TYRANNY: HOW TO CREATE A WORLD

Beginning 3

A week later, the emperor's seal appeared at the Palace of the Tranquil River. A eunuch announced that he had brought the emperor's edict and summoned the third concubine and her servants to the garden to accept the edict.

The third concubine arrived with a small white-haired child in her arms. Her hurried demeanor and the unfinished makeup on her face showed her anxiety and haste to receive the edict.

The concubine bowed, letting her beautiful face face the floor. The small child standing beside her did not understand anything.

The eunuch was bald and thin, and his age was definitely over forty, but his skin still retained the smoothness of a much younger person. In his delicate-looking hand, he was holding a parchment with a golden-yellow sheen. As soon as the third concubine arrived, he opened it as if he were in a hurry and read it quickly.

"From today, the Ninth Prince will be the ruler of Highrock City! The Third Concubine will remain by his side until he is sixteen years old to guide and instruct him in his responsibilities!"

As soon as the bald eunuch finished reading the edict, he turned and left with ten imperial guards.

But the third concubine couldn't stand the edict, which was so short and to the point, almost like an exile order. She couldn't hold back and suddenly shouted at the eunuch.

"Rolf! Please stop! There must be some mistake in this edict! Please, why would the emperor give such an edict?"

The concubine's eyes were filled with tears. It had only been a few years since she had married the Emperor and become an official concubine. Moreover, in those short years, she had tasted the comfort and pleasure that came with being the Emperor's concubine, so she didn't want to give it up. In her mind, there must be a mistake, because she didn't think she had done anything wrong.

The guards hadn't reacted quickly enough, and touching a concubine was strictly forbidden. Only a eunuch or other female servant could touch a concubine. So they crossed their spears to block her path, but the concubine easily slipped through the gap between the two crossed spears and reached the eunuch.

However, the eunuch suddenly turned around and with furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, and a displeased expression, he pulled out a seal and showed it to the concubine.

"Third Concubine! Control yourself!" He looked at the seal in his hand, hoping to draw the concubine's attention to it.

He immediately succeeded, and after looking at the concubine's confused eyes once more, he continued to speak.

"There will be another opportunity in the future. Please follow the rules and accept the edict," the eunuch said.

After hearing the eunuch's words, the concubine hesitated for a few seconds, as if her whole world had collapsed and everything she had experienced had suddenly lost its reality. For a moment, she looked around, heard muffled whispers, and had the illusion that dozens of servants were pointing at her, laughing and mocking her.

Even though no servant would dare to do such a thing, in the concubine's mind, it had already happened. Then she turned her head and looked at the seal again, gritting her teeth as she bowed.

"I accept the edict!" Perhaps this was the sentence she regretted the most in her life. Death could not feel heavier, sadder, or more depressing to her than this sentence.

With that single sentence, it was as if her soul had been ripped out of her body and replaced with a lifeless, long-dead, rotting piece of wood.

The little child, however, was oblivious to all of this. He quietly approached his mother, clinging to her skirt as if sharing her grief, and buried his tearful eyes in the folds of her dress.

Feeling the presence of her child at her side, the concubine couldn't control her nerves and lashed out with a slap. A bright red mark, large enough to cover the small child's cheek, appeared for the first time on his left cheek.

For the first time since he came into this world, gained consciousness, and started asking questions, the little child experienced such pain. Moreover, this pain was coming from his mother, the closest person to him, so he did not know what to do. Crying was not something he was familiar with, as he had never seen or heard of it before. That day, for the first time, despite not knowing what crying was before, tears streamed down his sweet little face like a river, and neither his mother nor the eunuch could stop him.

"Concubine, what are you doing? You can't hit a prince!" The eunuch quickly walked past the concubine and wrapped the little prince in his arms.

"Don't cry, little prince, don't cry. Look, I'll give you something." The eunuch took out of his pocket a small object resembling an amulet. It had a small notch in one corner and a long tassel resembling a horse's tail. The tassel was adorned with more than a dozen beads that jingled when the eunuch shook it. After a few jingles, the little prince's focus shifted from crying, and he took the amulet the eunuch held out to him.

Still crying and sobbing, the little prince asked, "What is this?

With the utmost tenderness on his face, the eunuch replied, "It is an amulet, it protects the wearer from evil.

After receiving this answer, the little prince continued to cry, but not in the same hysterical, uncontrollable manner as before. His cries became calmer, and the tears flowed silently down his face.

The eunuch let go of the little prince and called out, "Servants! Come and take the little prince away! You will not allow him to see his mother for three days. In three days, you will set out on the road with some caravans. Prepare yourselves!"

After giving orders to the servants, the eunuch turned back to the concubine.

Looking at the concubine, who still seemed stunned, he said, "You must gather yourself now. You'll be closer to your father from now on. Besides, it's not like you won't come back. At least you have to bear it for the Ninth Prince."

Then the eunuch, accompanied by imperial guards, got into his own carriage and left the Palace of the Tranquil River.

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