Unlimited Ambition

I frowned and said, "How could it not be? Did I say something wrong?"

Fatty Xu said, "I didn't mean anything by your fault, my lord... no, no, I meant that I wasn't talking about this matter... alright, I, Old Xu, am the dumbest. My lord, you can go out and see for yourself."

Seeing how anxious Fatty Xu was, I secretly wondered if he really had something important to discuss with me this time. With that thought in mind, I said, "Lead the way," and followed Fatty Xu downstairs to the consulate's reception room.

The consulate was completely different from before. Guards were stationed every three steps and sentries every five steps, and the guards, armed with Gauss rifles, were wearing the same style of imperial guard uniforms as Fatty Xu.

This is incredible! This is a very important matter. This is a privilege that only princes and above can enjoy.

Thinking of this, I slowed my pace. I wondered who it was. I considered asking Fatty Xu. But then I remembered he didn't even know the difference between a township marquis and a county marquis. The best he could do in his life was distinguish military rank insignia. So I gave up the idea.

When I finally arrived at the reception room, the bastard guarding the door had to announce my arrival before letting me in. I was seething with anger, ready to give the newcomer a good talking-to. But when the door opened, I found that old geezer Gao Hai sitting there, his face as long and drawn as a donkey's, glaring at me menacingly.

"This... Godfather, what brings you here?" I asked, puzzled.

"Hmph... If we don't come, we'll tear the sky over the Japanese archipelago. How could we not come?" The old man's temper flared from the moment he opened his mouth. I shut my mouth, waiting to see if he could come up with something convincing.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Red Lotus Dances

After I sat down and talked with the old man, I learned that he had been invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the Japanese Special Zone. However, given his status and position, he would rarely participate in such regional ceremonies. The old man was merely using this as a pretext; his real purpose was to find me.

I thought to myself, what does this old geezer want from me? "If you have something to say, you could just send someone over to tell me. Why did you have to come all this way in person? Your health hasn't been good these past few years, you should take better care of yourself."

The old man sighed and said, "What hope can we have for people like us? We just have to take it one day at a time. As for what you said, hmph, you little brat. If I really sent someone as you suggested, would you really listen to me?"

Hearing what the old man said, I chuckled awkwardly. I thought to myself, "I really think the same thing he does." Since I took over the Northeast Military Region—especially after conquering Siberia—my status should, in a sense, be equal to his.

He's a generation older than me, and a few years ago he even adopted me as his godson. If I just went along with him and said yes, that would be fine. If he were really stupid enough to believe me, I might just turn against him.

At this moment, the old man took a sip of tea and then said, "Alright, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. Let's not talk about business for now—by the way, I heard you took a mistress in Japan? Didn't we tell you? Don't go looking for those shady women. There are so many noble ladies in our Chinese Federation, aren't they enough for you to choose from?"

"Outer chambers? Oh, you old codger is talking about Kagura, isn't he? And you sound pretty dismissive? What do you know, you eunuch? It's none of your business."

"I've told you eight hundred times already. We don't want people with impure blood to inherit the Gao family line..."

I said, "You still remember this... I was just saying it casually back then. Can't you just listen casually? You bring it up every single time we meet. Are you deliberately trying to make me uncomfortable?"

I couldn't say what I was thinking, so I smiled and said, "Father is right, but the woman I'm taking in this time isn't exactly a nobody. She's the only survivor of the Emperor's lineage, and she's no less than any of the noble ladies in the country."

The old man, upon hearing my words, misunderstood what I meant and nodded, saying, "You really are... Isn't this treating you unfairly? Getting married and establishing a career is a much bigger deal than this wretched island of Japan. Besides, even if you want to take advantage of her prestige, you don't necessarily have to marry her. Just arrange a marriage with any general, and that will be fine."

That old geezer thinks I'm some kind of noble person, that I had sex with Kaguraya just for the sake of the Japanese archipelago. But I can't really say anything. Should I tell him the truth: I had sex with Kaguraya just to cuckold Black?

The old man seemed oblivious to my conflicted expression. He continued, "Since that's the case, for your sake, I'll reluctantly grant you an audience with this last member of the royal family."

It's nothing, not a big deal. I snapped my fingers, just about to tell Kagura that her adoptive father-in-law (in every sense of the word) wanted to see her. But then I heard the guard at the door say, "You can't go in, the governor is receiving guests."

Then Hua Lian's voice came over: "Get out of the way! Last time I wasn't careful and he brought a little fox back. This time he won't let me in. I don't know what he's doing in there."

Upon hearing her words, the guard thought: "Damn it, don't disgust me, okay? That old eunuch and the governor... I can't take it anymore..."

The guard was so disgusting that he actually opened the door for him.

Hua Lian pushed open the door, about to speak, but saw that both I and the old man were stunned, staring at her.

Hua Lian's face flushed red instantly. She hadn't realized she was actually receiving guests. This was incredibly embarrassing.

I was just thinking about what reason I could come up with to help Hua Lian cover it up. After all, an ace pilot is really rare.

Instead of being angry, the old man was delighted and burst into laughter.

The old man's laugh made Hua Lian feel even worse. She forced a bow and prepared to leave.

Seeing that Hua Lian was about to leave, the old man said, "Come here, let us take a good look at you. Don't be afraid. We're not outsiders."

Hua Lian hesitated for a moment, then, seeing the look I gave her, she reluctantly walked over and formally gave the old man a junior's greeting.

I had no idea what that old man saw in her. Then he said something that nearly choked me: "My dear daughter, you've suffered so much by marrying such a man. You're practically a princess, yet you don't even have a proper title. I, as his godson, have done a terrible job. But don't blame him. He had no choice; he couldn't afford to offend Brittany."

"That old geezer thinks she's Kagura?" I thought to myself, "Isn't this a joke?" and listened as the old geezer continued.

Hua Lian's face flushed slightly. She also learned the old man's identity. Although his words were a bit strange, they still made sense. She said, "I don't blame him. Although he's unreliable, he's our only hope in Japan."

The old man nodded, turned to me and said, "It's rare to see someone so open-minded. You can't let them down. Once Japan is part of our Chinese Federation, we'll formally accept her."

I nodded in agreement, thinking that I wouldn't lose out anyway, so it didn't matter if I lost one or two.

Then, the old man turned around, took a box out of his sleeve, put it in Hua Lian's hand, and continued, "That brat is always so outrageous. Only a girl like you can keep him in check. I'm usually busy with other things and don't have time to deal with him. So I'll leave it to you. This box contains a jade bracelet. We're not good at choosing things, and we came in a hurry. Please don't be offended."

Hua Lian opened the box and found a pair of carved jadeite bracelets of the glassy type. As a woman of noble birth, with both Chinese and Western heritage, she naturally knew the value of these bracelets. Even though she was usually quite bold, she was startled and became even more bewildered.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make; the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make. I immediately gave her this hint: Just say thank you, and start calling me godfather.

Hua Lian nodded almost imperceptibly and said, "Thank you, Godfather." The old man's face beamed with a smile that almost resembled a chrysanthemum. He chatted with Hua Lian for a few more minutes. For some reason, the more he looked at her, the more pleasing she became. And once they started talking, they just wouldn't stop.

I was getting really anxious watching from there. You old geezer, didn't you say you had something important to discuss with me? Why are you just holding her up without saying a word?

Thinking of this, I pulled the old man under the table. The old man finally understood and sent Hua Lian away.

Hua Lian was a little puzzled as to why I, her elder, was being so kind to her, giving her such expensive jewelry on our first meeting. However, being the type who's all looks and no brains, she didn't think much of it and went to Kaguya's place to show off the box. Hopefully, after Kaguya learns the truth, the two of them won't fight.

The old man watched Hua Lian leave with a sly smile, thinking to himself: With this tigress watching over him, this little brat will finally behave a bit.

So that's what he was planning.

"Godfather, can you finally talk about things now?" I said, my voice tinged with reproach.

The old man chuckled, then acted as if nothing had happened: "It's nothing serious. It's just that those people in the south are bored and have nothing better to do. They're planning a rebellion."

Oh, people in the south are so bored they're preparing to rebel.

--rebel?

I jumped up immediately, not even calling him "godfather," and shouted, "What on earth is going on?! The rebels in the southern republics are causing trouble—this is a huge problem! No, I have to go back!"

After I finished speaking, I ran out the door without saying another word. At the same time, I took out my phone to call back home and ask that bastard Cheng Yu what was going on and why I hadn't received any messages.

"Stop right there!" the old geezer shouted. "What's the use of your rush now? Where were you all this time?! Come back here!"

I reluctantly walked back, plopped down, and said, "You really have a lot of free time. Such a big event, and you're not in charge at the central level, but instead you've come all the way to Japan to attend some kind of ridiculous ceremony."

The old man snorted, "If you weren't here, would we have been able to come?"

I shook my head and said, "Putting aside other matters, if this is really the case, I will definitely go back no matter who comes."

The old man nodded and said, "At least you have some conscience—but no matter how big the problem is, you can't leave today."

"Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"Leaving in such a hurry, isn't that the same as sending them a message? You're usually quite smart, how come you're so confused now?!" The old man glanced at her and said softly.

I nodded, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from my forehead, and said, "I was just too worried and forgot about this—so what do we do now?"

A sharp glint flashed in the old man's eyes: "No rush, we've already set up a trap before we came, just waiting for them to fall into it."

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a relaxed expression: it turned out that the old geezer's visit was a ruse to lure me out.

"Don't worry, brat." The old geezer snorted twice, looking smug, as he saw my expression soften.

"It seems I still have much to learn," I sighed softly, adding, "Old ginger is spicier." This made the old man so happy he almost choked with laughter.

Then, I tentatively asked, "So, shall we not go back yet?"

The old man waved his hand: "No, no, why go back? We'll just sit here and relax, and maybe we can see what that Japanese special zone is all about. Let's see what that little brat Schneider is up to."

Chapter Thirty-Three: A Disaster from the Sky

And so, in the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. At dinner yesterday, the old man finally realized his mistake after seeing Kagura. But what could he do? Snatch the things back and give them to Kagura? The old man knew he couldn't do such a thing. He just turned around and scolded me again. I rolled my eyes and said, "Father, actually, you didn't lose out by winning over Karen—"

Before they could even finish the sentence, the old man started yelling: "What do you mean by not losing money? Where is it not losing money? Those bracelets are antiques from the previous dynasty. Even if you put them up for auction for a billion yuan, you would still lose money! You ungrateful wretch! I've raised you for nothing."

"Hey, I don't like hearing that. How am I an ingrate again?" I asked.

"Why didn't you stop me? If you had stopped me, would I have mistaken the person for someone else?" The old man almost cried after saying that.

"Alright, alright, putting aside what others might say, Hua Lian is worth the price of this bracelet." I comforted him like this.

"What do you mean by 'worth the price'? Does she even lay golden eggs?!" the old man roared.

"She's not a mythical beast, what kind of egg would she lay?" I laughed and said, "I'm talking about her ability to pilot mechs. She's absolutely worth it."

"Really?" the old man asked in disbelief.

"You'll understand when you get the chance to see her make a move," I chuckled.

The following day, under a clear, cloudless sky, the opening ceremony of the Japan Special Economic Zone project was held at the foot of the snow-capped Mount Fuji. The enormous venue was packed with 150,000 "lucky ones," whispering excitedly and dreaming of a bright future.

On the platform, the old man and Schneider were chatting amiably, occasionally letting out hearty laughter. Although their conversation consisted of nothing more than trivial things like, "The weather's nice today."

Directly in front of the podium, surrounded by hundreds of reporters with their cameras and microphones, Yuffie appeared remarkably composed. Her smile was genuine and captivating, and her voice was warm and pleasant, easily winning over others.

Beside her, Suzaku Kuchiki looked rather like a monkey in a crown, stiff in his movements and awkward in expression. It was as if he were being led to his execution.

"Hold on, you must hold on. This is the shortcut to power... I mean, to a bright future for Japan," Suzaku encouraged himself. He stretched out his hand, waving it weakly like a robot.

The reporters exchanged glances and nodded knowingly. They decided to use the headline "Special Administrative Region Representative Suzaku Kururugi Behaves Inappropriately, Behaving in a Way That Is Unbecoming of His Status" as tomorrow's front-page story.

However, setting aside the journalists, the vast majority of Japanese people remained optimistic about the matter. The Japanese in the venue erupted in cheers as Eugene made various promises. Their enthusiasm remained high, almost as if they were shouting a hole in the ozone layer.

"Hehehe, the Emperor of Brittany, what a fine daughter she has," the old man sighed inwardly, also feeling that the attempt to annex Japan was somewhat doomed. He said this aloud to Schneider.

Schneider hadn't expected that his usually unassuming sister could pull off such a big undertaking—of course, he was the one leading the team to handle all the details—but it was, after all, her idea. While Schneider felt a slight sense of relief, he also felt a vague unease.

The Emperor has long neglected state affairs. Below, the princes and princesses are embroiled in conflict, subtly dividing into three factions. The conservative faction, upholding tradition, supports the eldest son, the current Crown Prince Odysseus. The civil officials faction supports the chief minister, the Chancellor, Thurner. The military faction supports Cornelia, known as the Witch of Britain.

These three factions were originally evenly matched, with none able to gain the upper hand. However, this time, Euphemia, clearly belonging to Cornelia's faction (though she herself might not know it), is about to inadvertently implement a massive reform. Once implemented, the benefits are obvious. This would give the military faction another notable achievement, a significant boost. Cornelia's increased power, however, is not good news for them.

However, how one's family fights is their own business. Even if they secretly wish they could chop their own brothers and sisters to pieces and feed them to the dogs, they still have to pretend to be brothers and sisters in front of outsiders. Schneider then looked kind and said, "Euphrates was very cute when she was little. She was the kindest among all of us princes and princesses. If she weren't like that, she wouldn't have done such a thing."

"Is that so?" the old man replied.

Just then, the rabbit adjutant beside Schneider quietly ran over and whispered something to him.

Schneier, however, hadn't fully recovered from the nightmare of the last time on Kogen Island. Seeing that it was going to be the same development pattern as before, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Last time it went too far, which caused the trouble. Let's be gentler this time. It'll be good to show these Japanese people what's what.

Schneider, however, had made up his mind. He then gave the order that no one should obstruct him.

Of course, even if he ordered an intervention, unless a seventh-generation mech like Lancelot was deployed, it would only add to the Mirage Tower's achievements.

"Prime Minister Schneider, what brings you here?" the old man asked.

Schneider thought to himself: Damn eunuch, would it kill you to call me a prince? Just because you're the Prime Minister of the Federation, you deliberately only call me by my official title and not my noble rank? What a load of rubbish.