A quaint drizzle earmarked the fateful day on which Tang Yue was mercilessly going to be sacrificed.
As if she had forgotten all about that, the young snake girl played with the raindrops dripping from the holes on her chamber's ceiling.
She took a long listless look at the dull red stone ceiling of her chamber in the secluded corner of the palace.
It was a blatant reminder of her social status and her insignificance in the serpentine clan.
Heh... Isn't a luxurious life waiting for me? Tang Yue chuckled sarcastically mocking her pathetic plight.
She reverted to her serpentine form and slithered to the main royal palace courtyard.
Though it was still a layered structure consisting of dull red stones, unlike her abysmal corner, the main area was hustling and bustling about with pomp and show.
The entire palace was decorated in grandiose.
All the major royal families had assembled and everyone had donned the traditional religious garb.
The snake clan prayed to the water goddess and believed that their innate power originated from her.
None of their auspicious rituals began without the ceremonious offering to the water goddess.
At the center of the main chamber, Tang Zuelo, Tang Yue's step-mother was mouthing off loudly.
"Everything has to be the best. The very best. Don't skimp on anything."
"Get over here. Arrange these properly. Put these at the front."
Tang Zuelo was firing instructions left and right, to ease her disturbed nerves. This ceremony had to go exceedingly well!
What if they get dissatisfied with something and suddenly the crown prince refuses to take the trash away?
No, she couldn't let that happen.
Her daughters were the real precious treasures of the clan. Unlike this trash, they were the real future of this clan. She needed to protect them at all costs.
Attending to each and every detail, down to the minute specifics, Tang Zuelo personally worked very hard.
She was determined to make sure that everything is at its very best.
She had not worked this hard in a long time!
Sending out hurried instructions in all four directions, Tang Zuelo's tired eyes fell on the elegant woman, who was casually chilling on the side.
"Useless thing! Get over here and arrange these flowers. Look at her! Standing there like a statue!" Tang Zuelo yelled with her nostrils flaring up.
Looking at the enraged and anxious woman, Tang Yue stifled her laughter and slowly walked over.
This sort of treatment was nothing new to her.
She had already been long accustomed to all sorts of insults.
In fact, her status in the clan was dangling right above a slave maid, threatening to fall below that bottom line at any given instant.
As her worn-out emerald embedded blue robe fluttered in the wind, Tang Yue tucked the few black strands of hair falling on her phoenix-like eyes behind her ear.
The robe nicely complemented her pale blue skin color.
Considering her looks alone, Tang Yue could stand toe to toe with the six other royal princesses.
Her mesmerizing face might be hidden behind a veil, but her noble and elegant aura could never be hidden or diminished.
Unfortunately, looks were not everything.
A snake clan royal being unable to form a beast core was a huge embarrassment to the entire royal family.
So what if she was stunningly beautiful? She was still just an useless trash.
Contrary to her usual lackluster demeanor, on this particular day, Tang Yue had a rare smile dancing on her delicate little dark blue lips.
For better or worse, she was finally leaving this forsaken place today. She could never be anything more than a trash in this clan.
Instead of forever staying here and rotting away, it was better for her to try her chances with the cold-blooded and murderous crown prince.
The crown prince... The man who held her destiny in his hands.
Her mind wandered around messily considering the various possibilities, while silently tossing the flowers around.
"Useless thing, why are you still loitering? Go and change out of your shabby clothes right this instant." Tang Zuelo yelled and handed her a better looking sparkly set of robes.
With a cold smile on her lips, Tang Yue sarcastically nodded in fake obedience and skipped over to change her clothes.
"Heh... The useless thing is actually happy!" Tang Zuelo found Tang Yue's behavior very comical.
"Ignorant brat." She chuckled with deep animosity etched in her face.
Soon it was time and all the members of the royal family had assembled, staying put in their best behavior.
Emperor Tang Zen, who ruled over the entirety of the northern snake clan had also arrived and settled on his throne.
He had a majestic and imposing aura about him.
Within a few seconds, the cunning old man immediately called for Tang Yue.
All these decorations, condiments, and displayed treasures were secondary.
The main star for tonight was after all the bride to be. If she was not perfect, then everything else would crumble as well.
Tang Yue obediently arrived. Her earlier indifferent and snarky attitude seemed to have surprisingly taken a back seat when she stood in front of the Emperor.
Because unlike her conniving parents, the Emperor was just outright ruthless and motive driven.
Well, he was the Emperor of their clan. So he had to be just that ruthless!!
Scanning her up and down, the Emperor nodded satisfactorily.
Her good looks were not a surprise. Everyone knew that the seven royal princesses looked absolutely stunning.
The young beautiful snake would probably look good in anything she wore.
And today, Tang Yue had worn the royal attire, which was a deep purple robe, studded with pearls.
It perfectly complemented her pale blue skin and brought out her natural beauty. Nothing was out of place.
"Here lass, wear this pendant around your neck." The Emperor fished out something from his pocket and reluctantly handed it to the surprised girl.
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"Here lass, wear this pendant around your neck." The Emperor fished out something from his pocket and handed it to the young girl standing in front of him reluctantly.
Immediately gasping noises erupted from all corners of the chamber. Even Tang Yue herself couldn't believe her eyes!
She blinked and stared at the item in her hands. Her hands were visibly trembling.
The emperor had just handed over a precious storage pouch to her!
Storage pouches were compressed bags that can store an enormous amount of miscellaneous goods.
What's even more amazing was that the goods stored inside retained their quality and did not degrade much for a long period of time.
This was indeed a precious and expensive treasure.
Tang Yue quizzically looked up at the Emperor, clutching the pendant tightly in her hands.
She had never once received anything like this in her entire lifetime.
The old man immediately chuckled and answered her raised eyebrows.
"You are a royal princess after all. We can't treat you badly in front of outsiders. Make us proud, child."
"Satisfy the elven crown prince and make us proud." He chuckled and patted her.
Maybe he expected her to be grateful or happy, but contrary to his expectations, Tang Yue's eyes only had a grim shadow around them.
How humiliating! They were definitely fattening her up before a blatant sacrifice!
She silently clutched the pendant and returned back to her rightful place next to her father and step-mother, who kept throwing jealous glances at her.
Tang Yue sneered.
All the royal princesses were decked from top to bottom in priceless treasures and this step-mother of hers was unhappy about the single treasure item in her hand???
She scoffed back at the enraged woman and turned away rudely. Since she was leaving today, she no longer had to tolerate this hateful woman at least!
Time slowly ticked away and everyone continued to wait patiently.
Dusk was almost coming to an end and soon nightfall would be upon them. But the Royal family and the various elders of the snake clan still waited patiently.
"The Elven clan people should have arrived by now. What happened?" Tang Zuelo inconspicuously whispered in Tang Shen's ears.
Of course, most of the elders and the Emperor had a significantly higher cultivation base than her and could clearly hear her restlessness.
"Patience sister-in-law. Patience."
"Patience is a good virtue for a noblewoman." The old man mockingly smiled and indirectly chided her.
Even he, as the Emperor of the entire Northern snake clan, had to bite his tongue and wait patiently in front of those strong elves! The insignificant side character had no right to complain.
The Emperor sighed as his mood began turning sour with every passing moment.
The lavish extravagant dinner arranged for the ceremonial night was getting cold.
All four of the Emperor's sons, decked with the best armors and weaponry, were getting impatient.
As opposed to the chivalrous princes seated on the right, the seven princesses were primly dressed and seated on the left.
They looked like shining elegant jewels, brilliantly decorating the entire chamber with an ethereal glow.
They all seemed to be engrossed in their own thought, anxious about the upcoming visit.
This one event could change the entire fate of their clan! War or peace, it all rested on the shoulders of that trash.
Of course, she was just a trial offer. Or rather, since Tang Yue is the eldest princess of the serpentine clan, she had to be the one that got betrothed.
If the crown prince for some reason was dissatisfied with her, one of them definitely had to step up and volunteer for that position.
After all, this matter concerned their entire clan. They couldn't afford to be negligent.
But, all these decisions had to wait until the crown prince arrived. For now, they could only sigh and wait patiently.
Contrary to the tense environment in the throne room, Tang Yue was busy with her new space pouch.
It was a shining translucent pearl, shaped like a dewdrop on a pleasant morning, and fitted on an inconspicuous thin piece of golden thread.
Her beautiful eyes occasionally darted up as she casually rolled around the spacial pouch pendant in her palm.
She even kept herself entertained by playing with the space pearl, tossing in, and taking out a broken jewel from her bracelet.
The very sight of her callous figure fueled Tang Zuelo's anger, but she could only grit her teeth and glare at her.
She didn't dare to speak another rude word to the bride-to-be in front of the Emperor.
And just like that another half an hour passed, when finally the horns sounded, notifying the arrival of the elves.
Errr... actually just a single elf.
Apparently, the event that was earth-shattering and life-changing for the entirety of the snake clan was not even worth a personal visit by the elven crown prince.
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