"Father, I seem to remember Uncle Wu telling me that when you were in school, you slept through class every morning, skipped your afternoon classes to sneak off and play with him, and came dangerously close to failing every exam. Your instructors had to rack their brains to pull you through. He also said:
"If you hadn't been a prince, you probably would've been expelled from the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy ages ago!"
Qian Yuhan: "..." Who would've thought that this thick-browed, big-eyed old emperor was such a handful in his youth!
Rakshasa Phantom: "666." Who would've thought we'd get to see the emperor get called out by his own daughter? What a sight.
In an instant, the air filled with a thing called awkwardness. Qian Yuhan, an outsider to the whole affair, let the faintest, nearly imperceptible smile tug at his lips, then suppressed it the next moment. As if he hadn't heard a thing, he turned his head to the side. Hey, Rakshasa, look at this floor... It sure is a floor.
Xu Kun: "!!" Wu Ergui, you son of a—what a bastard! How could you tell a child something like that? You've made me lose all face!
With his past laid bare, Xu Kun's old face flushed red under Xu Tianzhen's blunt attack. The wisps of steam rising above his head left little doubt about how red-hot he was.
Realizing she might have caused trouble, Xu Tianzhen awkwardly stuck out her tongue, trying to get away with being cute. But the faint sound coming from Xu Kun—like fingernails scraping hard against a table—made her abandon the act at once and put into practice the ancestral rule: "If the rod is light, take it; if it's heavy, run."
"Oh no! Father's really angry! Run!"
Before the words had even left her mouth, Xu Tianzhen grabbed Qian Yuhan by the wrist and bolted like a colt that had broken free of its reins. She raced out of the tightly shut Wenhua Hall and vanished around a bend in the corridor in a flash.
After who knew how long, Xu Kun seemed to have lost all strength and all means of dealing with the situation. He dropped into the soft chair behind him with a thump and muttered:
"This is a real curse! (`A´)"
"Someone, go! Go to Mingde Hall and summon Hall Master Jing Hongchen... No, I can't summon him alone. Bring Starry Sky Douluo here too! I have something to discuss with them!"
"Yes," the attendant replied softly, then turned and disappeared from the emperor's sight. Another attendant on standby slipped silently into the hall from outside and stood respectfully to one side.
After about the time it took to drink two cups of tea, two old men entered the magnificent Sun-Moon Imperial City from opposite directions. They eventually met in the corridor outside Wenhua Hall.
The man approaching from the left wasn't particularly tall, but he was extraordinarily fat. A splendid black robe embroidered with gold was draped loosely over his body. From a distance... he could've been mistaken for a golden-embroidered footstool that had learned to walk.
Perhaps the short legs beneath the black robe were moving especially fast. This mobile "black footstool" arrived at Wenhua Hall first. The man in black—no, the Level 9 Soul Engineer—stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched the other man approach. He spoke up:
"I saw someone striding toward me from a long way off, and wondered who it was. So it's Elder Ye Yulin! It's been a while. You're still as vigorous as ever."
"So it's Hall Master Hongchen." The old man known as Elder Ye nodded to Jing Hongchen. "And you're still hale and hearty yourself!"
Compared to the short, plump Jing Hongchen, who looked as if a footstool had become a spirit, Ye Yulin carried himself much better. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a ruddy complexion and eyes that shone like stars. The only slight flaw was that he was, well, just a tiny bit bald.
It seemed Xu Kun had been waiting for the two of them to finish exchanging compliments. Only after Ye Yulin and Jing Hongchen had completed their pleasantries did his emotionless voice drift out from inside Wenhua Hall: "Come in."
"Elder Ye, you're older, so age comes first. Please, go ahead." Jing Hongchen took half a step back and extended a hand in a gesture of respect for the elderly. Yet anyone could see he was slyly reminding Ye Yulin: You're old!
"Hmph (`3´)!"
Ye Yulin wanted to argue, but couldn't think of a reason to, so he could only snort and head straight for the hall entrance.
Without needing an attendant to lead them, Ye Yulin and Jing Hongchen walked one after the other to the imperial desk where Xu Kun reviewed memorials each day. They stood on either side, cupped their hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Ye Yulin / Jing Hongchen pays his respects. May we ask why Your Majesty summoned us so suddenly?"
"Ah, Hall Master Hongchen and Starry Sky Douluo are here. There's no need for formalities. Someone, bring them seats." Xu Kun slowly raised his head and looked at the two "pillars of the empire."
Well, they weren't exactly pillars. It was more that the empire and the Titled Douluo powerhouses each got what they wanted.
As everyone knew, the relationship between Titled Douluo and the empires they served was more or less the same throughout the Douluo Continent:
The empire gave Titled Douluo high salaries, high status, and lavish treatment. In return, the Titled Douluo swore loyalty to the emperor, worked for the empire, and trained its talents.
As long as the empire remained and their treatment didn't change, it didn't really matter to these Titled Douluo—who had already risen above ordinary people and ordinary Soul Masters—which emperor sat on the throne.
What? You're asking how Xu Kun knew all this so well?
Obviously, he'd seized the throne through the whole package: putting down a rebellion, usurping the throne, and murdering his elder brother at Xuanwu Gate. He'd wiped out his brother's entire household and successfully claimed the throne.
He knew exactly how those Titled Douluo had reacted and behaved back then.
How could he not? (눈_눈)!
"Take a look at these, both of you." Xu Kun "laboriously and quite deliberately" rummaged through a mountain of memorials on the imperial desk and pulled out two files. An attendant beside him took them and passed them to the two Titled Douluo, who had settled comfortably into their seats.
"This is..." Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin slowly opened the file and skimmed through it at a glance. "Tsk—"
Mm, four rings at eleven. Ye Yulin's gaze automatically slid down out of habit, but his brain caught up in the blink of an eye. He hurriedly moved his eyes back to the first line, his pupils quaking.
Wait... What? Four rings at eleven? Is this real? Your Majesty, you didn't make up some fake file to mess with an old man like me, did you?
Thinking this, Ye Yulin raised his head and looked at Xu Kun in disbelief. But Xu Kun's face held none of the amusement or mockery Ye Yulin had imagined. It held only absolute seriousness and certainty.
That resolute gaze clearly told him: What's written there is true. I'm absolutely not joking with you.
Before you continue