Chapter 183: The Clash of Old Foxes!
Dai Yutian stared at Zhu Ming, his tone filled with dense killing intent and extreme suspicion.
"Zhu Ming, Zhu Ming, do you take me for a three-year-old child?"
"Tell me the truth! Are you sure you didn't secretly let them go yourself?!"
Faced with Dai Yutian's questioning, Zhu Ming did not appear overly flustered.
He merely let out a miserable, bitter laugh and said sorrowfully, "Your Majesty, please see clearly! You understand my character!"
"The Star Luo royal family and my Zhu family have been bound by marriage for generations. This shared honor and disgrace spans ten thousand years, greater than the heavens!"
"Even if I had the guts of the gods, how could I be so reckless, risking the extermination of my entire clan by letting them leave?"
Zhu Ming raised his head, tears in his eyes, as he continued to argue, "Moreover, both of their martial souls have undergone a rare mutation."
"This concerns the very foundation of the empire. I have yet to investigate the cause, so how could I possibly let them go?"
Seeing that Dai Yutian's expression had softened slightly, Zhu Ming immediately presented the explanation he had long prepared.
Grinding his teeth, Zhu Ming said, "Last night, I was likely too careless."
"I drank a cup of water they prepared for me without any suspicion."
"And now that I think about it, that water most likely had an extremely rare, colorless and odorless, highly potent sleeping drug added to it in advance!"
Zhu Ming's face was filled with regret and anger as he beat his chest.
"It was precisely because of that cup of water that I slept extremely deeply throughout the night."
"This morning, the servants called outside my door for a long time before I finally woke up, as if from a great dream."
"This matter is absolutely true. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may send the Royal Guards to my residence to investigate at any time!"
Immediately afterward, Zhu Ming hurried to express his loyalty.
"Your Majesty, before coming to the palace to plead guilty, I had already made emergency arrangements!"
"I have dispatched all the elite forces of the duke's mansion to conduct a carpet search both within Star Luo City and outside it!"
Zhu Ming swore solemnly, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Once their whereabouts are discovered, my men will certainly capture these two rebellious daughters and bring them back!"
"When the time comes, even if I must place righteousness above family, I will personally escort them before Your Majesty to await punishment!"
Zhu Ming spoke these words with utmost conviction and righteous indignation.
However, Dai Yutian merely narrowed his eyes and looked coldly at Zhu Ming kneeling below.
Both of them were old foxes who devoured others without leaving bones behind.
How could they not understand what schemes the other was plotting?
Zhu Ming knew this iron-blooded emperor's temperament very well, and Dai Yutian likewise understood the calculating Hell Duke Zhu Ming all too clearly.
Dai Yutian snorted coldly in his heart and cursed silently:
'This insidious old fox, does he really think such petty tricks can deceive me?'
'What nonsense about a colorless, odorless sleeping drug? A dignified Soul Douluo being drugged unconscious? What kind of sleeping drug is that? It's utterly ridiculous!'
Yet despite seeing through everything clearly, Dai Yutian could not lash out on the spot.
Because, on the surface, Zhu Ming's words were flawless.
He had even taken the initiative to invite a royal investigation, lowering his stance to the utmost.
Moreover, there was an inseparable marriage alliance between the Zhu family and the Dai family.
The Star Luo royal family could not possibly impose severe punishment on the deeply rooted Zhu family over such a "disappearance case" without concrete evidence.
If this had happened to any other noble family,
Dai Yutian would have long since flown into a thunderous rage and ordered their household confiscated and clan exterminated.
But with the Zhu family, he could not do that. At most, he could only symbolically reprimand and discipline them.
Although strictly speaking, the Zhu family was politically just an accessory used by the Star Luo Dai family to stabilize imperial power,
The royal family still had to consider their emotions and face.
Otherwise, if the Zhu family were pushed too far and chose rebellion, it would bring no benefit to the Star Luo royal family and would only allow others to take advantage.
Furthermore, what made Dai Yutian even more wary was this:
In this generation of the Zhu family, the two most talented direct daughters had already successfully escaped!
Among them, Zhu Zhuqing was born with innate full soul power!
With such talent, as long as she did not die prematurely, she would almost certainly become a Titled Douluo in the future!
If Dai Yutian dared to tear off all pretense now and take lethal action against the Zhu family,
Then the Star Luo royal family would likely have to face the revenge of a future Titled Douluo!
Such a price was something the Star Luo Empire absolutely could not bear.
Unless he could dispatch top-tier experts to capture and eliminate the two girls before they fully matured.
But how easy would that be?
If, as Zhu Ming said, they had fled under the cover of night last evening,
Then several hours had already passed.
With an entire night's head start, it would already be extremely difficult for the Star Luo Empire to capture them again.
And even with his eyes closed, Dai Yutian could guess their direction of escape—they would definitely be heading north toward the Heaven Dou Empire!
Only by fleeing into enemy territory would they be truly safe.
Because once they crossed the border and entered deep into the Heaven Dou Empire,
No matter how far the Star Luo Empire's reach extended, it would never be able to seize people from the domain of the Heaven Dou Emperor.
That was why Dai Yutian cursed Zhu Ming as a complete old fox.
This move was extremely risky, yet Zhu Ming had calculated perfectly that Dai Yutian would be constrained and would not dare to act against the Zhu family!
Moreover, aside from Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing, the two exceptionally talented juniors,
Zhu Ming himself, like Dai Yutian, was also a Soul Douluo!
Although Zhu Ming's level might be a few ranks lower than Dai Yutian's,
One must not forget the characteristics of the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul.
As an agility-attack-type martial soul, it excelled most in speed!
If they truly fought after tearing off all pretense, Zhu Ming indeed could not defeat Dai Yutian head-on with his White Tiger martial soul.
However, if Zhu Ming were determined to flee, he would definitely be faster than Dai Yutian. No one could stop the agility-attack system Soul Douluo, who was intent on escaping!
Considering all these factors,
Even though Dai Yutian was the emperor of the Star Luo Empire,
Out of respect for Zhu Ming as a Soul Douluo and for the Zhu family's ten-thousand-year alliance, he could not impose a truly destructive punishment on the Zhu family.
All of these compromises left Dai Yutian feeling extremely stifled and frustrated.
But such a major scandal had occurred within the empire, and it could not simply be brushed aside lightly.
To restore the royal family's dignity and to give an explanation to the people, someone had to step forward and take the blame!
Thus, Dai Yutian took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
His face dark as still water, he stared at Zhu Ming below and said in a deep voice:
"No matter how you explain it, the people disappeared from your residence. This is a grave dereliction of duty by your Zhu family!"
"Zhu Ming, since you keep claiming you are guilty, how do you propose I handle this matter?"
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End of Chapter