Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

[The Clown] Piero, without saying a word, suddenly said, "You didn't see the fireworks display tonight, did you?"

The oldest physician among them, the one who had always upheld his principles to the death, asked in astonishment, "I've read it. What do you mean by that, sir?"

Behind him was a man who was his prized disciple. Last year, he had passed the examination and become a royal physician. Although he was over fifty years old, he was the youngest among a group of white-haired physicians. Suddenly, he grabbed the old physician's sleeve and said, "Master, I'll tell them where the elixir is."

The old doctor lost his footing and almost fell. He turned around and stared incredulously at his most trusted disciple.

He had argued with the executives precisely to protect his disciple and several other colleagues, but instead, his disciple had become the first to betray him. He was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to hit him or scold him. He pounded his chest to catch his breath before asking, "What do you want?"

The apprentice explained the reason in detail: "The master of the fireworks performance is named Yoomiya, from the Naganohara Fireworks Shop in Inazuma. This shop has recently become very famous because His Highness signed an exclusive agency agreement for black powder with her during his mission to Inazuma. Whether she is a confidante cultivated by His Highness or a pawn planted in Inazuma, His Highness trusts her quite a bit."

"The grand finale of the fireworks display at the Night Palace, with its giant six-winged angel design, was, unsurprisingly, His Highness's meticulous arrangement. The design corresponds to Lady [the Girl's] six-winged hair ornament. Teacher, His Highness is extremely busy with state affairs, yet he spends his energy on such matters; we must take his thoughts seriously."

Upon hearing his disciple's words, the old physician carefully observed Columbia lying on the sickbed. He became so nervous that he could barely speak, stammering, "Quickly...quickly go...to the treasury to fetch the medicine!"

Chapter 171 The Head

Before the officers could even act, the old doctor's apprentice immediately took his orders and left.

The prince is young and impetuous and unmarried. The fireworks display has already shown his attitude. If he still can't see the intimate relationship between the "young lady" on the sickbed and His Highness, then he is truly senile and should retire to his hometown.

Now that the Kingdom of Zhidong is thriving, His Highness the Prince is the backbone of the nation. His marriage is not merely a personal matter, but a national affair. If the two were to marry, the other six kingdoms would surely send high-ranking officials to attend the wedding; just imagining such a grand occasion is exhilarating.

Working late into the night, the old doctor crushed the elixir and prepared a soup. Arecino fed Columbia sip by sip, and at the end said, "Taking care of people is really hard work, more tiring than practicing a set of punches in the martial arts arena."

[Lady] Rosalyn chuckled and said, "Otherwise, why would Your Highness bring the Hidden Mirror Maiden? Speaking of which, you strongly opposed this matter at the beginning, and had a big argument with the officials who arranged the personnel list, which made those officials complain in private. But what you objected to was not having someone serve Your Highness, but that Your Highness brought the Hidden Mirror Maiden, after all, her figure is fuller than yours."

[Servant] Arecino wanted to get angry, but she held back her anger and retorted sharply: "Don't think I don't know that you are also jealous of Lady Zangjing. The night she was chosen, you went to her house under the pretext of a work visit and deliberately implied that her family conditions and background were not good enough for His Highness. You also advised her not to dream of turning a pheasant into a golden phoenix."

Rosalyn raised an eyebrow: "I'm doing this for Your Highness, unlike you, who have your own selfish motives."

"Me, have ulterior motives? That's a joke. I'm in charge of intelligence work in the Winter Kingdom. The House of Hearths has several more suitable candidates than Lady Zangjing. Sending them along with His Highness on this mission would also allow us to gather intelligence at the same time. Besides, Lady Zangjing was personally chosen by His Majesty. I trust she knows what she should and shouldn't do. There's no need for you to criticize her. Mind your own business!"

"What did you say? Arecino, today we'll settle all our scores, old and new!"

"I'm not easily intimidated."

The two women dragged each other to the next meeting room. To an outsider, it would seem like they had some deep-seated grudge, but it was just their usual bickering. When Su Yu was around, they would at least restrain themselves, but now that no one was around to keep an eye on them, they were at each other's throats again.

Having witnessed the entire struggle between the two executives without daring to mock them, the old doctor's apprentice bowed to Piero, the "clown," and said, "Commander, thank you for the reminder. You saved our lives."

Piero's mention of the fireworks display made them realize the subtle relationship between Columbia and His Highness. Even more admirable is that Piero didn't use his power to force them to get the medicine, but instead gave them a way out, allowing them to choose for themselves—that's the demeanor of a commander-in-chief.

"Aren't you sticking to principles and the law?"

The old physician's apprentice said with trepidation, "Saving lives is the priority. Special circumstances require special treatment. Only a few officials and we physicians know about the matter of retrieving medicine from the treasury. As long as we don't tell anyone, outsiders will have no way of knowing. As for Her Majesty the Empress, let alone a single medicinal herb, even if His Highness the Prince took everything from the treasury, Her Majesty wouldn't even blink an eye."

"Your insight is better than your teacher's."

"The teacher did that to protect us, please understand."

[The Clown] Piero said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, the executives won't hold a grudge against you for being contradicted. After all, you are officials personally appointed by His Majesty. But there's no need to keep this a secret today. His Highness is upright and honest. If we keep it a secret for him, it will only arouse his resentment."

"Won't the officials and the people say that His Highness is abusing his power for personal gain in order to win a smile from a beautiful woman?"

Piero said solemnly, “Her Majesty said that everything in the Kingdom of Winter belongs to her and the Prince. So the treasury belongs to the Empress and can also be considered His Highness’s. Just consider it as His Highness’s order to take the medicinal herbs, and the Empress will not punish you. Moreover, His Highness has made great contributions, and we owe him too much. It’s a rare opportunity to make amends, and everyone is overjoyed.”

[Rooster] Puccinila was looking around the room for something when Piero asked, "Mayor, this is a hospital ward, not the city hall office. There is no red wine from your beloved Dawn Winery here."

Puccinella abandoned her condescending manner with the physicians and smiled obsequiously, saying, "Commander, please call me by my name, or as you always have, 'Big Nose.' Either way, it's more friendly than 'Mayor.' My primary identity is that of an executor of the Fools, under your command. My secondary identity is that of the mayor of Winterfell. The Abyss King's head is priceless; that girl is hiding it somewhere, unwilling to even let us feast our eyes on it."

Piero had been looking around ever since he entered. The head of the Abyss King was a "trophy" of the Fools, and it was worth publicizing it extensively. It could stabilize the people's morale and boost their fighting spirit domestically, and demonstrate the strength of the Winter Kingdom to the outside world. It was a win-win situation.

Publicity matters are usually handled by the various news media outlets under the city hall, so he wanted to take the Abyss Emperor's head back for photos.

[The Clown] Piero had always disliked Puccini's sycophantic behavior and initially strongly opposed him becoming an executive officer. However, after Her Majesty the Queen said, "This man is shrewd and capable of great things," he finally brought him under his command.

He deserves credit for the decent development of Winterfell over the years, but Piero was unwilling to give such a mercenary a friendly look. "Big nose, are you planning to use the head of the Abyss King as a chamber pot? Your ancestor died tragically during the Abyss invasion five hundred years ago. You have an irreconcilable hatred for them, and this King is the murderer of your ancestor."

[Rooster] Puccinila did not deny it, took three steps back, took off his top hat, bowed to Columbia on the sickbed, and said some words of great gratitude.

As Puccina turned to leave, Piero noticed a few tears on his glasses, which must have been genuine emotions.

"Arecino was busy rescuing people, and she left the Abyss King's head outside the city. I have already sent soldiers to retrieve it. It will be delivered to the city hall later."

[The Clown] Piero tells him where the head is.

[The Rooster] Puccini nodded and left first.

"You little freak, you want to die? Keep staring at me, and I'll wipe you out sooner or later!"

[Captain] Capitano threatened [Doctor] Dottore, who was staring intently at him, making him feel uneasy. He suspected that this research madman was thinking of some bad idea again.

Last time, he somehow got hold of a few drops of deep-sea dragon lizard blood, mixed it with the remnants of a demon god, and came to him to conduct human experiments, which infuriated him to the point of losing his temper on the spot.

[Doctor] Dottore smiled sinisterly and said, "Relatively speaking, you are the most normal human among the eleven Executors. What do you think about me transforming you into a god? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Chapter 172 Argument

Everyone knows that the Kingdom of Winter has two executives obsessed with research, one of whom is Sandonne, the "Puppet," and the other...

It is Dr. Dotole.

How obsessed are they?

[Puppet] Sandoni was so engrossed in studying a large "plowing machine" from the ancient kingdom of Canria that he forgot to eat and sleep, and even forgot about the first anniversary of Su Yu's investiture as a prince.

Under the personal supervision of Empress Zhidong, all civil and military officials of the empire above the eighth rank gathered at the parade ground of the Winter Palace. The gifts they brought were piled up into a small hill. The Empress said that she had never received so many gifts even on her birthday. In front of everyone, she openly expressed her envy of Su Yu. The strong liquor that was spilled outside the wine bowls at the banquet that day still lingered on the bluestone ground months later, showing how grand the occasion was.

A few days later, Sandonne came out of the laboratory and realized he had missed the grand event. He immediately dismantled the "plowing machine" into eight pieces, filled ten carriages, and personally delivered it to the Prince's mansion to apologize.

Su Yu told her it was a trivial matter, but Sandone cried and demanded that he name his conditions. The once-imposing executor was now crying his heart out in the Prince's mansion, startling both the servants and Sandone's men.

Su Yu had no choice but to give her a difficult task: to assemble a "plowing machine" from the disassembled parts of the ten carriages, and then he would forgive her for her mistake.

Right in front of the Prince's mansion, in front of the people of Winterfall, Sandone restored the Ruin Guardian to its original state in just half a day. His skill was so superb that he was definitely the best in Teyvat.

The prince was kind-hearted, and the executive officer was highly skilled; the entire audience applauded and cheered.

This story later became a celebrated tale and spread widely throughout the seven kingdoms.

To test Su Yu's strength and examine the quality of his own slices, Dr. Dottore sent several of his supposedly flawless slice clones to the Prince's mansion, then infiltrated them himself. However, Su Yu saw through them one by one and recognized his true form almost instantly.

Dotole was shocked, because this was actually a control experiment. Before these sliced ​​clones came to the Prince's mansion, they had visited the Ice Queen. However, it took the Ice Queen more than ten minutes to distinguish between the real and fake.

He asked Su Yu why he could distinguish between the real and the fake faster than Her Majesty the Empress. Su Yu replied that no two leaves in the world are exactly the same, and even clones of the same person will have subtle differences.

When this was later revealed, Dottore naturally received a severe reprimand from the Queen.

The outside world's view is that Dottore's research was so crazy that he used the prince to test the results; it was more like madness than obsession.

“I have an idea for you. His Highness the Prince is a true mortal, yet he possesses unparalleled divine power. Why don’t you go and study him?” Captain Capitano suggested.

This is certainly not a good suggestion; it's pushing Dotole into a fire pit.

Unexpectedly, Doctor Dotole said with a mysterious yet smug smile, "I might as well tell you two a little secret: my research on His Highness began a long time ago. Now, it's only halfway done."

"Madman!" Capitano's eyes twitched, and the bones in his fists cracked. He regarded Su Yu as his idol and would not allow anything disrespectful to happen.

Even Piero, the "clown" who rarely got involved in the squabbles between the executives, gave him a stern warning: "Dotole, you've crossed the line. It's not too late to back down now, and I'll plead with His Highness on your behalf."

[Doctor] Dottore revealed his signature effeminate smile and said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't explain clearly. The experiment was requested by His Highness."

Captain Capitano demanded, "What did you do to His Highness?"

"The guardian of justice left a curse on His Highness that is powerful enough to kill gods. His Highness asked me to secretly inject him with a large dose of demonic remnants in an attempt to see if this method could weaken the curse."

[The Clown] Piero's voice turned cold as he said, "Since this was a secret operation ordered by His Highness, why are you telling us today? No one will think you're acting out of kindness. Her Majesty the Queen is unaware of this, is she?"

[Doctor] Dottore raised the corners of his mouth, "Shh, you two have accidentally learned this secret, so let's keep it a secret together."

"If anything happens to Your Highness, I will not let you off." [Captain] Capitano wanted to grab him by the collar and throw him away like an enemy on the battlefield. The remnants of a demon god are extremely dangerous; this is common knowledge on the continent of Teyvat. They are remnants left behind after the demon god's death, containing evil thoughts and the demon god's power. Even gods would avoid them from afar.

[The Clown] Piero turned around and came to the door, saying, "Capitano, since it was His Highness's idea, no matter how much this kid deserves a beating, it's not our place to teach him a lesson. If His Highness really has something to do, His Majesty will naturally know. Colombia needs to rest, let's call it a day, this conversation ends here."

“Tonight I’ll lead a patrol along the border to prevent enemy retaliation.” Capitano jumped out of the window.

Gently closing the door, Piero took a deep breath. Colombia was alright; it was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

A combination of an Abyss Emperor and three demon god-level dark creatures would usually require half of the eleven executives to deal with. Fortunately, Colombia's talent countered the enemy. If something really went wrong, he had no doubt that Su Yu's rage would melt all the ice in the Winter Kingdom.

Thinking of this, Piero felt a little relieved, but then he thought of another, more troublesome problem, and his brows furrowed.

This fireworks display was tantamount to the Prince announcing to the world that his future wife, Columbia, might be Prince Zhidong. However, he knew that the relationship between His Majesty and the Prince was quite intriguing, and could even be described as ambiguous at times.

It is certainly a good thing that Your Highness has someone you love, but Your Majesty is all alone. Will this lead to resentment and conflict and distrust between the monarch and his ministers? Such a situation would be a disaster for the Kingdom of Zhidong.

Ordinary people might find it entertaining, but those in high positions need to consider all aspects.

Sometimes he wished he could be as free and unrestrained as Arecino, D'Artagnan, or Rosalind, saying whatever he wanted and doing whatever he wanted, but he couldn't.

With His Highness the Prince away and the Empress in seclusion, he was the only pillar of support.

He went into the conference room as he passed by, but no one was inside. Arecino and Rosalyn had already left after their argument.

He stood by the window of the hall, gazing through the glass at the rows of torches outside. Captain Capitano was extremely efficient, having organized a cavalry patrol of over a hundred men, preparing to leave the city and patrol along the border.

He looked at the myriad lights of the city and murmured to himself in the direction of Liyue, "The immortals of Liyue are going to suffer a setback this time. His Highness has never lost before, not even in Go."

Chapter 173 The God-Making Plan

[The Clown] Piero estimated that the results of the Go tournament in Liyue would be announced in the next day or two. He touched a gambling voucher worth one million Mora folded in his sleeve. He had secretly sent someone to buy it at the gambling house. He firmly believed that His Highness the Prince would win, so that he could earn a prize to fund the next event.

At the last meeting, everyone was clamoring to have a barbecue by the beautiful Swan Lake. As usual, the group argued fiercely at that meeting, with differing opinions on the flavor of the barbecue, the duration of the trip, and the entertainment options. The only point of consensus was that His Highness the Prince must be invited to join them.

When His Highness the Prince learned of this, he said that he could invite him, but the travel expenses could not be paid by the public. He also emphasized that it was not allowed to use his private salary to invite him.

Since His Highness has partnered with the gambling house for this highly anticipated Go tournament, it wouldn't be against His Highness's wishes for him to profit by buying lottery tickets, would it?

The sounds of warhorses neighing and armor clashing came again from outside the window.

The fully armed cavalry, torches in hand, followed Captain Capitano out of the city, galloping along the mountain ridge like a winding fiery serpent across the icy snow. This cavalry unit, though only a hundred strong, consisted of seasoned veterans, each capable of taking on a hundred men. With such a cavalry unit on patrol, everyone could rest easy tonight.

The troops responsible for city defenses are usually stationed on the outskirts of the city, but this cavalry unit is the only one granted permission by the Empress to move freely in and out. No one questions their privilege; anyone who has survived thousands of battles, large and small, deserves this honor.

Moreover, the "leader" of this cavalry unit is none other than Captain Capitano, who has already been promoted to executive officer.

Speaking of this glorious cavalry unit, we must mention another matter.

In the kingdom of Zhidong, there is an unwritten rule that when a new executive takes office, the Queen will allow him to make a wish. If it can be fulfilled immediately, it will not be delayed until the next day. If it cannot be fulfilled immediately, it will be discussed in detail. In short, she will never break her promise.

[Captain] Capitano's request was that after his death in battle, the Queen send his ashes back to his hometown and bury them under a century-old pine tree.