CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 214: THE PLAN, THE FINAL TEA PARTY

Yaguba said earnestly:

"Shark’s suggestion is to first go along with their wishes. The Empress wants to minimize the impact of this matter, worried that starting a battle in the Imperial Palace will make too much noise, so she patiently waits until the day the Whale’s Mouth opens, first sending us to a neglected corner before finding a reason to strike.

"When that day comes, we’ll use a Blinding Technique to deceive them, making them mistakenly believe we are trying to escape, thereby diverting their fighting force, and then we sneak into the Imperial Palace."

Li Qingping tilted his head.

"And then?"

"Then we enter the Imperial Palace, with the first objective being to obtain the White King’s Staff, and the second to capture the Prince or the Empress... If we can’t get the White King’s Staff, or capture one of them, we’ll launch the final plan, create chaos, and make a big enough scene that the whole court knows, embarrassing them."

"Alright, alright, you’re full of devious ideas," Li Qingping said, "Anyway, it’s a matter of nine lives facing death, I’ve been prepared ever since I returned here."

"So do you have the means to achieve Shark’s plan?" Yaguba asked, "like getting a few dummies that look just like you to fool their eyes?"

"It’s not difficult... There are two ordinary-grade Anecdote Fragments that can accomplish this, confusing their vision," Li Qingping said, "Oh right, this is the Anecdote Archive of the Imperial Palace."

As he spoke, he turned to look at a heavily guarded corridor in the Imperial Palace, with guards fully armed and behind them a giant bronze door.

"A few days later, can I have a feast here?"

The little Shark bared a row of small sharp teeth, pressed close to the glass of the Crystal Ball, observing the door following his gaze.

Li Qingping nodded: "There’s an opportunity, but it depends on whether we pass through here when we sneak into the Imperial Palace."

"Even if we don’t pass by, we must pass by; it’s like even if there’s no chance to meet the one you fancy, you must create opportunities for encounters.

"Didn’t a certain Shark say the first target is the White King’s Staff just now? Can’t move when encountering food?"

"Why do you care so much about Shark?"

"Glutton."

"Scraps."

.....

.....

A day later, the time moved to the morning of July 30th.

"Brother invited me to their tea party." In the dormitory, Cezar leaned by the window, glancing at the letter delivered by the pigeon.

Li Qingping raised his head and asked: "Are you going?"

"Why wouldn’t I?" Cezar countered.

"Then let’s go."

Saying that, Li Qingping picked up the Crystal Ball from the bedside table, shook the sleeping little Shark to wake it, and then left the castle together with Cezar.

Soon, the group arrived at the Grand Prince Lorenzo’s chamber, stepped into the courtyard, greeted by a road paved with marble.

On both sides of the road grew the distinct flowers of the Whale Terrarium, each petal shining like obsidian. The Grand Prince has a habit of appreciating flowers, occasionally taking time to personally care for them in the garden.

Cezar walked for a short while and saw a hexagonal pavilion, inside was a stone round table and a few stone chairs, with curtains hanging in mid-air fluttering in the wind.

Lorenzo and Cosimo, two blond-haired, blue-eyed princes, were sitting before the table, waiting for a long time.

While the Captain of the Royal Court Team "Ruth" and the member "Laine" were waiting nearby. Whether it was the former’s sea-blue long hair or the latter’s beard and golden eyes, both were striking, easily identifiable.

Cezar walked straightforwardly into the pavilion, unceremoniously sat across from Lorenzo and Cosimo.

"Cezar, the day after tomorrow is the day the whale lands." Lorenzo looked up and said.

"Yes."

"Why don’t we stop this futile struggle, so you won’t end up getting Li Qingping killed too." Lorenzo said with a casual tone.

Cezar remained silent, Li Qingping also didn’t speak.

After a while, Cezar asked: "Li Qingping, would you die for me?"

"Of course, my Prince." Li Qingping nodded slightly.

Lorenzo smiled: "You two really match well, an unruly Prince and an unruly Vice Captain of the Royal Court Team."

"I’ve already quit the Royal Court Team." Li Qingping said.

"But you haven’t obtained approval from the King." Lorenzo said.

"Approval, how to approve?" Cezar said, "Father has already been bedridden because of you, for your selfish desires."

"You’re not suited to be King, Cezar..." Lorenzo said, "You’ll lead the country to fragmentation, to a doomed ending, and I cannot let that happen."

"You’re wrong, Brother." Cezar said, expressionless, "Regardless of whether I become King or not, I will overturn this country."

"Are you going to betray your own country?" Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, curiously asked.

"You betrayed me first." Cezar said, "Moreover... a country that hides in the belly of a whale to avoid the outside world from the beginning is better off not existing."

"Have some spine." Lorenzo clasped his hands, "But there’s only one Whale’s Mouth, how do you plan to leave?"

"You’re afraid of me, that’s why you’re eager to erase me."

Lorenzo shook his head, patting Cosimo’s shoulder, laughed aloud, "I really don’t know when our third brother learned to speak such big words, second brother, was it because you lost to him in the Beast Fighting Arena last time, that he gained confidence?"

Cosimo’s face turned grim, remained silent.

Cezar raised his eyes to look at Ruth: "So, since you’ve heard everything, yet still disregard all of this?"

Ruth said expressionless: "I only follow the Empress’s instructions, with the King not present, the Empress’s orders override everything."

Cezar asked: "But they’re the ones who made the King ill, shouldn’t you deal with them first?"

"Do you have evidence? Don’t make baseless accusations." Second Prince Cosimo frowned, speaking up.

Cezar ignored him, instead turned to look at Laine: "What about you, Mr. Laine... In the legends, the Anecdote Fragment ’Sword in the Stone’ only selects the purest Knights, but meeting today, it doesn’t seem to be as I imagined."

Laine fell silent.

"Stop this, Cezar." Lorenzo smiled, "For the sake of our brotherhood, on August 1st, I’ll have someone take you out of the Terrarium, you and Li Qingping can leave, go wherever you want."

Cezar sarcastically said: "After all, you want to deal with me in the outside world, so you won’t be despised, a mad dog willing to kill brothers and poison father for the throne."

"It seems you’ve started to act irrationally..." Lorenzo raised his head, meeting Cezar’s gaze, "Finally, as a brother, I’ll teach you a lesson: History is usually written by the victors, and the victors... are usually ruthless."

Cosimo glanced at the letter handed over by the pigeon, raised his head: "Brother, let’s end this here, Mother has something for us."

"Let’s go." Lorenzo stood up.

Cezar silently watched them leave, then turned and walked out of the pavilion. Li Qingping followed.

Cezar, walking without turning his head, said: "Li Qingping, my chance of escaping is very small... They want me, if the situation that day goes badly for us, then you take Yaguba and leave, don’t worry about me."

At this point, Cezar paused: "If Father dies, I will only have you two left, after I die, only you in the world will remember me, so... don’t die."

Yaguba was stunned, thinking are you transitioning from a corrupted elementary student to a melancholic elementary student?

Li Qingping raised his head, silently watched his back for a while, then opened the Crystal Ball lid and poked the little Shark’s head: "Take it away? Might as well roast it on the way to eat it, I’ve never eaten roasted shark."

"Roasted shark is a dark cuisine concept from the Londoners, can you, a Chinese, have some dignity?" The little Shark barked, "Do you understand the cuisine capital?"

"You’re right, but I am a Terrarium person."

"Traitor."

Cezar stopped walking, turned to look at the human and shark, and laughed silently.

At this time, there were still the last 48 hours until the Legendary Whale lands in Bergen, Norway.