My Endless Life.

Chapter 614 The Empress's Summoning
Today is a day of celebration for the Empire.

Within the Imperial main star system and the James system within the territory of the Nine Princesses, all the lights on it were changed to colors that represent celebration in the local area.

Although different regions have different civilizations, styles, and ways of celebrating, they are all celebrating the same thing.

The wedding of Princess Sophiuna and her fiancé Richbrese.

"Oh dear, it seems your boyfriend is getting married."

On the main planet of the empire, on the streets of the floating city where the wedding was held, Zhao Dongxue heard Qingxue's teasing voice.

Zhao Dongxue remained silent upon hearing this. She looked at the scrolling photos of Richie and Sophie on the screen and sighed softly.

“…He was engaged before he met me,” Zhao Dongxue said.

After learning Li Qi's identity and conducting a thorough investigation, Zhao Dongxue's heart sank.

As the most beloved young master of the Duke's family, Li Qi's status was not only higher than Zhao Dongxue had imagined, but he was also engaged to the Ninth Princess of the Empire.

Regardless of Li Qi's own identity or Sophiuna's identity, they are worlds apart from Zhao Dongxue, so Zhao Dongxue actually has very little chance.

She should understand that.

She has already realized this.

"So, are you still going to see him?"

Qingxue put aside her joking thoughts and asked Zhao Dongxue.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Dongxue said, "Since we're already here, let's go take a look."

As Li Qi's former friend, Zhao Dongxue was granted the right to attend the wedding. Not only her, but everyone who knew Li Qi, including his classmates, was also entitled to attend the wedding.

After all, a wedding is only complete when all the relatives and friends gather together to give their blessings. Li Qi doesn't have many friends; the only people he can call friends are those he met on Academy Star.

In the Empire, Li Qi really didn't have many friends.

While Li Qi's identity certainly played a part, it was mostly Sophiuna's fault. She was too possessive and wouldn't allow anyone, regardless of gender, to approach Li Qi freely.

That's why Li Qi has so few friends; he even has to bring along people he met in the Federation to make up the numbers.

Although Zhao Dongxue came here, she was not actually 'attending' the wedding; she was merely visiting.

In other words, she couldn't sit in the chapel and listen to the priest recite the vows, nor could she witness Sophie and Richie exchanging tokens of love.

This is only natural, given Zhao Dongxue's humble status; she was just a member of a small anti-terrorism team.

But Zhao Dongxue wasn't particularly concerned about these things; what she cared about was something else entirely:

"Speaking of which, something just doesn't feel quite right to me?"

"What's wrong?" Qingxue asked, puzzled.

Zhao Dongxue looked around at the guards and the Imperial fleet and Imperial mechs patrolling in the sky. After lingering on a few eighth-tier mech pilots, Zhao Dongxue said:
"Although Richie and Sophiuna's wedding is a very important event, there are just too many guards and powerful individuals here. I've already seen at least three Tier 8 mech pilots along the way."

Although Tier 8 mech pilots are weaker than Tier 9 pilots, Tier 8 pilots can be considered top-tier in the interstellar era, especially now that Tier 9 pilots are exploring the World Ocean.

But now on the Imperial Star, these eighth-tier powerhouses have become as common as cabbages.

Of course, as the capital of the empire, the most important place in a country, it's not wrong for Imperial Star to be heavily guarded.

However, Zhao Dongxue felt that those eighth-level experts flying in the sky were deliberately revealing themselves, and that there were many other experts of the same level hiding among them.

Even with the innate senses brought by the inherited mecha, Zhao Dongxue could vaguely sense the other experts of the same level hidden behind these powerful figures!
There are only a few on the surface, but there are countless people hiding in the shadows, and there might even be some at the ninth level!
Is it really necessary to be so heavily guarded for a wedding?
Zhao Dongxue was puzzled.

But it was a passerby beside her who cleared up her doubts.

"I heard the Empress will be coming today."

"What? Hasn't the Queen not appeared in public for a long time??"

"Yes, even when the Seventh Princess got married, Her Majesty the Empress did not personally attend... It seems that the Ninth Princess is Her Majesty's favorite princess, which is not just a rumor."

"That's right."

People on the Imperial Star were talking amongst themselves.

Those 'outsiders' who are able to settle on the Imperial Star wield considerable power within the entire empire, making the information they reveal highly valuable.

So it was the Empress herself? That makes no surprise.

Her Majesty the Empress has been in power for nearly a century. If it weren't for the empire's own rule that each emperor or empress could only rule for a maximum of a century, this young empress could probably have reigned for another century.

Over the course of nearly a century, the Empress, a woman of iron will, elevated the empire's economy and strength to a new level. Her prestige was arguably the highest among the dozen or so emperors of recent history.

Her reputation among the people far surpassed that of previous emperors, which is why Her Majesty the Empress's personal visit caused such surprise among onlookers.

"But even so... I still feel a little uneasy..."

Whether it was a gut feeling or something else, Zhao Dongxue had a feeling that there was something special about this wedding.

However, her strength was too weak, and she couldn't sense anything based on her intuition alone. Therefore, she could only suppress her worries for the time being and head towards the manor where Li Qi was going to hold his wedding.

"Is Her Majesty the Empress really coming?"

In a corner of the manor, Li Qi, who was being helped by a maid to put on an elaborate and complicated groom's outfit, asked Yolin, who was watching him from the side.

Yolin nodded: "Yes, it's really strange that His Majesty, who hasn't appeared in public for more than ten years, would come in person."

"...Because of Sophie?"

"That's possible, after all, Sophie is one of the rare children born to Her Majesty the Queen herself."

Yolin agreed with Li Qi's guess.

Although we live in an era where women hold power and influence, and the relationship between men and women has shifted, and many things have changed, some fundamental things remain unchanged.

For example, childbirth is still a woman's responsibility. If a man wants to "experience" it, he needs to undergo a modification surgery to have all the necessary parts installed in his body.

However, nobles do not undergo modification surgery; they are purely natural, native humans, and therefore, childbirth is still something that women themselves must do.

The empress is of noble status. Even if she has countless concubines, if she has to give birth to every prince herself, then she doesn't need to do anything. She can just give birth to children every year.

Currently, there are dozens of princes and princesses recorded. Even if we don't count the time for recuperation, it would still take several decades for the empress to give birth to all of them.

No normal person would want to become a breeding machine, and the Empress was no exception, especially since she was the most powerful person in the entire empire.

Therefore, most of the time, the empress would choose her favorite 'concubine' to provide the necessary elements for reproduction, and then throw her into the life cultivation tank for cultivation.

in other words.

It refers to in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Nine out of ten princes and princesses were born in this way.

Only a few were born to the Empress herself.

The current eldest prince, third princess, fourth princess, sixth prince... and ninth princess were all born through normal reproductive methods.

However, apart from the eldest prince, His Majesty did not attend the weddings of the other princes and princesses.

Why is His Majesty personally attending Sophie's wedding today?

Is it because Sophie was truly favored by the Queen?

Although the Queen does indeed like Sophie very much, Sophie hasn't done anything particularly outstanding lately. Instead, she's been taking advantage of her status to do a lot of silly things.

Even the empress's favor has its limits. As the ruler of a country, she values ​​capable people more.

Sophiuna's recent actions should have lowered her image in the Queen's eyes; the fact that she wasn't punished is already a sign of the Queen's favor towards Sophiuna.

Why would they come here in person?

"What did Mother say?"

Thinking about these things, Li Qi asked Yolin.

Zelia, as Li Qi's mother, is also attending the wedding, but she has not yet shown up.

“She messaged me earlier, saying she would be with the Queen.”

Yolin replied.

Li Qi froze. Having already changed his clothes, he turned around, frowned, and asked, "Besides Mother and Her Majesty the Empress, who else will be coming?"

Upon hearing this, Yolin's smile deepened, and his narrowed eyes became even more fox-like.

"The Finance Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister... even several elders from the Presbyterian Council have come."

"...What are they trying to do?"

Li Qi's eyes widened slightly.

Leaving aside Her Majesty the Empress, Zelia, disregarding her status as Li Qi's mother, is also the Prime Minister of the Empire. The others are all ministers in their respective departments, belonging to the highest echelons of power in the Empire.

And it wasn't just them, but also the Elder Council...

Everyone knows that the Elder Council and the Royal Family are at odds now, because their power has been reduced to the extreme due to the Queen.

They were already being honest by not commenting on the Ninth Princess's extravagance and waste, but now they still want to attend the Ninth Princess's wedding?
Were they really there for a wedding?
Li Qi stared at Yolin, noticing the smile on his face, and vaguely guessed what was going on:
"...Will there be any issues with this wedding?"

"I'm not entirely sure about that, but I can assure you that we will absolutely not let you get hurt."

Yolin said earnestly.

Li Qi's expression turned rather unpleasant. He frowned and was about to say something when he suddenly saw Jolin pause and turn his ear to listen to something.

Sensing the fluctuations of consciousness in the air, Li Qi knew that someone was communicating with Yolin telepathically.

Sure enough, after only a few dozen seconds, Yolin turned to Li Qi and said:
"Get ready, the Queen has arrived and wants to see you."

Li Qi raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

It was actually the Empress who summoned me?
(End of this chapter)