Chapter 1085 - Going to the Imperial Palace?
Chapter 1085 - Going to the Imperial Palace?
Chapter 1085 Going to the Imperial Palace?
“Er...” Liang Hao grinned and said, “that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re talking about when we’re gonna have children.”
“Oh, then you gotta discuss it thoroughly.” Zhang Guangyou couldn’t hide his smile. “Start to work on it as soon as possible. Don’t just pay lip service to it.”
“Gee, what’s the rush?” Zhang Li snorted.
Li Mu, who was standing on one side watching them, also smiled.
Sometimes, one could tell a lot about a family from their way of communication and their affection for each other.
At the very least, families living in harmony were always supportive of their family members.
“Nina, where are we going to play?”
Yue Xiaonao urged, “Let’s get going. Sitting through the whole ceremony really bored me.”
“Okay, let’s set off now. It’s not far away. It takes us about half an hour to get there.”
Nina smiled sweetly. She was in a very good mood at the moment.
She took the lead to walk out of her palace. There was a small square on the side, on which parked three aircraft, one big, one medium, and one small.
The small aircraft was very similar to a motorboat, which was more like a toy one could ride. The medium aircraft could carry up to 10 people, which looked like an airplane. The big one could accommodate 40 to 50 people, which appeared to be a light green ring.
The group boarded the big aircraft. The seats inside were placed in a circle like those in a conference room, so that the passengers could enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the window.
Nina casually waved her hand. A palm-sized ball appeared before her. An electronic scene popped up out of thin air, which showed a map. Nina tapped several places on the screen. Then, the aircraft rose into the air and flew out of the palace at a moderate speed.
“Uncle Liu, this is a subsidiary intelligent system. You don’t have to drive the aircraft manually. All you need to do is give orders to the system. However, this type of aircraft can be easily destroyed. Its defense is not strong, but it is more comfortable and elegantly designed. It is a sightseeing aircraft. As for combat aircraft, the price will be higher. Such aircraft may be highly advanced, it still needs people to control it.”
Li Mu was in the seat in front of Liu Qingfeng. He leaned over to chat with him.
He had long sensed that Liu Qingfeng’s strength was very poor. He could even crush him with a withering look.
But whether it was in the way of speaking or other aspects, Li Mu had shown great respect for Liu Qingfeng.
Now that Li Mu had decided to make friends with this group of people, he would not judge anyone beforehand.
What was more, as Liu Qingfeng was one of Senior Zhang’s people, how could he be plain?
“So there are sightseeing aircraft and combat aircraft.” Liu Qingfeng looked around and asked, “What is the fuel of aircraft?”
“Energy Stones. Those are stones constituted by violent particles. They don’t cost much. When purchasing aircraft, they usually give you some for free. Energy Stones are stored in the energy cabin. A filled energy cabin can power the aircraft for at least one year. Oh, right. Aircraft and fleets need to be maintained and repaired regularly. After all, they are machines. Other than aircraft, mecha also need energy. Thus, converters for energy stones are necessary. Every aircraft is equipped with some,” replied Li Mu.
“What category of resource do Energy Stones fall into? Are they very common?” Liu Qingfeng probed.
“Yeah, they’re quite common. Many barbaric planets possess Energy Stones. There are all sorts of stones that contain energy. Of course, if you’re nit-pick regarding the fuel, you can power aircraft with crystal stones as well. The energy in crystal stones is more stable and can last longer. It’s just that it seems kind of extravagant,” Li Mu explained with a smile.
“Oh, I see. Then how much is an aircraft like this?” Liu Qingfeng asked casually.
“Nina’s aircraft cost about 100,000 crystal stones,” said Li Mu.
“Low-grade crystal stones?” Liu Qingfeng was stunned.
“That’s right.” Li Mu’s expression was bemused.
“Why does it seem that this group of people doesn’t value low-grade crystal stones?
“They often talk about the medium-grade and top-grade ones very causally as well.”
At this moment, Li Mu suddenly recalled how fast Zi Yan spent money last time.
“Hiss!
“Good Lord, they’re rich!”
Liu Qingfeng fell silent, too.
He was doing a rough calculation. Since one medium-grade crystal was worth 100 low-grade crystal stones. One top-grade crystal was equivalent to 10,000 low-grade crystal stones. That was to say, this seemingly high-end aircraft only cost 10 top-grade crystal stones.
“Ten high-grade ones...”
Liu Qingfeng knew that there seemed to be more than 500,000 top-grade crystal stones in Zhang Han’s Space Ring.
Those were worth five billion low-grade crystal stones.
It was a huge sum. Liu Qingfeng even wanted to ask, “Are five billion low-grade crystal stones considered a huge fortune in the Sea Dragon Star Area?”
He felt that Li Mu’s expression would be very interesting upon hearing the question.
However, after a moment’s thought, he decided not to give it a try.
Liu Qingfeng was a shrewd businessman. He didn’t like to show his trump card to others.
Moreover, if he were to start a company, he would need a lot of money.
Although five billion crystal stones were an exorbitant amount of money, these might still not be enough to support an entire business empire.
While Li Mu talked, Xiao Ling made records on her own initiative every time he mentioned some key data.
She was indeed a very capable secretary.
“Young Master Li, can you tell me about spaceships?” Liu Qingfeng asked.
“What exactly do you want to know?” Li Mu inquired.
“Price, market, manufacturers, and the like,” Liu Qingfeng said.
“The price of an average fleet spaceship is about one million crystal stones. The spaceships that can become part of a fleet have certain offensive and defensive power. High-end spaceships have stronger combat capability and can accommodate more people. Those can easily cost tens of millions of crystal stones. Main vessels are also priced at ten million crystal stones. Some famous main vessels are worth more than 50 million. There are some that are more destructive and have more sophisticated functions. The most extravagant ones cost 100 million. Very few forces can afford such main vessels.”
Li Mu deliberated for a moment and then continued, “As for the top manufacturers, there are only three forces that are most famous, which specialize in the sale of spaceships. One of them is the Sea Spa Alliance, which specializes in building ordinary spaceships. Thus, the prices of their products are relatively low. They don’t pay much attention to the appearance of spaceships or some seemingly fancy functions. In other words, their products are relatively crude, not particular about comfort. They are the manufacturer with the best price-performance ratio. The second one is the Hade-Ghis Alliance. Their products are more user-friendly. They mainly build aircraft, which is relatively cheap. In terms of their spaceships, the price-performance ratio is slightly higher.
“The last one is the Snowfall Alliance, which is also a top-level alliance. Their products are the most expensive, but the facilities they offer are the best. The main vessels that cost about a hundred million crystal stones I just talked about are the products of the Snowfall Alliance, which specializes in luxury fleets and aircraft. The price they charge is high. But their products have more versatile functions and are more comfortable to ride on. If you want to buy aircraft and spaceships in large quantities, I think the three manufacturers are pretty good options for you. The Sea Spa Alliance has the best price-to-performance ratio. You can buy some subordinate fleets from it. As to the Hade-Ghis Alliance, you can select some aircraft for traveling there. As for the ones you people ride, you can buy those from the Snowfall Alliance. This way, you’ll not only travel with ease but also look prestigious when you go out.”
“Got it.” Liu Qingfeng nodded. A purchasing plan had already been formed in his mind.
As Li Mu had advised, purchasing in batches from different manufacturers was the most appropriate method. However, he still needed to do some research and make a purchasing plan. After all, he had to strive to get the best bargain.
He enjoyed studying these things. But there were some people who didn’t care about money at all.
Zhang Han, who was not far away, glanced over and said with a smile, “In the entire Sea Dragon Star Area, only the spaceships made by the Snowfall Alliance are acceptable. If you want to buy spaceships, we can just find a time to go there.”
Li Mu was immediately rendered speechless.
“Senior, are you sure what they make are merely acceptable?
“The products of the Snowfall Alliance are all luxury items in the fleet industry!
“Their fleets are the perfect combination of luxury and practical use.
“Traveling in one of their spaceships can make one look good. Among the spaceships I’ve brought here, one of the main vessels is made by the Snowfall Alliance.”
Indeed, not everyone could afford a main vessel made by the Snowfall Alliance.
Their output was very large. Many would be sold to various areas of the Heavenly Dragon Star Province.
The Heavenly Dragon Star Province was a more advanced Star Area. Li Mu had never been there. But his father, Li Hao, had visited it. Li Hao had also told him that in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province, those in the Yuan Ying Realm were simply nobodies. Around the Heavenly Dragon Star Province, there were 18 Star Areas, including the Sea Dragon Star Area. On the map of the whole Cultivation World, all the 18 Star Areas were subject to the Heavenly Dragon Star Province. The difference was similar to that between provincial cities and other small cities.
Among all the forces in the Sea Dragon Star Area, only the Snowfall Alliance had made its name known in the other Star Areas in the vicinity.
All the products they made, including main vessels, spaceships, and mecha, were very popular among the assorted wealthy and noble families.
“The Snowfall Alliance...”
Hearing Zhang Han’s words, Mengmeng looked over her shoulder and said, “Daddy, are we going to buy their stuff even though those are just acceptable?”
“The core competitiveness the Snowfall Alliance has is the forging ability of the dwarfs. The fleets they make are more superb and of better quality. The ‘acceptable’ I mean is that their fleets can travel in many Star Areas. Even in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province, the fleets wouldn’t seem inferior,” Zhang Han replied.
“The Heavenly Dragon Star Province? What is that place?” Mengmeng was even more curious.
“It’s a place... we’ll visit in the future,” Zhang Han said with a smile. “Now, there is no need to think that far. You’ve only been to two places in the Sea Dragon Star Area.”
Zhang Han would not set foot in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province until he became powerful enough.
In this life, he wanted to be smooth and steady. Without enough strength to ensure his and his family’s safety, he would not make bold attempts.
“Oh, I see. Love you, Daddy!”
Smiling, Mengmeng blew a kiss at Zhang Han.
“Ugh!”
Yue Xiaonao thumped her thigh hard and said, “Mengmeng, can you stop being so corny? I have goosebumps.”
“Humph, you are obviously jealous of me.” Mengmeng curled her lips.
“Who’s jealous of you?” Yue Xiaonao pouted as well, demonstrating her disdain.
“Humph!”
At this time, Chen Chuan snorted heavily and said, “Y-Y-You are clearly jealous. Sister Mengmeng, don’t be afraid. I got your back.”
Chen Chuan’s devotedly fawning behavior made many people present laugh.
“Huh?”
Yue Xiaonao was irked. She scowled at Chen Chuan and said, “Little boy, do you believe that I can beat you up?”
“I believe you!” Chen Chuan caved at once. But he still said bravely, “Even so, I’m still on Sister Mengmeng’s side.”
“Bah!”
Yue Xiaonao made a face and let this slide. After all, she thought of herself as the leader of the children, so she should be the big man and let her younger brothers and sisters have their ways.
Watching them joking around wantonly, Nina showed a smile on the corners of her mouth. She wanted to be part of it, but she couldn’t speak so frivolously. Thus, she just stood there, watching.
“Beep!”
Nina’s expression changed as she announced, “Here we’re.”
“Have we arrived?”
Mengmeng blinked and looked outside the window. “Aren’t we still in the same big forest?”
“Let’s disembark and walk to the destination. There’s a stretch of land with Fluorescent Trees here. It’s gorgeous at night,” said Nina with a smile.
“Sure. Let’s go down and have a look.”
Thus, everyone got up, jumped off through the exit one by one, and landed in the forest below.
It was a little dark in the forest.
The grass on the ground was soft.
The surroundings weren’t quiet. There were insects chirping all around.
“Nina, Nina.”
Mengmeng was a little scared in the darkness. She subconsciously lowered her voice and said, “Are there animals like snakes or scorpions here? Or perhaps wolves or mosquitoes?”
“Yes. But you’re fine since you’re with me. Besides, you have Little Hei to protect you. Little Hei is a Beast King. I can feel the royal blood coursing in its veins. As long as it releases some of its oppressive aurae, most of the insects and spirit beasts will go into hiding,” Nina assured.
“Oh, okay.”
Mengmeng turned to look at Little Hei behind and patted it on the head, saying, “Little Hei, release a bit of your aura.”
“Woof, woof,” Little Hei responded.
Its aura instantly swept across the field within a radius of 0.3 miles.
“Swoosh!”
The surroundings quieted down immediately.
“Let’s get going. It’s just a few hundred meters ahead. I used to come here quite often.” Nina started to lead the way. She thoughtfully cast an illuminating spell to light up the path ahead.
“The air here is very fresh. I feel like we’re back on Mount New Moon.”
First Elder took a deep breath and said with emotion, “Now I think about it, the smell of the exhaust gas and haze on our planet is sort of a unique feature, right?”
“Exhaust gas? Haze?” Li Mu was a little dazed. “These seem to be very old terms. Heavy industrial areas used to be plagued by these things. But that was what happened thousands of years ago. Spaceship manufacturers had to move their bases to a new planet every few years. But after they came into contact with high-end Star Areas and the third science and technical revolution broke out, these problems were all fixed. Now, all the spaceships’ power system runs automatically. It’s a quite profound technology.”
In the meantime, he was also wondering, “Mount New Moon? What kind of place is that? Is it where Senior Zhang’s force is located?
“That place also has things such as exhausted gas and haze. There are also science and technology there.
“What kind of world is it on earth?”
Li Mu didn’t ask much about this aspect.
He reckoned that he would get the answers when the time came.
“Sister Mengmeng, where are we going?”
“Didn’t you hear Nina? The destination is a short way ahead.”
“...”
They strolled in the forest while chatting. Xiao Ling, Liang Mengqi, Zhang Li, Liu Jiaran, and the others were deeply amazed by what they saw and heard.
This trip was perhaps unforgettable for them.
Finally, after walking hundreds of meters, they arrived at the place Nina mentioned.
This place was covered with Fluorescent Trees.
Every tree was emitting a faint glow, which cascaded down like a shower of stars.
Together with the huge bright moon in the sky, the picture was extremely beautiful.
“Sister Mengmeng, shall we take some pictures?”
Hearing this, Mengmeng’s face darkened.
“Why did I bring such an annoying boy here?”
“Okay, but no more than three pictures.”
Mengmeng and Chen Chuan took three snapshots.
“Daddy, Mummy, come on here. Let’s take photos together.”
Mengmeng waved at Zhang Han and Zi Yan in high spirits.
“Nina, let’s take a picture.”
“Sister Nina, take some with me, too,” Chen Chuan ran to Nina’s side and asked. “Well, can I hold your hand, Sister Nina?”
Looking at the innocent Chen Chuan, Nina felt a little abashed. But two seconds later, she agreed with ease.
“This brat...”
Chen Changqing was amused. He muttered, “He isn’t like me at all.”
“Why should he?”
Zhou Fei rolled her eyes at him and said, “If he were like you, it would do him no good. He would be too dumb and too coward to talk to girls. I still remember how awkward you were when we first met.”
“Who said that?” Chen Changqing retorted. “Even so, I’ve won your heart, haven’t I?”
“Humph.”
Zhang Li also made Liang Hao take a lot of photos with her.
Then, she called to Zhang Guangyou and the others, “Dad, Mom, come here. Brother, let’s take some pictures, too.”
Liu Jiaran did the same. She took a lot of pictures with Ah Hu and Liu Qingfeng.
Zhao Feng, Liang Mengqi, First Elder, Wang Xiaowu, Jiang Bing, and others were not used to taking photos.
But at this time, influenced by the vibe in this place, they took some photos in a great mood as well.
“What is this?”
Li Mu looked at the mobile phone several times and asked, “What are the words on it?”
“Beautifying filter, spotlight...”
“Good Lord, isn’t this an antique or what?
After Li Mu figured it out, he was rather speechless.
He thought for moments and then took out his own equipment.
“Ahem, everyone, how about I take some pictures for you?”
However, the others were hanging out in threes and fours. No one paid attention to them.
The scene became rather awkward at the moment.
“Ouch!
“This really stung.
“I, Li Mu, used to be a respected young master with a graceful and dignified bearing. But ever since I joined this group, I’ve been ignored and felt left out many times.
“Oh, I’m so sad, so miserable.”
“Let’s take a group photo.”
At last, Zi Yan said, “Li Mu has a high-end camera, right? We can ask him to set up the camera and take a picture of all of us. Then, we can head to the next fun place.”
“Sure.”
Li Mu finally felt he was not invisible anymore.
He went straight to them. Mengmeng stood in the center of the group, with Zhang Han and Zi Yan behind her. Yue Xiaonao and her family were on Mengmeng’s left side, while Chen Chuan and his family were on the right side. Zhang Li, Dong Chen, First Elder, Lei Tiannan, and the others flanked them on both sides.
“Beep!”
This happy moment was captured by the camera.
Many years later, this photo became so precious that some forces would like to buy it with a ninth-tier spirit treasure.
“Let’s go to the next place.”
Nina was also in the mood for sightseeing. She quickly headed forward with Mengmeng and said, “There is a patch of land with cylindrical trunks ahead, which is similar to a maze. It’s quite interesting to be in it...”
They soon came to the place Nina talked about.
The Fluorescent Trees in this place appeared to have been knocked over by a hurricane before. Almost all of them were lying on the ground horizontally.
Strangely, the trunks of all the Fluorescent Trees here had been hollowed out like pipes. At first glance, they thought they had walked into a factory and what they saw here were all factory materials.
“Sound echoes loudly in this place. If you let out a shout, you can get dozens of echoes.” As she spoke, Nina drew a slow and long breath, then called to a wooden pipe with a diameter of five meters, “I’ve come of age!”
“I’ve come of age.”
“I’ve come of age.”
“I’ve come of age...”
Her voice reverberated in the place, gradually fading away into the distance.
“Whoa!”
Chen Chuan was stunned. He quickly ran over and shouted into a trunk, “Ahhhh! Ooooh! Uh-huh!”
“Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Mengmeng heard the noise and ran over to stop him in a hurry.
His random shouts were not pleasant to hear.
After Chen Chuan stopped shouting, the noises gradually ebbed after 20 seconds.
“What’s on the other side of the pipes?” Mengmeng looked back and asked.
It seemed that the little girl was not very interested in the echoes.
However, everyone present was quite interested in the special characteristics of the Fluorescent Trees. The trunks glittered. When they stepped into the maze of Fluorescent Trees, they felt as if they were in a novel and mysterious world.
Well, actually, this was indeed a novel and mysterious world to them, because they were on the planet owned by the Elemental Elf Clan.
“That is our final destination, the largest waterfall on our Roland Star. At the end of the land covered by the pipes is the side of that waterfall. That angle of view is terrific. I used to go there to play when I was little.”
“Is the waterfall splendid?” Mengmeng’s big clear eyes blinked rapidly. She then said with a smile, “When we came here, we also passed a big waterfall, which looked like a big screen. It dashed down a thousand miles from high, making people wonder if it were the Milky Way falling from the sky. It was very beautiful.”
“The waterfall dashed down a thousand miles from high, making people wonder if it were the Milky Way falling from the sky...” Nina repeated in an undertone. Then, she said earnestly, “How artistic it is!”
“Huh?”
Mengmeng was slightly taken aback.
She didn’t expect that Nina’s focus would be on that sentence.
Mengmeng snorted and said, “Well, I’m not the one who came up with that. It’s a sentence from a poem composed by Li Bai, a great ancient poet in our Hua Nation on our planet. It’s the Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu, which says, ‘Sunlight streaming on Incense Stone kindles a violet smoke. Far off I watch the waterfall plunge to the long river. Flying waters dashes down three hundred feet. It makes me wonder if the Milky Way is falling from the sky.’ What I just said was the second half of the poem. I changed the ‘three hundred feet’ into ‘a thousand miles’ because the screen-like waterfall I saw was really large and spectacular. Nina, now your Coming of Age Ceremony is over, you’ll have more leisurely, right? Why don’t you go with us for a tour before my school starts? If you go with us, you can see the screen-like waterfall yourself. When you’re in my domain, I’ll treat you to great food and wonder sightseeing spots.”
“Mengmeng, it’s so nice of you.” Nina laughed happily.
Her shining eyes were already saying that she would like to go visit Mengmeng’s home planet.
However... she was still a little worried. After all, she was the seventh princess of the Elf Clan. Plus, considering what had happened earlier, there were some decisions she could not make as she pleased.
“Wait, Mengmeng!”
Mengmeng turned around and saw that Yue Xiaonao was upset. “I’m your older sister. If you invited Nina over, she would be going to my domain, don’t you think so?”
“Whatever you say,” Mengmeng said with resignation.
After knowing Yue Xiaonao for months, Mengmeng understood that Yue Xiaonao was fun-loving and very daring. Most of the time, Mengmeng would not object to whatever Yue Xiaonao said. When the situation required someone to be the leader and take care of other people, Yue Xiaonao would certainly not pass on the responsibility to others.
That was because she liked to be a leader.
“Well, that’s more like it.” Yue Xiaonao put on a smug look again. She came over and patted Nina on the shoulder, saying, “Nana, don’t worry. Just come with us. That place is my domain. When you’re there, you can have all the fun as you like.”
It sounded like she meant business. But Lisa and Yue Wuwei shook their heads and thought in amusement, “Girl, like you own that place.”
“Ahem.” Li Mu coughed lightly, as though trying to give them a reminder.
“Let’s go and see the waterfall.” Mengmeng looked over her shoulder and said, “Daddy, Mummy, shall we go to the waterfall to play?”
“Let’s go.”
Zhang Han smiled.
Thus, the group stepped into the maze of cylindrical Fluorescent Trees. Walking past all the trunks, they felt kind of surreal.
Li Mu was at a loss for words.
He heaved a deep sigh at the rear.
“Alas, never thought that one day I, Li Mu, would wish I were a woman. At least, if I became the girls’ bestie, everything could be sorted out easily.”
They walked for half an hour.
When they came to the end of the land strewn with cylindrical trunks, their vision suddenly became wide.
“Splash!”
The sound of flowing water filled their ears.
They also sensed the moist air.
The sound of flowing water became louder and louder as they approached. Based on the loud splashes, they could picture how magnificent the waterfall was.
The waves splattered violently. There must be turbulent currents.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
But when they walked out of the land of Fluorescent Trees, they saw a rather bizarre view ahead from the edge of the cliff.
“Eh? Why is the waterfall glowing?”
Liu Jiaran said in surprise, “It looks so beautiful from here.”
“From top to bottom, the waterfall stretches about 1,000 meters.” Ah Hu sized the waterfall up a few times and said, “This waterfall is really large. Look at the river below. It’s in the shape of a snake. Its outline is so smooth and distinct, almost like man-made.”
“But why is this waterfall green?”
Liang Mengqi took several close glances and said, “No, the water is not green. It just looks so because there are many plants inside the waterfall.”
“Yes.”
While standing in the front admiring the waterfall, Nina said, “Below the water, there are some aquatic plants. They absorb light during the day and display their beauty at night. This river is called the Fluorescent River. Every night, looking from the air, the entire river sparkles. You can even see the Fluorescent River from that Luomu Waterfall Star in the sky. This river can be considered a landmark on the Roland Star.”
“Eh? There seems to be a village over there. Have you seen that?”
Mengmeng suddenly noticed that not far from the cliff, in the flat area by the river, there were blocks of houses, which looked like a village.
“Yeah, it’s a village. There are many villages strewn along the upstream and the downstream of the Fluorescent River,” said Nina. “There are also some small palaces. The population of our Elemental Elf Clan is not small. The place we live in is the royal palace, where most of the royals live.”
“Oh, I see. The Roland Star seems to be very large when looking from space.” Mengmeng blinked and looked around with curiosity.
The others did the same. In threes and fours, they stood by the cliff, enjoying the peaceful view.
People like Liu Jiaran and Liang Mengqi, who had been living in prosperous cities all year round, were most touched by this beautiful scene.
“Sister Mengmeng, let’s take some photos!”
After playing for a while, Chen Chuan was a little bored. He ran to Mengmeng and pestered her to take photos with him.
“You wanna take pictures with me?”
Mengmeng suddenly revealed a mischievous smile and narrowed her eyes slightly.
She was thinking about giving Chen Chuan a kick in the butt.
“Ah!”
Chen Chuan read the dangerous signal in Mengmeng’s smile.
He hurriedly covered his butt with both hands and said, “Sister Mengmeng, you decide whether we take pictures or not. I’ll listen to you.”
“Humph, how chicken-hearted you are!”
Mengmeng curled her lips. She then grabbed Nina’s hand and said, “Let’s take some pictures together.”
“Okay.”
Chen Chuan was left on the side alone. But he couldn’t stay quiet for even a moment. As soon as Mengmeng and Nina took one photo, he wedged himself between the two girls.
Mengmeng and Nina were standing very close to each other at first. Thus, when Chen Chuan squeezed his way in, he leaned toward Nina and almost held her by the waist.
He had no choice, for he didn’t dare to push Sister Mengmeng aside to make room for himself. If this upset her, he would be kicked in the bottom again.
“Well...”
Nina’s expression suddenly stiffened, and her body tensed up. She didn’t even know how to arrange her facial features properly.
Her neck quickly turned tomato red. Then, a blush climbed onto her face.
“This brat actually, actually...”
Having sensed that Chen Chuan just squeezed her butt, Nina felt deeply ashamed.
She was also somewhat dumbfounded.
“He is too young to understand these things, right?
“But why did he do that just now?
“Ahhh!”
This was driving Nina crazy. Chen Chuan was standing so close to her that even her right leg felt a little numb.
The awkwardness was incredibly vehement.
Fortunately, taking a picture only took two seconds. After it was done, Nina ducked aside as if running away from a monster. Then, she turned around and froze in place.
She pulled a wry face.
It turned out that Yue Xiaonao was sitting on the edge of the cliff, fumbling with a small tree. Just now, what touched Nina’s butt was a branch of that tree.
“Phew...”
“Nina, why are you blushing?” Mengmeng was surprised.
“Am I?” Nina blinked quickly and said with seeming nonchalance, “I don’t think so. Maybe it’s because it’s too moist here.”
“Oh, all right.”
The scenery here was quite fascinating. With the moon shining brightly in the sky, one could see many beautiful views in the distance with the naked eye.
They then left the cliff in small groups and took a walk nearby.
This outing was leisurely and enjoyable.
An hour later, Chen Chuan complained that he was hungry.
Thus, they came back to the cliff one after another.
They boarded the aircraft and headed back to the royal palace.
“Let’s go this way. We can fly along the Fluorescent River. After we reach the royal palace, we will turn right and fly parallel to the royal palace. Then, we’ll soon arrive at my palace. There is a lake not far ahead. The island in the middle of the lake is quite beautiful...”
Nina led everyone to admire some more sightseeing spots on the Roland Star.
Everyone enjoyed themselves on the trip.
However, problems arose after they returned to the royal palace.
“Princess Nina, Zhang Hanyang, you are back.”
Mo Wen was waiting at the gate of Nina’s palace. When he saw Nina’s aircraft coming back, he quickly came to the parking lot.
“Uncle Mo Wen, is the banquet ready?” asked Nina.
“Uh, well...”
Mo Wen’s face stiffened slightly. He found it hard to get the words out, especially when many people were still looking at him.
He was secretly ashamed of himself.
After all, this was a favor Nina asked. But he failed to do it right.
Nevertheless, he could not disobey the king’s order. This was a matter of the king’s dignity...
Sighing lightly in his head, Mo Wen braced himself and said, “I told His Majesty about the banquet. After some discussion, His Majesty decided to hold the banquet in the imperial palace. Since Zhang Hanyang and the others are distinguished guests, His Majesty, the queens, and some key clansmen are going to entertain them in person. This banquet is also held to celebrate the glorious end of your Coming of Age Ceremony.”
“In the imperial palace?”
Nina’s expression changed slightly.
Her complexion was slightly conflicted. Her pupils shuddered. Her good mood also receded drastically.
“Why go to the imperial palace? Who is the King of Elves? Do I know him?” Yue Xiaonao squinted at Mo Wen and said bluntly, “We won’t go there. Go ask them to move the banquet back here. You can just tell them it’s my order. If they have complaints, I’ll ask my dad to tear down the royal palace.”
“Go, or we’ll tear down the palace!” Chen Chuan put his hands on his hips and said aggressively.
“Swish!”
Mo Wen looked extremely mortified. He didn’t even know where to put his hands and feet. “Should I go or stay here? Somebody tells me!”
Nina also showed an abashed look in her eyes.
Now the King of Elves was berated, she more or less felt humiliated. After all, the King of Elves was the leader of the entire Elemental Elf Clan.
However, Nina couldn’t find a reason to refute. The previous scenes of her Coming of Age Ceremony flashed back, rendering her doleful again. Deep down, she also had anger suppressed inside her.
“Daddy...”
Mengmeng didn’t know what to do either. She looked up at Zhang Han and tugged at his hand.
“We’ll...”
Taking a deep breath, Nina prepared to say that she would stay in her palace for dinner.
This decision represented that she, the seventh princess, would sever ties with the royals.
She felt a little heavy-hearted at the moment.
Just as she was about to speak, Zhang Han said with a smile, “Nina is my daughter’s good friend. Now she’s been wronged, we can’t just let this go. Since they’ve invited us to the imperial palace, let’s go there.”
“Er... but I figure that you’d better not go there. Alas, I can’t think of any alternative. Forget it, let’s go to the imperial palace together. Anyway, Nina has indeed been wronged. I’m not in the right position to comment on it. In fact... Well, let’s go.”
Mo Wen hemmed and hawed. His words came out incoherently. After the long speech, he eventually led them to the imperial palace.
Along the way, they came across many members of the royal family, who were in small groups, chatting in low voices near the imperial palace. When they saw Zhang Han and the others, their discussion immediately halted.
When Zhang Han’s group went far away, they finally resumed their discussion. “Princess Nina has befriended a big shot. She may really rise to the top. I remember that some time ago, someone mentioned that Nina got some treasures from a friend. Most of them were fifth-tier, but some were even sixth-tier. Holy moly! I thought it was a joke at that time. But now, it seems that it may be true. After obtaining the treasures, she used them up for her own benefit without handing them over to His Majesty.”