CH 42

Chapter 42 Prince: Bring My Gun!

The sound of the bell was clear and crisp, and it shook slightly for a moment before being stopped by the Taifu’s tense muscles to make any further sounds.

A trace of suspicion flashed across the eyes of the prince, but he pressed it down quickly, turned his head and entered the central hall. The Taifu bowed his head and followed behind.

Normally, when the prince comes to the central hall, he had to rely on his sense of smell to find his father because the emperor’s whereabouts were uncertain. But not this time.

Because whenever foreign ministers had an audience, the emperor would wait in the hall.

If you think about it in a good way, it means that the emperor is sympathetic to his ministers; if you think about it elsewhere, it means that there is a difference between the prince and his ministers. Foreign ministers can only go to the main hall, but the prince can wander around.

Even the Imperial Taifu, who has a sacred heart, has never been anywhere outside the main hall.

The appearance of the main hall and the central hall was the same, full of mechanical coldness. The silver-white ground can be seen, and it reflected metallic luster under the cold light. Black arcs of the moon were engraved on the ground, extending all the way to the eighteen steps under the throne. The throne was also entirely steel, like a large stainless steel sculpture, cut from many space metal sheets. From a distance, it looked like steel melted into a river with splashing waves, and the curve of the steel waves supported the emperor, the tall body melodious in the midst of bamboo smoke and waves.

The emperor’s hair was like snow, his temples like frost, his skin cold and white, and he seemed to have no color on his body—or all the colors were cast into gold and melted in his eyes. His golden eyes were so bright in the light that they can be described as “brilliant and dazzling”, and there was a deterrent inside.

Because they didn’t dare to look directly, the prince and Taifu just bowed their heads to pay respect.

The emperor didn’t talk nonsense, and spoke straight to the point: “You two are too outrageous.”

As soon as the words came out, the prince and the Imperial Taifu both softened their knees, and both knelt down, expressing panic. While the prince pleaded guilty, he heard the sound of bells coming from the Taifu’s clothes.

It inevitably aroused the prince’s memory, reminding him of the noise he heard in Shan Weiyi’s closet at that time. His face was slightly condensed, and there was a wave of anger in his heart, but he didn’t dare to express it in front of the emperor, so he could only continue to bow his head and endure the torture of jealousy, his heart overwhelmed.

The emperor’s voice sounded again: “Beloved Minister Shen…”

Shen Yu hurriedly responded: “Minister is here.”

Shen Yu didn’t look up at the emperor, but felt the emperor’s gaze as if there was a radar on the top of his head. Perhaps it was because the emperor’s gaze was filled with a deep sense of oppression, as if it could turn into a huge palm to push Shen Yu’s head down, his head almost touching the ground. Cold sweat oozed from his skin. Because there was no clothes inside, the cold sweat flowed through the windbreaker and slid across his chilled back, forming a huge mental torture.

He tried his best to maintain his composure when he heard the emperor say, “Do you know your mistake?”

Shen Yu hurriedly kowtowed and said, “This minister is guilty.”—Whether he knew he was wrong or not, just admit it and it would be over.

The emperor lowered his eyelids, and said lightly, “You go and get three hundred military sticks.”

Hearing the punishment, Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him repeatedly.

He was not afraid that the emperor would punish him, but he was afraid that the emperor would not punish him. The emperor lowered the punishment, which proved that the incident would be over after the punishment. If there was no punishment, then it may be that there were several punishments of ransacking the family and beheading the clan later on.

Besides, although the 300 military sticks can kill people, it is not a big problem for S-class reformers. Not to mention, even though the military stick hits hard, it is better than the court stick. Because the court rod was going to be broadcast in the live broadcast room of the public execution, it would be a shame displayed to the whole galaxy. This was also the emperor’s preservation of Shen Yu’s face, which proves that he had not completely given up on Shen Yu, this time it is just a small punishment, a big warning.

Shen Yu naturally breathed a sigh of relief, and thanked him again and again.

The emperor asked Shen Yu to retreat.

Shen Yu hurriedly withdrew.

The prince was left in place, still kneeling.

When the emperor talked to him, he was more humane than when he talked to the Taifu. But it was just a trace. He breathed out and said, “Do you know why I let the Taifu go first, but kept you?” 

The prince lowered his head and said, “This son doesn’t know.”

The emperor reassured him: “Because the Taifu is smart, he knows what I mean. But you are different.” 

The prince’s heart sank, and he smiled wryly: “The meaning of Royal father is that this son is not smart.” 

The emperor did not deny it, this made the scene even more awkward.

The prince’s heart also continued to sink, as if he was about to fall into a bottomless black hole.

Maybe it was because his expression was so pitiful and the emperor’s heart was moved with compassion, he said to comfort him: “It’s nothing, anyway, you both are not as smart as Shan Weiyi.”

Hearing the emperor mention “Shan Weiyi”, the prince’s heart moved: “Your Majesty…” 

The prince was actually mentally prepared.

Since he tainted Shan Weiyi and gave a bionic man to the Taifu as a “replacement”, he was ready to take responsibility for this matter. In other words, he was ready to explain to His Majesty, the Emperor.

He didn’t have such courage in the first place, but it’s strange that when he thought of Shan Weiyi, he could gain the courage he never had before. This courage filled his chest and made him straighten his back naturally.

Rarely did the prince raise his head and chest in front of the emperor, yet he raised his face and said loudly: “This son made a mistake. The mistake was that he went back on his word. He took back the gift given to the Taifu. This son is also very ashamed of this. But I really can’t help it.”

“I can’t help it……” The emperor tasted these four words, as if he was chewing tasteless chewing gum.

But the prince continued resolutely: “The teachings of Royal father, this son dare not forget for a moment. I know that you must be generous to your ministers, but when they touch the bottom line, you must be decisive.” 

The emperor nodded, this is indeed what he taught.

The prince looked at the emperor intently: “Shan Weiyi is my bottom line.”

His speech was like a bell thrown on the hard floor, and it landed with a sound, echoing endlessly.

When the emperor heard this, he smiled a smile that was not a smile, “He is your bottom line.”

He repeated the sentence in a ridiculous tone, but it was more embarrassing than unpleasant.

The prince’s face turned red and then green, but he showed a rarely seen firmness standing under his father’s doubts: “Yes, Royal Father. If Royal Father is a ruthless person, maybe you can’t understand. But royal Father is obviously an affectionate person, so how can you not understand your son?” 

The emperor said lightly, “So, you suddenly discovered that you fell in love with him.”

“Fell in love with…” These four words scalded the prince’s mouth like four burnt chestnuts. The prince seemed to be scalded, his mouth opened and closed, and the breath he exhaled was scorching hot. He rolled his eyes, blush crept up his cheeks. At this moment, he was really not like His Royal Highness the crown prince of the empire, but more like a young boy who had been caught by his parents for puppy love.

Suddenly, a new force injected into his chest. He raised his head again and said forcefully, “Forgive this son for not being able to control himself.” 

The emperor sighed leisurely: “It can’t be all your fault, it’s all my fault.” 

The emperor’s reaction was beyond the prince’s expectation. The prince was puzzled and said : “How can I blame the emperor?” 

The emperor asked without answering: “Do you feel disgusted as long as you touch others, but only Shan Weiyi can make you feel comfortable?”

When the words came out, the prince’s heart just “clicked”, he lowered his head and said: “Your Majesty is really perceptive.” 

The emperor clapped his hands without responding. At this time, twelve beauties appeared in the hall, all of various styles of beauty, men, woman, and androids.

The prince looked at the emperor blankly.

But the emperor said: “Take off your gloves and shake hands with them one by one.”

There were very few outsiders in the central hall, and now there were twelve low-status people. Thinking that the Emperor had prepared this beforehand, the prince came forward.

The prince didn’t understand what he meant, but he obediently followed the instructions and took off his gloves.

He rejected physical contact with others, but was asked to shake hands with a dozen strangers. He expected that he would be disgusted to death, maybe this was the emperor’s punishment for him.

But he didn’t expect that when he touched every beauty, he would feel a familiar sense of electricity from his fingertips, which instantly soothed his hunger and thirst—this was very similar to the feeling Shan Weiyi’s touch gave him.

After touching all twelve beauties, the prince received twelve waves of good comfort one after another. However, instead of feeling satisfied, he was full of doubt and fear.

He opened his eyes wide, staring at his father like a child thrown into a small black room.

The emperor said in a gentle but cruel tone: “As you can see, there is nothing special about Shan Weiyi.”

“This…” The prince fell to his feet, his face full of confusion, “Why?”

“You should already understand, right?” The emperor smiled and said, “Although you are not so smart, you are not so stupid.”

Today is the first time the prince mustered up his courage to fight against the emperor. It was the existence of Shan Weiyi that gave him such an opportunity, a reason, and courage. It was the first time for him to look directly at the emperor with his head upright, and he even felt that maybe such affection and courage could make the emperor, who was also an affectionate lover, look at him highly.

And yet…

It was all a joke.

The prince seemed to have been drained of strength, and his body fell limp to the ground.

The hatred burned violently, and a black mist of resentment lingered around, polluting his mind. There was no tenderness, no courage, no love in his heart. He only felt pain, hatred and pain.

But who should he hate?

This hatred even made him helpless and confused.

He looked at his father with a childlike expression: “Was it you? Did you instruct Shan Weiyi to teach me a ‘lesson’?” 

The emperor replied: “Not at all.”

The prince then asked: “But you should be the only one who can disturb my skin perception… How can a mere Shan Weiyi do it?”

“Of course he has his own way.” The emperor said, “I am also very interested in this.”

The prince swallowed, and suddenly thought of someone: “What about Wen Lu?” 

The emperor said, “Probably the same method as Shan Weiyi…but it’s not important anymore.” 

The prince’s face turned pale with a strong sense of mockery: “It’s not important anymore? Why isn’t it important?”

“What happened has already happened.” The emperor said slowly, “What matters is what you learn from it.”

When he returned to the East Palace, he brought the twelve beauties with him.

The little eunuch was very surprised: Our prince is so amazing. Now that he was not fasting, he will eat a dozen.

The bionic servant did not have as much psychological activity as the little eunuch, and only came forward to ask on a business-like term: “How does Your Highness plan to arrange these beauties?

“It’s up to you .”

“Yes.” The bionic servant replied, “How about placing them in the West Side Hall?”

“Let’s do that.” The prince didn’t want to think too much about it, and said, “Where is Shan Weiyi?”

“He’s out.” The bionic servant replied.

The crown prince raised his eyebrows: “He went out?” 

The bionic servant replied: “His Royal Highness did not give orders to restrict his movements, so we did not stop him when he was about to go out.”

Of course, the crown prince cherished Shan Weiyi like his eyeball, of course he won’t restrain him.

A desolate and sarcastic smile appeared on the prince’s face: “Then where did he go?”

“I’ll check now.” The Bionic Internal Servant Network checked the monitoring of the imperial city, and quickly replied, “He left in the car of the Taifu.”

The prince was still full of powerlessness, but after hearing these words, the prince was full of power again – the power of hatred. There was a bang in his head as if thunder had exploded. The hair all over his body was about to stand on end, and there was a terrifying and fierce light in his eyes. Even the bionic servant with extremely low emotional perception felt threatened and took half a step back.

Shen Yu’s suspension car slowly drove out from the main road. The condition of this main road was very smooth, and it was mainly used by officials and nobles above a certain level to enter and exit the imperial city. The suspension cars were all driving autonomously, and the speed limit was very strict.

Shen Yu sat in the car, still wrapped in the windbreaker. Shan Weiyi sat aside and did not communicate with him.

At this time, the suspension car issued a warning sound “obstacles ahead” and stopped slowly.

This was very unusual, roadblocks were basically impossible on this main road reserved for noble dignitaries.

Shen Yu raised his eyes and took a closer look, only to see the only prince in the empire standing in front of the car, holding an anti-matter gun in his hand – yes, the kind where one gram is equal to 4,280,000 tons of TNT, the antimatter equivalent of three Hiroshima atomic bombs.

Shen Yu: …Your Highness thinks too highly of me.