"Come back to the palace with me, and you will be the crown prince. In the future, you will be the emperor of the empire. You are still young and have a lot of time to change the system that you hate.
"Is it harder to change the unfairness in your eyes as a tourist who looks at the suffering with cold eyes or as an emperor who possesses supreme power?
"If you insist on hiding among the stars and mountains, praising others, but when faced with an opportunity, you retreated in a vulgar manner and refused to make any sacrifices and efforts, that only shows that you do not truly sympathize with the miserable lives of the common people. You only use it to satisfy your own sense of moral superiority and to mock others."
Huai Caoshi looked at him expressionlessly, her words exceptionally sharp and forceful. In the past two years, in order to persuade this guy in front of her, she had thought for a long time.
However, it was clear that Xu Le had also thought about this question for a long time. Without any pause, he directly replied, "Any great reform or revolution requires the person with the highest authority to make a decision at the critical moment. This decision may lead to the destruction of an entire class, a trade-off between the lives of millions of people and the lives of tens of billions."
He looked at Huai Caoshi and sincerely said in self-mockery, "You know that my personality is flawed. It is very difficult for me to make such a choice. I am only good at destruction, not construction. I am not even qualified to be a battlefield commander, let alone such an important role."
"If I were to lead the changes in the Left Sky Star Region, other than plunging the empire into turmoil and causing more deaths, there would be no other possibility."
Xu Le looked at her and continued, "One must have self-awareness. I have some talent in machinery, but in politics, I will always be so childish and laughable. The past history has already proven this. In this aspect, there are too many people on both sides of the universe who are smarter than me. It is impossible that they do not see this. In the era of the universe without The Glory Of The Charter, for a totalitarian empire to permanently retain power is ultimately just a wishful thinking. So in fact, you have already begun to change."
Huai Caoshi was silent. She understood that although he admitted that he was childish and laughable in politics, his vision was not wrong.
"Even the Emperor and you couldn't do it, so I can't do it either," Xu Le said.
Huai Caoshi did not care about the way he addressed His Majesty. She slightly raised her eyebrows, stared into his eyes, and asked, "The reform of the empire has just started for more than ten years. The future is unknown. How can you say that it has failed?"
"Educational reform, interracial experimentation, to mend the tension between classes, to fully utilize the abilities of the lower class, and to inject new blood into the lifeless Imperium. This … is what you are doing now."
Xu Le looked at her and said, "As I said just now, I've been to many places and seen many people and things. I know what the real situation of the lower class of the empire is like, and I believe you know it too. Last time, you took me to the state capital of Mulberry Zhi to see those national universities. They looked pretty good, but what about Mulberry Town, where are we now? "
"The children of the pariahs here are lucky enough not to be beaten to death by the nobles. How would they dare to dream of the right to education? If Li Ban Star, which you designated as a test subject, is like this, then what about the entire Empire? To what extent could the Emperor's edict of educational reform affect? Or could it only affect the few streets around the Imperial Palace? "
A conversation, or debate, was sometimes like a tug of war. Because the two sides stood on different sides, they wanted to pull the other to their side, but they resolutely refused to allow themselves to be pulled to the other's side. Thus, when one side began to exert force, the other side would also exert force, gradually increasing in power. When the power of words and logic had been exhausted and could not be increased any further, they would begin to use hand gestures, tone, and expression to support it. Anger, sarcasm, and all sorts of other methods would be used one after another. It was like the two ends of a tug of war, the hands that gripped the rope so tightly that they bled, the faces that were red from exerting too much strength, the fat buttocks that were awkwardly sliding across the mud. It was not a pretty sight.
The shabby library was only seven or eight square meters in size. The books on the third floor of the bookshelves were not dusty, but they were somewhat wrinkled from being flipped through. The two people arguing by the window simultaneously realized that this sort of argument was meaningless. Silence returned to the room filled with sunlight.
After a long period of silence, Huai Caoshi slightly raised her chin, looked at Xu Le, and said, "You're looking, you're thinking. This means that it's not that you haven't considered the possibility of returning to the palace."
"I'm just a tourist. It's just that I've been traveling around the Zuotian Galaxy for two years. After seeing things, I naturally have some feelings. This doesn't mean anything," Xu Le replied.
"Just a tourist?"
A light suddenly flashed through Huai Caoshi's slightly narrowed eyes. She slowly said in a low voice, "On July 1, 726 of the Imperial Calendar, an official of the Cross Constellation Travel Club died tragically in his residence."
"On November 15, 726 of the Imperial Calendar, the bodies of two nobles were found in the salt mine of Lanbo Star. The guns in their hands did not have time to fire a single bullet before their throats were cut by a sharp weapon."
"After the New Year's Sacrifice in 727 of the Imperial Calendar, people found the bodies of seven priests in the basement of the Cyan Cathedral on Mound Top. Rumor had it that Lei Feng, who was imprisoned in the basement, had disappeared without a trace. This matter ignited a religious conflict. His Majesty personally dispatched troops to suppress it, and only then was the matter resolved."
"On April 4, 727 of the Imperial Calendar …"
Huai Caoshi quietly looked at him. Her thin lips slightly opened, and she began to talk about more than a dozen shocking cases in the Zuotian Galaxy in the past two years. Every time she talked about the time, place, and person of a case, the strange emotion in her eyes became stronger. Xu Le's eyes on the other side of the table narrowed even more.
"This year is the spring of the Imperial Calendar, 728 of the Imperial Calendar. A noble young master died tragically in his own manor. Even his Lei Feng was cut off."
Huai Caoshi stared into Xu Le's eyes and said, "Very coincidentally, the places where the murders happened were all places you passed by when you were traveling. According to the time, you just happened to be nearby at that time. Could this really be just a coincidence?"
Xu Le was silent for a very long time. He spread out his hands and smiled, replying, "Of course it's not a coincidence."
Huai Caoshi looked at him and said, "Whether it is the Federation or the Empire, countless people are guessing where you went. Absolutely most people think that you are living in seclusion in Bermuda. Perhaps there are other guesses, but they all think that you should be living in seclusion after escaping."
"But you kill wherever you go. What kind of escaping and living in seclusion is this?"
…
…
"I'm still young, not old. What else can I do? Of course, I won't bring more than a dozen wives and find a remote place to be a local tyrant. I'm satisfied with the so-called pleasure of living in seclusion."
Xu Le looked at her and said, "As for killing wherever I go … it's not that I want to kill people, but that I've seen too many people who deserve to be killed."
"A noble young master who raped and killed a young girl, a bishop who kept a seven- or eight-year-old boy in a basement like a pig, a noble who murdered a lowly miner to cheat the Empire's compensation — they all deserved to die, so I let them die."
He narrowed his eyes and looked out the window. Pointing at the indistinct people beyond the broken wall, he said, "On all the planets of the Empire, things like this happen every day, including here. I believe that if you saw those scenes with your own eyes, you would make the same choice. But you are a princess, so you rarely have the opportunity to come into contact with these things. "
"What problem can you solve by killing a few people? To solve the fundamental problem, you need to have the power to kill hundreds or thousands of people. If you still insist on not going back with me … "
Huai Caoshi narrowed her eyes and stared at him, forcibly suppressing the anger in her heart. After coughing twice, she said, "That can only prove that you are childish, absurd, selfish, and callous. That when you raise your head and see the starry sky, you revel in your sense of moral superiority? This method is too easy! So easy that it makes one sick! "
Xu Le lowered his head and looked at the teacup. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and said, "Back when we were in Master Fan's manor, I told you that I was a very selfish person. I hope you can forgive me for this."
He raised his head and looked into Huai Caoshi's eyes. He said sincerely, "Right now, I am a pitiful fellow who has no standpoint. I was once confused and angry, and I didn't even have confidence. Until I found some in a department store, but that really wasn't enough."
"People have to do something in life. Even tourists want to do something. Kill those people, do those things, fight for justice, avenge the innocent, and so on …"
He shrugged and smiled. "It's just my favorite pastime. It's where my interests lie. It has nothing to do with morality."
…
…
After a long time, Huai Caoshi's narrowed eyes gradually relaxed. She said, "I accept your explanation."
She stared into his eyes and continued, "But have you ever thought about how many people will be angered by your reckless behavior? You're just a tourist, you can leave as you please, but the weak you want to protect will have to bear the bloody revenge of the nobles after the incident."
"Of course, I've thought about these things." Xu Le looked at her and scratched his head in embarrassment. He smiled and said, "Those truly crazy and cruel fellows, I did my best to kill them all. As for the aftermath, I know that the officials of the Intelligence Bureau have been looking for me this entire time. Since they are your subordinates and have guessed that I was the one who did it, they should help me take care of the aftermath."
He hurriedly picked up the kettle from the stove and filled Huai Caoshi's teacup. He smiled and said, "The Imperial Intelligence Bureau is personally led by Your Highness. Of course, they have this ability."
"Are you using me?" Huai Caoshi stared at him.
"Are you reminding me?"
Huai Caoshi sighed. Holding the teacup, she was silent for a moment. Suddenly, she shook her head and laughed without warning. However, her laughter was immediately replaced by a series of coughs.
Xu Le frowned and looked at her coughing. He could clearly hear the pain in her voice. Looking at her pale face and her face that was clearly thinner than before, he subconsciously raised his left hand and wanted to massage her back to relieve the pain. However, his arm was extremely stiff and could not reach over no matter how hard he tried.
He knew that although she had not been on Mo Hua Planet for the past two years, she had spent all her energy on that planet filled with death and slaughter to fight against that cold and crazy famous Federation general. She had even risked unimaginable danger to assassinate him three times as a princess.
Xu Le knew very well that even for someone as powerful as Huai Caoshi, it would be extremely difficult for her to assassinate Du Shaoqing who was heavily protected by the military. She was already extremely lucky that she did not die in the Federation's military camp these three times, but she must have been severely injured.
Looking at her coughing and frowning, Xu Le also frowned. He took a deep breath and asked, "Are your injuries serious this time?"
His palm landed on her back, and the warmth of his Eight Rice True Qi was transmitted to her through his palm.
…
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