Chapter 418: Imperial Crown Princess Xue Ke, Regent Feihuang

The next day, the morning court of the Heaven Dou Empire was convened.

After several months, Great Emperor Xue Ye finally stepped into this place once again.

Walking to the imperial throne, Great Emperor Xue Ye touched the golden throne with reluctance; for this position, he had sacrificed more than he could count back then.

Never did he expect that the tides would turn; today, the retribution had finally arrived. His children were all dead, and he himself did not have long to live.

Xue Ye braced himself and sat down. Standing beside him were his daughter and son-in-law, Xue Ke and Nan Feihuang.

Below, the civil and military officials, led by the head of the military generals, Ge Long, knelt in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"All officials, rise," Xue Ye called out. At this moment, his imperial majesty seemed to have recovered slightly.

Having touched the most important thing to him, he experienced a final flash of vitality.

The officials below were filled with confusion. Why was the Emperor holding court? Hadn't they heard yesterday that he was critically ill? And the two people beside him—they should be the Crown Prince of Gu Lei, Nan Feihuang, and Princess Xue Ke, right? Why were they here? Where was the Crown Prince? A belly full of questions and confusion filled everyone's hearts.

Xue Ye scanned the officials and said, "I know what you are doubting in your hearts, but you must have heard a little about what happened last night."

The momentum of the battle between Nan Feihuang and Guangling Douluo yesterday was massive, almost shaking the entire Tiandou City. How could they not have felt it? They had rushed to the imperial palace today in such a hurry not only because of Xue Ye's summons, but also to get to the bottom of the matter.

Who was so bold as to dare to wage a great battle in the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial palace? "Sigh!" Xue Ye sighed heavily, "Ge Long, I am physically and mentally exhausted; you tell them."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ge Long turned to face the officials and began, "Yesterday..."

He recounted the entire process: how Xue Qinghe was an impostor named Qian Renxue, how she had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire, assassinated several princes, poisoned Great Emperor Xue Ye, and plotted to usurp the imperial power, and finally, how Princess Xue Ke and her husband Nan Feihuang turned the tide and repelled her.

The officials listened as if it were a tall tale, and after Ge Long clarified the ins and outs of the matter, they could not help but look at each other in dismay.

The Crown Prince, whom they had long revered and considered the epitome of virtue, was actually an impostor from the Spirit Hall, whose goal was to help the Spirit Hall usurp the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial power without a fight.

"This... Your Majesty, is there some misunderstanding in this?" an official loyal to Xue Qinghe stood up and asked.

"Hmph!" Xue Ye slapped the dragon throne in Anger. "What other misunderstanding could there be? He poisoned me and revealed his true face in front of me; I saw it all with my own eyes. Do you think I would lie to deceive you? At a time like this, you still defend that fake Crown Prince. Are you my officials, or are you the officials of that fake Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty, please calm your Anger. This official is, of course, loyal to Your Majesty." The man hurriedly knelt. To make Xue Ye angry to this extent, it seemed this matter could not be false.

"All officials, listen well. I have something to announce. Last night's events almost pushed our Heaven Dou Empire into a place of no return. Fortunately, my daughter, Princess Xue Ke, and my son-in-law, Feihuang, arrived in time to crush the Spirit Hall and turn the tide. However, after this incident, I am physically and mentally exhausted and fear I have no strength left to manage this vast empire."

"However, an empire cannot go a day without a ruler. Today, I appoint my daughter, Xue Ke, as the Imperial Crown Princess of the empire to carry on our country's great cause in the future, Nan Feihuang as Regent, and Ge Long as Assistant Minister, to jointly assist my daughter in managing the court."

"What?" The officials were shocked upon hearing this. A woman becoming Emperor was unheard of. Furthermore, how could Nan Feihuang serve as the Regent of the Heaven Dou Empire? He was the Crown Prince of the Gulei Kingdom and the future King of Gu Lei. When had one ever heard of a king from another country concurrently serving as the Regent of the Heaven Dou Empire?

As for Ge Long serving as Assistant Minister, there was no objection. Everyone knew in their hearts that no matter who became the Emperor in the future, this position would only belong to Ge Long; no one could shake that.

Another official stood up, "Your Majesty, please think thrice. Even if that Xue Qinghe is a fake Crown Prince, you are not without other sons. Isn't Prince Xue Beng still at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy? Although he usually does not perform well, as long as he is taught more, he will surely be able to carry on the great cause."

"And Crown Prince Feihuang, he is the noble Crown Prince of the Gulei Kingdom and is already busy with government affairs; how could he have the energy to manage the affairs of our Heaven Dou Empire? This official suggests that Your Majesty retract the order."

This person did not have an opinion on Xue Ke and Feihuang, but rather it was his stubborn, old-fashioned mentality at work; he could not accept a woman becoming the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

He could accept even less that a person from another country would become the Regent of the Heaven Dou Empire. What if Nan Feihuang committed treason later? He was Princess Xue Ke's husband and could be considered a member of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; even if he wanted to usurp the throne, he could always find some excuse.

"Prince Xue Beng died last night, killed by Qian Renxue's deadly poison," Xue Ye said with a pained heart. "Official, I know your loyalty, but Ke'er is already my only child. Do you wish for my Heaven Dou Empire to have no successors?"

"Prince... Prince Xue Beng is also dead?" The man was shocked. Qian Renxue was truly too ruthless; she really did not want to leave a single living soul for Great Emperor Xue Ye.

At this moment, he could not say anything more. He could hardly say, "Your Majesty, since your sons are all dead, why not abdicate the throne to someone else?"

If he said that, Xue Ye wouldn't even need to act; Ge Long would slaughter him.

The monarch of the Heaven Dou Empire must have the surname Xue; this was indisputable. Anyone who dared to change it was committing treason, and Ge Long would never let them off.

Since Xue Ke was already Xue Ye's only child, then regardless of whether she was male or female, she had to inherit the great cause.

"But Crown Prince Feihuang..." He still wanted to say something. Xue Ke's matter could be overlooked, but Nan Feihuang was, after all, a person from the Gulei Kingdom.

"This General believes in Crown Prince Feihuang's sincerity. He is absolutely the only candidate for Regent of our country." The one who interrupted him this time was not Xue Ye, but someone no one expected: Ge Long.

This person, who was most loyal to the Heaven Dou Empire, would actually approve of an outsider serving as the country's Regent? In truth, Ge Long certainly did not want to. No matter how well Nan Feihuang performed, human hearts were fickle; who knew when he might harbor evil intentions?

At that time, Princess Xue Ke would not be able to compete with him.

But there was no other way now. The Upper Three Sects were all gone, the Heaven Dou Empire could not produce a single Title Douluo, and the Heaven Dou Empire had already completely torn its face with the Spirit Hall.

With Ge Long's sensitivity to war, he had already foreseen that there would inevitably be a battle between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire in the future.

When that time came, if they did not borrow the power of Nan Feihuang and the Gulei Kingdom, what would the Heaven Dou Empire use to resist the many Title Douluo of the Spirit Hall? Although a million-strong army charging in formation was powerful, if there was no top-tier power to rival the Spirit Hall, the Spirit Hall would not need to face the Heaven Dou Empire head-on; they could just send a few Title Douluo to slaughter all the officers, and this so-called million-strong army would be left without a leader.

This was the so-called decapitation tactic.

(End of chapter)