Chapter 64 How about we get married for fun?
The person Lu Qi had chosen was indeed no ordinary person. Soon, Secretary Wang sent her several final drafts with the note: "The video version is in progress. Please take a look and see if these photos are usable."
Shi Wei read those articles first. They were very well-written, with the perspectives of ordinary people and clear focus. There was no trace of deliberate manipulation.
There was nothing to change, so she approved it directly, replying: "The content is fine. You can decide the platform and time for posting. All the photos above can be used."
Meanwhile, the security bureau also discovered the forces behind these random posts: unsurprisingly, it was all the work of the Alliance and the Chaotic Starfield.
To Shi Wei's surprise, the post that listed her ten deadly sins was not from the Alliance, but from the Chaotic Starfield.
During her time at Fortress Zerg, she reviewed a lot of information and discovered that Yi Lan actually did own shares in several large media companies, though they were all using shell companies as fronts—
This kid is cunning and scheming, far from the carefree and easygoing person he appears to be on the surface.
Indeed, how could someone with such strong mental power, capable of psychological suggestion, fail to grasp people's hearts?
Shi Wei learned a lot from Yi Lan: a well-established persona provides a basis for everything one does. Take Yi Lan, for example; everyone in the eight star systems thought he was crazy, so when he did something outrageous and shocking, everyone thought, "That's just like him."
For example, this time he kidnapped someone, and surprisingly no one condemned him. In the face of his tarnished record, this kind of thing is really a trivial matter.
Kidnapping her is nothing; he's kidnapped far more government heads than anyone else.
Such moral condemnation is utterly meaningless to mercenaries.
The ripples stirred up by the "Ten Deadly Sins" post quickly subsided. Thanks to the martial social atmosphere of Manra and the conflicts since the Asta era and the Chaotic Starfield, His Majesty, who instigated the war, did not receive much criticism from his people.
There's a saying: If you win, everything is fine; if you lose, you can't defend yourself.
A more elegant way to put it is that history is written by the victors.
After being busy for half a month, the slow-witted person finally remembered her dear boyfriend.
It's been a long time since we last met, but I don't really miss it.
Perhaps this is what it means to be an old married couple.
But His Majesty seemed preoccupied, and she couldn't get any information from him after asking a few questions. After dinner, he seemed to be in a better mood and asked Shi Wei if she wanted to visit the Fran Empire in a couple of days.
"Fran invited us on an official basis. Your abduction on their territory reflects their poor security management. Inviting you is also a way to save face," His Majesty said. There must be someone on Fran's side who has been bribed by mercenaries, otherwise those snakes wouldn't have transported you out so easily.
However, Fran is Shi Wei's motherland, and he didn't want to say such things in front of her.
King Sklag II mentioned the Fran Empire, which made Shi Wei feel somewhat complicated. She did have a special feeling for her motherland, but now that feeling had changed.
The man seemed to read her mind and sighed softly.
The two stood in a corner of the garden, looking at the brightly lit palace. Her hand was taken, and Sklag II said, "This palace has existed for thousands of years, passed down through generations of the royal family to this day. My ancestors produced more than a hundred emperors. For thousands of years, the royal family and the empire have become one."
"We are the Empire, and the Empire is us." This is the first rule of the Manla royal family.
At first glance, it may seem arrogant and autocratic, but in reality, the royal family also bears a heavy burden.
“There are very few great noble families that have been passed down through generations along with the royal family. Every few hundred years, a new generation rises and then disappears into the long river of history. This is the case in most countries. The royal family of Manra is an exception.” His Majesty seemed to be chatting casually, but he seemed to want to tell her something.
Shi Wei corrected her seriously, "There's another type—mercenaries."
Having successfully silenced His Majesty's lament about the rise and fall of history, he squeezed Shi Wei's claws and could only say, "What you say makes sense. The mercenaries' direct descendants are almost all of the Beast King's bloodline, and can be considered Asta's successors. Approximately every hundred years, there will be someone with a high concentration of 'source blood' who climbs to the position of commander."
Shi Wei calculated the timeline and suddenly laughed: "So, you and Yi Lan are actually from the same era?"
King Scola II was silent for a moment. Was he some kind of ancient historian, judging by those words?
The man said slowly, "More or less. He's only a little younger than me. He joined the army in his teens and climbed his way up step by step. He hasn't exactly disgraced the Yi family name—"
This statement is highly valuable. For an enemy and love rival to give such an evaluation is quite remarkable.
"Yi? I remember many mercenaries have the surname Yi. Asta's Sino surname should be Tan, right?" Shi Wei asked curiously.
Scola II explained, "Asta's real name is Tan Xian. Her younger brother, Tan Yan, became the mate of the Beast King. This is the origin of the Tan clan. When Asta succeeded as commander, she promised the previous commander that the next commander must be surnamed Yi. Later, in order to commemorate this insightful old commander, many people changed their surname to Yi when they joined the army. Gradually, the Chaotic Starfield began to have the surname Yi."
Yi Lan's ancestors included a legendary figure named Tan Fei, who conducted human experiments that could enhance mental strength. This attracted many people, but also killed many others, and he was eventually wanted throughout the universe.
Therefore, in order to avoid disaster, the Tan family members all changed their surnames.
Yi Lan seems to have inherited his ancestor's talent and madness. After this was exposed, many people thought he would also be a menace. However, in the past hundred years, no mercenary has produced anyone with more talent and ability than him, and in the end, the position of commander still fell into his hands.
"Alright, I've digressed. Actually, many empires that have lasted for thousands of years have been passed down through many regimes. History cycles over and over again. Like Manra, we are the only ones who have been ruled by us all along." Sklag II smiled silently. "But we have not escaped the cycle of history either. Every few hundred years, the royal family will also go through a cycle. My genes and those of Emperor Charles are completely different now."
"Isn't Asta's gene passed down through bloodline?" Shi Wei changed the subject again, she really had a strong curiosity about Asta.
His Majesty said helplessly, "Yes, but no. The experts at the research institute believe that her power can be inherited through spiritual power."
Shi Wei's mouth opened into a huge "O", looking very surprised.
No longer willing to let the curious child keep asking questions, His Majesty simply stated bluntly: "Although the Fran Empire has a long history, regimes change very quickly. The current new regime is only a few hundred years old. Your great-grandfather's generation belonged to the previous era and was loyal to another emperor. To put it bluntly, if Emperor Fran had been a little more incompetent, you might have witnessed the ascension of a new emperor..."
This is not impossible. When she was in college, some radical teachers openly discussed which noble family was most likely to usurp the throne.
His Majesty patted her on the shoulder and said, “So don’t think too much about it. Just like you wrote yourself, you love that land and the people connected to you, not those who make the ‘rules’ and trade the fate of their people.”
So it was meant to comfort her. Shi Wei thought about it for a while, nodded, and then felt that it was a bit strange for such words to come from the mouth of the person who made the rules: "Why does this sound a bit like nationalism?"
Sklag II repeated the phrase: "We are the Empire, and the Empire is us."
This statement contains profound meaning; it is a summary of a highly awakened sense of self, and the scope of "we" is extremely broad.
Shi Wei thought and thought: "I think I understand a little. Over the years, the spirit of the Manla royal family has been firmly bound to the empire... So, as long as the royal family exists, the empire will not perish?"
His Majesty nodded.
"So how did they manage that?" Shi Wei asked. "Was every emperor this conscientious?"
Manla has its share of incompetent emperors throughout its history.
King Sklag II smiled slightly: "If he doesn't realize it, someone will make him realize it."
Shi Wei exclaimed in surprise, "Who?"
His Majesty did not answer, but Shi Wei felt she had guessed something, and she tentatively asked, "Lord Asta?"
This time, His Majesty did not answer, but only said: "Five hundred years ago, I had an unfortunate ancestor who made the empire a mess and was about to be attacked on the capital planet. In a panic, he went to the Holy Stele to pray for blessings and then exchanged his life for the future of the empire. He suddenly died during the prayer process, and then his eldest son succeeded to the throne and quickly quelled the rebellion."
Shi Wei vaguely recalled this period of history. She remembered... it seemed to be a celebrated story in the royal family, something about admitting mistakes and correcting them, and that it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.
But after His Majesty said that, she felt a chill run down her spine.
“So—” Shi whispered, “is that why you didn’t go to the holy monument to pray for blessings?”
Scolag took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid of her? I'm just too lazy to go. Even without her protection, I can govern the empire well."
You can't trust a man's words, Shi Wei thought to herself: He's probably just afraid of getting beaten up.
A loud laugh suddenly popped into her mind.
Shi Wei paused for a moment, looked around, and found no one.
"What's wrong?" Scola II asked.
"Why do I hear a woman laughing?" Shi Wei looked at the dark bushes not far away and moved a little closer to His Majesty.
King Skolag II paused for a moment, then said, "Are you too tired? Are you hallucinating? I didn't hear any laughter. Go back and rest."
On the way back, His Majesty was still muttering, "Some things can be handled by your subordinates. The people Lu Qi assigned to you aren't just sitting around doing nothing. You don't need to pay attention to those trivial matters every day—"
"I'm not tired," Shi Wei said. She genuinely didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, she found it quite interesting. Besides, she was now the client, and Secretary Wang and the others did all the work, so what was there to be tired about?
"Besides, I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway, and it's already quite an achievement that I can manage myself. After all, this war is inextricably linked to me."
King Sklag II took her hand and said, "The one who's wrong is that bastard Yi Lan, what does it have to do with you? If you're really bored, why don't we get married for fun?"
Shi Wei: "Then I'd better stay idle."
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Author's Note: Shi Wei: What?!
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