...
"Cough cough..."
Xue Qinghe choked on his own saliva, and his gentle and refined expression instantly crumbled.
"Young friend... this... this is probably not in accordance with the rules, isn't it?"
"The Heavenly Dou Royal Family's treasury is the foundation of the nation.
It contains rare treasures collected by successive emperors, and even vital artifacts related to the lifeline of the country.
Normally, apart from my father, even I, the crown prince, cannot enter or leave at will, let alone... take things as I please."
"Tsk."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Hao's expectant face instantly fell, and he threw the chess piece in his hand onto the table with a crisp sound.
He leaned back, crossed his legs, and his face was full of disdain, as if to say, "I knew it."
"I knew it! All that talk about the national honors and the resources I could use at will was just empty promises."
"Anyone can talk a good game. They can talk a good game, but when it comes to actually spending money, they start talking about rules and difficulties."
Xuan Hao pointed at Xue Qinghe, then turned to Ning Rongrong, who was counting gold soul coins, and said:
"Rongrong, did you see that clearly?
This is what you call adult hypocrisy."
"This is what you call sincerity."
Ning Rongrong blinked her big eyes and nodded obediently, adding insult to injury in her childish voice:
"Hmm! My brother, the Crown Prince, is such a cheapskate! I haven't even been to the treasury yet!"
Xue Qinghe: "..."
You brat!
At noon at the hotel, I talked to him about power, status, and ideals, but he was dismissive.
Now when you talk to him about money or treasures, he gets all excited?
So, in this guy's eyes, her promises are worth less than a pile of dead objects?
But she had no choice but to swallow her anger.
After all, the old emperor had given him a strict order to keep this "potential stock" under control.
If this "external thing" drives people away, or makes Xuanhao think the royal family is hypocritical, then all the previous efforts will be in vain.
"Brother Xuanhao, you've misunderstood."
Xue Qinghe took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kick the little bandit in front of him into the lotus pond, and forced a helpless yet indulgent smile back onto his face:
"It's not that I'm stingy, it's just that it's a treasure trove with far-reaching implications."
"but..."
Xue Qinghe abruptly changed the subject, his eyes revealing a resolute determination:
"Since Father Emperor said he would treat him as a national hero, then we cannot go back on our word."
"How about this, I can ask my father for permission to grant the Xuanhao brothers special permission to enter the treasury for a look."
"While I can't say you can take whatever you want—after all, there are some things I can't control—I can make the decision that you can choose any three treasures from inside and take them with you!"
"No matter its value, as long as you like it, even if it's a national treasure, I'll take responsibility for it!"
After saying this, Xue Qinghe stared intently at Xuan Hao, thinking to herself: Now you should be satisfied, right?
Three treasures, that's already a huge favor!
Even Ning Fengzhi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but be moved.
The Heavenly Dou royal family's treasury is a treasure accumulated over thousands of years.
Any one of these items could be a treasure that could cause bloodshed and chaos in the outside world.
Choose any three?
That's quite a generous offer!
However.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Hao merely stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over Xue Qinghe as if assessing the value of the promise.
"Three things..."
Xuan Hao curled his lip in disdain, "It's a bit little, but it's better than nothing."
"Alright, since His Highness the Crown Prince is so reluctant, I'll give you this face."
When are you going?
Xue Qinghe: "..."
Do you think I'm giving you face?
I'm giving you money and treasures, and you still have to give me face?
"tomorrow."
Xue Qinghe gritted his teeth and smiled, "I'll send a car to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he nodded slightly to Ning Fengzhi and then hurriedly left.
After all, opening the national treasury is a big deal, and his nod is not enough.
He still has to go back and talk to the old emperor, and even sign a pledge to win the kid over.
Otherwise, Emperor Xueye might not be willing to part with that treasury full of treasures.
Watching Xue Qinghe's departing figure, Ning Rongrong, who had been sitting obediently to the side, suddenly jumped off her chair, her eyes shining, and ran to Ning Fengzhi, grabbing his arm and shaking it:
"Daddy! Daddy!"
"I want to go tomorrow too! I want to go to that treasure vault!"
"Nonsense." Ning Fengzhi put on a stern face and gently tapped her forehead.
"That's a royal residence.
Xuanhao went there to pick out treasures.
What were you doing there?"
Ning Rongrong puffed out her cheeks, pointing at Xuan Hao and saying defiantly, "Brother Xuan Hao already said he would take me to play! And..."
Her eyes darted around, and she said proudly, "Besides, I can help Brother Xuanhao pick out treasures!
I have excellent taste!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi's heart stirred. He turned to look at Xuan Hao, who was drinking tea, and said meaningfully:
"Young friend, what Rongrong said is not wrong."
"Oh?" Xuan Hao put down his teacup.
"What do you mean?"
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's direct martial soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
This pagoda is not only the number one auxiliary martial soul in the world, but also a top-grade gemstone martial soul."
Ning Fengzhi smiled and explained, "Perhaps it's due to the characteristics of their martial souls, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Masters have an innate and extraordinary keen perception of the rare treasures in the world."
"Especially Rongrong."
Ning Fengzhi affectionately patted his daughter's head.
"Her talent surpasses mine; she possesses the highest quality martial soul awakened in the sect's hundreds of years of history.
Her intuition for treasures is even stronger than mine."
"Although the royal treasury is full of treasures, it must also contain many hidden gems, or seemingly gorgeous but actually mediocre objects."
"If you bring Rongrong along, with her perception, she will definitely be able to help you pick out the three most valuable things from among those thousands of treasures."
"oh?"
Xuan Hao's eyes lit up.
Oh right, I almost forgot about the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, that treasure-appraising radar!
The Heavenly Dou royal family's treasury must be enormous, and its contents must be piled up like mountains.
If he wants to find the real treasure inside, it will be quite difficult, but with Ning Rongrong around, things will be much simpler!
"OK!"
Xuan Hao slapped his thigh and immediately made the decision, "Then let's take them! Tomorrow we'll form a team and raid the Heaven Dou royal family's secrets!"
"Yay! Let's go rob a group!" Ning Rongrong cheered excitedly.
Chen Xin, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth as she listened.
How did a perfectly good "entering the palace to appreciate treasures" turn into "group robbery" in the mouths of these two little devils?
...
The next morning.
As dawn broke, Xuanhao, Na'er, and Ning Rongrong, the three little ones, were already all ready to go.
They squatted at the entrance of Qibaozhai, full of energy, and looked longingly in the direction of the palace.
Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin stood behind, looking at the three little ones, and found it quite amusing.
"Charm".
Chen Xin's lips moved slightly as he secretly transmitted his voice, "Is it really appropriate to let Rongrong go off with this kid to cause trouble...? After all, this is the royal treasury.
If word gets out... wouldn't that sound a bit bad?"
"What's wrong with that?" Ning Fengzhi stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile on his lips.
"It was His Majesty's word that made the promise, and the Crown Prince himself invited us.
Our Rongrong is just going along to broaden her horizons and give Xuanhao some advice."
"Anyway, it's the royal family that's bleeding money, so we can just watch the show."
At this point, a hint of curiosity flashed in Ning Fengzhi's eyes. "To be honest, even I'm a little looking forward to it.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is incredibly wealthy and has a history of over a thousand years, we started out as a business, and our foundation lies more in gold soul coins and connections."
"The two great empires have ruled the continent for a thousand years, plundering countless rare treasures.
When it comes to truly top-tier collections, even we may not be able to compare."
"This time, I'll take advantage of Xuan Hao's connections to broaden my horizons."
Not long after, the quiet of the morning was broken by the sound of orderly hooves.
A troop of royal guards, clad in golden armor and exuding an imposing aura, escorted an extremely luxurious carriage as it slowly approached.
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing Xue Qinghe's slightly tired but still gentle smiling face.
Good morning, everyone.
Xue Qinghe jumped off the carriage.
He had clearly spent a lot of time persuading Emperor Xueye last night, and his eyes were still a little bloodshot.
But when he saw Xuan Hao, he forced himself to cheer up and said, "Father has made all the arrangements.
Let's go to the palace now."
Xuan Hao didn't stand on ceremony and pulled Na'er and Rongrong into the spacious carriage that was as big as a small house.
The carriage, escorted by the Imperial Guards, drove smoothly into the Tian Dou Imperial Palace.
After passing through numerous palace gates and bypassing countless patrol checkpoints, they finally stopped in front of a heavily guarded side hall.
"arrive."
Xue Qinghe led everyone out of the car, but instead of entering the side hall, he walked to a rockery behind the hall and activated a hidden mechanism.
"Clang clang clang—"
The ground trembled slightly, revealing a wide underground passageway.
"This is the only entrance to the national treasury," Xue Qinghe explained.
"The national treasury is located a hundred meters underground, surrounded by several meters of reinforced iron and equipped with numerous traps.
Even a titled Douluo would find it difficult to force his way in."
"Everyone, please."
Xue Qinghe led the way, and the group filed in.
After walking down the winding passageway for a full fifteen minutes, the surrounding air became dry and cool, and the ever-burning lights on the walls were lit.
Finally, at the end of the passageway, a huge underground plaza appeared.
At the end of the square stood an enormous stone gate, and in front of the gate stood a dignified old man in a golden robe, his hands clasped behind his back.
It was none other than the emperor of the Heavenly Dou Empire, Emperor Xueye.
Behind Xueye stood three elderly men dressed in gray robes, their hair and beards all white.
Although they appeared to be very old, the occasional glint of sharpness in their cloudy eyes made it impossible for anyone to look them directly in the eye.
"A Soul Douluo... and a peak Soul Douluo whose soul power is extremely profound, approaching that of a Title Douluo."
Chen Xin glanced at it and made a judgment in his mind.
These three individuals are likely the hidden secrets of the royal family, specifically tasked with guarding the national treasury's offerings.
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