AHDIBCB Chapter 50

Jian Yurou immediately stepped forward to block the way, saying, “Wait a moment!”

The captain asked, “Professor Jian, do you still have something to say?”

Jian Yurou replied, “General, my daughter-in-law is pregnant, and she is an omega. I want to accompany her to meet the Emperor. Our whole family has made many contributions to the empire, which the Emperor has praised personally several times. The Emperor is benevolent—I believe he wouldn’t allow his people to live in fear.”

Hearing this, the captain’s tone softened a bit. “Professor Jian, I understand your concerns. But the Emperor has issued orders: if there are any issues found, only he will be taken away.”

“But…”

“Mom, it’s okay,” Yuan Yi said. “If we all go, grandfather and father will worry. You should stay. I’m fine.”

The captain and many of the search party were surprised and looked at Yuan Yi. Some even showed admiration in their eyes.

Omegas are rare, and though they encounter many in the palace daily—three hundred or at least a hundred or two—they had never seen an omega so calm and composed. Even princes and princesses might not handle such sudden situations so steadily.

The captain secretly felt some respect and said, “Let’s go.”

Yuan Yi boarded the flying vessel and waved goodbye to Professor Jian.

Not long before, Professor Jian had already sent a message to the old master. Now, seeing the flying vessel ascend, she hurriedly called him, “Father, palace officials have taken Xiao Yi away. What’s going on? He’s still pregnant—if anything happens…”

The old master replied, “I know about this. How is Xiao Yi?”

Professor Jian said, “He seems fine for now. Your granddaughter-in-law acts very steadily, without a trace of panic. But still, I’m worried!”

The old master replied, “Enough, if he’s not panicking, why should you? Do what needs to be done. When the time comes for me to step in, I won’t stand idly by.”

Professor Jian bit her lip, and by the time she looked again, the call had already ended. She paced back and forth in the hall, still feeling uneasy, so she went next door to find Feng Lu. Although Feng Lu wasn’t currently on duty in the palace, she worked in weapons research and had many contacts in the military—far more than Professor Jian, who had been dedicated to education all her life.

In fact, being so close, Feng Lu and Ye Huiwan had already heard the commotion on their side and saw Yuan Yi being taken away.

Ye Huiwan poured tea for Professor Jian and said, “Don’t worry too much. Xiao Yi is clever; he’ll definitely get through this safely.”

Feng Lu said, “Since the position of captain on the Sirius ship wasn’t secured, people have started to suspect that Li Heng is still alive. But isn’t that a good thing? If he really is alive, no matter what, the Emperor won’t treat him unfairly.”

Professor Jian replied, “The emperor’s mind is hard to predict, especially during such a sensitive time. Even if Xiao Heng really comes back, his captaincy is gone. He can’t just replace Fei Qian anymore. It’s an awkward position—neither here nor there.”

The Emperor was already over seventy years old and no longer as vigorous as before; it was uncertain who would take charge in the future.

Ye Huiwan asked, “But Xiao Yi being taken tonight—is this because of ‘betraying the emperor’?”

Feng Lu answered, “That’s just a charge someone wants to pin on Xiao Heng. The Emperor may be old, but he’s not foolish. He must understand very well that if Xiao Heng is alive, he would only bring benefits, no harm, to the empire. Among the Emperor’s many sons, some are talented, but none are skilled in warfare. For the empire to continue flourishing, it needs generals like Xiao Heng. And most importantly, don’t forget Xiao Heng’s close relationship with the king of the Blue Gel Star. Ever since he led a support campaign there and won decisively, the Blue Gel Star has been giving us better energy prices than other places. Even though their army belongs to Owanda, it was Xiao Heng who insisted on sending troops and achieved a complete victory. Everyone wants to take advantage of that benefit. Some people aren’t just refusing to tolerate this—apparently, the Emperor has long since lost patience.”

Professor Jian sighed, “That damn Li Heng really is a headache.”

Feng Lu said, “Now we just hope this is true, and not baseless rumors. As for Xiao Yi, good people have heaven’s protection; nothing will happen to him.”

Since arriving here, Yuan Yi had never actually entered the imperial palace—he had only glimpsed it from afar while flying on the aircraft. The palace didn’t take up much ground area but occupied a vast space vertically, towering into the clouds, almost reaching the heavenly gates. It was even designed to be mobile. If there was a threat on the ground, it could detach from the main base and fly elsewhere. It could also split into multiple smaller units.

In times of peace, it looked like a gigantic crystal tower, soaring high like a tree trunk; during war, it could transform into numerous large, medium, and small flying combat vehicles ready for rapid deployment.

Because it was nighttime, the palace resembled a giant tower light, the trunk of a great tree, surrounded by countless twinkling lights—that was the Imperial Guard.

On the way, Yuan Yi already knew the person escorting him was Mo Ting, the captain of the Imperial Guard and a trusted confidant of the Emperor.

Mo Ting was in his forties, an alpha male, and appeared very disciplined.

As they neared their destination, Yuan Yi asked, “General Mo, this is my first time entering the palace. Is there anything I should be aware of inside?”

Mo Ting replied, “There are people in the Guard with strong mental abilities. So it’s best you don’t lie.”

Yuan Yi nodded, “Thank you, General Mo.”

The aircraft soon slowed and landed at a floating docking point. After Yuan Yi’s identity was confirmed by everyone present, a crystal bridge about two meters wide slowly extended from the docking platform. Yuan Yi stepped onto the bridge and officially entered the “Giant Tower.”

Mo Ting looked puzzled. “You don’t seem nervous at all?”

Yuan Yi said, “Maybe I’m just pretending not to be.”

Mo Ting smiled, “You’re an interesting kid.”

They took the elevator up, and Yuan Yi felt himself slowly rising into the air. In the blink of an eye, he had ascended several hundred meters. When the elevator doors opened, everything below looked incredibly tiny.

Seeing his confusion, Mo Ting explained, “The elevator has a slight illusion effect to ease the tension caused by the rapid ascent.”

Mo Ting then made a gesture, and a door bearing the imperial crest swung open. “Go ahead. The Emperor will arrive soon.”

With that, the Imperial Guard captain stepped inside.

Yuan Yi was led forward by a beta attendant dressed in the palace’s court uniform. Yuan Yi asked the beta, “How should I pay my respects when I meet His Majesty?”

The beta attendant looked puzzled. “Pay respects? Why would you do that?”

Yuan Yi was momentarily speechless.

Since the original host’s memories held no scene of such a ritual, he had asked in advance. The few films he’d seen since arriving also lacked such scenes. But really, no formal gesture at all?

Just then, footsteps sounded, and a voice asked, “Young friend, are you about to pay me respects?”

The beta attendant said, “This is the Emperor, along with the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince.”

Yuan Yi thought: no bowing then, so he simply nodded. “Yuan Yi greets the Emperor and the three Princes.”

The Emperor was over seventy years old, with long silver hair reaching his shoulders, worn naturally loose. His face showed clear wrinkles, appearing to have aged naturally without any technological intervention—if not for his unusually bright eyes.

The Emperor sat on his throne and motioned for the other princes to sit as well. Then he said, “Yuan Yi, someone has told me that your husband, Li Heng, is still alive. Are you aware of this?”

Yuan Yi replied, “I don’t know.”

The Fourth Prince, impatient, exclaimed, “Impossible! You definitely know!”

Yuan Yi asked, “Fourth Prince, why are you so sure that I know? Do you have evidence, or did you personally see my husband?”

The Fourth Prince was momentarily speechless and glanced at the Second Prince.

At this moment, the Second Prince spoke up, “Father, no matter what Li Heng’s situation is, this young friend here is still an omega, and he possesses a unique bloodline. Why not have him sit down and respond?”

The Emperor ordered an attendant to bring a chair for Yuan Yi.

Yuan Yi sat down and then heard the Emperor ask, pointing at a safe, “What is that?”

Yuan Yi answered, “It should be considered my private savings.”

The Fourth Prince said, “Open it quickly and let’s have a look!”

Yuan Yi went and opened both safes, revealing inside energy coins, property certificates, jewelry, and antiques. However, there was no sign of the pheromone bottles. It seemed that because strangers were present when he opened the safe, some kind of protective mechanism inside had been activated; otherwise, it was impossible for the pheromone bottles to be missing. He had actually checked again that very morning.

The Fourth Prince said, “You’re quite wealthy. Where did all this come from?”

Yuan Yi felt that the Fourth Prince wasn’t very bright and kept glancing at the Second Prince for cues. Smiling, he replied, “Fourth Prince, I’m still a student. I don’t earn money myself. My private savings naturally come from my parents and what Li Heng left behind before he passed. My parents transferred those to me.”

The Eldest Prince said, “Father, Li Heng has been away for many years. I think it’s normal for him to have some family assets. Both Principal Li and Professor Jian are kind-hearted and wouldn’t mistreat their daughter-in-law; transferring the assets to him is reasonable. Close it now.”

The Emperor asked the Fourth Prince, “What do you think, Fourth Prince? You said someone reported this, but now you can’t provide any evidence.”

The Fourth Prince pointed at Yuan Yi and said, “He must know where Li Heng is. Tell me, hasn’t Li Heng been back for a long time? And the primary pheromone you got at the hospital for Aminanka, wasn’t that also from him?”

Yuan Yi said, “That’s not true. Fourth Prince, if you know where he is, I’d appreciate it if you told me.”

The Fourth Prince angrily said, “Do you dare swear you don’t know where he is? If you lie, your child won’t be born safely!”

The Emperor frowned and said sternly, “Nonsense! For a prince to have such a vicious thought—what shameful conduct!”

The Fourth Prince glared at Yuan Yi, then turned to the Emperor and apologized, “Sorry, Father, I spoke wrongly.”

Yuan Yi said, “Fourth Prince, I swear, if I knew where Li Heng was, I would be doomed. As for my children, I cannot use them to swear.”

At this moment, the Second Prince spoke, “Father, the Fourth Prince’s words were harsh, but he is also worried about the empire’s security. The person who reported said Li Heng has hidden a large amount of Blue Gel energy, and since he has always been close with the Blue Gel King, the Fourth Prince’s concerns are not entirely unfounded. You also saw the recent selection for the captain of the Wolf Star Fleet. The cohesion of that fleet is unparalleled. If Li Heng is truly alive and leads them, combined with a large amount of Blue Gel energy, this poses a huge risk to our royal family.”

The Fourth Prince said, “That’s exactly my point. If Li Heng is dead, he’s a hero of Owanda. But if he’s alive, then he’s committing treason against the emperor!”

The Second Prince continued, “Actually, there’s a simple way to verify. If Li Heng is really alive and has come to see him, he might have touched something in this safe. After all, their marriage is arranged by circumstances. If Li Heng did come back, even if he was given something, he must have handled it. If there is any item here with Yuan Yi’s fingerprints underneath and Li Heng’s on top, that would mean this Yuan Yi is lying.”

The Emperor said, “That’s a good idea. Let someone check.”

Soon, the Second Prince summoned several people. With current technology, distinguishing overlapping fingerprint layers is quite easy. The people who came examined the items from the safe one by one.

Yuan Yi started to feel truly nervous now. He remembered that day when Li Heng gave him these items and explained the energy bars—indeed, there was a moment when he took them from Li Heng’s hands…

Time ticked by, and sweat formed in Yuan Yi’s palms.

The Fourth Prince asked, “How is it?”

The inspectors all shook their heads, “Almost none of these items have fingerprints.”

The Fourth Prince said, “How is that possible? Yuan Yi, did you deliberately destroy the fingerprints beforehand?”

Yuan Yi replied, “Fourth Prince, the Li family was suddenly searched. I wasn’t aware beforehand. How could I have destroyed anything in advance?”

The Fourth Prince asked, “Then why aren’t even your fingerprints here?”

Yuan Yi said, “That’s simple—because I’ve never seen so much money before. Suddenly having a lot of wealth, I didn’t bother wiping anything; I was just happy and wiped my hands casually, is that not allowed?”

Everyone: “……” Even coming from a wealthy family, how could you speak about loving money so… uniquely?

The Second Prince asked, “Mo Ting, did your men find anything unusual elsewhere during the search today?”

Mo Ting said, “No. I reported to the Emperor and the three princes on the way here about a suspicious area. We also checked the patrol records of the robotic guards in that entire region; there was nothing abnormal.”

At this time, Yuan Yi asked, “Fourth Prince, perhaps you’ve misunderstood? If Li Heng is still alive, why hasn’t he appeared? He’s a man of merit and a general of Owanda. What reason would he have to hide?”

The Fourth Prince said, “Obviously because he’s guilty. He hid so much Blue Gel energy, who knows what his intentions are?”

Yuan Yi asked, “May I ask what evidence you have? You keep saying he’s hiding energy and that he’s alive. How do you prove that? Also, who reported my husband? What are their motives?”

The Second Prince then smiled and said, “This student Yuan keeps insisting he doesn’t know where General Li is, yet he defends him so earnestly. But according to you, you haven’t even met him, right? You haven’t met him, yet you feel such deep affection?”

Yuan Yi replied, “A meritorious minister—shouldn’t I hold him in respect and love?”

The Fourth Prince snapped, “You! That’s just sophistry!”

The Emperor grew impatient and said, “Enough. After all this talk, it comes down to these few words—how can that convince anyone? If other generals learn that the royal children are slandering a meritorious minister like this, who will dare serve the royal family in the future? This nonsense must stop!”

The Fourth Prince hurriedly said, “But Father, not long ago, the energy detectors did detect a huge amount of energy, but by the time our people arrived, it had vanished! Also, General Cao’s youngest son wore a piece of clothing identical to one someone gave Yuan Yi. Within a few days, a batch of robot cleaners were all wearing the same style, which made General Cao’s son too embarrassed to wear it again. You must know this, right? General Cao’s youngest son had a high gene match with Li Heng. Yuan Yi must be jealous, and Li Heng is secretly protecting him!”

Yuan Yi said, “Then, Fourth Prince, by your logic, since you’re so eager to accuse Li Heng, can I say you’re jealous? That you can’t stand to see him honored?”

The Emperor said, “Enough. We could argue about this till tomorrow. Mo Ting, send him back. And you,” the Emperor pointed at the Fourth Prince, “don’t bother me with this again over such trivial matters.”

The Fourth Prince said, “Father, wait! I still have a plan!”

The Emperor didn’t even bother replying, furrowing his brows tightly as he looked at his fourth son.

The Fourth Prince said, “Just lock him up, withhold his primary pheromones, then use other alpha pheromones to trigger his fear response—I bet Li Heng will come out then!”

“Rubbish!” The Emperor was furious, slamming the armrest. “You’re an alpha, a royal prince, and instead of showing care for a pregnant omega, you come up with such a vicious idea! Has your brain been eaten by dogs?! Guards! Lock him up! Into solitary confinement! No one is to release him without my permission!”

Mo Ting quickly called for people to come in. Seeing that things were getting serious, the Fourth Prince immediately shouted, “Father, would you rather believe an outsider than what I say? Li Heng is trying to betray Auste! Father!”

The Emperor said, “Shut up! Mo Ting, take this Yuan Yi back. Go and explain everything properly to Professor Jian and Li. I—I don’t have such a disgraceful son! Hurry, someone come here!”

The Fourth Prince kept shouting, “Father, you’re confused! You can’t lock me up! Outrageous!”

Suddenly, the Fourth Prince used a burst of brute strength to throw off the guards and rushed toward the Emperor, shouting, “Father, you can’t lock me up! If anyone should be locked up, it’s him!”

The Emperor said, “What are you standing there for? Take this disgrace away! Take—”

“Your Majesty! / Father!”

The Emperor’s body suddenly swayed and collapsed.

The Crown Prince quickly caught him and called for the doctor. Then he said, “Mo Ting, you go escort him out. The Second Prince and I will stay here.”

But the Second Prince said, “Big brother, let my men escort him. After all, this trouble was caused by Little Fourth. Little Fourth is always with me; I didn’t raise him well. I’ll have my people apologize to Professor Jian.”

The Crown Prince said, “But father said it should be Mo Ting who escorts him.”

The Second Prince said, “Father is in this state now. Mo Ting must stay in the palace. If something really happens, it won’t be a joke.”

The Crown Prince seemed hesitant.

Then the Second Prince asked, “Big brother, don’t you trust me?”

The Crown Prince said, “How could that be? We’re brothers after all. Then you find someone to escort him.”

Yuan Yi quietly felt something might be wrong. At that moment, Mo Ting said, “Second Prince, should I call a few people to escort him in your name?”

The Second Prince thought for a moment and said, “That would be best. It would also show my sincerity.”

Mo Ting then summoned several people and took the safe onto the aircraft. Yuan Yi considered Mo Ting’s attitude throughout the journey and what he said after disembarking, and decided to board the aircraft as well.

The night was dark and obscure. Perhaps because it was late, the city lights seemed much dimmer than when he first arrived.

Yuan Yi sat on the aircraft, not feeling particularly nervous before, but now unease began to creep in.

The people escorting him were all unfamiliar.

At this time, someone said, “Yuan, don’t be nervous, we’ll arrive soon.”

Yuan Yi looked out the window, feeling that the route didn’t look like the way they came, so he asked the soldier who seemed most familiar, “Officer, are we taking a detour?”

The man smiled, “No.”

Yuan Yi checked his communicator and saw they were clearly flying farther and farther away from home!

He hurriedly dialed Professor Jian’s number, but after just two rings, the man who had been smiling at him suddenly grabbed his communicator. The device was interfered with somehow, and the screen went completely scrambled!

In a panic, Yuan Yi pressed buttons and asked, “Who exactly are you people?”

Before the man could answer, there was a sudden thud— it seemed the aircraft had collided with something. Then the door was forcefully kicked open, and a group of beastmen surged into the cabin! Each of them was as tall as two of him. Their skin was rough and uneven, like coarse stone! As soon as they entered, they quickly took down all the soldiers in just a few moves.

Yuan Yi, terrified, immediately clutched his stomach, his face turning pale.

The beastman leader growled, “Move!”

His voice was like sandpaper rubbing against stone!

Gasping for breath, Yuan Yi instinctively stepped back and asked the only remaining conscious soldier inside the cabin, “Are you with them?”

The soldier came closer, slowly grasped Yuan Yi’s hand, and whispered, “Shh, don’t be afraid. It’s me.”

Yuan Yi didn’t catch a familiar scent, but the tone and voice made him freeze in place.