The Maple Continent is a realm inhabited by crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

This might be proven true by the high number of prestigious cultivation Academies in the region; however, this saying was mainly used to describe the situation of the Imperial Palace of the Li Royal Family.

The abundance of high-level experts at their disposal made them the undisputed top force on the Maple Continent. As they ruled over the continent with an iron fist, their subjects both feared and respected them.

On an ordinary day, people would gaze from a distance at the enormous golden gates of the Imperial Palace, not daring to approach and tarnish such sacred ground. However, on this particular day, a crowd of individuals from all walks of life—young and old, rich and poor—had gathered in front of the palace gates, their faces filled with anticipation.

Today was a special occasion as the Emperor's first concubine was giving birth. Everyone gathered here was hoping to hear the news of a successful delivery firsthand.

Suddenly, a clamor could be heard coming from the Imperial Palace that echoed in the ears of the anticipating crowd.

The crowd started to murmur as they heard the loud commotion. 

"What happened? Did something go wrong with the delivery?" one person asked.

"It would be terrible if something happened to the Emperor's second child," another responded.

"You two shouldn't jinx it! What could possibly go wrong that the Royal Family didn't plan for?" a third person chimed in.

As the crowd grew increasingly loud with speculation, a palace guard suddenly appeared at the gate and spoke in a booming voice.

"The Second Prince of the Li Royal Family has been born! Long live the Emperor! Glory to the royal family!" 

The guard's proclamation boomed over the crowd, making everyone fall silent. Soon after, loud cheers erupted, resonating throughout the capital city of the continent.

"Long live the Emperor! Glory to the Royal Family. Long live the Emperor! Glory to the Royal Family!"

The news of the Emperor's second son being born spread rapidly across the continent. Meanwhile, the enormous commotion in the Imperial Palace had settled.

In the throne room, the Emperor of the Maple Continent sat on a majestic jade throne. He wore golden robes that cascaded down to the marble floor tiles.

Although his features were that of a man in his early thirties, with his cultivation being one of the highest, if not the highest on the Maple Continent, his actual age was hard to fathom.

The Emperor's gaze was piercing as he glanced over the people kneeling in front of him.

These people were his ministers and court officials. Any one of them in the outside world could call the rain and summon the winds. Their cultivations alone would cause them to garner respect from anyone on the Maple Continent, let alone their current position.

But even despite having such statuses, all of them currently had their heads lowered onto the ground with nervous looks on their faces. Some of them were even sweating so profusely that patches of sweat marks were visible on their backs and armpits.

The silence in the throne room was abruptly shattered by the Emperor's biting cold voice. "The nature of my son's birth is never to be mentioned, understood?" 

As the Emperor finished speaking, the people kneeling before him resembled chickens pecking at the ground as they nodded their heads repeatedly.

"Such matters should be kept secret from the public, lest those with ill intentions discover them."

A minister with a goatee, kneeling to the side, assured, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. As your loyal subject, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the event of the Heavens blessing the second prince remains a secret."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at him as if he were an idiot.

'This fool, did he just mention what the Emperor specifically said not to mention?'

The minister with the goatee felt all the stares on him and frowned, then, it suddenly dawned on him what he had just said and his face drained of blood.

He looked at the Emperor, only to see that he was staring at him with a cold gaze.

The minister with the goatee shivered and exclaimed, "F-Fo-Forgive me, Your Majesty! That was a slip of the tongue!"

Bang!

He slammed his head full-force on the marble floor tile cracking it.

The marble floor, not his head.

Thud after thud, the minister began apologizing after each head slam.

The rest of the kneeling crowd just stared on slightly speechless.

As blood started to pool on the marble-tiled floor from the minister's repeated headbanging, the Emperor finally had enough and said, "Enough, you are forgiven just don't let it happen again."

When the minister heard those words, he felt like a man who had just been informed by a judge that he was sentenced to death, only for that judge to say "just kidding" a moment later and set him free.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!! Your loyal subject is grateful for your benevolence!"

The Emperor just ignored the groveling minister and turned to the youth who had just entered the throne room.

One could see the coldness in the Emperor's eyes lessening as he looked at the youth.

"Wei'er why have you come?" the Emperor asked.

The youth who looked no more than ten, adorned in imperial attire, hurried up the steps of the throne to the Emperor's side and said, "Father, mother won't let me see little Shen, can't I go?"

Before the Emperor could respond to his son's request, a melodious and soothing voice of a woman echoed in the throne room.

"So this is where you run off to after my refusal?"

Hearing the voice of the woman, the child's expression changed. He turned around to see his mother, the Empress, walking towards the throne.

"Mo-Mother…" The boy stuttered nervously as if he had just been caught with one of his hands in a cookie jar.

The elegant and refined Empress only glared at him.

Under that gaze, the boy shriveled up hoping he could somehow turn invisible.

The Emperor smiled upon seeing this.

"Wei'er if want to see your brother, you can go ahead."

The boy's posture suddenly straightened before he bolted to the exit. His voice echoed as he went, "Thank you, father!"

The Empress frowned at her husband and said, "You always spoil him. Aren't you afraid he'll grow up to become as crude as you?"

Despite the harsh words, the Emperor only gave his wife an amused smile.

However, the kneeling ministers and court officials couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. The only person who could speak to the Emperor in such a tone and get away with it was the Empress herself. If anyone else ever dear to, he or she would probably be killed with a single slap.