Across Deep Space: Four Men and a Play

When the banquet was almost halfway through, Xia Jiumeng found an excuse to return to her room.

"Is the shielding device on?" she asked, looking at Mo Yuanming.

"Miss, if you open it, you can be sure that no sound or information can be heard by anyone."

"But the Third Prince suddenly gave you this thing, could it be a trick?"

Mo Yuanming always felt that the Third Prince had bad intentions, and perhaps there was something wrong with the recording.

"You'll know after you hear it."

Xia Jiumeng turned on the recorder, and two somewhat old voices came out.

[The Xia family is already able to produce pollution-free cores. Are you really willing to fulfill your promise?]

【What you say must be done. 】

Xia Jiumeng recognized the second voice, it was the old king.

Did the Third Prince record this secretly?

[Your Majesty, the uncontaminated core energy is unique in all of Philos. Are you really willing to accept this?]

[So what if I'm unwilling? Do you want me to rob it?] The old king's voice was filled with helplessness.

[You know that thing, it's useless even if you steal it.] No one else can control that ether core; this has been known for decades.

Otherwise, the royal family would not have agreed to the old duke's conditions, and even waited for so many years.

[Can I still capture that girl? ]

[Why not? The Ether Core shouldn't be held privately. It should be handed over to the royal family for safekeeping.]

[But she is the Duke's daughter after all, so naturally she is invited in politely.]

[Also, the royal family still has several princes in their prime. More contact with them might yield unexpected rewards.]

According to the agreement of the Duke's Mansion, about 200 level 40 pollution-free cores of various types are supplied to the royal family every month. How much is that in a year?

They are planning to build the Royal Knights into a knight order that can rival the Zongheng Squad, and this core is just a drop in the bucket.

And although a hundred years may seem like a long time, it is not enough in a world where the average age is several hundred years old.

The old king said nothing, but it was obvious that the voice also expressed his thoughts.

He was indeed unwilling to accept this, as he had always had the ambition to stabilize the First Empire. Unfortunately, the other kingdoms were strong and there was pressure from the Zongheng Squad, so even though his Knights had invested countless resources, they still fell short.

He went crazy when he learned about the ether.

He wanted to get it at all costs and even almost had a falling out with the old Duke, but reality gave him a heavy blow.

The broken core was still conscious after being taken out, and resisted anyone approaching, including the old duke.

At that time, various forces came to intervene, but no matter what method they used, they could not touch the core, let alone extract the power.

He also went from excitement to indifference, and finally gave up.

An unusable core has no value even if it is ether.

If he had not witnessed the miracle brought by the old duke with his own eyes and felt guilty about him, how could he have agreed to that agreement?

Mo Yuanming's face was extremely dark.

Even Li Shen in Xia Jiumeng's arms had a gloomy look in his eyes, and his originally cute cat ears folded down.

After a long time, the recorder started to sound again.

[What are you going to do?] The old king's voice was filled with a hint of compromise.

Yes, he is old, and now the competition among the major empires of Philos is becoming more and more fierce. Without strong power, they may find it difficult to maintain their status as one of the five major empires of the Kingdom of Mosta, let alone go further.

He could be mean for the sake of the empire.

[I heard that the Temple opened the Trial Grounds ahead of schedule this year?]

【really. 】

Those guys have a good plan.

[The new ether is about to form. They are opening the trial ground now, isn't it just to let people explore the way for them?]

The abacus is about to jump out of my face.

But it gave him a good idea.

"Since the trial grounds have opened early, our royal family's trials can naturally begin earlier as well. How about making an exception and allowing the heirs of those nobles to go along?"

The old king was shocked and asked, "Are you crazy?"

[The trial grounds are filled with Chaos Wanderers, and their levels are quite high. Even the trials for the royal heirs require advance preparation!]

[Don't worry, many kingdoms have sent powerful individuals this time, and the Temple has also sent word that if we're willing to provide them with some uncontaminated cores for research, they can help us carve out a safe area for our trials.]

[I won't put any of the heirs in danger.]

[Wouldn't it be a good thing for Duke Xia to succeed the throne sooner?]

The old king sighed and reminded, "The Duke's Mansion is not as simple as you think. Don't end up getting yourself into trouble."

A person who could completely clean out the Duke's Mansion right after recovering from a serious illness couldn't be a simple person.

That man's daughter is definitely not a fool.

Forget it. I’m old and don’t have the energy anymore. It’s time for young people to dominate the world.

Another voice seemed to have sensed the old king's compromise, and its voice was even more excited. "Don't worry, I know my limits and won't make things difficult for you."

The recorder stopped playing with a click.

"They, how dare they plot against the young lady like this." Mo Yuanming gritted his teeth.

He knew that the royal family was greedy and ruthless, but he didn't expect them to be so shameless. The old duke had clearly made an agreement, so were they going to go back on their word?

"People's hearts are fickle, this is normal." Xia Jiumeng was extremely calm.

Human nature is inherently insecure.

From the conversation, we can roughly guess that the other plan should be to let her succeed to the throne earlier, and then use the royal family to put pressure on the Duke's Mansion to hand over the core to the royal family for safekeeping.

Finally, he tried to find a way to keep her in the palace and continuously produce cores for the royal family.

What a good plan.

But why did the third prince give her this recording?

What would you like to collaborate with her on?

Xia Jiumeng lowered her eyes and looked at Li Shen.

"Meow." Crown Prince.

Li Shen called out softly, pointing out the key point.

Yes, the old king is already in his twilight years. Isn’t another purpose of this trial to select a crown prince?

Of course, in addition to the trials, the support of the aristocratic families is also needed. As a duke who is rich enough to rival a country, and now possesses an uncontaminated core, if he can be won over, it will be a considerable bargaining chip for seizing the throne.

No wonder the third prince acted out of character. It seems that she has become Tang Monk's meat now.

"Miss, what should we do?" Mo Yuanming asked calmly.

"I'll take advantage of your situation, but I hate being threatened."

Mo Yuanming paused for a moment and instantly understood what Xia Jiumeng meant.

She had been thinking about leaving for a long time. She had originally sent the core to the royal family in order to protect the peace of the Duke's Mansion, but now it seems that the royal family is not a pushover and is not going to give up.

In this way, the Duke's Mansion will only become a weak point that drags her down.

Perhaps, it's time for everyone to go their own way.

"Miss, when we get back, I will arrange for everyone to go or stay."

"There's no rush for this. Everyone can take their time." Xia Jiumeng said lightly while touching Li Shen's soft fur.

"This farce won't end so quickly."

Fight it out, fight to the death.

I hate these conspiracies and tricks the most. Can't you just be direct?

It's okay to come to her for exclusive monopoly, as long as the price is reasonable.

You have to go around in circles to show how capable you are, right?