Yuwen Tuo's voice was loud and domineering. The sound waves, accompanied by soul power, even spread to the imperial harem. In truth, there was no need to report; the Emperor would surely know.
"That voice, is it Prince Yan?" The Sun Moon Emperor had met Yuwen Tuo many times recently and naturally recognized his voice. Hearing him openly curse the Crown Prince as a 'dead eunuch' directly within the palace, the Emperor's face darkened.
"What's this rebellious son up to now?"
Emperors valued their prestige. Regardless of Xu Tianran's character, he was the Crown Prince chosen by the Emperor himself, the heir to the throne. Even if the Emperor intended to cultivate Yuwen Tuo as well,
whether the Crown Prince would ultimately be replaced depended on Yuwen Tuo's own performance. At present, he was still merely a prince, far from the Crown Prince's status, with a Prince of the First Rank between them. His current behavior was a blatant act of insubordination.
If it were any other imperial prince, they would have been executed long ago, or at the very least demoted to commoner status. If it weren't for the fact that, firstly, he was truly reluctant to part with Yuwen Tuo's unparalleled talent, and secondly, the Sun Moon Empire was not yet ready for war and did not wish to rashly offend the Undying Poison behind him, how could he be allowed to be so presumptuous?
The Emperor also found it incomprehensible. Since Yuwen Tuo arrived in the Sun Moon Empire, he had been relatively polite to ordinary people. Towards his Imperial Father, he was at most distant, refusing to call him Imperial Father. So why was he so hostile towards Xu Tianran? Even if it was for the sake of competing for the Crown Prince's position, it shouldn't be this extreme, should it?
The Sun Moon Emperor had completely forgotten about the Pick-Up Village incident. Or rather, in his mind, it was an utterly insignificant matter, no prince would cause such a huge commotion for a group of commoners.
"Issue an imperial decree! Summon Tianyuan here, and accompany me to the Eastern Palace!" The Sun Moon Emperor decreed. This matter was, after all, an imperial family affair. He did not want outsiders to handle it; they should resolve it internally.
The "Tianyuan" he called for was Xu Tianyuan, one of the Sun Moon Empire's Protector Hands, commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineering Corps, and also a member of the Sun Moon Imperial family,
a clan elder brother to Xu Tianran. However, in reality, he was much older than Xu Tianran. He was considered one of the highest-ranking members among the entire Sun Moon Imperial family's relatives.
In truth, the Emperor also knew that his current actions were tantamount to burying his head in the sand. With Yuwen Tuo's arrogant demeanor, that roar of rage probably could be heard even outside the palace.
His summoning of Xu Tianyuan now held little significance. Regardless, Xu Tianran's face was already completely lost, being blocked at the entrance of the Eastern Palace and cursed as a 'dead eunuch' by his own brother. This was truly an unprecedented, millennia-old scandal.
"Yuwen Tuo, you're looking for death!"
Inside the Eastern Palace, Xu Tianran's soul power surged throughout his body in a fit of rage. Tables and chairs touched by his soul power instantly turned to dust. This was a destructive type of soul power, related to his martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and four black eight soul rings appeared, accompanied by his fury.
In the original work, when he first displayed his strength, he was a Title Douluo of rank 92. At this time, although he was still only a Soul Douluo, coupled with his powerful Purple Radiance Dragon martial soul, if he weren't crippled, he would be not much worse than a true Title Douluo. It's estimated that many people never expected this Crown Prince to possess such formidable strength.
Having finally managed to calm himself, Xu Tianran ordered a nearby palace maid, "Push me out. I want to see what new trick this brother is playing!"
"Yes!" The palace maid, already prostrate in fear, wished she could poke out her ears. Throughout the entire Eastern Palace, who wasn't afraid of this unpredictable Crown Prince? In this world, perhaps only Ju Zi could calm him when he was angry.
It was a pity that Ju Zi wasn't here right now; she was still taking classes at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Besides her, he also had a younger sister, Xu Tianzhen, whom he truly doted on, but she was currently at the Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy.
The palace maid nervously pushed Xu Tianran out of the Eastern Palace, only to see Yuwen Tuo leaning against the wall in front of the Eastern Palace, casually cracking melon seeds while continuing to channel his soul power and shout.
"Xu Tianran, you barren eunuch! I knew! One of your brothers sent someone to assassinate you back then. Although they didn't succeed, you not only became crippled, but you also permanently lost your manhood,
a complete waste! You have a beautiful Ju Zi by your side, but you can only look and not touch! How can someone like you possibly deserve the Eastern Palace position?! Pfft, who roasted these melon seeds? They're too bland, no taste at all."
The anger Xu Tianran had barely suppressed surged once more. He had originally thought that Yuwen Tuo calling him a eunuch was just a casual remark, accidentally hitting a raw nerve.
But now, he could describe the events of that year in such detail, even knowing about Ju Zi's existence. This meant that he truly knew about his infertility, and he was shouting so loudly, using soul power. At this moment, everyone in the imperial palace must have heard it, and it must have aroused his Imperial Father's suspicions.
If this fact were to be revealed, his position as Crown Prince would immediately be jeopardized. After all, being crippled in the legs was manageable; with a soul tool prosthetic, he could still stand and walk a few steps. But being unable to procreate was a fatal flaw. What imperial family would allow a eunuch to become Emperor?
Just as he expected, the Emperor, who was rushing towards them, heard Yuwen Tuo's words and couldn't help but feel a pang of doubt. "Tianran, is he truly infertile? It seems I must have a physician examine him. If that's truly the case, then the position of Crown Prince..."
"Yuwen Tuo!!!" Xu Tianran stepped out of the palace, glaring at Yuwen Tuo, wishing he could devour him whole. A colossal purple heavenly dragon phantom appeared, letting out an enraged dragon's roar at Yuwen Tuo.
The palace maid kneeling behind Xu Tianran was already drenched in cold sweat, wishing she could deafen herself. The secret Yuwen Tuo had just blurted out was not something just anyone could hear.
'You two princes arguing, can you please not involve us little shrimps?'
"Oh, the dead eunuch is out! I came today to give you a gift. I've prepared a present for you; see if you like it later. If you do, will you give your Ju Zi to me? Anyway, if she stays with you, she'll only be a widow for life.
You can't possibly deprive her of the right to be a mother, can you?" Yuwen Tuo chuckled. "You're not planning to let her 'borrow a seed' in the future to cover up your identity as a dead eunuch, are you? No way... no way...?"
Xu Tianran's face was now as black as charcoal. Was Yuwen Tuo a worm in his stomach? How did he know everything, even guessing his thoughts before he had even told Ju Zi herself? He knew he absolutely could not let Yuwen Tuo continue, otherwise, the situation would only get worse.
"Yuwen Tuo, if you seek death, I shall grant it!"
The Purple Radiance Dragon opened its mouth, and a beam of destructive light swiftly shot towards Yuwen Tuo. A red glow flashed on Yuwen Tuo's body. A palm-sized soul tool floated before his chest, condensing Yuwen Tuo's entire soul power into a shield, completely blocking Xu Tianran's attack.
Xu Tianran was shocked. "This is, the Rank 9 defensive soul tool, 'Mortal Dust Protection'? Jing Hongchen, that bastard!"
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