Dai Mubai

Dai Mubai

The Imperial Palace, Netherworld Cat Palace.

The Netherworld Cat Palace was the palace where the Empress lived. Because every empress through the generations had been from the Zhu Family, and all possessed the Netherworld Cat Spirit, the palace had been named the Netherworld Cat Palace.

After returning from the Royal Martial Arts Arena, the Empress had been furious, smashing many things inside the Netherworld Cat Palace.

"What happened to Mother?" the First Prince asked.

"After the Third Prince lost to the Fourth Prince, the Empress has been angry ever since. The Third Prince has already been kneeling inside for several hours. Your Highness, First Prince, please hurry in and persuade the Empress. The Empress only listens to Your Highness," the Palace Maid beside him said anxiously.

The moment he opened the palace doors and stepped inside, the first thing he saw was Dai Mubai kneeling on the floor.

Dai Mubai had never raised his head. His long golden hair covered his face, making his expression impossible to see.

There was already blood on his forehead, from where the Empress had struck him with a cup.

"Useless trash," Dai Weisi said coldly, his eyes full of contempt.

"You were level seventeen, fighting someone who had only just obtained a Spirit Ring, and you actually lost. Truly good for nothing."

Dai Mubai knelt on the floor with his head lowered and did not reply.

"Mother, why bother arguing with this trash? He lost, so he lost. Could that bastard really win the fight for the throne? As long as I'm here, I will take that bastard's life." Dai Weisi turned to look at the Empress and spoke with absolute certainty.

"Do you think I'm angry because he lost? I'm angry at myself for actually believing in this trash so much."

Hearing his own mother judge him this way, Dai Mubai's entire body trembled slightly. He choked up, and tears fell pattering onto the floor.

Even when he had been defeated by Dai Yao, he had never been this heartbroken. He had only felt that his skill was inferior. But when his mother called him trash, he could no longer hold back.

Perhaps both the Empress and Dai Weisi noticed Dai Mubai's reaction, but neither of them offered him a word of comfort.

But this was the Star Luo Imperial Family, a place utterly devoid of affection.

Only the victor could gain everything.

"Every Star Luo prince enters Star Luo Royal Academy to study. Once he comes to the academy, I'll be sure to teach him a proper lesson," Dai Weisi said in consolation.

The Empress sighed and voiced her concerns. "Although I despise that bastard, I have to admit his talent is exceptional, perhaps even greater than yours. Once he goes to the academy, with Dai Hengyu looking after him, it won't be easy to make a move."

Dai Hengyu was a prince of the Star Luo Empire and also the Vice Principal of Star Luo Royal Academy, one of the powers through which the imperial family controlled the academy.

"Moreover, once he is given time to grow, he is bound to become a formidable rival of yours. Add in the Second Prince, who has been eyeing you covetously, and if the two of them join forces, it may not be easy for you to inherit the throne smoothly."

"Please rest assured, Mother. I don't even put the Second Prince in my eyes, let alone that wet-behind-the-ears brat Dai Yao." Dai Weisi was full of confidence. In his mind, Dai Yao was not even worthy of being his opponent.

In fact, that was the case. The level twenty-five Second Prince could still pose a slight threat to Dai Weisi, but Dai Yao, someone who had not even been a soul master just a few days ago—how could Dai Weisi possibly take him seriously? "Mother, you are not only the Empress of the Star Luo Empire, but also one of the elders of the Zhu Family. Since Zhu Zhuqing is a member of the Zhu Family, couldn't you..." Dai Weisi said sinisterly.

Compared with the open and upright Dai Mubai, Dai Weisi's methods were far less restrained. As long as he could achieve his goal, anything was acceptable. If Dai Yao's opponent today had been Dai Weisi, he would never have given Dai Yao any chance.

In his eyes, any method that achieved victory was a good method. So what if he bullied the weak? So what if he won ugly? Hearing Dai Weisi's suggestion, the Empress's eyes lit up, and she immediately ordered the Palace Maid outside the door, "Go. Bring that girl Zhu Zhuqing to me."

Then she looked at Dai Mubai in disgust. "You trash, why aren't you getting lost? Are you staying here just to offend my eyes?"

Dai Mubai rose and turned around. He looked utterly lifeless, completely dejected. All the youthful vigor he had shown during the duel was gone. One had to know, he was only nine years old this year.

He looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and a wave of desolation surged into his heart. Scalding tears rolled down his cheeks one after another.

Dai Yao was a prince, so he could not afford to lose. But Dai Mubai was also a prince, and he could afford to lose even less.

If Dai Yao lost, people would say he was still young, that his defeat was understandable. But Dai Mubai had been overthrown by someone beneath him, and he would only become the object of ridicule.

In the struggle for the throne, there was no second place. All failures ended the same way—death.

Since the day he was born, he had never received a mother's love. Every time his mother praised his elder brother, the proud expression on her face filled him with envy. He was a child. He also wanted to become the pride of his parents.

But in the Star Luo Imperial Family, that was destined to be nothing more than an extravagant hope.

He hunched over like an old man, completely lacking the high-spirited bearing he had shown during the duel, and left the Netherworld Cat Palace in a wretched state.

... After Dai Mubai left, Zhu Zhuqing was brought to the Netherworld Cat Palace.

The Empress pinched Zhu Zhuqing's chin between her thumb and forefinger, her tone icy. "What a fine face. To think it actually benefited that bastard."

Zhu Zhuqing felt some pain from being pinched, but she did not dare resist in the slightest.

"I hear you want freedom. You want to break free from the Zhu Family's fate?" the Empress asked.

Those few simple words seemed to possess boundless allure, and a look of longing appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's cold face.

"I can give you this chance. I have something I need you to complete. Once it is done, you can obtain freedom and no longer be manipulated by others. How about it?"

... Several days later.

The Cold Palace.

Dai Yao took off his luxurious robe and lay on the bed, not wanting to move at all.

"I'm seriously exhausted," he sighed.

He had been busy these past few days, without a moment's rest. After his victory in the duel, there were many matters that needed handling. First, he went to the Council of Elders' Ancestral Hall in the White Tiger Mountain Range to pay his respects to the elders. Then came the conferral of his title, and the cumbersome inheritance ceremony of an ancient family made his head spin. It consumed not only mental energy, but physical strength as well.

Someone had once suggested specially constructing a new palace to serve as the Fourth Prince Residence. But Dai Yao refused. He was still used to living in the Cold Palace. Of course, the Cold Palace had also been renovated, and now it looked completely new.

Besides, before long, he would be heading to Star Luo Royal Academy. At that time, he basically would not return, so there was no need to build a prince's residence.

Most importantly, how could he allow a life of extravagance to corrupt his gold-like character? In truth, the main reason was that he had no money and could not afford the expenses of a prince's residence. Although the imperial treasury would allocate a certain amount of money to each prince, compared with the cost of maintaining a prince's residence, it was truly a drop in the bucket.

Now, everything had already come to an end.

His marriage contract would be fulfilled in the next few days.

Because it was only a simple engagement, all they needed were a few relatively important relatives to bear witness. Zhu Zhuqing's family representative was the Empress, while Dai Yao's mother had passed away and the Star Luo Emperor would not bother with him, so the Fifth Elder served as his family representative.

When he thought of the Empress's face at yesterday's engagement banquet, black as the bottom of a pot, he could not help laughing.

And in these next two days, Zhu Zhuqing would be coming to the Cold Palace.

P.S. The first volume is finally over. Writing it chapter by chapter, I really discovered many of my own shortcomings.

Originally, in my conception, the final duel with Dai Mubai was supposed to be a climax, but after all, I lacked experience, and I didn't handle the climactic part well.

Also, the protagonist's character actually started to collapse from the second chapter, but it didn't collapse too badly, so it can still be salvaged now.

Now that the first volume is finished, I've accumulated quite a bit of experience. I hope the second volume can be written better. Thank you, dear readers, thank you, friends, especially the two friends who have been with me since the book began.

My sincere thanks to all of you.

Also, I was very happy to receive the site message today. After the review, I'll officially become a contracted author.

As for things like dropping updates, you don't need to worry. This is the first book I've written, and as for the word count, I'll write at least five hundred thousand words.

Because only by writing five hundred thousand words can one grasp the most basic ability to handle a long-form novel, and I chose to publish directly on Qidian. This kind of behavior is called running naked, and for a very long time, I'll be playing solo by myself.

When Spring Breeze started this book, I had already prepared myself mentally to endure loneliness for a long time, so everyone doesn't need to worry about me cutting the book either.

Finally, I'd like to ask for recommendation votes and follow-up reads. Once again, my thanks to you all.