A few days later.
The Imperial Palace, Xu Tianran's Study.
Xu Tianran sat in his wheelchair, gazing at the quiet palace outside the window, his heart heavy with melancholy.
"Has the orange arrived yet?"
Xu Tianran frowned slightly and spoke with some displeasure.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Miss Orange Young has not yet arrived," a servant whispered to Dao.
Upon hearing this, Xu Tianran felt even more depressed.
For some reason, Dao had been feeling unwell these past few days, feeling uncomfortable and uneasy all over.
Generally speaking, as a Titled Douluo, one is immune to all diseases, and such a thing would never happen.
The most likely explanation is a psychological issue.
He guessed it might be because he hadn't seen oranges in a long time.
Generally speaking, Orange would visit him every three days.
But ever since Bai Zhou appeared, Ju Zi hasn't come to see him for a long time.
Under normal circumstances, he would not summon Orange.
But he was really upset these past few days and couldn't wait to see Orange, so he sent Orange a message via Microcard.
Orange also replied with "On its way".
However, half an hour had passed and Ju Zi still hadn't arrived, which made him feel frustrated, but he was too embarrassed to send a message to urge Ju Zi, lest Ju Zi think he was anxious.
Just then, a servant's voice came from outside: " Your Highness, Miss Orange Young requests an audience."
"Quick, let her in."
Upon hearing this, Xu Tianran was immediately in a good mood and quickly replied, "Dao. "
Soon, a figure in orange walked in quickly and immediately knelt down on one knee to greet you: "Orange greets Your Highness."
"Get up quickly. Didn't I tell you, there's no need for this between us?" Xu Tianran gently waved his hand, and a gentle force overflowed, trying to lift the orange.
But this gentle force was suppressed by the orange.
Orange lowered her head, looking remorseful: "I have been busy with academy duties these past few days and have not been able to pay my respects in time. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
She naturally knew why Dao and Xu Tianran had summoned her.
She usually comes here once or twice a week.
But this time, because of Bai Zhou, she didn't come to visit Xu Tianran, and even Xu Tianran sensed something was wrong...
Others may not know Dao, but she knows Xu Tianran's personality better than anyone else.
Since losing his lower body, he has become extremely gloomy and his personality has become unpredictable. Countless of Dao's subordinates have been killed on the spot by Xu Tianran because of a single word or glance, including Xu Tianran's confidants.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Even though she was Xu Tianran's confidante, she dared not be careless in the slightest and could not give Xu Tianran any clue to use against her.
At the same time, she was also secretly reflecting...
I need to quit having sex from now on. I can't mess around with Bai Zhou anymore, lest she lose her senses and offend Xu Tianran... If that happens and implicates Bai Zhou, she'll definitely regret it for the rest of her life.
"Haha, Orange, you're being too polite. You're my confidant, not my servant. You have your own things to do, so just do them yourself. There's no need to report to me all the time. Get up now."
Seeing how sensible Ju Zi was, Xu Tianran was in a great mood. He quickly maneuvered his wheelchair to Ju Zi and helped her up himself. Then he said, "I asked you to come here today because there are some things I want to discuss with you. However, using a Microcard is not very safe, so I wanted to talk to you in person."
Xu Tianran naturally couldn't say that he called Ju Zi over because he missed her so much.
After all, he also needs to show his face, so naturally he has to find an excuse.
"Oh, is there some trouble with Your Highness?" Orange was taken aback, then asked Dao with concern.
With Ju Zi's intelligence, she naturally knew that Dao might just be an excuse, but she would never expose him directly, otherwise it would be a direct slap in the face.
Orange would never do something so reckless.
"Hehe, it's nothing important. It's just that those lunatics at Holy Spirit Church want several cities to support their development... Which cities do you think would be better to give to them?"
Xu Tianran looked up at Ju Zi and asked Dao in a low voice.
It wasn't that he was just making conversation; the matter was indeed a significant problem, and he had wanted to discuss it with Ju Zi for a while, but Ju Zi hadn't come yet.
"What! Didn't they already ask for three cities last time? Now they're asking for ten cities in one go! This is outrageous! We absolutely cannot give them to them!"
Upon hearing this, Orange was immediately shocked and instinctively rejected Dao.
When Xu Tianran heard that Ju Zi had rejected his decision, a strange surge of rage rose in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.
If anyone else had said that, they would be a corpse by now.
However, since it's an orange, he will still choose to forgive.
Xu Tianran glanced at the orange and said calmly, "My father's health is deteriorating and he probably doesn't have much time left. The competition for the throne has entered a critical moment, and I need the Holy Spirit Church to do things for me, so I have already agreed to their request."
"I've called you here today simply to ask which cities you think would cause us the least loss if we handed them over."
Xu Tianran spoke softly, and in just a few words, he decided the fate of the people in ten cities.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, it was Orange who misspoke..." Orange realized her mistake and quickly lowered her head.
But a deep sense of sorrow and profound disappointment welled up in her heart.
This is Xu Tianran, who will stop at nothing to build his empire, even sacrificing the lives of people in several cities to gain the support of the Holy Spirit Church...
Last time she couldn't stop the fall of three cities; this time, it's a full ten...
Once these cities are handed over to the Holy Spirit Church, their inhabitants will become Evil Soul Masters. Cultivate: furnace and fuel.
He had secretly investigated the three cities managed by the Holy Spirit Church. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but in reality, they had long been hell on earth.
"I know you 're soft-hearted, but who among us has clean hands? If you want to achieve great things, how can you do it without sacrifices?"
"As long as I sit on the throne, I will definitely lead the Sun Moon Empire to become the strongest on the continent! All those sacrifices will have been worthwhile."
Xu Tianran gently patted Ju Zi's shoulder, his purple eyes gleaming with boundless ambition.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I've let you down..." Orange said softly, her head bowed, suppressing her grief.
Although I knew Dao She saw Xu Tianran's true colors, upon hearing Xu Tianran utter such heartless words, she felt an overwhelming sorrow in her heart.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Xu Tianran waved her hand gently, then smiled at Ju Zi Dao, "I know you've been quite busy lately, Dao, but you should be able to have a meal with me, right?"
"Of course, it would be my honor to have dinner with Your Highness." Knowing that Dao couldn't refuse this time, Orange forced a smile and reluctantly agreed.
Compared to dining with Bai Zhou, Xu Tianran would never lay a finger on her during a meal; instead, he preferred to talk about his ambitions and plans.
But in Orange's heart, there was a strange resistance and rejection to it.
On the contrary, having dinner with Bai Zhou allows her to relax more and fully enjoy the pleasure of food.