After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Chapter 176 : The Empress's Scheme

The evening at St. Aya Cathedral was very quiet.

Tall stone pillars supported the arched hall, with giant mosaics adorning the four walls.

Two women sat side by side on a bench, conversing in soft voices.

Their presence added a touch of beauty to the originally solemn and magnificent cathedral.

Naturally, those who had agreed to meet here at night were Gu Junwan and Quintina.

Both held extremely noble status, but their appearances and auras were strikingly different.

Gu Junwan's demeanor was cool, giving people the feeling of a plum blossom defiantly blooming in the harsh winter.

Even when she was restraining her aura, the majesty from her long-held high position still gave people a sense of pressure.

Known as the Free Federation's number one beauty, the Empress was dignified and pure.

While inspiring awe, she also made people unable to resist falling for her and admiring her.

Quintina was innocent and sweet, with silky silver hair and deep emerald eyes, like an angel descended to earth.

Her delicacy didn't give people a sense of frailty, but rather was full of youthful vigor and vitality.

Making people want to protect and cherish her.

Xu Zhao sat upright behind them, her face impassive, but her heart far from calm.

'Good heavens! With all this talk of eagles and dogs, if Prince Joris finds out his carefully crafted image of diligence and frugality has collapsed like this, I wonder if his teeth will ache?'

Gu Junwan turned her head to look at the little girl gazing expectantly at her, and said with a light laugh, "The falcon won't do either."

"Actually, you don't need to compensate her specially. She only did what she should have done."

When it came to hidden meanings in words, how could the little princess be a match for the Empress?

From Gu Junwan's previous sentence, Quintina naturally assumed she meant that Shen Han saving her was what she should have done.

Among the group, only Xu Zhao, sitting at the back, understood the true meaning of her Empress's words.

She thought to herself: That's right, that Shen dog should indeed keep her distance from other omegas.

"Then I won't give her a gift for now."

"Empress, can you let her play with me tomorrow?"

Quintina returned to her purpose for tonight.

If she couldn't give pets, she still had many nice things for Shen Han to choose from, but the prerequisite was to first get the Empress to agree to let her have the person.

Gu Junwan didn't directly answer her question, but instead asked with a curious tone, "The palace rules are strict. Shen Han is an officer of the Free Federation. She basically doesn't have access to most of the places where you would be active. How do you plan to solve this problem?"

This statement seemed to have no flaws. Indeed, there were many places in the palace where Shen Han couldn't freely enter and exit.

But Gu Junwan was actually hiding a subtle guidance here. She didn't mention any areas where Shen Han could access, directly throwing the sensitive issue of permissions to the little princess.

Quintina very cooperatively picked up on this: "Access won't be a problem. I'll go find my brother later and have him grant Shen Han the same access permissions in the palace as I have!"

Upon hearing this, the eyelids of the three audience members in the chapel simultaneously twitched.

The old priest secretly pulled out his phone, hesitating whether to send a message to Joris now, asking him to arrange for someone to come and take away the loose-lipped little princess.

Xu Zhao took off her glasses, wiping the lenses with a cloth while lowering her gaze to calm the waves in her heart.

Previously, she had never imagined that her Empress would scheme against an unworldly young girl like this!

The prince's beloved pets could be given away casually, and palace access permissions could be easily granted.

Was the little princess treating the most authoritative place in Ksenrode as a playground?

Looking up at the porcelain doll-like little angel sitting in front, Xu Zhao couldn't help but feel sorry for her for two seconds.

The little princess might never understand that the longest journey she had ever taken in her life was through the Empress's scheme!

Although Julie the maid didn't have high political sensitivity, she knew that the little princess saying such things in front of the Federal Empress would cause problems.

She slightly shifted her feet, about to give a reminder to her little ancestor, but before she could act, a cold gaze swept towards her.

Julie's back stiffened, and she instantly froze in place.

Her feet felt slightly weak, and the fear that only appeared when meeting the old king swept through her nerves, making her not dare to move an inch.

This gaze naturally came from Gu Junwan.

Even seasoned officials would feel pressured under the Empress's gaze, let alone a maid who had never experienced major storms.

Gu Junwan withdrew her gaze and looked at Quintina with a slightly troubled expression: "Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?"

Quintina waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no! My brother basically agrees to all my requests."

Five seconds passed before Gu Junwan nodded thoughtfully.

Just as Quintina thought the Empress would agree to her request in the next moment, she heard her say, "Shen Han is an Alpha after all. It might not be proper for her to be too close to you."

Seeing that the Empress still hadn't agreed, the little princess felt a bit anxious. She tilted her head and unconsciously asked, "Then why can she stay by your side all the time?"

Gu Junwan's red lips curled slightly: "Because she's mine."

After going in circles for so long and still not being able to secure Shen Han's time, Quintina was almost in tears.

She gently tugged at the Empress's sleeve, changing her approach and suggesting, "Then can I follow you tomorrow?"

Gu Junwan smiled: "No."

Seemingly not expecting the Empress before her to refuse so directly, Quintina was stunned.

Her mysterious emerald eyes were now filled with bewilderment.

Xu Zhao put her glasses back on the bridge of her nose.

She glanced at the Empress in her suit, elegant and relaxed, then at Quintina with her small crown and moist eyes, and suddenly felt a very peculiar sensation.

The Empress before her was like a noble, beautiful phoenix with explosive combat power.

And that little princess was like a little deer completely lost in direction.

When the two met on a narrow path, the former playing with the latter was like child's play.

After Gu Junwan's voice fell, for a moment, no one spoke again.

The originally harmonious atmosphere suddenly became a bit subtle.

At this time, the old priest sitting at the edge of the front row stood up.

He walked up to Gu Junwan and politely bowed: "Respected Empress, it's getting late. Please allow me to interrupt your lovely gathering."

"Indeed, it's quite late. Princess Quintina, we shall meet again if fate allows."

Gu Junwan's tone was gentle as she stood up, naturally picking up Shen Han's cap between her fingers.

Then, she stepped out from the other end of the bench with her long legs, leaving St. Aya Cathedral with her assistant.

Quintina hadn't yet recovered from the disappointment of being refused when the Empress beside her had already walked away.

She lowered her gaze to the empty space on her lap, where a military cap had been placed just moments ago.

It was the cap of the Empress's guard captain, which she had brought to the cathedral to return to her.

But now that it had really been taken by the Empress, she felt a certain emptiness in her heart.

With confused thoughts, Quintina also returned to her quarters accompanied by Julie.

She was about to ask why she felt a sour feeling, but when she looked up, she saw her brother standing at the door not far away with a dark face.

When he received the message from the old priest earlier, Joris was so angry that even his brain hurt.

He felt that he might have spoiled his sister too much, raising her to be so willful as she was now.

He had intended to severely criticize her when they met, to make her understand which words could be said and which couldn't.

But now, seeing his sister's pitiful appearance, his heart softened again.

Before Quintina could speak, Joris had already stroked her head, gently comforting her: "Brother will make time to play with you tomorrow. The Empress's guard is very busy with work and can't leave her post casually."

After a pause, he patiently instructed: "We are the hosts, and the Empress is our guest. It's very impolite for you to ask the Empress for things. You can't do this again in the future."

......

The next morning, Xu Zhao received news: Princess Quintina had been confined to her quarters, reportedly on the old king's orders.

Only then did she belatedly realize what the Empress's purpose was in meeting the little princess last night.

Before this, she had thought that the 'beating' in the cathedral yesterday was the entire plot, never imagining that this matter still had an aftereffect!

The current outcome could be said to be perfect.

Prince Joris kept his falcon and hunting dog, and Shen Han kept her salary.

The little princess was experiencing her first love and only half-understood many things.

Now being personally disciplined by the old king would be all benefit and no harm to her.

Gu Junwan's itinerary today was to inspect the energy base.

The reason Ksenrode could become one of the world's wealthiest kingdoms was because of its very rich energy reserves within its borders.

The most important purpose of Gu Junwan's visit this time was to reach a deep strategic cooperation with them in the energy field.

In fact, the old king also had the intention of deepening ties with the Free Federation.

This could be seen from the courtesies extended to the Empress's team.

It's just that he was still a bit indecisive now.

The cooperation terms offered by the Empress were indeed very good, but now the initiative was in his hands, and he wanted to strive for even greater benefits for his side.

Gu Junwan was well aware of the old king's thoughts.

But unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't take the initiative to make concessions either.

The cooperation between the two countries was both a balance and a game.

Until the last moment, neither side would easily reveal their bottom line.

......

Shen Han felt a bit guilty today because just before departing for the energy base, Xu Zhao suddenly handed her a cap.

This was what she had lost when jumping into the lake yesterday, but now it appeared in Special Assistant Xu's hands!

Shen Han pondered the meaning behind this, feeling more and more uneasy the more she thought about it.

She wanted to ask Xu Zhao what was going on.

But the latter only gave an enigmatic smile before walking away, leaving Shen Han alone to fret.

She raised her eyes to look at the brilliant sun in the sky, feeling a vague restlessness stirring in her chest.

After lowering her head and blinking, that faint trace of irritation disappeared without a trace.

Shen Han silently calculated that her rut was still about ten days away, so she didn't pay too much attention to the restlessness that had appeared earlier.

She figured that today she must find an opportunity to properly coax her wife.

She was already worried enough about the energy cooperation matter; she shouldn't be troubled by issues on her side as well.