novelraw Chapter 328
Chapter 328
328~ Court Affairs~
"Princess... are you really okay?"
"Stop talking nonsense, quickly help me put it on."
The Little Princess spread her arms wide, waiting for Maid Xiao Xi to dress her in a well-fitted, dignified and elegant outfit.
She was going to court, replacing her cheap Father the King to attend court. Not only considering that her cheap Father the King was still unconscious and couldn't attend court to handle the nation's internal affairs, but also to get used to this feeling and process.
This was something she would definitely use at some point in the future, so she had to adapt.
"How does the Princess feel about this outfit?"
"Not imposing enough."
It looked good, but it was just too soft and cute. It fundamentally had no deterrence during court, right!
"Then what about this one?"
Maid Xiao Xi changed her into another outfit, but after one glance, she shook her head again.
"Doesn't match my style."
As a nation's princess, she had to possess her own unique style, whether in governance or in other things like dressing or conduct.
"Then... what about this set?"
Finally, Maid Xiao Xi selected from the wardrobe a set of black dress attire. The arms naturally exposed from the shoulders, with two straps connecting to the decorative piece at the neck to secure it. The black semi-transparent lace hem fell naturally to about calf level.
On her arms were also two decorative arm rings, spliced with semi-transparent mesh as decorative embellishment.
Then around her neck hung a dark purple crystal necklace, the one the Empress had given her. On her right ring finger, she wore the Magic Storage Ring.
As for her hair, it was wrapped and bound with ribbons into two bundles of hair that spiraled down like twin tails on both sides of her head. The hair at the back of her head was wrapped and woven into a simple small braid, with the rest falling naturally straight down her back.
Thus, this was the first time she'd specifically styled herself for a public appearance.
"Princess looks so beautiful!"
Maid Xiao Xi brought out a mirror and placed it before the Little Princess. A dignified, elegant yet authoritative Princess appeared in the mirror.
"Mm, not bad. Let's go with this look."
To match the clothes, she deliberately wore a pair of over-the-knee black stockings tied with bows today. You should know that previously, she'd always worn white stockings.
All preparations were complete. She picked up the draft she'd stayed up all night writing. She'd just read directly from it later, go through the formalities perfunctorily and be done.
Her primary concern was ensuring the nation's normal operation, not exchanging pleasantries with that group of officials. Casually going through the motions with a draft was enough.
"Princess, please follow me."
Maid Xiao Xi also frequently followed behind when Glaze Nation's king attended court. She was already as familiar as could be with the court process. She brought the Little Princess to the rear of the court hall.
"Princess, from here on, you must go up yourself."
As a maid, she definitely couldn't follow the Little Princess all the way to the throne. She could only walk before the Little Princess to kneel and listen to orders when the Little Princess summoned her.
"Mm."
Thus, the Little Princess took a deep breath, walked to the throne and sat down, striving not to let her expression show.
"Princess! Where is His Majesty?"
"Father the King is unwell. Today I will replace Father the King to attend court and handle internal affairs. Any problems?"
"No, no..."
Who was their Princess? The first person to propose political law system reform, who made Glaze Nation leap to become a nation with highly developed commerce. Who dared speak ill of Princess in court?
"Then, let's begin. Just follow the usual practice. However you normally held court, do it that way."
The Little Princess waved her hand, indicating the people below could start.
The ministers below exchanged glances. Although some were somewhat unwilling, pressured by the Princess's status, they could only begin reporting one by one as when His Majesty was still present.
"Princess, I think some things aren't suitable for you to hear."
"Then you tell me, what matters am I not suitable to hear?"
She wanted to know what thing she couldn't hear.
If even she couldn't hear it, then wouldn't her cheap Father the King be about the same?
After all, the power she possessed was all given by her cheap Father the King. It could be said that aside from royal authority, she possessed all other power, plus she had her own private army.
The kind where as long as she wanted to rebel, no one could stop her, that scale.
Therefore, she naturally also possessed the ability to handle court affairs. And now someone was actually saying there were matters unsuitable for her to hear?
"Speak!"
The Little Princess's face darkened as she said loudly.
"Impossible, this matter only His Majesty can..."
"I'm afraid you're hiding it from Father the King, aren't you?"
"Injustice! Princess, if I were hiding it from His Majesty, why would I tell Princess now? It's just that this matter is too special. It must have His Majesty make the decision!"
The words made sense, but thinking carefully, there were many loopholes. For example... if it truly could only be known by her cheap Father the King and only he could decide, why still tell her? Any smart person generally wouldn't do this!
Clearly knowing he couldn't tell her, yet deliberately bringing it up in front of her? Did he really think she was a useless decorative flower vase?
"Someone, take him down for interrogation!"
"Wait... Princess! Injustice!!!"
He hadn't expected that this Princess, rumored to be kind and approachable, would be so decisive when governing court affairs, directly ordering someone to take him away!
"Princess..."
"Gag his mouth, it's too noisy."
The Little Princess supported her chin with one hand, waiting for the next person to report to her.
"Gulp..."
The ministers hesitated, and didn't choose to conceal and not report like that previous minister, or attempt to arouse the Little Princess's curiosity. Basically, they answered whatever was asked.
"Princess... I wonder if you're satisfied?"
"Average."
The Little Princess was somewhat dissatisfied.
It was clearly just the simple matter of reporting work. Why did these ministers have to make it so complicated? Speaking a pile of flowery rhetoric, almost none of it hitting the key points, as if they were brushing her off.
"Your performance greatly disappoints me, so I've decided to give you one more chance. You can choose to continue brushing me off, or honestly pick out all the key points to discuss. I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."
The Little Princess said coldly.
But precisely because of this performance, the ministers' bodies couldn't help but tremble a few times. They immediately began reorganizing their words to report.
This Princess truly wasn't easy to fool... or rather, fundamentally couldn't be fooled? She actually immediately heard that what they were saying was actually all unimportant matters, occasionally mixed with some slightly more important things.