Chapter 0680: The Prologue Kicks Off
Li Luo's eyelid twitched slightly as he faced House Jinque's party. Unfazed, he mustered the most genial smile he could as he casually swaggered over and engaged Si Qing in conversation. "House Lord Si Qing, you look more and more energetic as time goes by!"
Looking at Li Luo taking the initiative to walk over, Si Qing similarly beamed at him. "Li Luo, you're truly the outstanding one. Merely at the One Star Hall but already in the Fiend Palace Tier. I think House Luolan will have another Duke in a few years' time."
"No, no, no, you're being too kind. If Sister Qing'e and I can reach the Duke Stage in three years’ time and if my parents return, House Luolan will have four Dukes! Wait..." Li Luo paused for a moment and pointed towards Mentor Chi Chan. "Silly me, I forgot! We have Mentor Chi Chan over there as well. She recently joined House Luolan. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Uncle Biao. He might be a little injured, but his situation is improving! If he recovers in three years..."
Li Luo started to count with his fingers. One, two... before finally waving six fingers before Si Qing as he seriously said, "It looks like House Luolan will have six Dukes then!"
When faced with this sight, even Si Qing's enthusiasm was dampened.
Six Dukes?
That was a monstrous fighting force.
Although he knew that Li Luo’s intention was to frighten him, Si Qing naturally felt fl.u.s.tered deep down for a moment. But he gradually calmed himself down. Although Jiang Qing'e had the possibility of reaching the Duke Stage in three years' time, could Li Luo really achieve the same feat? Whether Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan would return was still up in the air as well. Meanwhile, if Ox Biaobiao truly could recover from his injuries so easily, he would not have sequestered himself away from sight within House Luolan's headquarters for all these years.
Thus, logically thinking through the facts allowed Si Qing to recover his composure, and he replied in a measured tone, "Then I do hope that your hopes come true, Nephew Li Luo!"
If the Regent were to gain the throne today, would he allow House Luolan, a house he held great enmity towards, to survive till Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan returned? Unlikely.
Li Luo smiled and nodded. He no longer continued to provoke Si Qing, only glancing at Si Tianming and Si Qiuying, who had complicated expressions on their faces. Si Qing then smiled and nodded before heading to his seat.
Jiang Qing'e, on the other hand, stood aside, her indifferent gaze never even so much as looking in their direction. Clearly, she now treated them as enemies. Her personality was different from Li Luo's. Li Luo would still attempt to put in some effort to maintain a friendly facade, but for her, the next time she greeted them might very well be the last.
This caused Si Tianming and Si Qiuying to look even more despondent.
Some actions were irrevocable, forever irreconcilable.
The two were ultimately members of House Jinque, and Si Qing was their father. There was no way for them to separate themselves from this relations.h.i.+p of blood. Thus, Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo would gradually drift apart from them. In the future, they might very well find themselves on opposite ends of the battlefield.
After walking past the trio from House Jinque, Li Luo finally found House Luolan's a.s.signed seats.
He plonked down upon the cus.h.i.+oned white jade seats and then continued to gaze around curiously. On a row of seats to the rightmost, he noticed Yu Hongxi, Lu Qing'er, and a group of senior officials from the Golden Dragon Bank. The ceremony today had far reaching influence, so even a neutral faction would partic.i.p.ate.
As he was in the midst of his thoughts, he suddenly heard Mentor Chi Chan lightly informing him of something. "Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin is here."
Li Luo hurriedly turned his head and saw a large group of individuals entering the square. At the head of the group was none other than the vice princ.i.p.al. It seemed the Astral Sage College was attending this as well.
The Astral Sage College had dispatched countles Violet Vibrance mentors, and it was an impressive delegation to behold. All of the numerous heads of the different factions who were nearby similarly stood up and greeted Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin, the latter returning them a refres.h.i.+ng smile.
However, when Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin arrived at Li Luo's position, her smile receded slightly as she coolly studied him and Chi Chan. "Li Luo, don't you think you have established a few too many records in my college?"
It was evident that she was referring to how he had managed to convince Chi Chan to join House Luolan.
Li Luo, on the other hand, put on an expression of sincerity. "Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin, you are too polite. As a member of the college, breaking records is my greatest honor and responsibility!"
This was met with a cold snort. "Don't you dare overdo things. Although you are a promising sprout, the Astral Sage College can do without you. The college has not concluded on how to deal with Chi Chan's situation. If there are any investigations, I hope that you will cooperate fully."
"Of course I will!" Li Luo nodded enthusiastically.
The surrounding factions had taken notice of their little exchange. Mentor Chi Chan had resigned from the Astral Sage College at a critical moment and even had the audacity to tie up House Lanling. This was news that had spread widely, especially since she had opted to join House Luolan after that. This completely startled everyone who knew as it seemed to cast a shadow over the Astral Sage College's perceived neutrality. If they were subtly supporting House Luolan, wouldn't it naturally bring many questions?
But Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin's accusatory tone seemed to indicate that the situation was not what it seemed.
Whether this calling of accounts was real or not, on the surface it seemed as though the college disapproved of the actions taken.
After admonis.h.i.+ng Li Luo, Su Xin expressionlessly walked away, while the remaining Violet Vibrance mentors looked at Li Luo and Chi Chan with peculiar eyes. This situation had become the hottest topic in the college over the past few days, and there were even rumors that Chi Chan had special feelings towards Li Luo. Still, this rumor was so unbelievable that every logical individual scoffed upon hearing it, but it was still spicy news that people lapped up.
"The mentors looked at me a little strangely..." Li Luo lamented as the Astral Sage College contingent moved away.
"The Vice Princ.i.p.al is merely putting up an act. You don't need to worry about her targeting you." Mentor Chi Chan laughed.
"That I know. She's already done so much to help me. Even if she wanted to beat me up, I would willingly accept it!" Li Luo said stoically.
"Still... you two were also involved in this as much as I was. Why did she choose me to be the scapegoat and give me such an earful?! It's so unfair!" he continued to grumble. His words did not go unnoticed, and the other two rolled their eyes. This brat had already received so many advantages, yet he still pretended to be dumb? Truly hateful and deserving of a good wallop!
As they continued to speak, a slight commotion broke out atop the platform itself as horns blared. One could see two rows of individuals make their way out from the corridor.
One row was led by the Regent, Gong Yuan, while the other was led by the First Princess, Gong Luanyu.
The two rows seemed to be walking closely together, but a sharper eye could discern that they were as immiscible as water and oil, on guard against each other.
With their appearance, everyone's gazes were focused upon them.
The Regent and the First Princess were the main characters of today's play.
Although it was the Little Emperor's coronation ceremony, he was still young and immature. His power would undoubtedly be controlled by the First Princess as she represented his interests.
Despite the dark undercurrents swirling beneath the surface, the Regent and the First Princess continued to banter happily, no different from an uncle meeting his favored niece.
Under the watchful eye of the audience, the Regent and the First Princess finally ascended to the highest platform where there were three golden, stone seats. The two then took their positions on the left and rightmost seats.
Atop the white jade square, a grand and majestic prelude took place before the event officially began. Countless loud drums boomed into the sky, reverberating throughout the royal palace.
Anyone who heard the thunderous booms of the celebratory drums would instinctively be reminded of the heroic vigor of cavalry and battle-hardened soldiers.
Everyone continued to observe the situation atop the platform cautiously, paying attention to every single minute movement. They were awaiting the official beginning of the coronation ceremony.
Time crawled past as the lengthy prelude slowly pa.s.sed by.
Until the sun reached the zenith.
The drumming had reached a peak, deafening booms ringing throughout the square. Everyone's hearts seemed to skip a beat for an instant before they regained their composure. They were now focusing on a specific corner of the white jade square, where a ma.s.sive, golden dragon chariot carried by hundreds of people slowly made its way, completely surrounded by the guard of honor.
The frail Little Emperor could be seen atop the golden chariot.
His tense expression seemed to give off an air of solemnity.
This was it. Everyone knew that the coronation ceremony that would change the fate of the Xia Kingdom had finally started.