After Defeat, the Empress’s Negotiating Chip Turns Out to Be Me

Chapter 191

191~ The Strange Atmosphere at the Banquet Was Actually to Make an Example?

"Your Highness, Your Highness~"

"Mm?"

"Cake!"

The little loli maid Xiyan brought over a piece of cream cake and handed it to the little Princess.

"Mm."

She casually forked a piece and put it in her mouth. After chewing a few times and discovering it didn't suit her palate, she had Xiyan finish it.

After getting used to eating desserts specifically made to match her taste, eating this kind of commonly made cake felt like both the texture and flavor were far inferior to the kind made specifically for her.

"Your Highness, does it not suit your palate?"

"Mm, not as good as what you make."

"Hehe, thank you for the praise, Your Highness. I will definitely make desserts that suit your palate even more!"

The little loli maid Xiyan said excitedly. It seemed the little Princess's words made her much happier all at once. When eating the cake, the speed of her hands also quickened considerably.

Before long, after the Empress entered, the banquet officially began.

And her current identity as Scarlet Phoenix Nation's Imperial Consort meant she sat directly beside the Empress, her small hand tightly held by the Empress.

Although history had no records of couples composed of two women, the Empress was not only the youngest ruler to ascend in the entire continent, but also the only female empress. So it seemed that forming a couple with the little Princess wouldn't make people feel strange at all.

"Hm?"

As the little Princess sat, she suddenly discovered a strange phenomenon she hadn't noticed before.

The nobles in the entire venue had decreased considerably compared to last time. If some of the younger generation were unwilling to come, it couldn't possibly result in a decrease of more than one-third of people all at once, right? Moreover, after the Empress arrived, these nobles seemed to become timid all at once, the kind who didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

She remembered that at the last banquet, even when the Empress was present, the nobles below were somewhat noisy. Now, aside from a small portion whispering, she felt that compared to before, these nobles had become much more cowardly.

Moreover, the Miller Family that had tried to get close to her last time seemed to have directly disappeared. Her gaze swept across the entire venue but she didn't see anyone from the Miller Family.

"Fei, why have these nobles decreased so much..."

"Just arrested some to make an example, otherwise how could these nobles possibly be so compliant?"

At most, it was just eliminating the entire nine generations of those nobles who attempted to rebel or disturb society, the kind where not even a single livestock in the household was spared.

And executing so many nobles all at once made her prestige in the people's eyes rise another level.

Those nobles were like exploiters oppressing ordinary citizens. The Empress eliminated those nobles with very large operations all at once, deterring the remaining nobles, making them consider whether their heads were enough to pay before exploiting commoners. This greatly reduced the burden on commoners, so prestige naturally rose.

One could only say the Empress could also be called a wise ruler of a generation. At least to commoners, she was very friendly. As for nobles, naturally there were all kinds of suppressions.

The policies the Empress was currently implementing, any discerning person could see the difference in treatment between commoners and nobles.

"Your Majesty the Empress."

A noble walked in front of the Empress.

"Is there something?"

"I have clues about the Miller Family's whereabouts. I've come specifically to provide the clues to you."

"Clues about the Miller Family. Do you know that speaking carelessly can result in beheading?"

"Of course I know. I confirmed the source of this clue before daring to tell Your Majesty."

He naturally knew that the crime of deceiving the sovereign was a capital offense, and might even result in the elimination of nine generations. This kind of thing that might directly result in the elimination of nine generations, he wouldn't dare to do without absolute certainty.

"Then speak after the banquet ends. After that, any requests can be directly made, as long as they're not particularly excessive requests."

"Thank Your Majesty."

After respectfully bowing, that noble withdrew.

Being so high-profile at this time and saying these things in front of everyone to the Empress, he clearly wanted to leap up and become the one standing at the top among all the nobles after this great reshuffle.

Anyway, this also wouldn't cause any impact. To the entire Scarlet Phoenix Nation, it was nothing. Under the little Princess's "Favor Promotion Decree" policy, even if one rose up temporarily, later they would continuously split and thereby weaken their influence due to dividing family property.

In other words, even becoming the one standing at the top among all the nobles was only temporary. After family property was continuously divided, the ranking would inevitably be surpassed by other families.

"Mo."

"Ugh?"

The little Princess, who was spacing out, was suddenly called like this by the Empress. She raised her head to look at the Empress.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about what dessert to eat tonight."

Throughout a day in Scarlet Phoenix Nation, she truly was either thinking about what to eat for the next meal or looking for some fun. There was completely not a single thing that needed her to do. Just as the Empress said, she only needed to be responsible for eating well and dressing well, then warming the Empress's bed at night as a body pillow. All other matters could be handed over to maids to resolve.

She even suspected whether the Empress had changed her nature. These past few days...

At least she didn't have as strong a desire for control as before. This point was still worth being happy about. No longer being truly tied to the side like a pet.

"Your Highness, Your Highness~ Cake!"

The little loli maid Xiyan, who had disappeared for a while, suddenly appeared, carrying a somewhat exaggerated cake to the little Princess.

"Mm? You should eat it yourself."

"But, but, I went to the kitchen specifically to make this for you..."

Mo: "......"

After remaining silent for a moment, the little Princess still had Xiyan place it on the table beside her. The cake was too big and heavy for her to hold.

After extending her hand to rub the little loli maid Xiyan's small face a few times, she picked up a knife and cut a small piece, then used a fork to pick it up and bring it to her mouth.

"How is it? Your Highness."

"Very delicious. Xiyan did great."

"Ehehe!"

Xiyan, who received the little Princess's praise, became happy all at once. This scene was entirely seen by the Empress.

Perhaps she could also try making a cake herself for her little Imperial Consort to taste?

After the small interlude, it was the Empress discussing with various nobles, discussing some commercial and governmental affairs of the nation. Although even if nobles proposed opinions, they almost couldn't possibly be adopted by the Empress.

......

After the banquet ended, the Empress went to talk with the noble who said at the beginning that he would reveal clues about the Miller Family's whereabouts. The little Princess also returned to the sleeping chambers under Xiyan's and Red Leaf's escort. The journey was very calm. Nothing happened.

"Then I'll escort you to here, Lady Mo. I still have some matters to handle, so I can't accompany you."

Red Leaf bowed slightly toward the little Princess.

"It's fine, go, go. Having Xiyan here is enough."

The little Princess waved her hand in response.