novelraw Chapter 178 : This Mere Trifle
Chapter 178 : This Mere Trifle
An old fan hung from the center of the ceiling, emitting a faint "creaking" sound as its blades rotated.
In a summer conference room, such a noise often brings an inexplicable sense of irritation.
However, at this moment, several people in the room felt that the scene before them was full of humor.
Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu stood straight-backed, like sentries at their posts.
They were both nervous and intrigued.
They had only heard from their captain before that the Empress occasionally got jealous.
The two had even imagined that in such a situation, the Empress's aura might freeze everyone around her.
They never expected that reality would differ so greatly from their guesses.
The Empress, tinged with a hint of jealousy, was not only not piercingly cold but actually gave off a very cute feeling.
This was vastly different from her usual dignity and composure.
Such an Empress not only didn't decrease in charm but skyrocketed in appeal!
As for the Empress's current state, Xu Zhao wasn't as intrigued as Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu.
This mere trifle, Special Assistant Xu indicated, didn't faze her at all.
She slightly raised her eyes, looking at a certain Alpha not far away with a strong desire to survive, finding it all quite amusing.
The image of Captain Shen tilting her head coyly probably wouldn't be believed if spread.
Gu Junwan was also amused by the innocent and adorable look of the person before her.
She parted her red lips, mouthing to the other: Silly Alpha.
Shen Han's eyes lit up, her two beautiful long eyebrows rising accordingly.
Those clear black and white eyes immediately flowed with joyous and excited light.
If it weren't for the presence of three outsiders in the room, she would have wanted to reach out and hug her Omega and give her a couple of kisses.
Thinking of this, Shen Han's gaze involuntarily fell on Gu Junwan's red lips.
The Omega's lip shape was very attractive, with a small cupid's bow in the middle of her upper lip.
When her red lips were slightly parted, the arc between the two lips was extremely aesthetic, making one want to kiss her.
Shen Han's heartbeat slightly quickened, and her throat unknowingly became dry.
She wanted to drink in Gu Junwan's sweetness, wanted to make her permeated with her own scent.
At this moment, there was a knock on the conference room door.
"Empress, Prince Joris and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce have arrived. They invite you to move to Strelay Village outside the base to discuss cooperation."
The voice of the guard outside the door broke the small gathering inside the room.
Gu Junwan had originally planned to spend some time alone with her Alpha, but now with important matters at hand, she could only lead the group out of the conference room.
On the way, Xu Zhao quietly informed the Empress of the information she had just learned.
"Your Majesty, Strelay Village is one of the most beautiful resorts in Ksenrode, but it's not open to the public. It's a place exclusively for the royal family or nobles to relax and entertain, with very high security."
"Many descendants of nobles are also coming to Strelay Village today. They will have a rubber bullet combat competition in the off-road area there."
"Prince Joris is very willing to cooperate with us. The noble members coming today all hold titles, and their inclinations might influence the old king's final decision."
As she spoke these words, Xu Zhao felt a hidden excitement.
As a member of the Free Federation, she naturally hoped for her country to prosper and grow strong.
However, Gu Junwan wasn't as optimistic as her assistant.
She asked for a list of noble members heading to Strelay Village, quickly perusing it while calmly pointing out a thing or two to Xu Zhao.
"Ksenrode's national situation is different from the Free Federation. The king has absolute say. If he doesn't want to do something, even if the princes and dukes unite to pressure him, they can't make him nod."
"Another point, although Joris wants to promote cooperation, he won't go against his grandfather's wishes. So, we don't need to expend extra effort to win the support of the nobles. Whether this matter succeeds or not ultimately depends on the king's will alone."
At this point, Gu Junwan's gaze paused slightly on a certain name: "Hmm? Is the grandson of Grand Duke Fry also coming to participate in today's off-road combat?"
"I heard that his parents and siblings all unfortunately died in a car accident, with only him surviving. That child was later diagnosed with emotional disorders and rarely speaks to others anymore. Life is truly unpredictable."
Xu Zhao leaned over, confirming that the list she had given to the Empress was correct, and also felt some emotion.
If not for that accident, that little boy born with a silver spoon should have had a beautiful and happy childhood, instead of staying trapped in past pain as he is now.
The child's appearance here this time is probably because Grand Duke Fry wants him to interact more with peers.
After all, Grand Duke Fry is advanced in years, and with only this one heir under his knee, it certainly won't do to always keep him sheltered under his wing.
......
Strelay Village doesn't allow vehicles and hasn't built a helipad.
Everyone coming here can only park their vehicles outside the village and then take wooden paddle boats to enter.
The entire village is quiet and peaceful, with canals of various sizes connecting all the roads.
All the houses are wooden structures, looking ancient and elegant.
Shen Han sat in one of the small boats, curiously observing the slowly receding scenery on both sides, feeling as if she had entered a Ksenrode version of Venice!
The Empress's group ascended a clock tower-like wooden building. Officials and nobles led by Joris were already chatting merrily in the gathering area on the top floor.
After the two groups exchanged courtesies according to etiquette, a middle-aged man with shoulder-length blonde hair raised his glass and walked towards Gu Junwan.
Upon seeing the appearance of the newcomer, a dark light flashed through Gu Junwan's phoenix eyes.
She recognized the identity of the newcomer, Duke Francor, the father of Lauren Cole who had once offended her and then been dealt with by Shen Han.
It was said that this powerful duke was extremely protective of his own.
With him suddenly approaching with a smile, Gu Junwan didn't believe he was coming to exchange pleasantries with her.
Sure enough, as expected, after simple greetings, Francor fixed his gaze on Shen Han, who was standing behind and to the right of Gu Junwan.
He was nearly 190 centimeters tall, with a robust build, holding a champagne glass as if it were a small vial of oral medication.
"Respected Empress, shortly the children of the princes and nobles will have a competitive shooting match in the off-road area below. The personnel are basically all here, and we need two adults to lead the teams. We're still short one team captain."
"I hear your guard captain is agile and exceptionally capable. Could she serve as team captain and participate in the competition? It would also let everyone see the style of a Federation officer."
Whether Francor had arranged a cheering section in advance or for some other reason, as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received enthusiastic responses from quite a few nobles.
To be honest, Gu Junwan didn't take Francor's little tricks seriously at all.
Wasn't he just trying to use this opportunity to trip up Shen Han?
As expected, his daughter Lauren Cole was probably the other team leader, right?
They wanted to regain face on the shooting field, which was no different from offering their faces for Shen Han to slap.
But Gu Junwan didn't agree to the tall man's proposal before her.
Because the upcoming competition was destined to be neither a fair nor a pure shooting match.
It was full of children with delicate identities. If someone really got hurt, the aftermath would be very troublesome.
Moreover, Gu Junwan's Alpha didn't need to deliberately show off her prowess.
The other's excellence was like the radiance of the sun, an objective existence that didn't need to be proven to others.
Just as Gu Junwan was pondering how to refuse this matter without leaving traces, Shen Han had already stepped forward half a step and bowed to her, saying, "Your Majesty, please give the order. I can take on this responsibility well."
Shen Han could also guess more or less what Francor was calculating in his heart.
She didn't want her wife to engage in a tug-of-war with the other party over such a small matter, hence this scene now.
Earlier, while going up the building, Shen Han had already seen the layout of the off-road area.
It was a simulated jungle mountain warfare zone, with cameras installed everywhere. It wouldn't work for someone to try to play tricks in secret.
And as long as no one could pull off any scams, she had plenty of ways to deal with opponents.
Mountain forest shooting was completely her specialty.
Gu Junwan's peripheral vision swept over the jungle below being baked by the scorching sun, not wanting to let Shen Han go toil and rush about.
But since the other had already preemptively made the request, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
She knew her Alpha was concerned about her expending mental energy, but how could she bear to let the other always work tirelessly?
Before long, Shen Han followed two attendants down the wooden building.
Gu Junwan, surrounded by a group of nobles, moved to the area with the best view, where she could chat while also observing the scenery.
She multitasked, responding to topics about energy cooperation while secretly instructing Xu Zhao to prepare energy supplements and heat-relief drinks.
Later, when Shen Han came out of the off-road area, have her drink them immediately.
......
When Shen Han, dressed in camouflage combat gear and carrying simple equipment, stepped into the off-road area, a group of half-grown boys from noble families immediately started to heckle.
"Is this the captain of the Federation Empress's guard? She doesn't look impressive at all."
"Is she really an Alpha? I don't feel any pressure from her."
"Hehe, with so many of us against just her, winning wouldn't feel like much of an achievement."
"Isn't Fry Lott on her team? She's not alone, right?"
"Hey! Captain of the Federation Empress's guard, you better protect Fry Lott well. It's rare for him to come out and participate in activities."
"I think we should let Fry Lott be on our team. He's actually quite pitiful."
The last to speak was a boy about 7 years old.
As soon as he finished speaking, he was immediately rebutted by slightly older companions.
"He doesn't even want to talk. How can he be on our team?"
"Don't worry, the Federation officer will block rubber bullets for him."
"If anyone thinks they're outnumbered, they can go over there!"
The boys spoke quickly, buzzing into a noisy group.
Shen Han couldn't hear too clearly, but roughly heard that they not only wanted to gang up on her but had also assigned her a teammate with little fighting ability.
She lowered her eyes and took out a rubber bullet from the combat pack at her waist, squeezing the somewhat hard rubber bullet head.
She sighed inwardly: It seems the teacher didn't give enough homework. Little brats, prepare to face the gale!