Chapter 426

What’s the situation after the meeting with the Prime Minister?

Upon hearing the words of the two ladies-in-waiting, the princess instinctively touched her arm, and her heart couldn’t help but feel a little warmth.

That’s right. After the meeting with the Prime Minister, she was first injured by the surrounding officers at the Prime Minister’s Residence, then secretly climbed out from the outer wall to find Leon. During this time, there had been no news coming back, so her father was bound to worry and naturally sent people over to ask.

“Let’s go.”

Nodding toward the two ladies-in-waiting, the princess temporarily set aside her jumbled thoughts and prepared to head upstairs in the royal palace. However…

“Your Highness, not that way.”

One of the ladies-in-waiting called out to stop the princess and respectfully reported: “His Majesty is not in the bedroom; he is waiting for you in the side hall on the fourth floor. Please come this way.”

The side hall on the fourth floor? The princess couldn’t help but be slightly stunned upon hearing this.

The side hall on the fourth floor of the Royal Palace is a small reception room used to meet important guests. However, her father’s health has always been poor. At this time, he should have finished drinking his alchemical supplement and rested in the bedroom on the top floor. Why would he be in the small reception room?

“Did an important guest come?”

After pondering for a moment, the princess following behind the lady-in-waiting asked somewhat confusedly: “The special envoy of the Black Forest Kingdom? Or the diplomat of Sai Ao Kingdom?”

“Neither, Your Highness.”

The lady-in-waiting responsible for leading the way respectfully said: “At least before we came, there were no foreign guests in the side hall.”

No guests? Upon hearing the reply from the lady-in-waiting, the princess’ eyebrows raised in surprise. Just as she was about to ask again, she heard the leading lady-in-waiting say:

“Your Highness, our duty is only to guide you. As for other matters, we as attendants should not speak too much. Please ask His Majesty directly when you see him.”

“…”

Unexpectedly, just asking about her father’s situation got her a soft refusal. The princess’ eyebrows unconsciously tightened, and the originally warm feeling in her heart suddenly chilled.

Unlike herself, her father does not value talent or character when selecting attendants. Instead, he values caution and compliance, as well as their ability to accurately convey his will.

In other words, these two attendants are pure mouthpieces. Their attitude towards her essentially reflects her father’s attitude towards her.

And the ever-cautious them refusing to answer her questions could only mean they received some instructions, or sensed something from her father’s attitude and actions.

…

Following the two stern-faced ladies-in-waiting, when she arrived at the side hall on the fourth floor of the royal palace, the scene inside completely confirmed the princess’ guess.

In the side hall specifically used to receive important guests, it wasn’t just the old king who was present. A man and a woman around forty years old, with somewhat similar features, sat on velvet-padded armchairs, waiting for her alongside the old king.

When the princess appeared outside the door, the older-looking man revealed a gentle smile, nodding slightly at her. But the finely made-up, gorgeously dressed woman subtly pouted, revealing a trace of barely hidden disdain in her eyes.

“Veronica.”

With a somewhat hoarse call, the old king sitting directly facing the door lifted the staff adorned with a ruby beside him, pointing at the empty chair opposite the middle-aged couple and said firmly: “Come sit down and tell me what happened today.”

“Good.”

…

“This afternoon, I visited the Prime Minister’s Residence according to the schedule set beforehand to discuss the expansion of universal suffrage. But just as the meeting was about to end, more than three hundred junior and senior officers, incited by someone with ulterior motives, trapped me inside the Prime Minister’s Residence.”

When mentioning “someone with ulterior motives,” the princess deliberately slowed her speech, glancing meaningfully at the middle-aged couple opposite her, then turned back to look at the old king seated in the main position and said:

“To gather so many military department officers all at once requires not only a very strong background and network but also quite some time. Considering the journey, it would take at least a week.

As for the decision to implement the officer replacement order, although many people have recently known about it, a week ago, I only discussed it with you. So could you please tell me who else learned about this information from you?”

?! Upon hearing the princess’ inquiry, the queen sitting opposite couldn’t help but be slightly startled. She immediately gripped the armrest of her chair and irritably said: “What do you… ”

“Sorry, the information might have leaked from my side.”

Pulling on the queen’s sleeve and pulling back her impending questioning, the elegant Minister of Finance sighed and said:

“Upon learning that Princess Veronica planned to implement the replacement order, I immediately issued internal letters, requiring the Ministry of Finance to prepare accordingly, clearing the overdue salaries owed to the officers to support the princess’ measures.

But unexpectedly, despite my repeated emphasis that the internal letters must absolutely not be distributed externally and must be handled within the department, due to the recent busy schedule of coordinating with the princess’ tax reduction policy, someone violated the rules and took the letters home.

Although there is no evidence yet, I personally suspect that the families of those officials might have seen those letters and privately informed friendly nobles, causing the matter to be exposed.”

By the time he finished speaking, the Minister of Finance stood up from his chair, bowed slightly to the princess opposite, and apologized with a face full of regret: “Sorry, Princess Veronica. It’s likely due to my negligence in management that the information was leaked prematurely, which led to your being surrounded by officers and even injured by stones. I am willing to take full responsibility for this matter.”

“…”

“Possible” it was you who leaked it, “although” there is no evidence yet, “likely” it was your mismanagement… hah, your apology is truly precise.

Facing the “sincerely full” apology from the Minister of Finance, Princess Veronica did not get up to accept it but instead turned her head to gaze at the old king sitting in the main position. Her bright eyes carried an unrestrained mockery and a deeply hidden expectation.

“Veronica.”

Calling out the princess’ name, the old king, looking haggard and showing signs of old age, sitting in a wheelchair but still keeping his back straight, forcefully tapped his staff and said tiredly: “It was an unintentional mistake, don’t dwell on it too much. Besides, you were only hit on the arm; rest for a few days, and you’ll be fine. Let’s just let this matter go.”

Unintentional mistake? Just got hit on the arm, rest for a few days and it’ll be fine?

Upon hearing the old king’s words, the princess couldn’t help but lower her head to look at her arm. Although her arm injury had already been healed by Leon, the dark brown bloodstains soaked from the elbow tip all the way to the wrist, clearly indicating it wasn’t a minor wound.

Moreover, her father didn’t even notice that despite her injured arm, her clothes remained flat without any swelling from bandages, showing no sign of dressing.

Hmm… thinking carefully, it makes sense. Since arriving, he hasn’t even glanced at her injured arm once, so naturally, he wouldn’t notice this small anomaly.

“Alright, let’s just let it go.”

Sardonically smiling, the princess closed her eyes briefly and then stopped looking at the old king, instead calmly gazing at the middle-aged couple opposite and asked:

“So then? You two coming here late at night wouldn’t just be to check on my injuries, right?”

(End of Chapter)