SZAR Chapter 121

The Prince’s case finally came to an end. According to the court’s verdict, he, General Gena, and several other officials who had helped him in wrongdoing were sentenced to death or exile. The scepter symbolizing imperial authority was officially handed over to Qu Xia.

Qu Xia had no intention of being emperor for long, but with no one left in the royal family at the moment, he was forced to learn how to govern the empire. The government affairs left him utterly overwhelmed. In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore, so he dumped the work onto the Elders Council and officially became a hands-off boss.

The elder from the Tylando family was full of pride and success. Relying on the merit of having supported the rise of the ruler, he firmly occupied the top seat among the elders. Even at such an advanced age, he was still active on the front lines, as if trying to earn back all the humiliation he had endured during the years when the Prince held power.

Meanwhile, the laboratory at Central University gained a new young researcher.

Qu Xia had absolutely no awareness that his status had become far more prestigious. In the lab, he walked like a gust of wind, sometimes running down the hallway with a potion in hand. Sylph watched with his eyebrows twitching and repeatedly shouted, “’Ancestor’, slow down! That potion is poisonous!”

This one was no longer just a student he could order around casually. If he so much as tripped or bumped into something, Erwen would probably blow up his entire laboratory.

Qu Xia’s voice came from far away. “Got it!”

The young crown prince’s mental sea problem was very serious. After the doctors at the Central Hospital examined him, they said they had almost never seen a case like this. Hormone-type drugs were extremely expensive, and cases like the Prince injecting his younger brother with them day after day for ten years were nearly unheard of. For Qu Xia, he was an extremely difficult patient, but also excellent research material.

The young crown prince was very cooperative. When he first came to Sylph’s lab, he was a little afraid of the cold instruments, shrinking like a small quail and timidly calling Qu Xia “Brother” from behind him. Later, the senior students in the lab often brought him snacks. After being fed all sorts of strange and interesting treats, he stopped being afraid. In fact, when Qu Xia came to pick him up, he was unwilling to return to the palace at all and insisted on staying in the lab.

No one mistreated him, and he ate and drank well. His complexion improved day by day. But in contrast, the dark circles under Sylph’s eyes grew heavier and heavier.

This beautiful female zerg stared expressionlessly at Qu Xia and the young crown prince. He watched Qu Xia charge around recklessly with dangerous potions in his hands, and he watched her students feed the crown prince without the slightest fear of consequences. He felt like he might faint right there in the laboratory.

The two remaining treasures of the royal family, their precious only descendants, so delicate that they couldn’t be bumped or hurt, had both taken root in his laboratory. If anything went wrong, it wouldn’t just be Erwen blowing up the lab. The elder of the Tylando family, Sylph’s great-uncle, would probably personally cripple him, his own grand-nephew.

So every day he lived in fear, worried that something might happen to the two precious ones. And after worrying day and night, something really did happen.

Qu Xia and the young crown prince stayed inside the testing room and didn’t come out for a full three days.

Every day Sylph delivered food to the door, fussing like an old nanny. He would ask whether the rice was too salty, whether the dishes tasted good, anything, just to exchange a few more words with the two masters, afraid something might go wrong.

However, when Qu Xia focused on something, he ignored everything else. Over the past few days, inspiration had burst forth one after another, and he had explored several workable plans. No matter how Sylph ran around anxiously, all he got in response was a simple “mm.”

But on the third day, the experiment had to be stopped.

Erwen appeared at the entrance of the laboratory.

He was dressed neatly and efficiently, his brows tightly furrowed. He had Sylph fetch the key, then stepped inside. When he saw the scene within, he frowned slightly.

The young crown prince was lying on the treatment bed, his head slightly turned as he looked at his brother. Meanwhile, his brother Qu Xia was sitting directly on the cold floor, legs crossed, flipping through some documents.

Hearing movement at the door, Qu Xia frowned in dissatisfaction and said, “I’m not finished here yet. It’s a critical moment, don’t disturb me.”

Then someone grabbed him by the collar and lifted him straight off the ground.

Qu Xia wasn’t particularly tall, but he was still a full-grown man, so he wasn’t exactly light. Yet when the Admiral lifted him, he was like a little chicken, dangling lightly in the air, swaying helplessly; pitiful, small, and utterly powerless.

With eyes like a startled deer, he looked innocent as he asked, “Why are you here?”

Erwen frowned. “You’re not eating properly, and you’re not sleeping properly either. Do you want to work yourself sick?”

Qu Xia didn’t feel tired at all. He was full of excitement. He flailed a little in Erwen’s grip and said eagerly, “Forget that, come look!”

He pulled Erwen over to the treatment bed. When the young crown prince saw a stranger, he immediately hid again. Qu Xia pulled him out from behind the bed, rubbed the child’s hair on his forehead, and pointed at Erwen.

“This is Admiral Erwen.”

The young crown prince glanced timidly at Erwen and stammered, his words unclear, “Al… Al… Wen…”

Qu Xia corrected him, “Erwen. Er—wen—.”

The young crown prince said, “Erwen…”

Qu Xia’s eyes curved into a smile. “Great job!”

Erwen was slightly surprised. “He can be taught to speak now?”

The young crown prince’s intelligence had been stuck at the level of a two- or three-year-old. He only had very simple emotions, like happiness, fear, or sadness, and the words he could say were extremely basic, such as “brother,” “okay,” and “no.” It had been almost impossible to teach him anything else.

Qu Xia nodded. “His mental sea has already started to slowly recover. Now he can begin basic learning.”

He looked at Erwen with a bit of pride. “Aren’t I amazing?”

Erwen nodded. “Very amazing.”

The Admiral had never doubted Qu Xia’s achievements in this area. The young male zerg had a kind of pure innocence untouched by worldly matters, able to devote himself completely to what he loved.

But…

“Do you remember promising me that you could return to the lab, but you had to pay attention to eating and resting properly?”

Qu Xia wilted in an instant.

He hung his head in dejection and tried to defend himself. “I actually did pay attention… Look how energetic I am!”

Erwen tapped lightly beneath his eyes and sighed. “Look at your dark circles.”

They were almost the same shade as Sylph’s.

He pulled Qu Xia closer. “You’re going home to sleep now.”

The Admiral forcibly dragged the sleep-deprived young male insect away. The two of them boarded a flying vehicle together. After leaving the lab environment, Qu Xia finally began to feel tired. He yawned, secretly glanced at Erwen’s expression, and asked in a small voice,

“Can I rest my head on you while I sleep?”

Erwen was a little angry that he didn’t take care of his own body, so he didn’t respond. Qu Xia really didn’t lean over. Instead, he swayed drowsily in his seat, and just as he was about to fall over headfirst, Erwen finally offered his shoulder and said stiffly,

“Sleep.”

Qu Xia hugged his arm, knowing the crisis had passed. Without the slightest politeness, he leaned over and rubbed against him, treating the Admiral like a large and comfortable pillow.

……………… 

As the days passed one by one, the young crown prince’s condition visibly improved.

He babbled like a toddler learning to speak, and was already able to clearly express his wishes. He had even learned a few simple expressions. Like a little tagalong, he stuck close to Qu Xia, calling him “brother” again and again.

Naturally, Qu Xia grew a bit more fond of this younger brother. Wherever he went, he took him along. Later, he even brought him home, and the two of them would curl up together on the sofa playing games.

The crown prince’s intelligence wasn’t enough for complicated games, so he could only play simple puzzle ones. It was his first time encountering things like this. When he was having fun, he suddenly tossed aside the game console and smack, kissed Qu Xia on the cheek, using the new words he had just learned.

“Brother… good… like!”

Qu Xia’s eyes curved with a smile.

The sound of metal clanging came from the kitchen.

Erwen threw down the spatula, untied his apron with one hand, and walked out of the kitchen. In a stiff voice, he said, “Qu Xia, the crown prince should return to the palace. It’s late. It’s time for him to sleep.”

Nearly half a year passed after that, and the crown prince finally began learning how to govern the country.

His condition had recovered for the most part. His thinking was not much different from that of an ordinary person. There were still some common knowledge things that had to be taught, but it wasn’t a big problem. By now he already showed some of the royal family’s intelligence and early wisdom. Compared with the crown prince who couldn’t even speak clearly before, he was like a completely different person.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was that he still stuck to Qu Xia just like before.

The young crown prince spent the whole day calling “Brother this” and “Brother that.” Because of that, when Qu Xia dumped the work onto him, he even felt a little guilty. However, for the sake of his grand cause of freedom, he still resolutely passed the burden along.

When he forwarded several thousand emails to the crown prince’s mailbox, almost filling up his storage card, and then patted his younger brother on the shoulder with a grave expression, saying, “Brother, I believe in you. These are the documents you need to review today. Please make sure to finish reading them before tonight,” the crown prince’s expression turned blank with confusion. In that confusion there was disbelief, and then a trace of grievance.

He looked like a puppet with its strings pulled, repeating in a lost and dazed voice,

“How could I possibly finish reviewing all this? There’s no way I can finish this… This is impossible… It’s impossible to finish…”

Qu Xia said with a grave expression, “It really is impossible… but I believe in you. Please do your best!”

The crown prince looked at him quietly, his expression clearly showing that he had been betrayed.

But Qu Xia had no time to take care of his bonus little brother anymore, he had to go prepare for the wedding.

Ever since he took over the Prince’s scepter, the entire Star Network had been speculating about who this most noble young male zerg in the empire would choose as his female monarch.

Because he had gone on a frenzy of dates before, half the people on the Star Network guessed Sylph, while the other half guessed Lin En. But no one expected that when the announcement finally came out, it would actually be Erwen.

The gossiping crowd’s mouths hung open wide enough to swallow an egg. Many people said the two didn’t seem very well matched. With hidden concern, they wondered:

【 Why arrange it like this? Is it a political marriage, something done out of necessity? Is the male zerg willing? The Admiral probably isn’t willing either, right? 】

After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, Erwen was famously unmoved by anything. His cold and stern expression carried a clear “keep strangers away” aura, and no one thought he would fall in love with any male zerg.

That was until one day when Qu Xia finished work and Erwen was waiting at the entrance of the council building. Someone secretly took a photo of them.

At the time, Qu Xia had been reading documents until his head was spinning and his eyes blurred. The moment he saw the Admiral, he felt so aggrieved that he rushed straight into Erwen’s chest, wrapped his arms around his waist, and muttered endlessly, complaining about things like “some elder arguing again” and “there were so many documents today I’m exhausted,” and other trivial matters.

Erwen showed no impatience at all. He held the male zerg, letting him burrow into his arms, and the expression in his eyes and brows could even be called gentle.

The secretly taken photo only showed the two of them from the side. Qu Xia had buried his face completely, so not much could be seen. But the Admiral’s intimate expression and the helpless yet indulgent smile on his face could not be faked.

And so the Star Network suddenly realized, they had gotten it wrong.

What political marriage? Clearly, when feelings grow deep, one cannot help oneself. They admired and loved each other, so everything simply happened naturally.

At this time, someone suddenly remembered the egg Qu Xia once had.

Back when he first returned to the main planet, he had set up the image of a deeply devoted man. With the persona of a “single father who never abandoned the female-zerg egg,” he had gained a great deal of goodwill. Now people began recalling it again: if he was such a nostalgic and devoted male bug, why had the egg’s female father never appeared?

Then people noticed something else.

The egg also seemed to have disappeared.

It should have been time for the egg to hatch, but after careful observation, the royal family had not registered any new member. That egg must have either died prematurely, or been lost.

For a moment, everyone sighed with regret.

Clearly, when it first arrived, the egg was perfectly healthy. If it died, it meant it hadn’t been cared for properly; if it went missing, it was sheer carelessness.

People couldn’t help but question how Qu Xia had handled things back then, and some even sighed quietly, muttering, 【 What perfect males? None of them are truly loyal; they love and leave, cold and fickle, quick to move on. 】

Qu Xia didn’t respond at all.

He was too busy anyway. Before the wedding, he still had a major surprise to plan, a bombshell to present to Erwen as a pre-wedding gift.

So, in August of Star Calendar 57826, just before the wedding of the empire’s prince, His Highness Qu Xia, a shocking announcement silently appeared on the official site of Central University:

『  The Imperial Central Neuroscience Laboratory claimed they may have found a method to temporarily stabilize the mental sea, preventing fatal damage caused by its violent surges. 』

This was an extremely important discovery. For years, research on the mental sea had stagnated; almost no methods could ease or treat its issues. Once problems arose, many were irreversible. Now, even a temporary breakthrough was enough to shock the entire galaxy.

Everyone rushed to the lab’s official website to read the news. At the very end of the announcement, they saw the author of the paper:

— It was none other than His Highness the Prince.