Chapter 202 The political landscape of the court is about to shift again! ...
The Crown Prince is dead! Princess Ayana is weeping uncontrollably. She reportedly grabbed Bernard by the collar, screaming and wailing, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault! If you hadn't brought him to that place, he wouldn't be dead!!"
Several servants hurriedly tried to pull her away, "Your Highness, please calm down!" "Let go, let go!"
They finally managed to pull her away, but she was still stomping her feet and wailing, "Prince Bernard, even if you want my husband's heir, you can't hurt people like this!"
Bernard's expression changed. He hadn't changed his expression when she was pulling him so frantically, but now he did, and said coldly, "Don't get me wrong, it was your husband who pulled me here, not me who pulled him."
She was still crying shrilly: "He never used to play with so many people before. If you didn't lead him, who did?"
Bernard's sneer intensified, "He picked all these beautiful women."
She kept repeating, crying, "He never played like this before..."
In her hysteria, she was taken away by a large group of maids and servants. Benoit was also taken away, by armored guards sent by King Amur.
At the time of the incident, Bernot and the Crown Prince were in the same room. The Crown Prince and the women were writhing and making love on the bed, while Bernot and two women were on the floor, lost in their own world. Suddenly, a woman's terrified scream rang out.
The woman riding on Bernard was so frightened that she fell off, landing squarely on the head of the woman Bernard was pinning beneath her. The woman screamed in pain, and the screams of the other women on the bed also rang out. The women's voices mingled together, creating a startling effect. The maids and guards outside the door were alarmed and burst in...
Since the incident is related to Bernard, Bernard will be taken away for investigation.
“He was released after being imprisoned for two days,” Aya told me the information she had gathered. “Many nobles were dissatisfied, believing that the king was too lenient with this half-blood prince.”
I ate my vegetable porridge while reading a book, without saying a word.
Hero couldn't help but say, "This is terrible. Prince Bernard's good image, built up over many years, has been completely ruined. He had worked hard for many years, pulling strings and making connections to gain a foothold in the aristocratic circles. Now that the Crown Prince is dead, the nobles have a lot of resentment towards him, and all his efforts have been in vain."
Aya chuckled, "But wouldn't that give Prince Desen a chance to rise to power? That would be to our advantage."
I slammed the bowl of porridge down, and Aya fell silent in fright. Hailuo hurriedly pulled her behind him.
"Don't talk about these things carelessly; this is a sensitive time," I said calmly.
They nodded quickly and left.
On the day of Crown Prince Ivanhoe's funeral, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly; it didn't seem like a day for a funeral, but rather a day of celebration.
Everyone was dressed in black, standing in a line inside the hall, some silent, some weeping, some wailing. The crown prince's coffin was placed at the front of the hall, with King Amur and the new queen standing on either side of it. Both were dressed in black from head to toe, appearing from a distance like two dark shadows beside the coffin.
Queen Nere, who had been under house arrest, was released and stood at the front of the funeral procession, supported by two tall and strong maids, sobbing uncontrollably.
When Bernard appeared in his black robes, Queen Nerei nearly pounced on him and tore him apart, only to be stopped by her maids.
The funeral began quickly. After the priest's lengthy prayers, the coffin was carried out by eight strong men, with the funeral procession following slowly behind.
The sun was glaring and hot; after walking for only a short while, I was drenched in sweat, yet we were still far from the royal cemetery. Gradually, one by one, people collapsed—men and women alike—all suffering from heatstroke. I was terrified I would collapse too, because my back and chest were also covered in a dense layer of sweat.
Derson's chief mistress collapsed, and Derson picked her up and carried her to the carriage beside him. The two of them did not get out after that.
How I wished I could faint too, so I could lie in the cool shade of the carriage. But alas, I kept my eyes open and my legs straight, and I didn't fall to the ground.
I intended to feign fainting, but as I walked through the streets and alleys, several large crowds gathered around me, layer upon layer, and I felt too embarrassed to faint.
And so they arrived outside the city and were finally able to board the carriage. The carriage traveled along a bumpy mountain road, crossed a river, and entered the royal cemetery.
After a lengthy ceremony, the coffin was lowered into the ground, and Queen Nerei let out a heart-wrenching wail, almost throwing herself onto the coffin lid of her son. At the same time, a dramatic scene of lightning and thunder unfolded. Perhaps it had been too hot just now, for a torrential downpour had begun.
The nobles, soaked to the bone, dared not move, for the funeral was not yet over.
I sneezed and coughed several times, when a deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out behind me, "Go back to the carriage, no one will notice you."
I froze. It was Bernard.
Looking up at Dessen, he saw him trying his best to comfort the former Queen Nere, who was crying so hard she was almost passing out.
I didn't say anything, pretending I didn't hear it.
"Don't blame me too much, this has nothing to do with me," he said behind me. "It really has nothing to do with me."
I remained silent.
"I actually spend most of my time sleeping."
The rain poured down on the ground and onto us. I could barely hear his voice anymore; I could only vaguely make out what he was saying.
I was thinking, what does this have to do with me? I'd better not respond and just pretend he's talking to himself.
After the funeral, I followed the others back to the palace. The next few days were peaceful; I heard nothing of any punishment for Bernard or anything else that happened.
On this day, in the early autumn, King Amur announced that his new queen was pregnant. The nobles were utterly astonished; it was like a bombshell dropped into the water.
The power dynamics between North Korea and China are about to shift again!
Originally, Bernard, Ivanhoe, and Desen were vying for the throne, but now a new force has joined the fray.
I figured King Amur was probably dissatisfied with all three candidates. Bernault was an elf-to-elf, Ivanhoe hadn't shown any outstanding talent, and Desen wasn't the legitimate queen's son, only an adopted one, though he held the title of prince. Therefore, the best solution would be for him to remarry and have one or more legitimate princes. So, King Amur was currently suppressing these three sons. Perhaps Ivanhoe's death was orchestrated by King Amur himself. This thought terrified me. After all, Ivanhoe was his own son; why would he kill his own son?
But then again, it's possible. Besides being dissatisfied with all three of his sons, King Amur was also wary of the families behind them. The Duran family, the family of former Queen Nere, was the second largest family after King Amur's Most family. If King Amur was wary of his relatives rising to power, he would definitely suppress the Duran family. So how could he allow Crown Prince Ivankh to succeed to the throne?
As for Prince Desen, he is the adopted son of former Queen Nerei and is also backed by the Duran family. King Amur probably doesn't want him to ascend to the throne, even though he seems to dote on him.
As for Bernot, needless to say, his mother died because of King Amur, and he harbored a deep grudge against him. King Amur had always wanted to kill him, but failed. Since he couldn't kill him, he used him, and later used him to kill his other sons, possibly those whom King Amur disliked or was dissatisfied with.
But I still have a question. This newly added force, namely the son the new queen is pregnant with, is also from the Duran family. The new queen is also a daughter of the Duran family. What new scheme is King Amur trying to set up?
Two days later, King Amur officially announced the cause of death of Crown Prince Ivankh—it was purely accidental! All the women who had been involved in the sexual activity that day were executed, and Prince Benott was fined ten years' worth of taxes, calculated at the maximum tax rate in the capital.
The nobles chuckled softly; Prince Bernard had certainly lost money this time. Ten years' worth of taxes, even at the maximum rate, would amount to at least one million gold.
After the turmoil subsided, the palace returned to its usual calm, or rather, it was calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.
On the day the Crown Prince's widow, Princess Ayana, left the palace, she wept bitterly, her eyes red and swollen. Large and small suitcases were loaded onto the carriages; reportedly, there were nothing of great value in them. The procession was short, and their departure looked somewhat forlorn.
After a brief autumn, early winter arrived. A few days into winter, light snow began to fall, in anticipation of King Amur's birthday.
The nobles of the Eastern Territory don't celebrate their birthdays every year, but rather every ten years. King Amur is fifty this year. For him, it's a wonderful age; he not only maintains firm control over the entire Eastern Territory but also sleeps with beautiful women every night.
His current queen is pregnant and therefore unable to serve him. But even if she weren't pregnant, it's clear to everyone that the queen would still be at his mercy. King Amur loved to whip beautiful women and watch them cry and beg for mercy; it gave him an unparalleled sense of pleasure.
On his birthday, the entire hall was decorated in a magnificent and luxurious manner, with gleaming gold mosaic floor tiles, beautiful and exquisite gold tablecloths, fine white porcelain, dazzling crystal chandeliers, and glittering gold and silver jewels on the walls, creating a magnificent and grand atmosphere.
I entered the hall with other nobles, stepping onto the luminous, crystal-inlaid staircase. Even though I was already very familiar with the hall, I was still momentarily dazzled upon entering; it was just too bright and too beautiful.
While everyone else was seated, I remained standing there, stunned, for quite a while.
When he came to his senses, Hero had led him to a seat. There he saw King Amur, dressed in magnificent gold robes, sitting on a glittering throne, embracing several beautiful women in bikinis, grinning from ear to ear. This was every man's dream scene, wasn't it? Beautiful women, fine wine, a crown, a throne, and now, perhaps having eliminated a potential "enemy son," King Amur's life hadn't been in vain, had it?
I was startled. How did I even think of that? The enemy's son? He is an enemy, even if he's just a son. They are the bloodline of the second largest family in the Eastern Territory, and the biggest rival of King Amur's family. If King Amur were to let them ascend the throne, he would be making enemies for his own family. Perhaps the reason he hasn't truly killed Bernard is to use Bernard to eliminate the Duran family. Using one enemy to eliminate another—it sounds satisfying.
One thing is strange, though: why didn't King Amur marry a woman from his own family, the Moste family? Perhaps it would have saved him from constantly worrying about other families growing stronger.
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Author's Note: Please add "Animal Farm" to your favorites, and also check out my other novels! Mwah!
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