Chapter 56 Chapter 56 “Miao Miao seems to like… playing…
The crystal chandeliers illuminated the gorgeous clothes and fragrance, and the orchestra's cheerful music resounded throughout the banquet.
The King's son married the daughter of the Duke of Capet, a representative of the newly ascended nobility, and the wedding was blessed by the God of Light. This was a great honor for the two newlyweds, proving that their love for each other moved the gods.
Naturally, this also proves that the royal family of Kretz has not been abandoned by Him and still has the protection of heaven.
Representatives of the royal family, the nobility, and the common people toasted each other at their long tables. Those guests who had harbored ulterior motives rejoiced that the wedding had come at such a timely moment. The nobles who had already pledged their allegiance to the royal family were beaming with pride, toasting the Capetians with one glass after another.
Putting aside the intertwined prayers and thoughts of the guests, there were also undercurrents surging among the newlyweds.
After dancing with An Wei according to the procedure, Lin Miao was led by him to sit at the long table reserved for the royal family.
Except for the second prince who died young, the king's remaining seven children were all present, and none of them brought their own partners.
King Kretz's former queen was the second prince's biological mother. She died of grief after the second prince's death. He did not appoint a new queen, and the throne has remained vacant ever since.
The king sat alone in the first seat, with the eldest prince and the fourth prince on his left and right; An Wei and Lin Miao were arranged on the eldest prince's side, facing the youngest and third princesses, and the fifth and sixth princesses sat at the end.
Lin Miao observed the royal family members calmly, but his sight was caught for a few seconds by the young man exuding a sunny aura across from him.
The 25-year-old fourth prince actually did not look like the king, or perhaps he only inherited the brilliant golden hair; his pair of droopy puppy eyes had innocent honey-colored pupils, and his naturally smiling lips made it difficult to feel hostile towards him.
Noticing her gaze, the Fourth Prince gave her a friendly smile, revealing his cute fangs and shallow dimples on his cheeks.
Sunny, simple and enthusiastic.
…Can these attributes appear in a prince who is considered a candidate for heir?
Considering that he was the only prince who had reached marriageable age but refused marriage on the grounds that he had not found his true love yet, Lin Miao labeled him as "dangerous" and "restless".
His Majesty the King spoke at this time and gave an opening speech before the meal; it was just a few words repeating the joy of the newlyweds for receiving the blessing of God, and instructing Lin Miao that entering the royal family meant representing the face of the royal family and that he should live in harmony with the royal family. Lin Miao treated it all as chanting and just nodded in agreement.
A rather hypocritical voice sounded: "Seventh Prince, it's time to divide the cake with your sister-in-law."
One of the wedding customs in the Kingdom of Krez is that the newlyweds need to cut the fruit cake, which symbolizes "dividing" and "receiving".
Lin Miao looked in the direction of the voice and saw the eldest prince, who was also a favorite to take the throne, looking at them with a slightly raised corner of his mouth.
She glanced from the handsome face to the gorgeous and complicated uniform, her expression unchanged, but her fingertips drew a cross on An Wei's palm.
The harshness between his brows was almost overflowing, and a cold light flashed in his green eyes, and it was clear at a glance that he had something to calculate. Lin Miao didn't really have a good impression of him, but she did understand why he had such a good relationship with the Seventh Prince.
Birds of a feather flock together.
An Wei picked up the knife and quickly cut the cake on the table into nine pieces, one of which was slightly larger, and the remaining eight were divided equally.
The devil had the seemingly most difficult task, but Lin Miao's part wasn't easy either. She gave the largest portion to the king, who then distributed it to the princes and princesses according to their ages.
The eldest prince looked at her as if he were weighing an object, with an almost open assessment and calculation; feeling the discomfort of being bitten by a disgusting bedbug, Lin Miao reasonably guessed that in his eyes she was just a special kind of currency, whose function was only to shorten the distance between him and the throne by a few centimeters.
When handing it to the Fourth Prince, he thanked her politely and took the disk with a sincere look, but when no one was noticing, he lightly hooked her wrist with his little finger.
Lin Miao raised her eyes, and the young man blinked his left eye quickly at her, his smile unchanged.
The eighth prince was still young, and obediently called her the seventh prince's wife; when distributing the cake to the three princesses, Lin Miao found that they all chose dresses with narrow sleeves, very few accessories, and their clothes were simple and elegant, probably with the intention of not stealing the bride's limelight.
The meal was hastily eaten amidst everyone's own secrets, and it was already evening. After the royal family's "family dinner" ended, it was time to deal with the lively conversation between the nobles and commoner representatives.
Lin Miao transformed into a fake-smiling girl, struggling to survive surrounded by noble ladies and young ladies. Fortunately, the Capet couple didn't come to "question" her for some reason, otherwise how could she fight against so many people with just two fists!
Feeling tired, Lin Miao turned around and saw the fourth prince, dressed in a brown uniform, walking towards the garden outside the palace. His playful wink flashed through her mind, and she looked out the window, her brows furrowed.
"I want to go for a walk in the garden outside." She found An Wei among the nobles, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "After you've dealt with those nobles, go back to the palace and wait for me."
"...Be careful and don't leave the palace."
An Wei wanted to object, but he knew very well that it was impossible to dissuade Lin Miao from her idea. He looked at his mark on her arm again and again, and told her to press it if anything happened, and protected her as she slipped out of the banquet hall.
Lin Miao left the palace and walked towards the deepest part of the garden with a clear goal.
As expected, she saw a thin figure in brown clothes next to a huge oak tree.
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince," Lin Miao took the initiative to speak. "What do you want to say to Leah?"
The blond figure turned around upon hearing this.
The bright, half-risen moon filtered its light through the uneven gaps between the leaves of the trees, weaving mottled shadows of light and dark on his handsome and pure face, adding a touch of obscurity.
"Miss Capet is here." He arched his brows and spoke in a light and lively tone, "She actually understood my hint. She is really smart."
"...I think you asked me here not just to praise me, right?" Lin Miao was completely unmoved. "Also, you should call me sister-in-law like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, not Miss Capet."
"Alright, alright," the fourth prince raised his hands in surrender, his words clearly pronounced, "my brother and sister."
The experience of hearing these two words called out by him in a truly refreshing and clean youthful voice was different from the eldest prince's voice. Lin Miao suppressed the strange feeling and looked at him quietly.
"I want to cooperate with my brother-in-law." The young man took a deep breath and stated his purpose directly.
"You helped me achieve my wish—don't be so quick to refuse. As long as you choose to help me, regardless of success or failure, I will do my best to repay you during our cooperation."
"At the same time, I will keep our cooperation absolutely confidential. If it succeeds, you will get much more than you have now; if it fails... you will still be the Seventh Prince's Consort, and the First Prince will not treat you unfairly."
"You can't lose no matter what."
He stared at Lin Miao, emphasizing each word.
“…”
Lin Miao had thought in advance that he would propose cooperation, but she did not expect that he would even consider her way out so carefully.
"I think you've found the wrong person. Not to mention that this would mean betraying my husband, the Capet family will only be loyal to the person they originally chose... I can't change their minds." She was silent for a moment and refused coldly.
"I don't want the Capet family," he waited patiently for her to finish, then spoke slowly, his eyes fixed on hers: "I only need the help of you—Julia Capet.
Lin Miao was slightly stunned, and began to find the situation interesting. "Liya is just a tool for my father to cling to the royal family. Even if she is lucky enough to receive the favor of the gods, it cannot be converted into actual power. How can she help His Highness the Fourth Prince?"
"But to be favored by the gods is a right in itself." The fourth prince smiled even more happily, and his dimples became more prominent.
He took half a step forward, almost shoulder to shoulder with her, and spoke into her ear; from a distance, the two of them were so intimate that they seemed to be rubbing their ears together, unable to be distinguished from each other.
"Besides...does Heaven really want to bless my sister-in-law and my seventh brother?"
Lin Miao paused slightly at these words. She simply stopped trying to avoid him, tilted her head, and whispered into his ear: "Liya is stupid. She doesn't understand what Your Highness means."
The night was dark, and the Fourth Prince's expression was well concealed. He said slowly, "To demonstrate my sincerity in cooperating with my sister-in-law, I'll tell her a secret first."
"I have also awakened my talent for light."
“…”
Lin Miao was already able to accept the fact that "another leaked member of the association appeared next to her". She raised her eyes to catch the Fourth Prince's gaze, but he didn't let her see his eyes.
"So, I can sense the god's initial emotion... it's genuine anger and disapproval. Being able to change his attitude, whether it's my sister-in-law's own doing or bribing that messenger... is well worth my effort, isn't it?"
As if he could see Lin Miao's desperate struggle, the Fourth Prince raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly: "I hope my sister-in-law won't ask me why I don't suspect Enqi was responsible..."
A sneer drifted past like a wisp of smoke, full of sarcasm, "I know what kind of a person my brother is."
The fact that the Fourth Prince told Lin Miao this secret that directly threatened his position meant that he would never give up cooperating with her; what's more, she really needed a helper who had the favor of light and was familiar with the palace.
Even because of the planning of the hunting ceremony, the olive branch he threw was exactly what she wanted.
Lin Miao thought for less than ten seconds before stating his request bluntly: "Liya can help His Highness the Fourth Prince ascend the throne, but I need two promises from you."
"Sit on the throne."
These few words, which everyone else avoided talking about but had been lingering in his heart for too long, were spoken calmly and casually by the straight-backed girl in front of him, as if she were plucking a handful of cabbages from the field when she had nothing better to do.
After a brief moment of trance, the fourth prince responded without hesitation.
"make a deal."
Didn't he even ask whether two promises would be beyond his ability? Lin Miao was thoughtful, with a smile on his face: "Then, happy cooperation."
"It's a pleasure working with you." The Fourth Prince stepped back slightly and gave her a gentlemanly half-bow. "It's time for you to go home, sister-in-law. Sweet dreams."
"Sweet dreams, Your Highness." Lin Miao returned the greeting. Thinking that her dog was probably waiting for her anxiously, she lifted her skirt and strode towards the palace of her new husband.
The long hem of her skirt dragged on the ground, and the moonlight satin reflected a shimmering silver halo in the light; she did not look back, and her steps were fast and hurried.
When Lin Miao was about to reach the seventh prince's bedroom, an arm reached out from the dark and tightly embraced her waist.
She fell backwards into a hot embrace, and the softness hovering on her earlobe seemed cold.
His fingertips stroked Lin Miao's waist, accurately finding her most sensitive soft flesh and kneading it bit by bit; at the same time, the man's hoarse and cold voice hissed like a snake, drilling into her eardrums.
"Miao Miao seems to really enjoy... playing with 'brothers'?"
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