Inside the residence of Prime Minister Laurent. Kevin carefully made a round, frowning as he walked out of the main gate.
“Nothing…”
He didn’t find anything.
No traces left by more people, no secret passages – the Golden Sun Wheel must have searched for these – and of course, no hidden imperial fugitives.
He gained nothing, perhaps the intruder last night was more cautious than he thought, the footprints were just a coincidence.
He could only go back. Kevin picked up his wrist device, hesitating whether to tell the military about this or directly contact Senior Jiang.
There should be a ceremony going on now, he thought, it would not be convenient for the senior to answer the call at the scene. So, he should call the police and find the military…
Suddenly, something on the roadside flashed in the corner of Kevin’s eye.
The boy changed color, ran over in two or three steps, bent over to pick it up from the mud, and quickly wiped it clean with the corner of his clothes.
In his palm was a round agate gem, or a bead, half the size of a green bean.
Kevin’s heartbeat sped up again, this didn’t seem like something that belonged to Prime Minister Laurent. After all, it was strange to be half-buried in the mud.
Could it belong to the intruder from last night?
A loud noise erupted in the distance, in the direction of the ceremony.
…No, since there was an additional clue, he might need to tell Senior Jiang.
Kevin held the gem, his expression changing several times. He changed his mind, put the thing in his pocket, and hurried towards the noise.
****
The front of the White Jade Palace was quiet.
The ceremony was in progress, there shouldn’t be such abrupt silence. At least there should be music from the royal military band, but now even the music of the ceremony had stopped.
Jiang Jianming’s mind was blank, he sat on the chair in a daze, completely losing his ability to think.
Until the first scream tore through the sky, like a thunderbolt in the daytime, the chaos that occurred when His Highness Ryann appeared in the New Year’s turmoil reappeared.
The crowd screamed and shouted, reporters excitedly spat out words, the flash of cameras formed a string, and people sitting down got up and tried to squeeze forward.
After recovering from the initial shock, everyone was eager to know one thing: Who?
The lover, the spouse, the crown princess, the future empress of this empire that the crown prince is going to announce – who is it?
But after the crown prince said that sentence, he turned around and walked down the sacred white steps.
His thin lips opened and closed, and his voice was transmitted far through the microphone attached to his ear.
“We have been in love for five years, he once wore the ring I handed out, kissed me and swore an oath, a covenant for life.”
“But because of my concerns and cowardice, I have never been able to tell more people about our relationship, causing him a lot of grievances.”
His Highness Ryann spoke as he walked, his pace steady and elegant, the crowd’s gaze seemed to chase him, and the light and fragrance seemed to chase him too.
More people followed the gaze of the crown prince, first trying to find the lucky one who was favored among the nobility, followed by those wealthy individuals and prominent figures from all walks of life.
But His Highness kept walking forward, down the white long steps, through rows of seats, looking at a certain place with a hot and firm gaze. “He has a talent that I admire, and a soul that is more persevering than anyone else.”
“Three years ago, the imperial front line was tight, and signs of rioters were found inside; Her Majesty the Emperor instructed me to fake death in public, one is to fully support the Silver Big Dipper front line, and the other is to lure the snake out of the hole, to fish out the rioters in the dark–he mutated Crystal Cult members.”
“For the sake of the absolute secrecy of the strategy, I cruelly let him be kept in the dark like you, and even hinted at the empire to neglect him, hoping to use this to keep him away from the war.”
“But I underestimated his will…He paid the price of his life to join the army in the Far Interstellar Field. I made an irreparable mistake, which will be my lifelong regret that can never be erased.”
“–Now the only atonement I can do is to tell the truth to the whole empire today.”
His Highness Ryann’s voice was clear and powerful, and the crisp sound of his boots hitting the ground, “He is the only person in this world who can stand shoulder to shoulder with me. If he is still willing to forgive me, he will be the crown princess of the empire.”
Behind, those few knowledgeable people were dumbfounded.
His Highness played this hand very well, and he actually turned these explanations to the public about the “three-year fake death” into a part of the public confession of love.
And the logic is very smooth! Others want to interrupt but can’t interrupt!
Jiang Jianming sat stiffly in his seat, his mind full of: How could things turn out like this?
It was unknown from which second, countless gazes were cast at him, starting with acquaintances shouting softly, especially those officers who were used to seeing the crown prince coming to the eighth floor of the Golden Sun Wheel Building every day.
“Colonel Jiang!?”
“How is it possible.”
“It can’t be true, Colonel Jiang!?”
Various noisy voices stirred Jiang Jianming’s mind into a mess. At this moment, his lips moved weakly, trying to stop the situation from developing.
He wanted to stand up and pull the Little Highness to scold him for messing around, and he wanted to turn around and flee from this desperate situation immediately, but he couldn’t.
After all, “the crown prince publicly confesses to a civilian disabled person” was bad enough.
But “the crown prince publicly confesses to a civilian disabled person but is tragically rejected”, and “the crown prince publicly confesses to a civilian disabled person but the other party flees the scene”, wasn’t it even worse!?
Finally, Crown Prince Ryann stopped, and his graceful figure stood in front of a person.
Under the attention of the public, that was a young military officer in a Golden Sun Wheel uniform with black hair and black eyes, with a look of shock and confusion. He was not wearing gloves, and the delicate wrist revealed his identity as a non crystal race.
The surrounding voices weakened, replaced by extremely shocked gasps.
Some things didn’t need to be said.
During this period, Colonel Jiang’s chronic crystal disorder was uproarious.
More controversy focused on his admission of “being promoted by climbing up the noble power”, and that sentence “selfish desire”.
What selfish desire? Is it the selfish desire to use relationships to rub military positions, to rise up and enjoy endless wealth?
Now all these have been answered, in the form of an unexpected reversal.
Mixed in the crowd, Yang Xiaozhen covered her mouth in disbelief, and regretful tears filled her eyes.
“Jiang.”
Ryann took the golden rose inserted in his front pocket, kissed the rose petals, then bent down and pinned it on Jiang Jianming’s button.
“I love you.” He looked serious, “Will you come with me?”
This was a false question, because Jiang Jianming couldn’t answer at all, he was held by Ryann by the wrist.
“Your Highness.”
Jiang Jianming’s voice was light and trembling, his black pupils reflected the figure of his lover, and his lips were pale and whispered, “How could you…”
His legs were soft, but he was pulled up by Ryann.
The crown prince took him and walked up.
That was an irresistible force.
Just as His Highness turned around, the military band seemed to finally find their duty.
Under the golden flag symbolizing the empire, the majestic and passionate melody restarted, the notes bouncing on the horns, strings, and drumheads, reflecting the dazzling sunlight.
Apart from that, no one spoke. The world seemed to condense into a floating melody with two people holding hands and walking up the white long steps.
Jiang Jianming was helpless.
With such a fuss, it didn’t matter how he would be commented on. What’s important was Ryann, the crown prince of the empire, the crown prince had always been flawless.
That’s not to say that the former Little Highness Ryann was a cold statue carved out, motionless, speechless, joyless, and sorrowless, so he was perfect, no.
But because the Little Highness was too strong, even if he was occasionally “capricious”, he could always end with a crushing victory, bringing endless glory to the empire.
But if you have a spouse, it’s another matter.
The spouse’s deficiency would certainly damage the perfection of the crown prince.
For example, a civilian military officer who had been controversial; a weak disabled person; a person suffering from chronic crystal disorder, whose life would not last long, 80% would not wait to become the empress, and would go into the coffin.
And the crown prince apologized and courted such a person.
It’s clearly a difference between gold jade and rotten wood, the difference between cloud and mud.
“Your Highness.” Jiang Jianming called out helplessly again, even if he didn’t know what solution he could have at this moment.
He lost his perception of the outside world, and could only hear his own heart beating rapidly in his chest, and the blood was like a burning, surging river.
…What about after I die?
Jiang Jianming suddenly thought, and then felt absurd. Is His Highness going to be a widow for himself, not marrying or having children in this life?
As long as Ryann thinks a little rationally, he should know that this is madness.
The music climbed to a climax, and the daylight was as white as snow, and thousands of lights converged.
From beginning to end, Ryann just tightly, tightly held his wrist, his eyes calmly looking forward, almost dragging the person next to him up.
“You…wait, Your Highness…!”
Jiang Jianming gasped hurriedly, dazedly lifted his leg to step on a new step, feeling like stepping on cotton, relying on the force on his wrist to support him from falling down due to soft legs.
One by one, astonished faces were thrown behind, each of them was much more noble than him.
He passed by the Lance sisters, Diana was stunned with her cherry mouth open, but Audrey was looking at him with wet red eyes. Next to her was Xie Yuduo, the major general was about to stare out his eyeballs. Two steps up, he brushed past the iron-blue Celine, and was pulled by Ryann to continue to go higher, the female general was completely left behind–
Crossing one figure after another.
Then step on one step after another.
To the end.
When Jiang Jianming came back to his senses, he had already reached the end. The long wind blew past his ears, he stood on the high platform of the White Jade Palace, and the boundless blue sky was above his head.
Next to him was the helpless master of ceremonies, and the silent Her Majesty the Emperor.
Under the sunlight, Her Majesty looked unexpectedly calm, and there seemed to be a crystal clear moisture flashing on her cheeks, like a new tear mark.
…Tear marks?
Jiang Jianming was stunned.
He wanted to see clearly, but he couldn’t.
Because in the next moment, Ryann forcibly turned him around by his shoulders, facing the tens of thousands of people below.
The height shrinks everyone’s heads, and millions of people look up, like a silent colorful beach.
Too unreal.
Jiang Jianming stared blankly at this vast scene, and suddenly whispered, “Your Highness, I’m a little afraid of heights.”
He turned his head and saw the side face of the crown prince. Ryann pursed his lips, and those emerald eyes were casting a hard look at the horizon.
“Precisely to want you to know fear.” The crown prince turned off the microphone hanging on him, and said in a low voice, “Know that I can do anything.”
Ryann’s five fingers clasped his shoulder, like a hug and like a restraint. “So, you will also be invincible in battle.” (TL: triumph in every battle)
A trace of shock first appeared on Jiang Jianming’s expression, and then he smiled bitterly without a sound.
“You…you’re really…too willful.”
He sighed and closed his eyes.
Ryann held him in his arms and didn’t let go, letting Jiang Jianming lean on him for a while.
Feeling the other’s rapid breathing and heartbeat gradually stabilize, he frowned and asked, “Why are you so scared, didn’t you also promise to make it public after three years? Didn’t you do any psychological preparation in advance?”
Jiang Jianming looked up, his expression dazed.
“…Really not.”
Suddenly, he realized something.
Jiang Jianming suddenly found that even though he had privately agreed to marry Ryann years ago, he had never imagined that he could stand at the top of the empire with the Little Highness.
Because he was a disabled and weak, his strength was small, and he was just trying to break a corner of the shackles, which would burn out his life’s fire.
Like falling in love with the crown prince of the empire.
Like seeking the truth about the death of the crown prince.
More than that, he didn’t have the strength to ask for it.
What about Ryann?
Memories came back in reverse, the Little Highness had also anxiously and painfully promised him over and over again, begging him to believe, fearing that he would not believe.
He always thought that the Little Highness Ryann was too young and pure, but now it seemed that Ryann might have vaguely noticed his negative mentality.
–Being satisfied with an underground love, living one day at a time, not daring to plan for the future, only daring to make do with the present.
(t/n:underground love-not to make it public, not to confess, and not to let others know about their relationship. The relationship between them is only known to them and cannot be known to others)
But, Jiang Jianming’s soul was shaken, he thought: But I am still standing here.
He was still so weak, but His Highness had been pulling him fiercely, pulling him to such a high place.
“It was you who pulled me to this place, Jiang.”
Ryann whispered in a low voice, his lofty demeanor clearly interpreting what was called righteousness and courage.
“I came to the empire for you, inherited the name for you, and stand here at this moment also for you. The current situation, in the final analysis, is all your fault, you are responsible.”
Jiang Jianming sighed, “…Is it really good for me to be responsible?”
Ryann: “It’s good if it’s you.”
Jiang Jianming smiled helplessly with a frown, his eyes clear and rippling. “It seems that there is no other way.”
Strangely, he was no longer trembling, and the look of panic and anxiety disappeared from his black eyes like a falling scar.
Jiang Jianming walked towards the master of ceremonies holding the gold plate and the ceremonial utensils, the three masters of ceremonies had numb faces, as if they were writing “Who am I, where am I, why am I here”.
He calmly reached out to the farthest plate, slowly lifted the golden red crown, inlaid with countless diamonds, pearls, and hollow patterns that gathered sunlight.
Jiang Jianming held the crown in his arms with both hands, and when he turned around, Ryann was already facing this side, kneeling on one knee.
The process did not require the crown prince to kneel.
But no one dared to interrupt all this.
“Then may you,” Jiang Jianming said softly, “never fall from glory, and be omnipotent.”
Ryann bowed his head solemnly, and Jiang Jianming bent down and carefully placed the crown among the platinum curls, crowning him.
This scene was frozen in the eyes of tens of thousands of people looking up at the palace, with a sense of ancient and fantastical sanctity.
Finished, Jiang Jianming turned around, picked up the scepter from the second gold plate.
It was slender, the front end was complex and gorgeous, inlaid with nine diamonds, and it was somewhat heavy.
Jiang Jianming was about to hand it to Ryann, but Ryann suddenly stood up and grabbed the robe from the third tray.
It was made into a cloak that could be worn outside, with deep red satin as the base, pure gold thread woven into a magnificent and majestic pattern, the white and heavy fur collar could cover the back all the way, and the back was very long, trailing on the ground.
The crown prince held his crown princess in one arm, and shook open the robe with the other hand, the corner of the robe raised a flying arc, tightly wrapping the two people.
They were soul mates, each other’s half in this life, and should share this power and glory.
A shout came from somewhere, applause and cheers sporadically sounded, although some were hasty, some were messy, very irregular.
Jiang Jianming smiled gently, he reached out and took off the small microphone hanging on Ryann’s ear, placed it to his mouth. “You don’t need to cheer at this moment.”
The voice was transmitted far away.
“You don’t need to cheer at this moment.” Jiang Jianming repeated, “I know there is shock and doubt in your hearts. This is normal, because what we are doing now is something that breaks the old rules.”
“The crown prince of the empire, has established a civilian non crystal race as the crown princess.”
Jiang Jianming said and looked to the side, Ryann was quietly looking at him, that was simply like admiring a piece of art.
Jiang Jianming’s eyes twitched, thinking to himself–Your Highness should at least say a few words.
But Ryann just squinted his eyes and pressed his lips to the back of his neck, holding him and rubbing against him, like a fluffy beast that had obediently come down.
Jiang Jianming sighed in despair in his heart, his face was calm, he cleared his throat and continued, “This could be a merit, or a mistake, no one can tell which one, because there is no precedent.”
“For those who try to break the old rules, the current praise or insult is just a passing cloud, they only accept the judgment of history.”
He said, “History has a pair of eyes that see through time and dust, it will remember the real winners.”
“The first king who established the rule of the old empire, Orlando, once changed his name to the king of all gods in the mythology of the old Blue Mother Star, and self-proclaimed Emperor Odin. But after more than a hundred years, ‘Emperor Odin’ has become ‘Tyrant Odin’.”
“The new empire did not deliberately order, nor did anyone publicly advocate, it was just that the authors of the books changed their writing one by one, and the chats in the streets and alleys also changed their titles.”
“In the 32nd year of the old imperial calendar, the White Dove Red Leaf Society, which was armed against the tyranny of the old empire, was forced to disband, and the first chairman, Ms. Helga, was exiled for sixteen years and eventually died miserably on the impoverished and ruined Blue Mother Star.”
“But Helga’s bronze statue still stands in the center of the autonomous region’s star city today.”
Jiang Jianming spoke slowly, the crowd looked up and listened, and the live broadcast also spread to the other eight star cities.
The calm voice of the young military officer echoed in any corner of the empire: “So keep your doubts and watch with your descendants.”
The huge flag of the empire rose behind him, fluttering above the White Jade Palace.
Jiang Jianming held up the scepter in his hand. “Finally, this year is the 64th year of the new imperial calendar, and the old imperial calendar only has 63 years. We still have a long future and unlimited possibilities.”
“Respect the past, present, and future of the empire.”
Although he said there was no need to cheer.
But the grand cheers still came from all directions.
Submerging both of them.
