Page 471
After a long time, he withdrew his hands gracefully, performed a Xingluo royal etiquette, and blinked his right eye briskly.
"It is a great honor to have you as the envoy of the Sun and Moon."
The grand banquet lasted until midnight, and all members of the Sun and Moon Mission were accommodated on the top floor of the Star Emperor Hotel.
There will be many formal talks starting tomorrow, and the content of the talks will be more detailed.
Xu Jiujiu and Xingyun Douluo escorted Huo Yuhao to the exit of the palace and said, “Sorry, Yuhao, the royal family has some secrets to discuss, so I can only escort you here.”
There are still things to discuss late at night. The daily lives of royal family members can be really busy sometimes.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to send it.” Huo Yuhao smiled sympathetically. Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he asked Xu Jiujiu, “By the way, Jiujiu, can you lend me that thing again?”
After hearing what Huo Yuhao was talking about, Xu Jiujiu was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, “This was originally a relic given to you by Aunt Yun’er. How can you say it was borrowed?”
As she spoke, she took out what Huo Yuhao needed from her storage ring. It was a short knife that was more than ten inches long, and the blade wrapped in the scabbard exuded a faint chill.
Xu Jiujiu asked, "Are we going to pay tribute to Aunt Yun'er?"
"Yes." Huo Yuhao admitted it directly.
"I believe that Aunt Yun'er's spirit in heaven will be proud of your current achievements. You are a hero no less than the Duke of White Tiger."
Xu Jiujiu bowed gently and walked towards the palace with Xingyun Douluo.
After walking for a long time, Huo Yuhao played with the White Tiger Dagger, turning it gently on his fingertips a few times, his eyes had become extremely cold without him knowing when.
Huo Qiu'er's voice sounded from beside him: "Are you really going to pay tribute to your mother?"
“Of course.” Huo Yuhao said coldly, “But there must be some sacrifices for the memorial service.”
Huo Qiuer certainly knew what the sacrifice he was talking about was.
The memories she exchanged with Huo Yuhao contained all the contents related to the Duchess. She knew what kind of persecution the Duchess had inflicted on Huo Yun'er, causing a helpless and weak woman to become ill from overwork and on the verge of death many times.
Even after the Duke of White Tiger found out, the Duchess planned to assassinate Huo Yuner, but gave up because she was afraid of the Duke of White Tiger's cronies.
"Didn't you just say that you would promise not to do anything to her during this period of time?"
After hearing Huo Qiuer's question, Huo Yuhao stopped turning the White Tiger Dagger on his fingertips. He said coldly, "Yes, so there is no need for me to do anything."
Tomorrow night I will write about the Duchess’s death. You can guess how creative it will be…
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 472 The Duchess's Death
Xingluo Imperial City, a slightly secluded palace. Next to the palace is a small courtyard, not very large, with some plants planted.
It is already autumn now, and most of the leaves on the grass and trees have withered. Only a few remaining leaves are stubbornly tied to the branches, shaking in the west wind, presenting a feeling of desolation and loneliness.
The layout of the palace was not luxurious, nor was it simple, but the conditions were far inferior to those in other palaces. Perhaps it only had the condition of living alone, which was different from the living quarters of the palace maids.
At this moment, on the couch in the palace, there was a middle-aged woman lying unconscious. Although her eyes were closed, her demeanor and temperament showed that she was either rich or noble.
Beside the couch, there was a maid taking care of her.
The middle-aged woman lying on the couch was the Duchess.
The sky in the distance gradually brightened. The unconscious Duchess frowned, opened her eyes, and just as she was about to sit up from the couch, she heard the maid's somewhat surprised voice: "Madam, are you awake?"
The Duchess felt that the surrounding scene was a little strange. While recalling the scene before she lost consciousness, she asked, "Where is this place?"
"Madam, this is Qinghe Palace. My name is Ling'er, and I am responsible for taking care of your daily life." The maid Ling'er bowed slightly and replied.
Hearing the words "Qinghe Palace", the Duchess was stunned. Born in the royal family, she naturally knew where this was. This was the place in Xingluo Palace where ministers and concubines who had committed serious mistakes were imprisoned.
The Duchess panicked and stood up and yelled, "Why? I haven't done anything wrong, why are you locking me up?"
"I want to see His Majesty!"
As she said this, she was about to force her way out.
Ling'er hurriedly stopped her and advised: "Madam, once you arrive at Qinghe Palace, no one is allowed to leave without the order of His Majesty or the Worship Hall. There will be someone in charge of your food, clothing and other expenses."
"Get out of the way. You damn slave dare to block my way." The Duchess snorted coldly, and her soul power burst out, and she blew Ling'er, who was blocking her way, aside.
Ling'er had some skills as a special maid, but she was no match for the Duchess. She was knocked against the wall by the huge air wave, spitting blood and fainting.
The Duchess was very fast and rushed to the gate in the blink of an eye, but before her right hand touched the gate, it was blocked by a layer of pale white light.
The huge impact force rebounded and made the Duchess' body fly backwards.
The Duchess regained her balance and looked at the door with resentment. With her level of cultivation, it was impossible for her to break through the layer of white light.
"Why? I want to see His Majesty!" the Duchess cried.
As if hearing her call, the white light suddenly disappeared and the door opened. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the Duchess was overjoyed. When she was about to rush out, a figure walked towards her.
It’s the Duke of White Tiger, Dai Hao.
When the Duchess saw that it was her husband, she stopped and there was a complicated expression in her resentful eyes.
She demanded, "What are you doing here? Do you want to keep me locked up here just because you have some grudge against that bastard?"
Snapped--
What responded to her was not the Duke of White Tiger's explanation, but a clean slap in the face.
The long-lost severe pain came from her right cheek. The Duchess covered her right face and looked at the White Tiger Duke in disbelief, her voice sharp: "Dai Hao, are you crazy? For the son of that bitch, you actually hit me?"
"Huo Yun'er has been dead for so long, are you still going to side with her son?"
The Duchess stared at Duke White Tiger in confusion. She didn't understand why, even though she loved him so much and had given birth to two sons for him, she was always lukewarm in Duke White Tiger's heart.
Duke Baihu said in a deep voice: "Yuhao explained the pros and cons to you last night. He is not only representing himself now, but also representing the Sun Moon Empire and the face of the Sun Moon Emperor during his mission. Even His Majesty has to entertain him with the highest etiquette."
"Because of your selfishness, you may destroy the peace between Xingluo and Sun and Moon."
"Keep me here and reflect on my actions. Take care of yourself."
After saying this, without waiting for the Duchess to reply, the Duke of White Tiger strode away. The pale white light shield reappeared, and the Duchess could not leave here.
The Duchess stood up from the ground with gritted teeth and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Dai Hao, I am really blind."
"So what if there is no peace? You can always be the commander-in-chief of your army without worrying about being overwhelmed by your achievements."
The Duchess shouted for a long time, but no one responded.
Not long after, the Duchess must have been tired of shouting, so she sat down in the palace, as if she had accepted her fate and remained silent.
She knew that it would be futile to shout, and her only choice was to wait quietly, until the storm passed and His Majesty's attitude was sufficient, and he would release her soon.
Someone was specially assigned to deliver meals to her every day, but they were just simple meals. Although the Duchess had many complaints in her heart, she could do nothing about it.
The life under house arrest was long and short. There was no activity to relieve boredom here, and the Duchess was unwilling to communicate too much with her maid Ling'er. The boring days passed quickly.
I don’t know how long it had been, but one day, the door opened from the outside again, and at the same time, a familiar young voice came from outside the door.
The Duchess immediately realized that this was not the servant who delivered the usual meals, and looked at the person who came to the door with surprise.
"Yueheng, why are you here?"
The man with light golden hair and a majestic face is none other than her eldest son, Dai Yueheng, the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke's lineage.
"Mother."
Seeing Dai Yaoheng, the Duchess' eyes were full of joy and love, and she said with concern: "Yaoheng, your cultivation has improved again."
Dai Yuheng smiled and said, "Mother, you have suffered here."
The mother and son exchanged a few pleasantries, and then the Duchess asked, "Yueheng, why are you here? Did His Majesty send any instructions?"
Dai Yuheng's eyes flashed with hesitation, but he still said: "Mother, I will go to the battlefield soon, and I came to say goodbye to you."
The Duchess' eyes widened slightly and she murmured, "What did you say?"
Dai Yaoheng said calmly: "The Sun-Moon Empire has sent a declaration of war and is going to go to war with the Star Luo Empire. I will follow my father to the western front."
The Duchess was stunned. She had not expected that all-out war would come so suddenly. Her son was still accumulating prestige in the army, and now he was about to go to the front line of the battlefield.
Dai Yuheng continued, "Mother, the army of the Sun Moon Empire is much more ferocious than before. They may have been hiding their strength for the past few decades."
"Now the garrison near the Mingdou Mountains has been almost wiped out. I..."
After hesitating for a long time, he finally mustered up the courage to say, "This may be the last time I see you."
Dai Yuheng's pessimistic words struck the Duchess like lightning. She hurriedly grabbed Dai Yuheng's hand and said, "Yuheng, mother believes in you. You will definitely follow your father and lead the army to defeat the Sun Moon Empire."
With his mother's encouragement, Dai Yuheng nodded firmly and resolutely left the palace.
After Dai Yuheng left, the Duchess slumped in her chair, feeling somewhat dazed and uneasy.
This war might have been caused by her.
The sons of the White Tiger lineage were destined to spend their lives in military service, and Dai Yuheng was no exception. But when the Duchess heard that Dai Yuheng felt that he might very likely die on the battlefield, she still felt dizzy.
Her feelings towards the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao are very complicated, with love, fear and hatred, but her love for her two sons is pure maternal love.
The war reports and news from the outside world did not reach the deep palace, and the servants who delivered meals were unaware of the news from the front line. The Duchess spent her days in such an anxious mood.
Every day she hoped that when the door opened, the person who appeared would not be the one delivering food, but would bring news of a great victory at the front, where her son led his troops to defeat the Sun and Moon armies.
I don’t know how many years have passed, but it shouldn’t be too long, because the door was opened by another figure.
The Duchess looked anxiously at the door, where a face looked 70% similar to Dai Yuheng.
It was her second son, Dai Huabin.
A strong feeling of uneasiness grew in the Duchess's chest.
"Hua Bin, why are you here?"
"How is the war in the west going? Did the Sun-Moon Empire suffer a great defeat?"
She asked a series of questions, waiting for Dai Huabin to smile and proudly say that the Sun and Moon Empire had been completely destroyed.
But Dai Huabin just lowered his head, somewhat afraid to look directly into the Duchess's eyes.
His attitude had already made the Duchess guess some bad outcome, and that unreasonable feeling of uneasiness grew stronger.
Before Dai Huabin could speak further, the Duchess asked in a trembling voice: "Yuheng... How is Yuheng..."
She said the name that had been on her mind for a long time.
Dai Huabin clenched his fists tightly, then quickly loosened them weakly. After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice.