Chapter 232 "And what about you? As someone..."
Corpses littered the ground, a scene of utter devastation. Yet, many maids were still secretly weeping in hiding, two hours after the massacre.
King and Queen Midian have left. I sit alone on the roof of the palace. I dare not stay in the room, for fear that someone will break down the door, seize me, and take me away.
The strong smell of blood, the armored guards pacing back and forth, and the faint sound of weeping all filled the air with a sense of unease.
Only when I'm on the rooftop, looking down at the whole scene from above, do I feel a little safe.
Watching the corpses being dragged away, the servants washing away the blood with hoses, the maids carrying basins of water in and out of the palace, and the several trembling craftsmen carrying tools, carefully squatting on the steps to repair the palace gates and walls.
I stayed there for a long time.
Then, a young maidservant timidly said from behind me, "Your Highness, Grand Chancellor Mamboa has arrived, and His Highness Letea requests your presence."
When I changed my address from "Madam" to "Your Highness," I was taken aback.
I slowly got up, turned around, and followed the little maid down from the roof.
In a spacious inner room that had already been prepared, a brand-new royal red carpet was laid out, and expensive tables and chairs were placed. A comfortable and soft new sofa, which seemed to have been moved from somewhere, was neatly placed on one side of the long window, where two noble men, dressed in neat clothes and without a trace of blood, were sitting and chatting happily.
I sat down opposite them, and a maid immediately poured me a cup of fragrant black tea, followed by freshly made tea snacks. I held the tea in my hand, saying nothing.
"We are discussing Queen Beatrice's funeral, and also..." Manberia changed the subject and smiled, "your coronation ceremony."
Yes, once Beatrice passes away, wouldn't it be my turn to be queen?
I felt no excitement whatsoever, only emptiness and bewilderment.
Seeing that I didn't react, Letea said, "What do you mean? Besides your request for the coronation ceremony, what are your plans for the future? Lord Mamboa is curious to know if you will return to the North with him afterward?"
I smiled slowly, "If you can be the queen, why go to the North to be the second wife?"
Manberia laughed, “You can’t say that. Being the queen is not as comfortable as being my second wife.” He said seriously, “It’s true. There are a lot of headaches to deal with in the reconstruction of the royal city after the war. You also have to deal with relations with other countries. Just sorting out trade orders will be enough to give you a hard time.”
“I’m a woman with superpowers, I’m not afraid of these things.” I stared at him steadily.
Manberia laughed, "Good, that's ambitious."
He stood up and said to Letea, "We'll talk about Queen Beatrice tonight. I'm going to rest for a while now." He then looked at me and said, "I haven't slept for two days and two nights. I even traveled all night last night, afraid that something might happen to you."
Seeing that I didn't respond, she smiled and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to open the door, I spoke up: "Do you really care about me? If you really care, why didn't you appear when the Elf King was chasing me? Why didn't you appear when Beatrice imprisoned me? Why didn't you appear when I was attacking the city? You only appeared after everything had settled down."
Manberia turned around, still smiling. "I really did something for you. Otherwise, how could a mob have taken down Beatrice's palace? You wouldn't have succeeded without my army."
“Aren’t you my husband in the North? Shouldn’t you be doing these things for me? As a husband, you haven’t done nearly enough for your wife.”
"And what about you? As a wife, how much have you done for your husband?"
"Since you have never given me the honor, status, wealth, and power of being the wife of the Prime Minister of the North, why should I give everything for you, my husband?"
Mamboa was still smiling. “When have you ever given me that chance? You’re always running away, never staying in the North. Besides,” his smile faded, “the honor of being the Prime Minister’s wife is earned through one’s own efforts, not something that can be automatically obtained by marriage.”
"If even the Prime Minister's wife has to work hard to achieve glory, why shouldn't I focus my efforts on becoming a true queen?"
The benefits of being the queen are far greater. No matter how glamorous being the second wife is, she is still just a concubine, at most a noble concubine.
"Will you be a true queen? At best, you are just the queen of a royal city, far inferior to the Prime Minister's wife in the North."
"Even being a queen of a royal city is much better than being ruled and bossed around by men."
“Have I ever tried to control you or boss you around?” I angered Manberia. He walked up to me and said, “I’ve always been subservient and cautious with you, afraid of saying anything that might offend you. But have you ever cared about my moods?”
Me: "There are too many people who care about your joys and sorrows, and they even compete to care about you. Why should I bother with that?"
"Fine, fine." Manberia was so angry that he couldn't speak, so he turned around, slammed the door, and left.
The room fell silent. I sat on the sofa, my back straight, without bending over at all.
Back in the room, Letea walked behind me and said, “Mambaya did help us, including with this mine incident. There was no mine,” he said. “I wrote to him for help, and he created a pretext for me, even keeping it from King and Queen Midian. Then he deliberately sent troops to fight in the West, deceiving Beatrice and making her withdraw one of her main armies, leaving the city defenses weak, which gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Afterward, he sent another army to help us besiege the city.”
"Thank you to him then." I continued walking forward.
Letea seemed to smile, then said nothing more, and we parted ways at the next bend.
What Mamboya said—that "the trade orders alone are enough to keep me busy"—was no exaggeration. Sitting in the study, I looked in astonishment at the boxes scattered all over the floor, filled with trade orders and other agreements. Although the formal coronation ceremony had not yet taken place, the people here already treated me as the Queen, handing over all the affairs under her jurisdiction to me.
There were also mountains of letters and official documents. They were truly piled up, layer upon layer, like a small mountain.
I sat amidst a pile of boxes and at the foot of the mountain, flipping through orders, agreements, letters, and official documents for two or three hours straight.
In the afternoon, I summoned several supervisors and chief managers and asked them to publish a job advertisement.
"Anyone can apply, as long as they have no criminal record. There are no restrictions on gender, age, or family. Even if someone is seventy or eighty years old and still lives at the bottom of society, they can still apply." I asked the clerk to write it down. "But there will be an exam. First, a written test, then an interview. I will personally prepare the test papers."
"Should we limit it to nobles?" A manager looked at the boxes on the floor and the mountain of documents and letters, and realized that I wanted to recruit an assistant. "Only nobles can read."
“Perhaps there are also commoners who can read a few words,” I said. “It doesn’t have to be limited to nobles; anyone can participate.”
"yes."
I spent half the night writing the written test, which included five main questions.
First, introduce yourself, your family, children, your personality, and personal experiences.
Second, what is your view on the borders of the east, west, south, and north? Please explain in detail.
Third, what is your view on nobles and commoners?
Fourth, what are your views on men and women?
Fifth, what is the most unforgettable thing that happened to you during your growing up?
As the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, I, who had barely slept all night, drew back the curtains, tilted my head back, and basked in the sunlight.
The strong winds have finally stopped, and the days of wind in the West are coming to an end. It seems that the rest of the year will be sunny and bright.
The job posting was officially released, and within just one day, a hundred people applied. Almost all the lower-ranking palace staff signed up, hoping to try their luck.
I couldn't help but marvel that even with so much bloodshed in the royal palace, it couldn't stop the lower classes from wanting to climb the social ladder.
Bloodshed is terrible, but starving to death, dying in poverty, dying in misery, or remaining at the bottom of society for a lifetime or several lifetimes is even more terrible.
Actually, I'm lucky; I hardly ever stayed at the bottom of society.
Three days later, the number of applicants had reached over two hundred, including those from outside the palace. On the morning of the fourth day, the written exam officially took place. By noon, I had received almost all the exam papers. Over one hundred people actually took the exam, and some had dropped out. A supervisor asked a few of the dropouts why they hadn't taken the exam. They were embarrassed to answer, explaining that they were illiterate and had only registered on a whim.
On the fifth day, I spent the whole day in my study correcting exam papers. On the sixth day, it was Beatrice's funeral.
In the light drizzle, eight strong guards carried the coffin, surrounded by a large group of nobles, their sobbing adding to the somber atmosphere.
After walking for about an hour, we arrived at the royal cemetery.
I stood among the nobles, watching a group of strong men digging a pit, quickly completing a rectangular earthen mound. The coffin was slowly lowered in, and the wailing grew louder.
After the coffin was completely placed, fresh soil was laid on top, and then the tombstone was installed.
As the funeral drew to a close, the atmosphere began to shift. Some noblemen and women glanced at me furtively, whispering amongst themselves. A variety of looks—mocking, curious, uneasy, and strange—were directed at me.
I pretended not to see it and looked at the tombstone with a sorrowful expression.
To be honest, I am truly saddened by Beatrice's death. We had known each other for many years, and I never imagined she would leave us like this. Our relationship was complex, filled with both gratitude and resentment.
It's just like how a writer described his feelings towards an enemy in his martial arts novel: "If you live, I suffer; if you die, I am heartbroken."
Mamboya stood not far from me, his posture ramrod straight. We hadn't seen each other since that argument.
On the way back to the palace, all the nobles walked. Mamboya quietly approached me and whispered, "Are you still angry with me?"
I ignored him.
"Don't think about using me and then discarding me," Manberia whispered.
I still didn't say anything.
"Don't think you can really hold onto the queen's position. You're not a pure-blooded noble, and the nobles of the royal city won't support you."
I still didn't say anything.
He said nothing more and just accompanied them all the way to the palace.
Entering the study, I sat at the desk and asked bluntly, "So, if I obey you, you can guarantee my position as queen?"
"I'm afraid that's a bit difficult." He smiled as he looked at the boxes scattered on the ground and the mountain of official documents.
"So what's your solution?"
"But if you have the North as your backing, your real power will remain secure."
"What's the meaning?"
“You could pass the throne to a highly respected nobleman, such as one of Beatrice’s nephews. You could adopt him as your godson and remain behind the scenes as the regent mother, but the real power would be in your hands. This would solve both the problem of the pure bloodline of the throne and your desire for real power.”
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The author says: "If you live, I suffer; if you die, I grieve." — This quote comes from the famous wuxia novel "The Legendary Twins" by Gu Long.
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