Galactic Star Calendar year 3032 · end of September.
It had been getting on for two months since the Prince Faction seized power at the Starlight Empire's Capital Star.
But up to now, the Starlight Empire remained, on the surface, calm as still water and quiet as a windless day.
Indeed, the Prince Faction hadn't even, in the open, made mention of the matter of the little Princess.
But were anyone to keep close watch on the Starlight Empire, they'd find that beneath this calm, in fact, undercurrents surged and churned.
The number of starship orders placed by the various forces within the Starlight Empire had, over these two months, risen 300% against the same two months a year before!
This led, straight off, to the interstellar-warship prices of no small number of starship manufacturers rising too — some hot-selling ships even, at one point, rose 50%!
The Northern Goose Group's T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, for instance.
And besides, the few T3 interstellar warships sold to the outside were, too, packed to bursting with orders; there'd even appeared a situation of one-ship-being-hard-to-come-by.
The various forces were all arming on a large scale — this was quite enough to show that beneath this lake-surface of the Starlight Empire's, a storm had already formed.
And the two centers of this storm were, of course, the Prince Faction and the Chu family.
The news of the Chu family's Chu Changhe being placed under house arrest at the Capital Star had, within the upper society, already spread abroad.
But up to now, the Chu family legion had, all along, held still and made no move, which was, in truth, a thing to astonish people.
Could it be that the Chu family's heir — that Chu Xuan — was good-for-nothing, unable to shoulder this great banner of the Chu family's?
No one knew just what, exactly, was going on.
And at this moment, this very person in question was talking a piece of business with her "betrothed."
"The third payment of the T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer's technology-authorization fee — 32 billion star coins in raw-material payment — I've had it transported to the Owl Dragon System." Chu Xuan conducted a video conversation with Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen looked at the Chu Xuan opposite; unseen for a stretch of time, he found that the Chu Xuan of now had changed no small amount from before.
The outwardly projecting aura she'd once had about her was, now, a good deal more drawn-in and restrained.
If, before, she'd been rather like a woman-knight, then at this moment she was rather more like a woman-general presiding at the center of an army.
Chu Xuan went on, "Besides, we're preparing to produce a fourth batch of T3 Flame Dragons. This time we mean to directly produce 1,000 T3 Flame Dragons; per the single-ship technology-authorization fee we agreed on before — 150 million star coins — that's a total of 150 billion star coins. The down payment, 45 billion star coins in raw-material resources, I'll pay together with this final payment."
At a time like this, that Chu Xuan could still hold fast to the spirit of the contract, paying Zhao Chen the technology-authorization fee just as ever — this made even Zhao Chen hold the Chu family in respect despite himself.
No wonder the Chu family could become the Starlight Empire's greatest family; this, too, was not without its reasons.
Zhao Chen didn't directly agree to Chu Xuan's matter; he said in earnest, "Is this your Chu family preparing for war? Making ready to go to war with the Prince Faction?"
Chu Xuan's brows carried a rage.
"The Prince Faction has house-arrested my grandfather; though my grandfather forbids me to strike out first, I must, all the same, make ready to go to war at any moment. The instant that pack of fellows dares move against my grandfather, I'll blast their very ashes to the winds! Even if, in this battle, we may have no chance of victory whatsoever, I'll still make the Prince Faction pay the price!"
"Let me ask a question: have you considered allying with the Holy Radiance Empire, or the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Chu Xuan looked at Zhao Chen; toward this friend with whom she'd been through life and death, she hid nothing, and said, "Though my grandfather may, at times, crack a joke or two with his mouth — no matter what sort of situation our Chu family comes to face, our Chu family could never possibly bring foreign races within our borders to slaughter and harm our own kinfolk!"
The Starlight Empire was over 90% human; but the other two empires were not such a case.
To call the two empires "foreign races" was, too, quite reasonable.
Zhao Chen thought inwardly: I knew that old fellow was only talking with his mouth; a thing like allying with the other two empires, he'd absolutely never do — this is the Chu family's bottom line.
Chu Xuan suddenly went on, "In a few days, I'll announce a thing to the outside world. That matter my grandfather spoke of before, of your being my betrothed — cancelled. Now that the Chu family has become the target of every arrow, this relation of your being my betrothed would affect you."
For some reason, in speaking of this matter, Chu Xuan's gaze went somewhat dim.
Zhao Chen put on a show of surprise.
"What? You've not even gotten your trousers off, and already you're turning your face and refusing to know me?"
Chu Xuan was taken aback, and then, red-faced, cried out, "You… you… what are you saying… what do you mean, not gotten my trousers off… who… who's taken their trousers off!"
Zhao Chen said with a teasing laugh, "This matter of cancelling the betrothed-status, I don't agree to it; for though it's a fake, to let people know I've been dumped by you — where's a man to put his face then? If there's to be any dumping, it'll be some day when I'm displeased, and I dump you."
"You…" Chu Xuan was choked with anger; how could this fellow be so blind to good and ill — could he not see that she was doing it for his own good?
"And besides, on this matter of the technology-authorization fee." Zhao Chen's tone turned earnest, his two eyes looking at Chu Xuan.
"Apart from that final payment — from today on, the T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, your Chu family may produce at will; there's no more need to pay me the technology-authorization fee."
Chu Xuan's expression went blank.
"And there's one more thing: if some day you can't hold out any longer, just give a shout of 'dear husband.' I'm no great capable one, but I do, all the same, have a fleet in hand that can fight; dear husband will go get the justice for you." Zhao Chen gave a wicked little smile.
Not waiting for Chu Xuan to speak, Zhao Chen went straight on, "I've still got a great many matters to see to on my side, so dear husband won't chat idly with you any longer. Bye-bye."
Having said this, Chu Xuan watched as the Zhao Chen opposite closed the video comm.
Chu Xuan was dumbfounded.
But soon, she laughed aloud, and there was, besides, a trace of a crystalline glimmer in the rims of her eyes.
"This fool."
……
Zhao Chen leaned back against the captain's chair; the very next moment he gave himself a slap across the face.
"Bloody hell — this one sentence of mine has straight off thrown away several hundred billion star coins! I've never done such a losing piece of business!"
Over this loss, Zhao Chen in fact felt no regret; he only felt somewhat the ache of it.
Though, looked at from the present, Zhao Chen had lost several hundred billion star coins — looked at from the larger picture, these several hundred billion star coins' worth of resources and supplies, in Chu Xuan's hands, could produce yet more T3 Flame Dragons!
And when the time came to face the Starlight Empire's civil war, that would be, beyond doubt, a great fighting force!
For Zhao Chen, too, it would be a great help.
And, moreover, at present Zhao Chen's side already had those raw-material resources the little Princess Qin Xiaolei provided, quite enough for the Owl Dragon Legion's current production needs.
Even were Zhao Chen given more raw-material resources, everything could only proceed by degrees, step upon step; there was no eating oneself into a fat man in a single gulp.
Without enough interstellar industrial ships, those raw-material resources were, here with Zhao Chen, no more than a string of figures in inventory.
"Never mind, never mind. I won't think on all this; first let's go take a look at our new flagship." Zhao Chen looked, his interest thoroughly whetted, toward the direction the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship was sailing.
There, one could dimly make out a huge interstellar warship, from whose hull the industrial scaffolding was, just then, being stripped away.
That was, plain to see, the very first T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser of Zhao Chen's about to enter service!