Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me-Chapter 49 : Chapter 49

Chapter 49: The Banquet Begins, A Grand Entrance with Hidden Motives
"Your Highness, are you sure we’re using this to deal with the Emperor?"
Looking at the somewhat crude imitation jewel, Loka doubted Yiwen’s confident expression.
Though the Emperor was incompetent, he wasn’t so old as to fail to see through such a thing.
Originally, she had planned to have someone procure precious jewels as a gift for the Emperor’s birthday.
She hadn’t expected Yiwen to pull out fake jewels from who-knows-where.
"Don’t worry, I have my own arrangements."
Yiwen was very confident, but Loka had already started thinking about what to use to salvage the situation if they were exposed.
Seeing Loka’s lack of faith, Yiwen grabbed her face with both hands and rubbed it back and forth.
"What are you dawdling for? Have you finished everything I told you to do?"
"All done. I also informed your grandfather in advance, but can that National Teacher Kavita really be trusted? If his talk of an assassination is fake, wouldn’t we be the ones framed?"
Not long ago, Yiwen and Eryus’s National Teacher Kavita had together resolved the assassination attempt at the Amethyst Palace.
To further express willingness to cooperate, Kavita told Yiwen that someone would carry out an assassination plan during the Emperor’s birthday.
After learning this half-true, half-false information, Yiwen first had Loka arrange for the maid Lina to be settled in Saito's Grand Duke’s mansion.
Assassins had no profit disputes, and the Grand Duke’s authority could ensure Lina’s safety.
Informing the Grand Duke and his party about the assassination in advance allowed everyone to prepare, though they couldn’t directly tell the Emperor about the assassination, at least ensuring their own safety.
"Why not do it like in novels, toss a note into the Emperor’s palace, and then we work from the inside and outside to catch the culprits in one fell swoop?"
Recently, a batch of smuggled novels had arrived at the scholar Weber’s place.
To recruit him, Loka would occasionally barge into his study to pester him, casually picking up some novels to read.
While fantasizing about scenes from novels, Loka’s head was suddenly knocked hard.
Yiwen looked at the wincing Loka with a helpless expression.
"If we save everyone, how can I let the old Emperor stay on the throne until he dies? If they don’t cause some big trouble, I won’t bother them."
"I told them in advance only to make it easier for us to act during the assassination. If they weren’t somewhat related to me, I wouldn’t care about their lives."
With no other choice, Loka could only smile and pat her head, then pulled her along to prepare the outfits for tonight’s banquet.
On the other side, at the Duke’s Mansion, the Duke elegantly sipped red wine, looking at the wall clock.
Beside him was a scattered pile of chess pieces, while a neatly arranged box of new chess pieces sat nearby.
"Well then, the banquet is about to begin. I hope it doesn’t disappoint me..."
As the moment of sunset approached, the palace servants hurriedly prepared the final arrangements.
This banquet was grander and more luxurious than any other.
With the experience of the previous attack, the palace was heavily guarded inside and out this time, with even a minister assigned to each checkpoint to keep records.
Finally, as the grand pendulum clock atop the palace’s highest tower rang with a resonant chime, night fell, and the palace welcomed its liveliest moment.
Dignitaries and nobles arrived in meticulously prepared formal attire, bearing gifts crafted with exhaustive effort.
As the host of this banquet, Emperor Miles wore a wide, festive robe and a sacred crown, arm-in-arm with his wife, Empress Orion, as they entered the banquet hall together.
"To the sun of the empire, we offer our most sincere blessings!"
As soon as the Emperor appeared, the Duke, standing beside the main seat in the banquet hall, was the first to raise his wine glass.
The surrounding guests followed suit, raising their glasses in imitation.
The Emperor always enjoyed such respectful scenes, his hand holding the Empress’s becoming involuntarily tender.
Though it was a marriage of families, in front of their subjects, the Emperor and Empress always put on a loving facade.
"Orion, look at their devotion to me. Isn’t it genuine?"
"Your Majesty, everyone naturally holds you in the highest respect, as do I."
The Emperor and Empress walked intimately to the main seat.
With the Duke’s respectful bow, the Emperor waved his hand grandly, announcing the grand opening of the banquet, but the guests didn’t move, standing quietly in place.
"Your Majesty, this is the Snow White Jade from the mountains above, offered to the sun of the empire. May the supreme glory of the empire endure forever."
Seeing everyone standing orderly, the Duke was the first to present his gift box.
A gleaming white jade lay within, and as the Emperor nodded in satisfaction, the others began to line up methodically.
According to custom, for the Emperor’s birthday, every noble or minister would offer blessings and gifts according to their status.
To show approachability, the Emperor would personally step down to display the gifts, while someone like the Duke would proactively present his to signify equality.
"Next, please have the princes and princesses present their gifts to their father."
After the crowd finished presenting their gifts, they tacitly parted to make way.
The princes and princesses, accompanied by attendants, slowly passed through the crowd to stand before the Emperor, bowing respectfully.
An attendant handed over a gift box, which the Emperor graciously accepted.
"Father, happy birthday. May your glory endure forever."
The First Prince’s gift was a shiny golden pendant, with a radiant ruby at its center and a miniature golden sword as its body.
"May you wield a sharp sword, protecting the empire’s glory for a thousand years."
The Emperor smiled and nodded, accepting the First Prince’s pendant and wearing it in front of everyone, as if showing off, or more like satisfying a child’s gift-giving sentiment, expressing his affection and approval for the First Prince.
One after another, several princes and princesses presented their gifts.
The most notable was the Third Princess Yileta, who offered only a simple violet.
As everyone whispered, the bouquet in Yileta’s hands suddenly bloomed.
A subtle fragrance filled the entire banquet hall.
Yileta slowly plucked a petal, held it in her palm, and offered it to the Emperor.
Miles curiously pinched the petal, and a peculiar scent once again soothed his body and mind.
"May Father be free from illness and worry, and may the sun of the empire never fade."
"Good, good, good! Worthy of my good daughter!"
The Emperor held the pot of violets, joyfully raising it to show off.
Who would have thought a seemingly ordinary flower could have such a remarkable effect, naturally winning the Emperor’s favor.
But Yileta only smiled slightly, holding her skirt and slowly retreating into the crowd.
Soon, it was Yiwen’s turn.
When the gift box was opened, everyone saw a crudely made jewel casually placed inside.
Seeing the First Prince’s smug expression, Yiwen remained calm and composed.
"Yiwen, I thought you’d give me the greatest surprise, but this is indeed a big surprise... Don’t you plan to explain?"
"Father, do you know that beneath filth and dust, dazzling treasures are hidden? As you said, the true gift I prepared for you lies beneath this falsehood."
Yiwen slowly pushed aside the surface of the gift box, revealing another layer underneath.
A rainbow-colored gem reflected a dazzling seven-colored radiance, shining brilliantly.