Before the Queen's Dinner.
Darnell sent attendants to pick up the tailors, maids and others who were dressing up for the queen at that time-a secret and covert operation when they lowered their presence and did not attract the attention of others and sent them into the palace.
Xia Zoe changed her clothes at the residence of the Grand Duke of Archiayoli, and then entered the palace with Orville.
He originally planned to accept Darnell's invitation to go in with him, but after thinking about it, he felt that it would be more convenient to use the identity of the Grand Duke of Orville.
Xia Zuoyi was wearing a black dress, pinching her waist and exposing her long legs.
In addition to wearing the family crest representing Desinia on his chest, he also has a thorn rose ruby pectoral given to him by Segalote on the placket, and a ruby ring of the same style on the index finger of his right hand.
Orville is usually dressed in white.
It's just that this dress is more luxurious and noble, with elegant patterns drawn with gold and silver threads on the collar and cuffs, and a pair of black boots.
During the few days that Xia Zoe lived in the duke's mansion, she hadn't met Orville much in the past few days.
Orville clearly has a lot to do.
Apart from going out for a long time every day, the first thing he did when he returned to the duke's mansion was to go to the large paddock in the back mountain to see the beasts.
This paddock is the private domain of the Grand Duke of Orville, occupying a huge area of mountains and forests, and there are naturally countless wild animals living in it.
In view of the beast habits of briquettes, snow balls and egg yolks, and to avoid causing panic in the Duke's mansion every day and frightening the servants here - Xia Zoe accepted Orville's friendly advice and allowed three large beasts to enter the large enclosure chase and hunt.
They have adapted well and are now the new bosses in the paddock.
As for brown sugar, except for the occasional hunting in the paddock with briquettes and snow ball yolks, he usually prefers to stay by Xia Zoe's side.
After all, it is still a half-sized leopard, and now it is more cute than fierce.
Orville's frequent activities are to go to the paddock to see the beasts, try to touch the beasts, get a little frustrated after failure, and then make persistent efforts...
Yet so far.
The Grand Duke of Orville only touched Brown Sugar's round little ears once, to the extent that they rubbed them in the palm of his hand. The next moment, Brown Sugar squinted his golden eyes to avoid him, baring his sharp teeth to frighten him.
Orville goes on and on.
Xia Zoe to this: "... "
It seems that the Grand Duke is no longer ready to hide his... "hobby" in front of him.
Before leaving, Orville suddenly grabbed Xia Zoe and tidied up the tie for him.
His beautiful silver hair was neatly combed behind his head, with only a strand hanging from his forehead, which was slightly placed in front of his gray eyes, his face was cold but handsome.
Orville said softly: "Something unexpected may happen at the banquet tonight, will you be afraid?"
Zoe Xia: "Maybe what happens will surprise me, but I won't be afraid."
He raised his head to look at Orville again, and said sensitively, "You seem to have something to say to me."
Orville frowned slightly, and his clear voice crossed: "I just hope you won't be frightened by what happened tonight..."
He paused and said, "If you are afraid and helpless, you can hide behind me, and I will not hurt you."
Xia Zoe: "... Then thank the Duke first."
The king city of the Anas Empire is far more prosperous and lively than the original Ka'ais king city. This is the gap between the empire and the small country, and it also causes the city and people's living standards to be different.
Of course, people at the bottom are still oppressed and exploited.
The bright moonlight appeared on the night, the stars dotted the sky, and in the distance of the royal city, thousands of houses were brightly lit.
-Because the Queen's birthday dinner is also an event that the people of the Empire celebrate together.
They couldn't enter the splendid palace, they could only watch the carriages drive by with envious eyes, and then envy and hate the rich people.
…
Xia Zoe’s carriage stopped behind the Grand Duke of Orville.
Judit stepped down first and extended his white-gloved right hand to help him.
The emblem of the Achiajoli family is a roaring lion with its head held high, engraved on the carriage, and it is particularly conspicuous even at night.
The status of the grand duke is respected, so when the carriage of Archduke Archiayoli stopped at the gate of the endless stream of palaces, the rest of the people also stopped to show respect.
Their eyes not only stayed on the Grand Duke's carriage, but also on the strange carriage that followed.
Even if he reacted quickly, the person sitting in the carriage at the back must be the lord of Desinia who was picked up by the grand duke as soon as he arrived at the imperial port.
For a time, the expressions of everyone could not help but become obscure, and they looked at it implicitly.
They watched the grand duke come down first, his face as handsome and indifferent as always, looking a little inhuman, but turned and walked towards the carriage behind.
After waiting for a beautiful young man to come down with the housekeeper's hand, he nodded slightly and led the opposite direction into the palace.
This is obviously the behavior of waiting for others.
It might be fine for others to do it, but the performance of this famous grand duke who treats them like winter ice and snow is particularly incredible.
They can't help thinking that it seems that the attitude of the Archduke Archiayoli towards this lord is indeed unusual, but they don't know what the purpose is...
The housekeepers and servants were forbidden from outside the palace, and Xia Zoe and Judit explained a few words and followed Orville into the palace.
They traveled with many nobles along the way.
The men held a woman's hand in their arms, and they were dressed in proper and rigorous clothing, while the women's long skirts obviously took more thought.
Xia Zuoyi saw not far ahead, women walking in twos and threes holding feather fans, and there were no men following them.
Xia Zuoyi couldn't help showing doubts on his face.
Seeing this, Orville said softly beside him: "Those are the mistresses of His Majesty the King."
Xia Zoe opened her mouth in surprise.
This is at the queen's birthday dinner, and the king's mistress came to attend... Isn't it a complete provocation, and the queen's face will be wiped out.
"Don't the palace attendants stop them?!"
Probably because Xia Zuoyi's expression was a little too wonderful.
The corners of Orville's mouth curled into a slight arc, and he whispered: "They have the honor bestowed by His Majesty the King, secretly allowed, who will stop them."
"Did you see the woman walking in the front?"
Xia Zoe looked over and nodded.
This woman was wearing the most luxurious long dress, with a gorgeous face and an even more arrogant expression. The attitude she showed was that she didn't put anyone around her in her eyes, and no woman was qualified to walk with her.
There was a hint of meaning in Orville's face: "She was Tosi Cavendish's mother, Jonah Ann, and..."
Seeing that the grand duke suddenly stopped talking, Xia Zuoyi looked at it strangely: "What is it?"
Orville: "You're still young, and I'm wondering if I should tell you..."
Xia Zoe: "..."
He raised his chin, and his beautiful caramel-colored eyes met a pair of light gray eyes: "Not small!"
Orville approached Xia Zoe and said in a faint voice that only the two of them could hear: "King Puley Cavendish once had a brother named Lawrence Cavendish."
"This Prince Lawrence was once the heir to the throne of the empire, but he later died of illness, and the throne was succeeded by the current king..."
Just when Xia Zoe wondered what it had to do with it, she heard Orville continue to say—
"Jona Ann is the wife of Lawrence Cavendish."
Xia Zuoyi snorted, nodded, and then reacted to the obvious information in this sentence.
He stared at Orville with wide eyes—you're right? !
Orville: That's right.
How can a beautiful woman who has lost her husband and lost her support live in the imperial city of the empire
Jonah's family does not belong to the Anas Empire.
She is the princess of a small remote country, the woman Lawrence Cavendish fell in love with at first sight when he was away, and brought her back to marry.
So, after Lawrence's unexpected death, Jonah is helpless and difficult in the Empire.
She finally hooked up with the current king by virtue of her beauty. On the surface, she was a noble lady, but "secretly" she was the king's mistress.
Of course, this "secretly" refers to the fact that most members of the royal family, including nobles, are well aware of it.
Xia Zuoyi was puzzled: "since her husband died, why didn't she return to her country?"
"Doesn't the Holy See care about this... unethical relationship?"
Orville: "It's complicated here."
Robert was Orville's subordinate, but he was also a nobleman, and this time he followed into the palace, walking behind them along the way.
He obviously knew this very well, and he gave an explanation after hearing the words.
"Jona has enjoyed the extravagance and splendor of the empire. How could she want to return to that remote and backward small country, she is very vain."
"What's more, it won't be taken seriously if she returns or doesn't return to Jonah."
"In that case, why doesn't she stay in the empire and continue to be a noble lady."
"His Majesty the King's affair with Jonah only came to light two years ago, and before that, it was always thought that the King valued her out of respect..."
"As for the Holy See's opinion on this... I can only say that not long ago, the king had a conflict with the Holy See."
Robert's expression was disdainful - for Jona, not many members of the royal family and nobles of the empire looked down on her.
She got her status by virtue of being a king.
- The circle of the empire is so chaotic.
This is Xia Zoe's first thought. He never imagined that before the Queen's dinner officially started, he would eat such a large melon and gain a new understanding of the absurdity of the king.
This king's majesty sitting on the throne is nothing short of a disaster.
After Xia Zoe entered the splendid banquet hall with Orville, he finally saw His Majesty the King of Anas Empire.
He was in his fifties, tall and tall, and he could vaguely see the outline of his former handsomeness.
Even though he was old, he didn't gain much weight. With a smile on his face, he turned around and walked towards their location after seeing Orville walking into the hall.
For a while, the people at the banquet also looked at the obscure eyes secretly and secretly...