Chapter 69: Complaint
The Empire’s power was divided among the military, the Council of Elders, and the royal family. But this supposedly indestructible triangle had become unbalanced three years ago due to the collapse of its support.
The military’s defeat, the Marshal’s disappearance, the revelation of the aliens, and then the Council of Elders was also dragged into this bottomless pool of dirty water. Among the high-level officials within the Empire, the relationship between the three had long been unequal. And the royal family, which had remained safe and sound without any problems, had gained the upper hand in these years.
But the Imperial military was the most terrifying force in the entire galaxy. The Imperial armory and all its combat power only listened to the Marshal’s orders.
The royal family and the Council of Elders were still deeply wary of this decisive and powerful figure.
The Marshal was limited by the public and was willing to accept the arrangement from three years ago, but that did not mean that the military was a pushover.
Si Jisheng narrowed his eyes slightly. The meaning in his silver eyes was unclear as he indifferently flipped through the document in his hand.
The conference hall was plunged into a dead silence.
And on the opposite side of the conference table, the young and impetuous prince of the royal family’s face was pale. It was obvious that his composure was not enough, and a faint cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Beside him sat a person who was completely hidden under a black cloak. His face could not be seen, but he was much calmer.
If the military was the Empire’s spear and shield, and the Council of Elders handled the Empire’s various policies, then the royal family was a symbol of the Empire to the outside world and to the public. Regardless of whether their blood ties were shallow or deep, the various royal family members formed a council.
The council had a veto power over all of the Empire’s policies.
After a moment, the man in black suddenly spoke, “Gran, is this how I taught you?”
His voice was old and aged.
The young royal family member took a deep breath and said, “The signing of that document was indeed my responsibility.” Gran’s tone was sometimes heavy, sometimes light, and a hint of panic could be clearly heard. “But Your Excellency, that is meaningless, isn’t it?”
“This convention can never be realized!”
“Swish—”
The sound of a document being flipped.
His silver eyes were always indifferently fixed on the page, as if the other party were a clown, not even worthy of a glance.
Arrogant, rude, and condescending!
At the peak of fear was a wave of anger. Just as Gran was about to question the other party’s attitude, he was patted on the shoulder. His blood-rushed mind instantly calmed down, and in the end, he could only stiffly call out, “Teacher.”
The man in black chuckled. “He is still young, Your Excellency. The Duke was really too busy, so he had me accompany a young boy to your invitation.”
“Young?” Si Jisheng finally spoke. His silver eyes raised slightly, and after a long while, he said again, “Since you don’t have the qualifications to enter the council, then don’t stay any longer.”
Gran was in disbelief. “What right does the military have to interfere—” Just as he said it, he was forcibly interrupted by the man in black. He eased the atmosphere. “Your Excellency, I have been in the Council of Elders for most of my life. It was only after I retired that I was called experienced by others. Is it not too harsh for you to make this request to a prince who has just come of age?”
The black mechanical finger sleeve put down the document that had been flipped through. The man in the military greatcoat in the main seat stood up straight. The words he spoke perfectly matched the public’s evaluation of him: cold, authoritarian, and unquestionable.
“If the Duke and the council cannot give a reasonable explanation, then the scapegoat you have put forward should be prepared to be sacrificed.”
Without any mercy, he laid all the twists and turns bare on the table.
Si Jisheng strode to the door. Ignoring Gran and the man in black, whose faces had instantly turned extremely ugly, he pulled it open and walked out. He circled around and, when he found a familiar figure, his gaze finally paused.
Because the distance had been shortened to a certain extent, the tracker automatically reminded him. The moment the comm’s flashing light lit up, Si Jisheng noticed it.
The golden-haired youth was slumped on the soft sofa in the reception hall, holding a cup of fruit juice and drinking it in small sips. The fruit juice cup covered the lower half of his little face, and above the cup, a pair of curious blue eyes were revealed, looking here and there, curiously sizing up the surroundings.
But the moment he met someone else’s gaze, he would immediately look away, at a loss. Deng Xi was still a little afraid of interacting with unfamiliar humans.
But he knew that the little mute was just inside the door, so Deng Xi’s emotions did not act up too severely. At the very least, he could sit here peacefully in a crowd of cold and tall male humans, obediently waiting for the person he wanted to see to finish his work and come out.
He would even boldly observe with a curious gaze.
He had made a lot of progress.
When the secretary-general noticed the appearance of the Marshal’s lover, he immediately went up to him and arranged everything in detail. Under the secret gazes of the few knights of the royal court, he told them in a solemn tone that this youth’s identity was not low.
By the time Deng Xi noticed the sound of military boots stopping by his side, Si Jisheng had already bent down and taken the fruit juice cup that Deng Xi was holding.
The little merman, who had suddenly had his food snatched, had not yet reacted. He looked up with his eyes in a daze. The surprise of seeing the little mute had not yet been expressed when he widened his eyes and watched as the man drank the remaining fruit juice in one gulp.
The empty fruit juice cup was placed on the table.
The act of marking his territory in front of everyone instantly made the knights who were sizing him up withdraw their gazes, their eyes on their noses, their noses on their hearts.
Si Jisheng’s voice was very low. “What did I say?”
Deng Xi looked at his fruit juice, then at the little mute. He was extremely wronged and a little unhappy. His speech became slow. “I can only drink one cup a day.”
There were only the three of them near the sofa. The soldiers of the military and the knight commander were waiting at the door, and only they could hear their conversation.
The secretary-general’s brow twitched. He couldn’t bear it and took the initiative to take the blame. “Marshal, I was the one who took the initiative to get it for him.”
Deng Xi’s eyes lit up, and he said thank you to the secretary-general uncle in his heart.
Si Jisheng gave him a faint glance. “Go and see the guests out.”
The secretary-general had no choice but to give Deng Xi a “you’re on your own” look, turned, and left.
Deng Xi followed the secretary-general’s departing back and saw that the previously tightly closed conference hall door was now wide open. A young, brown-haired human male walked out angrily, followed by an old man with slow steps, leaning on a cane, his entire body hidden under a black cloak.
As if he couldn’t see the light.
It wasn’t until the man in black had walked from the dim conference hall to the French windows of the reception hall that the dazzling sunlight shone on the wrinkled skin under his cloak, half of his old face.
His bean-sized eyes were not old at all. On the contrary, they were like a hawk’s, staring straight at Deng Xi. It was a look of observation and repeated confirmation, with a hint of suspicion.
Deng Xi was frightened by those eyes. He gripped the corner of the little mute’s clothes and couldn’t help but ask in his heart, were all humans so ugly after they grew old?
This wrinkled face, he seemed to have seen it somewhere before.
But human faces were not like the merman species, each with its own outstanding features. Deng Xi was a little face-blind, and he couldn’t remember too many unfamiliar humans’ mediocre faces.
Like the human sisters who came to feed him snacks every day. Because there were many of them, and they rarely met, the only ones Deng Xi could remember were a few sisters with unusual hair and eye colors.
Deng Xi was in a daze for a while. He thought for a moment, but still couldn’t remember.
The knights of the royal court followed Gran and left. The secretary-general also led the soldiers of the military and left. The unusually large reception hall was suddenly left with only Deng Xi and Si Jisheng.
The sofa beside him sank slightly. Si Jisheng sat down. “Did you forget that you were crying about a toothache the night before last?”
Deng Xi, who had been in a daze, was called back. He pursed his lips and, as if he had done something wrong, lowered his eyelids. “I didn’t forget.”
Deng Xi liked to eat sweets. In the beginning, Si Jisheng would give him fruit juice and honey milk in rotation. He would also buy small cakes and chocolate for Deng Xi.
Neither of them knew any restraint.
After a few days of eating, Deng Xi felt that his teeth were sore. He frantically opened his mouth to the little mute, asking him to see if his teeth were about to fall out.
Si Jisheng used the pad of his finger to rub the tip of the tooth that Deng Xi had said was sore. He did not feel any looseness. He looked at the candy wrappers left on the table and only then realized.
It was because Deng Xi had eaten too much sugar.
The next day, Deng Xi had lost his wonderful days of a cup of honey milk in the morning, a cup of after-meal fruit juice at noon, and a small cake for afternoon tea.
Deng Xi extended his finger and, with his fingertip, gestured and argued, “I only drank a little bit.”
Si Jisheng had no room for negotiation. “Then you don’t have to eat the small cake later.”
Deng Xi was so anxious he pushed the fruit juice cup away. “I’m not drinking it!”
“Little Mute already promised me. You can’t go back on your word.”
Si Jisheng paused for a moment. “You can wait until tomorrow to eat.”
Deng Xi looked up with his clear blue eyes, silently protesting.
Too bad.
How could he be like this?
Si Jisheng was unmoved and changed the subject. “Why did you suddenly come looking for me?”
Only then did Deng Xi remember the main business. He hesitated for a while, then slightly turned his head. Under the little mute’s gaze, he uncomfortably trembled his gills, which were hidden under his golden hair. “My gills, aren’t they pretty?”
Because Deng Xi was too concerned, his gills had popped out uncontrollably a long time ago.
The translucent golden gills were as thin as a butterfly’s wings, shining with a fragmented light under the light, trembling, as if they were about to take flight.
Si Jisheng’s voice was deep, and he said with certainty, “They’re very beautiful.”
Deng Xi’s eyelids curved. “You’re not lying to me?”
Si Jisheng “hmm”-ed.
As for the merman’s language, Deng Xi did not ask. The language that the ocean had bestowed upon the merman species, a merman would never feel that it had any flaws.
Deng Xi couldn’t help but move closer to the little mute. He hugged the man’s shoulder and neck with extreme grievance, buried his head in it, and complained, “Someone bullied me.”
“They said my gills are not pretty.”
“And they said a lot of bad things.”
Si Jisheng’s eyes deepened in an instant. The movement he had been about to make to avoid him paused. Not wanting to scare Deng Xi, his tone was the complete opposite of his cold expression. As if he were coaxing him, he turned his head and asked by the little merman’s ear, “What happened?”
The emotions he had been holding back could finally be poured out. Deng Xi sank into the cold aura of the deep sea, and his chaotic and messy heart seemed to have quieted down in an instant.
He thought for a moment, but did not say.
Deng Xi said with some conflict, “But there are also many, many people who say they like me.”
This made Si Jisheng’s expression sink even more than the last sentence. His silver eyes narrowed slightly. “What did they say to you?”
Deng Xi couldn’t remember clearly. He recounted clumsily, “They said I’m very beautiful, and my singing is very nice to hear. They all cried when they heard it.”
“And they also said, they want to hug me.”
***
Author’s note:
Marshal: Who are you hugging?
