Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

In Inazuma, palace-style castle buildings are mainly divided into areas such as the Honmaru, Ninomaru, Sanomaru, and Nishimaru. The Honmaru is a series of palaces where the shogun lived and worked. Within the Honmaru, the innermost rooms are called "Oku," which are palaces used solely for daily living.

The term "Ōoku" refers to the innermost part of the castle tower, specifically the women's quarters, essentially the "harem," where the shogun's children, maids, and concubines lived. It contrasts with the "Hōkō," where the shogun met with his officials, and the "Chūoku," where the shogun conducted his official duties and resided.

In reality, the inner palace of the castle tower had very few people. The Shogun was a deity and a woman, so there was no need for him to have a harem. Therefore, the inner palace was generally reserved for close friends and their families. For example, female confidantes such as Kitsuri-no-miya and Mikoto Chiyo often resided in the inner palace. But even so, apart from the deity, the only person who truly lived permanently in the inner palace was that Princess.

This shows his high status.

The children had mixed feelings.

“I know that everyone has been instructed by their elders to curry favor with that prince to some extent. It’s not uncommon for you to compromise or even be extremely respectful for this. I also know that everyone is dissatisfied.” Miyuki smiled wryly. “But I hope that everyone can restrain themselves. You are all people who are used to being pampered. It’s hard for you to put aside your pride, but even if you don’t want to fawn over him, you should at least maintain the highest level of respect. If… I mean if, that prince really is ‘Your Highness,’ then the entire shogunate system will be drastically changed.”

Yes, a dramatic change. Everyone understood the young master's unspoken message. The information to be revealed at this court assembly would undoubtedly concern the entire shogunate's plans for the next few decades, or even forever! What exactly does a child raised by a god in the deep palace for over ten years mean? No one dared to be certain. Perhaps he was the child entrusted to him by some other demon god, or perhaps he was the shogun's toy who couldn't bear the loneliness—after all, it was said that he was very handsome. Of course, what if it was the worst possibility—that he was a real "prince"?

The successor to Lord Mitsurugi Narukami... How will the shogunate deal with such a noble and irresistible position? Each child looked at the backs of their elders in the main hall and smiled bitterly to themselves.

In Inazuma, no, in all of Teyvat, all life is worlds apart from that of the "Demonic God." Even elite youths like them, chosen from noble families, ultimately aspire to serve as one of the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm, a subject of the Thunder God, and follow her forever until their dying breath.

But what if the "princes" were to compete with these "ministers"?

Leaving aside whether a subject is qualified to vie for power with a prince, even if he dared, the prince's most direct support comes from the god they serve. If this conjecture is true, that prince is essentially an extension of the general, and has neither the resources nor the need to oppose him! The whole world would side with that prince, after all, even Inazuma itself owes its survival to the general, and no one dares to criticize the general's arrangements.

The General is of course an eternally wise and virtuous deity, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own selfish desires. What will she give to that prince?

These children dared not even imagine what changes the political situation would bring.

"He's here! The General is attending court!" someone suddenly whispered.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn, even the usually absent-minded Raiden no Kōbō stood up straight, gazing at the woman who appeared from behind the screen at the back of the hall, and narrowed his eyes: "Oh? Balzeb, is it you this time?"

Wearing a deep purple furisode kimono, a dark red obi with gold trim, and the Tomoe symbol, the dignified and elegant mature woman, with her long, waist-length hair braided into a single plait, swayed as she walked. She led the boy by the hand into the center of the hall and up the nine steps.

—The Supreme Lord of the Sword and the Thunder God.

"The Way of Heaven is vast and magnificent! A land of divine joy!" As Lei Yingdong returned to his rightful place, the hundred or so ministers in the main hall chanted in unison!

"The Way of Heaven is vast and magnificent! The land of gods resounds with joy!" Then, on the playground outside the main hall, all the officials who were attending the morning court stood at attention and shouted three times in succession.

This is a customary practice at the morning court session; one must shout exceptionally loudly, even if you are very old, you must still have a strong voice to do so. This is not a problem, as the governance of Inazuma is basically left to the officials of the shogunate, and Raigin rarely makes any arrangements personally. The morning court session is less than once every six months. The last court session was to discuss the typhoon disaster on Umijima Island, and this time, naturally, it is for the person next to Raigin.

Whether civil or military officials or noble families, everyone glanced at the boy being led by Thor out of the corner of their eyes. Their pupils contracted first, followed by a mixture of doubt and suspicion.

Regardless of the rumors, everyone generally assumed that the prince was a young boy. But the child who maintained a constant smile was slender and rather short, with long, pure white hair reaching past his waist and a delicate, almost mesmerizingly beautiful face. Coupled with the straitjacket he wore, clearly designed for restraint, he appeared to be a bright and innocent young girl in her prime.

However, he was not dressed in the style of an Inazuma woman, so most people could not determine his gender from his clothing... Moreover, he lacked the gentleness and quietness of a noblewoman. From the moment he entered the hall, he maintained an inscrutable, bright smile, and even his beautiful long hair was styled in a flamboyant manner, which was typical of men.

However, the gender issue can be set aside for now; it doesn't matter whether he's male or female. Many people, having recovered from their initial admiration for the white-haired youth's handsome appearance, noticed the numerous items he carried. A small pink fox perched on his shoulder; those with keen eyes recognized it as Thor's pet, often held in his arms. And on his back was a massive wooden cuboid, much taller than him, which had to be tightly bound with straps and carried diagonally on his back…

To put it simply, it was a coffin. Carrying a coffin to such a solemn place, was he planning to die for his country or volunteer to attack Kanria? Every minister's lips twitched slightly, as if they had something to say, but given that he had been led in by Thor, they could only swallow their words.

Lei Dian Guo Beng stared as Shen Liang easily grasped Lei Yingdian's hand, the boy's small hand held in a slender, beautiful large hand. He leaned against the pillar, his eyes lowered, lost in thought.

"You all should be aware of this by now. These past few days you've been searching everywhere, making baseless accusations, and you've probably already anticipated the existence of this child." Standing before the mahogany table, the woman in the elegant kimono narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke in a cold voice.

The officials below the stage stirred for a moment, but no one stepped forward. Raiden glanced around with a stern look, then recalled the instructions his sister had given him for this appearance. Raiden had told her very casually that when faced with matters that troubled the shogunate, they should act with the ruthless force of a god. Only by adopting a tough stance could the shogunate, which had been bloated for many years, execute the orders efficiently with minimal lip service.

While Raiden Shin is eloquent, she is not a god who can be truly cold and ruthless. Therefore, in such situations, her younger sister usually takes over. After all, no one knows that Raiden Shin is an identical twin. As Raiden Shin's shadow warrior, the shadow has cultivated a domineering and cold temperament since childhood.

She glanced at the white-haired, youthful boy, who smiled and surveyed the assembled officials without raising his head. Lei Yingdian felt a little displeased. This had nothing to do with politeness; she knew Shen Liang's personality was just that carefree, regardless of the occasion or who he was facing. But he certainly had the ability to be carefree. With his status and background, he wouldn't suffer any grievances in Inazuma. In a sense, he was the biggest second-generation rich kid in Inazuma.

Children with good fortune live a life without any pressure.

She squeezed Shen Liang's hand slightly to signal him to introduce himself.

But the boy didn't seem to understand; he just looked up at her strangely. This gesture, combined with his youthful appearance and beautiful long white hair, made him look like a bewildered child.

Seeing his adorable expression, Lei Yingdian subconsciously smiled indulgently, his mood instantly brightening.

This child... truly is the best gift the world has bestowed upon the Reign of Thunder.

Resisting the urge to kneel down and hold the boy on his lap, Lei Yingdong looked at the assembled officials and decided to speak on Shen Liang's behalf, "If I'm not mistaken, in your calculations, you've already prepared to argue your case... ah, no, perhaps even to the death. You have many guesses about Liang'er, nothing more than someone's orphan, or someone's pet, or... a child of God. In short, he must be a child extremely close to me, and you're worried that he will gain a lot of power... while all of Daoqie's power has already been divided, and you fear that he will take away the corresponding benefits from your hands."

Lei paused for a moment, then said, "It's not wrong."

"I did not!"

"This humble general has never considered this!"

"General, please calm your anger!"

As soon as she finished speaking, almost all the officials in the main hall bowed and knelt down simultaneously. In their minds, the general had always been gentle and rarely got to the point. But today, the general seemed to be in a bad mood, or perhaps she had no intention of proceeding gradually and was going to establish her authority over this child named "Liang" right from the start?

No, it's fine if it's just establishing authority, but I'm afraid it might be...

She released Shen Liang's hand, glanced at the prostrate civil and military officials, and shook her head: "It is human nature to hesitate for one's own benefit. I am not an inability to accept that you are all tyrants with selfish desires. Let me answer the question you are most afraid of first: Liang'er and I have no blood relation. Get up."

More than one minister breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly looked at the person in the seat of honor, afraid that the Thunder God would notice his relief.

Lei Yingdian didn't seem to care, and his voice was very calm: "Inazuma has been free from control all these years. Under your shogunate system, Inazuma has been able to live in peace and stability for a long time, which is already very good. I know that you have doubts about Ryo'er's existence, but today you can rest assured that Ryo'er is definitely not a child who will fight with you for power. I brought him into the world because today is Ryo'er's coming-of-age ceremony."

She paused here.

The civil and military officials were all shrewd and intelligent; almost as soon as the movie paused, they all shouted in unison, "Wishing His Highness a happy birthday!"

Shen Liang was startled by the unified shouts and exclaimed, "Oh ho!"

"Secondly, since Liang'er has come of age, she should have a name."

Before the officials could respond, Lei Dianying sat down behind the table, pulled Shen Liang to sit beside him, glanced at him, then immediately turned his head and said in a deep voice, "Lei Dianliang, this is the name I bestow upon him! Take my name and crown him with the most auspicious and noble surname of Daoqi. My ministers, let us celebrate!"

After Lei finished speaking, she pricked up her ears to hear the sentence she wanted to hear.

Sure enough, even when faced with divine might, some of the remonstrating officials reacted quickly.

"General, you mustn't!"

Chapter Three: Ruler and Subject, Mother and Son

Even when facing a child clearly favored by the Thunder God, an advisor is still an advisor. Although they don't usually act arrogantly, in this once-in-a-century moment, the entire court is waiting for the advisor to speak first. He steeled his heart. Anyway, he was already an old man in his sixties, and he had nothing to lose. The general was wise enough that even if he was furious, he would at most be sentenced to death, not have his entire family executed. There was nothing to fear.

“General, bestowing a surname is absolutely unacceptable!” The remonstrating official stepped forward and said in a deep voice, “The surname Lei Dian is beyond the reach of ordinary people. This surname belongs only to you, General, and is a blessing from Heaven, distinguishing you from all people. You are the supreme deity who has ruled Inazuma for thousands of generations, and gods are different from humans. Only you are worthy of this surname, and only your successor can inherit it!”

Raiden Kunihiro, who was standing at the very edge of the hall, smiled upon hearing this and gave the remonstrating official an appreciative look. Although he had no good feelings towards the bureaucrats of the shogunate or had no impression of them at all, he found the words very pleasant.

Once an official began to remonstrate, others immediately followed suit.

“Since His Highness Liang has no blood relation to you, he absolutely cannot inherit the name ‘Thunder and Lightning.’ General, no matter how noble and unparalleled His Highness Liang may be, the matter of bestowing a surname concerns the fate of the Inazuma Kingdom and must not be lightly passed on!”

"If gaining your favor means sharing the same surname as the gods, what would the civil and military officials of Inazuma, who have made great contributions throughout the ages, think?"

"Please reconsider, Your Excellency!"

Shen Liang chuckled as he looked at the ministers below the stage, who were all speaking with great earnestness. Their words were as if they were Thor, saying, "If you dare to bestow a surname upon a child who has accomplished nothing, you are betraying the principles of Heaven, the Abyss, and your ancestors—oh, you don't have ancestors—you are betraying the people and the nation!" It felt like if they weren't afraid of being struck dead by Thor, they would all be secretly discussing whether the General was favoring male prostitutes.

Amid the commotion, Lei Yingdian merely frowned, his expression remaining composed. He waited for the ministers to finish their remonstrances before leisurely rubbing the chin of the white-haired boy beside him.

Shen Liang squinted her eyes in perfect agreement, revealing a blissful expression. Lei Yingdian then smiled, as if he had seen his favorite cat.

This scene of "favoritism causing chaos" was fully exposed to the eyes of the ministers below, who exchanged knowing glances. Meanwhile, Lei Dian Guo Beng, in a secluded spot, crossed his arms and sneered at the pretentious brother and sister on the stage.

"You all seem quite unwilling for my Liang'er to take my surname? It's only been a few years, and you dare to interfere with the private plans of the gods?" Lei Yingdong said calmly, "How audacious."

The heavens were enraged, and the assembled officials, who had just risen, knelt down again. However, this time no one came forward to apologize, as if they were determined to fight the Thunder God to the bitter end over this matter.

They have quite a backbone.

Lei Dian maintained a faint smile, as Lei Dian had instructed him: he must remain calm when facing these slick old ministers in court. A god is ultimately the supreme leader, and everything he does is scrutinized. Therefore, it's acceptable for him to occasionally be less dignified, less wise, and less perfect. But a god must never be hasty; haste will reveal flaws, and flaws will be exploited.

Lei imagined himself giving his ministers a meaningful look, and then said, "Do I need to expose you? You keep saying it concerns the fate of Inazuma, but you're just afraid of one possibility, aren't you? Afraid that I'll insert Ryo into the shogunate and make her the de facto leader, right?"

The officials were all pale.

"Although I am a deity, I do not wield much power. The people of Inazuma are essentially governed by the shogunate, and your power is immense and virtually unchecked. You fear someone who is extremely close to me, completely loyal to me, and capable of entering the shogunate's governing system." Lei Yingdian didn't quite understand what her sister was saying, but she still sneered, "You worry that a 'crown prince' will emerge in Inazuma, that your power will eventually be largely taken away by Ryo, and with Ryo backed by me, you are powerless to contend for it."

At that moment, Thor's gaze was so sharp it seemed to pierce through everyone's hearts, and the officials broke out in a cold sweat, fear rising in their hearts.

That's exactly what they thought. Regardless of whether the prince was actually the child of the gods, he was favored and had the surname "Thunder," so he could be considered the de facto heir to the generalship.

Such a person couldn't possibly remain confined to the harem; there would be no need for such a grand introduction if they stayed there… It was all to pave the way for Prince Ryo's rise in Inazuma's political arena. The Shogun needed a proxy to oversee the entire shogunate; she didn't want to sit on a high platform, oblivious to the people's plight.

Every "emperor" has this idea, because officials will always deceive the emperor with various reasons and interests. The emperor naturally wants a powerful official who will serve him faithfully, so that he can control the credibility of the entire court.

Typically, such people are either the most disliked "inspectors" or the most feared "crown princes".

But unexpectedly, these words reached everyone's ears.

"But when did I ever say that I wanted Liang'er to enter politics?"

The hundreds of officials below the stage were taken aback.

What do you mean? You don't plan to get involved in politics? Then why are you supporting this prince?

It can't really be that this young prince is so favored by the emperor, so delicate and soft-bodied, that you were so pleased after tasting him that you had to bring him out for us to witness, right?

I don't remember that you, General, were such a lustful and incompetent god!

"General? You're not bestowing the surname Liang upon His Highness for this reason?"

“The shogunate should be controlled by people. Although there is a shortage of manpower, it is impossible for me to do everything personally. Liang’er is young and has no interest in officialdom. Why should he get involved in the shogunate?” Lei Yingdong said calmly. “I have already said that the reason for giving Liang’er a surname is that he has come of age today, but you have not heard the second step yet.”

Her gaze turned serious. "Secondly, it's because Liang'er is leaving. He's going to Liyue for further studies. As the most beloved child of this body, how could he, of such high status, not even have a surname! This body has decided that any surname not belonging to 'Thunder and Lightning' would be a humiliation to this body. Therefore, he can only take Thunder and Lightning as his surname, to show that wherever he goes, he is the hand and eye of the Thunder's ruling power!"

The courtiers gasped in shock.

Goodness, no gimmicks whatsoever, just blatant possessiveness. I totally get it now, this child is definitely your way of relieving loneliness, isn't it? He's your precious pet, raised from a baby!

However, the civil and military officials were relieved of their inner pressure; if that were the case, they would be overjoyed. Although there was a possibility that he could return from studying in Liyue, Lei Shen was not the kind of person to go back on his word. If he said that Prince Liang would not enter the Shogunate as an official, then he definitely wouldn't. In that case, it wouldn't matter if he was raised as a "crown prince".