Before Alfred could answer, Xiu said, “The second prince’s funeral has also been scheduled. It will be on the same day.”
“On the same day?” Alfred raised his eyebrows, “Why, split the venue into two venues and see where the nobles in the imperial city are going and how they will line up? Your Highness, where will you go?”
Xiu ignored his last words and said, “No. During the day, there will be a funeral for the body, and in the evening, your coronation ceremony and birthday party will be held. There is no conflict in time.”
Alfred said: “This arrangement is really interesting. You will still be wiping away tears during the day, and then singing and dancing to celebrate my birthday at night?”
“So, what father means is that in order not to offend the second prince who will be buried on the same day, the celebrations on that day will be kept simple.” There was no emotion or anger on Xiu’s face, and he calmly relayed, “There will be no other arrangements for the celebration. In the evening they will use the same venue to have another banquet as your birthday banquet. At the banquet, the emperor will publicly announce the news that you will be crowned a prince, and the high priest will send blessings.”
Using a funeral venue as a birthday venue was humiliating. If it were Alfred who was nearly twenty years old two years ago, he would be furious and disturb the peace of the Holy Golden Palace. But now, the nearly twenty-two-year-old Alfred’s first reaction was ‘the old man was indeed more suspicious of him.’
“It is said that the Crown Prince went to the Shengjin Palace yesterday and the effect was very remarkable.” Alfred said, “Since my birthday party can be held as scheduled, has the Crown Prince thought about what gift to give me?”
Xiu raised his eyes, seemingly a little surprised by his reaction. He looked at Alfred for two seconds before he said, “What do you want?”
Before Alfred turned twenty, Xiu had always asked for his birthday gifts. Xiu would give him whatever Alfred asked for. From childhood to adulthood, whether it was food that he was not allowed to eat, extreme sports that he was not allowed to try, or luxury sports cars that were too eye-catching and he was not allowed to buy them, Xiu had satisfied him – this day every year was always special for him.
Now, Xiu asked him “What do you want” just like he had done for more than ten years before.
It seems that as long as Alfred opens his mouth, Xiu will still give him whatever he wants and fulfill all his wishes as before.
So Alfred stood in the huge classical living room of the Palace of Dawn and asked for his coming-of-age gift.
He said, “I want to be the crown prince.”
Standing in the crown prince’s palace, in front of the crown prince, Alfred said these words.
Even though he has smoothed away his unruly edges and accepted the rules of the power game, he still retains the madness and arrogance of his youth. These things that have not been thrown away allow him to remain the same person and prevent him from forgetting who he is.
Xiu curled his lips slightly and said, “If you have the ability, then get it yourself.”
After saying that, he got up and went upstairs to leave.
Alfred froze on the spot… He just saw that Xiu… smiled.
Like a flower that bloomed suddenly for a moment, it was just caught by Alfred’s eyes, and then disappeared in an instant, making people wonder if they saw it wrong.
But Alfred had no doubts.
In his impression, Xiu had almost no expression. His face was like a piece of exquisite porcelain statue. Every part of him was exquisite and perfect. It made people feel that he was a true noble at first sight and could not be touched easily. Sometimes Alfred could stare at him for a long time and never get tired of it.
Alfred had never seen Xiu smile, so when that beautiful face suddenly came to life, even if it was only captured for a moment, it was deeply imprinted in his memory.
That night, when Alfred went to bed, he should have thought about what he would say after entering the Holy Golden Palace tomorrow, but all he could think about was——
‘He smiled at me, why? Was it a mockery? Is it true that some people’s expressions of ridicule are so good-looking?’
Before falling asleep, the last question he vaguely thought about was…
‘How can I make him laugh at me again?’
Two days later, the funeral scene.
The funeral ceremony passed, and the nobles were gathering together in twos and threes, talking in low voices and the atmosphere was depressing.
The guests all wore black dresses, and the entire venue was dark, but even so, there were still a few people who stood out and could be seen at a glance.
The most conspicuous one is the third Prince Alfred. He is extremely tall, almost two meters tall, with brilliant blond hair and a handsome face. It is impossible to ignore his existence. The command mistake made two years ago has now been overturned. Not only has he received unprecedented public support, but he has also been named a prince and will hold a birthday party in the evening. He is the focus of today’s event.
Compared with him, even the emperor and the Crown prince seemed to pale in comparison.
The emperor is old, and he looks haggard, especially today. His fatigue has inevitably reduced his intimidation. After all, the Crown Prince is an ordinary person, with no physique beyond ordinary people. Moreover, although no one can fault the Crown Prince’s appearance, his face is exquisitely beautiful and not as aggressive as Alfred’s.
In addition to the royal family members, all the big shots from the main planet were also present.
The high priest had just prayed for the second prince, and now he was standing far away from the crowd with his only son Joshua. He rarely joins the conversations of nobles in such ceremonies. After all, the Holy Tower is a high-altitude symbol of the human spirit, and the high priest needs to maintain his image.
On the other side is General Stone. The general was a tall, tough, middle-aged man. It was said that he had a hot temper, doted on his children, and was extremely protective of his shortcomings, which resulted in his son Austin being uneducated.
At this time, he was taking his wife to the other side of the venue to rest. On the way, he passed by Alfred who was talking to someone. To him, it was as if the two of them had no personal relationship and were completely unfamiliar with each other.
Mrs. Hart cried until she fainted and was helped to rest indoors. The emperor seemed to be preparing to enter the palace to see her, so Alfred took this opportunity to follow him.
“You Majesty.”
After breaking away from the crowd, Alfred shouted.
The emperor didn’t seem to come in to see Mrs. Hart. He calmly dismissed the few servants stationed there, leaving only two personal attendants.
Alfred asked, “Are you going to keep them here to hear Imperial secrets?”
“They were injected with hearing-blocking drugs,” the emperor said.
Everyone knew that the emperor was suspicious. The high priest has maintained an independent and aloof attitude for decades, and General Stone asked his son to pretend to be crazy and act stupid, all because of this.
Now, he not only wanted to discuss secrets with Alfred, but he was also worried that the young and strong Alfred would detest him when they were left alone. The emperor would not have such worries, after all, he had the strongest genetic ability, The golden eyes. It happened that the young man in front of him was the most legitimate heir to Golden Eyes like him, so he arranged for two guards for his safety.
Looking at these two powerful servants, Alfred scoffed, but when he thought about how he was wary of knocking the general, and how he planned to take Austin’s blood just because of suspicion, he felt a little ridiculous. I can’t laugh anymore.
“As for the report you have given to me the day before yesterday,” the emperor said, “I have verified it.”
“The investigation report of Xinghui Palace shows that the instructions for locking the gym door that day, running the water to take a shower, asking the robot to deliver a bottle of medicine before taking a shower, and asking the servant to deliver a letter to the bedroom on the second floor were indeed given by Nient himself. The original investigation result was that there was an error in the smart technology of Xinghui Palace, and the soothing medicine was mistaken for a powerful sleeping pill. Nient fell asleep in the bathroom and drowned after taking it by mistake. But after discovering the suicide note, The investigation team believes it was a suicide.”
This was the first time that the emperor let Alfred know the details about the death of the second prince. Alfred did not interrupt, and the emperor continued: “What your friend Xue Lixing told you about the bombs is true, but the only person who connects these two things is you.”
Alfred said: “That’s because only I know that there is the shadow of the same person behind these two things.”
The emperor stared at Alfred intently, two pairs of similar pale yellow eyes met, and the emperor said, “The prince once reported to me that you intimidated the son of the high priest to try to blow up his palace, and then put him under house arrest. “
“The prince is lying,” Alfred said calmly.
The emperor continued, “You all insist on your own opinions, how do I know whether he is lying or you are lying?”
“Are these important? The most important thing now is to find out where the high-tech force comes from and who it colludes with?” Alfred said, “The Crown Prince or I cannot do it alone. If this is not possible, there must be someone with high authority working on behalf of the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, your empire is under threat.”
The emperor did not dwell on the conflicting words between the two men, and said thoughtfully, “From a functional point of view, General Stone seems to be the most convenient…”
“Indeed.” Alfred agreed, “I can create events for you and test the attitudes of these great nobles.”
The emperor was noncommittal and said, “It will take time to rebuild a voyage army to investigate overseas areas where rebels might often visit.”
“I will also hold the prince back for you and buy you some time.”
The emperor nodded, and the two reached a brief consensus. Alfred said, “Your Majesty, I restrained the Crown prince for you, aren’t you going to give me something in return?”
“You can also choose not to fight the Crown prince.” The emperor sneered, “But in this situation, can you survive without fighting? I don’t know you very well, but I still know my eldest son. He is a cruel person.”
