The Princess's Smile (8)
Professor Pan said, "Your Majesty, we just ate a short while ago and are not very hungry."
The Queen was somewhat displeased: "These foods were specially prepared by the kitchen at my request, and it took a lot of effort. Everyone must finish all the food on the table before leaving, otherwise it will be disrespectful to me and the little prince."
Other guests commented, "The food is delicious, we'll finish it all."
The players also understood the threat in the Queen's words: if they didn't finish the food, something terrible might happen.
No one dared to take the risk, so they reluctantly started eating.
Everyone finally finished a plate of salad, but other dishes kept coming out and filling the table.
The Queen specifically instructed that only empty plates could be removed. Plates with even a little food remaining should not be removed.
Jian Tanxi and the others ate slowly, all feeling a bit uncomfortable in their stomachs.
Perhaps this is the challenge of this dinner: they must finish another large meal when they are already full. If they really eat all the food, they will probably be half-dead, and it's not impossible that they will die from overeating.
Only Qu Chen was unaware of what had happened, and looked around with a grin.
Huo Zimu said to Qu Chen with dissatisfaction, "Hey, Qu Chen, you should eat too! Eat back everything you just threw up!"
Qu Chen didn't understand, but still wanted to go down and play.
While eating, Jian Tanxi held Qu Chen back to prevent him from causing trouble.
Meng Yuening said with some pain, "I don't usually eat much, and now I have to eat so much. I feel like the food is already full to the point of bursting."
Jian Tanxi said, "Eat slower, let the food digest."
"One meal can last us ten days, which also means our food digests much slower than others. We simply can't digest it all in such a short time. Are we going to be the first players to die from overeating?"
Jian Tanxi had no other choice but to say with a long face, "Try to eat as much as you can... Even if you get sick, we still have healing pills."
"If the healing pills are used to treat overeating, how are we going to get through tomorrow?"
Jian Tanxi also thought of this problem, but she couldn't think of a solution either.
Unless they can get through tomorrow, they are all in danger.
At this moment, the king said with some dissatisfaction, "Why hasn't the eldest prince arrived yet?"
A maid replied, "The eldest prince said he is busy and will be here soon."
"Hmph, if he hadn't come soon, the banquet would have been over. I told him to come earlier, but I don't know what he's been busy with."
The Queen said, "The eldest prince is serving the country and has many important matters to attend to, so it's normal that he can't attend the youngest prince's birthday banquet. Your Majesty, please don't be angry."
However, the queen's words were somewhat sarcastic, and she seemed to be dissatisfied with the eldest prince as well.
Jian Tanxi keenly sensed that the eldest prince might not be the queen's son.
The eldest prince should already be an adult, and given the queen's age, it's indeed impossible for her to have such a grown son.
The king said to the queen, "The eldest prince is always like this, showing no respect for you and your son. I must punish him severely!"
At this moment, the princess said, "My elder brother has been busy maintaining the kingdom's security these past few days. If we punish him for this, who will dare to work for the kingdom in the future?"
The king said, "Don't try to excuse your elder brother. He just doesn't like the little prince, that's why he's like this..."
Just then, a guard came to report: "The eldest prince has arrived."
A young and handsome prince walked in.
The prince was handsome, but his expression was somewhat melancholy; his lips were tightly pursed, as if he had many worries on his mind but couldn't express them.
He was dressed in full armor and held a long sword, looking very heroic.
Many female guests were secretly watching him, but he didn't notice any of them.
He walked straight up to the king and called out, "Father, sister."
Then he sat down next to the princess, away from the queen and the little prince.
The little prince called him "big brother," but he didn't respond.
The king said displeasedly, "What kind of attitude is this? The queen and the little prince are here, can't you see them?"
The eldest prince said, "So what if I saw it?"
"you……"
The king was very angry, and the queen quickly comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, don't be angry. The eldest prince may have some misunderstandings about me... I believe that one day our relationship will improve."
The eldest prince snorted, and the princess's expression also turned sour.
Jian Tanxi realized that the relationship between the king's family was somewhat complicated.
The eldest prince and princess were probably not born to the current queen.
At this moment, Qu Chen broke free from Jian Tanxi and ran to the king's table, staring at the eldest prince.
Qu Chen is a curious person and is curious about all the newcomers, so it's not surprising that he behaved this way.
Jian Tanxi was afraid that the eldest prince would be angry with him, so she wanted to bring Qu Chen back.
Unexpectedly, Qu Chen stared at the eldest prince for a while, then suddenly started crying.
Jian Tanxi was startled and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, this child is ignorant..."
The eldest prince said, "It's alright."
Jian Tanxi carried Qu Chen back, and Meng Yuening gave Qu Chen a piece of candy, which stopped Qu Chen from crying.
The king said to the eldest prince, "Don't be so fierce when you attend banquets. You're scaring the children to tears."
The eldest prince frowned slightly: "I've always been like this."
The king did not speak to him again.
After a while, Jian Tanxi overheard the guests at the next table whispering, "I heard that the eldest prince is at odds with the king and queen, and it seems to be true."
"The Queen is the stepmother of the eldest prince and the second princess, so their relationship is already somewhat distant. Moreover, I heard that... the first queen was frail and sickly, and during her illness, the king had an affair with the new queen. When the first queen found out, she died of anger."
Since her death, the eldest prince has become taciturn, spending all his time in the army; the second princess has also stopped smiling. The king has tried countless ways to make the second princess smile, but to no avail.
"I've heard that too... So, will the throne be inherited by the eldest prince or the youngest prince?"
"I guess it's the youngest prince, after all, the king doesn't like the eldest prince, and the current queen is the youngest prince's biological mother."
"I think so too. The eldest prince's position is really awkward. But, there must be quite a few people who support the eldest prince, right?"
"It's hard to say, because the eldest prince isn't close to anyone. Whether he's eating, sleeping, bathing, or training, he doesn't like anyone getting too close to him, so he has very few servants around him, and his relationship with many ministers is also distant. Even with the second princess, he only expresses concern verbally and rarely spends much time with her."
But the Little Prince was different. He was sweet-talking, well-behaved, and likable, and he always befriended the ministers' children. Everyone who met him praised him. I think, in terms of popular support, the Little Prince probably had a stronger following.
"But the eldest prince has connections in the military. He has served in the military for a long time and often protects the country and maintains order. The soldiers respect him very much."
"Yes, it's hard to say what will happen in the future. But it has nothing to do with us."
These guests were probably afraid of being overheard by the king and his entourage, so they stopped talking after a while.
Their table was a table away from the king's table, a certain distance away, so the king and his companions probably didn't hear anything.
Jian Tanxi was able to overhear a few words because she was close to these guests.
However, Jian Tanxi remained calm and ate her meal silently.
This was the most unpleasant meal Jian Tanxi had ever had, not because the food was bad, but because there was too much of it.
It's like having to eat a huge buffet right after you've just finished a very filling meal, and then having to eat again a few minutes later – it's a huge torture.
The same applies to other players.
Qu Chen doesn't eat much, and no one forces him to eat; besides, forcing him won't do any good.
The adults managed to finish all the food on the table, but they all felt uncomfortable, neither wanting to vomit nor faint.
They wanted to get up and walk around to digest their food, but because they were too full, they couldn't move at all.
Fortunately, there was nothing else to do after the meal, and the players were free to move around. So they said goodbye to the king and went back to their rooms to rest.
The king arranged a guest room for them, and all the players stayed together. Although it was a bit inconvenient, it was better than having no room at all.
Upon arriving at the guest room, everyone discovered that it was quite spacious, with four beds and three sofa chairs—more than enough room to sleep.
This room is bigger than a typical three-bedroom apartment.
Back in his room, Qu Chen was fine. He hadn't eaten much to begin with, and he had been running and jumping all the way, so his digestion was quick.
Jian Tanxi, Meng Yuening, and Huo Zimu suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, but they recovered after a while.
After vomiting most of the food out of my stomach, I felt much better.
Professor Pan is too old and has a weak stomach; Xu Yunhong and Lin Nanhuai are usually pampered and can't withstand the strain, and they both look pale.
The three of them lay stiffly, unable to vomit or defecate, their bellies swollen high, their breathing growing weaker and weaker. If they weren't rescued soon, they might die.
There were 12 healing pills left, and Jian Tanxi gave one to each of the three of them.
This time, feeding them the healing pills was extremely difficult because their stomachs simply couldn't hold another pill.
Fortunately, the pills were dissolved in water and held in the mouth, which was effective and finally saved the three people.
After taking the healing pills, the three of them felt completely bloated and were in excellent health, while Jian Tanxi and the others were slightly weaker.
But there's nothing we can do about being weak; we can't keep taking the healing pills.
There are currently 9 Healing Pills and 1 Resurrection Pill left.
Xu Yunhong said, "This won't be our last night alive, will it?"
Meng Yuening said, "Don't say that. There's always a way out."
Xu Yunhong: "But I really don't think the princess can smile. Then we're definitely going to die tomorrow."
Professor Pan comforted her, "Maybe there will be new developments tomorrow. Just now, we also thought we wouldn't make it through, but we were suddenly invited to the Little Prince's birthday party and lived a little longer."
Xu Yunhong: "That makes sense."
Jian Tanxi seemed to remember something and said, "I need to go out for a bit. You all rest first."
Meng Yuening asked, "Where are you going?"
"I need to get something...it might help me get through, but I'll keep it a secret for now."
"Okay, do you need any help?"
"No, I'll go alone."
After Jian Tanxi went out, she was not stopped.
It seems to be Christmas Eve tonight; the people in the kingdom won't harm the players.
Jian Tanxi stopped a maid and asked her a question.
Then, she went to a place, successfully obtained what she wanted, and put it into her personal space.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
