Chen Lun pondered.
This thought that suddenly popped into his mind reminded him of what Arnold once said -
'Arno calls Martin Gusdu, the former Pope of the Sun Church, uncle. If she is really a prince, this would make sense. After all, the relationship between the Sun Royal Family and the Sun Church is close. '
But he soon had some doubts.
'But if this is the case, then why does Arnold, as a high-ranking person in the sun, stay at the end of the darkness and refuse to leave, even losing most of his memory... She seems to have not seen her sister Anna for a long time, and her impression is even She was still stuck in her childhood, and the Sun Royal Family almost never claimed to have two princes. What on earth was going on? '
Chen Lun frowned, always feeling that there was some secret hidden in this.
Perhaps this will be an unknown secret within the royal family.
Looking at the back of the Sun Princess, Chen Lun was thoughtful. Immediately, he put down these mental activities and returned his attention to the imperial celebration.
After the investiture ceremony, there was a song and dance performance arranged by the royal family. The event lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon. The residents of the royal city who came to participate in the celebration were still unsatisfied and left one after another with smiles.
But for the big shots on the dais, the celebrations have just begun.
Because Prince Dazlat held a royal dinner and invited all the big shots present to attend. After all, the occasion was special, so Chen Lun asked his men to leave first, taking only Fuluoyin with him to follow the royal family's etiquette team to the Palace of the Sun.
The prince prepared a special carriage for the guests. Chen Lun took Fuluoyin's hand and got into his own carriage. There were only two of them in the carriage.
"How are you, are you nervous? We are going to attend a royal dinner next, and there will be many real big shots in the empire present."
Chen Lun opened the drink cabinet in the carriage, took out a bottle of juice drink and a bottle of milk, poured a glass of orange juice for Fulu Yin, and asked aloud.
Fuluoyin was wearing a purple evening dress today, with her long golden hair tied up, revealing a pair of bright purple gemstone earrings, and the crescent moon pendant on her chest. She looked incredibly beautiful.
She stretched out her white hand to take the juice, took a sip and smiled.
"I'm not nervous because I'm with you."
Fu Luoyin's purple eyes stared at Chen Lun with a smile.
Chen Lun poured himself a glass of milk and smiled at her.
Wheel wheel wheel wheel...
The carriage traveled due north along the main road in the central area, and stopped after approaching the Palace of the Sun. The coachman told Chen Lun that he could only go up on foot, which was the royal family's rule.
Chen Lun thanked him, then led Fu Luoyin out of the carriage, climbed up the straight and spacious white marble steps.
There were many other invited dignitaries around, accompanied by various stewards of the royal family, walking along the steps towards the huge golden palace at the end.
The steps were very long, and Chen Lun and his wife walked for almost ten minutes before they arrived.
In front of the huge arch, there were already several teams of royal guests waiting. After seeing Chen Lun, one of the stewards strode forward and saluted him.
"Mr. Jack Spate, and this beautiful lady, please come over here. The dinner will start in two hours. Now you can walk around the banquet hall and enjoy music and snacks."
The steward moved gracefully, holding one hand behind his back, bowing slightly, and raised his hand to pretend to enter the door.
Chen Lun showed a polite smile, nodded and thanked, and then led Fuluoyin into the banquet hall on the side of the palace.
As soon as I entered, I heard the melodious violin and piano ensemble. Countless men and women in formal attire were walking around, stopping to talk or looking around.
The place is quite spacious and bright. The dozens of meters high dome is painted with exquisite murals, nine giant chandeliers are distributed in the shape of petals, and various large and small oil paintings are hung on the smooth painted walls, all by famous artists.
Here, Chen Lun even saw portraits of members of the Sun Royal Family.
"Is that the Sun King?"
Floyin's beautiful eyes reflected the light of the chandelier, and she turned to stare at a giant oil painting in the center of the banquet hall.
Chen Lun followed her gaze and saw that in the oil painting, which was more than ten meters high and four to five meters wide, there was a golden throne studded with various gemstones and crystals, with a blond man sitting on it.
She has deep facial features, a dull beard, and a calm but majestic expression. The golden armor on his body was engraved with countless patterns, and there were two lion heads on his shoulders. His reddish-brown cloak fell to the ground, making him look heroic.
"Yes, that is Emperor Trisul, Sun King Andre."
Chen Lun looked at the oil painting and said softly.
Although he only saw the imperial king from a distance once in the middle of version 2.0 in his previous life, he was quite impressed by him. Because the opponent was mobilizing on the front line of the war at the time, and his whole body was exuding golden light, like a god coming to the world, which was awe-inspiring.
"Let's go over there and have a look."
Chen Lun took Fuluoyin's hand and walked to the east side of the banquet hall. The walls here were covered with portraits of members of the Sun Royal Family.
In addition to Prince Dazlat and Princess Anna, there were dozens of men, women, and children. Chen Lun only recognized a few of them, and he had never seen the rest.
Even though he was known as a "know-it-all" in his previous life, he was limited by his level of strength at the time and did not have the opportunity to come into contact with such high-level information.
Among these portraits, one painting attracted Chen Lun's attention.
It was an empty chair, standing in the darkness, with a sword placed on the chair.
"You are curious why there is such a special painting among the portraits of members of the Sun Royal Family, right?"
At this time, a magnetic male voice came with a chuckle.
Chen Lun and Fuluoyin turned around and saw Prince Dazlat walking slowly, followed by the princess and several dignitaries.
"Your Majesty the Prince, Your Majesty the Princess."
Chen Lun bowed to him and saluted.
Dazlat looked at him with a smile, as if waiting for his answer.
"Yes, I'm curious."
Although Chen Lun vaguely guessed the answer, perhaps it had something to do with Arnold, he did not say it out loud, but pretended to be confused.
"It stands to reason that even if a member of the royal family passes away, their portraits will not be revoked. This is their inherent honor... But this member is a bit special. If Anna hadn't insisted on hanging this painting..."
The prince said, but the princess on the side suddenly frowned and interrupted coldly:
"Brother! Don't forget what father said!"
"Okay, okay, I understand, Anna..."
Dazlat shrugged and cast an apologetic look at Chen Lun.
"Sorry, Jack, this matter involves some royal scandal, so I can't tell you the truth."
He ignored the princess's cold eyes and patted Chen Lun's shoulder affectionately.
"I'm very optimistic about you, Jack. The stability of the empire will need your efforts in the future. Don't let me down."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Prince."
Chen Lun humbly touched his chest and lowered his head.
Dazlat nodded slightly, said sorry, then left the place with everyone behind him, and walked toward the other guests with a friendly smile.
As the other party left, the princess turned back again and glanced at Chen Lun with an indescribable calm look.
'What does this Princess Anna mean? '
Chen Lun was a little confused.
Immediately, an inaudible female voice came to his ears:
"Don't get too close to the prince."
Chen Lun was slightly startled.
He heard that the voice belonged to Princess Anna.
Looking up, the prince and his party had already walked away, and the princess followed her brother as usual, as if the voice just now was just Chen Lun's hallucination.
'Why did she remind me...'
Chen Lun became increasingly confused.
After taking a deep breath, he put the matter in his heart and immediately asked Fuluoyin:
"Are you hungry? Do you want to get some snacks?"
Floyin shook his head.
"Then let's find a place to sit for a while."
Chen Lun pointed to a sofa and said.
"Um."
Fuluoyin smiled and agreed.
*
*
*
As time went by, more and more guests arrived.
Soon the dinner began with the prince's announcement.
On one side of the stage, palace musicians played gentle and comfortable melodies, and everyone sat down to dine. The meals presented at the banquet were cooked by royal chefs, using the most expensive ingredients. Even Fuluoyin took a few bites. Finally, they all whispered to Chen Lun that it was delicious.
But at this moment, a sudden voice sounded:
"Everyone."
Everyone looked around and saw Duke Abirama standing up slowly at a round table, holding a wine glass in his hand and smiling.
"As we all know, the disaster in the empire originated from the turmoil caused by the Red Apple Church... Among the several forces that helped suppress the red disaster, the new Orthodox Church 'Kang's Council' contributed a lot. Here, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jack Spey. Baron Special offers a toast.”
He raised his glass to Chen Lun.
Everyone looked at this scene with smiles on their faces, and many dignitaries even applauded.
Chen Lun frowned secretly, not knowing what the Duke had in mind, but he still had to show off his skills, so he responded with an indifferent smile and also raised his cup, but it only contained hot milk.
After Duke Abirama finished drinking, he did not sit down, but continued to speak:
"But recently I heard a strange thing... Many residents of the royal city bought a god-given thing called 'Holy Water of Atonement' at Kang's Parliament. They said that drinking this holy water can wash away past sins. , but ended up drinking himself into the hospital.”
"So, there is something wrong with the so-called god-given thing that Kang's council is selling?"
Another young nobleman at the table with the Duke said in surprise.
"I don't dare to talk about the things of the Righteous God Church, but my men have collected some 'holy water', and I have brought it with me. I plan to take this opportunity to ask Baron Jack Speight what is going on?"
Duke Abirama said, taking out a reagent from his arms, which contained half a tube of transparent liquid.
Chen Lun looked at the thing in his hand and immediately understood what the other party meant.
'It seems that the Duke has been inquiring about the intelligence of Kang's council. This guy is very smart and caught the stupid things that idiot Brendan did before I came to the royal city... He wants to use this to prevent me from coming to power and indirectly attack Kang's parliament's reputation? '
He couldn't help but shake his head secretly.
The guests present were all high-ranking people, and they soon understood the meaning of the Duke's words. They all looked at the young man in black hat at the other table, wanting to see with great interest, this righteous man. How will the young senior leaders of the church respond?
"Uncle Abhirama, can you show me the 'holy water' in your hand?"
At this time, the prince in the main seat suddenly spoke.
"Of course, Prince Dazlat."
Duke Abirama knew very well what was in his hand. The prince asked for inspection, and he was not satisfied with it, so he readily gave the reagent bottle to the royal attendant and asked it to be delivered to the prince.
The prince opened the bottle cork under everyone's gaze, took a slight sniff, and then frowned slightly.
"It smells like tap water, with a faint smell of disinfectant."
After making his comment, he planned to take a sip, but was stopped by the stewards behind him.
"Your Majesty, no!"
The steward, Babaya, went directly to the prince and humbly offered him a drink.
"In that case, Babaya, come and see what this holy water is."
The prince smiled and handed the thing in his hand to the steward.
The latter didn't talk nonsense, just raised his head and took a sip. After a moment of silence, he spoke:
"This is tap water."
Everyone couldn't help but be in an uproar.
Kang's council actually used tap water to defraud believers of their property?
This is truly an appalling scandal!
If word spreads, it will not only discredit Kang's council, but also the imperial officials and the Sun Royal Family. After all, the Seven Righteous God Churches are hand-picked by the royal family.
"Jack, how do you explain this?"
The prince looked at Chen Lun seriously.
It seems that if he cannot give a reasonable explanation, the consequences will be extremely serious.
Chen Lun stood up slowly, bowed to Prince Dazlat, and then said calmly:
"This is just a one-sided statement by Duke Abirama, and the 'holy water' in his hand did not come from Kang's council. As for where it came from, I don't know..."
"You mean, Uncle Abhirama is slandering you?"
The prince said solemnly.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chen Lun said calmly.
"The church in Wangchengkang does provide a kind of 'holy water' to believers, but it is not a scam made from ordinary tap water... but has real extraordinary power, which can heal injuries and diseases and delay aging."
He took out a golden cup containing water from the fountain of youth.
"This is the real 'Holy Water'. Your Majesty the Prince can inspect it."
Seeing this, the prince nodded and turned to ask Babaya, the chief steward, to get the holy water from Chen Lun's hand.
This time, after taking a sip of the fountain of youth water, Babaye raised his eyebrows.
"Indeed, as Mr. Jack said, this is an extraordinary thing, containing rich life force... It can not only cure injuries and diseases, but also prolong life."
The guests all looked surprised, and extraordinary things were presented to the believers?
Kang's Parliament is exactly as its name suggests, and it's quite Kang...
Chen Lun took this opportunity and added:
"As the new Orthodox Church, the Council of Kang tried its best to protect the believers. How could it deceive their money and trample their bodies like Duke Abirama said..."
Duke Abirama's smile gradually disappeared and he looked at him expressionlessly.
Chen Lun took out two more "Pearl Girl Meimei" developed by Maggie, handed them to the head steward Babaya, bowed to the prince and princess and said:
"These are two potions made from holy water. They have stronger effects. After taking them, they can not only delay aging, but also improve one's charm and mental agility... Here they are presented as a gift for the imperial celebration to the prince and his wife. Your Majesty the Princess."
The prince chuckled and nodded appreciatively.
But Duke Abirama suddenly interjected:
"Baron Jack Speight, you said that I slandered you, but the dozen believers who were sent to the hospital because of the 'holy water' are real witnesses! You..."
"Shut up."
Princess Anna suddenly said coldly.
Everyone looked at her in surprise, even the prince was slightly startled.
Princess Anna turned to look at Duke Abirama, who looked confused, and said slowly:
"Duke, I know you have a good relationship with Archbishop Terrence, but this is not the reason for you to deliberately make things difficult for Jack on such an occasion. Put away this boring trick, I don't want to listen to you anymore."
Duke Abirama was stunned at first, then took a deep breath and bowed his head humbly to the princess. He knew that the several trump cards he still had hidden in his hand were useless... Princess Anna's words meant that the plan failed.
Chen Lun was a little surprised. He didn't know why Princess Anna would speak for him, but he also looked at the table at Sun Church. Terrence glanced at him expressionlessly.
"I have some misunderstandings with Your Majesty Terrence in the past. I would like to apologize to her..."
With a smile on his face, Chen Lun bowed to the Sun Church.
"However, when we suppressed the Rotef family last time, we had a tacit cooperation with His Majesty Terrence. I hope there will be such an opportunity in the future."
Sun Church Pope Difeni and other senior officials remained silent, as if Chen Lun did not exist. Terrence, who was being watched by everyone, put down his knife and fork, wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and nodded towards Chen Lun.
"There will be opportunities for that, Jack."
Terrence said calmly.
Chen Lun seemed not to hear the indifference in his tone, and the smile on his face did not diminish.
"In that case, please continue to eat."
The prince raised his hand to signal.
The guests present felt sorry to see this good show come to an end. They wished that the conflict between the two parties would become more intense... This would be interesting.
"pity……"
The high-level officials of the History and Ceremony Association and the Hailing Regiment secretly communicated.
The top leaders of the Moon Sect, Star Sect and Madman School remained silent throughout the whole process, seemingly indifferent to this.
