novelraw Chapter 140 A Strong Premonition
Chapter 140 A Strong Premonition
Allison followed at a distance, watching the two walk to the plaza and stand beside the massive black mech. Then he saw the marshal's father hand his wife a black card that only interstellar dignitaries and the wealthiest individuals could possess.
Black Firefly said, "Pocket money."
Wen Shumu stared at the card, which supposedly allowed unlimited overdrafts, and shook his head repeatedly: "This is too valuable, I can't accept it!"
Who uses a black card as pocket money?!
Black Firefly frowned and pondered for a moment, then took out a gleaming gold card: "This isn't valuable; it only contains fifty million credits."
Wen Shumu: "..."
There are only five thousand!
They're incredibly wealthy and inhumane.
"We'll talk about it after you've spent it all." Black Firefly didn't give Wen Shumu a chance to refuse and stuffed it into his hand. "It's inconvenient for me to add you as a friend on the terminal. If you need anything, just send a private message to the top-ranked person in your live stream."
Wen Shumu's eyes widened, and he blurted out, "Xiaoyu loves Mumu!"
The rich guy who spent millions of credits on gifts was actually Ling Suyu's father!
Blackfire seemed a little embarrassed, coughed twice, and turned to open the mech's hatch.
He had already gone inside when he poked his head in again and asked, "You and Adolphus are on good terms?"
Wen Shumu was stunned for a moment, not understanding why he suddenly heard the master's name.
"The master is very kind and has helped me a lot."
Blackfire said, "Give him my regards."
"...Okay." Wen Shumu subconsciously agreed, but before he could ask about their relationship, the mecha's hatch had already closed.
He looked up as the black mech started up and gradually disappeared from view.
Unsure when Hei Ying left, Wen Shumu waited in the same spot for ten minutes before leaving.
He clutched the "pocket money" given to him by Hei Ying tightly in his hand, and recalling Hei Ying's promise to find Ling Suyu, he suddenly felt a moment of peace.
*
With the emperor's birthday drawing ever closer, the Helios Palace still hadn't given a clear answer as to whether or not a banquet would be held.
Ling Suyu has been missing for two weeks, and the outside world almost universally accepts that he sacrificed his life for the empire. Various memorial activities are being held spontaneously in different parts of the country, and everyone believes that the emperor should not hold a banquet at such a time.
The nobles who had been driven out of the Imperial Star by Ling Suyu were overjoyed and strongly demanded that His Majesty host a banquet. They gave a high-sounding reason, saying that the banquet was of great significance, not only to celebrate His Majesty's birthday, but also to celebrate the Empire's victory over the Beast King and its major contribution to interstellar peace.
The real reason was known to everyone but not spoken. These nobles needed to use the banquet as a pretext to return to the Imperial Star to assess the situation and prepare for their complete return to the center of power in the Empire.
At night, the Palace of Helios is brightly lit, as magnificent as day, with its towering spires seemingly embedded in the night sky.
Inside the Emperor and Empress's bedchamber, Ren Yi looked at the Alpha standing by the window and said softly, "After Su Yu's incident, the powerful nobles are restless. It's time to make a decision."
Yi Hao didn't rush to answer, but simply said, "Wait a little longer."
They have repeated this kind of conversation several times in the past few days.
Yi Hao always said to wait a little longer, and Ren Yi knew exactly what he was waiting for.
Just as the two were preparing to go to bed, Yi Hao's terminal beeped three times in a regular pattern; this was the intelligence department's unique communication channel.
Yi Hao sat up straight, read the contents on the terminal, and his expression was unreadable.
*
The Helios Palace finally solemnly announced that a grand banquet would be held on His Majesty's birthday, and extended invitations to all the great nobles of the empire.
Public resentment was raging, and voices of doubt from the people of the Empire filled the StarNet.
[Marshal Ling's body is barely cold, and they're already throwing a banquet with laughter and merriment?!]
Why is Your Majesty like this...? I always thought Your Majesty valued the Marshal highly.
Your heart is cold and indifferent.
I can't even imagine what state Mumu is in right now.
"The body hasn't been found yet, has it? I firmly believe the Marshal is still alive."
Don't be naive. It's been half a month. The Yosef system consists of resource-scarce, uninhabited planets. Even if the Marshal hadn't been sucked into the black hole, he wouldn't have survived for so many days on any other planet.
[I'm so upset. I truly hate these nobles. They enjoy so many privileges without contributing anything to the empire. They hide in safe places under the marshal's protection and show no gratitude. Now they've even stopped pretending!]
[His Majesty has not made a public appearance for so many days; he must be feeling uneasy. If it weren't for the combined pressure from the powerful nobles, His Majesty probably wouldn't have wanted to hold this banquet.]
Wen Shumu stared at the floating projected comments in front of him, listening to Xiao Jin and Allison discussing the dress he would wear to the banquet.
Most of the comments on Xingwang say that Ling Suyu is no longer here, but he still has a strange feeling that he is here.
My brother must still be alive.
As time went on and no concrete news came, this premonition grew stronger.
He has already shortlisted a few photographers for the wedding photos, and is just waiting for Ling Suyu to come back and finalize the selection.
So brother, please come back soon.
Time flies, and before we knew it, it was His Majesty's birthday.
Twenty days had passed since Ling Suyu's disappearance. The nobles gathered on the Imperial Star, dressed in magnificent robes and adorned with the most expensive jewelry, and entered the Helios Palace with their heads held high.
They all believed that Yi Hao had lost the sword he was protecting, and it was only a matter of time before he wanted to control the royal family again, just like before.
Stepping back into the social scene she had been away from for so long, Qiu Tong touched the sparkling gemstone necklace around her neck, her smile beaming as she linked arms with Wen Boshuang and exchanged pleasantries with everyone.
She believed she had reached an agreement with many noble families that as long as they helped Wen Boxhuang inherit the title and become the head of the Wen family, they would certainly receive their share of the benefits.
Little did she know that after she made small talk with each nobleman and left with Wen Boshuang, their expressions immediately changed, and their eyes revealed a hint of disdain.
"An illegitimate child wants to inherit the title? He's dreaming."
"Look at how flamboyant she is, she's probably already dreaming of her son becoming the head of the Wen family."
"Keep your voices down, she's been the mistress of the family for almost twenty years."
"No matter how high she rose to power, she only did so after giving birth to Wen Boshuang."
"If it weren't for the Wen family's collateral branch telling us, everyone would still be in the dark and think that Wen Boshuang was born after she married Wen Bin."
The noble families placed great importance on lineage and birth, especially the wives of the heads of the families, who looked down on Wen Boshuang's status as an illegitimate child.
Moreover, everyone knows about Wen Shumu's plight. Even though these nobles are considered extremely arrogant by ordinary people, they don't see it that way. They believe they are far more noble than Wen Bin and would never do something like letting an illegitimate son steal the position of the original wife's son.
Now that Wen Bin is dead, their contempt has naturally shifted to Qiu Tong.
The nobles who had been whispering suddenly fell silent, their eyes all turning toward the entrance to the banquet hall.
Between the two rows of palace guards at the gate, an Omega dressed in a black formal coat and wearing a silk bow tie slowly walked in. Compared to the nobles who were covered in luxurious jewelry, he appeared particularly simple and low-key, with only a dark blue flower pinned to his left chest.
One of the nobles snapped out of his daze and winked at the person next to him: "Oh, Marshal Ling's widow has arrived."