Chapter 415: Post-War: Thoughts on a Snowy Night

Watching Nan Feihuang just let the three from the Spirit Hall leave like that, Great Emperor Xue Ye could not help but feel a bit angry.

But he dared not show it openly at this moment. For one, the current Nan Feihuang was too strong; he could even solo a Super Douluo without sustaining any real injuries. With this level of strength, let alone him, Xue Ye, even if Nan Feihuang's own father and mother were here in person, they would no longer be able to control him.

Secondly, if not for Nan Feihuang's arrival today to turn the tide, the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family would have been slaughtered by Qian Renxue, and the Heaven Dou Empire would have been controlled by the Spirit Hall. In this regard, the Heaven Dou Empire owed him a massive favor.

Thirdly, although this youth's natural talent was shockingly peerless, his temperament was not up to par; he was too sentimental. He could not possibly have been unaware of how important those three were to the Spirit Hall. Since he had already decided to be an enemy of the Spirit Hall, choosing to let them go was simply unwise—one could even call it "lovestruck."

However, for Xue Ye, this was also fine; if Nan Feihuang could treat Qian Renxue this way, he would surely treat Xue Ke the same in the future.

With Nan Feihuang's protection, the Heaven Dou Empire would finally have a powerful and reliable backup.

"Your Majesty." At this moment, the Royal Knights finally repelled the Spirit Master Legion of the Spirit Hall outside the palace. The Zhang Brothers had also sensed the great battle within the palace and rushed over in a panic. Seeing that Xue Ye had already awakened, they immediately knelt on the ground. "This humble general is incompetent and arrived late to save you. Please, Your Majesty, forgive our crimes."

"Hmph, you are indeed incompetent. Do you know that I was trapped in my bedchamber by that Xue Qinghe and fed poison for over several months? You two not only sensed nothing, but even helped him seal off my palace, preventing anyone from visiting, becoming accomplices to that Xue Qinghe. You are simply blind! If not for my good daughter being filial and wise, and my good son-in-law being loyal and righteous, saving me, you would be the sinners of the Heaven Dou Empire." Great Emperor Xue Ye rebuked angrily. "I trusted you so much and promoted you to be my personal guards; I never expected you to be so blind!"

"This... your humble servant knows his crime, but your humble servant truly did not expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would do such a thing. He was personally appointed by Your Majesty to manage all affairs of the entire Heaven Dou Empire and the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. How would your humble servant dare to disobey Your Majesty's orders?" The Zhang Brothers felt very aggrieved.

Xue Ye had previously told them to listen to Xue Qinghe, and now that they had done so, he blamed them for listening to Xue Qinghe too much.

Xue Ye roared in a rage, "Shut your mouths! You still call him His Highness the Crown Prince? Do you know that my son was murdered long ago? This Crown Prince is an impostor; she is Qian Renxue of the Spirit Hall—cough, cough..."

"What?" The two were shocked; this was something they truly did not know.

The wise Crown Prince they had been loyal to all this time was actually fake?

Seeing Xue Ye coughing again from anger, Xue Ke hurriedly stroked his chest to help him catch his breath. "Father, please do not be angry anymore. The two uncles definitely did not know about this matter. They were actually victims who were deceived just like my brother Feihuang. If you ruin your health from anger, you won't be able to retaliate against the Spirit Hall in the slightest. Why not allow the two uncles to make up for their faults in the future?"

Hearing Princess Xue Ke plead for them, the Zhang Brothers cast a look of gratitude.

Xue Ye also knew that blaming them now was useless.

Moreover, the empire had suffered a great upheaval and was currently at a critical juncture where people were needed; he could not overly blame them. After all, the Zhang Brothers, when working together, could be considered the empire's top combat power.

If he punished them too severely and caused them to lose heart and defect from the empire, that would be a huge loss.

Thinking this through, Xue Ye waved his hand and said, "Forget it. For the sake of Ke'er pleading for you, I will not hold this against you anymore. Zhang Wanfu, notify the court officials immediately. Tomorrow at the morning court, no one is allowed to be absent. Even if they are sick, have them carried in to attend. I have matters to announce. Also, Chaozong, go and bring Xue Beng to see me."

"By your command! Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Highness!" The Zhang Brothers felt as if they had been granted amnesty and immediately left.

Xue Ke once again helped Xue Ye walk back to the bedchamber, letting him sit on the edge of the bed to rest, while saying worriedly, "Father, your body is in such poor condition. You should rest well now; let the ministers handle the state affairs for the time being."

"Ke'er, Father knows you are filial, but Father does not have much time left." Xue Ye smiled at Xue Ke. Now, he found this daughter, whom he had not valued much in the past, pleasing in every way.

After all, it was she who had called Nan Feihuang, which had saved their Heaven Dou Imperial Family and even the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

He also knew that what Xue Ke said was right; what he should do now was try his best to nurse his health.

But he knew his own situation best. Xue Ye could clearly sense that his days were numbered, so the things that needed to be entrusted had to be entrusted early.

Otherwise, if he were to suddenly drop dead one day, the empire would not even have a successor, which would inevitably lead to chaos. His priority now was to carefully evaluate Xue Beng; after all, he was his only remaining son.

As a father, he was not blind to the fact that much of Xue Beng's playboy behavior over the years was a pretense to save his own life; otherwise, his own younger brother Xue Xing would not have supported him so much.

It was just a matter of how much was pretense, which still required careful observation.

Xue Ye prepared some questions regarding state affairs; as long as Xue Beng could answer them reasonably well, he would designate him as the heir to the empire tomorrow.

Originally, Xue Ye's requirements for a Crown Prince could not have been met so easily.

For example, on a test out of one hundred points, one had to score above ninety to satisfy him.

But times were different now; he no longer had the time to properly cultivate a successor, so he had to relax the conditions. It didn't need to be much—sixty points, a passing grade, would suffice.

Nan Feihuang understood Great Emperor Xue Ye's thoughts very well. Although he had indeed changed his view of Xue Ke significantly, Xue Ke was a girl after all, and she was marrying far away to the Gulei Kingdom, so he would absolutely not consider listing Xue Ke as the successor.

However, Nan Feihuang was going to extinguish his last bit of hope.

Presumably, by this time, the other piece of news that would deal a major blow to Xue Ye would soon be reported back as well.

After all, Zhang Chaozong was also a Spirit Douluo powerhouse; it wouldn't take long to travel from here to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

When he had drawn blood from Xue Beng earlier, he had also played a little trick. It was actually nothing much, just sprinkling a tiny bit of Snowy Swan Kiss pollen on Xue Beng's wound.

This was an existence capable of destroying the entire Slaughter City with a single flower.

Its power did not lie in the poison itself, but in its ability to stimulate toxicity a thousandfold. Xue Beng had already been poisoned by Ci Xue's colorless and odorless toxin; what would happen if it encountered the pollen of the Snowy Swan Kiss?

"This is bad, Your Majesty! The Fourth Prince has met with an accident!" Sure enough, within less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Zhang Chaozong returned in a panic to report, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has been poisoned with the same toxin as you. When your humble servant arrived, his toxicity was already flaring up. Even with your humble servant using all his soul power to suppress it, it was of no use. The Fourth Prince, he has... he has..."

"What?" Great Emperor Xue Ye was startled. Although Zhang Chaozong did not finish his sentence, he had already guessed the result.

"Pfft!!!"

A large mouthful of blood sprayed out. Xue Ye clutched his chest and, struggling to breathe, fell backward.

"Your Majesty!"

"Father!"

Anxious cries rang out from the mouths of Zhang Chaozong, Xue Ke, and the others.

Ye Nichang was still fully channeling her Nine Heart Begonia, her eight spirit rings flashing with light, trying to keep Great Emperor Xue Ye alive.

But Xue Ye's body was already at its limit. Feihuang estimated that even with the Nine Heart Begonia, he would not live much longer.

(End of chapter)