Chapter 40: Marriage Alliance Part 2

Noticing Wei Tingxia removing his outer coat upon entering, he tentatively reached for the fasteners. But as soon as he extended his hand, a finger blocked him.

Rejected.

The Omega’s heart chilled, his fingers curling slightly. ‘Your Highness, I didn’t mean to offend……’

‘I know you didn’t. I’m just not used to it.’

Wei Tingxia removed his coat himself and tossed it to the waiting smart butler. ‘What’s your name?’

The Omega paused, then said, ‘I am Yuan Ni.’

‘How old?’

‘……Seventeen.’

Truly just a child. The imperial family was mad.

Wei Tingxia shook his head and looked at the Omega still awaiting orders. ‘Get up. I’m not used to people kneeling before me.’

At those words, Yuan Ni jolted inwardly again. He scrambled to his feet, movements awkwardly flustered, as if wishing to hide behind the smart butler’s mechanical arm.

Whoever handled this had good taste. Though young, Yuan Ni had a suitable build, especially those dark, moist eyes. Wei Tingxia could smell his pheromones—very sweet and fresh, brimming with vibrant life force.

‘May I attend to Your Highness for the night?’ Yuan Ni asked cautiously.

He sensed the Second Highness didn’t favor him, but he didn’t want to give up just like that. He didn’t want to live a lifetime of hardship in a tiny room; he wanted to seize a chance for his future.

‘No.’

Three words from Wei Tingxia easily crushed all his hopes.

Yuan Ni desperately tried to maintain some dignity, but the surging tears were uncontrollable, spilling out in an instant.

Immense fear gripped him—what next? Passed around as a plaything? Or directly thrown out of the palace? He had been bought by the imperial family; if expelled, he wouldn’t even have proof of identity…… For a registry-less Omega, what awaited him?

The more he thought, the more terrified he grew. His knees buckled, nearly kneeling again to beg.

‘Why are you crying?’

A voice sounded close by. Yuan Ni shuddered in shock and lifted his tearful eyes to find Wei Tingxia, who had been at the door, now standing right before him, frowning as he offered a tissue.

“I didn’t say I wanted to chase you away,” Wei Tingxia’s tone carried a trace of barely perceptible helplessness. “Stay here for the time being. There are guest rooms on the second floor—pick any one except the one at the very end.”

Yuan Ni dazedly took the tissue, his fingertips ice-cold, barely able to grasp the soft fabric.

The massive panic was abruptly halted by those words. He stared blankly at Wei Tingxia, teardrops still clinging to his eyelashes, unable to react for a moment.

“Really… really?” His voice choked, thick with nasal tones, filled with disbelief.

“Mm.” Wei Tingxia gave a simple acknowledgment. “Get a good rest tonight.”

“Th-thank you, Your Highness…”

Wei Tingxia didn’t look at him again. He turned and headed toward the floating elevator leading upstairs. Yuan Ni stood in place, listening to the faint mechanical whir fade away. Only then did his taut nerves gradually relax, his body trembling slightly as he let out a long, silent breath, like a survivor of disaster.

At least, he was temporarily safe.

Next morning.

When Wei Tingxia arrived at the Imperial Palace, the morning court session had just ended.

As a prince who had returned to the Empire after three years missing, Wei Tingxia had not received any official position from the Old Emperor. Thus, when he appeared at the study door, the guarding attendant was momentarily stunned.

“Your Highness, please go in and wait.”

So Wei Tingxia entered the study. When the Old Emperor returned, he happened to see his own son standing respectfully by the door, waiting.

A satisfied expression immediately appeared on the aged face. The Old Emperor nodded, sat down himself, and beckoned to Wei Tingxia.

“Sit.”

Wei Tingxia observed the Old Emperor’s expression and condition from a short distance away. He found that compared to their last meeting, the Old Emperor’s state was far better—not just a little, but markedly so.

It wasn’t the change brought by ordinary maintenance or good mood; it was more like… an unnatural vigor, as if all deep-seated ailments had vanished.

A thread of doubt quietly crept into Wei Tingxia’s mind.

“Your month in the Border Military District,” the Old Emperor picked up a towel offered by an attendant and slowly wiped his palms. His eyelids lifted slightly, his gaze carrying a casual scrutiny. “Did you get used to it?”

Wei Tingxia maintained a deferential posture, his voice steady and calm. “Thank you for your concern, Father Emperor. I’m doing well.”

“Lin Wensi isn’t easy to get along with. He’s stubborn and rigid, and he dislikes imperial scions like you the most. Even if I appeared before him, I probably wouldn’t get a good look.”

The Old Emperor’s fingertips lightly tapped on the smooth armrest, producing dull thuds. The sound stood out especially clearly—and oppressively—in the spacious study.

His words didn’t require deep analysis to detect his dissatisfaction with Lin Wensi.

Thus, Wei Tingxia went along with it. “General Lin doesn’t like me much, it’s true, but the authority comes from Father Emperor. It doesn’t matter if he likes it or not.”

The Old Emperor burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“As expected of my son!” The hoarse laughter echoed in the study, and the Old Emperor’s gaze toward Wei Tingxia grew even more approving. “Good child, come here.”

He beckoned, and Wei Tingxia rose quickly, stopping beside the Old Emperor.

With a glance from the Old Emperor, the attendant standing by immediately pulled up a virtual portrait, displaying it clearly before Wei Tingxia’s eyes.

The portrait showed a man who appeared to be in his early twenties, with delicate features. His gaze toward the camera held a hint of shyness; he was an Omega.

“What do you think? Good-looking?” the Old Emperor asked.

Wei Tingxia couldn’t figure out what he was getting at, so he replied, “Good-looking.”

“How about I grant him to you as your prince consort?”

What?

Wei Tingxia hadn’t expected this turn. At the same time, System 0188 quickly pulled up the identity information on the male Omega in the portrait.

Ilias Vanderveel.

He was the Vanderveel Duke’s only Omega child. His mother carried one-sixth imperial bloodline, serving as proof of the alliance between the Vanderveel Family and the Wei imperial clan.

The Vanderveel Family was involved in the Empire’s interstellar finance and held near-monopolistic sway in energy extraction across several prosperous star domains. Their power was deeply rooted, intertwined with the imperial family, sharing weal and woe—a cornerstone of the Empire’s noble pyramid, one of the most stable.

The Old Emperor’s intent in pushing Ilias before him now was obvious: it consolidated an unbreakable alliance between the imperial family and the top great nobles, and it was also a silent affirmation of Wei Tingxia’s status and abilities.

If Wei Tingxia married the Vanderveel Family’s sole precious pearl, it would be like slamming a heavy, gleaming weight onto the scales of the succession struggle.

For a prince to have an ally like the Vanderveels greatly increased his odds of victory in the coming fight for the throne.

No wonder Wei Heng had been so furious last night.

[I must remind you: based on official data and partial delayed footage, the system judges that Ilias Vanderveel’s personality is more extreme than average. There are three suspected criminal records under his name that were artificially erased, including but not limited to physical harm and political persecution.]

System 0188 pulled up data to support its point, but Wei Tingxia didn’t look. His face still showed shock, as if he hadn’t processed it.

To the Old Emperor, this seemed like the reaction of someone too overjoyed by sudden good fortune.

“I’ve had someone look into you as well, and this child has no objections. If you like him, that’s perfect.”

He said meaningfully, “Ilias is a good child; his father dotes on him greatly. Though the Vanderveels aren’t as thriving as before, they’re still one of the top powers in the Empire.”

Doted on meant leverage. If Wei Tingxia married this Omega, he would gain unprecedented political support, and the Vanderveels would bind themselves to the imperial family once more. The two decaying behemoths would draw the last of their sustenance from each other, perhaps emitting one final gleam.

Publicly and privately, he had no reason to refuse.

The turbid eyes fixed tightly on Wei Tingxia, the expectation and undeniable pressure within them unmistakable.

Wei Tingxia was silent for a moment, then cracked a smile. Finally, he knelt decisively on the ground and called out loudly:

“In that case, I thank Father Emperor here for making the match!”

For a time, only the Old Emperor’s slightly wheezing laughter echoed in the study. “Good, very good! In that case, five days from now is an excellent day. The Vanderveels will conclude the marriage with you then!”

So, five days later, Wei Tingxia really was going to get a marriage certificate with someone else.

System 0188 chattered in his mind, toneless: [Now you’ve got multiple spouses too.]

Wei Tingxia: …

Thinking of Yuan Ni still living in his house, he said gravely, “This matter absolutely cannot let Yan Xinfeng know.”

Otherwise, Capital Star wouldn’t escape unscathed.

System 0188 found this difficult.

…

…

When leaving the Imperial Palace, Wei Tingxia ran into Wei Shu head-on.

The man hadn’t changed much, but the people behind him had. Upon seeing Wei Tingxia, Wei Shu stopped and curved his lips slightly. “I haven’t congratulated Second Brother yet.”

Wei Tingxia said, “What’s there to congratulate?”

“Isn’t the betrothal to the Vanderveels good news?” Wei Shu countered. “I’ll offer early congratulations on Second Brother’s wedding.”

For imperial members, marriage was never about personal desire. More often, it was elevated into an alliance, representing the union of two behemoths rather than individual feelings.

So Wei Tingxia didn’t need to like Ilias; he just needed to like the Vanderveel Family behind him.

Wei Shu’s words said congratulations, but his eyes held an undisguised chill.

“Your congratulations could be even faker.”

With that, Wei Tingxia’s mouth twitched. Too lazy to force a smile now, he walked straight away, leaving Wei Shu behind.

For the next three full days, he didn’t step out of the house once. He relied entirely on the Smart Butler for meals, with Yuan Ni occasionally cooking.

System 0188 pushed its processing power to the limit, like a jellyfish extending countless invisible tentacles into every shadow hiding secrets, stirring the foul and gloomy pasts.

One dawn, System 0188, briefly disengaging from the vast data stream, told Wei Tingxia that a rare, mass-produced potion was being secretly shipped into the Imperial Palace in steady streams. One of its core raw materials was Omega blood.

From fragments of damaged materials, System 0188 judged that the potion had effects to repair aging cells. Thus, its user was self-evident.

On the fourth night, deep into the night, Wei Tingxia was jolted awake from sleep by the system’s suddenly heightened shrill alarm.

Multiple estates in Capital Star’s Noble District suffered terrorist attacks. Ilias Vanderveel was gravely injured, his life hanging in the balance.

At the same time, Yan Xinfeng remained missing without a trace.