Chapter 409: 409
"Do you not know why he has done so?" The Emperor asked, not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice .
"Making an Empress' Edict and forcing his companion to marry your son, even giving them house arrest to ensure that nothing is found out by me . What a good empress I have!"
"I don't understand?" The Empress tried to pretend to be clueless, but the Emperor interrupted her, "don't understand?! What is that Empress' Edict that's hanging on their door then? Who was the one who told them to stay in their courtyard until the wedding?"
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became .
"I just thought that she would be a good match for our son," the Empress tried changing her tune when she realized that she could not pretend to be unknowing about it, but the Emperor was not satisfied .
"She was a good match, so you forced her to marry him? She is clearly against the wedding, but to ensure it happens, you have been abused your power and forced the Royal Guard to suffer from our young friend's anger! It was the same as asking them to die!"
The Empress had by now understood that the Emperor had every intention of pushing the blame onto her . She looked pitifully at the retired Emperor and the grand elder, but all she saw was disappointment within their eyes .
She started to feel worried . If not even the Retired Emperor or the Grand Elder spoke up for her, then her punishment was sure to be grave .
"Let me ask you what enmity do we have with one another? First, you hired the Golden Chambers to kill me, now you have tried forcing my companion into marriage . Clearly, you are targeting me, but I have never harmed you before . Could it be because of your dear son?"
"What does he have to do with anything?" The Emperor asked while frowning .
"He dislikes me . " Xue Wei did not bother speaking politely any longer and said it as it was . "He instigated the other youngsters to revolt against my command multiple times, and eventually, he succeeded . "
"This is also why so many died . During the time I was in control, we lost at most a few, but now it's much worse . "
"He felt it beneath him to take orders from an expert weaker than him . He also disdains my identity . "
The Emperor was usually a man who had great control over his temper, however now he had been angered time and time again, and he was so mad that his eyes had turned red .
"What a good son you have raised!" he snarled, blaming himself partly for the fault . If he had not left it to the women to raise the princes on their own, this would never have happened .
"Little Friend Xue, I apologize to you on behalf of the Demon Phoenix Continent's royal family," he began and even bowed to Xue Wei, a display of lowering himself towards this youngster, stunning everyone present and making them fear who precisely this young man was .
"It's all that sluts fault! At first, you were entranced by her, and now you want to look after her bastard, it is simply too disgraceful for the Emperor of the Vermilion Bird Race!"
The Empress already knew that she had no chance to avoid blame by now, and her words got ugly .
"How dare you call him a bastard!" The Emperor's voice boomed through the heavens and earth, and many who had not been there before hurried to see what was happening .
Here they found that the Empress was collapsed on the ground, her usual elegant demeanor was shrew-like, and her eyes were filled with madness, her lips curled into a sneer .
"She was the holy maiden of the entire Sovereign Beast race," the Emperor said with a sigh . He had completely given up hope for his Empress by now .
"He is nothing but her bastard son! Why is he allowed to gain the title of a benefactor of our Demon Phoenix Continent?"
"He is the Holy Son of our Sovereign Beast race!" Now the Retired Emperor could no longer hold back, his anger was reaching new levels, and new officials came rushing, some of these officials being family members of the Empress, but seeing the three most influential members of the Demon Phoenix Continent being gathered and all being against the Empress they dared not step forward .
"How is he a Holy Son?! He is a bastard son, a mere creature that brings disgust to us all!"
The vermilion birds in the surroundings that knew of the holy maiden were shocked when they heard that he was her son . Even more shocked when they added two and two together .
The Retired Emperor, the Grand Elder, and the Current Emperor were all so protective towards Xue Wei . He had to have brought some fantastic rewards to the Demon Phoenix Continent .
And knowing the power of the Holy Maiden, they were quickly able to guess what he had done, especially when they saw Lin Xuan standing to the side, clearly mutated from how he looked before .
Xue Wei accepted the apology and nodded his head; his expression was finally softening slightly .
"The Empress is to be banished to the Cold Palace; the First Prince is to be confined within his cambers for the next six months . "
Xue Wei knew that it was impossible to kill the Empress and the First Prince, and for such a person, it was better to suffer humiliation .
"This matter ends here," Xue Wei said with a nod .
The Current Emperor nodded his head feeling relieved . He was not feeling much sadness about banishing his wife for many years . This marriage was loveless, in his heart was only one figure .
A few days went by before Xue Wei once again was summoned by the Current Emperor . During these days, every Vermilion Bird Clan member came to curry favor, and the youngsters from the Ascended's Realm all came to plead for forgiveness .
While the youngsters were unaware of what it meant to be the Holy Son of the Sovereign Beasts, the older generation was completely aware of it, and thus they saw him as a treasure mine .
Making a good relationship with him was important .
After being summoned, Xue Wei was finally given the Thunder Flame Crown .
He had many expectations for this treasure, but when he stood with it in his hands, he was slightly disappointed .
It was nothing special, just as the older men of the Vermilion Bird Clan had said . It was merely a crystal crown embedded with gems . The reason it had such a history was because of its owner .
It had belonged to the first Vermilion Bird, the ancestor of their race, and thus it was an artifact they valued greatly, however not more than the future of the Vermilion Bird Clan .
Xue Wei also handed over one hundred scarlet bees, alongside two jars of scarlet honey and two Qilin Horns .
The price he paid was immense, but finally, he had succeeded in getting the item that Lan had asked of him .
He thought that Lan just wanted to add it to his collection . One thing was certain, Lan had a strange hoarding habit, and everything with just the slightest history was suitable to be within his collection, according to him .
Heck, he had even considered adding Xue Wei to his collection, just thinking about it still made him feel shivers all over his body .
Having gained the Thunder Flame Crown, Xue Wei was not sure about what to spend his time doing .
He could not return to Chang'an continent for various reasons, but most practically, he did not know the way .
But it seemed as if Lan was busy recently too . He had not taken any contact with them since they had left the Chang'an Continent, but Xue Wei did not believe that it was because of the distance . If Lan wanted to do something, nothing could stop him .
So, in the end, he decided to settle in the Demon Phoenix Continent's capital for some time, take the peaceful surroundings and focus on cultivating .
Although their cultivation had been increased when fighting with their lives on the line, their minds also needed a break from time to time, so Xue Wei decided that they could stay up to five years in the Demon Phoenix Continent before they would set out again .
At the same time, in another area of the Continent, a young man suddenly appeared out of the blue .
His hair was white, his eyes blue . He seemed not much older than twenty-five, but his eyes showed a wisdom that could only be found amongst those who had seen the passing of life .
"So this is where Lan She lives?" the man muttered to himself as he stretched his body .
"The World is not too bad, but it is quite fragmented . So many continents, how am I to find a snake that has burrowed into a hole? Oh well, I promised Lan Feng to find his son, and as his best friend, I have no other option than to do so!"
The young white-haired man smiled helplessly, and began walking, walking towards the Imperial Capital of the Demon Phoenix Continent .