Chapter 16 The Oriole: "Why should I compete fairly with you?"...
Shi Wei was given a sedative by the doctor and fell asleep quickly.
She curled up in a ball, feeling hot and cold, and tears streamed down her face, wetting her hair.
She cried even in her sleep.
A sigh came from inside the room, and someone touched her forehead—she heard a familiar voice, deep and gentle, softly wiping away her tears.
The bitter medicine and the warm hands created a contrast.
She craved that touch of tenderness and couldn't resist leaning closer.
Her body began to warm up, and she drifted off to sleep.
The door opened, and a tall man stepped out, giving the order:
"You can explain it to her later."
Lu Qi wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn't dare, and obediently agreed.
"Don't frighten her," the emperor added.
The head of the secret service was speechless for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, why don't you try to appease him?"
Let him play the villain, but also tell him not to scare people.
Please, he's only good at assassinations and plotting, not at handling these kinds of emotional issues.
However, the noble emperor ignored him and carefully reviewed the doctor's treatment records.
Highly poisonous.
He sighed almost imperceptibly.
He doesn't dare to be assertive because he's afraid of something like this happening.
“Your Majesty, Prince Similan has been waiting for a long time,” Lu Qi kindly reminded him.
"Understood." King Sklag II was still slowly flipping through the pages.
Lu Qi lit candles for the second prince.
Don't covet things you shouldn't touch before you've fully developed your wings.
This emperor's methods are even more ruthless than those of Emperor Sklag the Great back then.
The emperor then issued several more instructions to the medical team, inquiring about every single detail.
He then went to see his unfortunate son.
When Shi Wei opened his eyes, it was already dusk.
She was captured by Similan in the middle of the night. Has so much time already passed?
Looking at the room's layout, it's... a palace?
"Are you finally awake?" the man sitting not far from her bed asked.
"Where is this?" Shi Wei rubbed her forehead; her head still ached a little.
"White Dew Palace," Lu Qi said slowly, crossing his legs.
Shi Wei looked at him in shock: "Why am I here?"
Bailu Palace was built by Asta, and most of the empresses of later generations lived here. The emperor's empress lived alone outside the palace, so he lived here himself.
Lu Qi wanted to say, "Is there even a question? Does he even have that authority?"
He shifted his posture and asked coldly, "Why did you run away?"
"I want to go home," she said, her head bowed.
Lu Qi sighed, "With technology so advanced now, and we haven't restricted your communication, if you really miss your family, can't you have them come to Manla?"
They're not some brutal, authoritarian terrorists; they actually respect human rights.
“It’s different,” Shi whispered. For fifty years, she had lived in the Fran Empire, where her friends, family, and fifty years of her life were.
"Besides, who knows if you'll silence me one day? In a few years, the public won't even remember that secretary, and I'll be of no use to you anymore," Shi Wei said.
Lu Qi took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, there are some things that you really need to say yourself."
Look at her, she's actually worrying about such stupid things now.
“Don’t worry,” Lu Qi said very seriously, “we won’t kill you. Fifty-two days after Decari’s death, we had already investigated the whole story and didn’t kill you then, so why would we kill you now?”
Shi Wei shook her head: "I won't risk my life on your promise."
What if Lu Qi dies that day, and the next head of the secret service doesn't like her?
Lu Qi sighed, "My words are useless, then are His Majesty's words useless too? Not killing you—that's His Majesty's will."
Shi Wei looked at him with confusion, and hesitated before asking, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Lu Qi really wanted to tell him that he liked you so much he was dying to confess, but he didn't even dare to do so, so how could he possibly kill you?
“Yes.” He was very certain.
Shi Wei paused for a moment. If it were a few years ago, she wouldn't have believed such a thing.
Sklag II, known as the "Second Great Emperor," is the only one whose status can be compared with that of Sklag the Great, who created the myth of Manra. Some even believe that he surpasses the "Son of Miracles," the descendant of Sklag and Asta, the Charles the Great.
His "Lion of the Wilderness" fleet once razed two star systems, and at its peak, even the super legions of mercenaries dared not contend with it.
She couldn't believe that someone like that would let go of an ant like her.
However, after spending more than half a year with this emperor, I found that he was not as terrifying as rumored, and was even quite gentle at times.
The little voice inside me was saying: Yes, yes, such a gentle and kind emperor would never kill you!
But... but she had already failed to escape.
That's really unlucky.
Lu Qi waited a moment, then said in a casual tone, "This time you were caught by Prince Similan. His Majesty pleaded for you, so I'll pretend nothing happened—but next time if my men catch you, you can expect to be locked in a cage."
After he finished speaking, he felt really proud of himself for being able to come up with such a reason.
"You're not planning to... kill me?" Shi Wei looked at him with worry.
"You really want to die that badly?" The head of the secret service looked very agitated.
Shi Wei quickly shut up.
The air seemed to freeze for a long time. After a while, the girl stammered, "How...how did you find out?"
The spy chief squinted at her: "You still haven't given up? Planning to learn from this experience and run away again next time?"
Shi Wei shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum.
Lu Qi snorted: "I really didn't expect you to run away. After removing the supervision from you, I didn't send anyone to keep an eye on you. Who knew you'd be so bold... Hmph, your brother is quite the troublemaker too—"
Shi Wei looked at him in horror: "Is my brother still alive?"
She just remembered.
Lu Qi rolled his eyes: "We've been home for a long time. I've said it many times, we're from a government department, we're officially employed, not those mercenaries who kill innocent people by any means necessary."
Shi Wei looked doubtful and pleaded in a low voice, "Can I contact him?"
Lu Qi said fiercely, "No."
Shi Wei: "..." It seems like she harbors a lot of resentment towards her.
After a while, Shi Wei heard Lu Qi say slowly, "Actually, if you had been more careful, we might not have found out so quickly. But who told you to gain the favor of the Second Prince? He always felt something was off about you. He watched you for two months but didn't find anything amiss. Then he started investigating your brother. Didn't your brother hire a mercenary?"
"Yi Lan?" Shi Wei instantly understood the key point: the man who claimed to be the deputy commander of the mercenaries.
“Yes.” Lu Qi chuckled. “You reacted quite quickly. This kid has a good relationship with Yi Lan. He asked Yi Lan to investigate your brother, and that’s how he found out about this.”
Shi Wei's expression was a bit complicated. She never expected that it wasn't the Security Bureau that discovered something was wrong, but that lunatic Similan!
Lu Qi shrugged. "He has a mad dog's instinct for these things, but he had people from the National Security Bureau with him, so we managed to save you in time—thankfully I reacted quickly, otherwise you would have been at his hands."
Shi Wei lowered his eyes slightly: Similan, you better pray you don't fall into my hands again.
She will definitely make him pay the price.
...
The second prince was also in a bad mood. He looked at his biological father in front of him and couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"No." The indifferent emperor refused his request. "I will marry her."
“Father, no, no—why?” he stammered.
King Sklag II took a sip of tea and said indifferently, "Isn't it normal for an Alpha to like an Omega and want to marry her?"
"But, but you've only known each other for a short time! She doesn't even know you..." Simanan was on the verge of tears. "Seriously, Dad? Are you serious?!"
"So we are cultivating feelings." The emperor emphasized the word "is".
"But you're so much older than her!" The hot-blooded young prince mercilessly exposed his father's past.
"You, mind your own business." The teacup was slammed down on the table, and Sklag II stared at him with his hawk-like eyes, speaking each word clearly.
The second prince withstood the pressure and said firmly, "I love her too, and I will marry her!"
Who are you trying to scare? Everyone's single.
He is a handsome young prince of noble status, and he is much better than his father, who is over a hundred years old and has two burdens!
“If you’re so capable, then compete fairly!” Similan shouted, relying on her youth and beauty to challenge him.
King Sklag II was so angry he laughed, and sneered, "Why should I compete fairly with you?"
The second prince stared at him in shock.
The Emperor said coldly, "In terms of bloodline, I am your father and have the right to decide who your future partner will be; in terms of status, I am the monarch and you are the subject. Do you intend to disobey me?"
Shameless!!!
The second prince cursed inwardly. Although King Slag II could not interfere with who he pursued, he could veto who he married!
Damn it, how are we supposed to compete like this!
Similan took a few deep breaths before finally saying, "She doesn't like you at all. Are you going to keep her by your side for the rest of your life?"
"So what?" the emperor said. "She can have everything by my side. What does it matter if she doesn't like me? No one dares to like her anyway."
Those eagle eyes stared at him, clearly stating: You are the same.
Even if Shi Wei never falls in love with him, it doesn't matter. He can suppress his desires and emotions, whether he's the emperor in her heart or just a friend in private—
He just wanted her by his side.
Anyway, no one dares to pursue her.
"What if she likes me?" the blond youth asked, unwilling to give up.
His father said calmly, "Give it a try."
It's not encouragement, it's a threat.
Before going into battle, tell him, "Give it a try, don't be nervous."
Instead, she stood opposite him and said: "Come on, you try it."
Similan clenched his fist.
But then he heard his father say, "As compensation, the mechanized forces of the Sixth War Zone are yours."
He was about to say he wouldn't accept his charity when he heard King Sklag II continue, "Cyril recommended Jiang Chuge. Although he has some qualifications, his combat experience is not as good as yours. What do you think?"
Similan stared blankly at his father, who never cared about the open and covert struggles between him and Cyril.
This is not a request for opinions.
This is a blatant threat.
Jiang Chuge is the nephew of the current First Secretary, Jiang Guyuan, who is the current head of the Jiang family and the next candidate for the position.
Cyril and Jiang Chuge were classmates. Although Secretary Jiang did not express her opinion directly, she always kept her distance from him.
This is the attitude: Cyril recommending Chiang Kai-shek's direct descendants is an attempt to win over the Chiang family.
Although Lu Qi was more inclined to side with him, he would definitely prioritize His Majesty's will. Just like this time, he had barely captured Shi Wei when the Royal Guard arrived—it wouldn't have been possible to do so so quickly without the Security Bureau tipping him off.
He had a good personal relationship with the former first secretary, Dekari. Although Dekari was also one of His Majesty's men, he was much easier to deal with than an old fox like Jiang Guyuan. But Dekari had an accident.
This made Similan's situation even more awkward. The Minister of Defense, Aker, was a drunkard and a staunch royalist who showed no respect for him or Cyril and never had any dealings with them.
Needless to say, those in the Ministry of Finance are even more shrewd; they're better at scheming than anyone else.
Similan's heart sank.
The setting sun cast a dim light on his hair.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said in a low voice.
His Majesty rose and left, leaving behind only one sentence: "Remember to keep your mouth shut."
The second prince didn't understand those words until a few days later when he saw Shi Wei—
Only then did I understand what Sklag II meant by those words.
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Author's Note: Shi Wei: You just wait. (Takes out her notebook)
Second Prince: Aaaaaaah!! Shameless!
Emperor: Why should I compete fairly with you? Is my throne just for show?
Lu Qi: I think I'll go and seek refuge with the First Prince.
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