World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 372 - 203: Zhi Yan’s Wedding Night, Qin Shu’s Wedding Night! (Important reservation required)

Chapter 372: 203: Zhi Yan’s Wedding Night, Qin Shu’s Wedding Night! (Important reservation required)

Today in Zhi Du, a major event had occurred, along with a minor one.

The major event caught everyone’s attention, even to the extent of being an earth-shattering occurrence.

Princess Zhi Yan withdrew from the Dragon Temple, and the King decreed the establishment of the Princess’s Mansion.

Following this decree, the whole nation was shocked. Although the King had not expressly stated his intent, his desires were as clear as day.

There had been princesses before, and there had been Princess’s Mansions as well.

However, those were created when a princess married and could no longer reside within the palace, necessitating the construction of a mansion outside the palace for her.

But now, Princess Zhi Yan had not married and already had a mansion of her own, while Prince Zili resided in the residence of a junior sovereign.

Thus, the oppositional relationship between them had become glaringly evident.

Many were utterly astounded and puzzled. If the King had this intention, he could have maneuvered covertly (of course, this world did not have this idiom), so why did he choose to make it public knowledge?

Now, even the common hawkers and foot soldiers knew that the King intended to make the Princess his heir.

After the King was paralyzed, he had gone utterly mad!

Since the Dragon Emperor unified the Human Kingdoms, in nearly three thousand years of history, there had never been a true Queen.

The King aimed to make history, even if it meant standing against the entire world.

In a world where men were esteemed and women were not, how could a woman be king?

Nobles of all ranks and even commoners across the land were unwilling to see a woman ascend the throne, even if they held no animosity towards Princess Zhi Yan.

But a woman could not be king; this was a tradition of the Human World, and whoever broke it would be making enemies of the entire world.

What was King Zibian’s status among the populace?

Of course, it was supreme, inciting awe but not closeness.

He was immensely powerful, but he was neither the Founding King nor a King of Conquest. Under his rule, the Rage Wave Kingdom’s expansion had come to a standstill, with the Ten Thousand Mountains halting the march of a million Rage Wave soldiers.

He lacked the authority and the support of the people necessary to make history.

During King Quo Bian’s reign, what was his greatest achievement? It was winning the loyalty of Rou Ran City, adding a province’s worth of territory to the west of Rage Wave Kingdom.

Besides that, it was the rise of the commoner elite under King Zibian’s patronage.

Originally, the highest a commoner in Rage Wave Kingdom could aspire to was the status of a high-ranking samurai lord. But with King Zibian’s support, even the cabinet and the Commander-in-chief’s Office now had commoner elites among their ranks.

Therefore, King Zibian was entirely the benefactor and discoverer of the commoner elite. Without him, they would have had little chance to truly stand out.

However, the instant the decree for the establishment of the Princess’s Mansion was issued, the entire commoner elite utterly betrayed the King.

As a gathering place for commoner elites, upon hearing the King’s will, everyone at the Commoner Branch of the Royal City Academy immediately staged a protest, sitting in silence on the square to resist the King’s decree.

All commoner elites were resisting the King’s will.

Although their current status was due to King Zibian’s favor, they absolutely would not tolerate a woman becoming the monarch of Rage Wave Kingdom.

Moreover, without King Zibian, they could still pledge loyalty to Prince Zili.

After all, Prince Zili highly regarded the commoner elite. Didn’t Ling Ao already become his follower? In the future, Ling Ao might even replace Turing Tuo to become the premier military commander of the Rage Wave Kingdom.

A harsh truth, but nevertheless a fact:

People are shortsighted and foolish, particularly the commoners.

The elite of the Royal City Academy’s Commoner Branch along with those in the cabinet and the Commander-in-chief’s Office were wishfully convinced that Prince Zili, once he ascended the throne, would continue to value commoner elites. The reason was simple; Prince Zili had committed a great taboo by allowing a commoner elite, Ling Ao, to become his follower.

Keep in mind that the followers of a Crown Prince would at least be the sons of Marquises.

Back then, because King Zibian had no hope of the Crown Prince position, only then could Suo Long, the son of an Earl, become his follower.

Now, with Prince Zili as the future King, selecting Ling Ao, a commoner elite, as his follower made his intention to value commoner elites when he ascended the throne beyond doubt.

However, all the commoner elites failed to see that the signal of Prince Zili valuing commoner elites was based solely on Ling Ao; it was merely a costly act of buying a show of commitment.

The sole reason Prince Zili stood tall and could challenge King Zibian was because he had the support of the nobility and the lords behind him.

A saying aptly described King Zibian’s state of mind:

I offered my heart to the bright moon, yet the bright moon shines only on the ditch.

The commoner elite that King Zibian had nurtured over twenty years had, almost overnight, betrayed the King and sided with Prince Zili.

Furthermore, a piece of news had been deliberately spread, whether intentionally or unintentionally: King Zibian had been paralyzed.

Suddenly, Prince Zili began to bear the likeness of a sovereign ruler.

...

Upon entering the Royal City, Suo Lun received two invitations; one was from Princess Zhi Yan, the other from... Ling Ao.

Indeed, it was from Ling Ao, the follower of Prince Zili.

Suo Lun turned to one of the eunuchs and said, "Please take me to Princess Zhiyan’s Mansion."

"As you command," the eunuch replied.

Suddenly, another eunuch said, "Count Suo Lun, this is your final chance to take a stand. Miss it, and there will be no turning back."

Suo Lun looked at the eunuch and said, "I’ve been left with no choice for a long time now."

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