Monarch of Evernight: 181 interests and feelings

bsp;The end of the long river of blood seems to be shrouded in a shrouding black mist. The river water flowing out of the mist is just a trickle and may stop flowing at any time.

Qianye flew towards the source and vaguely saw several marks floating in the river. Those are the signs of the second generation of ancestors, some are still shining, while others have faded.

Every time he saw a mark, Qianye had a strange feeling. Those marks were not just clan emblems. Each of them represented a method of using power, a path to becoming a strong person. the way.

The marks may be near or far from the source, and they may be large or small. Perhaps these differences are the source of the difference in power between the second generation ancestors of the Vampire Clan.

And he also discovered that the distance between the marks is not absolute. In the slow flow of the long river, some distances are widened and some distances are reduced. If there is enough time, perhaps their arrangement will also change.

Qianye suddenly thought of an ultimate question. Is there the legendary first drop of blood at the end of the river of blood? What does it look like?

As long as we fly to the source and pass through the fog, will this ultimate question be answered?

Qianye became excited, increased his speed, and flew towards the black mist. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a great danger and was suddenly shocked!

He looked up and saw a surge of black mist ahead, and a ferocious beast suddenly jumped out. This beast is strange, ugly and twisted. There is no symmetrical part in its body, and it looks indescribably awkward. It is like the origin of chaos and evil in the universe, and everything is abhorrent.

As soon as it appeared, it headed straight for Qianye. Qianye was shocked. At this moment, he had nothing, not even his body. How could he be its opponent? He tried his best to dodge, but he couldn't move faster than the ferocious beast. He was caught up in a blink of an eye, and then a big mouth full of messy sharp teeth appeared in front of Qianye and swallowed him whole!

Qianye’s consciousness fell into darkness again.

Tianji Pavilion in the imperial capital.

A group of Tianji warriors filed out. Everyone was solemn, but they could also see that they were extremely tired. Vehicles were already waiting at the square to take them away one by one.

When the crowd had almost dispersed, a woman finally walked out. She had a slanted lapel and wide sleeves, long hair, and no ornaments on her body. She was dressed in the simplest way of a heavenly magician, but her face was extremely beautiful. It was Empress Li.

The servant next to him came over and saluted: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is waiting for you at the Xia Cao Garden."

Empress Li was startled for a moment, then took the cloak and put it on, said: "Okay." Then she boarded the car and left.

The "Xiacao Garden" is called a garden, but it is actually one of the lower-level palaces in the imperial palace. Emperor Hao was just one of many princes and lived here.

After he ascends the throne, this place will naturally not be arranged for anyone else to move in and will be maintained. Emperor Hao would occasionally visit, but he never allowed any concubines or princes to set foot there.

However, although Empress Li had never entered it, she knew that there was a room inside that completely maintained the appearance of the previous one. The successive deaths back then were a taboo in the empire, so no one would touch them. Even Concubine Zhao, who was always the most playful in the harem, just pretended not to have seen this special place.

"Xiacao Garden" is very cramped. After turning around the screen wall at the gate, you will see the main hall. There is no scenery in the yard, except that all the places with soil are covered with Xia grass. It was so dense and lush that it almost looked like weeds.

These should have been left intentionally without modification, allowing them to take root in every inch of soil with their own vitality. At the top of the slender pedicel, petite white flowers bloom, swaying gently in the breeze, like the stars in the sky, twinkling with brilliance.

The entire "Xiacao Garden" was quiet, and the chamberlain who led Empress Li only stopped at the gate.

Empress Li walked in alone. She was born in an ancient family. Even when she was a girl, she had not had an independent yard, and she had never lived in such a small house.

Emperor Hao is in the left side hall of the main hall. The layout here is a study room, but there is a large embroidery shed under the window, and there are sorted needles and threads on the couch, as if the hostess will come in at any time.

After Li looked at the embroidery studio, she was a little curious. She showed great talent when she was young, and what she learned was no different from that of the men in her family. Female celebrities and the like were not in her curriculum at all.

However, when she looked at the layout of the room, it was obvious that half of it was the male owner's study and the other half was the female owner's embroidery room. She couldn't help but feel a little confused. This is what ordinary couples look like, right?

Emperor Hao stood in front of a calligraphy and painting. It was a color and ink painting. The composition and inscription all meant the joy of the wedding. This type of work was not really a good one.

Empress Li walked over and saw the familiar handwriting, and her heart moved slightly. Wasn't it written by the imperial master?

Emperor Hao said: "Master Lin's family was slightly poor when he was young. He entered the military academy early and had mediocre attainments in the six arts of calligraphy and painting." When he said this, he chuckled and said: "I remember when he was my prince's attendant. When he was speaking, the first thing he said was to tell me that his calligraphy is not as good as that of King Zhang."

Hou Li naturally smiled appropriately, but she felt even more dazed in her heart. She had never heard about Lin Xitang's personal affairs from Emperor Hao, and the feeling was very different from her previous imagination.

Emperor Hao turned his head and said to Empress Li: "Thank you for your hard work, Queen. Is there something going on at Tianji Pavilion?"

Empress Li suddenly came back to her senses, bowed her hands and said: "The sacrifice is over. But it's a pity that although we took advantage of the chaos to stir up the secrets over there, we didn't gain more, and we still can't judge the dark race. What kind of things do you want from the new world?"

Emperor Hao nodded and said: "The Demon Emperor unexpectedly came in person. It is difficult to hide it from him. This is already good. The battlefield for the juniors is over, and it is ours next."

Empress Li frowned slightly and said: "Since the rise of Song Zining, the prophets in the Yongye Council have shown obvious signs of avoiding war, and this time, I feel it even more clearly."

She paused and then said: "I still have a feeling that the secrets of Yongye's side are covered extremely tightly, closer than ever before. In fact, there are many famous prophecy masters in the history of Yongye Council. , Judging from the normal life span, it is not just the people who are currently in the foreground. If any of those masters are sleeping, they will be extremely powerful once they are awakened. I even suspect that there are great prophets among them. "

Emperor Hao nodded, "It's not surprising, this is the advantage of the immortal species."

He let out a long breath and said: "When Master Lin heard about the end of the Eternal Night Holy War, he judged that there would be big changes within the dark race. Now, the dark powerhouses who have been dormant for a long time are gradually resurrecting. It’s not a very strange thing.”

Empress Li was a little surprised, "Isn't it because of the arrival of the new world?"

Emperor Hao said: "Not just."

After being stunned for a moment, Empress Li sighed softly: "I am indeed very different from Taizi Lin. I still can't see this."

Emperor Hao said: "This is not Tianji Technique. He was still in Tianji Pavilion at that time."

Queen Li listened quietly. She only knew a little about what happened at that time and did not dare to touch Emperor Hao's thunder pool. But today Emperor Hao suddenly mentioned it himself, and I'm afraid there may be more to it.

Emperor Hao walked to the embroidery shed under the window, stretched out his hand and touched half of the embroidery surface on it, and said: "When I was young, I hated my father's attitude towards his sons. I almost looked at them without doing anything. I was not the target during the "Yeting Incident", but when the killing came, who would bother to identify the person under the knife? It was Master Lin who led me to escape the last two crazy days. One night."

Empress Li shuddered in her heart. She didn't know if she had enough concentration to keep her composure on her face. But Emperor Hao didn't look back at her.

"Later, when my father passed the throne to me, smart people came to me one after another and said that Master Lin Tianji is very powerful and he saved me on purpose." Emperor Hao laughed, "It's just what ordinary people say, but there is something in it. Everyone has a secret."

Of course Empress Li knew how ridiculous this statement was. Let alone the fact that Tianji Warlock was not a god, how could he see everything in detail.

It’s not that people who touch the corner of the secret, only to get a glimpse of the leopard, and make wrong judgments in the end, there are more such cases, otherwise there would be no "chaos of the secret" in the empire many years ago. The reason why Lin Xitang shut up all the Tianji sects was because of years of accumulation, which proved that he had almost no mistakes.

Besides, the secret of heaven is not static. Just like the thread of fate of the dark race, the future is just a possibility, but the present is one of countless possibilities realized. After all, all living creatures long to spy on the secrets of heaven. Is it just to accept their fate? It's not just to change your fate against the will of heaven.

And now that I have changed my life, is the future I once saw still the future?

"I know what happened that night best in my heart, and I don't need anyone to teach me to see the truth. Everyone is wrong. They thought that my father let me enter the small study before the palace incident. In fact, it was only at that time that he discovered that he had forgotten a son, and the concubine in charge of the palace also forgot to arrange a lecture for me."

"Even after the palace change, my father had no intention of choosing me as his successor. My qualifications are really not in his eyes, and without the power of my mother's family, it would be difficult to compete with the ancestors of the clan, and I would encounter many people behind him. There will be a lot of trouble." Emperor Hao straightened up and said, "I asked for the position because I saw Uncle Linjiang forcing Master Lin to kneel down and apologize to him."

Queen Li shuddered.

At this time, Emperor Hao turned around, his expression still gentle, and his eyes did not change much, as if he was telling someone else's story rather than the secrets of the palace that he had personally experienced.

He looked at Empress Li and said: "When I sat on the seat in Lingyun's main hall, I understood why my father allowed the harem dispute to eventually lead to a murder. Interests and feelings cannot coexist. Interests come in different sizes. , there is weight, does emotion also have size, weight? Especially once interests and feelings are superimposed, how to distinguish the weight? ”

"For Wu Yue, for you, for all the concubines and the emperor's children, I am not a good husband or a good father. I myself did all the things my father and emperor did that I hated back then. Fortunately, There should be no one who entered Weiyang Palace after Wu Yue just to talk to me about their feelings."

Behind every noble lady is a family, and behind every concubine is a contract. However, Emperor Hao's maternal lineage was slightly cold, and when he was a prince, there were no women around him at all.

Queen Li let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the next words were the key point of Emperor Hao recruiting her here.

"I know that you also had ambitions and ideals when you were in the boudoir. Now with your attainments in the art of heaven and earth, you are fully qualified to be the head of the Royal Academy of Heavenly Mysteries. I will inform several heavenly kings and award this position to you."

"However, all the princes and daughters under your name will not have the right to inherit. Especially if the Li family wants to be promoted in this generation, there will never be an emperor with the blood of the Li family. And from now on , as long as the surname Li is in charge of the Royal Tianji Academy, no woman named Li will be included in the harem."

Empress Li was extremely calm at the moment, and she made a formal gesture and said, "Yes, I obey my orders."

Emperor Hao finally said slowly: "The King of the Empire has made adjustments to his defenses. Come and listen to them together. I will go into battle as the King of Heaven."

Empress Li looked up in shock.

But Emperor Hao smiled slightly at her and said: "This dress is very good. There is no need to change into court clothes. Let's go now."

All the servants of "Xiaolan Palace" stood outside the palace and were at least ten meters away from the palace door.

The side hall on the right is originally a casual layout, with high-backed seats, soft couches, desks and piano seats. It is not a suitable layout for talks. However, it is especially suitable when all the king-level figures are gathered together. There is no need to separate the seats in order, and everyone can find their own comfortable way.

King Zhiji and King Dingxuan sat on each side, one sipping tea and the other talking with their hands, looking very leisurely. King Dingyue was leaning on the collapse, as if he was sleeping. He was the farthest in the Western Continent, and would usually not come to the imperial capital unless the matter was of great importance.

As soon as the door curtain moved, Fang Qingkong walked in. He was wearing a civil official court uniform, and he still looked a little cold between his brows.

Faced with a room full of heavenly kings, Fang Qingkong didn't show any emotion at all. Seeing everyone doing their own thing, he didn't bother him. He only walked to King Dingxuan and whispered a few words.

The chess piece in King Dingxuan's hand stopped and he said strangely: "'Hall of Heroes'? You should ask the Zhao family about this, right? Who told me last time that Qianye has a daughter in Yonglu. Besides, that The ship was originally built by Zhi Ji. If you want to ask how to deal with it, you should also ask him. What opinions can I have?"

Even if King Zhiji had clear ears and eyes, he would not deliberately listen to Fang Qingkong’s whisper to King Dingxuan. When he heard his name being mentioned, he turned his head. When he saw Fang Qingkong’s expressionless expression, he Understand most of it.

King Zhiji said: "Fang Qingkong, I have something to say clearly. Don't imitate Lin Xitang's half-hidden, half-showed behavior." Then he said to King Dingxuan: "I know a little bit about this. Your great-grandson borrowed your name. He grabbed a boy from a branch of the Zhang family and ran to cooperate with Song Zining, intending to share Run Yonglu's interests."

King Dingxuan was stunned, "Which great-grandson?" and then asked, "Would Song Zining believe it? I don't think he is that stupid, right?"

Zhiji King glanced at Fang Qingkong with his long beard and a meaningful look.

After Lin Xitang passed away, Fang Qingkong succeeded him and took charge of the empire's highest level of strategic intelligence. Of course, this upstart who was already a **** general was not stupid, but seeing that he dared to come to the King of Heaven to mention this matter, it was really no more stupid than that. It’s okay to be stupid.

Fang Qingkong stood like a piece of wood at this moment, but didn't speak any more.

King Zhiji shook his head and smiled. He knew that Fang Qingkong wanted to force the two of them to express their stance, so he didn't mind his calculation. He said to King Dingxuan: "Zining came to ask me, and I have already told him, No need to hold back, just do whatever makes him feel comfortable."

King Dingxuan was not surprised when he heard this, nodded and said: "This is the right thing to do."

Zhiji Wang said: "I also said that it doesn't matter if you sacrifice a few people."

King Dingxuan said: "You have already said what you said, and you are still trying to block me? Those juniors just think that the rest are mediocre, but they are the only ones with outstanding talents, so they will not be abandoned by the family. If they think that I am in Xin If the military merits obtained on the world battlefield are not enough for them, then they can earn it themselves. If they lose their lives if they earn it incorrectly, they cannot blame others."

At this point, King Dingxuan got a little angry. He turned around and asked Fang Qingkong, "Which one is it?"

But King Zhiji said: "Don't worry, since Zining came to ask me, I should have a countermeasure, and use your name to him."

King Dingxuan was stunned. After a while, he came to his senses and said, "That's okay. There are all dark races over there. It's okay to let him dominate the whole town."

At this time, Emperor Hao and Empress Li came in hand in hand and met with the kings of heaven. King Beiyue also got up from his couch.

Everyone was already pressed for time, so they immediately got to the point, with Fang Qingkong reporting on the recent camp situation.

The movements on the side of the Eternal Night Parliament are extremely strange. After the Battle of Black Sun Valley, the Parliament began to arrest some Eternal Night nobles one after another during the process of reviewing their military merits, and they were the high-ranking nobles of the four major races.

This is a rare thing. In most cases in the past, although the parliament has made a resolution, the direct action taken by the parliamentary troops is usually other small races, and the four major races solve the problem on their own.

Regardless of what their charges were, as long as high-ranking nobles were involved, this kind of arrest would inevitably involve the issue of force. The parliament actually dispatched many unnamed machines. Those things had never appeared on the battlefield of the camp.

After Fang Qingkong got the map and description, he felt something. He went to the Royal Library to check the oldest files, and was able to vaguely find the source of some of the equipment.

Fang Qingkong said: "When Lin Shuai heard about the end of the Jihad in Yong Ye, he asserted that there had been big changes within the dark race. At that time, the new world was opening, and those changes were covered up, making it difficult for us to monitor The exact situation."

"However, Taizu and Emperor Wu have both pointed out that if any two of the four dark tribes unite, our tribe will be overthrown. However, even if the Eternal Night Council is here, they will not truly join forces. This is what our tribe is." There is room for development. But this strategic space cannot last indefinitely. Our clan must always be wary of changes in the balance of power among the four dark races. Once the balance is broken, a crisis will come. ”

"During the founding of the Qin Dynasty, the practice of the four dark clans was for each clan to maintain the combat power of four monarchs, with two active monarchs jointly responsible for clan affairs, and they could be rotated by the other two at any time. As for the ability The number of princes awakened at the same time has always been the top secret of each clan. We have never obtained it, and they probably don’t have it either."

"However, in the past few hundred years, since the dark races no longer directly attack the empire's home continent, the number of rotating kings of the four races has decreased significantly."

"In the past thousand years, the holy war between the blood clan and the werewolves has completely wiped out 23% of the clan totems of the werewolves, and reduced the other 15% of the clan population to less than half. The impact on the servant army is not obvious, but we do not have specific data on the quality of the servant army. In addition, the werewolf has never produced the Holy Mountain Supreme in these thousands of years."

"With such a record, the vampires continue to challenge the authority of the demons. Thousands of years ago, during the Dawn War, in our history books, the large war machines of the demons far exceeded the current level. We always thought that their population Causes of technological decline ”

"So for a long time, both high-level officials and research institutions have believed that the final leader of Evernight to break the balance will be the vampires, and once they annex the werewolves, they will try to attack the empire again. Because now gray channels The population plundering and trading still cannot meet the needs of their lower-level members. This is also the fundamental reason that inhibits the vampires from establishing a large number of servant armies like werewolves and spider demons."

"Since the appearance of the high-level vampires is most similar to ours, the proportion of vampires and human descendants among the mixed-race children in the gray area is extremely high, and the vampires can transform our clan. Therefore, they have always been the most active in infiltrating the empire. Especially in the Battle of Floating Land, the person who contacted the Immortal King was a blood clan grand duke, who has disappeared since then. We are still not sure whether he obeyed the orders of the Matte King Metanzo or the Fire Crown Habus ."

"Since the door to the new world opened, we have been preparing for a full-scale war. Now a series of developments on the side of Yongye have also proved that the final crisis predicted by the ancestors is coming. These actions of the Yongye Parliament show that there is a powerful The authority appears."

"But Wei Chen is suddenly not sure who is the leader of the other party, the vampire? Or the demon."

There was silence in the room for a moment, and Empress Li said: "The secrets of Yongye's side are extremely tightly covered and are completely undisturbed. Even if our side attempts to spy or even invade, they will only expel them and never pursue them. And Xin The core of the world is still shrouded in darkness."

King Zhiji thought for a moment and said, "Is there a map showing the arrests of the Evernight Council?"

Fang Qingkong shook his head and said: "After the end of the Evernight Holy War, the intelligence work was several times more difficult. The information obtained this time was extremely sporadic. The reason why there is a more detailed one is because it happened in the dark occupied area of ​​the Western Continent, and only That one has a little more content.”

"Xilu." King Beiyue frowned, "Does the Zhao family know the news?"

Fang Qingkong said: "It has been reported. There is currently no news of the empire being invaded, but we must start to implement a nationwide alert."

King Zhiji nodded and said: "Agree."

Emperor Hao and the other kings agreed.

Fang Qingkong added: "Since the current situation is very close to the triggering conditions of a full-scale war, while all the kings are present, we still need to determine the strategic contraction plan."

Strategic contraction refers to the plan to shrink the front line to protect the core territory when the empire's homeland is invaded and the situation is unfavorable. The last time the empire launched this plan was during the "Bloody Funeral" after the death of the Immortal King.

Fang Qingkong turned over a page of the document in his hand and said: "The empire currently occupies the smallest proportion of the Western Continent. Apart from the Zhao family, there are only three aristocratic families. Moreover, the Western Continent was built late. It was originally the continent's largest defense area. Weak spot."

“But Yuelu was greatly damaged during the last invasion of the Alien Beast Legion, and the recovery and construction of the destroyed city was also very slow. Especially after the rise of Yonglu, many aristocratic families invested their main forces and resources there. ”

"So judging from the current comparison of living war forces, crossing the land is the best contraction point. Moreover, the alien beast army only destroyed ground facilities, but those continental-level war facilities facing the void should still be activated. ”

King Dingxuan first said: "Agree." Then he turned to King Zhiji and said: "One of you and I must go out to defend the strategic contraction point. This time it will be me."

King Zhiji was silent for a moment and said, "Okay." Of course, King Beiyue also agreed.

Emperor Hao said at this time: "Prince Zhang is recovering from his injuries, so let me do the maneuvering."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes were focused on Emperor Hao. Most of the emperors of the Qin Dynasty were excellent in civil and military affairs, but after the situation on the mainland stabilized, they rarely went to battlefields outside Qinland except in rare cases. However, the kings did not immediately raise objections and listened quietly.

Emperor Hao said: "The injury that King Zhang suffered in the new world is difficult to deal with. It would be best to spend more time recovering and eliminate all future troubles. Uncle Linjiang and I come from the same source. There will be no problem for him to take charge of the Imperial Capital's 'King's Realm'. At the same time, King Zhang will stay in the Imperial Capital to assist in the defense, which will ensure that our Great Qin will not lose anything."

King Zhiji slowly said: "Your Majesty, does he know that this is a serious matter?"

Emperor Hao said: "The queen is appointed as the head of the Royal Tianjiyuan. All the princes and daughters under the queen's name are not allowed to establish heirs. The princes of the Li family are not allowed to establish heirs. From now on, any daughter of the family who is in charge of the Tianjiyuan will not enter the harem. ”

The whole room was silent for a while.

After a moment, King Zhiji said: "I agree. However, the Heavenly King-level defense adjustment must be approved unanimously, and Qingyang's opinion needs to be sought." The other kings also nodded together.

Emperor Hao said: "Of course, I will go and visit Prince Zhang in person."

At this point, the meeting ends.