LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 124
Chapter 124: Gold Medal of Innocence?
The artifact spirit saw it all too clearly.
Though it didn’t know exactly what had happened, it could tell from the commotion outside with Ying and the Law Enforcement Hall that it was definitely not a trivial matter.
And for such a major issue, Emperor Xia had not made an appearance, which was quite abnormal. Others might not know, but how could the artifact spirit be unaware?
This favoritism was just a step shy of issuing a decree stating that Qin Bei was innocent.
“If you don’t take action, what about that ghostly old man outside? If he comes in to arrest people, I won’t be able to stop him either!”
The artifact spirit directly exposed Emperor Xia’s lame excuse.
And the “ghostly old man” he was mentioning was naturally Ying.
“That can’t be right. This matter will eventually need resolution. Just to annoy Qin Xiu, we wasted five teleportation jade slips. Can the royal family really afford such waste?”
Emperor Xia shook his head.
“Then how do you want to resolve this? Convincing Qin Rui to come out certainly isn’t a minor issue. If we really followed the rules, wouldn’t this kid have to leave the capital? Are you willing to let that happen?”
The artifact spirit joked.
Emperor Xia: …
“Actually, I’m quite curious about what this kid did that has everyone stirred up.”
The artifact spirit asked with curiosity.
Emperor Xia helplessly shook his head but still explained the situation.
“It’s nothing more than a struggle in the harem. That Noble Consort Shu had it coming.”
After hearing the details, the artifact spirit remarked.
“What do you, a mere artifact spirit, know? Harem conflicts are something I can handle. Once I’m aware of this matter, Noble Consort Shu will definitely be demoted. Now that this kid is involved, everything’s turned upside down.”
Emperor Xia said, exasperated.
Qin Bei’s interference had changed the palace fight into a royal family issue, and it was troubling him.
When it came to matters of the harem, Emperor Xia had the final say!
But internal issues were different — there were both royal and court officials to watch over.
Emperor Xia had to weigh the pros and cons.
He finally understood why he and Qin Bei had similar personalities growing up, which made the late emperor unhappy and chose not to place him in important roles.
It turned out that to promote someone like that, one needed a strong capacity to endure.
“Handle it? Just demoting her to a consort is considered handling it? Is this issue really resolved just like that?”
The artifact spirit said disdainfully.
“What else do you expect me to do? Depose Noble Consort Shu or send her to the cold palace? If Empress Chen had support from a powerful family, or if this Qin Bei had backing from two ministers, I might consider it. But neither of those exist.”
Emperor Xia was displeased, feeling scorned by the artifact spirit.
“Then I understand why this kid stormed into Noble Consort Shu’s palace to kill without saying a word. His mother was severely injured and nearly had her cultivation destroyed, yet when it’s handed to you to deal with, the perpetrator is only demoted to a consort, and there’s no consequence for her? If I were this kid, I would do the same! No! If I were in his shoes, I would raze the Hundred Birds Palace to the ground! Not a living soul would escape!”
The artifact spirit said indignantly.
Emperor Xia: …This…
“The punishment of a demotion to a consort is already severe; it can affect the prince’s power significantly. What more do you want? After all, Empress Chen’s injuries can be healed. Am I really supposed to be stingy with those resources?”
Emperor Xia said unhappily.
“That may be how you see it, but this kid might not feel the same. He’s hot-blooded, and his reverse scales are at play; to him, power may not even matter as much as money.”
The artifact spirit chuckled, shaking his head.
Emperor Xia: …
Though he wanted to counter, thinking about Qin Bei’s actions made him feel unable to argue.
“Hmph! Whether power is important or not is clear now. If he had real power, would he still need to hide with you?”
Emperor Xia snorted.
“Enough! Don’t keep lecturing me; what’s the point of telling me such things as an artifact spirit? If you want to favor this kid, that’s your business. Anyway, I see that Qin Xiu out there isn’t going to let him off easily.”
The artifact spirit said leisurely.
“If he had shown a little leniency, a year’s confinement would have wrapped it up. In this case, I must give an explanation to the Ling family and Qin Xiu.”
Emperor Xia asserted, shaking his head.
“Then go ahead and punish him. Just kick him out of the capital and let this kid reflect on his mistakes in his own territory.”
The artifact spirit replied nonchalantly.
Emperor Xia: …
“But I want him to be the crown prince.”
Emperor Xia confessed directly to the artifact spirit, something he hadn’t even revealed to Ying.
“Then go ahead and do it. What does it have to do with me? No one from the Holy Demon Dynasty has come knocking; I can’t meddle with such affairs.”
The artifact spirit responded, still indifferent.
Emperor Xia: …
I’ve already stated my intention for him to be the crown prince; can’t you at least react with a bit of surprise, Qi Ling?
“Isn’t it up to you to decide in Great Xia? If there’s dissent, just suppress it. How simple is that?”
The artifact spirit said, as if it were no big deal.
This left Emperor Xia feeling exasperated.
Did you think a dynasty is really governed by one man’s whim?
In this cultivation world, even family factions can’t truly have one-person rule, let alone a dynasty.
“I want to protect him this time, but I don’t want him to just waltz into the position of crown prince either; it would be nice to temper his character a bit.”
Emperor Xia finally shared how he intended to address this matter.
“Tsk~~~ Just spill it, what do you want me to do? I find it unbearable to see you like this now. You were so direct and adorable as a child, like the little one below. And now? Tsk~”
The artifact spirit finally expressed its impatience.
In all of Great Xia, only the artifact spirit dared to speak to Emperor Xia this way. Even the elderly royal family members or powerful shadows wouldn’t dare converse with the Emperor like this.
No matter how approachable Emperor Xia tried to be, they needed to maintain their respect.
They would never cross that final line like the artifact spirit did.
After all, living with the emperor is like cohabitating with a tiger…
As for the artifact spirit, the reason it dared to speak with Emperor Xia like this was that it was a guardian of Great Xia, and everything else was irrelevant.
Could it be that Emperor Xia would annihilate the artifact spirit just because of a disagreement? That’s obviously not possible…
To put it bluntly, the artifact spirit is in a position where it asks for nothing yet protects Great Xia—the people must show it respect.
Even the emperor has to give it face!
“Ah~”
Emperor Xia took a deep breath, realizing at last why he disliked chatting with the artifact spirit.
“Just one thing: I want you to give him the only gold medal of innocence you have.”
Emperor Xia said tentatively.
“What? Have you lost your mind? Do I have the guts to give that away?”
The artifact spirit felt it had heard a massive joke.
At the same time, it sensed that Emperor Xia was somewhat out of sorts…
Probably driven mad by that Qin Bei kid.