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

Chapter 195 Saving His Highness's Life

"Open your eyes, and the seal will be broken. I won't do that..."

She left those words behind and walked out of the prison cell.

The warden and a group of guards ignored the officer's "escape," but the prisoners in the cells on both sides, upon discovering that an inmate was walking freely in the corridor, and that it was a particularly beautiful woman, immediately began to shout about how unfair it was. Normally, she would have simply ignored these criminal scum, but she was in a bad mood. With a wave of her hand, a strange scene unfolded, and all the sounds in the corridor vanished.

After she left, the jailers were surprised to find that the prisoners' voices had been "blocked" by a strange force. No matter how loudly they spoke, no one could hear them, making them essentially "mute."

Unbeknownst to her, the newly arrived jailer, who was required to carry out Her Majesty the Queen's orders without question, was dumbfounded, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: the executor [the girl] had voluntarily been imprisoned, and if she wanted to leave, no one could stop her.

His Highness the Prince sat cross-legged in the main room of the palace. Her Majesty the Empress usually rested on this bed, beneath which lay a piece of pure natural ice element ore, which had the magical effect of connecting to the earth's veins.

For a monarch, "one cannot allow another to snore beside one's bed," but the Ice Queen's vision was beyond that of ordinary people. In order to prolong the life of His Highness the Prince, she simply gave up her bed.

In caring for His Highness the Prince, Her Majesty the Empress was even more devoted than she was.

This was the first time she had seen the Ice Queen so dejected, her clothes disheveled, her hair loose, her crown and scepter carelessly discarded at her feet, and her whole demeanor listless.

On His Highness's back, the intense curse power had almost solidified, like a mass of black sewage, swimming across his body and constantly eroding his life force.

The shattered ice fragments scattered on the ground, along with the lingering scent of ice in the air, clearly indicated that Her Majesty's healing was far from ideal.

Upon seeing her enter, Her Majesty the Queen merely shook her head, indicating that she was powerless to help.

After exchanging glances, she made a decision and said, "Your Majesty, there is only one way. The world beneath the House of Hearths, that ancient ice elemental dragon king."

Her Majesty the Empress looked worried and said, "Will the Old Dragon King help us? My predecessor was killed by Heaven's Law five hundred years ago, and the Old Dragon King has not made a move."

Her Majesty the Queen's predecessor was the previous Ice Queen, a gentle, kind, and loving deity.

After the ancient ice elemental dragon king was wounded in a great battle with the First Throne, he fell to this land and remained unconscious. He instinctively emitted ice elemental divine power, causing abnormal weather in the Winter Kingdom. Later, after the war between gods and demons ended, the continent of Teyvat was divided into seven kingdoms, each ruled by a god.

The former Ice Queen happened to be in charge of this land and concealed this fact from the Heavenly Principles. However, when she was persecuted by the Heavenly Principles, the sleeping Old Dragon King never came to her rescue.

But she was willing to take a gamble, because there was no better way. So she said to her only subordinate, Xue'er, "Come with me and take His Highness to see the Old Dragon King."

In the alternate dimension, a snow tornado piercing the sky seemed to stir the clouds above. Amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder, a pair of cold eyes could be vaguely seen looking down upon all living beings, only to be shattered by the soaring snow tornado. This cycle repeated endlessly, eerily strange.

Chapter 196 Dragon Soul

His Highness absorbed the dragon soul of the Primordial Ice Elemental Dragon King, and a phantom dragon was born in the void behind him, suppressing the damage caused by the curse.

The curse of Heaven's Law is unavoidable, inescapable, and unresolved. However, the Primordial Ice Elemental Dragon King was once one of the seven overlords who ruled Teyvat. Even though the maintainer of Heaven's Law has the power of Heaven's Law, its level of power is still inferior to that of the old dragon king. Moreover, if the old dragon king had not been seriously injured and the power of his dragon soul had not been weakened, he could have completely lifted the curse for His Highness.

The next day, His Highness the Prince woke up and, to express his gratitude, hosted a banquet at the Prince's residence.

She didn't want to go at first, because there was an inescapable truth: the longer she spent with His Highness the Prince, the deeper she would fall. But after hesitating for the entire afternoon, she went anyway, as if possessed.

It was only when she arrived that she discovered that His Highness the Prince had invited not only her, but also the Empress.

She arrived late, and the food on the table was almost cold, but His Highness the Prince and the Queen were waiting for her, and neither of them touched their chopsticks.

She placed her right hand on her chest, bowed to Her Majesty the Empress, and said, "Your Majesty, I was dealing with some matters concerning Xue'er's funeral, which delayed dinner. I am truly sorry."

Her Majesty the Queen and the Prince seemed to be in a very good mood, having talked about something before arriving. She gestured for her to sit down and enjoy the dishes prepared by the Prince himself.

I had never seen any of the dishes on the table before. It was only after His Highness the Prince introduced them that I realized they were all dishes from His Highness's hometown.

Unlike the dishes in Winterlands, which mainly consist of beef, mutton, and ham, the dishes prepared by His Highness the Prince emphasize a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, with excellent color, aroma, and taste, which is quite similar to the style of Liyue cuisine.

During the gathering, Her Majesty the Queen remarked that before the destruction of the ancient kingdom of Kanria, every thousand years, the Geo Archon of Liyue would invite the other six rulers of the Mortal Realm to gather in Liyue to enjoy tea, listen to music, admire birds and flowers. The seven archangels would communicate face-to-face, and any conflicts or problems would be resolved during these meetings. That was the most peaceful era for civilization on the continent of Teyvat.

After a satisfying meal, Her Majesty the Queen departed for the Winter Palace.

She and the prince saw Her Majesty off at the door, watching her depart.

As she was preparing to go home, His Highness the Prince said, "Columbia, I have something to say to you."

……

Ps:

Let's chat for a bit.

My Honkai Impact 3rd character is still leveling up and I'm only a little over level 30. This game is so hard!

I'm constantly exploring the game and doing other things, so updates are very inconsistent. I'm currently focused on completing tasks and plan to pull for the Jingyuan character next Wednesday.

Even though I already have Seele, I still want to try my luck at drawing Jingyuan. I've probably prepared about 100 draws, let's see how lucky I am.

If I can pull it, I'll basically stick to playing Jingyuan from now on; monthly pass players don't have much ambition.

If you can't pull Jingyuan, then play Seele, even if it's a 0-constellation Seele.

By the way, why can't I beat Simulation Universe 4?

My current team composition is Seele + Jax + Healer + Fire Main. Should I switch to March 7th? This game is so hard! I spent two hours this afternoon and still couldn't beat Universe 4. I'm a bit frustrated...

In short, once Jingyuan is released, I will try my best to stabilize the updates.

Also, it's Friday again before I knew it. Time flies!

Have a great weekend!

This chapter is under-worded and definitely needs to be made up.

The previous chapters were also under-worded, but if we need to make up for it, we'll have to wait until later.

However, it does not affect reading.

I'll try to keep the update at around 4,000 words tomorrow.

Chapter 197 Royal Reform

Having weathered this outbreak, His Highness's health concerns have been largely resolved, and he quickly threw himself into new reform efforts.

According to His Highness's vision, the first step of the reform of the Winter Kingdom, the abolition of serfdom, has been successfully completed. It is not only abolished in terms of system, but also the economic and cultural soil that breeds serfdom has been eradicated. Human rights are advocated and guaranteed. The most important trend of thought is to advocate that the monarch is less important than the people. In the past, this would have been absolutely heresy. How could ordinary people be more noble than the monarch?

However, after six months of reforms, the leaders of Zhidong Kingdom realized the power of the people, especially the majority of the lower and middle classes. Only by guaranteeing their right to a happy life could the country gather a strong force.

When Kanria was destroyed, internal strife among the high-ranking officials and discord among the people led to a proliferation of traitors and collaborators, resulting in a swift and disastrous defeat for the army. Otherwise, the arsenal of millions, capable of sweeping through the seven kingdoms, might not have collapsed in such a short time.

The Kingdom of Zhidong must learn from its experiences and lessons, remembering the past to guide the future.

As the idea of ​​"the ruler is less important than the people" began to spread widely, the people not only did not look down on the Ice Queen, but supported her even more than before, and the whole country became more united.

The second step of reforms in the Winter Kingdom was carried out almost simultaneously with the first step: a thorough transformation of the privileged class, mainly the nobles headed by the royal family.

After inheriting the divine status and throne of her predecessor, the Ice Queen, the current Empress granted her family, who had helped and nurtured her, a lifespan of over a thousand years, making them a truly immortal family. Over the past five hundred years, under the protection of imperial power, the royal bloodline has grown to hundreds of thousands, forming a vast political force with territory, immense wealth, and its own armed forces, much like warlords.

In front of all the civil and military officials, His Highness the Prince directly pointed out one crime after another of the royal family's crimes. He controlled the selection of more than 80% of the officials and practiced nepotism. He could mobilize troops from all over the country at will without asking Her Majesty the Empress. He occupied 60% of the country's land and wealth.

Furthermore, the biggest beneficiaries of serfdom were the royal family. Investigations over the past six months have revealed the involvement of the royal family behind all the large landowners, slave owners, and human traffickers.

She was also at the Winter Palace that day. When His Highness the Prince said, "The honor and status of the royal family can be preserved, but the privileges they hold must be abolished," everyone was extremely shocked. This was tantamount to stripping the power held by Her Majesty the Queen's relatives of their power and fundamentally solving the problem of royal interference in politics.

His Highness the Prince's reasoning was also quite astonishing. He said that if the royal family were allowed to continue developing, their power and ambition would grow, and they would inevitably covet the throne. If something were to happen to Her Majesty the Empress, the Kingdom of Winter would surely descend into chaos.

After careful consideration, Her Majesty the Queen agreed to the matter.

And the facts proved His Highness's statement true. The very next day, several powerful ducal kings in the royal family refused to cooperate with the reforms and, in a very egregious move, announced their secession from the capital.

Her Majesty the Queen was furious and immediately dispatched troops to carry out a bloody crackdown.

Many "centrist" ministers initially wanted to remain neutral in the power struggle between the Imperial Family and His Highness the Prince, but after this incident, they switched sides one after another and began to explicitly express their support for His Highness the Prince's reforms.

Everyone could see that Her Majesty the Empress trusted the Prince far more than her blood relatives.

Chapter 198 The Executives' Thoughts

His Highness's first step in reforming the Winter Kingdom was to abolish serfdom, the second step was to abolish royal privileges and weaken the status of the royal family, and the third step was to correct the extreme ideas of the eleven executives.

Her Highness placed this reform third, clearly indicating that she attaches great importance to this work, and she strongly agrees with this.

Among the eleven executives of the Winter Kingdom, the chief official, Piero, was formerly a court mage of Kanria. He harbored resentment towards the last Kanria dynasty for its heavy reliance on the Abyss faction led by Rhinedot, the "Golden One." However, after the fall of Kanria, he became a minister who survived the destruction of the kingdom. His goal was naturally to overthrow the laws of nature and avenge the country. Therefore, he cooperated with the Ice Queen.

Joining the Kingdom of Winter wasn't due to the Empress's bestowal of great power or promises of wealth and glory, but rather because of the Kingdom's abundant manpower, financial resources, and material wealth. Only by leveraging the Kingdom of Winter's power could he possibly overcome the forces of Heaven and avenge his homeland. However, this also meant that the people of Winter were merely pawns in Piero's eyes, to be sacrificed at any time to achieve his goals, even the Ice Empress herself could be sacrificed.

Under the influence of such ideas, Piero, the clown, became cold and ruthless, regarding human life as worthless.

Such incidents have occurred many times. The most recent one was the discovery of a treasure left behind by a demon god within the territory. However, the cave was extremely dangerous, and the mechanisms left by the demon god were still functioning after thousands of years. Even an executive officer would be in danger if he dared to enter. Therefore, Piero transferred tens of thousands of people from the Fools to explore the cave, and ultimately more than half of them were killed or wounded.

Upon learning of this, she reminded him to cherish the lives of his subordinates. Piero retorted, "Those in power should not be merciful; the fall of the former empress is the best proof of that."

In short, Piero, the "clown," cared nothing for the lives of the Fools or the people of Winterfell, all in his quest for revenge. If he could exchange the lives of all the people of Winterfell for a chance to kill Tenri, he would stop at nothing.

His Highness now advocates a "people-centered" philosophy, respecting and caring for every citizen and prioritizing their interests in everything. This will inevitably lead to conflict with Piero, the "Clown." However, even Her Majesty the Queen fully supports the reforms, so Piero is unlikely to openly oppose His Highness. But ideological clashes, though without bloodshed, are precisely the most difficult to resolve, and the two will inevitably engage in a private ideological struggle.

His Highness the Prince once said that truth becomes clearer through debate. She was quite looking forward to seeing how many rounds Piero's outdated ideas could hold out in His Highness's hands.

She had absolute faith in His Highness the Prince, and the thought of Piero, who always presented a cold face, about to suffer a setback inexplicably brought a sense of amusement to her heart.

[Lady] Rosaline Cruzshika Loehafat, the lover of Rustan, the glorious "Young Wolf" of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt. She could have married the vice-captain of the Knights of Favonius, but after Rustan's death, she fell into pain and despair, and eventually transformed into the Flame Witch who burns away all the monsters in the world, as well as all the pain they cause.

However, monsters are everywhere on the continent of Teyvat, and besides, the dragon Durin who killed Rustan was an alchemical creation made by humans. To achieve her goal, Rosalind would have to make enemies of all humanity and burn the entire world.

His Highness later commented, "Desperate obsessions led Rosalind to awaken the power of the Flame Witch, but also led her astray."

……

Ps:

I'm already behind on six days' worth of chapter content, and I'm prepared to stay up all night writing every day for the next two weeks (bitter smile).

I also wanted to report that I drew Yan Qing today. The bad news is that I don't have Ting Yun in my team. I'm looking forward to getting Ting Yun from Jing Yuan Chi!

Chapter 199 Loyalty

During a casual conversation with her in the tent, His Highness the Prince remarked, "Pantarone has nothing but Mora, and he cannot understand the suffering of the people, so naturally he cannot manage the country's commerce well."

These words resonated with her.

Unable to obtain the Eye of God, Pantalone lamented the injustice of fate and, in his despair, discovered the power of money, thus concealing his desire for it. For this money-grubbing individual, money was the greatest power in the world, surpassing even the Eye of God and the gods themselves; there was nothing money couldn't do.

Outsiders all believed that Pantarone was the wealthiest merchant in Winter's End. However, Her Majesty the Queen and her executives knew better than anyone that, setting aside the deceptively wealthy merchant persona, Pantarone, as he described himself, was "a man who rebelled against the injustice of fate, eager to prove with the power of money that even without divine favor, he could still surpass those bastards who had mercilessly mocked and ridiculed him for possessing the Eye of God." In reality, Pantarone was the person with the strongest desire for the Eye of God, in which he lost family, friendship, and love, and lost his direction in life.

Pantalone concealed her true thoughts well, but after eliminating the previous "Rich Man," she accepted the Evil Eye bestowed upon her by Her Majesty the Queen, choking back tears in front of everyone. Although the Evil Eye wasn't the true Eye of God, it was developed in imitation of it and possessed the same functions. At that moment, it seemed that all her efforts had ultimately been for obtaining an Evil Eye imbued with divinity; she had come full circle, unable to escape this very thing.

Thus, everyone finally realized that this guy was definitely not as simple as he seemed; he was hiding something much deeper. His desire for power wasn't just about money and material possessions; his true aim was to pursue godlike power. Such people are often the most dangerous. To satisfy their morbid psychology and gain immense power, they are willing to make deals with the devil and with the laws of nature. In short, they remain a highly unstable factor in the Winter Kingdom. Later, Her Majesty the Queen entrusted Pantalone with so many important business deals, simply to cultivate loyalty, but no one could guarantee that he wouldn't betray her in the future.