NOVPUBThe scene was eerily unsettling.
Zhao Jie looked at the Princess with a grave expression, then glanced at Xia Feng. He opened his mouth as if to say something but found himself at a loss for words.
At this moment, he felt the absurdity of the situation.
The Prince was dead, the Princess had acknowledged this young lad as her master, then what was Zhao Jie supposed to do?
Find a new master to serve?
Whoosh whoosh—
Before he could sort out his thoughts, a ripping sound caught his attention. He turned to see members of the Divine Evil Association and the Death Hand disappearing into the depths of the forest, quickly fading from sight.
"Damn!" Zhao Jie snapped to realization, hastily following them. Acknowledge a new master? Screw that! He’d already reached the Fourth Rank, the contract was void with the Prince’s death! If not now, then when was he supposed to run?
Zhao Jie similarly vanished in a trace, leaving behind his subordinates who exchanged looks of dismay before their faces turned pale.
"Run!!"
However, without their two Fourth-Rank fighters, they couldn’t escape the encirclement of the Imperial Holy Department and soon gave up resisting, surrendering...
In the following hours, the Military Department took over Ping Shan Hospital, uncovering many tortured experiment subjects in the underground prison, along with Wei Shutong, whose legs had been chopped off and was unconscious.
By the early hours of the next day, the Zone 51 administrator received a secret communication from the commander of the Imperial Holy Department and the Central Court Council.
All forces under the name of the Purple Sunflower family, including but not limited to the Six-Tailed Society, were dissolved and sealed, 79 direct relatives were thoroughly investigated, a significant amount of assets were frozen, 23 individuals were secretly executed by firing squad, 19 were exiled to the Southern Border, and the remaining 37 were sent to Central Court District 1 for secret interrogation.
The affair of the Purple Sunflower family colluding with the Cult and Foreign Clan to betray the Empire was thus concluded, not implicating any more noble powers.
"Princess, we’ve arrived at the Purple Sunflower Manor—"
The middle-aged butler, smartly dressed in an elegant tailcoat, opened the car door and bowed, extending a welcoming gesture.
The classical European manor stood amidst lush foliage, its limestone walls covered with the faint purple haze of blooming Purple Sunflowers that stretched to the grand gate pillars engraved with unique patterns.
Xia Feng got out of the car, looking at the ancient and mysterious manor, momentarily dazzled.
The last time he rushed here was to synchronize powers with Mu Qingtong, and now, merely a month later, he was here to take over the manor.
"Click—"
Heels echoed on the ground as Yue Hongli, adorned in a luxurious Divine Phoenix long dress and a red veil hat tilted on her dark hair, slipped her arm into Xia Feng’s, and they slowly walked towards the inside of the manor.
Passing through the corridor, they entered through the golden-framed double doors into a glittering gilded hall.
Twenty maids of varying beauty stood in two neat lines, bowing crisply, "Princess."
Pausing, the head maid glanced at Xia Feng by her side, pursing her lips to give maids a cue.
"Mr. Xia, welcome home," they bowed again.
"..."
Since the Prince’s death, although the Purple Sunflower family had been audited and confiscated, this manor and its servants had survived unscathed, inherited under the name of the Princess.
Besides, several other properties had not been seized—five, to be exact, in Zone 50, Zone 41, Zone 23, Zone 2, and Zone 1, adding up to nine legal properties (manors, villas, etc.) now under the Princess’s name.
The Princess was now, indeed, a title-bearing wealthy widow.
Well, although the Purple Sunflower estate was more or less defunct, her title as a widow was still very prominent in Zone 51.
After all, the explosive news of the Prince’s treason had already spread across the internet like wildfire, and such a beautiful wife naturally attracted special attention.
As everyone knows, behind every successful widow stands a mysterious man.
Although the Holy Department had sealed the details and the truth of the incident, the online rumors were rampant, saying that soon after the Prince’s death, the Princess seemed to have gotten together with an eighteen-year-old student, which was rather... disgraceful!
After the battle the previous night, the Holy Department conducted brief interrogations with Xia Feng and the Princess.
After the Princess displayed her ability to virtualize and pass through walls, untouchable by anyone, Director Xuanwu personally extended an olive branch to Xia Feng, inviting him to join the Holy Department.
Xia Feng gladly accepted.
Subsequently, the Holy Department did not inquire further about any additional abilities of the Princess. Instead, Director Xuanwu cordially asked him which position he would like to assume within the Holy Department.
Xia Feng expressed his desire for a ’normal’ position, where he did not have to work, follow anyone’s orders, yet would receive a high salary.
Director Xuanwu applauded his free spirit and unconventional thinking, predicting that upon graduation, he would be an excellent Imperial Spirit Master, and he gladly accepted Xia Feng’s ’reasonable’ request.
From then on, Xia Feng as a freshman, also became an official member of the organization.
"Tap tap tap—"
The sound of slippers madly hitting the stairs came, along with Mushroom’s excitedly shrill voice, "Xia Feng, you’re here!"
Everyone looked up as a girl with light green curly hair, wearing bear pajamas, pitter-pattered down the stairs.
However, just as she reached the railing on the second floor and looked down at the hall below, the joy on her face suddenly froze, her pupils dilating slightly.
The Princess’s pale, lotus-like arm naturally slipped through Xia Feng’s, her body close against his, the coupled sight of a charming, majestic woman and a handsome, young man entered the girl’s view. With a stiff cold gaze, she slowly raised her eyes and glared fiercely at Xia Feng.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, she turned and quickly ran back upstairs, muttering resentfully, "I thought you were my brother, but you want to be my dad."
"Bang!!"
The loud sound of a door slamming followed, Xia Feng, unflinchingly, turned back and instructed, "You all go get busy."
"Yes, sir," the maids and the butler bowed.
The Princess continued to look upstairs, blinked, then started to ascend.
"Where are you going?"
"To find my daughter."
"You really consider Mushroom your daughter, huh..." Xia Feng muttered, somewhat speechlessly, quickly grabbing her, "Put your... daughter aside for a moment, and accompany me somewhere."
The Princess cocked her head, "Hmm?"
The use of the Princess’s powers required her to store a large amount of Evil Power beforehand, so Xia Feng planned to take her to the Evil Dragon Space to verify some thoughts.
