Chapter 479 The Princess's Decision
If we were to ask what type of people in this world are least likely to be deceived and hardest to be fooled, it would definitely be those who know their own limitations... those who know themselves best.
“Knowing how many bowls of rice you can eat” sounds like an easy, ordinary and unremarkable thing, but there are really not many people who can do it... The vast majority of people either overestimate or underestimate their appetite, and it is normal for them to feel full or not eat enough for the meals they cook and order.
For example...when receiving the same SMS (phone call) about winning a prize of huge sums of money, those who are good at guessing will just glance at the beginning and delete it, not believing that such a good thing worth hundreds of millions of dollars can fall on their heads so easily; while those who are not good at guessing are not so aware, and will feel unbelievable, ecstatic, worried, and so on, and will angrily give their entire fortune and savings to the scammers to get promotions and salary increases.
For example, there is also a pig-killing scam that is active in the cyberspace of the Earth plane. Some savvy people will block the scammers after taking a look at the scammers' fabricated high-sounding personalities and retouched photos. They simply don't believe that the opposite sex with such conditions will want to have a great love affair with them.
If it were someone who had no idea... it would be really hard for them to have this kind of self-awareness. They would even believe that the other party was pretending to be a well-known rich second-generation.
Scams like N-fold compensation for lost parcels, guaranteed profits under investment guidance from masters, winning online gambling with a small bet for a big gain, high salaries for poor small Southeast Asian countries - etc. - all these scams prey on human weaknesses. If they are put on people who are savvy enough, they will almost certainly fail.
The business is responsible for the loss of parcels. Why should the courier company come to pay for the loss? Why don't the investment "gurus" who are sure to make money quietly make a fortune? Who doesn't have dozens of relatives and friends? Why would they introduce me to a good job with a high salary?
Even if it is not a scam that casts a wide net, but just normal interactions in daily life, people who have a clear enough understanding of their own positioning and know how much they can earn will find it difficult to be fooled.
Such people may not necessarily be very smart or have a high IQ, nor may they be gifted or have their own special skills. In fact, in most cases, they are relatively mediocre and rely more on experience and knowledge to solve problems. It is difficult for them to come up with more clever solutions, and they do not stand out among the crowd.
But obviously, such personality traits are enough to allow people with such traits to avoid many pitfalls...
Yang Qiu's usual "pie in the sky" bribery tactic hit a wall with Agent Stanford... no, now he's an agent.
"This young man has a future."
After sending Agent Stanford away , Yang Qiu saved his dignity with this slightly awkward soliloquy.
There is still some finishing work to be done in the Territory of Tachia. Fortunately, it is spring now, and as long as the sky does not fall, it will not interfere with the vast majority of local farmers who are busy with spring ploughing. The remaining forces of the feudal nobles in the countryside will not be able to cause much trouble before the end of spring ploughing.
And if we delay it until the summer harvest season... these remaining forces won't be able to do much - the national team's (organization's) ability to mobilize the masses is not something that can be displayed for show.
The only thing Yang Qiu needs to focus on now is the reaction from the royal capital.
"I wonder if that guy Weber has met the old king?"
Yang Qiu took out the investigation report written by the player and looked at it again, then glanced leisurely towards the northeast.
Illusionist Sadir and fire mage Ramanta left Taqia Territory by boat two days ago and headed south to Adler to visit Kingsley in Dutata City, and also to meet the two court mages entertained by Kingsley.
Weber, the illusionist who had served the Rhine royal family the longest, was worried about the situation of the royal family, so he took a boat back to the capital on the same day.
Yang Qiu didn't care about the life and death of the royal family. If the old king could be as ruthless as Emperor Chongzhen and kill his entire family and hang himself, Yang Qiu might even shed a few crocodile tears for joy, and then bring little Prince Andre who was temporarily "under house arrest" in Innadri to the capital to receive the royal inheritance openly.
But Yang Qiu still cared a lot about the mood of these court mages... After all, spellcasters are mostly people who follow their hearts. If they are unhappy, even if Yang Qiu offers the best conditions, these people are likely to pack up and run away.
With so many human servers, Yang Qiu would be heartbroken if any of them ran away...
"The Queen... Tsk, she's been led astray by those players. Phoenix is still quite reliable. Be patient and watch her performance."
Yang Qiu muttered and turned his attention to the investigation report.
The investigation report in his hand was written by his elder sister Yang Ying.
Yang Ying is a semi-professional player after all. When it comes to the night watchman missions in Creek City, Yang Ying actively put together a team to lead player bosses to earn Exorcist badges... She even "technically logged off" for this and got rid of Miaobishenghua, who had been asking her to do errands.
"Well... I have to say, her handwriting is really not improving at all..."
Looking at the ugly words on the report that looked like earthworms crawling, Yang Qiu couldn't bear to look at them and complained.
Just when Yang Qiu was unscrupulously complaining about his sister...the illusionist Weber, whom he had just been thinking about, was now doubting his life.
In the wealthy area east of King's Harbor in the capital of the Rhine, in a mansion with the name "Weber Macaulay" printed in small gilded letters on the doorplate, the owner of the mansion, the illusionist Weber, is receiving guests in a bright greenhouse built with flat glass.
Sitting on the comfortable wicker armchair was a beautiful lady wearing a white gauze hat, a well-tailored ladies' dress, and a small dress jacket draped over her shoulders.
This lady is not young anymore. There are obvious fine lines around her eyes and her cheeks are no longer as plump as those of a young woman. However, this does not make her glamorous and attractive appearance less attractive. Instead, it adds a bit of charm and flavor that is unique to a mature woman.
"So... Your Majesty has been troubled by the Third Prince's problem for a while now?"
Illusionist Weber silently put down his teacup, took a deep breath, and repeated the question he had just asked.
"Yes, Mr. Macaulay." The beautiful lady nodded slightly, with a hint of sarcasm in her smile. "A week ago... around the time when Mr. Yang led his army to attack Creek City, Phoenix of the Odysseus family led an army of 10,000 to Fort Cod and sent a fourth invitation to the Third Prince for an honor duel... Last year, His Majesty forced the Third Prince to apologize to the Odysseus family. He felt that he owed the Third Prince something, so His Majesty certainly could not allow this duel to happen."
Coldburg is a viscount territory located at the border between the royal capital and the territory of Odysseus.
The army of the Odysseus family was pulled to Coldburg...it was only two days' journey from the royal capital; obviously, Phoenix was still brooding over the fact that the Odysseus family was coveted by the third prince last year, and he was unwilling to give up.
Weber took a deep breath, and veins appeared noticeably on his forehead.
From Weber's perspective, he looked down upon the Third Prince Kolov, who would do such a despicable thing as taking advantage of the situation to stab his own noble family in the back.
If the king had only one son, Kolov, then it would be understandable that the king would pay more attention to family affairs than state affairs in order to protect the heir with the highest succession line - but with the steady eldest prince and the kind fourth prince around, how important could Kolov be? !
"Okay...what happens next?" Weber pressed hard on the vein that had just appeared on his forehead, trying his best to suppress his anger.
"When the news of Creek City's emergency reached the capital, I overestimated my own abilities and tried to persuade His Majesty. No matter what the intentions of Phoenix of the Odysseus family are, the excuses he put forward are just to get an explanation. It would be better to give in on this issue for the time being and at least appease the Odysseus family..." The beautiful lady sneered and said, "As you can see, His Majesty asked me to go to the villa and stay for a while, and not stay in the palace to get in the way."
Weber fell silent.
The lady in front of him, who was past her beautiful age but still charming, was none other than the once popular Rhine noblewoman, now Princess Harriet.
The biggest reason why the princess failed to be crowned queen was... she was a second wife, not because she had any moral flaws.
As for the reason why she became the second wife, outsiders might make up slanderous words such as climbing the ladder and being vain because they don't know the inside story. However, people who know the inside story, such as Weber, would not say such stupid things.
Driving a queen (princess) out of the palace and sending her to a villa in the suburbs of the capital to "temporarily reside" is such a shameless thing...it would be considered a scandal in any royal family of any country.
Especially... in this dire situation where the royal power is precarious and even Waver, the court mage, is worried!
Weber even had some doubts. Was the king he met yesterday after returning to the capital still the same king?
When he served , the current king was still a child... At that time, he had no idea that the seemingly steady and precocious little boy would be such a fool!
Waver took another deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, and said as politely as possible: "I understand. Thank you for taking the trouble to tell me this, Princess."
There was some reluctance in Princess Harriet's beautiful big eyes. She had not yet been able to find out Weber's attitude, but since the other party said so, she had no reason to stay and could only stand up and leave gracefully.
When the court lady guarding outside the flower room came in to help the princess, Waver hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Princess, before the disaster of the undead occurred, do you know who His Majesty had a close relationship with in private?"
Princess Harriet cast a puzzled look over.
Weber used the word "who", and the scope is quite broad... It can refer to nobles, ministers, top businessmen, top artists who are qualified to interact with His Majesty the King in non-public occasions, and it can also refer to the royal families of neighboring countries.
Princess Harriet gave the safest answer in a flash: "If we talk about personal friendship... it's the Red Queen. His Majesty likes this most outstanding opera artist in the Eastern Kingdom very much. His Majesty invites her to the palace as a guest every winter festival."
While answering, Princess Harriet calmly observed Weber's reaction... His slightly furrowed brows did not relax. Obviously, this was not an answer that could satisfy the senior court wizard.
Princess Harriet, who was very quick to react, chuckled gracefully and added an equally safe answer: "If it's correspondence, it would probably be the former Bartles family. They send more than a dozen greeting letters to the royal family every year. The most private letters I have seen in the palace study are from them."
The reason is that the Bartles family, the lord of Nadler, tried their best to please the royal family in order to be granted the title of earl. This is a well-known fact.
Weber's brows relaxed, and he shook his head in amusement, then politely escorted the princess out the door and onto the pneumatic car parked at the door.
On the way back to the suburban villa, Princess Harriet, sitting in the car, no longer had the elegance and relaxation she had when she visited the Macaulay residence. Her face was cold and unpredictable, and she was secretly trying to figure out what the last question Weber asked meant.
When the pneumatic car drove out of King's Port, the princess' pupils shrank slightly as she was thinking, and the fog in front of her eyes suddenly cleared.
The territory of Taqia
However, the court wizard sent by the royal family not only did not completely fall out with the Nightmare Butcher, but also had an attitude of sitting back and watching the change of ownership of Tachia Territory. The implications of this are worth further investigation.
Princess Harriet was not stupid. A stupid woman could not secure her position as princess by relying on the worthless, cheap and perishable "true love" bestowed by the philandering old king.
She gradually realized that the reason that Nightmare Butcher used as an excuse to start the war in the beginning might not be just an excuse.
Thinking about the Cardinal of the Gold Coin Church who had been squatting in the capital for half a month, she could probably guess why the details of the battle in Tachia Territory had never been circulated, and why Yang did not order people to list the crimes and dereliction of duty of the Bartles and Ezekiel families in the newspapers to justify the territorial war initiated by him (and his followers), as he did when he took over Innadri Territory and Adler Territory.
Yang killed Count Geketian, the Lord of Tachia, almost silently, which was not in line with the black magician's habit of raising the banner of justice when doing anything outrageous.
"--I see."
Princess Harriet, who had figured out the joints, began to tremble slightly due to excessive excitement.
There is no doubt that this is an opportunity - a good opportunity to take revenge for her deceased husband whom she loved deeply, and for her first half of life which was destroyed beyond recognition.
Princess Harriet quickly calmed down from her excitement and quickly resumed her elegant and calm sitting posture to avoid being noticed by the driver and the court lady who took care of her.
She must seize this opportunity... absolutely.
