Chapter 23：Very Injured

The Count Xie's Mansion.

Li Xie lay on the bed, his upper body wrapped in bandages by Lily, resembling a mummy with only his face exposed, with a bandage running from his left eye to the corner of his right mouth! Originally meant to look like someone suffering from a serious injury, Li Xie ended up resembling a newly unearthed mummy!

Emperor Mercedes VII sat by the bedside, holding Li Xie's hand with a concerned expression. Behind him, besides Li Xie's servant Cano, there were the Left and Right Ministers, legion commanders, ministers of the six departments, the imperial financial minister, the minister of magical beasts, and more, crowding Li Xie's room of over thirty square meters! Their faces were filled with concern, especially Marquis Pansen, who seemed eager to offer himself up to Li Xie for his recovery!

In the bedroom, Larry Pansen's sword lay discarded on the floor, Li Xie's bloodstained clothes thrown over a chair, and his lower body still covered with a bloodied blanket!

The sight of blood-red was chilling enough, without further elaboration on Larry Pansen's crimes!

"Rest well and recover, and I'll ensure your interests are protected!" Emperor Mercedes VII conveyed his concern for Li Xie with a half-day's worth of expressions, finally ending with this sentence.

Upon learning that Li Xie was seriously injured but not in mortal danger, and after Li Xie refused medical assistance, the Emperor could only help Li Xie in another way to vent his frustrations!

"Your Majesty, it's not necessary. Retrieving one hundred Tier 5 magical beasts is no small task. Let's forget about it. I'm afraid I might be stabbed again, and next time, I might not be so lucky!" Li Xie said, looking terrified.

Mentioning being stabbed again, Emperor Mercedes VII's face immediately darkened. Just as he was about to speak, Marquis Pansen interjected, "Duels in the Land of the Gods are sacred. Losing means losing! Earl, rest assured, my son Larry lost the one hundred Tier 5 magical beasts, and my Pansen family will find a way to return them to you! However, I hope Earl will be magnanimous and not hold my son's actions against him..."

"Humph! My Marquis Pansen!" Emperor Mercedes VII said in a stern voice, "Disrupting a sacred duel and injuring a noble of this court, such crimes will be punished by burning at the stake!"

"Your Majesty..." Li Xie didn't want to push Marquis Pansen too far, lest he make an enemy for himself! Plus, he understood from Emperor Mercedes VII's words that the Emperor was trying to help him extract some compensation! Otherwise, why would the Emperor press Marquis Pansen so hard? Such behavior would only make Marquis Pansen resentful instead of weakening his power. So, Li Xie quickly intervened, "Your Majesty, although Larry Pansen's crimes are egregious, I'm fine anyway. I just feel a bit aggrieved and need something to vent my frustration. As long as I feel better, we can let the matter go. I hope Your Majesty won't pursue this for now, and I'll make a final decision after I've calmed down."

Emperor Mercedes VII nodded, "Very well, since you say so, I won't pursue it for now. My Marquis Pansen, if you have time, please come by more often to see if our Earl's mood has improved!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! I shall comply with your wishes." Marquis Pansen finally breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that he could only resolve the situation with wealth. But it was better than having Larry Pansen's life taken! According to the law, Larry Pansen was indeed subject to burning at the stake!

"All right, the Count Xie is seriously injured and needs rest. Let's not disturb him with trivial matters. You may all leave now."

"Farewell, Your Majesty!" Li Xie weakly shouted, then grimaced in pain. "Lily, come over here and help me massage my chest to relieve some tension. Whoever helps me feel better, I'll reward them with my pain."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Mercedes VII, standing at the bedroom door, couldn't help but show a knowing smile at the corner of his mouth, while the officials behind him all had a gleam in their eyes! They were all cunning and shrewd individuals who understood the meaning behind Li Xie's last sentence!

Originally, these officials all understood that Li Xie, as the heir to the Lamborghini family, had boundless prospects, and many of them had been eager to curry favor with him. However, due to Li Xie's vulgar behavior at palace banquets and balls, they had decided to observe him for a while longer.

Now, with Emperor Mercedes VII showing unprecedented anger over the Count Xie's injury, it was evident just how important the Count Xie truly was!

Especially when Emperor Mercedes VII went as far as to threaten the Pansen family in the court hall for the Earl's sake, some felt it was a bit excessive! And the phrase "treat as one's own" made the officials even more intrigued!

Emperor Mercedes VII was forty years old this year, with many wives but no sons! Moreover, Sean Lamborghini died in battle at the age of twenty, without even getting married. How could a Count Xie suddenly emerge as his son twenty years later? It was suspicious! There must be some hidden affair!

So, these clever officials, using their sharp minds, carefully deduced and finally confirmed the Count Xie's identity: he was the seed that Emperor Mercedes VII left behind in the common folk when he was young. Due to the dignity of the royal family, it couldn't be acknowledged publicly for the time being. In fact, the Count Xie was the prince!

Then, the officials all understood why Emperor Mercedes VII cared so much about the Count Xie!

If Li Xie knew what the ministers were thinking, he would surely marvel at their imagination, and then further astonish the Master of Sleep! Because the Master of Sleep had long said: "The greatest misunderstandings often stem from the self-proclaimed cleverness of individuals!"

The incident of Li Xie being stabbed had temporarily come to an end after the visit from Emperor Mercedes VII.

In the days that followed, the Marquis of Evil had plenty to attend to!

Countless ministers and nobles flocked to pay their respects, treating the Marquis of Evil's mansion as if it were a royal court; not paying a visit would leave them feeling uneasy!

The first to arrive was the Minister of Royal Beasts! The high-level royal beasts of the dynasty were under the control of Emperor Mercedes VII, but the emperor couldn't handle everything personally. Thus emerged special officials outside of the six ministries, responsible solely to Emperor Mercedes VII, and the Minister of Royal Beasts held such a position.

This figure, by the name of Scamode Osley, was the first to arrive not only because he brought many gifts but also because he brought good news: the Duke of Pansen's wealth was sufficient to buy one hundred mature fifth-tier royal beasts, but he couldn't find any!

Naturally, the Duke of Pansen was negotiating privately with Scamode, and although Emperor Mercedes VII tacitly approved, Scamode kept delaying with various excuses and then hurriedly came to the Marquis of Evil's mansion to curry favor.

Our Minister of Royal Beasts informed Li Xie that the Duke of Pansen wanted to buy the beasts for thirty thousand gold coins each. So, our kind and honest Marquis found the Duke of Pansen and informed him that he understood his difficulties. Thus, one hundred fifth-tier royal beasts were sold at a discounted price of sixty-one thousand gold coins each! Our kind and honest Marquis not only acquired one hundred fifth-tier royal beasts but also gained an extra three million gold coins by selling them to our Minister of Royal Beasts at thirty thousand gold coins each. Thus, the Marquis of Evil not only obtained one hundred fifth-tier royal beasts but also an additional three million gold coins!

This must be thanked to the Minister of Royal Beasts!

Of course, the gifts and gold coins were accepted, but Li Xie felt that the two slaps were unnecessary. Indeed, Larry Pansen showed no remorse in his eyes, only a hint of resentful glint. Li Xie knew that enmity had been formed!

But it didn't matter; if Larry Pansen dared to do anything, he would be dealt with!

After these two ministers, a bunch of ministers came one after another. Anyway, Li Xie was overwhelmed with gifts; he laughed until his face cramped! Although Li Xie was so busy, he decided to worsen his injury, which would have healed immediately, but he dragged it on for over a month!

And his servants were also busy for over a month!

At first, the visits of these royal ministers made the little servants tremble with fear, but as more and more important figures arrived, the servants got used to it, even becoming negligent! Who told these ministers to come and flatter their master?

Because of this, Li Xie specifically summoned these servants and gave them a good scolding!

Damn it, all these people are here to give money; they're all masters, yet they dare to give them attitude? Each and every one of them must be greeted with a smiling face, carefully attended to, and let these masters be more generous!

Under Li Xie's scolding, these servants straightened their thoughts and corrected their attitudes! They treated the visitors as if they were their own fathers. Consequently, the noble circle of the Tudor dynasty knew that the servants of the Marquis of Evil were the most cultured and attentive. All of this was taught by the Marquis of Evil!

Even in the end, some nobles actually asked Li Xie for these servants and were willing to buy them at a high price. Li Xie's intention was simple: if the Marquis of Evil's servants agreed, they would be given away for free! Unfortunately, those servants insisted they would never leave the Marquis of Evil!

Finally, after the majority of the royal ministers and most of the nobles had visited the Marquis of Evil's mansion, Li Xie finally "recovered." Then he held a grand banquet to thank the guests who had come to visit. He vaguely revealed that the Marquis of Evil's mansion was still a temporary residence and had not yet moved into the selected estate. Therefore, there were no fine wines or treasures stored in the mansion. As a result, this banquet became the most bizarre banquet in the history of the Tudor dynasty. All the guests brought their own fine wines, and not just a little; some even brought several barrels of wine in carriages!

So, the Marquis of Evil's mansion, which had no historical significance, was now filled with countless fine wines, almost comparable to the oldest wine estates in the Tudor dynasty!

The front courtyard of the Marquis of Evil's mansion.

A campfire flickered into life, and Li Xie sat beside it. Carno was on his right, Lily on his left, while the remaining servants stood around them, with a hundred guards forming an outer ring!

Lily held a long scroll of parchment. This beautiful maid blushed, her expression excited as she read aloud from the parchment, "Master, these are the gifts we've received in recent days. Among them are countless items, which we couldn't store here and have already been moved to 'Evil Manor,' our new estate. In addition to the items, the total amount of money received is six million five hundred and thirty thousand gold coins!"