Chapter 541 – A Gaze That Could Kill
“Oh…” Yun Che stretched his neck, even he did not expect the Little Demon Empress to suddenly make such an ill-timed action.
The great hall descended into a dead silence for a few breaths, after which, a man slowly stood up from among the seats in the east wing; it was Duke Huai himself. He bowed in salute and said, “Reporting to the Little Demon Empress, it was this humble duke who arranged the seats.”
“Hmph!” The Little Demon Empress raised her eyebrows and coldly said, “It has already been ten thousand years from the time the Twelve Families followed the First Demon Emperor to conquer the realm till today, and in these ten thousand years, the seating arrangement during a Demon Emperor’s grand ceremony has never changed. So why did you change the seats of the Twelve Families? You’d better give this empress a satisfactory explanation!”
This time, he had arranged the seats to give the Little Demon Empress a show of his strength, to let her know that the power that should have belonged solely to the line of the Demon Emperor has now largely shifted towards him. But little did he expect that she would suddenly spring this difficult question on him during the grand ceremony. He replied in an unperturbed manner, “Reporting to the Little Demon Empress, this humble duke participated in the arrangement of this grand ceremony, so I did not dare be careless. I had first asked the various Patriarchs and Dukes on where they would prefer to be seated, but I did not think that the majority of them wanted to sit in the east wing, so this humble duke independently decided to change the seating arrangements of the Twelve Families and the various Duke Palaces. I hope that the Little Demon Empress will forgive me.”
The words that had just been uttered by Duke Huai did not mean much to the people who came from outside the Demon Imperial City. At most, they would only find it strange that Duke Huai would ask the various families where they wanted to sit when he was organizing this grand ceremony. But the powers within the Demon Imperial City naturally understood exactly what he was saying… That the so-called ‘majority that wanted to sit in the east wing was clearly “the majority who were willing to swear their allegiance to Duke Huai”!
“Independently decided?” The Little Demon Empress narrowed her eyes slightly and even this slight change in expression caused the atmosphere within the entire great hall to abruptly turn cold, “And who gave you this power to make such a decision? The Twelve Families and the Duke Palaces are supposed to be placed on equal footing, and the only one who has the power to change the seats of the Twelve Families and the Duke Palaces, is only this empress! When was it up to you to arrange the positions of the Twelve Families?! In the next grand ceremony, do you also want to change the seat of this empress as well?!”
“This humble duke does not dare!” Duke Huai hurriedly bowed and lowered his head, his face was filled with anxiety and panic as he secretly ground his teeth together… With all the heroes of the realm as witness, he naturally could not retort even if he received such a harsh rebuke from the Little Demon Empress; he could only earnestly endure it.
The Little Demon Empress’ gaze swiveled and she looked in the direction of the various Guardian Families and Duke Palaces seated in the east wing. Her tender lips curled up and she slowly punctuated each and every word in an extremely bland voice, “All of you… like… to sit in the east wing?”
The east wing held seven of the great Guardian Families and sixty Duke Palaces, but under the concentrated gaze of the Little Demon Empress, every single one of them felt their hearts tighten up in anxiety as their hands turned cold and clammy. It felt as if an icy-cold blade had been placed at their throats. This feeling was exacerbated by the fact they all had harbored ulterior motives in their heart. Forget about talking, none of them even dared to raise their heads. Every single one of them held their breaths and did not even dare to gasp for air.
And even Yun Che, who was seated in the west wing, could feel an incomparably heavy aura of oppression. He couldn’t help but be silently amazed… This Little Demon Empress’ aura was simply too terrifying, but then again, it was not surprising… One hundred years ago, she first lost her father and then lost the husband she had married not too long ago… who was also her younger brother. As the last person who bore the bloodline of the Demon Emperor, she had no choice but to bear this heavy burden… and despite that, all these years, certain people had been trying to snatch away the ten thousand year legacy of her ancestors…
“To be filled with hatred against both heaven and earth” was not even enough to describe the feelings she held in her heart and soul.
Moreover, she was simply too tiny and delicate, while her features were the crown of the morta