Chapter 1189: The Beginning

The old king arrived, and the banquet hall immediately quieted down.

"Father."

"Father."

A total of three princes and one princess greeted him. They were the First Prince, the Third Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Second Princess, respectively.

Except for the Sixth Princess, the four most favorable competitors had arrived at the royal capital. The Sixth Princess didn't arrive, not because the road was long, but because something happened in her territory. The earliest she would arrive was tomorrow, and it might also be the day after tomorrow.

The old king looked at the four children in front of him, and the surrounding officials were silent.

Ten seconds later, the old king waved his hand, signaling that these four princes and princesses could go down.

Su Xiao's gaze was sizing up those four princes or princesses. The First Prince had nothing special; the small mustache on his chin was an obvious sign. The only feeling he gave people was gentleness, treating people with courtesy. He was among a large group of officials, which could be described as stars holding the moon.

The Third Prince wore lightweight armor, and his expression was slightly gloomy. His age was similar to the First Prince's, but the feeling he gave people was iron-blooded, saying one thing and meaning another.

The Seventh Prince was a dashing handsome guy, different from the previous two princes. He was only 28 years old, so he was flirting with girls in the banquet hall. Of course, this flirting with girls was just an abbreviation. The full name was flirting with his own sisters. Now in the banquet hall, except for officials, there were rich merchants, all a bunch of old men. Only two young girls were there, which were those two princesses.

The Second Princess sat on the edge. Although she was not young, she still maintained a good figure and beautiful appearance. She was the most dangerous beauty snake in this power struggle, the leader of the Dark Flower Snake organization (not public). The territory status was average.

Today, the old king was not the protagonist of this banquet; these four were.

The old king signaled for the servants and guards behind him to retreat. In this kind of occasion, officials in the banquet hall didn't need to salute the old king.

The old king held a glass of wine and walked slowly in the banquet hall, like an old lion patrolling its territory.

"Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, slow down."

"Your Majesty..."

Wherever the old king went, the atmosphere there would become lively. The old king's attitude toward those officials was not close, but not distant either.

Soon, the old king arrived near the seats of Su Xiao and the other four. Seeing the old king walking slowly, Kingdom Legion Commander Heslet shrank his neck. The only person this guy, who feared nothing, feared was the old king.

"Your Majesty the King."

Administrator Joe Valentine hurriedly stood up and ran quickly to the old king's side to support him, performing the image of a bootlicker to the extreme.

Su Xiao sat in place without moving, and Kingdom Finance Officer Rowan Harvey did the same. He seemed to have drunk too much. Kingdom Legion Commander Heslet looked around, preparing to find an opportunity to slip away.

The old king, supported by Joe Valentine, arrived near the three and sat in Joe Valentine's previous position.

"Heslet, seeing me come, do you want to slip away?"

The old king spoke, his speed of speech neither fast nor slow.

"Ho... how is that possible, Your Majesty, you are overthinking."

"Sit honestly here. If you dare to slip away early today, I will break all three of your legs."

"Yes, yes."

Heslet, with cold sweat on his forehead, nodded repeatedly. Rowan Harvey on the side secretly turned his head, a cheap smile appearing on his face.

"Rowan, how is that matter handled?"

The old king seemed to notice Rowan Harvey's cheap smile, so he pulled him out too.

"Your Majesty, except for real estate, Elvi Anthony's property has basically been collected. Among them, there are a total of..."

The old king raised his hand to signal not to continue.

"Whoever dares to make trouble in the royal capital, you four will grind him to dust."

The old king's seemingly unintentional sentence actually contained many meanings. The most obvious meaning was to let the four temporarily unite the power system.

The four stood or sat beside the old king. The four held different positions, among which were bootlickers (Joe Valentine responsible for managing officials), and Rowan Harvey responsible for managing finance, Kingdom Legion Commander Heslet who would shrink in seconds when seeing the old king, and Iron Hand held by Su Xiao, who only needed to be responsible for killing, simple and rude.

The old king didn't go to sit in the first seat, so that single seat had been empty. That was the supreme position, representing power while also representing loneliness.

The old king seemed to have been tired of this loneliness. He would abdicate before long, so he came to share a table with Su Xiao and the other four, drinking with the four he trusted most, drinking happily, and couldn't see the appearance of being near death at all.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall gradually became lively. After a few glasses of wine, the old king, Rowan Harvey, and Joe Valentine all had red faces. The three had ordinary constitutions.

Su Xiao and Heslet had unchanged expressions. This kind of low-alcohol fruit wine didn't count for anything to Su Xiao. It was very difficult to get drunk.

Just as a few people were drinking, a knight wearing armor walked quickly into the banquet hall, went straight to the old king's side, and whispered a few words to the old king.

After the old king heard the knight's secret words, his expression didn't change at all, just signaling the knight to retreat.

"Your Highness..."

Joe Valentine noticed that something was wrong, so he whispered to test.

"Shalin was murdered."

The old king's voice was not high, and there was basically no emotional fluctuation on his face.

"Little Princess..."

Kingdom Legion Commander Heslet just wanted to stand up, and an arm pressed on his shoulder. It was Rowan Harvey.

"Heslet, calm down."

Rowan Harvey's eyelids drooped, and he bowed to the old king, whispering something.

"Hmm, then leave it to you. Handle this matter as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Kingdom Finance Officer Rowan Harvey stood up and walked out of the banquet hall. He still had very important things to handle, and even if the little princess was murdered, it was not his turn to investigate. The old king had professionals by his side, such as Iron Hand.

"Your Majesty, do you need to blockade the royal capital?"

Administrator Joe Valentine also whispered to the old king. At this time, there was not a trace of drunkenness on his face. As for the blockade of the royal capital he spoke of, it was actually to blockade other officials from entering and leaving the royal capital. Others couldn't do this, but Administrator Joe Valentine could definitely do it.

"Blockade until... tomorrow morning."

The old king nodded, and Joe Valentine also stood up and walked out of the banquet hall. This was when those officials and big wealthy merchants saw the clues. The old king was still sitting, and his two confidants actually left the scene first? This didn't make sense.

"Heslet, set off now, go to the front line."

"Obey."

Heslet didn't ask for the reason. The old king issued such an order at this time, absolutely with a purpose. As for what it was, Heslet was already used to 'obeying orders'. This was also the main reason he could hold military power.

Heslet also stood up and left, and he went straight to the front-line battlefield, which meant he would have little to do with this power struggle. The person who lost the most was the Third Prince. Heslet was a strong supporter of the Third Prince. ===== CHAPTER 1190 =====