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

Seeing that the guards of the Prince's mansion did not move, the important man snorted angrily and climbed into the warm carriage with a small charcoal stove.

The old dog, breathing hot air into his mouth, tried to straighten his back as if afraid that those around him wouldn't hear him, and shouted with all his might: "Sir, the coal you burn in your furnace was dug up day and night by the serfs in the mine, shovel after shovel, and carried to the surface piece by piece. Pick up a piece and smell it; isn't it covered with the serfs' blood and sweat? No, in your eyes, the serfs are nothing but beasts; you probably wouldn't even deign to smell it."

"Some serf brothers were sold into coal mines as laborers from a young age, working in the dark mine shafts for years without seeing the sun, eventually going blind; others died in mining accidents, leaving no trace of their names. These serf brothers, all handcuffed and shackled, spent their entire lives crawling in those narrow mine shafts where they had to squat to urinate, and when they got old, they couldn't even walk properly. It was truly tragic..."

Lacking food, the old dog, who usually didn't dare to speak too loudly in order to conserve his strength, seemed to have used up all his strength at this moment. With each shout, he would grab a handful of snow from the ground and stuff it into his mouth. Even so, he was still panting heavily and might be exhausted at any moment.

But the old dog still had to shout it out, to let all those high and mighty adults who knew nothing of the people's suffering hear it, and to speak out for the countless serfs who died tragically.

Because Old Dog was once a serf sold to a coal mine owner. He later fell seriously ill and was abandoned in the wilderness as a corpse. That's how he escaped from that place and has been begging for a living in Winter City ever since.

Having witnessed the "hell" of the coal mine, he would take the initiative to help those who were unfortunate. In order to save a refugee from Winter City who was about to starve to death, he gave all his food to that person and starved for three days and three nights before collapsing on the snow.

Later, a lame stray dog ​​retrieved half a piece of bread from a wealthy person's trash can, licked him awake, and swallowed the maggot-infested bread, thus saving his life. From then on, the stray dog ​​became his best companion, following him everywhere, and that's how he got the nickname "Old Dog."

Loyal and kind-hearted, Old Dog gradually became famous in Winter City. Beggars, vagrants, and thugs all respected him. Although no one said it outright, they all regarded Old Dog as their leader. As long as they saw the signal, even if there was a roast chicken in front of them, they would rush over to help without stopping.

The old dog's hoarse voice was loud, but the wind and snow were even stronger, and many of the adults who had left earlier didn't hear it. Fortunately, one of Her Majesty's uncles in the carriage in front of them must have heard it.

However, all the old dog got was a loud crash and a pile of charcoal sparks scattered on the ground.

The important man sitting in the carriage ordered his maid to throw the small charcoal stove outside.

The coachman who had just spat at the old dog said with a hint of murderous intent, "You'll see what happens if you offend my master," and then drove off with the carriage.

Old Dog cursed, "You bastard who relies on his master's power, ptooey!" He then plopped down on the ground, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. He then stroked the old yellow dog's head and said, "You've worked hard, buddy. I've been holding these words in for decades. It feels so damn good to say them out loud. It'll be worth dying for!"

As beggars from all over Winterfell came to "help," prominent figures in the alleys in front of the Prince's manor returned to their respective castles and estates.

For high-ranking officials and nobles, lowering themselves to confront a group of lowly beggars, even if they ended up killing the old dog and the beggars, wouldn't bring them any prestige. On the contrary, they would hear unpleasant curses from the common people the next day. Besides, they had already achieved their goal of surrounding the Prince's mansion all afternoon. No one would actually sleep in a carriage all night; that would be worse than death for them. So, they might as well go home and rest early.

Of course, there were still some die-hards who refused to leave, the most important of whom were the large landowners and slave owners who had a direct interest in the slave system.

His Highness the Prince wanted to implement new reforms, but these reforms would mean the loss of their livelihoods; losing the serfs would be tantamount to cutting off their source of income. Before arriving, they had already decided that His Highness would not give up on the reforms. Day and night, they dragged the group of powerful nobles who had always received their share of the money to the Prince's mansion to demonstrate. Unfortunately, the nobles ran away at the first opportunity.

A wealthy landowner told the old dog, "The adults are afraid of the stench, but we aren't. If you're so capable, keep going with us." The old dog walked up to the man, put his mouth close to his face, and blew a breath. The landowner's eyelids rolled back, and he was knocked unconscious on the spot by the stench.

The other beggars followed suit, breathing heavily on the remaining landlords and rich men. Some even threw their unwashed underwear at them, the smell so strong that even the guards of the Prince's mansion took several steps back.

The thugs and hooligans stood by, cursing the landlords with vicious words such as wishing them ruin and that their children would be born without an anus; there was even a group of homeless people who simply urinated and defecated in front of them, which made the thugs' faces turn green with anger.

Later, residents and small vendors began to point and gossip about them. Some people recognized the names of some of the landlords and slave owners and immediately exposed all the family's dirty secrets, causing a great deal of discussion. Several landlords walked away with their heads down, their faces turning pale and red.

A group of children threw snowballs at them and called them bad people.

So, after the important figures of winter left, it was only a short while before this group of people also slunk away. Even the few who were unwilling to give up, seeing that the situation was hopeless and they could not hold on alone, had no choice but to leave together.

The moonlight was as bright as day, and snowflakes as large as goose feathers were falling.

The alley in front of the Prince's Mansion, which had been bustling with activity, instantly fell silent.

The guards responsible for protecting the Prince's mansion saluted the group of people in front of the gate with piercing eyes.

No one said a word, but they both nodded to each other.

The crowd quickly dispersed, and they even cleaned up the alleyway before leaving.

Perhaps at first, the Imperial Guard did not understand why His Majesty would send five thousand elite soldiers to protect the Prince. But after witnessing the powerful figures of most of the Winter Kingdom colluding with landlords and wealthy people to exert maximum pressure, and the spontaneous support of the common people, they finally realized that they were not only protecting the Prince, but also the future and destiny of the country!

Chapter 187 Abolition of Serfdom

This morning, we suddenly received an urgent order from above to go to the countryside to provide reinforcements, and all five thousand guards were dispatched. When we arrived at Winterfell, we saw the old dog's corpse hanging from a tree, with a blood-written sign around its neck that read "I deserve to die." The lame old yellow dog had also been hanged and skinned.

The murderer must be one of those powerful figures who surrounded the Prince's Mansion last night. A big shot sent someone to take the old dog's life.

But there wasn't even time to mourn; His Highness the Prince had been attacked, and they had to get there immediately.

Upon arrival at their destination, the two officers informed the soldiers that His Highness the Prince had been assassinated in the middle of the night, and his body had not even been found. The guards were filled with remorse and grief.

Many innocent people died tragically during this serfdom reform, but as long as the prince was alive, their deaths had value. However, when the prince died, the reform came to an end.

While the guards were bewildered, the executive officer, the young girl Columbia, publicly announced that she would take over the prince's duties and continue to promote reforms.

The soldiers struck their shields with their longswords, producing a unified and powerful sound.

Three more days passed, and His Highness the Prince was still in a semi-conscious state, having paid a heavy price for using his divine power to fight the undead knight.

Columbia returned to Winterfell to retrieve the medicine, but although it had no effect on the curse, she still needed to do something to ease her anxiety. On the street, she encountered an old acquaintance, her servant Arecino, riding a tall horse followed by a heavily armored cavalry unit. The cavalrymen's armor showed clear signs of damage, indicating they had just returned from battle.

Arecino told her that the day after the Prince's attack, diplomats from the Undead, Siren, and Winged races came to Winterfall to demand an explanation from Her Majesty the Queen. They accused the Prince of murdering the Undead Knight, the North Sea Queen, and the Cloud Lord—three of their respective races' most elite warriors—and demanded huge sums of compensation from Her Majesty the Queen.

Her Majesty the Queen was furious, denouncing the three races for colluding with the treacherous officials in Winterhold and demanding that they reveal the mastermind behind the murder of His Highness the Prince. Under pressure from the Queen, the diplomats of the three races, though not explicitly naming their employer, hinted that they were from the royal family.

Her Majesty the Queen immediately summoned the royal family for a large "family meeting," where she said, "My dear relatives, your contributions were indispensable to my successful ascension to the throne. To repay your kindness, I have expended my divine power to grant you lifespans of nearly a thousand years, making our entire family a unique longevity family, with each person's lifespan almost comparable to that of a Celestial in Liyue. I have repeatedly warned you never to interfere in the affairs of the state, but you have been blinded by greed and covetousness for wealth and glory, daring to collude with foreign tribes to murder the Prince. From this day forward, all members of the royal family are stripped of their titles and privileges, and are to cooperate with the Commander Piero in investigating the Prince's death. Whoever is found to be the murderer will be severely punished."

Her Majesty the Queen summoned eight executive officers, who then divided into three groups and rushed towards the habitats of the three major clans.

The North Sea Sirens are from the Siren Clan, which is actually a human species living in the ocean, but they have taken a different evolutionary path. The once-famous mermaids are a branch of the Siren Clan. This race is predominantly female, and all of them are naturally beautiful. Several famous courtesans in the history of the "House of Tolerance," a brothel in winter, came from this race.

Besides the "House of Tolerance" in Winter's End, the brothels in Liyue, the brothels in Mondstadt, and the teahouses in Inazuma all have women from the Siren race. With their innate beauty, they can easily become the top courtesans in the industry, earning a lot of Mora for their race while gathering intelligence on the Seven Kingdoms.

The largest trade of this race is not fishing, but the race itself. To put it more bluntly, the high-ranking members of the Siren race rely on the sale of their own people as their main source of income. The other six kingdoms of Teyvat prohibit the sale of people, so Winterfell is the only legal exporting country, accounting for more than 80% of the annual human trafficking volume. Winterfell's prince publicly prohibited the sale of people, which touched his fundamental interests. Therefore, he risked offending Her Majesty the Queen and agreed to cooperate with the royal family of Winterfell, sending the North Sea Siren to carry out the assassination.

Faced with the menacing Ice Queen, the clan chief was astonished to find that the Queen was in excellent condition, completely contrary to the secret intelligence sent by the Winter Royal Family that she had been severely injured in battle with Heavenly Principle. He immediately cried out that he had been deceived and was filled with regret. If he had known earlier that the Ice Queen was safe and sound, he would not have sent the North Sea Demoness to assassinate the prince, nor would he have sent an envoy to Winter to demand compensation; that would have been tantamount to courting death.

The siren clan chief, who had lived for over five hundred years, weighed the pros and cons and said he was willing to pay for the prince's life with his own, begging for the forgiveness of the other clan members.

Her Majesty the Queen was quite disdainful, saying that the combined lives of the three clan chiefs were not worth as much as His Highness the Prince's life.

Ultimately, Her Majesty the Queen ordered the chieftain of the Siren Clan to wear mourning clothes for His Highness the Prince for a year, and also demanded that the Siren Clan send all its warriors to fight in the event of rebellion against the laws of nature.

The Siren Clan is quite powerful overall, and if they could serve the Winter Kingdom, they could be a strong ally.

After dealing with the Siren Clan, Her Majesty the Queen led the executive officers to the Winged Clan.

When the old patriarch of the Winged Clan saw the Ice Queen leading her executive officers on a personal expedition, he dared not resist. He took the initiative to tie up the accomplices in the clan who had participated in the assassination of Prince Zhidong with Yun Zhongjun and let the Queen deal with them.

The Queen swiftly and decisively took their lives, then ordered the Winged Clan chieftain to lead the way to the Undead Clan. Legend has it that the Undead Clan's habitat lies in a deep abyss, where living conditions are extremely harsh, and it connects to a dark abyss. Only the Winged Clan, who spend their days flying in the sky and know the secrets of all the mountains, rivers, and hidden places in the Winter Kingdom, know its exact location.

Similarly, upon arriving at the destination, the Empress released the chieftain of the Winged Clan as promised, and ordered him to wear mourning clothes for His Highness the Prince for a whole year. When the war with Tianli broke out, she also ordered warriors from the clan to form an aerial formation to support the Winter Kingdom.

Arriving at a deep underground abyss, the Ice Queen led her executives and cavalry through volcanoes, lava fields, and countless traps, killing many dark creatures bred by the undead along the way, and finally reached the undead's lair.

Due to the unique nature of their race, the chieftain of the undead has been the same person for thousands of years, yet not the same person. To be precise, he is a clone created using techniques similar to those of the Doctor, Dottore.

The difference lies in the fact that each avatar created by the chieftain of the undead race using necromancy has a normal lifespan, just like humans. Some live to be a hundred years old, while others may die in infancy. Therefore, the most important task for each chieftain of the undead race is to cultivate the next chieftain as his successor.

The undead race put up a stubborn resistance. There are three chieftains: a young chieftain who has not yet taken over the position, a strong middle-aged chieftain who has the most power to make decisions, and an old chieftain with a white beard who has retired. They represent the three age groups of old age, middle age, and youth.

The three clan leaders joined forces to launch a challenge, and the Queen dispatched eight executives to meet them.

The information provided by the royal family of Zhidong to the Siren Clan was correct. In fact, the Ice Queen fought with the Keeper of Heavenly Law to save His Highness the Prince, and her injuries were extremely serious. Fighting again would worsen her injuries. She had only used a trick to deceive the Siren Clan's chieftain. She brought eight executive officers with her on this trip to deal with the current emergency.

The eight executives fought against the three patriarchs of the undead race for most of the day until the two avatars of the undead patriarchs were killed. Her Majesty the Queen spared the life of the young avatar of the patriarch, who will become the new patriarch of the undead race.

That fellow was trembling with fear before Her Majesty the Empress and agreed to the same conditions as the leaders of the other two clans: to wear mourning clothes for His Highness the Prince for a whole year; and for the Undead Clan to devote all their strength to fighting for the Kingdom of Winter when it goes to war with Heaven.

……

In Winterhold, after her servant Arecino finished recounting the details of the expedition, Columbia found it quite dramatic.

Her Majesty the Empress is so furious that she went to cause trouble for the three major races despite her injuries. I wonder what her reaction will be if she finds out that His Highness the Prince is still alive. It would be quite interesting.

However, when that day came, it was completely different from what she had imagined.

Because the three races had received money from the Winter Royal Family, they kept their promise and did not reveal the specific name of their employer, but gave the Queen a general range.

After several days of investigation, the commander Piero found the masterminds behind the scenes. They were all relatives who had been granted long lifespans by Her Majesty the Queen and controlled a large number of slave trades in the Winter Kingdom. For this reason, they spared no expense in hiring the top experts from the three clans to assassinate the prince.

The Ice Queen personally beheaded the ringleaders to appease the Prince's spirit. As for the accomplices, their hereditary titles were stripped, they were removed from the royal family, and they were sentenced to life imprisonment. The large landowners and slave owners who provided funding and intelligence for the assassination were stripped of all their property and exiled to the frontier.

That wasn't enough; Her Majesty the Queen also ordered the construction of a monument to honor the Prince's contributions and sacrifices to the reforms of the winter.

During those days, Her Majesty the Empress was extremely sad and depressed. She even became somewhat indifferent to her seclusion for healing. In the end, it was only after being persuaded by the executives that she returned to her seclusion for the sake of the great cause of defying the laws of nature.

Before going into seclusion, Her Majesty the Empress brought a painting with her.

It was that painting of Columbia sitting alone atop the mountain, singing, with a sword-wielding figure added by His Highness the Prince. Just yesterday, a genius swordsman gleaned a sword technique from it, breaking through the shackles of cultivation and becoming a top expert second only to the Executor. The Queen exceptionally promoted him to Captain of the Palace Guard.

She remained in the tent, overseeing the reforms that abolished serfdom. All the officials of the Winter Kingdom, including Her Majesty the Queen, knew she had carried on the Prince's legacy and therefore fully cooperated with her work.

It took about six months, and after several rebellions and assassinations, serfdom was finally officially abolished.

Just as His Highness the Prince said, since the news of his assassination spread, not only were the powerful nobles in the royal family who wanted him dead exposed, but five of the ten dukes were also involved in the assassination. Fortunately, all of these people were eliminated by Her Majesty the Empress.

Those opposition and diehards who had been hiding in the local areas jumped out one after another. Among them were several generals who had made great contributions to the end of winter. In order to maintain the serf system, they did not hesitate to lead the soldiers of their fiefdoms in rebellion, and naturally they were brutally suppressed.

Fortunately, after much bloodshed and many deaths, His Highness the Prince successfully completed the first step of reforming the Winter Kingdom.

The day serfdom was abolished, the entire kingdom of Winter celebrated.

The people had long resented serfdom, but the royal family and high-level interest groups that profited from this industry were too powerful, and even Her Majesty the Queen's personal reforms failed.

Previously, let alone reform, even when meeting the Empress at the Winter Palace, anyone who dared to discuss serfdom would be dismissed from office the next day, or worse, poisoned or murdered. The words "serfdom" had become a taboo subject in the court; anyone who spoke of it was doomed. In the past ten years alone, eighteen upright officials in the Winter Kingdom had lost their lives for criticizing or questioning serfdom on various occasions.

But everyone knew in their hearts that serfdom would one day be abolished. Of the seven kingdoms, only Winterhold still had this backward system. Even in Nata, which still maintained a tribal system, slavery had been abolished many years ago, though the wait might be very long—a hundred, two hundred, or perhaps five hundred years. No one expected that this generation would witness the abolition of serfdom in their lifetime, and everyone was overjoyed.

However, the wives of those upright officials who had lost their lives fighting against serfdom brought their toddlers or young children to the desolate Prince's mansion. They made the children kowtow to the house where His Highness the Prince had never lived for a single day after being granted the throne, hoping that future generations would remember His Highness's kindness.

The older children naturally understood the deeper meaning, saying that they come to this festival every year, and that His Highness the Prince is a great hero in their hearts.

The younger children, after kowtowing, asked why. Their mothers told them that the Prince's Palace had helped their deceased father fulfill his wish and helped countless people of the Winter Kingdom realize their dreams.

After the grand celebrations ended, many people spontaneously came to the Prince's Mansion to pay their respects. However, the tightly closed gates seemed to be telling an undeniable truth: the prince who abolished serfdom and took three top assassins down with him was already half a year ago, but it all seemed like it happened yesterday.

After the crowds dispersed, many liberated serfs arrived from all over the country. They were ragged and illiterate, and due to their long-term disconnect from society, they didn't even know what rank the title of Prince of Winter represented. However, each of them remembered a name.

It is the name of that prince, Su Yu.

Chapter 188 Collect Our Bodies

During the six months she spent with His Highness the Prince, in addition to their growing affection, Columbia also witnessed an interesting incident.

The three chieftains of the Siren Clan, the Winged Clan, and the Undead Clan, as agreed with Her Majesty the Queen, came to the village camp tents to mourn His Highness the Prince.

Columbia told them that His Highness the Prince's remains were nowhere to be found, only a monument remained. So the three tribal chiefs knelt before the monument at sunrise every day and returned to their tents at sunset, not even allowed to get up for meals. Although they were the chiefs of the three tribes, they were treated the same as the soldiers, eating and sleeping in the same conditions, without any special privileges. Having witnessed Her Majesty the Queen's decisive and ruthless methods, they were terrified and dared not disobey the camp's rules.

But what bothered them most was not the daily kneeling and worship, but the cold stares of the passing soldiers and common people of the Winter Kingdom. Everyone knew that the three assassins who killed the prince came from these three races, and since the three clan leaders had come to atone for their sins, no one would treat them kindly.

The Siren's chieftain is exceptionally beautiful and was previously regarded by various countries as one of the most beautiful women in Teyvat. Every summer when the snowstorms are milder, a large number of admirers would travel to the Siren's habitat and wait for two or three months, just to catch a glimpse of the beautiful chieftain's stunning figure as she enters the sea on the night of the full moon.

She herself was naturally proud and arrogant, believing that, apart from a few female deities from the Seven Kingdoms, her beauty and wisdom were comparable to the High Priestess of Inazuma, Jean, the acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt, and several outstanding female scholars from the Order of the Monarchs. However, since arriving here, she lost the adulation she once received and was constantly mocked as an ugly old hag, which angered her so much that she refused to utter a single word for many days.

The young chieftain of the undead race, in the prime of his life, was experiencing the worst ordeal of his life by wearing mourning clothes. He feared being looked down upon even in marriage. Fortunately, this prince seemed to enjoy immense prestige in the Winter Kingdom, so kneeling for a year wasn't too shameful. Besides, for the safety of his people, he had to endure the humiliation. The Winter Queen and her officials already knew the undead's lair; any sign of impatience or resistance would surely result in the Ice Queen leading her army to annihilate the entire undead race.