Hidden genius: Black belly snake

While Tang Yue was nervously pacing back and forth in her Zither palace, busily scheming about getting Charlotte alone with her, the elven royal palace was unusually lively.

Jingling sounds echoed amidst the unusual silence of the courtroom, as the various Generals and other nobles who had gathered, anxiously stared at the scene unfolding in front of them.

Their domineering iron-fisted prince was in trouble this morning! 

A tall and elegant elf, utterly breathtaking despite her aged appearance casually strolled through the courtroom.

She was dressed in a luxurious yellow robe with golden and silver thread embroidered patterns, and embedded amethyst gems.

Her long silver locks were tied into a neat bun, adorned by jade and ruby hairpins.

She looked absolutely radiant and stunning, decked in the glamorous jewels and gems, perfectly complimenting her mesmerizing features, which were unmistakably similar to the arrogant man on the throne.

This was the grand matriarch of the Eldorian Empire, Empress Freya! 

And more importantly, the cold-blooded tyrant's mother!

The single person who could frighten the tyrant by the sheer power of her nagging had surprisingly arrived this morning, along with her entourage, without any prior notice.

Xander lazily leaned back on his crystal throne, mentally preparing himself for the blood bath that was about to happen.

"Greetings mother." He mumbled.

Since he messed with the harem hierarchy established in the royal palace, he had an inkling that this would happen.

But he didn't think it would be this fast!

It looked like his mother was truly on top of things, when it came to the palace politics amidst the women.

He quickly dismissed all the officials from the courtroom to prevent his image from being damaged any further in the drama that was about to ensue.

While he was busily cooking up various excuses in his mind that he might potentially need, Empress Freya waltzed over and graciously sat adjacent to him.

"What is this I am hearing about son?" She mumbled, with their eyebrows raised, directly cutting past all the inconsequential pleasantries.

Xander could instantly fathom the mood of his mother.

She didn't even bother going over her typical routine, where she chided him for working too hard and not taking care of his health.

This in itself showed how serious she was.

Xander sighed and slouched further, rubbing his temples. 

"What are you talking about mother?" He feigned innocence, his crimson red orbs gazing affectionately at her.

"Rumours abound the palace about your new queen consort candidate son, hmm?"

"You cannot possibly choose a spirit beast to be your queen!"

Xander chuckled slightly in response. His thin impassive lips turned upwards at the thought of one stubborn snake.

"I haven't selected anyone yet." He answered, patting his mother's back. He already knew what was about to come next and quickly prepared to leave.

"I hope you do understand the consequences of your actions." 

"Whomever you choose will after all be the next Empress of our clan."

"Xander, you cannot just make these decisions on a whim!"

"Don't make a mockery of the harem."

"You need to wed someone officially soon and produce heirs for the Empire."

Freya's disgruntled voice echoed behind him, as the elf quickly disappeared from the courtroom, retreating speedily back into his private quarters. Only a shadow of his voice was heard, "I understand, mother." 

"Hmph. Always treating me so coldly." Freya muttered, disappointed with her slippery son.

She was, of course, aware of the ridiculous situation of her son's harem, which only gave her endless headaches.

She had personally hand-picked over fifteen of the twenty two stunning elven ladies in the royal harem, but her son unfortunately hadn't shown any interest in any of them.

While her eldest son was hyper active in this area, this one seemed to be lacking any interest altogether.

And she hadn't even seen the other three in a while.

Freya sighed thinking about her troublesome sons.

"Your highness." A maid hurried over, bowed and handed Freya a glass of fine spirit wine.

"Your highness, his majesty, the Crown Prince, requested that you stay for lunch." She further bowed and added.

"Will he be joining me?" Freya scoffed angrily and asked, already aware of the answer.

"Sorry, your highness. His majesty is unavailable at the moment because of urgent state affairs." 

The maid anxiously answered back, as if she was reciting prepared lines.

"Heh. Of course." Freya's expression softened and she chuckled and brushed it off. 

This was why she had always wanted daughters, but unfortunately all she got was these ruffians.

"No need. I will be having lunch with Xavier. Find him and announce my arrival." She sighed and stood up to leave.

But then she turned around and gave out further instructions to her palace aides.

"Arrange for a tea ceremony gathering soon and invite all the members of Xander's harem."

"Prepare the best tea leaves and invite the ladies from the noble families as well."

"Oh and send an invitation to the General's daughter, Charlotte."

Freya muttered and flicked her robe, leaving the now almost empty courtroom.

Soon the news quickly spread and invitations were promptly sent to various important households.

Tang Yue received one as well.

While all the other consorts were exceedingly pleased at the prospect of impressing the Empress, Tang Yue was not particularly happy with this event.

She could guess that this was the direct aftermath of Charlotte getting demoted from her position and punished by the Crown Prince.

Considering that she was the previous queen consort, obviously she had to be favoured by the Empress, maybe even had close ties with her.

So most likely the Empress was not happy with the things that had transpired and Charlotte getting kicked out.

On top of this, Tang Yue was also a spirit beast, a person of such low social standing, that she would not even be allowed to meet with the Empress in person under any other circumstances.

So considering all this, it was more than obvious that nothing good could come out of attending this gathering.

However, Tang Yue had no other option but to attend and smile. 

After all, she was merely a political hostage in this land of strangers.