Law of the Devil

On the high platform directly in front of the main hall. His Majesty the Emperor Augustine VI sits on a throne, and the only thing that is different from previous emperors is. Next to the emperor's throne. A throne was placed parallel to his seat - this is naturally the seat of the Regent of the Empire.

Chen sat next to the old emperor. He had just the right smile on his face.

The court band is on the left side of the main hall. Behind the curtain, when His Majesty Emperor Augustine VI stood up from his chair. The hostess officer next to him quickly waved his hand, and the band immediately stopped playing.

In the main hall, the cheerful atmosphere just now suddenly became solemn again.

Soon, a court attendant next to him brought two gold cups. His Majesty Augustine VI and the regent each picked up one, and everyone understood that this was the beginning of the toasting ceremony.

"Long live the Empire."

The voice was not loud, and everyone could tell that His Majesty Augustine VI was not in a very high mood - but this was normal. Because everyone understands. Now this overjoyed old man has been dismissed.

but. No one would dare to look directly at the tired and impatient expression of the old man. So everyone obediently picked up the wine glasses around them and raised them high. Hundreds of people echoed and shouted: "Long live the empire!"

And then, Prince Regent Chen also raised his glass - when he raised his glass. Absolute silence fell into the hall immediately! Because everyone knew it. The Regent is now the real ruler of the empire!

"May the fortune of the empire be prosperous. The thorn flower flag will always fly above the mainland." The regent smiled. Then he raised his glass and touched his lips.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live His Royal Highness the Regent!!" shouted hundreds of people, both male and female. They all drank the wine in their cups.

Du Wei sat at the first position on the left side of the emperor's throne - this is also the position closest to the emperor and the regent. Judging from the order of this ranking. It is also enough to reflect the status of Duke Tulip in the empire now!

others. The old Chancellor Robeschel. You can only sit on Du Wei's underground head.

After the toasts are over, tonight's banquet and dance will begin-the next thing will be much simpler.

As long as His Majesty the old emperor sat in his seat for a short while, pretending to be, he could pretend to be mentally ill. Stand up and go back to the palace to rest—tonight's affairs will be over.

According to tradition. The first dance should be danced by His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress together, but the old Emperor is very old and the Empress has already passed away. So since the coup d'état three years ago, this formal evening occasion. The first dance at the ball. Prince Chen has already taken the place of the old emperor—anyway, he is already the emperor in everyone's hearts.

In the melodious and soft dance music. The regent smiled calmly and stood up. He bowed slightly to the queen regent who was sitting beside him. She extended her hand gracefully.

This is the first time for Du Wei to see this queen. This queen is twenty-eight years old and looks much younger than her actual age. There is a bit of graceful and elegant empress demeanor-but only Du Wei knows. This woman is afraid that she will never be a queen for the rest of her life.

In fact. According to legend, this queen is also a very gentle and virtuous woman. She married Prince Chen when she was sixteen and gave birth to him a son and a daughter. And I heard that she has a kind and gentle personality. Without any ambition, she is a peaceful and beautiful woman.

The only slight fly in the ointment is that. As the ruler of the empire, Zhengqin. The queen's family of origin is a little bit shabby - of course, this is also a relative term. She is not from a poor family, but also from a local noble family in the south. The family has quite a bit of power—}=}, but it can only be regarded as a third-rate noble family in the empire at best, compared to a top family like the Luolin family. If it is too far away, these local nobles in the south are often looked down upon by the rich and powerful families in the imperial capital, and they think they are bumpkins from the countryside.

After Prince Chen came to power, everyone thought that he should marry a noble woman from the imperial capital as his concubine. It's a pity that it was a surprise that he chose another girl from a southern noble family: Miss Delly, as his princess, this move. It was immediately taken as a meaningful political signal!

Obviously, in addition to winning over the Dai Li family and establishing a balanced political opponent for Du Wei, this action also has some other meanings: Prince Chen doesn't like the fact that the traditional rich and noble families in the imperial capital are too powerful! So it seems that he wants to support Come up with a few emerging forces, and balance the power comparison in the land of the rich and noble families of the imperial capital!

Therefore, it also caused the land to be in the imperial court for two years. There is a sign of "the south wind is blowing hard".

Since they all received strict court training since childhood, the court dance of the regent king and queen is very superb. Skillful dancing and all kinds of perfect skills are brought into full play. And the two were originally the cooperation of handsome men and beautiful women. After a dance. Immediately, there was a burst of warm applause—Mu Wei could tell that the applause was admiration from the heart, not just out of respect for the status of the two dancers.

According to custom, the first dance is performed by the master of the palace after the dance. The Regent and Queen bowed gracefully to each other. Then they walked back to the throne hand in hand: "Okay, everyone. I hope you all have a good time tonight!"

Then, the second dance was played... but after the song was played. No one moves!

In the noble cell of the Roland Empire. It still pays attention to traditional etiquette.

Because, in this ***. Everything is run according to "status and rank"! The first dance belongs to His Majesty the Emperor. Then the second dance begins, although everyone can dance. It's just that there is another very subtle "tradition".

There is an unwritten rule here: after the second dance music is played. Tonight at the venue, except for His Majesty, the person with the highest status must be the first to enter the dance floor—}=} After this person moves first, other people can leave the stage one after another. Otherwise, it will be considered a rude and arrogant act!

On this occasion tonight, apart from the emperor and the regent, the people with the highest status. Count and count. There are only two: Du Wei, Grand Duke Tulip of the Empire, counts as one, and has been an official for a lifetime. The old Robeschel, who has been the prime minister of the empire for many years, counts as one.

If both of them sit still. The others left first...then it is likely to be misunderstood: Do you think your status is more noble than the Duke of Tulip and the Prime Minister?

The prelude to the dance music was over, neither Du Wei nor the old prime minister moved, and everyone knew it. The old prime minister's health has deteriorated day by day in recent years, and dancing is no longer suitable for him.

In the past, this kind of banquet occasion. He usually does not participate if he can, and Du Wei is also in the Northwest all year round. On such occasions in the past, except for the first dance of the Prince Regent. The first person to get off the stage is often the finance minister of the empire, or the marquis of two or three wealthy families from other places to take the lead, and sometimes the Count of Villa will jump first.

But today's occasion. The old prime minister is here, and the Duke of Tulip is also here! Under such circumstances, who would dare to move first?

Is it better than the title? Du Wei is the Duke! It can be said that apart from the royal family. The duke is already the highest title! (Only the royal family can seal the prince).

Compared with official positions? He is already a general of the empire! He is also the military and political minister of the Northwest! And in a court meeting, the regent deliberately arranged for Du Wei to sit in his "bottom left first" position. A signal has been clearly released: Du Wei will become the prime minister of the empire in the future!

The news of that time has been spread through various channels.

Now this prominent young minister of the empire is sitting there. At this time, whoever makes the first move based on his status is clearly provoking the Tulip family, which has tens of thousands of soldiers and is the world's richest man!!

The nobles below looked forward to Du Wei's first move. Besides the men, almost all the young noble girls present were also waiting with anticipation!

Why?

Waiting for myself as a dance partner to accept Lord Tulip's invitation!!

Du Wei didn't bring a dance partner tonight, as we all know. His unmarried Qin Yuan is in the northwest!

Although the news of Du Wei's engagement blocked the royal family's marriage channels. But with his current prestige and power, who would believe that the future first minister of the empire would only marry one wife?

Although those real wealthy families would not marry their daughters to Du Wei as a concubine (in their opinion, this behavior is too shameful, marrying the emperor or the regent as a concubine is almost the same). But some second-rate and third-rate noble families. Absolutely one hundred people are willing to marry their daughter to Du Weidi! Even as a concubine!!

After learning of Du Wei's attendance at the banquet tonight, today is the whole day. How many noble girls have spent all their thoughts on how to dress themselves up as beautifully as possible. In the hall at the moment. Countless bright and moving. A charmingly dressed girl. They all stared at Du Wei sitting there with big blinking eyes - if eyes can eat people. I'm afraid that our young juvenile duke has already been eaten to the point where there are no bones left.

Du Wei felt a little embarrassed.

He knew this kind of traditional etiquette, but... looked at those noble girls who looked forward to it. He felt a little nervous in his heart. In fact, if he followed his usual state, he could have a good choice: for example, invite a princess to dance!

That's pretty cool. Because of identity. This is respect for the royal family. And from a private matter. It is impossible for him to marry a princess as a concubine. This eliminates a lot of unnecessary reverie.

Unfortunately it is. Princess Louise, who was originally the most suitable dance partner for Duwei tonight, is now far away in the northwest city of Giliat, taking care of the brave knight in her heart as a nurse.

Du Wei's eyes rolled around. Then he suddenly smiled and stood up. In full view. He held his head high and walked towards the lower right side of the place where the regent king was...

For a while, this kind of behavior immediately made the hearts of several young girls from noble families near that place sway, and some of them blushed with excitement.

But. Afterwards, Du Wei quickly walked up to his "target", and he bowed with the most elegant and charming smile on his face. The voice is as warm as a spring breeze. He held out a hand. Said softly: "Is it okay, Your Highness?"

In a word, it almost shattered the peace of mind of countless noble girls present, even those men. They all seemed to have widened their eyeballs, staring at Du Wei in disbelief!

Because of the "His Royal Highness" sitting in front of Du Wei. Surprisingly, it was the eight-year-old daughter of Prince Regent Chen. Princess Karina!

Karina is dressed up tonight. She is only eight years old. It was the first time to attend such a formal banquet. This eight-year-old girl. His appearance inherited the handsomeness of Prince Chen and the beauty of his mother, at a young age. She was already born with delicate features and fine features. A perfect future beauty.

Although Du Wei's actions shocked her, the eight-year-old little princess never expected that the Duke would actually invite her...

but. Having received strict royal etiquette training, she quickly calmed down. After coughing, he quickly stood up, his eyes unavoidably a little wild. With a childish voice. Nervously replied: "That's my honor..." He hesitated. The little princess added a title: "... Teacher!"

Du Wei was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered that he had also taken on the task of being the tutor of Prince Chen's son and daughter, and he smiled. He took the little girl's hand. Slowly walked down the dance floor...

There was an obvious helpless sigh from around. But no one dared to say anything. Because Karina is very young. But she is a genuine princess after all!

With Du Wei to lead. The other guests finally dared to move. When Du Wei danced with Princess Karina in his arms, many nobles around invited their dance partners to end.

The little girl hasn't grown up yet. Du Wei bent down slightly. To accommodate the difference in height between the two, he easily bore Princess Karina's weight with one hand, half-embracing the child and gently spinning to the rhythm of the dance music.

Princess Karina was obviously very excited and excited, her little face was flushed red. under tension. He even forgot the dance steps he trained strictly. He almost stepped on Du Wei's feet several times.

"Ah! Sorry, teacher..." Karina felt like she was about to find a way to get in.

Du Wei smiled peacefully: "No need to apologize, Your Highness, in fact, you have done me a big favor."

Karina rolled her eyes. Smart, she immediately understood what Du Wei meant—as expected of a child of the royal family.

"Teacher..." Karina suddenly leaned over and whispered in Du Wei's ear, "Did you know? This is the first dance in my life."

Du Wei laughed and looked at this cute little girl. Resisting so much that she didn't pinch her lovely nose, Wen Yan smiled and said, "That's my honor. Your Highness."

\u0026 Loop 8226:

At the end of the dance, Du Wei took Karina's hand. Send her back to the seat up. Nodded and left. There was a look of disappointment in Karina's eyes, and sitting next to her was the ten-year-old Prince Charlie.

Charlie looked at his sister. Suddenly smiled: "Honey, I heard that this time he returned to the Imperial City to stay longer. I think tomorrow I can ask my father to ask the teacher to start formal classes for us. What do you think?"

Karina immediately glanced at her brother in surprise, and then suppressed her excitement: "Okay! Thank you!"

Prince Charlie smiled faintly, and looked at Du Wei in the distance: "You don't need to thank me... because, I am also looking forward to the class given by Grand Duke Tulip! He is the most famous genius on the mainland now! Oh, I am really good I want to ask him to teach me how to ride a broomstick that can fly into the sky and the ground. And fly in a hot air balloon. And..."

Karina smiled. She looked at her brother's excited expression, but the little girl couldn't help thinking of the first volume of "General History of the Mainland" that fell into her hands!

All of Du Wei's notes above, over the past year. Karina has already read them all. Although she couldn't understand many things, little Karina was undoubtedly fascinated by it.

She subconsciously glances at her toes - thankfully she's picked out her new favorite pair of dancing shoes in preparation for tonight's prom! Karina has decided. When you go back, you should keep this pair of dancing shoes well.

\u0026 Loop 8226:

Shortly after the first piece ends, when the second dance piece starts. Prince Chen winked at Du Wei. The two glanced at each other. Both understood what the other party meant: it was almost time.

According to the plan, in the gap time after the end of the second dance. It can be announced that His Majesty the old emperor is in poor spirits and left first, and then everyone can respectfully send His Majesty back to rest-this is generally the case in every public appearance in recent years.

At this moment, the performance of His Majesty the "Old Emperor" is perfect. He didn't show any flaws. Use sitting on the throne. The spirit is a little dissociated, some spirits are not concentrated, and there is a touch of impatience and boredom. These performances. It is also in line with the consistent performance of the real Augustine VI.

finally. The second song is over. At that moment, Prince Chen and Du Wei both heaved a sigh of relief: tonight's test finally passed smoothly.

Prince Chen was about to stand up and announce, but at this moment...

Outside the main hall. A rumbling drum sounded, followed by the horn of the guard of honor—this indicated that another distinguished guest of high status was coming!

really. A loud voice. It was the announcement from the ceremonial officer standing outside the main hall:

"The Temple of Light in the Mainland. His Majesty Pope Paul XVI is here!!".