V2: Chapter 154: Daughter's Birthday Banquet
Like a never-ending drama, shortly after the two traitors left, Doris's henchmen arrived.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
The leading nobleman strode quickly to Doris, his narrow, beady eyes twitching slightly as he bowed in a slightly lowered voice.
"I summoned you all here today for nothing particularly important. I just wanted to remind you that the King's searches have become increasingly intense lately. You must ensure your safety."
Doris wore a cold, insincere smile, then softened her tone:
"After all, Gael will rely on you in the future."
Hearing this almost polite tone, and the tense content completely at odds with it, the leading nobleman's brows furrowed slightly. He then subtly observed the Queen's flawless smile, a sudden feeling of relief washing over him: "It seems nothing serious has happened this time."
"Also, you must be wary of the Langwendi family. Avoid any conflicts of interest with them. In business matters, try to avoid direct confrontation. Give them what they want for now, but don't cause any disputes or easily offend them.... Remember, never let them target you."
Recently, quite a few families have been driven to bankruptcy by the Langwendi family through underhanded tactics. Even those families that haven't gone bankrupt have generally developed significant conflicts with other noble families.
Doris could easily guess that Liang Di and her group were involved in this.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
The nobleman, after a moment's thought following Doris's advice, nodded in agreement.
“You all need to use your brains more, think about developing other businesses, don’t always limit yourselves to the existing market. Take Liang Di, for example, isn’t she very clever? In today’s world, innovation is the inexhaustible source of vitality, you all need to understand that.... But then again....”
“The money and power we currently possess are essentially interconnected. Power cannot exist without wealth, and wealth cannot exist without power to protect it. The total market size is finite. Whether for our own needs or to limit the Langwendi family, we must fight to the end in market competition and snatch market share from them.”
The nobles understood perfectly what Doris was saying. They had long understood the necessity of innovation, but their business acumen was limited, and they couldn’t come up with any new ways to make money. Snatching market share from the now-powerful Langwendi family was no easy task.
Despite this, faced with Doris's self-righteous educational pronouncements, they could only nod and bow with wry smiles, saying things like, "We will definitely try their best," and "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, entrust them to us."
After bidding farewell to the nobles, Doris breathed a slight sigh of relief, a hint of gloom flashing in her eyes.
From this point on, her plan officially began.
Meanwhile, Liang Di wasn't idle either. She wasn't idle, but for different reason.
She wasn't idle about celebrating Carol's birthday, throwing a birthday party.
Of course, this time it was a grand affair, because everyone knew of Carol's existence. Although they didn't know where the rumor had originated, since the rumors were already rampant, they couldn't hide it any longer.
Otherwise, Carol would inevitably be labeled an illegitimate child by public opinion; after all, an adopted daughter is much better than an illegitimate one.
“Carol will be four years old soon…” Liang Lin felt time had flown by. She had transformed from a sixteen-year-old girl into a mature twenty-one-year-old woman.
Five years isn't a long time, but it's certainly not short either. How many five-year periods does one have in a lifetime?
So much had happened in those five years that she often felt disoriented, still feeling like a teenager, yet looking down, her daughter was already four years old.
“Sister Liang Lin, which of these two dresses I designed for Carol do you think is better? If you're not satisfied with either, I'll design another one.”
Liang Di ran excitedly towards Liang Lin, holding two sheets of paper.
Although Liang Lin's aesthetic sense wasn't great, and she couldn't appreciate profound artistic conception, both of Liang Di's designs were undeniably beautiful.
Liang Lin leaned closer, stroking her chin thoughtfully for a moment. Finally, she pointed to the light pink lace tutu on the left.
“Let’s go with this one. This one’s cuter. The one next to her is too mature; it’s too early for her to wear it.”
“Okay, whatever you say, Sister Liang Lin.” Liang Di put away the papers.
Liang Lin, however, looked somewhat worried.
“Do you think it’s really a good idea for us to announce Carol’s identity so soon?”
Liang Di, however, didn’t seem to care.
“What’s wrong with it? Carol’s reputation outside is now that of an illegitimate child. We can’t let our daughter live under the shadow of that title, can we? Besides, the Langwendi family is powerful now; no one will dare to gossip about us to our faces anymore. We’ll announce that she’s an adopted daughter, and that’s what it means. And even if she’s just an adopted daughter of the Langwendi family.... not just anyone has the right to talk about her.”
To be honest, even now, Liang Lin was still completely baffled.
Who exactly leaked the news? But it didn’t matter anymore; things had already come to this.
Days passed by like this.
It was more than four months later by the time Carol's birthday arrived.
Doris's side still hadn't found anything. The people at the Seaside Magic Tower hadn't found any intelligent, high-level tentacles; one had even been seriously injured and returned to the Magic Tower headquarters to recuperate, replaced by another spy.
Doris was somewhat frustrated. If they didn't speed things up, Liang Di would truly possess wealth that even the Empire couldn't match.
The King was well aware of this and worked even harder to bring Liang Di and Gael together.
This was merely the birthday banquet of the adopted daughter of the Langwendi family, something the royal authority shouldn't have required to attend, but the King still summoned Gael.
Doris was worried and wanted to go too, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and restrained herself, sending her noble henchmen instead to keep a close watch on Liang Di and Gael's movements, ensuring they didn't have too much contact.
"Ah, Miss Liang Di, this child is so cute, those eyes... they look just like yours!"
The moment Gael saw Carol, he froze. He felt the child resembled someone—or rather, two people. When he looked at Liang Di and Liang Lin, he finally confirmed his suspicions.
Although she was only a young four-year-old girl, the resemblance between her eyebrows and eyes, and the overlap of her facial features... she looked like both of them!
How strange! Why did this child resemble both Liangdi and Liang Lin? Wasn't she supposed to be an adopted daughter? Could she be the illegitimate child of one of them?
Gael looked at Liang Di, then at Liang Lin. He couldn't help but gasp. This child looked remarkably like both of them.
Whose illegitimate daughter was she?
It was too strange. It gave him the feeling that she was the offspring of their union.
Gael chuckled at his own absurd idea.
How could two women possibly have children? It was impossible.
"Yes," Liang Di replied dismissively, "My sister and I adopted her because she looks so much like us. Otherwise, why would we adopt a child for no reason? It must be because she's special. So many children are abandoned these days, but we chose her specifically because she looks like us."
She rambled on for a while, but it all boiled down to one word: looks.
This reason was plausible enough, and Gael felt he could barely believe it, but he still preferred the theory that Carol was Liang Lin's illegitimate daughter.
Because Liang Di had been staying in the capital, although she had disappeared for a month or two, claiming to be recuperating. However, after those months, he occasionally saw her at parties; her stomach was flat, showing no signs of pregnancy.
So, that left only Liang Lin, who had disappeared for almost a year. After this woman came back, she brought a child with her, claiming it wasn't hers. Who would believe that?
But no one dared to bring it up directly. Considering Liang Lin's own status and the Langwendi family's current immense power, no one could easily risk provoking her.
This banquet was undoubtedly the epitome of luxury.
Moonlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, illuminating the resplendent banquet hall and adding a touch of fantasy to this lavish gathering. Inside, high on the domed ceiling, murals depicted the opulent feasting of nobles.
In the center of the banquet hall, a long table, dozens of meters long, was covered with silver cutlery and exquisite porcelain plates, laden with various delicacies and fine wines. Golden-roasted turkey, tender steaks, colorful vegetable platters… each dish was meticulously prepared, exuding a mouthwatering aroma.
The nobles, dressed in magnificent attire or draped in jewel-encrusted robes and adorned with glittering jewelry, chatted and laughed, their manners elegant. They sat around long tables, clinking glasses—a seemingly harmonious scene, but beneath the surface, many undercurrents surged.
In the distance, a band played lively music, its melodies echoing throughout the banquet hall. On the dance floor, ladies in flowing gowns and gentlemen in formal attire danced gracefully, their steps light and elegant.
A dazzling display of lights and intoxicating luxury… what remains beneath this veil of glamour? The glittering lights that ordinary people yearn for are, in reality, nothing more than an ugly undercurrent of materialism.
Liang Di watched all this with a smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Liang Lin watched her awkward figure from a distance, then, carrying the drowsy Carol in her arms, took a few steps forward and stood beside her.
In a corner of the banquet hall, several young knights stood silently, their armor inlaid with various exquisite gems, shimmering like stars under the dazzling light from the hall's ceiling. Their hands gripped the hilts of their sheathed longswords, the scabbards themselves covered in ancient and profound runes.
They were not from the Langwendi family.
It wasn't hard to guess that there were people from both the king and the queen among them.
In short, they definitely didn't trust Gael.
Liang Di glanced at them briefly before losing interest and quickly looked away.
Liang Di and Liang Lin stood on the second floor, gently raising their glasses to the nobles below.
"Welcome everyone to my daughter's birthday banquet. We didn't announce it beforehand because we were afraid of rumors affecting my and my sister's lives."
At this point, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"But unexpectedly, some villain, from who knows where, and with what 'intelligence' they got their hands on, has already spread rumors that 'Carol is our illegitimate daughter,' hehehe..."
Liang Di suddenly let out a cold laugh, a chilling threat that sent shivers down the spines of everyone who heard it.
The lively hall fell into absolute silence. No one spoke; they all looked up blankly at Liang Lin and Liang Di on the second floor, and little Carol in Liang Lin's arms.
"Besides celebrating my daughter's birthday, there's another very important fact to announce, or rather, to clarify, at today's banquet. Carol, she bears a resemblance to both my sister and me, and we felt a strong connection, so we took her in and adopted her. Therefore, there's no such thing as an illegitimate child." Liang Di's voice grew more forceful.
"I hope everyone remembers this fact. After all, when rumors start circulating, we have to go to great lengths to clarify them, and doing the same thing too often gets tiring."
Liang Di paused for a moment.
When she spoke again, she narrowed her eyes slightly:
"If we're tired or uncomfortable, everyone's life won't be comfortable either. I think everyone here at today's banquet is intelligent and surely understands how to make life easier..."
As soon as she finished speaking, no one else spoke. The large hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Alright, that's all I wanted to say." Liang Di suddenly smiled, raising her wine glass slightly once more. "Happy fourth birthday to my daughter, Carol! May you have all the good things in the world."
With that, she raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp.
As Liang Di smiled and gestured with her empty glass, the atmosphere around them finally warmed up again. Everyone followed suit, raising their glasses and drinking their fill.
"Hahaha~ I knew it! How could the noble young lady of the Langwendi family have a child out of wedlock? Miss Liang Lin and Miss Liang Di don't seem like that kind of people at all."
"Seriously, I don't know which bastard spread this rumor, slandering the two young ladies of the Langwendi family. People like that should be thrown into a vat of boiling oil!"
"Happy birthday, Miss Carol! May the stars illuminate your future."
"Miss Carol is so cute! Suddenly, I deeply feel the regret of not having a daughter at home..."
"Yes, putting aside her childishness, Miss Carol really does resemble Miss Liang Lin and Miss Liang Di. So cute as a child, she'll definitely be a great beauty when she grows up."
With just one definitive statement from Liang Di in public, public opinion completely shifted.
Their change of heart was faster than flipping through a book.
Author's Note
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