Chapter 318: Goddess Lu's Advice
I don’t know why, but Yang Ming felt irritated when he saw this beautiful princess.
He stared at Daphne and frowned unconsciously.
Daphne used court etiquette to demonstrate her excellent manners. The surprise in her eyes quickly disappeared, and she smiled at Yang Ming:
"Am I being presumptuous? I was just thinking that yesterday's conversation might have been a little unpleasant, so we could change the atmosphere today and have a good chat about important topics like the future and life."
Her big eyes blinked gently, and that kind of natural charm made Yang Ming feel better for some reason.
Yang Ming asked incredulously, "You can accept my harsh conditions?"
"Even if you can get a man's promise in name, you still have to face these facts that are likely to happen after marriage. Isn't this the norm for marriages among the imperial aristocracy?"
Daphne lifted her skirt lightly, stepped into the room gracefully, and said softly:
"Of course, I will try not to let you know about my affairs to protect your fragile and sensitive self-esteem."
Fight back.
Yang Ming laughed awkwardly .
Outside the door, Hanxiang's timid voice suddenly became louder:
"Sister, sister, are there a lot of reporters downstairs?"
Hanyin said, "Don't talk nonsense! What kind of reporters are they? They are just some gossip media from the Imperial Star. They don't even have press credentials, but they are good at hyping up hot topics and promoting gossip!"
Yang Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
Gossip media blocking the door?
Did Daphne call over?
Do you want their love affair to become a hot topic in the empire news immediately?
I can only say that the daughter of an emperor is quite scheming.
Seeing Yang Ming's expression becoming increasingly cold and hard, Princess Daphne reacted very quickly.
She smiled and said, "Yesterday's hot search has nothing to do with me, but today I have to show my father a copy of the results. Believe me, this is also good for you."
Yang Ming suddenly took half a step forward, revealing a little of the momentum he had displayed while fighting among the insect swarm.
Daphne subconsciously stepped back a few centimeters.
"I haven't promised you yet!"
“You have no other options.”
Daphne quickly calmed down:
“You should have been prepared for this before stepping into the dirty political world of the empire.
"Now, you are angry with me, a woman, because of my father's order. Is this the demeanor of Lord White Ghost?"
Yang Ming almost swore.
He held his waist with his left hand, paced back and forth, and took several deep breaths.
"Sit down," Yang Ming pointed to the corner.
"Thank you," Daphne lowered her head and walked over, bypassing the maids lying on the ground, and sat gracefully on the edge of the single sofa.
Yang Ming asked: "You asked me to come here today for an open date?"
Daphne said slowly, "You can understand it this way. It would be great if you could let me take your arm and leave the hotel."
"Have you ever thought about the negative effects of doing this?"
Yang Ming's mind raced, and he immediately found a counterattack point:
"I haven't broken up with Catherine yet, and my relationship with Catherine has attracted attention before.
"Your behavior is like a third party interfering and deliberately hyping it up. Your reputation will be greatly affected."
"It doesn't matter, actually. I have analyzed Captain Catherine's character. She will consider you and choose to remain silent."
Daphne whispered:
“Our story must have a beginning, Lord Earl. Although this opening is not perfect, it is still good.
"Public opinion can be guided. The imperial people's awe of the royal family will make them more cautious when speaking. As long as we guide public opinion to the point that the princess' marriage is the empire's reward to the hero, there will be a win-win situation.
"Are you resisting me so much because you would feel ashamed if I walked beside you?"
Yang Ming scolded, "I am resisting your way of forcing me to do something! Can't you even wait a few days?"
Daphne pursed her lips slightly, and her expression was slightly aggrieved when she lowered her head.
“I’m really impressed!”
Yang Ming turned around and went into the bathroom. The sound of the door slamming showed how furious he was at the moment.
As soon as the door closed, Yang Ming's expression returned to calm.
He looked at himself in the mirror, frowning in thought.
To be precise, it should be reflection.
Since yesterday, he had been disturbed by a word from Director Ino, and has been led by the nose ever since.
It was Director Ino who chose Daphne, and Daphne could be considered a victim in this incident, but there was no way out. The space for Yang Ming to struggle all depended on her.
This huge Sherman family is a hundred times more difficult to deal with than the old emperor himself.
Now, the reporters are waiting downstairs.
The old emperor in the palace should have received the news through the tentacles organization a long time ago and was waiting to see a good show.
Director Ino, who is hiding in the research institute and is the closest to the Faya civilization in the Sherman Empire, is the real big boss of the empire.
It is true that there is no door in heaven and no gap on earth.
What else can he do now?
Yang Ming turned on the communicator and wanted to send a message to Catherine to explain that he might have to flirt with her next. However, when his fingers touched Catherine's portrait, he felt a slight struggle in his heart.
Reason told him that he should not involve Catherine in this incident.
Catherine's ideological imprint is problematic. She should now be in a state of being calm on the outside but radical on the inside.
She hated the imperial power and the aristocracy, and she was thinking about how to change the empire's system to liberate hundreds of billions of people in the empire, especially the tens of billions of slaves.
We can't add fuel to the fire for Catherine now.
The power she holds at the moment is just a candle in the wind, which may be blown out by the wind at any time. Excessive burning will only cause it to dissipate prematurely.
Yang Ming held onto the edge of the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.
This is the face of Hanton.
But he seemed to see the ghost named Yang Ming standing quietly behind him.
'Politics is the art of compromise.'
'The Sherman family's cultivation will allow you to obtain everything you want in the shortest possible time.'
'They know the game of Faya, the Empire holds your lifeline.'
Yang Ming narrowed his eyes.
The real masters of the empire opened their hands to him, wanting to tame him, imprison him, and make him a loyal dog of the royal family... What else could he do? Fly right out of their hands?
Hmm? Fly?
Yang Ming was suddenly stunned and turned his head to look at the small window of the bathroom.
Inside the house, Daphne breathed a sigh of relief, then continued to sit with her head held high, her legs swaying sideways and the cloth folding fan in her hand swaying gently.
She turned her head and looked at the door: "You two, aren't you going to come in?"
Hanyin and Hanxiang walked in with their heads down. Hanxiang had an expression of accepting the punishment, while Hanyin had a broad smile on her face.
Daphne did not blame them for exposing her plan, and said softly:
"Can you help them adjust their positions? This posture is really rude."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Hanyin and Hanxiang looked at each other and quickly lowered their heads to work.
Fortunately, these maids are all slim, and Hanyin and Hanxiang's fighting ability is also excellent at the level of ordinary people, so they will not be tired.
Daphne was also thinking quietly.
The gossip reporters she arranged have blocked all the entrances to the hotel, including their staff passage and the back door to the kitchen.
As long as their relationship is hyped up, she can take the initiative and get some attention from her father.
Suddenly, the faint light outside the window attracted Hanyin's attention, and Hanyin turned her head to look over.
Hanxiang and Daphne both turned their heads to look at that area, and the expressions of the three of them were dull and surprised to varying degrees.
Yang Ming was wrapped in a red ball of light, with his arms folded and barefoot, flying quickly towards the sky of the Emperor Star.
Daphne's open mouth couldn't close for a long time.
"Can he really fly?"
Han Yin smiled and squinted her eyes: "Your Highness, don't you know? The Earl faced a fleet of dozens of noble private armies, and each man had a lightsaber and directly killed through the fleet."
Daphne stared at Yang Ming's back without blinking, even though there was only a red dot left.
“He is deterrence itself.”
Daphne recited softly, and her calm, somewhat empty eyes gradually became more lively.
…
Half a galaxy later.
In the empty cockpit of a small transport ship, Yang Ming sat on a chair, resting his arm on it, waiting for the spacecraft to leave the shielding circle of the Imperial Star.
He borrowed the transport ship from the defense force, and he also had a new pair of military boots on his feet.
Yang Ming cannot leave Emperor Star now.
He just said that he was in a bad mood and wanted to relax by looking at the stars in the synchronous orbit. He would be back soon. The transport ship itself did not have the ability to jump.
Buzz, buzz!
Yang Ming's watch vibrated slightly, and an inverted trapezoidal halo popped up on it, and a small figure emerged.
"Chumi! I'm your cat maid assistant today! Meow~"
Lu was wearing a maid outfit with a pair of furry pink paws and two "not fake" cat ears on her head. At this moment, she was shaking her tail behind her in a slightly frivolous manner and looking at Yang Ming with a smile.
Although he was frivolous, Yang Ming immediately felt at ease when he saw Lu.
"How's Katherine?"
“Captain Catherine is currently on a mission near the empire’s border. It’s an ordinary mission, so there’s nothing wrong with it.
"Don't worry, boss. We have sent two Dark Star patrol ships to meet you nearby!"
Lu smiled and said:
"This is mainly to guard against the Empire's sudden attack on Captain Catherine because of your marriage with the princess, so I arranged the security work without asking you for permission."
Yang Ming smiled and said, "Well done... What do you think about the princess' marriage?"
"Does the boss want to hear an objective evaluation or a subjective emotional output?"
“Objective evaluation.”
"This is the inevitable situation between the Empire and you, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon," Lu wondered, "What did you experience in the Imperial Star Dimensional Ascension Laboratory?"
Yang Ming succinctly recounted his conversation with Director Ino.
Lu sighed:
"In fact, this makes sense. The Sherman family behind the emperor is the master of the empire. Levi's descendants are divided into elite and decadent factions. The elite faction has extremely high personal qualities."
"Actually," Yang Ming sighed, "I don't know why I'm so upset. A political marriage is the best thing for me. This way, I can even wait for the game to be launched."
"You have misunderstood the boss. Marriage is not a good thing for you right now."
Lu shook his head slightly:
"You feel irritated because you have directly felt the oppression of this powerful empire, and your freedom has been severely damaged.
“They didn’t give you any choice, and they struck you precisely in your weak spot.
"Now, you only have two options: submit to them, be assimilated by them, or become material for the dimensional laboratory after several years.
"If I'm not mistaken, Princess Daphne is a beautiful virgin. They are expressing their sincerity to you in this way, intending to confuse your perception of oppression."
Yang Ming wondered, "Isn't this a good thing?"
"We can deduce the different developments after you choose the two paths."
Law said softly:
"If you choose to marry Princess Daphne, you will be granted a rich fiefdom. Then you and Princess Daphne will inevitably start a passionate love affair that will attract the attention of the whole nation, in order to divert the conflict between the noble class and the common people.
"You have taken action against the aristocracy over the past year, which not only made the common people feel happy, but also directly exposed the corruption and greed of the aristocracy to the common people. Now there are many complaints from all over the country.
“This passionate love will be elevated by a grand wedding, and you and the princess will become the ambassadors of the royal family.
"Likewise, you will become a non-staff member of the royal family. You will gain fame and title, become the Grand Duke of the Empire, stand beside His Majesty the Emperor, and look down at this ancient empire."
Yang Ming nodded: "Isn't this possible?"
Lu began to ask a series of questions:
"When the emperor asks you to raise your butcher knife against the common people, what will you choose?"
"When Captain Catherine goes against the Empire, will you erase her existence? This is an event with a high probability of happening."
"When the royal family asks you to hand over ancient technology, can you refuse to give up your last trump card?
"When your cards are exposed, you will lose all chances of resisting the empire."
Yang Ming fell silent.
Law asked: "Boss, how did Levi Sherman know that he lost his test qualification?"
Yang Ming said: "He lost the connection with the Mechanical Twilight and could not activate it, and then he blew up the original building."
The law said: "Levi Sherman fell into the abyss of desire woven by human society with power, superiority, and class oppression, but ignored what he originally pursued, the meaning of the existence of civilization itself."
“What is the meaning of the existence of civilization itself?”
“It is life that gives civilization its brilliance, not civilization that gives life its sophistication.”
Yang Ming was stunned.
Lu said slowly: "Then let's focus on analyzing the subsequent resettlement of the mother planet, which is what you are most concerned about."
Yang Ming lowered his head and thought, then motioned to Lu to speak slower.
“Boss, if you become the Grand Duke of the Empire through marriage, the degree of freedom you will gain will be very limited.
“When your home planet passes the assessment, of course this is the most ideal situation.
"Then, the Empire will use these eight billion people as bargaining chips to make you bow your head and kneel down, squeezing out your last bit of freedom. You will completely lose the confidence to resist the Sherman family and become their slave."
Lu groaned a few times and continued:
"Assuming that your life span also has a limit, when you die, what will happen to the humans on your home planet who were under your protection? Is there any difference between this and directly integrating them into the empire? You just delayed it for a while."
Yang Ming raised his hand and rubbed his forehead: "It's true, population is also a resource, the empire will not let go of these cheap laborers."
Lu said, "In fact, the Empire has been using you to intimidate the nobles. When you leave, the anger of the nobles towards you will be transferred to your home planet. That is the worst and most likely situation."
Yang Ming's expression became more and more solemn.
“If you insist on having that cell and refuse to marry into the Sherman family, the Sherman family will be forced to keep you active for a while because of your reputation among the people and the army.
“During this period, they will try to discredit you and slander you, causing you to lose your popular support, but we will not sit idly by and we can continue to strengthen your influence among the people.
“The achievements of the War Bugs and the Tu Nobles are beyond their reach.
"During this period, if your home planet passes the greenhouse civilization assessment, we will have other opportunities."
"Other opportunities?"
"You've been looking at the Empire, but you forgot to look behind you."
Lu raised his head slightly and said with a smile:
“The Luofeng Empire is about to complete the Four-Nation Alliance and substantially expand its territory.
"The development of Dark Star Base No. 3 has been completed. The Faya experimental project we have undertaken is moving forward smoothly. With the close connection with the Faya people, we may be able to find opportunities for your home planet civilization to integrate into Luofeng in the future. The population of your home planet can just fill the gap in Luofeng's development.
“The civilization level of Dark Star has broken through level three, and the number of stable mechanical thinking entities we currently possess has exceeded one million.
"Everything is developing according to the steps you set. You can't look down on us just because our own forces are developing too slowly.
"We are your greatest support."
Yang Ming smiled and said, "You mean, I'm going to destroy the empire and let Luo Feng rise?"
"This is a bit difficult," said Lu, "but you are not without the ability to fight the Sherman family in the future. Lu thinks so."
"Don't be so arrogant. We are just small shrimps now."
Yang Ming leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and stared out the window quietly.
He had completely understood what Lu meant.
She was right. If she accepted this marriage, it would be good in the short term, but there would be no benefit in the long run.
Without freedom, he was just a puppet, which was not the imperial duke he wanted.
The result of putting a leash on yourself is that others will no longer treat you as a human being.
Just give up the empire’s base?
What about the power structure at the beginning of Faya's game?
Although the Faya people will correct the internal structure of the game, the greater the influence of human civilization in the galaxy, the more help they can give to the mother planet in the game.
Therefore, we cannot completely break up with the empire yet.
The current marriage of princesses is a difficult problem, but it is not unsolvable.
Use the power you built to protect your home planet...
The Fayats, yes, the Fayats are the key.
What Director Ino and his colleagues fear the most are actually the Fayan people, because the closer they are to the Fayan civilization, the more they can feel the insignificance of the empire.
This is something you can take advantage of.
He still has a lot of cards in his hand, and there is no need to get himself stuck in the quagmire of marriage. The empire's popular support cannot be lost, so he has to find a way to make the Sherman family hesitate.
Use the power you build to protect your home planet!
Two flames flashed in Yang Ming's eyes, and his thoughts raced.
After chatting with Lu, he suddenly felt much more relaxed and had found a third option between the two extreme choices given to him by Director Ino.
Retreat to advance.
