Chapter 3969 Let’s Call it Even
The Vermilion Bird Empire’s emperor Yu Xiaoyun walked over with his hands clasped behind his back. He was accompanied by several eunuchs and a group of guards.
At this moment, seeing his gloomy face, Yu Qianxue and Zhu Yifeng hastily knelt.
“Greetings, imperial father!”
Yu Qianxue’s guards also knelt and directly kowtowed, not daring to make a sound.
However, Yu Xiaoyun didn’t even look at Yu Qianxue and Zhu Yifeng. He coldly gazed at Long Chen. “Brat, your guts are big.”
“Many thanks for your praise. I have no other strong points, but at least my guts are a bit big.” Long Chen looked right back at Yu Xiaoyun. At first, he wasn’t sure what to do, but as soon as Yu Xiaoyun spoke, he was confident.
“Do you know what kind of fish you just ate?” shouted Yu Xiaoyun.
“I didn’t know before this, but I learned later. However, it was too late. Once a tree is turned into a boat, it cannot be turned back into a tree. Why doesn’t Your Majesty calm your anger and take a few bites? I have wine too,” chortled Long Chen.
Yu Qianxue and Zhu Yifeng almost collapsed when they heard this. This fellow’s guts were too big, weren’t they? He even dared to say such a thing, as if he was the one treating the emperor to his priceless Seven Color Dragon Fish.
“Will you believe me if I say that I will kill you with a single slap?” Yu Xiaoyun almost exploded due to rage.
“I don’t believe it. Isn’t my sin just eating a single fish? I’m your future son-in-law. My life is more precious than a fish. You won’t kill me for a fish,” deduced Long Chen confidently.
Yu Xiaoyun raged. “What nonsense are you spouting about?! There isn’t even a sign of success yet, but you dare to say that you’re my son-in-law?! You are nothing more than a commoner-”
“No, I’m a noble martial master, thank you!” Long Chen revealed his status plate confidently. The status of a martial master was much higher than an ordinary commoner.
Seeing this, Yu Qianxue quivered furiously. This Long Chen really was out to get her. For him to show off the martial master tablet that she had given him, he was clearly trying to get her killed. If the emperor wasn’t here, she would definitely beat him up for this. Even if he wanted to con her, he didn’t need to go this far, right?
“Let alone a martial master, even if you were my son-in-law, having committed this sin, I still have the right to execute you,” said Yu Xiaoyun frostily.
“What sin did I make?” Long Chen acted stupid.
“You killed the Seven Color Dragon Fish that I was raising for centuries. Is that not a sin?” shouted Yu Xiaoyun.
“And then? How are you going to punish me? Killing me as revenge for your fish? That’s absurd, isn’t it?” Long Chen shrugged indifferently.
“You…!”
Although eating his dragon fish was hateful, the emperor knew that using this reason to kill Long Chen was impossible. There was no such law. Furthermore, Long Chen was not a prince or princess. The emperor couldn’t treat him as his own family. Using the laws, the most he could do was force Long Chen to pay compensation for the fish and then be imprisoned for a month.
“I won’t kill you, but I can banish you from the empire. You will never set foot in the Vermilion Bird Empire again,” threatened Yu Xiaoyun.
“No, you won’t do that either.”
“And why not?!” demanded Yu Xiaoyun.
“A person who eats someone else’s food is biased toward them. I ate your fish, so I won’t quibble with you about that. But using this excuse to banish me is impossible for you,” said Long Chen.
“Hahaha, you think you're clever?! I don’t like you anyway, so why can’t I banish you?!” sneered Yu Xiaoyun.
“Precisely because a person who eats someone else’s food is biased toward them. I ate your fish, but you also drank my wine. We’re even. I don’t believe that you will do this, or your reputation will be ruined. I think that you should consider this, Your Majesty.” Long Chen smiled.
“Nonsense! When did I ever… You… you…” Yu Xiaoyun suddenly thought of something and grew bewildered.
“That’s right, the Vermilion Bird Pear Flower Wine!” Long Chen chortled. He didn’t keep going.
“You…!”
Yu Xiaoyun quivered with rage. He now understood that the Vermilion Bird Pear Flower Wine that he had drunk was not from Jiang Huixin’s family’s elders. It was from Long Chen.
Now that Long Chen brought it up, although he hadn’t known the truth, it didn’t change reality. With this, there was no way that he could use Long Chen eating his Seven Treasure Dragon Fish to banish him.
After a long moment of Yu Xiaoyun not knowing what to say, he barked, “Fine, brat, count yourself ruthless. But while banishment can be avoided, punishment cannot. Of the three of you, one failed to control your subordinate, one made friends recklessly, and one ate my Seven Color Dragon Fish. All of you are going into the little black room for three days!”
Hearing that, Yu Qianxue’s expression changed. She had just come out of it after being imprisoned for three days. If she were to go through it again in her current state, her mind would crumble and she would go crazy.
As for Zhu Yifeng, he directly fell limply. His willpower was too weak. At most, he could last within the little black room for a single day. Three days was deadly to him.
However, neither of them dared to argue. The emperor was enraged right now, so any arguments would only cause the punishment to worsen.
“This matter has nothing to do with them, so I will bear responsibility for everything. You can add their days to mine. Three threes is nine, so let’s just be straightforward and add another day for a perfect ten. How’s that? You’re not losing out, right?” said Long Chen indifferently.
“You’re crazy. No one has survived more than seven days in the little black room!” Yu Qianxue was so shocked that she even forgot about the emperor’s rage.
“Do you think that I’m bargaining with you? What right do you have to bargain?!” raged Yu Xiaoyun.
“I don’t like hearing you talk this way. To put it frankly, you are only punishing them not because they did anything wrong, but because you are venting your anger on them. If you were simply educating your children, using your own methods to make them mature, I naturally wouldn’t express any opinion. But you are clearly using them to vent. Don’t you think that will damage your image as ruler of a nation? A nobleman, the King Dao, they all require restraint. The more noble a person, the more restrained they will be. But I can’t see a single bit of it on you. If you are still set on punishing the two of them, then perhaps I have to go to the appeals hall to make a report. I’ll tell them that you abused your position to punish them without any respect for the laws, fairness, or justice, just because of your bias against me. Those seniors will judge that matter,” said Long Chen, neither tyrannical nor subserviently.
Yu Qianxue and Zhu Yifeng were startled. In all their years, this was their first time seeing someone who dared to speak like this to the emperor. Long Chen was actually threatening him.
“Good, good! Brat, you have guts! Then we’ll do as you say! Don’t blame me for not warning you! The record for lasting in the little black room is six days! I don’t even know how many people have died inside. Do you really want to take their punishment and go inside for ten days?”
“Although I have no noble status or position, I know that a man’s word is worth its weight in gold. I will not take back what I said.”
“Good! I want to see whether your mouth is tougher than your will!”
Yu Xiaoyun turned and walked away. But he suddenly paused and looked at the grilled dragon fish and wine.
“Guards, grab all the evidence of the crime for me!”
Long Chen, Yu Qianxue, Zhu Yifeng: “...”
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