A weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken?
"Marshal, Linlin, it's been a long time."
As he spoke, Gu Hansheng squeezed into the circle of white-haired beauties and sat down naturally on a chair about a meter away from Chu Yanbing.
This position cleverly isolated Alina from the view of the others.
Chu Yanbing nodded: "Long time no see."
Alina turned her head, her eyes slightly guilty, and replied, "Long time no see." After saying that, she couldn't help but glance at Chu Yanbing.
After exchanging greetings, Gu Hansheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he was momentarily speechless.
Aside from that incident, it seems like there's nothing else between him and the two of them to chat about.
For Gu Hansheng, who was known as an aloof and unapproachable person, it was already quite impressive that he came over to interrupt others' attempts to flirt with Alina. Asking him to come up with a topic of conversation was indeed a bit difficult.
"Miss Alina, my name is Lin Hongxue, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Seeing that the conversation between the group had stopped, the silver-gray-haired man who had been about to speak earlier quickly seized the opportunity.
Alina's gaze slid from the polite smile on the other person's face and stopped at the outstretched hand. She didn't reciprocate, but simply replied politely, "Hello."
That "hello" seemed to break some kind of silence spell. Instantly, the strangers around her rushed to greet Alina, each with a happy smile on their face. One of them was so excited that he started stuttering.
Alina thought to herself: Is she that popular?
Shouldn't it be that those who are not of our race will surely have different intentions?
Instantly, Alina's vigilance reached its peak, but she didn't show much resistance on her face; she just became very quiet.
"Miss Alina, after watching your live stream, I suddenly fell in love with making cooked food. If I have any questions about it, may I ask you?"
The moment the words "fall in love" were uttered from the lips of the boy he had only met once, the atmosphere in the hall instantly froze, as if a biting winter wind had suddenly swept past them.
However, under his controlled, unhurried speaking pace, the next words came out of his mouth in less than two seconds, and instantly, the cold air stopped and warmed up.
The speaker, oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere, simply turned his expectant gaze toward Alina.
"Uh... sure." After thinking for a moment, Alina agreed. After all, she had a gut feeling that he genuinely wanted to ask for advice. However... "But you can only ask me via private message on the StarNet account. Is that acceptable to you?"
Alina reached out and grabbed the hand of the person next to her without any attempt to conceal herself, speaking in a flat tone.
"...I can accept it!"
A clear look of disappointment flashed in the other person's eyes, but before Chu Yanbing could say anything, she quickly agreed.
Chu Yanbing, who was about to politely decline on Alina's behalf: "..."
Clenching her small hand tightly, Chu Yanbing ultimately remained silent.
As he watched more and more people talking to Lin'er, he visibly fell silent. Although, those who didn't know him couldn't possibly discern any change in his emotions from his almost imperceptible expression.
A few minutes later, just as Alina was about to leave with Chu Yanbing, the Empress arrived.
"Your Highness, look at you, keeping her hidden away so tightly." The Empress smiled, her tone almost teasing. "You're all preparing for the wedding, yet you haven't brought your future Crown Princess back to meet your father. If it weren't for this welcome banquet, who knows when your father would have met his future daughter-in-law."
In an instant, the lively chatter fell silent.
Although the two did not openly break off relations, anyone with a brain knows that the current empress and the crown prince do not have a good relationship.
At least, it's not appropriate to communicate in such an intimate, teasing tone, especially with someone as sensitive as Alina.
The boy who had just asked Alina for cooking tips watched this scene and quietly left the encirclement.
Chu Yanbing didn't speak, and Alina didn't reply either. Just as the Empress's words were about to fall to the ground, Chu Xishi, who arrived a step later, spoke up and took over the Empress's words: "Mother, didn't we already see how much my brother cherishes his fiancée on the live broadcast?"
Her gentle tone carried an air of matter-of-factness, as if she genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with what Chu Yanbing was doing.
"Indeed, indeed." The Queen smiled kindly and nodded. She glanced at the servant who had appeared out of nowhere. The servant received the Queen's gaze and stepped forward respectfully, as if measured by a ruler. The Queen then picked up a small box from the tray.
"Since she is the person the Crown Prince likes, she will be the future Crown Princess of the Empire. This is the Empress's token, and I will give it to you on this auspicious and lively day."
As she spoke, the Empress opened the box, revealing a red jade bracelet inside that resembled ice, snow, and crystal. Its edges were inlaid with pure snow-white gold with openwork carvings of leopard patterns, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Alina: "?"
A weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken?
Thinking this to herself, she also knew that she couldn't refuse or delay this symbol of status, so she reached out to take it.
But before she could even take the bracelet, the Empress put it on her wrist with a kind and warm expression.
"Oh, you're so beautiful, you look great in them."
As the Queen spoke, she tried to pat Alina's hand, but just as her hand was about to touch the back of Alina's hand, she missed.
It turned out that Chu Yanbing, unable to bear watching any longer, pulled the person behind him.
The confrontation between the two immediately shattered the previous harmonious atmosphere. Seeing Chu Yanbing staring coldly at the Empress without saying a word, the Emperor became furious.
"What kind of look is that?! This is your mother!"
Alina lowered her head and looked down, seemingly admiring the bracelet on her wrist, but in reality, she rolled her eyes and pouted. "Mother?"
I think it's the mastermind behind it all!
Chu Yanbing withdrew his gaze and turned to the emperor, lying through his teeth: "It's almost time. The military has administrative duties to attend to, so we'll head back now."
After saying this, he prepared to leave without waiting for the emperor's reply.
Onlookers: The banquet has only just begun! The main event of networking has only been going on for less than 10 minutes! How can it be almost time?!
"You dare! Tell me yourself, how long has it been since you last returned to the palace! You're not allowed to go anywhere today! You're staying in the palace!"
Because of Chu Yanbing's ignoring him all night, the emperor's suppressed anger finally erupted.
She completely forgot that she was the one who ignored Chu Yanbing first.
Upon hearing this, Chu Yanbing paused in her steps, tightened her grip on the hand of the person behind her, pursed her lips, and finally lifted her foot to leave.
"Stop the Crown Prince!"
Enraged and dizzy, the emperor completely ignored Chu Yanbing's martial prowess and directly gave orders to the palace guards inside and outside the hall.
The air suddenly became extremely tense, as if winter had arrived.
"never mind."
Alina reached out and gently pulled on the hand in her palm, offering soft words of advice.
Although the strained relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor was common knowledge throughout the empire, the Emperor was still the Emperor, and Ayan was still the Crown Prince.
The crown prince opposed the emperor, and ultimately his power waned.
Alina, who had not yet gained a deep understanding of the imperial power system, did not know that although the emperor had more power than the crown prince, the emperor who had stepped down as marshal was no more or less equal to the crown prince who had served as marshal.
Or rather, if reputation were disregarded, Chu Yanbing would actually be superior to his "blind and old" father.
Seeing the other person's worried eyes, Chu Yanbing pursed her lips, pulled the person along, and continued to leave without saying a word.
Alina: "?"
But before they had taken more than a few steps, a piercing scream suddenly rang out from not far away: "Aaaaaahhhhh—Help!!!"
"Marshal, help! Admiral Hilda's mental energy has gone berserk!"
Alina and Chu Yanbing turned to the side almost simultaneously, turning their gazes toward the place where the commotion was taking place.
Wow, what a huge black wolf!
Alina was amazed.
It even has green eyes, and it looks quite pretty.
Completely oblivious to the danger posed by the sudden turmoil, Alina was still lost in thought.
Chu Yanbing was not so optimistic. Although he knew that Alina was immune to all poisons and that her attack power was no less than his own at his peak, he still couldn't control his worries.
After all, the evil in human nature is unimaginable to normal people.
Despite her worries, Chu Yanbing used her mental power to save people and control the situation, while simultaneously using her mental power to communicate with her adjutant via her personal computer.
Throughout the entire time, he held Alina's hand tightly, never leaving her side.
Alina was also very well-behaved and didn't go out to watch the excitement; she even seemed to enjoy the feeling of being protected.
Hilda was only a double S-rank, and she was quickly subdued by Chu Yanbing at her peak. Just as she was about to be successfully stopped and taken away, an exceptionally powerful mental attack suddenly erupted from her body. If Chu Yanbing hadn't sensed it beforehand, not only would the sturdy palace have been razed to the ground, but most of the people around would have been killed or injured.
"Find a place to hide."
Chu Yanbing sensed a mental energy fluctuation of equal power to his own. Helpless, he could only have Alina hide him, just like when they infiltrated the "Nirvana" stronghold before.
Alina understood the unspoken meaning in Chu Yanbing's words.
Not really wanting to waste points that weren't necessary, she obediently nodded: "Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself."
After saying that, Alina gave a look to Le Ziyun, who was being protected by the wolf axe, and Gu Hansheng, and then prepared to leave alone.
After walking only a few steps, Alina was swept away by the crowd and rushed out quickly. Just as she turned her head to look at the snow leopard fighting the big black wolf with some unease, she suddenly felt a slight stinging pain on her arm.
Before she could react, everything went black.
Instantly, the ten people in the hall who had been watching Alina closely all suddenly transformed into their beast forms without any concealment and rushed towards Alina.
However, they were still not as fast as the person who attacked Alina from the side.
A black mech appeared out of thin air and instantly carried Alina away from where she stood.
"Awooo!" Lin'er!
Even during the battle, Chu Yanbing, who had spared a sliver of his attention for Alina, roared out in fury.
With an angry roar, the 10 people who had just leaped out to rescue the people all took out their mechs and flew out of the palace hall almost simultaneously.
Chu Yanbing wanted to leave, but his reason told him that he was the only one present who could subdue Hilda, whose mental energy was surging.
In an instant, he held nothing back, unleashing all his powerful attacks on Hilda except for those that could kill her.
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