Under the gazes of the crowd, a suave, refined-looking man slowly walked out from the group. His appearance was seven points similar to the person who had just provoked Xue Beng, but his demeanor was completely different.
Seeing this man, Prince Xue Xing's expression instantly darkened. He was clearly quite dissatisfied with this person's appearance, especially after having just been rebuffed in public. With a dark face, Prince Xue Xing unceremoniously questioned, "Xue Qinghe, what do you mean by this?"
Prince Xue Xing's question made the atmosphere at the scene instantly tense, yet Xue Qinghe seemed completely unaffected. With a smile, he unhurriedly turned his gaze to Prince Xue Xing and softly said, "Imperial Brother, please calm yourself."
This scene made the nearby Lang Lei marvel inwardly. He thought to himself that power really did make people lose their minds and turn foolish at times. However, Xue Qinghe did not immediately answer Prince Xue Xing's question at this moment, instead focusing his attention on Lang Lei first.
With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Xue Qinghe politely asked Lang Lei, "Little brother, may I ask what you are called?"
Seeing that the other party had a friendly attitude, it was not good for Lang Lei to be overly cold, so he similarly replied with a smile, "Lang Lei. And who might you be?"
Xue Qinghe smiled slightly and introduced himself, "I am Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of the present Heaven Dou Empire."
The moment Xue Qinghe's voice fell, Lang Lei suddenly felt a piece of information transmit into his mind. This information came from Elysia in his heart, and the content turned out to be that the gentle and cultured Crown Prince before him was actually female in disguise!
Lang Lei had not the slightest doubt about Elysia's claim. After all, as long as he did not deliberately isolate her, she could experience the world through his five senses. As for Elysia's pretty-girl radar...
That was an existence that even Lang Lei of the Star-Crossing expanse found amazing.
Lang Lei's expression became very strange, and he muttered inwardly, Could it be that this Crown Prince is going to emulate the Empress and pull off a stunt where a woman inherits the grand succession?
Upon thinking of this, Lang Lei could not help but doubt Xue Qinghe's true identity. Wasn't this person some kind of princess or something? Surely the emperor guy knew, right? After all, whether his own offspring was male or female, the emperor should be crystal clear about it! But even so, the other party could still become the Crown Prince, and connecting this to the other party's methods, it seemed the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire was quite an open-minded emperor...
No wonder his demeanor is so delicate and soft; it turns out it wasn't because of a prolonged illness, but because he's a woman himself! Lang Lei understood suddenly, though this didn't have much impact on him. After all, as long as Xue Qinghe didn't actively provoke him, he had no intention of exposing this secret.
"I have already heard about my younger brother's affair," Xue Qinghe said in a sincere tone. "Qinghe offers his apologies to little brother first, and hopes little brother can be magnanimous and spare him this once. In the future, Qinghe will definitely repay this heavily."
The corners of Lang Lei's mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile. He waved his hand and said magnanimously, "It's fine, let's leave it at that. He has already received the lesson he deserved anyway."
Seeing this, Xue Qinghe inwardly admired Lang Lei's breadth of mind. He cupped his fist in a salute and said, "Little brother's open-mindedness truly makes Qinghe admire you."
Lang Lei nodded, considering it acceptance of Xue Qinghe's praise. He turned around, preparing to leave. After all, this Crown Prince's status was obviously much higher than that of a profligate imperial prince, and the purpose of his own trip had already been achieved. To continue entangling himself here would probably only make the other party push their luck.
However, just as Lang Lei was about to take a step and leave, Prince Xue Xing's side suddenly started making a fuss again.
"Xue Qinghe, what on earth do you mean!"
Lang Lei looked at the two people before him with a curious expression, the fire of gossip in his heart instantly ignited. Those eyes of his rolled around, as if he had already caught a whiff of an unusual aura.
These two people looked somewhat subtle...
Lang Lei pondered inwardly, a mischievous smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth. Anyway, a little more time wouldn't hurt; he even felt a bit like grabbing a handful of melon seeds and sitting comfortably to the side to watch the excitement.
"Imperial Uncle, what do you mean by that?" Facing Prince Xue Xing's questioning, Xue Qinghe appeared exceptionally calm. There was not the slightest trace of panic on his face, and not even a single hint of change in his expression.
"You!" Prince Xue Xing was so angry that his entire body trembled. He extended a finger, pointing shakily at Xue Qinghe, yet in front of the massive crowd, he simply could not spit out a complete sentence. After all, this was not a place where he could act however he pleased; some things could only be spoken of in secret, and absolutely must not be voiced out in the open!
He indeed suspected that the Second Imperial Prince and Third Imperial Prince had both been harmed by Xue Qinghe, but many people knew about such matters, and since the emperor hadn't said anything, naturally they couldn't run their mouths. Although Prince Xue Xing held the noble rank of prince, he still needed to protect the imperial family's dignity. If he were to expose Xue Qinghe's benevolent disguise in public, it wouldn't bring him any benefits whatsoever.
After all, the other party's status as Crown Prince was personally bestowed by Emperor Xue Ye. For him to refute the other party's character at this moment, wasn't that slapping his imperial brother's face?
"Imperial Uncle, since this little brother has come to our Heaven Dou City, then he is a friend of the Heaven Dou Empire. As the saying goes, is it not a joy to have friends coming from afar? For you and younger brother to treat him like this, isn't it going a bit too far?" Seeing this, Xue Qinghe not only did not retreat, but instead began to press forward step by step. His words were filled with all sorts of implications, making people's imaginations run wild.
Prince Xue Xing's expression became even uglier. How could he possibly fail to understand what those two people standing behind this little fellow represented? It was just that he was now caught on the back of a tiger, truly not knowing how to respond to this series of remarks from Xue Qinghe.
One could say that the other party was essentially equivalent to a major faction. If the other party were willing, with a single shout, countless people would flock to throw in their allegiance at any moment.
Of course he knew he should get on good terms with the other party, but the awkward part was that Xue Beng had already gotten on bad terms with the other party beforehand. With his own personality, how could he possibly go and suck up to them right now? He originally planned to wait until this period passed, after the other party's anger had subsided, before initiating contact. He just hadn't expected Xue Qinghe to come over at this time.
One had to know that a ninety-ninth-level Peerless Douluo and a ninety-eighth-level Super Douluo were worth all political support, and even far exceeded them.
Due to Emperor Xue Ye's art of balancing power, with Xue Beng under his support, the faction of princes headed by Prince Xue Xing could at least contend on equal terms with the Crown Prince's faction headed by Xue Qinghe. But if Xue Qinghe obtained such backing, this balance would be completely shattered, and it wouldn't even be impossible for Xue Qinghe to directly stage a palace coup relying on his current supporters!
Before you continue