"Main meal"

You look really good in red.

Alina reached out and tugged at the red and white striped tie that matched the other person's red suit, her crimson eyes sparkling.

After saying that, without waiting for a response, she awkwardly tugged at the hem of her snow-white dress, her expression uncertain, and asked, "Do I really look good in white?"

Although the cuffs were printed with red rose lines and the belt had a dark gold hue, Alina, who was wearing such understated colors for the first time, still couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.

"It looks great."

Chu Yanbing's slender index finger casually wrapped around Alina's belt, which hung naturally at her waist, his naturally cold voice carrying a devout faith.

"You all look great! This outfit suits you perfectly today!"

Not far away, Le Ziyun, who had just disembarked from the aircraft, looked up and saw two people standing not far from the palace gate, all lovey-dovey and dressed in matching outfits.

At the same time, her keen hearing allowed her to overhear their conversation without her noticing, and she couldn't help but tease them aloud.

"You're here too, shall we go in together?"

Alina withdrew her hand from the other person's tie and turned to greet the two people behind her.

The four of them entered the understated yet luxurious palace hall one after the other.

The giant crystal chandelier, resembling glass, emitted a magnificent yet soft light under the illumination of the light source, bathing every guest in the hall.

"elder brother."

Just as Alina was carefully examining the surrounding layout, a remarkably gentle male voice reached her ears. Although it was a very gentle voice, perhaps because she suddenly realized the other person's identity, goosebumps instantly rose on her arm beneath her sleeve.

vomit!

nausea.

Alina rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide her hostility towards him.

After all, according to the normal progress of the investigation, they should know by now that the other party is their enemy.

Chu Yanbing remained expressionless as always, only showing warmth in his gaze when it fell upon Alina.

Seeing that no one responded, Chu Xishi was not embarrassed. Just as he was about to say something, a girl dressed in particularly gorgeous clothes spoke up beside him in an arrogant and contemptuous tone, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has such a big official air about you. You don't even pay attention to your own brother when he greets you."

From that tone, even without seeing her face, Alina could guess the other person's identity: the empire's only princess—Chu Huyun.

"A younger brother? I seem to remember that the late Empress only gave birth to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Holding Chu Yanbing's hand tightly, Alina's tone was icy.

Alina couldn't contain her anger at the thought of how her usually quiet boyfriend had always been bullied by the two of them.

Does he not want to acknowledge that Ah Yan is the Crown Prince?

I'm going to bring it up anyway!

Behind her, Le Ziyun, like her good friend Alina, was filled with righteous indignation, but as her gaze shifted, she suddenly noticed something strange about the surrounding environment.

However, when I try to react, I can't quite process it.

"We're both sons of the Emperor, so why can't we be considered brothers?" Chu Huyun looked at him with an expression that said, "How can you be so stupid?"

"In my opinion, half-siblings aren't that close."

There's no point in arguing with someone who's destined to lose; it's pointless.

As soon as she finished speaking, Alina pulled Chu Yanbing away, ready to find a quiet place to sit and wait for the other party's various schemes.

Just then, the guests gathered, the emperor and empress arrived, and the banquet officially began.

Alina and Chu Yanbing, following the pre-arranged seating arrangements, brushed past Chu Xishi and took the first seat on the lower right of the throne—the position second only to the emperor in the entire empire.

Without her noticing, Alina's beautiful eyebrows and eyes suddenly furrowed, as if she were pondering something difficult.

"What's wrong?"

Chu Yanbing, whose attention was entirely focused on Alina except for being on guard, immediately noticed her unusual reaction.

The moment he sat down, he asked questions with concern.

"Nothing much."

She felt a strange sense of familiarity with Chu Xishi's aura, but the familiarity wasn't very clear. Only a faint clue was tangling in her mind, making her desperately try to remember.

Her intuition told her that this was a rare opportunity for a breakthrough.

However, she only had a vague intuition, which she couldn't explain, and she didn't clearly express her current thoughts.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that the environment is wrong; there are so many ears here.

"If you find anything wrong, tell me immediately."

Chu Yanbing lowered his head and leaned close to Alina's ear, while simultaneously manipulating his mental power to block out any other eavesdropping.

"good."

Alina squeezed her hands at her side and replied.

Her furrowed brows relaxed abruptly. She kept her feelings in mind, intending to think about them slowly when she got back.

Aside from addressing the emperor as "Father" out of courtesy during their first meeting, Chu Yanbing completely ignored him afterwards.

Similarly, the emperor ignored the crown prince of the empire, only occasionally exchanging a few words with the empress beside him in a friendly tone between speeches.

This was a welcome party prepared for Alina, so after a brief opening, the host gave a detailed introduction of Alina.

Although the information he was talking about was something that could be easily found online, the audience still responded with thunderous applause.

"Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask!"

Just as people were chatting and some were starting to eat, a middle-aged man in a purple suit suddenly appeared and gave the emperor at the head of the table an extremely respectful and solemn salute.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to save my child, Angus Ryan!"

Upon hearing this, conversations broke out among the people present.

"General Angus? I heard that the General's mental power surge level reached the late stage three months ago. Marquis Ryan must be very anxious."

"Wasn't it said that the future Crown Princess was treating an orc warrior in the late stages of a mental breakdown? With so many people, they must not have gotten their turn yet, right?"

"Hey, you're so naive," her companion remarked simply, without explaining why she thought she was naive.

The emperor, of course, said the same thing as everyone else: "Regarding the matter of our friend Alina helping to treat us orcs, I have entrusted the Crown Prince with full responsibility. The Crown Prince should have made arrangements for this long ago, and it may not be long before it reaches your family, Angus."

Hearing the emperor's words, Alina was utterly speechless. He was making it sound like she would follow his orders as if he were entrusting the entire responsibility to the crown prince.

That's ridiculous.

“But…but,” Marquis Ryan said, looking heartbroken and unable to speak, “my Angus isn’t even on His Highness’s list of patients to be treated.”

As he spoke, his eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he was on the verge of bursting into tears.

"What? Your Highness, is that really true?"

The emperor looked as if he had just learned of this, causing those in the know to hold their breath in their throats.

Since His Highness the Crown Prince was promoted to Marshal, the situation between father and son has long since changed from the one-sided relationship that existed when the Crown Prince was young.

I don't know what kind of trouble this will cause, I just hope it won't affect me and my family.

"That is indeed the case." After saying that, Chu Yanbing did not continue to explain, leaving the emperor standing there in the cold.

"Your Highness, you'd better have a reasonable excuse for doing this, otherwise you might discourage soldiers like General Angus who fight for the empire!"

"There's no special reason, it's just that Lin'er is too busy."

Alina can only treat one person in the late stage of mental power surge about every 10 days. Since the end of the live broadcast, including today, she has only treated 3 people. Of course, she is too busy.

“But, based on my son’s military rank and the level of the riot, he should be in the top five, if not the top three, but… but Angus’s name is not in the top five.”

Duke Ryan's choked voice spoke with reason and evidence, making Chu Yanbing's arrangement of settling personal scores seem extremely unfair.

After all, everyone in the empire knows that General Angus loves to go against His Highness the Crown Prince and has even made similar remarks in public, expressing a preference for the Second Prince to become the Crown Prince.

"I don't like him, so is it wrong to put him last?"

Alina put down the fork she was holding as a decoration, raised her eyes and looked at the other person coldly, her voice unusually indifferent.

When Alina said this, no one present could find a reason to criticize her for being unfair, since she had no obligation to help the orcs, at least not in principle or on the surface.

Not to mention, even though Alina disliked Angus so much, she was still willing to treat him in the end. That's incredibly magnanimous; everyone would say she's very generous.

"If it weren't for the difficulty that Ayan's identity would pose, I would absolutely not want to treat your son, understand?"

Alina's words were utterly merciless. After saying that, seeing the other person's frozen face, she added sarcastically, "Don't 'beg' your son's chance to live away..."

Having said all that, Marquis Ryan was speechless. After all, his son's time was not yet over; in other words, he was still some distance from death. Alina's words made perfect sense.

Suddenly, a series of muffled "plop" sounds abruptly broke the silence of the hall.

Chu Yanbing couldn't help but smile.

Not far away, several flower fairies huddled together with Le Ziyun couldn't help but scream with excitement at the sweetness: Ahhhhh! So sweet!

One is pure white, the other is crimson; they are such a perfect match!

Le Ziyun's eyes were practically sparkling. As her gaze shifted, her inner elation suddenly faltered. She... seemed to... realize what had been wrong earlier!

Why are there so many handsome men with long silver hair here?!

They're all either aloof or cool!

My goodness!

Who on earth is trying to break up her romantic relationship?!

Unforgivable!

Marquis Ryan returned dejectedly. After a simple meal, the "main course" of the banquet began.

Just as Alina pulled Chu Yanbing to sit down in a corner, ready to chat with her boyfriend about something trivial, four handsome young men suddenly appeared in front of her at the same time. Three of them had white hair or hair that was very similar to white.

Just as one of the men with long silver-gray hair opened his mouth slightly, about to speak, Gu Hansheng, who had been watching them closely, stepped forward and greeted the two men.