LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 57 - Informing
“Your Highness, why do I feel like you know Little Lucy so well?” Deputy Chen couldn’t help but ask.
He remembered Zhao Fanni’s “precognitive dream,” where Little Lucy eventually became Prince Arthur’s consort. So, could it be…
“You’ve been watching her live streams for so long. Don’t tell me you haven’t figured out her true nature,” Prince Arthur looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, “What on earth are you thinking?”
“Oh!” The explanation was reasonable. However, from what he knew of Prince Arthur, if there was nothing unusual, the prince would have just given him a cold look without explaining.
But since the prince didn’t want to say more, Deputy Chen decided not to press further; after all, the prince was his superior.
However, Little Lucy had just come of age and was about to enter the Imperial University, while King Guga had already begun requesting that Prince Arthur choose a consort. It seemed highly unlikely.
Deputy Chen felt he was influenced by Zhao Fanni’s thoughts and had unwittingly overthought the situation.
If the prince had any intentions, he would definitely look for an opportunity to meet Little Lucy, given that they were both on Water Blue Star and had frequent interactions due to the energy plants.
Yet, up to now, Deputy Chen had not seen any indication that Prince Arthur had any intention of meeting Little Lucy.
So it really was just him overthinking, Deputy Chen thought.
Prince Arthur pondered for a moment and then said, “After Miss Xi finishes this survival game show, let’s take her with us.”
Deputy Chen was taken aback: “But it’s still more than twenty days until it ends.”
Wasn’t Prince Arthur supposed to leave for the Imperial Star in the next couple of days? This was a change of plans just for Little Lucy.
Prince Arthur looked at Deputy Chen with a hint of disdain and said, “We should handle the starship of the Huangguo program group ourselves, to avoid involving everyone on that starship.”
Indeed, it takes almost a month for an ordinary starship to travel from Water Blue Star to Imperial Star. Assassins have countless opportunities to target Little Lucy.
Those desperate individuals, driven by the bounty, might even destroy the entire starship, disregarding the lives of others.
Their own military ship can return to Imperial Star in just over ten days, and more importantly, who among those assassins would dare to attempt murder on Prince Arthur’s military ship?
……
After receiving the information from Deputy Chen about her being targeted for a bounty, Mai Dongzi’s regard for Prince Arthur increased even more.
As expected of the protagonist, not only is he intelligent, but he also has a broad perspective, knowing that such matters should be communicated directly to her.
After all, it’s her life that’s being targeted. Not informing her would leave her vulnerable to danger without knowing, potentially leading to her death in ignorance.
As for Zhao Fenni, Mai Dongzi narrowed her eyes and dialed Deputy Chen’s communication line.
“Brother Hao, may I borrow your influence?” Mai Dongzi asked straightforwardly.
“First, tell me how you plan to use it,” Deputy Chen said, knowing it was related to the bounty but unsure of her exact intentions.
“I hope you can inform the elders of the Xi family about Zhao Fenni’s actions in placing a bounty on my head in the dark market. Spread the word to as many people as possible, and also let them know that you have shared this information with me,” Mai Dongzi said.
Although there is no direct evidence of Zhao Fenni’s involvement, if Deputy Chen represents Prince Arthur in this matter, even if the Xi family doesn’t fully believe it, they will at least be suspicious.
When she is eventually attacked, they will certainly believe it.
“Transmitting the relevant information to the Xi family is simple, I have no issue with that, but saying you know about it might not be beneficial for you,” Deputy Chen disagreed with this point.
In aristocratic families, although it is rare, it is not unheard of for elders to scheme against younger members for the sake of interests and family power.
However, once the matter is exposed, the family’s response is usually to keep it tightly covered, try to keep it from getting out, and then deal with the person who harmed their family member privately.
Little Lucy already had a strained relationship with the Xi family because of the true and false daughter incident, and if she didn’t have someone capable of backing her, the Xi family would soon forget about her.
But Little Lucy is not an ordinary person. Her abilities demonstrated on the survival show were like a slap in the Xi family’s face, causing them to lose face.
Even though the new head of the family has taken over, the wounds and cracks caused before are not so easily healed.
The more outstanding Little Lucy is, the more the Xi family fears she might drift away from the family.
With an incident like a foster mother placing a bounty on her head, if she remains unaware, it might be fine. But once she learns about it, it will certainly drive her further away from the Xi family.
Aristocratic families place great importance on unity among their members and are most averse to having family members who harbor ill feelings toward the family. Such members are prone to betraying the family for any reason.
“If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t distance myself from the Xi family, after all, it is my family,” Mai Dongzi said solemnly.
She was not lying.
As far as she knew, in the interstellar era, the influence of a family was not like the ancient dynasties of Old Shui Lan Star, where the family’s elders could decide the life or death of a member.
In this world, families invest resources to nurture outstanding members, and they expect these members to give back to the family.
However, with the Empire’s judicial system in place, everyone is free to choose where to go, what to learn, what to do, and how to contribute to their family. This is entirely up to the individual; the family can make requests and offer guidance, but cannot compel.
The ancient King of Guga placed great importance on justice, and the credibility of the Blue-Black Empire’s judicial and law enforcement agencies is very high.
Anyone who dares to break the law will not escape the enforcement agencies, not even the heads of the top ten families.
Ten years ago, the former head of the Du family, one of the top ten families, was prosecuted and imprisoned by the judicial department for committing a crime.
Although this is likely only the public face of judicial fairness, with various hidden rules beneath, as long as there is a just judicial system, Mai Dongzi is confident that she will not be oppressed by the Xi family.
Even though Prince Arthur and Vice Admiral Chen can be considered her supporters now, this support is quite unstable and could collapse at any time.
After all, love can fade, especially when it is merely a small favor.
While interests may be solid, they are also temporary. Once the interests are gone or replaced by other interests, the current ties will collapse.
Moreover, these two sources of support are too high-profile; she wouldn’t dare bother them with minor issues unless they were crucial. She still has to handle minor matters on her own.
Even if the Xi family is not ideal, it is still better than dealing with unfamiliar people without any blood ties. Why would she want to isolate herself?
“Then there’s no need to tell them that you know about this matter,” Vice Admiral Chen advised, fearing that she might be too young to understand the complexities involved and gave her a brief analysis.
“I have many things to do and don’t want to waste time on that couple. If the Xi family knows I am aware of this matter, at least if someone tries to morally blackmail me, saying I should be grateful because they raised me, I can counter them with reason,” Mai Dongzi said.
Vice Admiral Chen was speechless. Indeed, if Lucy returns to the Xi family, she will first face a complicated relationship with that unpleasant couple. Using this matter to sever ties with them is worthwhile; at least Lucy won’t be constrained by them.
If Lucy weren’t such a decisive girl, she wouldn’t have achieved what she has today. Vice Admiral Chen had nothing more to say and agreed to her request.