At that moment, the other princes cast glances filled with awe at Rocky. Way back, they used to regard Rocky as nothing but a lousy guy and were even very reluctant to talk with him or be associated with him. But now, they were in disbelief as they found out that he had become an indispensable existence in the Holy Dragon Empire. They ate their words, and Rocky had proven them wrong. Today, they looked up to him. They weren't estranged from the fact that Rocky had broken into the Witch Palace to rescue Lena, fought with the best hands of the royal family alone, and dealt with Alston with a rope tied around his neck. Moreover, rumor had it that there were two armies of the empire to back him up. Not to mention that the Ji Clan, the second largest clan in the empire, also stood by his side. It was clear that from now on, nobody would dare underestimate him for his power and his influence.
Meanwhile, the princes exchanged hesitant looks at each other. Then they stepped forward and bowed to Rocky, showing great concerns and respect for him.
Rocky saw the princes' humility and nodded his head with a smile on his face. He kept mum and passed by them as he headed for the emperor's palace.
After bringing contempt to themselves, the princes stepped aside dejectedly, keeping their eyes fixed on the ground.
"Your Royal Highness, a great man rarely stoops to pettiness or harbors grievance for past wrongs. Please, forgive us for being so rude to you before. Our guilt is unpardonable! Please punish us as you like!" Elder Kerr and the royal members who had fought against Rocky stepped forward and apologized with deep respect and modesty.
"Please, forget all about what happened. I know that you only did that because Alston pulled the wool over your eyes. And besides, I had never revealed myself to you before. So let bygones be bygones and let's all just move on. But all in all, it's nice of you to say that!" Rocky replied leniently.
At that moment, Elder Kerr and the others looked at each other again with their surprised faces. Based on their previous experience, the emperor had shown his real attitude when he didn't blame Rocky for all the wrongs he had done in the past. This only proved that the emperor took Rocky's side, and thus, they believed they would surely have a hard time dealing with any trouble that concerned Rocky.
However, there was no one to blame but themselves, because they chose to believe Alston's version of the story and set themselves against Rocky, to the point where they even attempted to kill him. Afraid that Rocky would make things hard for them, they admitted their faults first. But as a response, Rocky just brought it over with few simple sentences. He seemed to have forgotten the fact that they had tried several times to kill him with a joint effort. Although they didn't know Rocky's true identity back then, they still took action against him. And that a
t made Rocky's heart skip a beat. Immediately, he looked at Isis and Lena, who were also in disbelief, and raised his eyebrows.
"But Father, the engagement between Shirley and me exists in name only. Why do you suddenly want us to get married?" Rocky knew that the emperor must have his own reason for pushing him to marry Shirley. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a decision.
"It's for the empire's sake. Our empire has been in a mess, and I heard numerous complaints among the people since Alston became the acting emperor. He left this huge mess for us to clean. And now, there are many doubts in the royal members too. To make things worse, my physical condition is not getting any better. We can't promise that there will be royal members taking the opportunity to make trouble and commit adultery. The Ximen Clan is the only force that can restrain the power of the royal family. Therefore, if you marry Shirley, you can steadily gain control of the royal family's power. Once the foundation of the royal family is solid, it can also quell the doubts of the royal family," the emperor explained calmly.
"Your Majesty, even you're telling the truth, but Basil has already married Isis, and Isis just had their first kid. It's unfair to Isis if Basil marries Shirley!" Lena cut in impatiently. She was not able to control herself at that moment. Moreover, it was not a proper suggestion for the time being.
"I agree with Lena. She's right, Father. This is just too much. I can't," Rocky replied, with his brows deeply knitted.
"I know that it's a little too much. But this is the idea made by Chief Bryant, and I think it's reasonable," the emperor said, dropping another bomb that shocked everyone.
"What? This is Chief Bryant's idea?" Rocky was completely dumbstruck. He had never expected that Bryant would agree to marry his dear granddaughter to him. What was more was that Bryant had never shown such inclination before.