Zither Emperor

Turning to look at the very front, Ye Yin Zhu couldn’t help but blank out for a moment. Sitting tall in the Milan Emperor’s throne was a man, obviously the Heavenly Emperor Berlusconi Silvio of the Milan Empire. What amazed Ye Yin Zhu, however, was that this Emperor Silvio’s majestic appearance was extremely different from his two children. Height-wise, he was significantly shorter than Xiang Luan, and there wasn’t a need to mention Fisichella whose height exceeded two meters. His appearance was average, but the faint smile on his face this entire time gave off the feeling that he was more like an amiable, neighboring uncle and not the Emperor of the strongest empire on the Longinus Continent.

While Ye Yin Zhu was letting his imagination run wild, Xiang Luan and Fisichella had already stopped in front of him. As royalty, they didn’t need to perform any large etiquette to signify respect. They both bowed together and said, “Respects to Imperial Father.”

“Eh…” When Xiang Luan bowed to her father, she suddenly felt someone bump into her raised bottom. She was already bent over, and since she didn’t have a strong warrior’s body and core muscles, she immediately cried out in surprise as her body fell forward.

As it turned out, because Ye Yin Zhu’s consciousness had fled him, he was still walking forward even though Xiang Luan and Fisichella had stopped. As he was walking behind Xiang Luan, he naturally bumped into her. Unfortunately, his timing was terrible as he happened to bump into her just when Xiang Luan was bowing, her bottom thus raised up.

Soft, squishy, everything was close to perfect. This was the first time Ye Yin Zhu felt such an intense warmth flow through him, striking his brain faster than lightning.

Hearing Xiang Luan shout, Ye Yin Zhu immediately reached out in a subconscious reaction. Stretching his right hand forward, he very easily slid it under Xiang Luan’s arms and pulled her back.

“Ah——” Xiang Luan cried out again. She first thought she was going to fall, yet she suddenly fell into an encompassing, warm embrace instead. At the same time, what made her even more shocked was the four-fingered hand firmly grasping her soft, ample chest. It actually dragged her deeper into the embrace. In an instant, Xiang Luan nearly swooned. One must know that this was the place with the highest authority in the Milan Empire! Her father, the Imperial Emperor, was also watching.

Ye Yin Zhu, who was hugging Xiang Luan, also reacted and quickly said, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Senior Xiang Luan. I didn’t notice that you had stopped.”

After a brief moment, about five seconds of silence, the entire Milan main palace hall suddenly became tumultuous.

What kind of behavior was this? To exhibit such disrespect to the princess in front of the Emperor and court officials of the Milan Empire? This might be the first time such a thing happened in the history of the Longinus Continent.

The smile on Emperor Silvio’s face stiffened completely, his mouth was even slightly twitching. Fisichella, standing next to Xiang Luan, stared with his mouth agape. His mouth was so wide that it could even fit a watermelon. Oliveira closed his eyes as two words came to mind: Oh no.

“Golden Warhammer Warriors, why have you not seized this crackpot?” One of the generals standing on the right side angrily exclaimed with an aged, deep voice. He had the nerve to give an order on Milan’s Heavenly Emperor Silvio’s behalf; it was evident how noble his position was in the Milan Empire.

This was not just anybody; he was the other Violet Star Dragon Cavalry Commander, Generalissimo Seedorf of the Empire. At the same time, he was also Hai Yang’s grandfather. With regards to his clan’s influence, although Seedorf could not compare to Maldini, he, however, was recognised as the strongest in the Milan Empire. Violet Rank Level 6 strength in addition to a rank 9 Silver Dragon, he was known to be invincible and unparalleled throughout the entire continent if Falan was not taken into account. As such, his position in the Milan Empire was extremely high.

In nearly the blink of an eye, four figures already encircled Ye Yin Zhu and Xiang Luan. Four huge, golden warhammers were aimed at Ye Yin Zhu, indigo dou qi forming an aura three meters in diameter. It locked onto Ye Yin Zhu’s body, causing him to not even dare to slightly move.

Xiang Luan, by now, had woken up from her daze and hurriedly said, “Release me this instant.”

Ye Yin Zhu bitterly smiled as he said, “Senior, it’s not like I don’t want to let go, but it’s because I am unable to do so.” In front of the immense pressure of four Indigo Rank warriors, he really was unable to move even a hairsbreadth. After all, be it dou qi or magic, there was a huge disparity between him and Indigo Rank.

Xiang Luan immediately reacted to this revelation. She angrily shouted toward the Golden Warhammer Warriors, “Withdraw! Do you all still think my humiliation insufficient?”

The princess’ command and the scene before them made the four Golden Warhammer Warriors come to a realization. Although they didn’t withdraw, they immediately relaxed the pressure on Ye Yin Zhu. Only then was Ye Yin Zhu able to withdraw his hand and release Xiang Luan from his embrace. He murmured softly, “Senior, although your pectoral muscles feel very squishy, they are also very soft!”

Xiang Luan almost puked out blood. Although Ye Yin Zhu’s voice was quiet, the vast majority of those around them were powerful individuals, and the amount of people able to hear his words were by no means small. Xiang Luan really wanted to shout, I don’t want to live anymore!

All of the generals’ faces were twitching. Many people wanted to laugh but did not dare to do so. Each and every one of them could only hold it back with extreme difficulty.

Emperor Silvio’s complexion turned green, and then white as he stared down at Ye Yin Zhu and his two children. Since the group had entered the hall, Ye Yin Zhu attracted his attention. A spotlessly white magic robe, long black hair, handsome face, and an elegant, noble temperament—with just these traits, Ye Yin Zhu seemed as if he were a noble magician of the highest order. His later actions, however, were too atrocious—molesting the princess, or in a more apt description, molesting his own daughter in front of him. This boy, could he actually be this extremely daring?

Silvio quickly dispelled this idea. This was because he was able to see the depth of clarity in Ye Yin Zhu’s black eyes. Eyes were the windows to one’s soul. Even in a disguise, the eyes could easily betray one’s innate nature. Silvio didn’t see a single trace of lascivious, nefarious, or even immoral emotion within Ye Yin Zhu’s eyes. Although there was some confusion within them, he clearly appeared to have not done it on purpose.

“Imperial Father.” Xiang Luan knelt down. Pu-tong. She knew that if her father were to blame him now, then Ye Yin Zhu would no longer have a chance. After all, just for lacking manners in front of so many important civil and military figures, he already couldn’t be forgiven. ”This is the first time Yin Zhu has been in the palace. He is not familiar with the environment here; I believe he has not done this intentionally.”

“Did you not already lose enough of my face? Go with your younger brother and stand to the side.” Silvio finally spoke up. Although his voice was cold, his stiff face was gradually easing.

Oliveira, who was standing next to Ye Yin Zhu, gently tugged on his clothes, motioning for him to kneel as well. However, Ye Yin Zhu did not comprehend his meaning and continued to stand. Since Xiang Luan and Fisichella had withdrawn to the side, his actions became even more eye-catching.

Silvio indifferently looked at Ye Yin Zhu and said: “Why are you not kneeling in front of this Emperor?”

Ye Yin Zhu shooked his head and replied, “I cannot kneel. Grandpa taught me, ‘Kneel to the heavens, kneel to the earth, and kneel to my parents. Otherwise, do not kneel. A man kneeling is the same as gold.’”

Unlike what most imagined, Silvio did not get angry; instead, he curiously inquired, “Is it because I am not your motherland monarch? If you met the king of Arcadia, would you kneel to him?” With regards to Ye Yin Zhu’s origins, he had inquired about them long ago.

Ye Yin Zhu shook his head in reply. “I will not kneel.”

Silvio’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “Good, you are indeed courageous and insightful. It’s no wonder you had the strength to resist the foreign enemies at Konya City. You really gave me several surprises. It wasn’t just some nice surprises, as there were plenty of shocking ones as well. Ye Yin Zhu, do you know that because of your conducts and deeds, you caused the Milan Empire to lose its most important military branch, the Falcon Dragon Cavalry?”

Ye Yin Zhu nodded and said, “I have already heard that this military branch was pretty important.”

Silvio asked softly, “Then what you did was intentional?

Ye Yin Zhu shook his head and replied, “No, I did not notice their arrival. At that time, I just wanted to finish my zither song. They just appeared out of nowhere and was thus affected by my zither playing. My original target was only those five hundred tamed dragon.”

Suddenly, Seedorf interrupted from the side. “So Maldini should not have sent people to save you then?”

Replying, Ye Yin Zhu said, “No. If the Falcon Dragon Cavalry had not fallen from the sky, the enemy could’ve broken through Konya City since the deaths of those original tamed dragons weren’t able to genuinely harm the Behemoths. The Falcon Dragon Cavalry inflicted heavy losses upon the Behemoths.”

Seedorf continued to investigate in detail. “Then where were those severely injured Behemoths? Moreover, if the sacrifice of five hundred Falcon Dragon Cavalry could annihilate a hundred Behemoths, that would be considered a miracle.”

Ye Yin Zhu knew where the Behemoths were; they were with Zi! He could not say that, however. Thus, he told his first lie. “I don’t know.”

Silvio slowly rose from his throne, towering above Ye Yin Zhu as he said, “The Battle of Konya City resulted in the annihilation of four beastmen legions in addition to preventing the success of the beastmen’s plot. This Empire’s Puglia Plains avoided the fate of being pillaged. Those who fought in this battle are all heroes of the Empire. Xiang Luan, Fisichella, at this pivotal moment, you could not give up territory of the Empire. As members of the royal family, you did not cower. You bravely fought to the end. You are worthy of belonging to the Berlusconi Clan. As your father, I am very proud.

“By my decree, those who fought in this battle shall all be anointed as Knights, and those present Knights of the Dragon Cavalry shall be conferred an additional title of Officer Knight. Each person shall be given five hundred gold coins as well. The forty students of the Magic Department of the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts, excluding Ye Yin Zhu and Xiang Luan, will be bestowed Baronry. Each of them will be rewarded a thousand gold coins.”

Although Silvio’s smile had reappeared on his face at this moment, he stood there with his short stature with a manner of a ruler looking disdainfully out of the corner of his eye over his entire realm. Ye Yin Zhu sensed a kind of personality of ‘standing out from the masses’ from him.

Seedorf, who was in charged of the military, bowed and said, “As you bid.”

Silvio’s gaze then fell upon Ye Yin Zhu’s body once more, “As for you, you really have placed me in a difficult position.”

“Why is that?” Ye Yin Zhu asked curiously.

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1. A man kneeling is as precious as gold. (full idiom) Meaning: you shouldn’t kneel wantonly toward people. Formal Meaning: A man should have dignity and shouldn’t bow and bend the knee (fawn/bending and scraping to curry favor)