The "meeting" in the great hall concluded perfectly. After everyone dispersed, Chen Rui was kept behind by Emperor Rex.
"You surprise me, my son. You're actually a master artificer? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because Your Majesty never asked."
A glint flashed through Rex's eyes. "Then let me formally ask you now: what exactly have you gained over these past seven years?"
"To be precise, I gained... some ability to survive." Chen Rui appeared exceedingly calm. "The Arthur of that year is already dead, killed by a knife in the back. I no longer remember the one who stabbed me. Perhaps it was a terrible enemy, perhaps an even more terrible relative. One lesson like that is enough. At the very least, the current me won't thank someone for counting the money after they've sold me."
Rex carefully savored the meaning behind those words and fell silent in thought.
"If Your Majesty has nothing else, I shall take my leave." Chen Rui bowed.
"Tonight, you may go to Violet Palace. Someone is waiting for you there," Rex suddenly said.
"Violet Palace?" The familiar place name made something in the depths of Chen Rui's memory tremble again. Those blue eyes, etched into his heart and as deep as the ocean, surfaced in his mind. Countless fragments of long-slumbering memories began to awaken once more.
"Tonight?"
"Only tonight." Rex said impassively, "You should understand. She is Sofili's consort. Although your short-lived uncle has been dead for a long time, he was still your uncle. Do you understand?"
Chen Rui rubbed his temples. "I seem to remember some things now. Back then, she was a noble lady of the Blue Radiance Empire and a teacher at Starlight Academy, yet in the end she became a sacrifice to a political marriage with some