Eldritch Horror Theatre

Old Man Ji, are you trying to defy the heavens? Where did you even learn lines like that?

A triangle might be the most stable geometric shape, but a love triangle certainly didn’t share that property.

Not to mention it touched upon the highly scandalous subject of choosing between a queen and a consort.

Listening to Don Juan’s declaration, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

Shocking as the unfolding drama was, this was easily his most leisurely viewing experience yet.

The clash between father and son was so magnetic that Fu Qian remained completely undisturbed. Even Camera Position 6 was utterly forgotten, left to happily spectate from the sidelines.

Having listened to the groom’s entire monologue, Fu Qian had to admire his senior’s professional dedication.

He captured that youthful angst perfectly. The Old Man must have poured a lot of effort into this role.

Truthfully, the groom’s words alone weren’t actually that explosive.

A more forgiving observer might just chalk it up to an over-sheltered youth making an immature fuss.Viewing one’s children as a continuation of one’s own life was a common enough mindset for many.

It was perfectly normal to watch the next generation indulge in pleasure and feel as though you were partaking in it yourself.

But the core issue remained: Old Man Ji wasn’t here just to act out a teenage rebellion.

No matter how natural the performance seemed, its core objective was almost certainly to deal with Jose.

And that was what made this angle of approach so brilliant.

It was perfectly measured immaturity, dancing wildly right on the red line. He pushed the tension higher and higher while successfully denying His Excellency Jose an excuse to flip the table outright.

Having already witnessed the latter’s vigilance, Fu Qian had zero doubts about His Excellency Jose’s ruthlessness if things felt too off.

The grand wedding becoming a public laughingstock would mean absolutely nothing to him.

In fact, given the current situation, the level of tolerance Jose displayed was already bordering on abnormal.

This was exactly why Fu Qian so highly praised Old Man Ji’s preparatory groundwork.

It was obvious the senior operative had grasped something crucial, tying back to a question that had puzzled Fu Qian earlier—

Why was Jose being so excessively anxious and accommodating about Don Juan’s wedding?

This was far more than just a father’s relief at seeing his Offspring settle down. This wedding clearly held an extraordinary significance for him.

So unless the situation deteriorated to an absolutely unacceptable level, he was not inclined to ruin it all.

...

”The one I chose is, of course, the right person for me.”

Having listened intently to Don Juan’s speech, Jose’s expression grew profoundly meaningful, yet he still met the statement head-on.

”But aren’t you applying a double standard? You keep prattling on about pursuing your own identity, but have you ever respected hers?

”Does it matter if she is the right person for me or the right person for you? Shouldn’t you be asking who the right person is for her?”

Gesturing toward the bride, his slightly stern tone sounded surprisingly noble and righteous.

...

Truly a clash of masters.

His Excellency Jose’s phrasing might have been a bit convoluted, but the translation was simple—

You demand romantic freedom for yourself and claim you want to break free from your father’s control, but the moment it involves someone else, you apply a blatant double standard?

Does it matter who is satisfied with her? Shouldn’t the only thing that matters be who she is satisfied with?

He was truly using someone’s spear against their own shield.

Hmm...

And the effect was striking.

Without using a single trace of Transcendent Tier power, he successfully cornered the groom.

Even with Old Man Ji beneath that youthful face, he was momentarily struck speechless. His gaze drifted to the bride’s exquisitely made-up face—the face that should have been the center of attention today.

Yet, as things had played out, she had become the most humiliated person in the room.

In front of all the guests, her new husband hadn’t delivered a vow of unwavering devotion, but rather a declaration of defiance.

She had been cast as a shackle, while his ”true love” sat hidden in the audience...

Anyone with even a shred of self-respect would view this as an unforgivable insult—

”I said it from the start. I have never doubted my choice.”

Yet, meeting Don Juan’s gaze—and the stares of the entire crowd—the bride displayed absolute emotional stability.

Faint tears glimmered in her eyes, and she made no effort to hide them. In a calm, steadfast tone, she repeated her earlier words, emphasizing that they hadn’t just been recited vows.

...

For a moment, the seething fire of jealousy filling the hall seemed to stall.

After all, this was true devotion shown in the face of adversity. Uttered under these circumstances, her words carried a profound, undeniable weight.

Such extraordinary tolerance even gave the ambitious ladies who wanted to replace her pause; they couldn’t help but put themselves in her shoes, wondering if they could ever muster the same grace.

So how exactly was the Punished Consort able to do it?

Fu Qian actually couldn’t care less about the results of the ladies’ self-evaluations; his attention remained entirely on the target of their comparisons.

Judging by the origins of the Eye of the Punished Consort, her life after this wedding had been far from pleasant.

Her husband died suddenly; she gave birth to a child but lost her sanity, and ultimately met a tragic, agonizing end...

All of these details seemed to suggest the bride had been dragged into some terrifying Shadow.

Her suspected corruption by Excellency Father’s Amnion certainly backed up that theory.

Yet, that alone didn’t seem enough to explain how this arranged marriage could foster such deep affection.

”I have known you far longer than you have known me. The difference between us is that I know what the correct answer is.”

Continuing her defense, the Punished Consort’s tone remained perfectly even as she laid out her thoughts.

Judging by her phrasing, she genuinely seemed to interpret Don Juan’s current behavior as nothing more than a severe case of pre-wedding jitters.

But her justification was rather peculiar. ”I have known you far longer than you have known me”—the probability of such a scenario occurring shouldn’t be too high, should it?

Deep in thought, Fu Qian felt he was finally grasping something—

His Excellency Jose had told Don Juan that the bride on the altar was the right person for him, completely convinced of that fact...

The bride had been acting strangely before the grand ceremony even began, and she was far from the only one acting bizarrely within Ehm Palace...

As a High-Tier Transcendent, it was a given that outside of Tang Huang’s Cabin, it would be almost impossible to hide any secrets within Ehm Palace from Jose...

So it was very hard to imagine that the weird behavior of the various guests had escaped his notice. His Excellency Jose must have known all along that things in Ehm Palace were getting a bit unhinged today, merely keeping his guard up to ensure he wasn’t infected himself...

To take it a step further: what if this very scene was what he had been expecting?

If that were true, the idea that he had meticulously hand-picked the bride—one of today’s key players—became highly convincing.

So why had the Punished Consort been chosen? Because of Father’s Amnion.

The bride hadn’t been corrupted because she came to Ehm Palace; she had been selected to come to Ehm Palace because she was already corrupted.