Chapter 14 – “I’ll go ask someone else.”

Stan Star

The emperor’s return from his tour was welcomed by a gathering of princes and ministers outside the imperial city.

As a planet favored by the gods, Stan Star values nature. Except for necessary travel and long-distance warships, technological gadgets are not popular. The architecture of the imperial palace follows a classical style from the previous century, and even the buildings in towns and villages maintain the appearance of centuries ago.

Forests and vegetation coexist with nature and peace.

The people of Stan Star believe that excessive introduction of advanced technology would harm nature, which they rely on the divine power of. They cannot accept it.

The reception was grand, and almost all the ministers and princes and their consorts were present.

The emperor was not one to indulge in beauty. His harem consisted of only a few concubines, totaling no more than five. Apart from the empress, there were two noble concubines and two consorts. The mother of the second prince was a commoner without divine power, and she did not come from a prominent noble family. On a hierarchical planet like Stan Star, she was considered to be without divine favor and remained a consort even after giving birth to a prince.

Today felt like a grand event, especially for the crown prince.

Wearing a pale yellow divine robe, the crown prince stood at the forefront of the crowd with great confidence. “Welcome back, Father.”

The emperor had already heard on his way back that the crown prince had managed the affairs of the palace very well, and with the empress adding fuel to the fire, he nodded in satisfaction. Rarely praising the crown prince, he said, “Well done.”

The crown prince’s joy was evident. “This is what your child should do.”

Next, various ministers stepped forward to greet the emperor, with the Prince’s faction exaggerating the crown prince’s achievements, while the neutral faction remained silent. The group returned to the palace in a grand procession. Only after everyone had paid their respects did they disperse, but they were not done yet. Most of them had to prepare for the evening banquet to welcome the emperor back to the palace.

“Third Prince.”

On the way back to the palace, a delicate female voice came from beside him.

Lu Xingwang turned his head and his gaze fell upon a woman dressed in luxurious attire with a beautiful face. He remained silent.

Consort Xi smiled. “I heard that Your Highness was ill. I wanted to visit earlier, but the priests said you needed rest, so I didn’t want to disturb you. Are you feeling better now?”

Lu Xingwang replied indifferently, “Thank you for your concern, Consort Xi. I’m much better now.”

Consort Xi was the second most favored consort after the empress. In the past, there was another noble consort named Lan who vied with her, but now she was gone. Consort Xi herself was highly favored and her influence grew even stronger. She had a naturally harmless appearance, but no one dared to underestimate her. Although she came from a noble family, she had been without a child for many years and yet still managed to maintain her position as a consort. It was a testament to her capabilities.

“I feel relieved seeing Your Highness safe,” Consort Xi smiled, her lips curling. She walked along the garden path parallel to Lu Xingwang, as if they were admiring the flowers together. “Your Highness has been residing in the palace for a long time, but you must have missed out on many things.”

Lu Xingwang raised an eyebrow and looked at her but remained silent.

Consort Xi seemed unaffected by his indifference and calmly said, “A few days ago, General Zuo encountered an attack from a pirate group at the B-099 star system wormhole while escorting supplies. A whole battalion of soldiers was annihilated, and the supplies were looted. General Zuo himself managed to escape but has been missing since then.”

Lu Xingwang’s footsteps halted.

Consort Xi turned around and faced him candidly. “What do you think, Your Highness?”

After a moment of silence, Lu Xingwang finally spoke, “The Zuo lineage has been loyal for a hundred years. They wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“But the videos and information transmitted by the warships indicate that he defected, even including the only surviving soldier from the battlefield, who also recalls it that way,” Consort Xi smirked. “His Majesty has entrusted the investigation to the Inspectorate, and even after divination by the clerical diviners, the answer remains the same. Now, the Crown Prince, along with the civil officials, has jointly submitted a petition requesting the appointment of a new general due to General Zuo’s unknown whereabouts, as the military cannot be without a leader.”

This passage may seem to describe the situation at face value, but it implies much more.

The Empress’s father, Minister Aostan, is the head of the civil officials. The civil officials are almost all supporters of the Crown Prince, while the military officials, represented by the Zuo lineage, have always remained neutral and refrained from getting involved in political struggles. However, taking advantage of this opportunity to bring down General Zuo, it would be the perfect timing to arrange for their own faction to assume the position of the Grand General.

“The eldest son of General Zuo has been kneeling outside the harem for a whole day but has not been granted an audience,” Consort Xi lowered her voice. “It appears that the Zuo lineage is on the verge of being abolished, but His Majesty does not actually intend to eliminate the Zuo family.”

Lu Xingwang raised an eyebrow as he looked at Consort Xi. “Why did you tell me this, Consort Xi?”

Consort Xi adjusted her scattered hair and took a step back to restore a normal distance. “I didn’t specifically inform you. We were just casually chatting, Your Highness.”

Neither of them was foolish. Intelligent people don’t need to spell everything out.

Consort Xi may seem favored, but only she knows the bitterness she endures. The Empress currently holds the most power, and if the Crown Prince’s influence becomes too apparent, the Empress, who wields ultimate authority, would eliminate Consort Xi as the first thorn in her side. With no children of her own, aligning herself with Lu Xingwang is her best choice.

She wouldn’t believe that Lu Xingwang would willingly remain secluded in the palace. Some people’s ambitions cannot be contained. If Lu Xingwang can seize the opportunity to incorporate the Zuo family under his influence, they would have the capital to resist the Empress. Consort Xi would wholeheartedly assist Lu Xingwang in dealing with the Empress. Even if Lu Xingwang fails, she wouldn’t suffer any losses, right?

“The blue juice flowers bloomed beautifully this year,” Consort Xi walked slowly to the edge of the flowerbed and sighed softly. “I’m actually best at brewing fragrant honey wine. It’s a pity that the green fruits that form when these flowers are in bud make the best wine. Missing the blooming season is truly regrettable.”

Lu Xingwang remained silent for a while before finally speaking up, “The blue juice flowers in my palace bloomed late. The palace maids collected quite a few buds a few days ago. If you have the time, I can have someone send them to you.”

“Oh, that’s too kind of you.”

Consort Xi’s lips curled into a smile, and she turned around, her ambition no longer concealed in her eyes. “Then I won’t be impolite.”

…

On the other side,

At the school during a long break,

Jian Mei had been in school for over a month. Although he hadn’t made many close friends yet, ever since the mountain climbing incident, a few boys would occasionally invite him to play, perhaps out of guilt for leaving him behind. During the long break, they usually went to the convenience store to buy snacks or read books, but today the topic of their conversation was different.

“Have you guys updated to the new season?”

“I dropped to Gold this season.”

“I’m in Platinum. Hahaha, you’re so bad.”

The group of boys chattered away, and Jian Mei, who couldn’t quite understand, asked, “What game?”

The boys looked at him as if he were an old-fashioned person. “You don’t play “King of Glory.”?”

Jian Mei held a small egg tart and shook his head lightly in response, “I don’t play.”

“It’s really fun!” one tall boy invited him, “Come play with us tonight when you get home. The three of us can team up and help you climb the ranks.”

Jian Mei hesitated, “But I don’t know how to play…”

“It’s easy as long as you have hands,” the tall boy laughed, “The three of us often play together, but “King of Glory.”doesn’t allow four-player teams. You can check if you have any friends and invite them to join us as a five-player team. We’ll carry you!”

They were very enthusiastic, and Jian Mei couldn’t refuse. He could only nod and say, “Alright.”

But he didn’t have any other friends.

After returning home in the evening, he started by doing his homework. It was past 8 o’clock when he finished, and the boys from his class couldn’t wait any longer. They kept urging him to log in, so Jian Mei had to spend a significant amount of money, 20 coins, to download “King of Glory.”

The tall boy pulled him into the team, making it a group of four people. He said, “Find one more person to join us, Jian Mei.”

Jian Mei wanted to say that he couldn’t find anyone, but then he thought of someone. He switched back to WeChat and opened the chat box that hadn’t been active all day. After hesitating for a moment, he sent a message: “Are you there?”

Today was different from before, as Lu Xingwang seemed busy. It took him a while to reply: [What’s up?]

Jian Mei didn’t want to disturb him and asked, “Are you busy?”

Lu Xingwang had been looking at General Zuo’s battle reports and video replays all day, so he relaxed his stiff shoulders for a moment and replied: [Not at the moment.]

“Okay…”

Jian Mei gathered his courage and asked, “Can you play a game with me for a while?”

?

Lu Xingwang was somewhat surprised by the request. But he didn’t immediately refuse; instead, he asked, [What game?]

“It’s a… a mecha game.” Jian Mei remembered the Five Armies’ Clash and the defense towers, and he added, “There are mechas, and you control the mecha’s skills using hero characters to determine the outcome of the battle. Actually, I’m not very good at it.”

This was unfamiliar to Jian Mei, but for Lu Xingwang, who had mastered mechas since childhood and even achieved top grades in academy battles, it was child’s play. He wasn’t interested and replied, [Not interested.]

Jian Mei felt a bit disappointed, but he understood. “Okay, that’s fine.”

Lu Xingwang glanced at the message and prepared to continue reading the materials. However, before he could pick them up, he heard a “ding” sound indicating another message. It was still from carefree Jian Mei:

“I’ll ask someone else then.”

“Sorry, I didn’t consider that you might not be interested either.”

“You can go ahead and continue with your tasks.”

…

What did he mean by “you might not be interested” either?

Lu Xingwang narrowed his eyes dangerously as he read Jian Mei’s earnest messages. He was in danger of being amused again. He put down the materials, his expression slightly serious, and pulled up the message box to type: [Send me the download link.]