Chapter 93 Moonlight Ritual Today is a special day, baby...
Today is a special day. All the residents of the Gem Kingdom have stopped what they are doing and are paying attention to the Moonlight Ceremony, which only happens once every few decades.
The Moonlight Ceremony is a special ceremony reserved exclusively for the heir to the throne. On this day, the heir bathes in the moonlight, awakens their power, and is crowned king.
The last moonlight ceremony was held when the previous emperor ascended the throne, more than thirty years ago.
This time, it is Princess Stardust's Moonlight Ceremony, which will be the most important event in the Gem Kingdom for the next hundred years.
After all, the next Moonlight Ceremony will be at least when Princess Stardust abdicates and her child ascends the throne, and Princess Stardust is still young now, so that will be a long, long time from now.
"Mom, will we have a new emperor?" the little gem man asked his mother.
The kind mother stroked her daughter's head and hugged her tightly: "Of course, Princess Stardust will be our hope."
"So, Princess, can you make the baby stop hurting?" The little gem man hugged his mother's shoulder, looking on expectantly.
The mother paused, touched her daughter's cloudy skin, a look of sadness flashing in her eyes, and after a long while said, "Perhaps, perhaps she will bring a miracle."
Every gem person suffering from the pollution disease is watching this moonlight ceremony, hoping for a miracle and the reappearance of the imperial bloodline that once disappeared and could purify the pollution disease.
Inside the palace hall, beneath the towering dome, the setting sun streamed through the stained-glass windows, creating dazzling dappled light.
The nobles entered one after another through the gate, first greeting the queen who sat high on one side of the throne, then bowing to the Dark Duke behind her, before proceeding to the sides of the hall to await the start of the ceremony.
In the middle of the main hall, on a slightly elevated platform, sat a pretty young girl cross-legged. She was dressed in white, her hair was loose, and she wore no adornments.
Time passed quickly. The doors of the main hall slowly closed, and the dome of the palace slowly opened. Moonlight shone on the girl, making her translucent skin glow with a luminous white light.
"The Moonlight Ritual begins!" The Dark Duke announced loudly with a refined smile and outstretched arms.
The girl closed her eyes tightly, stretched out her arms, and the moonlight seemed to be drawn into her hands as if by something.
Soon, she was enveloped in moonlight, forming a thin, white cocoon.
Everyone was expecting a miracle, but no one noticed a spaceship flying towards the dome, blocking the flow of moonlight.
The sudden disappearance of the moonlight caused the girl, who was in the process of forming a cocoon, to shudder, and she opened her eyes and stared intently at the sky.
"What happened to Prince Xingxun?" The young men of royal blood were the most impatient, and they discussed in hushed tones.
"Why did it suddenly stop?!" The young nobles were also discussing among themselves.
Many people subconsciously looked at the Queen and the Duke on the high platform, only to see that both of them looked very unpleasant.
"Your Majesty... this?" The attendants asked the Empress in worried whispers.
The Queen rubbed her fingertips together and looked at the Dark Duke: "What does Your Excellency think?"
The Dark Duke didn't reply to her, but kept his eyes fixed on the dome above.
Those watching the ceremony didn't understand why he did this, but they stared intently at the ceiling, seemingly trying to glean some insight.
Suddenly a door opened under the dome, and a girl descended from the sky.
The moonlight returned to the dome, and the girl's silver hair danced in the moonlight. Her translucent skin shimmered with iridescent light under the moonlight, and the features that represented her royal bloodline caught everyone's eye, arousing countless speculations.
"Who is she?!" This was the thought that simultaneously popped into the minds of everyone who witnessed this moment.
Sang Zhitao looked around, ignoring the speculative remarks and the pale-faced girl on the platform, and only looked at the Dark Duke, who smiled happily: "Dark Duke, I'm back."
The Dark Duke's expression was rather unpleasant. He stared at Sang Zhitao for a long time before finally managing to smirk, "Little girl, this is Princess Stardust's coronation ceremony. You have been extremely rude."
Sang Zhitao turned to look at the so-called Stardust Princess on the high platform, then back at the Dark Duke, a mocking smile spreading across her face: "An imposter."
"How dare you!" The royal nobles nearby began to rebuke.
"Where did this little brat come from? Get out of here right now!"
"To actually interrupt the Moonlight Ritual, you're asking for death!"
The Dark Duke neither interrupted the crowd's angry rebukes nor summoned the guards to drive them away. He simply stared at Sang Zhitao for a long time before smiling and saying, "Could it be that what you said is true?"
"What do you mean, 'real' or 'fake'? Why doesn't the Duke order them to leave?"
Those watching the ceremony frowned, wondering why the high and mighty Duke didn't kick the man out.
"Why can't it be me?" Sang Zhitao raised an eyebrow and smiled even more happily.
As soon as she said this, the surrounding murmurs were no longer just a simple noise, but a barrage of angry rebukes that assaulted her.
The Dark Duke did not speak.
Sang Zhitao raised an eyebrow, spread her hands, and a purification ball appeared. She randomly selected a noble with a severe infection and threw it at him.
"careful!"
"What the hell is that?!"
The exclamations of the nobles fell silent as the contamination disease disappeared from that nobleman's body.
“This proves it, doesn’t it?” Sang Zhitao looked at the Dark Duke and continued.
The Dark Duke remained silent, staring intently at Sang Zhitao, appearing as an elder who tolerated the younger generation's mischief, yet his fingertips turned white as if he were being pulled by some immense force in the air.
Just as everyone was wondering why the Dark Duke was standing there motionless.
A crisp sound of something cutting through the air rang in everyone's ears.
Then the Dark Duke clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground in agony.
Princess Stardust sat cross-legged on the high platform, her face pale, staring in fear at Sang Zhitao's back.
Sang Zhitao climbed the steps one by one and ascended the high platform where the throne was located.
She walked up to the Dark Duke as if each step she took was on everyone's hearts, tilted her head, and nudged his chest with her toes: "Are you in pain, Your Highness?"
The Dark Duke spat out a mouthful of blood before smiling at Sang Zhitao and saying, "As expected of the Daughter of Miracles, even without undergoing the Moonlight Ritual, she has awakened to this level."
Sang Zhitao raised an eyebrow, circled him once, and then said, "Thank you for your repeated pursuit. I was fortunate enough to find the legendary three keys."
"I never imagined that my lifelong scheming would ultimately benefit you." The Dark Duke coughed up blood and smiled bitterly.
"Cough cough cough." A few rapid coughs interrupted Sang Zhitao's unspoken words.
“My…daughter…” The empress, seated on the throne, uttered a few words with difficulty, her eyes turning urgently in the direction of Sang Zhitao.
"I'm here, it's alright." Sang Zhitao smiled sweetly at the Queen before turning to look at the Dark Duke, her sweet smile vanishing instantly. "What did you do to her?"
"...Guess?" The Dark Duke coughed up blood, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
Sang Zhitao ignored him, turned to face everyone, and loudly announced: "I, Princess Stardust, hereby declare the Dark Duke guilty of assassinating the late Emperor, imprisoning the Queen, switching the Princess, and conducting human experiments. He is sentenced to death for all his crimes!"
Before anyone could react, Sang Zhitao continued, “Judgment, Duke Zhulan, Duke Zhuzi, Earl Heiming… human experimentation, punishment: imprisonment in the thirty-second underground prison for a hundred years.”
"Trial, members of the royal family, Prince Bachi, Prince Bahua... assassination of the late emperor, human experimentation, punishment: imprisonment in the 28th underground level prison for 100 years."
Before anyone could react, the guards took the person away after the verdict was announced.
"Why should I be included! What proof do you have!" Duke Zhulan and the others struggled and shouted.
"I refuse to accept this! Why should I listen to you! I am a member of the royal family! Stop!"
Sang Zhitao waved her hand, and the guards stopped what they were doing. She stood next to the Empress with a smile and looked at the disheveled people, saying, "Just because of my bloodline suppression."
As she spoke, Sang Zhitao glanced sideways at the Dark Duke: "Your Grace, how is it? The power of bloodline suppression?"
The Dark Duke was lifted up from the ground, laughing pathetically, "You are indeed very powerful. I had already been injected with that drug, so the royal bloodline suppression should have no effect on me, but you just managed to suppress me."
As he spoke, he looked at the guard beside him and said, "They actually managed to control the royal guards."
Sang Zhitao smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I am very grateful to you. Originally, after I swallowed the key, my power was not strong enough to suppress everything, so there were traitors around me who ignored the suppression. But in the past few days, I obtained a batch of good data from your laboratory, which rekindled my power."
"I see." The Dark Duke gave a wry smile, and just as he was about to be dragged away, he suddenly spoke, "Don't you want to know why I did this?"
“Forty years ago, a young priest of the Mirror Clan suddenly disappeared. Thirty years ago, a young man named Lan came to my father’s side. He was resourceful and skilled in social interaction. Later, he accompanied my father to the throne and gradually rose to the position of duke.” Sang Zhitao said casually as she massaged the empress’s tense muscles.
"Unfortunately, human greed knows no bounds. He lost himself in the pursuit of power, betrayed his closest friend, and hoped to stand at the highest position to fulfill his so-called ideals." Sang Zhitao looked at him with a mocking expression.
The Dark Duke broke down under her taunts, screaming repeatedly, "What do you know! What do you know!"
"I don't understand anything. All I know is that a rigid class system will only lead the Gem Kingdom to destruction." With that, Sang Zhitao ignored his roar and waved for the guards to take him away.
The remaining spectators, intimidated by the force, dared not say anything more, and the Empress had recovered.
She propped herself up on the high platform, looking at the crowd and the live broadcast screen: "My daughter, Princess Stardust, will inherit the throne of the Gem Kingdom, and she will become an excellent monarch."
As she spoke, she looked at the fake Princess Stardust and smiled slightly: "My adopted daughter, Lan Ming, is bestowed with the title of Princess Starry Sky of the royal family and will assist Princess Stardust."
The moonlight ceremony was interrupted, and since those who had awakened no longer needed the moonlight baptism, they proceeded directly to the coronation ceremony.
Xinglan was moved by the Empress's tolerance, but also ashamed of her lack of care for the Empress over the years. After the coronation ceremony, she moved into the mansion that had been bestowed upon her.
"Don't worry about it, let her adjust properly." The Empress sighed. "After all, she is your father's bloodline..."
“Father really was the zeroth test subject, wasn’t he?” Sang Zhitao said.
The Empress paused for a moment before nodding.
"Who were the previous test subjects?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously.
The Queen shook her head: "I don't know either, not even the Dark Duke knows."
"Huh?" Sang Zhitao was taken aback by the unexpected answer.
The Queen continued, "We still have much to do: the problem of edible gems, the problem of contamination, and the final..."
"What?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously.
"Come with me." The Empress pulled her towards a part of the palace.
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