Chapter 27: Concubine Selection
The vice president of the Xiongbao Association was actually behind the affairs of the Orchid Clan.
The jury arrived the next day and heard the news before they could react. They were stunned.
"Does this... still need to be a public trial?" The presiding judge carefully observed the male insect's expression.
"Why not?" An Lang pursed his lips, his face darkening. "I almost died in this incident. Even so, you won't handle this seriously?"
"Of course not!" The presiding judge quickly denied it. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The new emperor attached great importance to the issue of injustice between female and male insects. If this prince expressed his opinion, things would be much easier to handle.
The trial was held in public three days later, with hundreds of millions of Zergs listening to the case on the Starnet.
This case not only involved hundreds of disabled female orchid insects, but also a male insect whose freedom was restricted, as well as Cleveland, vice president of the Male Protection Association, and Anlang Coferlin, the son of the Mantis tribe leader.
No one expected that Cleveland's imprisonment was due to the wit of this prince, and a conspiracy that lasted for more than 60 years finally came to an end.
It was said that this prince was not only of pure blood from the Mantis tribe, but also had just reached adulthood without a female ruler or female servant. Furthermore, he was so handsome.
Of course, there were also discordant voices. Some insects accused the prince of preferring underage female insects, which led to the glands of several orchids being gouged out.
But this voice was quickly suppressed.
Because this prince handed over all the confiscated stolen money to the Lan tribe and helped them rebuild Sagunto.
At the same time, he obtained the permission of the Mantis Lord to cancel the Orchid Clan's status as a sinner. From then on, the Orchid Clan obtained equal civil rights like ordinary Mantis Clan.
The thin Lan tribe member beside him also showed endless attachment to him, which gave everyone new speculations.
After all, how could a female insect fall in love with a male insect that has had its glands removed!
The onlookers understood that this was clearly a story of redemption and being redeemed. Perhaps it was this member of the Lan clan who gave His Highness the original intention to liberate the Lan clan.
The story became more and more touching as it was passed down, and finally became the story of "the noble prince fell in love with the disabled criminal slave at first sight, and went through hardships to redress his race, and finally the lovers finally got married."
An Lang heard this story from a white-haired female insect.
"...Your Highness is truly sentimental."
An Lang: "...What the hell is going on here?"
He was still worried that he couldn't clear his name, but who knew that Lan Xiu would stick close to him during the trial. Just this one action made everyone automatically make up a story in their imagination.
"Your Highness, don't you like him?" the white-haired female insect asked softly.
An Lang quickly denied: "I treat Lan Xiu as my younger brother!"
"He's so young, and I'm not a pedophile!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the white-haired female insect's face became extremely gloomy, as if she was going to break his neck at the next moment.
What’s going on???
Who made him angry again!
Why does the villain have such a weird temper? He gets angry at the slightest thing!
Before An Lang could figure it out, the villain suddenly disappeared from the windowsill.
When he returned to his room, he found Lan Xiu sitting on the bed without turning on the lights. His red eyes were wide open, which frightened him.
"Lan Xiu, why aren't you sleeping?"
There was a moment of silence in the air, and then Lan Xiu spoke lazily: "I woke up in the middle of the night and found that His Highness was gone... so I waited for His Highness."
There was something odd about the tone.
An Lang didn't know why he felt guilty.
This guilty conscience came out of nowhere.
Because Lan Xiu's tone sounded like he knew everything, he seemed to understand that An Lang ran out in the middle of the night because of a certain white-haired female insect that was elusive and moody.
An Lang felt a little sorry for disturbing her sweet dream.
It’s all the villain’s fault. He always likes to make appointments in the middle of the night, causing him to sneak out without Lan Xiu’s knowledge.
No, it sounds like he is having an affair with the villain.
No, no, no!
An Lang quickly shook this strange thought out of his mind. He whispered to Lan Xiu, "Go to sleep. I won't disturb you anymore."
Lan Xiu half-closed his eyes and glanced at him.
Without saying anything more, he lay down quietly and pulled the quilt higher.
An Lang also returned to bed.
He wondered why Lan Xiu didn't look too happy. Perhaps he thought he was too noisy... Waking up in the middle of the night would disturb others' sleep.
Early the next morning, Zhong Tao knocked on the door.
"Your Highness, the Mantis Lord is here."
An Lang put on his clothes and Lan Xiu followed him around. Neither of them slept well last night and they kept yawning.
Lindbergh was already waiting in the hall. He glanced at the sleepy An Lang, then at the equally sleepy Lan Xiu, and his face darkened.
"Anlang, it's time to choose a concubine."
An Lang shuddered and woke up instantly.
"What? So soon?"
Lindberg glanced at the red-eyed female insect following An Lang. He had also seen the rumors on the Star Network.
No matter what, it is true that Anlang dotes on him and pleads for the Lan clan.
She is beautiful and docile, and can barely be a female servant.
But it is impossible for a female monarch.
"You have successfully emerged from your cocoon, and have reached adulthood. The responsibility for the Mantis Clan's revival lies with you. You must not act recklessly."
"You've been away for a long time regarding the Orchid Clan. Have you even seen the bamboo shoots left in the palace?" Lindberg paused for a moment. "The position of Queen cannot be vacant. If you don't have a favorite insect, then follow the old rules."
"ah???"
After Lindbergh finished speaking, he was about to leave. An Lang followed closely behind him. He was about to say something when Lindbergh stopped again and turned to Zhong Tao and said, "Tell An Lang about the concubine selection ceremony and the sharpening of the mantis sword."
His eyes swept over Lan Xiu, whose expression remained unchanged, neither frightened nor arrogant. He even nodded slightly when he saw him looking at him.
Lindbergh withdrew his gaze and strode away.
Zhong Tao came over and said, "Your Highness, Lord Mantis has already set the date for the concubine selection ceremony. It's in seven days!"
“?!”
"The palace has been preparing since you emerged from your cocoon. Your female monarch is the next Mantis Lord of the Mantis Clan. This is a major event for the entire Mantis Clan!"
Zhong Tao pondered what Mantis Lord had said to him before he left, then glanced at Lan Xiu, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Highness, your female monarch must not be chosen casually. He needs to defeat all the other bamboo throwers..."
The Zerg are a very warlike and strong-loving race, and this trend is particularly prevalent among the Mantis.
As their leader, the Mantis Lord must have the power of insects.
If His Highness has a favorite insect, he needs to defeat all the bamboo throwers, gain the recognition of other insects, and finally fight with the current Mantis Lord until he takes away the two crescent-shaped, crossed jade swords worn by the Mantis Lord.
This process is called mantis knife sharpening.
"Isn't this just a martial arts competition to find a bride?" An Lang's eyes widened. "Why would I need to choose a female insect I like? I can just pick the best fighter!"
An Lang had originally intended to complain about the complete disrespect for the male insect's wishes, but Zhong Tao nodded and said, "Of course the Mantis Lord is the best fighter, and the field has been narrowed down a lot. If His Highness doesn't have a favorite female insect, then any insect that responds to the call can fight!"
"Is this what you call the old rules?"
"Yes!" Zhong Tao nodded heavily, and he glanced at Lan Xiu beside him.
He actually said these words to Lan Xiu. Although he no longer had any ill feelings towards the Lan clan, a female insect like Lan Xiu who had not awakened would definitely not be able to sit firmly on the throne of the female monarch.
It is common to get injured on the field, and you might even lose your life!
"It's over, it's over, it's over!" An Lang sat dejectedly in the chair. Even if he could convince the Zhuzi to let him go, what about Lindbergh?
He put his head in his hands and began to calculate the possibility of running away from his marriage.
"Lindberg... No, how strong is the female father's fighting ability?" An Lang asked with the last bit of luck in his heart.
"Mantis Lord..." Zhong Tao thought for a moment, "More than a decade ago, Mantis Lord was already an S-rank female insect. He hasn't tested her since then. However, no subspecies of the Mantis Clan has rebelled in the past decade or so. It's said that Mantis Lord didn't even need to revert to his ancestral form to kill Star Beasts on the battlefield."
"...Then who can beat this?"
"Ah, Your Highness, the Mantis Lord certainly hopes that you can find the female monarch as soon as possible. He will definitely let you go!"
An Lang closed his eyes. It was no longer possible for him to ask Lan Xiu for help. Facing Lindbergh, Lan Xiu was afraid that he would not be able to withstand it for many days, and Lindbergh would definitely not let Lan Xiu off.
Then who else can help him?
You Zhuo does have some fighting skills, but the two of them have never really fought against each other, so it's impossible.
Rayleigh...
Rayleigh seems to be easier to communicate with, but will Rayleigh agree to be his fake husband?
As for the big villain... he is not worried about his fighting power... No, no, why would the big villain help him? They were enemies not long ago.
After much thought, Rayleigh is the only one left.
Lan Xiu, who was standing aside, quietly watched An Lang scratching his head and ears, his eyes dark, and no one knew what he was thinking.
——
An Lang made up his mind and quickly put it into action.
When An Lang found Rayleigh, Rayleigh was on duty.
"I have something I want to discuss with you." An Lang glanced at the other female insects following him and emphasized, "Alone."
Rayleigh nodded, said hello to the other bugs, and quickly followed Anlang into the garden.
"Your Highness, what are your instructions?"
"Um, I have a favor to ask of you." An Lang had already prepared a speech, but still found it difficult to speak. "Ever since I was abducted by the rebels and witnessed cannibalism, I've been terrified of female insects."
Rayleigh's face was heavy: "I will definitely protect Your Highness, and this kind of thing will never happen again."
"Uh, that's not what I meant. Well, I hope you can win the princess selection ceremony."
As An Lang finished speaking, he saw the normally cold and hard female insect in front of him turn crimson. Not only her face, but her entire body was red.
Even his exposed fingers turned red.
"Your Highness is so kind." His voice trembled slightly.
An Lang's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized something: "You, you don't like me!"
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