Kingdom Bloodline

Old merchants in South Bank often say that there are no secrets in the Emerald City and all news has wings.

Some even have more than one pair.

It is said that on the day of the Never-Sleeping Banquet, Prince Thales, who was in charge of the Kongming Palace in the name of regent, planned and deployed his troops, and cleverly set traps to force the top killer who had been causing trouble in the city in recent days - committing countless serial murders, revealing the shocking grudge of Iris, causing Duke Zhan to lose power overnight, and turning the Emerald City upside down - to have nowhere to hide and be trapped at the North Gate Bridge. Seeing that he was about to be caught, he could not escape even if he had wings.

  As for the true identity of this unprecedented villain and who was behind the scenes, neither the civil servants who were dispatched that night nor the official notices posted afterwards were clear, and there were many different opinions:

Some people say that he was exterminated by the old duke because he was unwilling to accept the transformation in the past. He is the remnant of the "fourth mercenary" outside the Emerald Legion. He came back to take revenge on Emerald City many years later, intending to make the ungrateful Kevin Deer family pay the price.

Some people also said that they were terrible assassins adopted by successive dukes of Iris Flower since childhood and trained with great expense. They hid overseas and returned as soon as they were ordered to do those shameful things for Kongming Palace, such as "cleaning up" the assassination case of the old duke and killing people to silence them. Even their shadows can be seen in the Bloody Year.

Some people said that they were descendants of the old members of Gonghai City, who were loyal to Viscount Sona Kelvindill. After their master died unjustly, they escaped capture and hibernated for many years, accumulating strength. When the time came, they would take revenge on the participants of the old case and redress the injustice for their master.

Some people also said that he was a chivalrous knight who had learned his trade in the Tower of the End. He met the Scarlet Iris Federico Cavendill overseas. After hearing about his experience, he burst into tears and vowed to stand up for a stranger and uphold justice, even if that meant going against the authorities, opposing evil laws, and saying goodbye to his life.

There were even some foolish people who said that the murderer was the king of the water corpses who specialized in the evil magic of immortality. He was once suppressed by the old duke with the sacred law bestowed by the goddess of sunset because of spreading superstition and deceiving the world. He had been lurking in the underground of Emerald City for many years, harboring hatred and cursing the Kevindill family day and night. When Prince Thales came to visit, he would start killing people to accumulate blood sacrifices and vengeful spirits in order to break free from suppression and destroy the world.

Of course, the most convincing statement is that the man's identity is suspicious. He is a senior spy from Quintana, a mysterious agency of the Hanbul Dynasty, and a disciple of the cunning and sinister Bai Zuishi. He planned the death of the old duke and put the blame on Viscount Sona, intending to cause chaos on the South Bank and overthrow the kingdom, and even the death of today's wealthy businessman, the disappearance of the defense lawyer, the killing of the guard, and the sudden death of the judge. He intended to deceive and confuse the brothers Jane and Federico and provoke internal strife... Of course, his conspiracy was finally thwarted in the most heroic way by the loyal and nameless guards of the kingdom's secret department, so that we can now have "The heroes of Xinghu Castle captured the evil, and the wise prince regent changed the new world", and the news revealed can be known by the public.

(As for the sequel of the story, it is said that Prince Thales was furious upon hearing the news, and with a wave of his hand in the Kongming Palace, he shut down the South Coast Territorial Sea Trade for 30 days and seized more than 300 Hanbul ships in response.

The civil servants in the whole city and the soldiers of the Emerald Legion were filled with indignation. They wrote letters to donate money and volunteered to take three months off from work to help the prince and reduce his losses. However, His Highness refused and instead paid them salary rewards in advance, not a penny less. The officials and soldiers in the whole city were so grateful that they worked even harder.

The patriotic merchants were unwilling to lag behind. Some ship owners among them took the initiative to stop selling Hanbur's goods and even dumped the goods into the End Sea. Others lit a huge fire on Ruhsan Street, burned goods in protest, smashed the goods from Hanbur, and claimed that they would rather starve to death than use Hanbur's imported goods.

On the streets, the Blood Bottle Gang and the Brotherhood, who were originally incompatible with each other, stopped fighting at the same time after hearing about this, and surrendered to the prince with a common hatred of the enemy. Many criminals rushed to surrender themselves, just to fight against Hanbul's mountain guys. This is in line with the old saying: those who are chivalrous are mostly butchers, and those who are patriotic are mostly gangsters.

The local nobles were even more indignant. It was said that old lady Tolier of the Popon family donated all her wealth to the Kongming Palace, claiming that the common people would not hesitate to die in a battle and would swear to live and die with the stars.

When the news reached the Fuxing Palace, His Majesty the King didn't care at all. Only the Black Prophet smiled and mobilized 3,000 elite spies to slaughter 30,000 Quintana spies in one night - another said 300,000, depending on whether you heard the follow-up in a rickshaw or at a banquet.

Prime Minister Kulun, who was determined to marry his granddaughter to the prince, gave an order with great enthusiasm. All 3,333 warships of the Polar Fleet - don't ask whether the Kulun family has so many ships, is this the question you should ask - sailed out of the Seven Ports of the East China Sea, crossed the Glorious Gulf, patrolled the End Sea, and demonstrated to Hanbul for 30 days.

The determination and actions of the Star Kingdom shocked countries around the world. Under this combination of measures, the culprit Hanbul caused a sharp rise in prices, a shortage of resources, widespread complaints, and people's livelihood was in dire straits. All walks of life suffered heavy losses, internal forces rekindled disputes, and rebellions in vassal states rose one after another!

Seeing that Hanbul was badly damaged and would take another 30 years to recover, the vacant market share was given to the merchant groups of Suyelai, who used the extra money to negotiate border disputes with the Hanbul Dynasty. It was said that Her Majesty King Yao, who was both wise and beautiful and had a good relationship with the stars, would wake up laughing in her dreams every night.

So overnight, the entire Hanbul Dynasty was in a panic!!!

Tianhui Talar was terrified, Chief Priest Bai regretted deeply, the seven major families blamed each other, and Kadil Asaf, who was about to lose his throne, was so scared that he sent envoys twice - one of them was his most precious son, and the other was a classmate and friend of Duke Zhan - to confess his crime and ask for forgiveness!

Such a result is a powerful warning to those hostile forces who want to disrupt our kingdom: if they try to make small moves, Xingchen will not tolerate them!

If there are treacherous villains who want to harm the kingdom again, they will have to mutter in their hearts and weigh the weight of the following words:

  As long as the stars are there, the empire will last forever!

The empire is so glorious and has such a long history. All the conspiracies and tricks you mountain folks are just the leftovers from our ancestors!)

But among the many versions of the rumors, one thing is unanimously recognized:

The mysterious murderer who was forced to the North Gate Bridge was extremely powerful and had terrible means. He could easily defeat a hundred or thousands of troops alone. Even the eight top masters of this election would come out together to surround and kill him, but they were no match for him. The Hundred-Step Ranger, who behaved funny and was laughed at by everyone for not doing his job, unfortunately died at his hands. Fortunately, a local philanthropist who cared about his hometown and was the major shareholder of the Brothers Pharmacy, Lazanqi Feisuo, funded the burial regardless of past grudges, and even erected a monument in memory of the ranger Kongyu in order to change people's view of him. Not to mention that the man had countless evil minions who were lurking in the North Gate Bridge and secretly helping him to stop His Royal Highness from capturing the murderer.

However, no matter how powerful the thugs were or how many minions they had, how could they be a match for the unfathomable royal guards of the former Fuxing Palace, or the heroes of Star Lake Castle under Prince Thales's command?

Unfortunately, just as the murderer failed and was about to be captured, and the shocking case of Iris was about to be solved, Miss Hilley stood alone in the way.

  Perhaps it was for the reputation of Iris, perhaps it was for revenge, or perhaps it was for her brother who was imprisoned. The first lady of Emerald City resolutely turned against Prince Thales. The two insisted on their own opinions and neither of them gave in. It was said that the two sides were at loggerheads at one point. Miss Shilai, with tears in her eyes, even slapped the prince in public and put a dagger to his heart!

The heroes of Xinghu Castle were horrified and were ready to stop it at all costs, but His Highness Thales didn't care about his bloodstained robe or the humiliation of his dignity. He issued a strict order that even if he died here, he would not allow them to hurt the girl in front of them in the slightest!

On the long street, in front of thousands of soldiers, the young men and women who were forced to be enemies looked at each other in silence under the moonlight, with a dagger between them.

A quarter of an hour passed, and countless resentments and longings finally turned into a sad smile after the end of love.

So that night under the moon, the extremely heartbroken Miss Shila fled away with the blood-stained dagger.

The long street is filled with her tears.

The prince, covered in blood, smiled, turned around with difficulty, and let the beauty leave.

Bear the accusations and infamy of sacrificing for love alone.

"What is all this mess?"

  In the Duke's study, Thales was reading the intelligence and public opinion booklet that the barber Balta had just sent. He slapped the table and shouted in disbelief:

"Which idiot wrote this script?"

A cough was heard in the study.

Thales paused for a moment, then realized that the occasion was inappropriate and the words he used were indecent. He had no choice but to restrain his expression, sit up straight, and tactically drink a sip of tea, but the smell of the tea made him grimace.

He stopped reading the bullshit gossip in the booklet that said "People from all walks of life feel the prince's kindness, and sympathize with His Highness's grief, so they work hard to make progress and dare not make mistakes. All industries in Emerald City are gradually getting back on track." He raised his head again and looked at the two people on his left and right across from the desk.

Two most special guests.

"Good morning, Jenn. And you, Federico—it's been a while, hasn't it?"

The fallen Duke of Iris sat indifferently in the guest seat he was not used to, his face as cold as ice and he said nothing.

Federico on the other side looked at his cousin with a half-smile, his eyes as gentle as water - water that was about to boil.

"Not that long," Federico said faintly, "only eleven years."

Zhan En snorted coldly and did not reply.

Very good—the voice in Thales' heart sneered—this is exactly the effect you wanted, Thales.

  Thales ignored the tense atmosphere between them and raised his teacup, feeling the aftertaste of the tea:

"Don't just sit there, would you like some tea?"

The Duke of South Bank looked at the teacup beside him expressionlessly without moving.

Feder observed the other party's reaction without saying anything.

  Thales didn't care. He picked up the teaspoon and pressed the tea crumbs in the cup:

"This is yerba mate, a rare specialty that came from the Zante Islands. It is also the special tea used by Star Lake Castle to entertain distinguished guests - of course, it is unofficial."

He paused and became serious:

"After we finish our tea, we can talk business."

  As soon as the words fell, the Kevin Deer brothers looked at each other almost at the same time!

The two pairs of eyes were filled with vigilance, disgust, and even hatred.

The next second, the two people who were arguing with each other raised their teacups at the same time as if they had a tacit understanding. Even when they were drinking tea, their eyes never left each other.

  But the standoff soon ended:

Federico frowned a few seconds after the tea went down his throat. He turned around and removed the cup without hesitation, spat out the tea crumbs in his mouth, and the bottom of the cup hit the table with an unusually sharp sound:

"What's that smell?"

Zhan En could hardly hide the slight trembling of his fingers, but he held back the bitterness, let the edge of the teacup stay under his nose for a few seconds, quietly spit out the tea, then slowly put the teacup down, leaving only his lips tightly pursed.

"Very aggressive, isn't it?"

Thales observed the two people who lost their composure, and calmly used a teaspoon to press and push away the tea crumbs in the tea. He took a sip, his brows tightening and loosening at times:

"It's okay. You'll get used to it after drinking too much."

Both Kevin Dier brothers were very upset, but the tense atmosphere was also eased a lot.

“The Police Department will only allow prisoners who are being tried separately to meet each other when they are fully confident.”

  Zhan En quickly adjusted his state, and the orthodox Duke of Iris finally spoke, without even looking at the cup of tea:

"And Your Highness asked us to meet now... I guess you have taken control of the situation and resolved the crisis?"

Federico, who was still digesting the bitter taste, glanced.

“It’s a delay, not a solution.”

Thales smiled slightly and put down the teacup:

"We all know that the so-called control of the situation is only temporary. Emerald City is just obeying me for the time being and not making any more small moves. If we want to finally resolve the crisis in Emerald City, especially the crisis of you, Red and Black, then I will eventually have to choose one of you, Red or Black, to decide who will rule the Palace of Clear Sky."

At least, that's what many people believe.

After the words were spoken, the Kevin Dier brothers looked at each other at the same time.

The atmosphere is subtle.

"What a pity," Zhan En looked at his cousin who had caused him to end up in this situation, and smiled coldly, "The Duke's throne can't be split in half, right?"

"Unfortunately," Thales replied with a relaxed tone, "Neither can the throne."

The two Kevin Dills looked at Thales at the same time, thinking.

  Federico was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled:

"Your Highness is brave and resourceful, and with the help of noble people, you can turn danger into safety when encountering difficulties. No wonder you can easily control the situation and take control of Emerald City."

A noble person helps...

Thales heard the hint in his words and frowned slightly.

"I forgot to mention that I finally caught the killer, Lausanne II."

The prince raised his eyebrows and smiled:

"He spoke up and told me everything."

Now it was Federico's turn to frown.

  everything?

Where is everything?

Thales seemed to have heard his inner voice and added absentmindedly:

"It's enough to uncover the mastermind behind this."

Federico's face changed.

  Without waiting for his reply, Zhan En on the other side asked anxiously:

"What about Xilai? Is she here too?"

"Don't worry, she's safe," Thales answered cheerfully, "For now."

Zhan En frowned fiercely:

"For now? Thales, you promised..."

"That's not good," Federico interrupted the Duke at the right time, his tone amusing, "No matter how much trouble she gets into, our little sister must be protected, right, cousin?"

At that moment, Zhan En's expression turned ugly.

Finally, he slowly turned his head and looked at his cousin whom he hadn't seen for many years.

"She had nothing to do with any of this, Feder."

"In that case," Federico met his gaze without showing any weakness, "then don't get her involved."

Zhan En said nothing, but his brows furrowed even more.

"Remember, gentlemen, there are three of us sitting here now."

Thales noticed something was wrong and quickly brought the subject back.

After all, this is Kongming Palace.

Not everyone is qualified to be invited in for tea.

The Kevin Deer brothers stared at each other for a few seconds before looking away and going into deep thought.

"Of course, Your Highness," Federico said softly, "Of course."

The Duke's study fell silent again.

Is it really wise to bring both of them under one roof?

Thales couldn't help but have this thought.

Certainly wise.

  The voice in Thales' heart said quietly:

Hatred of each other clouded their reason, and criticism of each other destroyed their armor.

Their fear of each other exposed their weaknesses.

And when they mentioned Xilai... At least now you know, Thales, that the thing that really matters in this room is not just the Duke's throne.

Thinking of this, Thales pulled himself together and returned to reality.

"Kongming Palace has a lot of good tea, and Feicui City also has many channels for purchasing tea varieties."

  Zhan En, who was deep in thought, suddenly raised the cup of yerba mate:

“Why do you have to drink this?”

Thales came back to his senses.

"Firstly, Emerald City's shipping channels are being restored, and secondly..."

  He grinned:

"In order to overcome the difficulties together, I cut some of the expenses of Kongming Palace, including the tea fee."

Overcoming the difficulties together...

Zhan En looked at the thick tea crumbs in the teacup, his brows furrowed, not knowing what to think.

  Thales picked up the cup with a smile and looked at the Duke of Iris:

"Come on, you're welcome, try it again?"

  Zhan En looked at the turbid tea in the cup and frowned.

“I’m not used to the taste.”

Thales raised his eyebrows and took another sip of tea, his facial features shrinking in bitterness.

Ah, same feeling.

But the logistics wing has a limited budget.

"Your Highness didn't ask you if you were used to it."

The person who answered Jann was Federico.

The son of Kevindill, who had been in exile for many years, stared at his cousin and enemy, sneered, and said aggressively:

"What he said was: Drink, down, go."

Zhane frowned slightly.

I didn't say that - Thales pursed his lips:

"Never mind, Federico, to each his own..."

  But before Thales could finish, Federico smiled coldly, raised the teacup, and gulped down a big gulp without paying attention to the tea crumbs in the cup, then slammed the cup on the table!

Thales' eyes widened, and he was too late to stop him.

Wow, such a big gulp...even Majoros, who drinks yerba mate as water, would be horrified after seeing this, right?

"Damn..."

  Although his facial features were distorted and his whole body was trembling due to the smell of tea, Federico leaned back in his chair and laughed:

"It's very bitter, but also very exciting."

He opened his eyes a little and looked at Zhan En with a rather strange look:

"But I have to say, it's better than anything I've had in the past eleven years."

The atmosphere was bad and the words were like knives.

Thales could only chuckle.

  Zhan En was not willing to be outdone and snorted disdainfully:

"Why, did the vampires not reward you with blood?"

"I don't drink blood," Feder's eyes were burning, "unless it's your blood."

"We both have the same last name, Kevin Deal, and we all have the same blood."

"So it doesn't matter whose blood it is," Federico said, with a hint of meaning, "as long as it's Kevin Deal."

"It seems that you have never drunk blood."

  Thales shrugged helplessly, ignoring their sarcasm and continued to look down at the last few lines in the intelligence and public opinion booklet:

With the wise Regent Thales treating people with respect and winning the hearts of the people, the business, life, prices, public opinion and atmosphere of the Emerald City quickly stabilized and gradually recovered.

As for who will be the final winner in the sinister political struggle behind Kongming Palace and sit on the throne to become the Duke of South Bank, no one is interested in the discussions on the streets.

  ("It must be someone from Kevin Deer's family. Could it be me?")

Instead, the old case of the assassination of the old Duke of Leinster eleven years ago has sparked a lot of discussion. No matter whether you are a dock porter or a mansion gatekeeper, a restaurant chef or a butcher, anyone over the age of eleven has begun to recall every little daily event that happened eleven years ago, and how strange and unreasonable they were, and how there were signs of it long ago.

("Why did I suddenly stop crying when I was in the cradle? Did I see something or hear something? Or feel something? I didn't think so at the time, but now I think, oh, there was something wrong that night. Maybe I saw the assassin's sword!"

"I felt it was wrong at the time, but I didn't dare to speak out because of various concerns. Now I finally dare to speak out! Oh, if I had been braver and had the courage to speak out, then the old Duke might not have died, and the Emerald City would not have ended up like this..."

"I can't hold it in any longer. I must say it out loud: I originally liked my eldest sister-in-law—she wasn't my eldest sister-in-law at that time. But eleven years ago, when I mustered up the courage to confess my feelings, at her doorstep, I had decided to walk around three more times before going in, but I heard a strange loud noise coming from the Sunset Temple! I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed to help but was driven back by the guards... Woohoo... When I got home the next day, I found that my brother had already confessed his feelings... Woohoo... What a damn political conspiracy, it's ruining my life's happiness..."

  "I have been saying for years that there is definitely something wrong with my youngest son's failure to pass the exam to become a tax officer. Behind this is the abuse of public power to suppress good citizens and even political oppression! And this is all based on a series of political anomalous things I saw behind the assassination of the old duke, and I have deduced this with reason and evidence! But no one believed me, and they even said that I was a conspiracy theorist, spreading rumors, and being paranoid? So, now those people have been slapped in the face, right? Snap! Snap! Snap! Does it hurt? It was a boomerang, right? Swish! Swish! Swish! Does it hurt? Now the truth is out, but I am broad-minded and don't want anything else. Just apologize in public and give some compensation!")

From nobles and wealthy businessmen to peddlers, everyone talks about the grievances, love and interests behind the scenes, from "Quintana's evil plan to disrupt the stars" to "the old duke's plan to save the South Bank", from "the royal family's plan to seize the emerald" to "the brothers' counter-plan to defend the empty light", or "Leinster's plan to conquer the world" and "Viscount Thorna's clever plan to repay his country", and even the most legendary "The Blood Bottle Gang's plan to break the court" and "The Brotherhood's plan to harm the country". They talk in a very serious and logical way, and make it vivid and fascinating.

But the story must eventually end.

"I know, I know. Now you all think that no matter who I choose as the Duke, the other person will be charged with patricide or rebellion and sentenced to death. Unfortunately, now you both want the other person to die."

Thales' thoughts returned to the study. He sighed, closed the intelligence booklet, and interrupted the verbal battle between the two cousins.

"Then let me get straight to the point: No, maybe."

He looked at the two Kevin Dills with a serious expression:

"You will all survive."

The study was quiet for a few seconds. Even though the two Kevin Dills had a bad relationship, they couldn't help but frown and look at each other.

Until Zhan En sneered:

"No wonder you invited us to tea."

  Federico rolled his eyes:

"What does your highness think?"

coming.

  Thales exhaled, smiled at the two of them, and first looked at the current Duke of South Shore:

"Don't worry, Zhan En, you will be cleared of the charges. After all, we cannot allow a man who has committed the crime of patricide and deliberately concealed the evidence to continue to be the Lord of Emerald City and the Duke of South Shore."

Zhan En was still frowning in thought, but Federico understood something.

"Your Highness!"

  He was the first to protest:

"You intend to restore him to the Dukedom?"

  Thales smiled and raised his hand to comfort him:

"Just be patient, Feder."

The Duke of Xinghu turned to Zhan En. This time his expression changed and he was no longer gentle:

"But Jan Kevindill, as a condition of your innocence and restoration, you will receive a reprimand from the Renaissance Palace, accusing you of negligence and oversight, and even of causing disgrace to your family."

  His Royal Highness the Prince changed the subject:

"And you will sincerely apologize and accept the criticism. In order to prevent the Iris Family from repeating the same mistakes, you will make some improvements to the taxation, military, trade and even bureaucratic personnel systems in Emerald City, and accept guidance and help from Everstar City - don't worry, with me here, they won't go too far."

This time, Zhan En finally changed his color!

But he was very well-mannered and just couldn't help but clench his fists:

"You won't... go too far?"

Federico sneered beside him, but Thales quickly glanced at him.

"Zhan En, as long as you agree to the conditions, Federico will not take any retaliatory or hostile actions against you or your sister for the rest of his life, and will also give up pursuing the old case."

Thales narrowed his eyes and said:

"Of course, he'd better not directly or indirectly damage the economy and public security of Emerald City, shake the unity of the Iris family, or even question the legitimacy of your position as Duke. After all, Emerald City and even the South Coast are kingdom territories and are under the protection of the royal family."

Royal protection...

This time it was Federico's turn to find it hard to accept. He stood up suddenly:

"what?!"

Thales had anticipated this, so he calmly motioned for Federico to sit back down.

"And you, Feder, you have to stay and supervise him to achieve these conditions," Thales said calmly, "For this, you will end your exile and officially return to the Iris Family."

Return to the Iris family...

This time Zhan En couldn't believe it again. He stood up suddenly:

"What!?"

  Thales calmly turned his finger and also signaled Zhan En to return to his position:

"Yes, Feder, you heard it right: your father, the former Viscount of Gonghai City, Sona Kevendill, will be rehabilitated, his crimes will be absolved, and his honor will be restored. He is not a traitor who killed his brother, and you are only legitimately redressing your father's grievances."

  Zhan En sneered:

"Then how do you plan to explain the old case of my father's assassination? Was it done by the people of the North? The Hanbul people? The Far East people? Or was it the disaster that destroyed Longxiao City? Or was it simply that the Flower of Assassins, Saridon, took action again?"

"I'm not done yet!"

Thales' words became much more serious, with a hint of warning in them.

"Similarly, as long as you agree to these conditions, Feder," he turned to Feder and softened his tone, "Duke Zhanen will pardon your sins, and he will not pursue his cousin's actions that have brought disaster to the Emerald City - whether many years ago or now - including the bloody murder you ordered the killer to commit. Not only that, I will also suggest that he confer you the title of Viscount of Archsea City, which was Viscount Sona's title during his lifetime, to comfort your father's soul in heaven."

  Federico's eyebrows jumped!

Viscount Gonghai City...

On the other side, Zhan En gnashed his teeth and couldn't bear it any longer:

"impossible!"

"Not only that!"

  Thales raised his tone, ignoring and drowning out Zhan En's protests:

"Your cousin will welcome you to stay at the South Bank regardless of past grudges. You will be nearby to assist him in governing the country, especially to supervise the various reform measures mentioned above, monitor progress, check for deficiencies and fill gaps, and urge him to better serve the kingdom. Of course, more importantly, you should remind His Excellency the Duke: Don't make the same mistake today again."

Thales emphasized the last few words.

Assist.

Supervision.

remind.

Zhan En's expression became more and more ugly.

"So, Zhan En, Feder, the two of you..."

  Thales looked around slowly and became warm and amiable again, just like the old lady next door who was knitting wool:

"Do you understand? Can you do it?" (End of this chapter)