Chapter 156
Chapter 156
“Eugene and the Queen?”
Tu Nan told Xu Duoyi everything that had just happened in one breath, and Xu Duoyi’s voice rose despite herself.
“Shh.” Tu Nan raised a finger to her lips. “Keep your voice down.”
Xu Duoyi hurriedly patted her own mouth and lowered her voice. “How could they… I thought Eugene really hated the Queen.”
“I was shocked too.” Tu Nan frowned slightly. “Eugene poisoned the King on the Queen’s orders. Why would she do that?”
“Maybe because their relationship can’t be accepted by the world. They were afraid the King would find out, so they wanted to get rid of him,” Xu Duoyi guessed.
“That’s possible.” Tu Nan nodded, then looked at Xu Duoyi. “Since I already found the Magic Mirror in the Queen’s bedroom, she should be Aphro, the one Nemesis has been searching for all this time. We need to tell her as soon as possible.”
“That’s easy.” Xu Duoyi snapped her fingers. “Before I left, Nemesis told me how to send her a message.”
Tu Nan let out a quiet sigh of relief at that. She really did not want to go back into the forest.
There was no time to lose. Tu Nan immediately wrote down the information and handed it to Xu Duoyi.
Xu Duoyi rolled up the letter, walked to the window, and pulled a small whistle made of bone out from around her neck.
She put the whistle to her lips and blew hard. The whistle produced a sound similar to birdsong.
“That’s it?” Tu Nan walked over to the window and looked out.
“I’ve never used it before, so I’m not sure.” Xu Duoyi shook her head and started looking out as well.
A moment later, a Crow appeared in their line of sight.
The Crow’s feathers blended almost perfectly into the night. It was not until it flew right up to them that the two of them noticed it.
It landed on the window frame, its mung-bean-sized eyes swiveling as it pecked at Xu Duoyi’s hand.
Due to certain lingering historical issues, Tu Nan had never had a good impression of Crow.
Xu Duoyi blinked, then tentatively held out the letter in her hand.
The Crow lowered its head, gripped the letter with both claws, flapped its wings, and flew off without looking back.
It soon vanished into the night.
“That should do it, right?” Xu Duoyi stared in the direction the Crow had gone and spoke uncertainly.
“That direction is indeed toward the forest.” Tu Nan withdrew her gaze. “Let’s wait for Nemesis’s reply.”
The two of them briefly sorted through the current situation before Tu Nan left Xu Duoyi’s bedroom.
She stood at the door and thought for a while, then turned and headed to Maria’s room instead.
—
Maria was just about to go to sleep.
“Why do you always come to me at night?” she could not help asking.
Because she never had time during the day.
Tu Nan walked into Maria’s bedroom and sat down on the sofa.
“What is it this time?” Maria sat down beside her as well and asked softly.
“There really is a Magic Mirror stolen from Nemesis in the Queen’s bedroom,” Tu Nan said. “I’ve already told Nemesis about it.”
Maria raised an eyebrow. “You told her? Are you sure she’ll be willing to help me once she knows?”
“She promised me she would.” Tu Nan looked serious. “I don’t think she’s the kind of person who goes back on her word.”
Maria neither agreed nor disagreed. “In that case, why did you come to see me?”
“It’s about the Saintess.” Tu Nan’s tone turned a shade more solemn. “I suspect this is the Queen’s scheme. She probably suspects Monica’s identity and is using the Church as a pretext to get rid of her.”
“Of course I know that.” Maria rubbed the space between her brows. “It’s just that the Church’s influence is far too great.”
A trace of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes. “In the kingdom as it is now, I’m afraid even the King doesn’t command as much authority as the Pope.”
“Which is exactly why we can’t let them push us around.” Tu Nan lowered her voice. “Your Highness doesn’t want to be a Puppet, does she?”
“Do you have any good ideas?” Maria lifted her eyes and swept Tu Nan a glance. “Of course the Church must be eradicated, but its roots run deep. It isn’t something that can be done in a day or two.”
“The people are ignorant. They only know how to follow blindly, and because of that, they truly trust the Church…” Tu Nan lowered her gaze and thought for a moment. “We need to find an opportunity to make the Church lose its credibility in front of the public.”
“But don’t forget,” Maria reminded her, “the Wedding is already imminent. Our most important task right now is figuring out how to stop it from happening.”
There was less than a week left before Maria and Tracy’s Wedding.
“Tomorrow, I expect the envoys from the neighboring kingdom will arrive,” Maria said, looking somewhat weary.
Tu Nan frowned in thought for a while, and an idea came to her.
She raised her head and looked at Maria. “I have a thought.”
Maria looked back at her.
“If the King were gravely ill and on the brink of death, would this Wedding still be able to go ahead?”
Tu Nan’s voice was very soft, but she was certain Maria had heard her.
Maria’s expression turned contemplative.
—
The next day, the neighboring kingdom’s envoys arrived as expected.
The King, dragging his weakened body along, went out of the city specifically to receive them.
Tu Nan followed behind Maria and watched the entire proceedings from the sidelines.
The envoy delegation was a grand procession of several dozen people. A young man rode at the very front, with several Carriage vehicles following behind him.
Tu Nan stood atop the city wall, shading her forehead with one hand as she narrowed her eyes at the distant delegation.
“That’s quite a lot of people,” she said mildly.
“This is only a small portion of them,” Maria said expressionlessly. “The main army is stationed several kilometers away.”
“Is this borrowing troops, or inviting them to march right into your home?” Tu Nan turned her head to look at Maria.
A cold smile tugged at Maria’s lips. “I hear the neighboring kingdom’s military power is in the hands of a Duke. Even their King has to read that Duke’s mood.”
“Then how did the Prince convince them to lend soldiers to your father?” Tu Nan asked curiously.
“That Duke’s younger sister is the Prince’s mother.”
So they were relatives.
The envoy delegation finally reached the foot of the city gate.
Perhaps because he had learned that there was hope for him to recover, the King seemed much more energetic. Supported by the Queen, he personally received the man leading the delegation.
Tu Nan noticed that the leader was a middle-aged man with a stern expression and little inclination to smile.
It was only when Tracy appeared and embraced him that a faint smile finally surfaced on the man’s face.
He reached out, patted Tracy on the shoulder, and said something that made everyone burst into laughter.
Presumably, that man was Tracy’s uncle-the Duke.
“Don’t you need to go?” Tu Nan asked Maria beside her. “Strictly speaking, you should be receiving them too.”
“The King plans for us to meet formally at tonight’s banquet.” Maria smiled mockingly. “A fine piece of merchandise should always have a fitting stage for its debut.”
“The time isn’t right yet.”
Tu Nan’s brows had nearly twisted into a knot. Her voice was very soft, almost scattered by the wind atop the city wall.
“When do you plan to… take action?”