He fell asleep?
Shi Xingzhou let out a chuckle, saying nonchalantly, “Is that so…”
The little money-grubber who claimed to have married him for his inheritance actually didn’t care for that pile of priceless wedding gifts.
Just as he spoke, Shi Xingzhou’s terminal vibrated. He tapped open the holographic screen to reveal an investigation report sent by a subordinate. His gaze paused as it swept over a few lines of text.
Knocked unconscious twice… sent into the Admiral’s manor lying in a medical pod…
Tapping lightly on the desk, Shi Xingzhou suddenly asked, “What’s the situation at the Matching Center?”
Butler Wang immediately replied, “Everything has been investigated thoroughly. It was Major General Ying Huachi of the Third Legion who bribed Deputy Director Zhao of the Matching Center. They swapped the Consort’s and Xi Mengchen’s files right before the Mainframe’s review. Because the Xi family intentionally concealed the Consort’s existence, not many people knew about his engagement to Major General Ying. Many in the outside world even thought it was the Consort who…”
Butler Wang paused and swapped to a slightly milder phrasing, “…maliciously stole his younger brother’s fiancé, and was ultimately thrown out by the Xi family as an abandoned pawn.”
Shi Xingzhou chuckled, and the hand tapping the desk came to a halt.
The study instantly fell silent.
Butler Wang’s body stiffened. Suddenly remembering something, he hastily said, “Oh right, Admiral, there’s one more thing I forgot to mention.”
Shi Xingzhou lifted his eyelids. “Mm?”
“Earlier, when I was giving the Consort a tour, we accidentally passed by the room where Emily was being punished…” Butler Wang’s expression was a bit strange. “The Consort said you are a good person, and even praised you for being very gentle and easy to get along with.”
Shi Xingzhou: “…”
After a brief moment of shock, Shi Xingzhou began to laugh softly.
“Gentle?”
This was the first time he had ever heard someone evaluate him like this. The outside world either praised him as flawless and the glory of the Empire, or cursed him for being ruthless, cold, gloomy, and capricious. Now, someone was actually praising him for being gentle and easy to get along with—this truly was an unprecedented experience.
The more Shi Xingzhou thought about it, the more amusing he found it. Smiling, he asked Adjutant Zhou Yi, who was still processing documents across from him, “Adjutant Zhou, tell me, am I gentle?”
Hearing this, Adjutant Zhou Yi put down his documents and actually looked up to seriously examine Shi Xingzhou.
Shi Xingzhou possessed a handsome face that looked as though it was carved from ice and snow. When he wasn’t smiling, he looked cold and sharp; but when he smiled, he appeared gentle and elegant, every movement exuding the demeanor of nobility.
Zhou Yi thought about it seriously and nodded honestly, “Your Excellency, when you smile, you are indeed very gentle.”
His subordinate was always so rigid and by-the-book. Shi Xingzhou suddenly lost interest. He slowly reined in his smile and said flatly, “Forget it, asking a block of wood like you is just me asking for a boring answer.”
Zhou Yi immediately bowed his head to admit his fault. “This subordinate is dull-witted.”
Shi Xingzhou waved his hand, saying flatly, “Never mind, get back to your work.”
Zhou Yi received his orders and lowered his head to continue processing the documents. The holographic screen in front of him was densely packed with the Empire’s classified files from the past few years. Over the last six months, the time Shi Xingzhou spent awake had been getting shorter and shorter. Most military affairs had been handed over to his three adjutants to handle, but the most highly classified work was entrusted to his confidant, Zhou Yi.
Shi Xingzhou was intentionally grooming Zhou Yi. This way, even if there came a day when he never woke up, Zhou Yi would still be able to strictly execute his plans. Because of this, Shi Xingzhou spent most of his time with his eyes half-closed, feigning sleep. Only when Zhou Yi encountered a problem he truly couldn’t handle would he speak up to offer a few words of guidance.
Suddenly, Shi Xingzhou reached up and forcefully pressed his temples. A clear look of agony and irritability appeared on his face, and his already pale complexion instantly grew a shade whiter.
His Mental Sea had begun to riot again.
Seeing this, Butler Wang standing to the side immediately pulled out a palm-sized, specially-made perfume bottle. He carefully sprayed a tiny bit of the scarce remaining perfume in front of Shi Xingzhou.
A delicate, faint fragrance spread out, like lilies of the valley quietly blooming in a secluded valley.
This was the pheromone of Shi Xingzhou’s mother, which she had found a way to secretly preserve right before her death.
For an Alpha without a partner’s pheromones to soothe them, their parents’ pheromones were the only effective medicine that could briefly alleviate the rioting of their Mental Sea.
His mother’s pheromones effectively soothed the turbulent Mental Sea. Shi Xingzhou’s tightly knit brows slowly relaxed. He closed his eyes once more, his slender fingers resuming their rhythmic tapping on the desktop.
This is the first time I’ve heard this rhythm… Butler Wang stole a somewhat surprised glance at Shi Xingzhou. Seeing that his face was still pale, he looked at the dwindling amount of perfume in his hand and sighed silently.
The outside world all believed that Shi Xingzhou suffered from Mental Sea trauma, which caused his occasional loss of control. But in reality, he had prematurely entered an Alpha’s Mental Riot Phase.
After an Alpha reached adulthood, they would experience a susceptibility period one to two times a year. Initially, this could be suppressed with inhibitors, but after a certain number of uses, the inhibitors would lose their effect. At this point, if the Alpha could not receive the timely soothing of an Omega’s pheromones, they would enter the Mental Riot Phase. From then on, they would have to endure the agony brought on by a turbulent Mental Sea day and night, and a single moment of carelessness could result in death from Mental Power backlash.
Generally speaking, only Alphas who lost their partners in their twilight years would enter the Mental Riot Phase. But Shi Xingzhou’s situation was different, because he wasn’t an SS-rank, but an SSS-rank—a rarity seen only once in ten thousand years.
To soothe the SSS-rank Shi Xingzhou, it required at least an S-rank Omega. Not only that, but the compatibility rate between this Omega and Shi Xingzhou had to reach at least 60%; otherwise, the Omega would absolutely not be able to withstand the oppressive force of his formidable Mental Power while trying to soothe him.
Requiring both an S-rank and a 60% compatibility rate—it was truly too difficult to satisfy both conditions simultaneously. Looking across the entire Empire, there were only about five or six S-rank Omegas in total, and among them, the one with the highest compatibility with Shi Xingzhou was only at 30%.
If it weren’t for this, why would Shi Xingzhou have entered the Mental Riot Phase at the young age of 27, suffering the bone-eroding agony of his Mental Sea day and night?
If only the Old Madam and the Old General hadn’t passed away in that accident…
Recalling the past, a wave of sorrow washed over Butler Wang. He lowered his head, his voice hoarse. “Young Master, there are not many of the Old Madam’s pheromones left. Although the Consort is only a B-rank and his pheromones cannot cure you, since you are already married, and you don’t seem to dislike the Consort…”
Hearing Butler Wang call him “Young Master” for the first time in a long while, Shi Xingzhou knew exactly what he was going to say. He was just about to tell him to shut up when he heard Butler Wang continue:
“Would you consider leaving behind a child with the Consort? Before the Old Madam passed away, her greatest regret was not being able to see you marry and have children. If you are willing, I swear to protect the Consort and the future little master with my life!”
Shi Xingzhou was instantly so angered he laughed.
He couldn’t help but recall the loving yet resentful looks Butler Wang used to give him when he was a child, as well as the entire room full of various children’s toys and fluffy animal onesies that continued to multiply incessantly right up until he was twelve years old.
This damn human-cub fanatic!
Shi Xingzhou closed his eyes, not wanting to engage. Butler Wang redoubled his efforts, “Young Master, please reconsider. The Consort seems very proactive too; on the way, he asked me—”
Shi Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and interrupted: “He’s very proactive?”
Butler Wang thought his persuasion had worked and nodded with immense joy: “Yes. On the way, the Consort asked me many questions about your daily habits, and even said he hopes to make you feel comfortable and happy in your future time together. Young Master, given that everyone is spreading rumors that you’ve gone mad, even though the Consort was forced into this marriage, his earnest effort to understand you definitely means he likes you. Since that’s the case, why don’t you leave a child behind with him?”
Shi Xingzhou: “…”
No, his understanding of me is just him planning my end-of-life care.
***
The Eldest Princess’s Estate.
Theresa had been badly frightened at the Admiral’s manor during the day. Coupled with her sprained ankle, she came back and slept in a medical pod, finally feeling slightly better.
Her personal maid came over carrying her nightgown and called out softly, “Your Highness, it is time for you to get up and have dinner.”
Theresa rolled over and ignored her. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. The maid hurried over and soon returned to report, “Your Highness, Butler Norman has arrived.”
Butler Norman was Theresa’s trusted confidant. Normally, unless it was something important, he wouldn’t come to her bedroom to disturb her rest. Hearing that he had arrived, Theresa had no choice but to let her personal maid help her up and get dressed.
After freshening up, Theresa received Butler Norman in the reception room. She looked listless, and her voice lacked energy. “What is it?”
Butler Norman was an elderly gentleman wearing a tailcoat. He bowed and said, “Your Highness, this is the gift ledger for the items to be sent to the Admiral’s manor. It has been drafted according to your wishes. Please take a look.”
“The gift ledger?” Theresa’s weak voice immediately pitched up several degrees. She finally remembered that she had instructed Norman about this before going to sleep. With a dark face, she said, “Bring it here, let me see.”
Butler Norman tapped his terminal, and a holographic screen appeared before Theresa’s eyes.
Theresa fixed her eyes on it, and her elegant, dignified face instantly twisted. Disregarding her poise, she shrieked her interrogation: “The Aslan Rubies from Aqua Blue Planet, the Coral Treasure Tree from the Mermaid Planet… these are all priceless, one-of-a-kind treasures with no market equivalent! Norman, I told you to draft a respectable gift that wouldn’t lose me face, not to carve the flesh from my heart!”
Theresa didn’t lack money, but she especially loved collecting precious and rare jewels, her absolute favorite being the “Heart of Jade.” Having the “Heart of Jade” snatched away had already made her heart bleed enough; she never expected Norman to plan on sending over her other collections as well. The most crucial point was, if she were giving them to other noble ladies of the Empire, she could swallow it. But giving them to such a lowly, ill-mannered country bumpkin? Like he deserved it?!
“Your Highness, you are Admiral Shi’s aunt. With His Majesty’s wedding gifts setting the precedent, if the gifts you send are too ordinary, it would truly damage your prestige if word got out. In fact, you don’t need to be so distressed. We can send the items over, but it remains to be seen if the other party can hold onto them. Do you not know the true condition of Admiral Shi’s body?”
For an Alpha who had entered the Mental Riot Phase without a compatible Omega, the only thing waiting for him was death.
But if a compatible S-rank Omega could be found, how could Shi Xingzhou have entered the Mental Riot Phase before even turning 27? As for the legendary 100% perfect match that bypassed rank requirements, that was nothing but a fairy tale. In the Empire’s two-thousand-year history, a 100% perfect match had only appeared twice.
Butler Norman smiled faintly. “It’s only a matter of a month or two. Once Admiral Shi is gone, a commoner from a remote galaxy will be entirely at your mercy.”
Hearing this, Theresa’s ugly expression finally eased slightly, a glint flickering in the depths of her eyes.
That’s right, she had been so angry she grew muddled.
It was just a matter of a month or two; she just needed to wait patiently. Moreover, given how Shi Xingzhou looked today, forcing himself to stay awake, he might not even last a month. When that time came, she would dig out the eyes of that blind country bumpkin who dared to offend her, and poison that detestable mouth of his, sending him right along to be buried with Shi Xingzhou.
Weren’t they forcing her to “send” wedding gifts? When the time came, she would happily “send” them off on their final journey to the grave.
A moment later, Theresa waved her hand with elegant poise. “Go make the arrangements. And while you’re at it, have someone pass a message to that country bumpkin: he’s considered a royal in-law now, for better or worse. Tell him to study aristocratic etiquette properly, so he doesn’t embarrass the Admiral’s manor and the royal family when he goes out, making us a laughingstock for nothing.”
Butler Norman bowed and replied, “Yes.” After leaving, he sent the prepared wedding gifts to the Admiral’s manor. And of course, the message was also delivered, albeit slightly polished up.
T/n: You can support the original author here. Happy Reading 💅