Eastern Continent
On the east side of the main street in the royal capital.
A majestic general's mansion stood there.
There were dozens of soldiers guarding just at the mansion's entrance, and seven or eight different squads patrolled outside the general's mansion.
The sun blazed high in the sky.
Inside the mansion, everyone was in a state of panic.
The clan elders, all those who held important positions in the Dongfang Clan, were sitting upright in the main hall of the general's mansion.
Among them, five or six people were fidgeting, their faces tense as they paced back and forth in the hall.
At a glance, the people in the entire hall could be roughly divided into five or six factions, each with its own leading elder.
Any one of these people, once out on the street, would cause a stir with just a single word or a stomp of their foot in the Eastern Continent.
But at this moment, they could only huddle within this hall.
Anxiously waiting for news.
The atmosphere was deathly quiet and solemn.
No one dared to speak.
Footsteps sounded from outside.
The leading elders immediately stood up upon hearing the sound.
It was a servant from the general's mansion, followed by a black - robed figure.
Judging from the figure in the black robe, the person was relatively petite, so it should not be the one they were longing to see.
The elders sighed.
Sure enough.
After the black - robed person took off the hood, a face they were all too familiar with was revealed.
Surprise turned into disappointment in an instant.
The elders sat back in their seats.
The visitor was Dongfang Yinuo, the little princess of the Eastern Continent who had just come out of the palace.
She knew that the elders didn't like her, and there was nothing she could do. In the early years, she had personally trampled on their love for her. The cold attitude they had towards her now was already extremely kind.
"Yinuo greets all the elders."
"Why did the princess come out? Has the matter of the queen in the palace been resolved?"
There was an obvious hint of mockery in this remark.
Dongfang Yinuo didn't take it to heart.
"Elder Wu, rest assured. The matter in the harem has mostly been settled. It's not too troublesome. Yinuo will handle it well. Thank you for your concern, Elder Wu."
The gray - haired old man snorted but didn't respond.
Another voice rang out.
"Why did the princess leave the luxurious life in the palace and come to the general's mansion? You are so precious. Such a tiring journey might wear you out."
The speaker was Elder San.
In the early years, he had been extremely dissatisfied with this arrogant princess of the Eastern Continent. If it weren't for the sake of Dongfang Yan and Dongfang Ruoxi, he would have scolded her in his capacity as an elder long ago.
Now, things were different.
Although her status was still that of the princess of the Eastern Continent, there were some differences from before.
It was perfectly appropriate for him to put on the airs of an elder at this moment, and no one would question him.
"Yinuo knows that Elder San is an upright person. In the past, it was Yinuo who was ignorant. Elder San is an elder. I hope you can be magnanimous and not argue with Yinuo."
Dongfang Yinuo's replies this time were all humble and patient.
After all, they were all family.
Although they were dissatisfied with Dongfang Yinuo, they would never push her too hard.
Now that she was willing to return to the Eastern Continent and temporarily intimidate the king of the Eastern Continent, it showed that she had become much more sensible. Her words now were also much more measured than before.
"It seems that Yinuo has experienced a lot during her trip to the Sea Spirit Country. After coming back, she has understood a lot of things."
"Elder Da, in the past, Yinuo was ignorant and brought shame to the Dongfang Clan. In the future, I will definitely make up for it. I am willing to go through fire and water for the Dongfang Clan and never hesitate to sacrifice my life."
The elders looked at each other.
The shock on their faces was clearly seen by each other.
After a trip to the Sea Spirit Country, this arrogant and willful little princess of the Eastern Continent, who was not afraid of anything, had changed? How could she say such things?
Dongfang Yinuo was well aware that her past ignorance had brought shame to the family.
She turned her head and looked at Elder Er, who had been silent all this time.
Most of the elders had communicated with Dongfang Yinuo to some extent, except for Elder Er. His indifference towards Dongfang Yinuo was real.
Maybe he would feel as if his heart was being stabbed just by taking one more look at Dongfang Yinuo.
Dongfang Yinuo slowly walked towards Elder Er.
"Yinuo, it's good that you're back. We've all missed you. Did you come to the general's mansion for something important this time?" Elder Si saw the tense situation between Dongfang Yinuo and Elder Er and quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Among the elders, Elder Si was the most tactful and the best at handling things.
Dongfang Yinuo knew that Elder Si was trying to help her and Elder Er out of the awkward situation, but she knew that if she didn't take the initiative to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes she had made, this would always be a thorn in Elder Er's heart.
"Elder Er."
The gray - haired old man glanced at Dongfang Yinuo in front of him.
He didn't respond. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the other side.
Dongfang Yinuo was a junior and a direct descendant of the Dongfang Clan. As an elder, he shouldn't argue with a junior, but there were simply too many grudges between them. Even if he died, he couldn't get along peacefully with Dongfang Yinuo.
For countless days and nights, he had wished to flay Dongfang Yinuo alive, drain her blood, and leave her under the blazing sun for forty - nine days.
No, even that wouldn't be enough to quell his hatred for her.
"Thud!"
A dull sound echoed.
Dongfang Yinuo actually knelt straight down in front of Elder Er.
This kneel made the elders stand up in a hurry, extremely shocked.
Although Dongfang Yinuo was a junior, she was a real direct descendant of the Dongfang Clan and the daughter of the king of the Eastern Continent and Dongfang Ruoxi. Her status in the Eastern Continent was extremely noble.
Even when facing the queen of the Eastern Continent, she had never been so humble.
But now, she knelt in front of an external - clan elder.
With her personality, how could she do this?
Elder Er's body also trembled slightly because of this kneel.
"Yinuo comes to plead guilty to Elder Er."
"The princess is over - reacting. Although I bear the surname Dongfang, I am from an external clan. Your status is so noble. How can you kneel to me?"
Although he said so, there was still a hint of estrangement in Elder Er's tone.
"I was wrong about my cousin's matter. I didn't bring honor to the Dongfang Clan."
Elder Er was the biological father of Dongfang Yuchen.
This was also the reason why Elder Er loathed Dongfang Yinuo.
Back then, although his daughter's actions were disgraceful, she was still his daughter. As a member of the external clan, she had dared to have an affair with the future husband of Dongfang Yinuo, a direct descendant. This matter couldn't be put on the table.
At that time, he had knelt in the Dongfang Clan's ancestral hall, begging Dongfang Yan, and even knelt in front of Dongfang Yinuo, asking her not to make a big deal out of it.
Although Yuchen was gentle, she was also a person who valued her reputation. If this matter became public knowledge, she might not be able to live on.
He had planned to take Dongfang Yuchen back home. Even if he had to imprison her, he just wanted to save her life.
But Dongfang Yinuo had a hot temper.
No matter how much he begged at that time, her anger still affected the Eastern Continent and the Sea Spirit Country.
Yuchen had also chosen to end her own life during the conflict between the two countries.
In this matter, Dongfang Yinuo was the victim.
But as a father, he simply couldn't forgive Dongfang Yinuo.