After traveling by Prince Xue Xing's carriage, they arrived at the gates of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. Just as they reached the entrance, the carriage was stopped, and a voice called out loudly:
"Who's in the carriage?"
Prince Xue Xing lifted the curtain and glanced indifferently at the guards. "It's this prince. Let us through—immediately."
When the guards saw it was the Emperor's own younger brother in the carriage, they hastily stepped aside to let them pass.
As the carriage rolled into the palace, Zhao Ling took the opportunity to observe the architecture of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. He noticed that while its style differed from that of the Spirit Hall, it still leaned toward a Western-style palace aesthetic.
This made Zhao Ling somewhat displeased. After all, the original novel was a well-known Chinese web novel. Why couldn't the palace architecture follow traditional Chinese palace designs?
Zhao Ling thought Chinese palaces were far more beautiful than Western ones. He decided that once he bought his own estate, he would remodel it entirely in the style of traditional Chinese imperial architecture.
Although Zhao Ling had never visited the Forbidden City, he had researched its design online. Once he had the time, he planned to draft up some proper plans. With any luck, once built, his estate could bring a unique charm to the whole Heaven Dou capital.
Upon arriving at the inner palace, Zhao Ling and Bo Saixi followed Prince Xue Xing off the carriage and made their way toward the Hall of Diligent Governance.
At that moment, Emperor Xue Ye was in the hall, reviewing official reports from across the empire.
Suddenly, a palace attendant entered and bowed respectfully, whispering into the Emperor's ear.
"Your Majesty, Prince Xue Xing requests an audience. He says he's found the individuals in question and is waiting at the entrance."
Emperor Xue Ye's eyes lit up. He immediately set aside his brush and the memorials, instructing the attendant:
"Then summon them quickly! And prepare some fine tea and refreshments. Don't slight our honored guests."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendant quickly departed.
Moments later, Zhao Ling and Bo Saixi followed Prince Xue Xing into the hall.
Emperor Xue Ye's brows furrowed the moment he laid eyes on them—especially Zhao Ling. He couldn't help but feel that this man looked... oddly familiar.
More importantly, the two looked incredibly young. He leaned over and whispered to his brother:
"Second Brother, are you sure these are the titled Douluo you mentioned? They don't look a day over twenty. Isn't that... a little too young?"
Without hesitation, Prince Xue Xing nodded confidently.
"Elder Brother, this is definitely the man I encountered. Just because he looks young doesn't mean he isn't powerful. I've heard that titled Douluo can live far longer than ordinary people—it makes sense they'd look young."
Zhao Ling twitched at the sound of the two brothers whispering to each other.
"Emperor Xue Ye, Prince Xue Xing—shouldn't you have done your homework before inviting me here? Otherwise, why come looking for me at all?
Isn't it just because you were afraid I'd cause trouble in Heaven Dou City that you called me here to talk? Don't worry. I've got no time or interest in making a scene."
"That's right," Bo Saixi added, her tone sharpening slightly. "You bring us all the way to your palace, yet you're not even sure we're who you're looking for. Isn't that a little inappropriate?"
The royal brothers froze, exchanging surprised looks. What? They thought we were afraid of them causing trouble?
Then realization dawned on them—they'd misunderstood each other.
Emperor Xue Ye quickly forced a smile and explained, "This is a misunderstanding. We weren't afraid of you causing trouble. It's just that my brother said he ran into two very powerful individuals yesterday—possibly titled Douluo.
Our royal family has never had a titled Douluo among us. Now that we've encountered two, we'd like to ask if you'd consider becoming protectors of the Heaven Dou royal family."
"What? Become imperial protectors for your royal family? You can't be serious."
Bo Saixi looked stunned, then burst into amused laughter.
"Where do you two get the nerve to invite titled Douluo to become your court protectors? Whether Zhao Ling agrees or not is his business, but as for me, absolutely not."
Her outright refusal came with a faint mocking look at the two brothers.
Zhao Ling, however, wasn't surprised by her answer.
He recalled that in the original novel, even Dugu Bo, who owed Prince Xue Xing his life, had refused to become a royal protector. At most, he agreed to look after Prince Xue Beng.
Clearly, recruiting a titled Douluo as a protector was no easy feat.
As for Zhao Ling himself—well, he wasn't opposed to the idea. It just depended on how sincere the royal family was.
He was strapped for cash, with only 240,000–250,000 gold soul coins on hand. That sounded like a lot, but if he wanted to buy a home and remodel it into a traditional Chinese palace, it would take a fortune.
Plus, with his dream of building a massive "warm family" for all the beauties across the continent, he'd need serious money to support them.
If the Heaven Dou Empire offered enough benefits to live comfortably and "store beauties in a golden house," Zhao Ling wouldn't mind accepting the offer.
Still, he knew that his identity had already been exposed by the Spirit Hall. The real question was: did the Heaven Dou royal family not care, or were they simply unaware?
Zhao Ling cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone.
"Before you decide, let me be clear. My name is Zhao Ling, Title: 'Demon-Supressing Douluo.' I am also the fiancé of Bibi Dong, the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall. In other words, I'm half a member of Spirit Hall. Are you sure my identity doesn't bother you?"
This self-introduction caused both Emperor Xue Ye and Prince Xue Xing's pupils to shrink in shock.
Emperor Xue Ye rushed to his desk and rummaged through some documents. After a moment, he pulled out a portrait and carefully compared it with Zhao Ling.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
No wonder the man had looked so familiar—wasn't he the Demon-Supressing Douluo who had recently gotten engaged to Spirit Hall's new Saintess?