Law of the Devil

Regarding Gabriel's dance, many people said that he was stupid because he thought he dared to shame the emperor... I can only smile. Many readers who criticized, mostly judged the Roland Continent with the majesty standard of the feudal imperial power in the east. But this is a Western fantasy novel after all, and the feudal imperial power in the novel is generally close to the Western European system. In the feudal imperial power in the West, the majesty of the royal family is not as strict as in the East. Some readers even said that the muse refused the emperor's invitation to dance and then danced himself, which is a crime of deceiving the emperor... This is a typical example of ancient Chinese style. The standard of imperial power came to measure Western style. Whether to dance or not, in Western-style aristocratic communication, it is just a social issue, and it has not risen to a political level.

If it is true according to oriental standards, in ancient China, the emperor and his courtiers' wives hugged and danced together? That is simply impossible.

So, please don't judge Western Fantasy with Eastern thinking.

Sure enough, Mrs. Lister came.

The Marchioness came to visit in the middle of the night, but she didn't seem to disturb people's dreams at all. Looking at her expression, she was very calm, as if she was a distinguished guest who was invited to an appointment.

When she was introduced into Du Wei's study by Little Sandy, Mrs. Lister, who came to visit unexpectedly late at night, had obviously changed into the glamorous evening group at the banquet tonight. She came late at night, wrapped in a thick black fur robe. There is no makeup on the face, and the face is facing the sky.

When she walked into Du Wei's study, Mrs. Liszt even smiled at Jojo and Vivian, and seemed to ignore Jojo's undisguised dissatisfaction.

Jojo's original intention was that she didn't like Mrs. Liszt very much—nothing else, it was purely the repulsive nature of a beautiful woman. All beautiful women have a natural subconscious hostility towards other women around them who are as good-looking as themselves.

not to mention. Since Qiao Qiao became Du Wei's woman, I learned more. The sisters of the Liszt family seem to have coveted Du Wei... Is this okay? ! !

I'm Jojo's man. Splitting half with Vivienne alone is enough! As for others, I want to share a piece of the action too! Don't say there is no door, there are no windows! !

"Mrs. Vivienne, Mrs. Jojo, I interrupted you in the middle of the night." Mrs. Liszt smiled gracefully and calmly. Although she said "excuse me", she didn't look much apologetic.

Then her seductive eyes fixed on Du Wei: "Your Excellency, I think you should understand a little bit about my reason for coming."

Du Wei smiled. Nodded: "I understand a little bit, but I didn't expect that you are more impatient than me. It just so happens that even if you don't come today, I will send someone to invite you tomorrow morning to watch Mrs. Liszt's watery eyes staring at Du Wei. Jojo felt dissatisfied for no reason.

Hmph, I and Vivienne were still standing beside me, and this woman just winked straight out!

The reason why Qiao Qiao felt a sense of crisis subconsciously was: Mrs. Liszt's winking eyes were indeed seductive. She asked herself how seductive her eyes were. I'm afraid it's far inferior—not to mention Vivian, a pure little flower who can't even seduce men.

Du Wei coughed. Jojo didn't move.

Mrs. Lister found a chair and sat down, but Jojo didn't move.

I won't go. What can you do! Qiao Qiao was angry and dissatisfied! In the middle of the night...

"Sister..." Vivienne pulled the corner of La Qiaoqiao's clothes, and Qiao Qiao looked, but saw this disappointing younger sister looking at him helplessly, as if she was begging.

Alas... Qiao Qiao was really speechless with a sigh.

This weak sister! You only think about Du Wei, but you don't think about yourself? Blindly being weak and giving way, Mrs. Liszt came directly into our house in the future, and it would be too late to regret it at that time.

Even though she thought so in her heart, she had no choice but to be dragged out by Vivienne at last.

Wei Wei'an was more careful, and carefully helped Du Wei close the door of the study before going out.

After the two girls went out, Mrs. Liszt showed a teasing ambiguity with a smile on her face, and said lightly: "I would like to think that the Duke must have rested. It turns out that you are in a good mood and have a beautiful woman to accompany you, but you are in a romantic relationship." Fortunately, when I came in just now, I was worried about disturbing your sleep."

Du Wei's smile was a little awkward, he coughed, cleared his throat, and then said with a serious face: "Mrs. Liszt, you must not come here specially to tease me at such a late night. It's almost dawn , we're still talking about business."

"Okay, let's talk about serious business." Mrs. Liszt's smile suddenly faded, and she spit out a sentence without any warning:

"Muse is married to Brother Ling, is it possible?"

There was no foreshadowing in front of these words, which was naturally extremely abrupt, but Du Wei listened, and there was no surprise expression on his face, let alone the slightest hesitation, and he nodded directly on the spot, and answered bluntly: "Okay." !"

"I'll go to the Minister of Finance and say it in person. I think he is an important minister of the empire, and he is very generous. He should understand the deep meaning and won't have any objections." When Mrs. Liszt said this, Du Wei showed some gratitude: "Well, since Ma'am, you are willing to talk about it, it is naturally better."

The two looked at each other, but Mrs. Liszt's expression gradually became serious: "My lord, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

Du Wei frowned. He looked at Mrs. Liszt, this smart and beautiful Marquise, what seemed to be hidden in his eyes?

"Something happened tonight." Mrs. Liszt's tone was firm: "Although I don't know what happened. But when you left, I could see something from your expression... Du Wei, you and I The family has been tightly bound together, and now there is a marriage relationship. Gabriel is your younger brother, so you naturally treat him very well. And Muse is also my younger sister, so it goes without saying that I love her! Since you and my two families are tied together, why can't you keep everything from me?"

Du Wei was about to prevaricate. But looking into Mrs. Liszt's eyes at this moment, suddenly. Not knowing what was causing the trouble, Du Wei suddenly made a strange decision!

"I... was assassinated in the palace tonight."

Du Wei's face was calm. The tone of the word "assassinated" was as relaxed as talking about the weather.

This time, Mrs. Liszt was really moved!

"Who did it?"

Du Wei smiled and looked at the beautiful Marquise: "If I had known, I wouldn't have told you about it."

It has to be said that there is also a reason for Du Wei to tell Mrs. Lister this secret event.

Now that Du Wei is in the imperial capital, there are really no right-hand assistants and aides who are good at maneuvering around him.

Under Du Wei's command, the only one who is good at this is Philip. But Philip was far in the northwest.

But what happened tonight is serious in nature, but Du Wei has to pay attention to it! At this moment, he didn't even have a single candidate to consult with him as a staff officer, so it was natural. Tonight, I suddenly had a thought and told the Marquise.

In Du Wei's view, Mrs. Liszt's ingenuity may not necessarily be inferior to Philip's! This beautiful woman can be in the noble circle of the empire. as a widow. Standing upright for many years, he has managed such a huge family business. It's not just about that pretty face.

Mrs. Lister is naturally very good at this kind of scheming and intrigue. When she was in the Northwest, Mrs. Liszt also gave herself some advice in order to win her trust, and the ideas were very clever.

On the other hand...since it is decided to marry the Liszt family, then just keep doing nothing! Tie the two families together!

Therefore, simply tell the other party about this appalling event. After this event, the relationship between the two lands will be improved.

"Could it be the Regent..."

Mrs. Liszt frowned tightly, but at this point, she shook her head again, and said in a deep voice, "No, not the regent."

"Oh?" Du Wei looked at the marquise, and he really hoped to hear some valuable ideas from this smart matriarch. "My lord duke...to be more clear. In fact, the regent has been trying every means to cut down your authority a few days ago." Mrs. Liszt seemed to have made up her mind to have a heart-to-heart with Du Wei. To be blunt, she continued slowly: "In my opinion, since the regent intends to cut your power, it is a signal: he still trusts you, and he still wants to use you well. Cutting your power is just a It is a normal emperor's strategy and strategy, and I also think that before this, the power in your hands was indeed a bit too big. Cutting it down a bit will make the monarch and his ministers less jealous, but it is a long-term solution!"

Du Wei nodded after hearing Mrs. Lister's opinion.

"It's dangerous if the regent doesn't cut your power." Mrs. Liszt thought for a moment, and her tone became more and more affirmative: "Also, your title as the head of the military academy. This is what the regent put forward I have added a halo of an uncrowned king to you! The dean of this military academy is a signal he has shown. Although some of your power has been cut, your trust in him has not weakened in the slightest. As the dean, in less than ten years, most of the young officers of the empire will become your disciples, and you will have a strong prestige and influence in the army. Although these are not actual military power, who I dare not underestimate the weight of this prestige. So... since the regent gave you this hat, why kill you again?"

"The rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked, and the bird is hidden." Du Wei shook his head: "My status is too high and I am too young. After all, it is not appropriate."

Mrs. Lister listened. But he smiled slightly: "You are also telling the truth. But in my opinion, it is different... To be more clear, my lord duke, you are certainly a genius of the sky. If a person like you is changed to another king, That is most likely because you are absolutely unwilling to reuse you, and it is even more impossible to hold you to such a high position. Because you are such a talent, no non-Ming Jun can't control it! Our regent is said to be the smartest one in the empire for generations Since he can use you and trust you, he is wise. I think he is not the kind of mediocre person who is afraid that his subjects are too powerful and makes random suspicions—if it is Augustine VI instead. I am afraid Killed you long ago."

Du Wei was silent.

What Mrs. Lister said had a point.

But……

From the normal trajectory, Prince Chen is formally young and in full bloom. If he is in good health, he still has decades to live. Then with him, the Mingjun, sitting on the throne, he naturally dared to continue to reuse himself.

At least for the next few decades, he will still reuse himself.

But... The problem is that Mrs. Liszt doesn't know a secret: Prince Chen, I'm afraid he has contracted some serious hidden disease!

This is what Du Wei is most worried about tonight!

A dangerous problem that he has been ignoring before: under normal circumstances, Prince Chen naturally has no reason to kill himself. The most is to suppress yourself occasionally, give a sweet date after a slap, add a carrot and a stick, cut power today, and give another power tomorrow. The emperor's mind is always like this.

But...if Prince Chen suddenly becomes terminally ill and will die soon...then, he will definitely use thunder before his death. Straightforwardly destroy yourself!

Because Prince Chen is very clear. A man like himself is not a powerful monarch. Absolutely can't control it! And if he died now, whether the little emperor Charlie would be a Mingjun when he grows up is another matter, but just now, as a twelve-year-old child, he will definitely not be able to control himself!

The young master is weak, and the powerful ministers are too powerful - no matter whether it is the East or the West, any royal family will never sit back and watch this extremely dangerous situation happen!

To put it more clearly:

If Prince Chen still has ten, twenty or more years to live, then he is safe. At most, when he is getting old, he will slowly force himself to hand over his power, step by step—— Just like the current old Prime Minister Rob Schell.

But if Prince Chen's lifespan is only a year or so away...then he will never use common sense to deal with himself! Because in a year and a half, if you want to level the strength of your entire family, it is difficult to use normal balancing techniques to cut power. The most direct, simplest and most effective way is to physically destroy myself, the Tulip Duke!

Even when Du Wei was in the palace today, an idea came to his mind!

If I were the regent, I would die soon, leaving behind a son who is still underage, and a grand duke who has the same power and prestige in the empire... Then...

I will definitely kill this guy too! You must not leave hidden dangers for your son! !

Therefore, what really worries Du Wei is not simply whether the mastermind who assassinated him tonight is Prince Chen or not.

Take a step back... Even if it wasn't him who killed me tonight.

What about the future? ?

Now that Prince Chen is seriously ill, he has sufficient motivation and reason to kill himself! Whether he turns against him or not depends entirely on how long he can live!

Du Wei sighed and murmured in a low voice:

"Chen... unless it is absolutely necessary, I really don't want to turn against you..."

Hearing Du Wei muttering to himself, Mrs. Liszt was a little puzzled.

Du Wei raised his head, his expression was sincere, but his tone was not so relaxed: "Mrs. Liszt, what you said to me is from the bottom of your heart, so I can't hide it...I admit that what you just said is very Correct, but if I tell you an additional factor, perhaps your overall inference will be untenable."

"What?"

"Chen...our regent." Du Wei lowered his voice, his face showed a bit of sadness, and said softly: "I suspect...he may be seriously ill, he will not die..."

Shaking his head, Du Wei didn't continue talking.

Teng!

Mrs. Liszt's face changed color upon hearing this, and she jumped up from her chair.

Du Wei'an sat there with a trace of deep helplessness on his face.

Prince Chen...it doesn't matter if you kill me tonight or not, but it seems that there is really a crisis between us.

In my mind, the scene on the coup d'etat day suddenly flashed:

I stood alone under the imperial city, not far away, densely packed with rebels, and I was a stray who had just broken with his family and was homeless.

Prince Chen stood on top of the imperial city, looked at himself sincerely, and shouted loudly: "...I will make you the Duke of Tulip! As long as I live, I will never let you down! On the day my thorn flower flag flies, Tulips never wither!"

That voice is still in my ears!

But the coup d'état developed to a later stage, the eldest prince was defeated, Du Wei saw that his family would suffer, and even hid a dagger in his sleeve on the city wall, intending to kill Prince Chen. At that time, he handed himself a bottle of magic potion with a frank face...

Du Wei closed his eyes.

Chen... I am not afraid of him, not afraid of him, not afraid to be an enemy of him.

Rather, I don't want to! do not want to! Can't bear it! .