he had still managed to lure most of the noble families to his side.

He was also well aware that if he had ignored Jiang Yao from the beginning, the current situation would never have appeared, but he was full of jealousy and hatred towards Jiang Yao.

This hatred was not solely based on his jealousy, but it was also ingrained into him from a very young age by his late mother.

The Emperor of the Demon Empire had nine sons of the direct lineage and seven daughters; however, only a handful of these shared the same mother.

While the Emperor only had one Empress at a time, these empresses had a tendency to die young. Some of them died naturally, while others were given a helping hand by either the Emperor himself, or by other people scheming against them.

Among the older generation within the Demon Empire, it was no secret that the Demon Emperor only had one love throughout his whole life, but at the beginning he was unable to marry her.

She was not of a noble birth, but she was beautiful and talented. He had met her as a young man, and they had fallen in love at first sight. However, the responsibilities on his shoulders were heavy, and he understood that he could not take her back, both for his own, but also for her sake.

As the Heir Apparent of the Demon Empire, he understood well that if he brought this woman back and showed her the love he held for her, she would be in danger.

She did not have anyone to back her up, nor did she have the ability to sit on the throne as his Empress, hence he buried the love deep within his heart and refused to show it.

Later he got married to a noble demon, who was able to sit by his side, but she soon found out that he did not love her.

Initially she was satisfied with the position he had shown her, and the respect he gave, but later she became greedy and wanted more.

The constant schemes and attempts to increase her own status in the heart of the Emperor touched his bottom line, and eventually she was stripped of her title and banished to a poor country.

The Emperor soon found another Empress, but this woman was murdered by a rival family who wished for their daughter to take her position instead.

Countless reasons had caused numerous Empresses to be replaced, and among these was the mother of the Fourth Demon Prince.

However, while the other Empresses did not know much about the love which lived within the Emperor's heart, she knew full well.

She knew and she told her son from the very beginning. It was also her who had made the identity of Jiang Yao's future mother public, which resulted in the Emperor's fury and the murder of his own Empress.

The Emperor tried to explain that while he did have a positive attitude towards this young woman, he was not in love; however, the more he explained, the more others understood the truth.

He was the Demon Emperor, so he had no reason to explain, unless he wished to protect her.

After that, he had married a few more women, but they had suffered the same fate as the previous, and eventually, he no longer refused his heart and simply proposed marriage to the woman in his heart.

While this woman was fully aware of the fate that had befallen the other Empresses, she did not hesitate to accept and they were happily married. The two had a son together, Jiang Yao, but it did not take long before she was caught up in the fate of these Empresses.

The Emperor's grief of losing his true love caused chaos throughout the whole continent, but he understood that his position did not allow for him to let down the responsibility on his shoulders and he moved forward, yet from her death, his own heart had stopped beating.

Even so, he married a few more Empresses, one after another, yet after the Ninth Demon Prince was born, he simply gave up.

The void within his heart could not be filled and since he had already created an impressive number of offspring, he might as well stop now.

The responsibility of the Emperor position was heavy and he had never been able to live a peaceful life, but even so, the Emperor could not help but long for a simple life to accompany his true love.

He understood that she was gone, but even so, he wished to guard her grave in the last years of his life, before he would be put to rest by her side.

This was why he let his sons fight for the sake of the throne.

Also, although he never showed any favoritism towards Jiang Yao, he could not help but feel partial in his heart. Even so, he hoped that this seventh son would not try to aim for the throne. He did not wish for this specific son to sacrifice his happiness for something as useless as a throne.