Chapter 71
For many people, the past is like smoke, and the era of the former emperor has gone with the wind; but for Serinda, the past is as vivid as yesterday. During the days when she was ill, she repeatedly thought about every word, every look, and every movement of the old emperor before his death . Some of the words seemed a little strange at the time, but now when she thinks back, she realizes that every word has a deep meaning.
But... Lance was also one of them? One of those who deceived her, used her, manipulated the AI, and secretly controlled the empire?
Serinda couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it, but... she had to believe it.
As the emperor of such a huge star region, the old emperor was always very busy. Even though Serinda was regarded as his most beloved daughter, in fact, she could only accompany the old emperor to eat and talk every now and then. Even this little time was taken out by the old emperor with great difficulty. Although they were family members living in the same palace, sometimes when they were busy, they might not even see each other for half a year.
Therefore, it was actually Lance who grew up with these princes and princesses and played the role of father in their lives. For example, Lance knew what Serinda liked and disliked, remembered her preferred taste and dressing style, knew all her concerns during her growth, and understood her interpersonal relationships and friendships. It was Lance who praised her when she succeeded, accompanied her when she was lonely, comforted her when she was sad, and protected her at all costs when she was in danger. In her mind, Lance was the most important family member, no one else, even her father had to take a back seat.
But now, every time Serinda saw Lance, she wanted to ask him: What am I to you? How much of your kindness to me and the things you said to me were true?
In fact, even without the emperor's last words, when Serinda knew that Apollo had attacked the intelligence base station of the Imperial Capital Star, she suspected Lance in her heart. Because... although Lance was always a housekeeper who talked about family matters in front of her, Serinda also knew that Lance arranged the daily life, diet and travel of all royal family members including the emperor. Although his position seemed humble, he actually had great power and connections, and was even known as the "hidden minister" outside.
Therefore, it is impossible to deceive the emperor and bypass Lance.
So, when this kind of thing really happened, the first person Serinda suspected was Lance.
“Knock, knock.”
There was a knock on the door, and Lance pushed the door open and said, "Your Majesty, the Holy Light Ceremony is about to begin."
Serinda looked in the mirror and tidied her hair. When she turned around, her expression was exactly the same as before, without any flaws. She looked at Lance with full trust in her eyes, even a little admiration, and smiled faintly, "I'm ready too. Let's go, don't keep everyone waiting."
The evening of the Holy Light Festival was the Holy Light Ceremony. To Rong Yuan, the Holy Light Ceremony was similar to the Spring Festival Gala in his hometown. However, compared to the tasteless Spring Festival Gala, which was a waste of time, everyone who watched the Holy Light Ceremony was full of praise for it. Even in the following year, the performances, costumes, and lines spoken at the Holy Light Ceremony would become the topic of conversation for the people of the Landia Empire.
Unlike the Spring Festival Gala which is performed on stage, the stage for the Holy Light Ceremony is located in an extremely large square in front of the Ice Palace and in the sky above the square. Powerful projection technology can present various real or imaginary scenes such as starry sky travel, volcanic eruptions, deep-sea fish, and battles between ancient behemoths in this space. Accompanied by various sound and light effects, those scenes all make people feel extremely real, as if they were personally on the scene.
Since most of the performances of the Holy Light Ceremony are projected in the air, many residents of the Ice City can enjoy it from their own balconies. There is also a live broadcast on Starnet, but the best viewing experience is still on the observation deck specially set up in the Ice Palace. On this day, many high-ranking officials of the empire will sit on the observation deck with the royal family to enjoy the performance of the Holy Light Ceremony. So some people joked that if a bomb was dropped here, the Landia Empire would be paralyzed. Don't mention it, someone really tried this, but of course it didn't work.
The observation deck is fully protected, not even a mosquito can fly in. Only people holding invitations can go up to the observation deck. In theory, invitations can be given away or sold, but few people do this. First, it is a rare social opportunity. Second, handling invitations casually may anger some important people. Third, and most importantly, the person who sends the invitation will be jointly liable for all the actions of the guests they invite. Unless they are people they truly trust and value, no one will take such a risk.
When Rong Yuan handed over the invitation, the guard obviously recognized that he was not the original owner of the invitation. He looked a little surprised, but he quickly concealed it. After verifying the authenticity of the invitation and Rong Yuan's identity, he handed it back with both hands and said respectfully: "I wish you a happy holiday! I hope that tonight's Holy Light Ceremony will leave you with a good memory."
This was certainly not because there was anything special about Rong Yuan's disguised identity. He was respectful to all the guests who could enter here. At the same time, several hidden eyes also fell on Rong Yuan.
Rong Yuan nodded at him, took the invitation, and walked up the stairs. The invitation was attached with a map, indicating the location of the private room he was going to, and it was also the key to open the private room. On the way, he met some other invited people. When they saw Rong Yuan, a stranger, they were more or less surprised, but they didn't say much, nor did they come forward to chat with him, just nodded as a greeting. It was not until they saw Rong Yuan walked into the private room of Du Meng's house that some people whispered and speculated about his identity.
The observation deck is not a platform with a panoramic view, but is designed as a slightly inclined slope. There are 20 to 30 floors, and each floor has hundreds of boxes of different sizes. The 18th floor in the middle is not divided into boxes, but connected as a whole. The ceiling and walls are one-way transparent glass. There are drinks, food, tables and chairs, dance floors and some indoor leisure game equipment inside, for those who don't want to stay in the box to rest and meet friends. The Holy Light Ceremony has not yet begun, but there are already many people here, gathering in groups of three or two to talk in low voices, and soft music echoes in the hall.
Rong Yuan walked into the box. It was very spacious, with a bedroom, wine cabinet, bathroom, various facilities for children's games, and even a rather gorgeous indoor swimming pool. Luo Er's father was a marquis, who was said to have passed away. Although Luo Er had not inherited the title for various reasons, it was clear that his box was still of the specifications of a marquis.
Next to the soft long sofa was a book-sized display screen. If the owner of the room needed something, he only needed to click on it, and a small service robot would deliver the item soon. However, Rong Yuan did not touch the things on it, but just sat aside, supporting his forehead with one hand and closing his eyes.
Mental power spreads out like water waves.
Serinda appeared in the lobby on the 18th floor and was warmly welcomed and noticed by everyone. She said a few words to everyone in the hall, raised her glass to toast, and talked with several officials of relatively prominent status for a while. In just a few words, everyone around her showed a comfortable and happy expression, and it was obvious that the content of the conversation made them feel very happy.
Afterwards, Serinda left and went to the largest and most luxurious box on the top floor, with only a few people following her, including the butler Lance. People came and went in the hall, and when the Holy Light Ceremony was about to begin, most people returned to their own boxes, and the few who stayed behind also found a place to sit down and prepare to enjoy this grand ceremony.
The Holy Light Ceremony started on time.
The viewing platform slowly rose, rising more than 30 meters before stabilizing. A transparent round cover appeared, surrounding the entire viewing platform. Then clouds gathered from all directions, and gathered into a rolling and changing sea of clouds below the viewing platform. With a long and ethereal chant, hundreds of girls in white dresses descended from the sky, dancing , with lotus flowers blooming at every step, and singing a mysterious hymn in an ancient and distant tone.
This is a repertoire of the annual Holy Light Ceremony. It is a hymn praising the tenacity, diligence, wisdom, unity and other beautiful qualities of the Landians that have been passed down from ancient times. Although it is performed every year, there are also some changes every year, so many people watch it with gusto.
When the opening dance was about to end, a man walked out of a box on the fifth floor below, went all the way to the third floor above, stretched out his hand, and opened the door of a box that he was not originally qualified to enter.
Not long after the second show started, two more people walked out of their own boxes. One from the east side of the lower seven floors, and the other from the west side of the middle three floors. The two followed different routes and walked silently into the same box on the upper three floors.
Then the fourth person, the fifth person, the sixth person... until the performance of the Holy Light Ceremony was halfway through, no one left the box for two consecutive shows.
Rong Yuan stood up and opened the door.
The corridor was quiet. The walls were well soundproofed. No matter the singing and dancing music at the Holy Light Ceremony or the talking in the box, they could not be heard here on the wall. There was not even an echo. When one raised one's feet and stepped down, one could only hear a slight rustling sound under one's feet.
Rong Yuan stood outside the door of the private room on the third floor, and pressed his hand on the induction door lock. Originally, it only needed the chip on the corresponding invitation letter to open it, but under Rong Yuan's hand, within three seconds, the light on the induction door lock display suddenly dimmed, and after a slight "click", the lock opened.
"We must reach the Treaty of Lamibutsu as soon as possible." Someone said, "The Queen's insistence makes it very difficult for us. Every day of delay means a huge loss of money."
"If it doesn't work, let's change someone else to sit on the throne! Do you really think you can compete with us, little girl?"
"Selinda was chosen by the organization and carefully trained. Now that she is the one sitting on the throne, it means that the situation would be worse if someone else was chosen. Please be patient. Our emperor has just been crowned, so it is inevitable that he may not be well-thought-out in his actions. He still needs proper guidance and help."
"Haha." Someone sneered, but no one knew who he was laughing at.
"Since he was a specially trained candidate, why did he run into trouble with the first major event? Did something unexpected happen?" someone asked.
"There are indeed some additional factors that affect the Queen's judgment, but please rest assured that the additional factor has been ruled out."
"Was it the target of the Apollo attack a month and a half ago?"
"That's right."
"No wonder. In this case, we can rest assured."
"Please be more low-key next time. What kind of extra factors are worth using Apollo? Do you know how much effort we put into cleaning up this matter?"
"I'm sorry, maybe I remembered it wrong, but...wasn't the most important work of handling the beginning and the end done by Lancao?"
"you……"
“Boom boom boom!”
"Stop arguing. Every member of the organization has worked hard for our cause. This is an indisputable fact. Now our focus should be on how to promote the signing of the Lamibutsu Treaty as soon as possible."
"All the available personnel around the Queen have been mobilized. Due to Lance's limited status, he cannot make any major moves."
"Who can convince Mrs. Emilida?"
"She is the owner of Aurora Space Company and a family member of the Right Prime Minister. She rarely goes out and has simple interpersonal relationships. It is difficult to get close to her."
"Think of a way. There is no one in Landia that we cannot reach."
There were dozens of people in the huge hall. Some were listening silently, some were arguing fiercely, some were questioning, and some were explaining. When the argument was in full swing, a woman turned around inadvertently and saw a short man standing by the door (Rong Yuan:...), a completely unfamiliar face, not one of them.
"Ah——" the woman screamed, pointing at Rong Yuan and shouting, "You... who are you? How did you get in?"
The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Rong Yuan at the same time.
Being stared at silently by dozens of people with the same look without any kindness was a very oppressive thing, but Rong Yuan just raised his hand and knocked on the wall as if knocking on the door, and then said: "Good evening, everyone. I think I am the extra factor you are talking about."
