Read as “sincerity”, written as “treasure”—the Queen’s words made the nobles realize that this year, they could no longer fob off the princess’s birthday gifts with just anything casual.
In the past, because Osborne I doted on Snow White extremely, he delivered everything he could give right to Snow White’s side. Snow White did not even need to wait until her birthday to possess all precious things.
Osborne I’s terrifying jealousy and pettiness also did not allow anyone to deliver anything more precious or better than what he gave to Snow White’s side.
The nobles were quite happy to take it easy. Every time Snow White’s birthday came, they served as mere foils to Osborne I, simply sending toys like small wooden rocking horses, little animals they drew themselves, or cloth dolls made by their own wives to Snow White, and that counted as done. Osborne I not only felt no dissatisfaction but even gleefully thought he had won, that his love for his daughter had triumphed over everyone else’s.
“Why have you gone silent, my lords? His Majesty and I both know you plan to present your treasured gifts on the third day of the princess’s birthday celebration to give her a surprise. But could you not reveal a little? Just a tiny bit, so that His Majesty and I can know how splendid your surprises are. And let the princess anticipate it even more.”
The more Ye Tang spoke, the greener the nobles’ faces grew. Snow White did not know that this old master of sarcastic jabs was taking passive-aggressive swipes at them. She instead showed a look of genuine anticipation.
Osborne I saw his daughter’s face full of expectation and chimed in: “Speak up.”
What could the nobles say? Admit that they had merely had their female family members prepare some embroidery and paintings?
“Th-this… Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen, and Your Highness the Princess, please forgive our rudeness. Revealing the surprise now would ruin it. Please wait until two days from now…”
Eric’s father forced a smile. He was fortunate to be wearing a hat. Otherwise, the sweat on his forehead would have flowed down.
“How disappointing…”
Ye Tang feigned disappointment with a sigh. Her golden eyes clearly wrote a threat: “Then His Majesty, the princess, and I shall wait two days to appreciate the gifts you lords have prepared.”
“I hope that by then, your gifts will be so splendid that His Majesty, the princess, and I feel these two days of waiting were worth it.”
Osborne I had not seen his comrades-in-arms, who had lived and died with him, look so deflated in a long time. Although he disliked his queen, her words and actions today brought him joy. For some inexplicable reason, he felt a refreshing sense of relief, like letting off steam.
—Osborne I somewhat sensed the nobles’ perfidy and neglect toward him. But rationally, Osborne I believed the nobles needed his protection. Emotionally, Osborne I trusted that his brothers-in-arms, who had shared life and death with him, would not betray him.
Osborne I never pursued the nobles’ perfidy and neglect. Because he did not want to be seen by his former comrades as an ungenerous king. Nor did he want to be accused by his former comrades of forgetting the vow they made to never betray each other.
But his queen was not him. If his queen wanted to discipline someone, that was her freedom. He could not be blamed for it, could he?
“Hey—”
After lunch, Snow White was taken by Brenda for a nap. Ye Tang also took her leave but was stopped by Osborne I.
“Does Your Majesty have any orders?”
Ye Tang appeared extremely good-tempered, without the slightest impatience.
“No orders… I just want to ask, what gifts do you want the nobles to bring out?”
…If it was just some jewels and fine clothes, he was not unwilling to give them directly to his queen. No, he meant nothing else. He just did not want his queen to covet the portion of birthday gifts belonging to Snow White.
Ye Tang smiled: “I want the nobles to bring out gifts that can fill the national treasury.”
Osborne I furrowed his brows: “What do you mean by that?”
It meant that due to your extravagant spending with no income, the things you bought had been marked up to exorbitant prices by the nobles, and the national treasury had long been emptied by the nobles, you silly goose.
Did you think the branch-family nobles would leave you even a single coin when the time came?
“Your Majesty, you saw the princess’s performance this morning as well. No doubt, more people will come afterward to give gifts to the princess and await the royal family’s return gifts. Please do not think these lowly folk have hearts of stone, each one greedily wanting to profit big from small investments. You should think this way—”
“‘Although we spent money, Snow White gained a reputation that no princess from any other country can match—fame!’ Consider it that Castellion’s royal family used money to buy prestige for the princess. Of course, if it could be done not with our money, but with others’ money…”
Ye Tang smiled sweetly. Her patient and guiding demeanor truly had the glow of a saintly mother.
Thus, Osborne I understood: the queen was paving the way for his Snow White. Once Snow White had a wise reputation resounding across the entire continent, who would oppose her becoming Castellion’s queen? And while paving the way for Snow White, his queen was also saving him money. She planned to spend the nobles’ money to build Snow White’s fame.
Osborne I’s gaze toward Ye Tang softened two degrees more. Diesel in the mirror watched Osborne I get thoroughly bamboozled by Ye Tang and could only silently mourn for this martial man for a second.
His lover… no, his master never did anything for just one purpose. Building Snow White’s wise reputation was certainly one, but there was a second.
The past Snow White had been a caged songbird untouched by the mortal world, knowing only the nobles and servants around her who fawned over her in the castle.
If Snow White ascended the throne in the future as king, she could not govern living people from an ivory tower as a monarch. She needed to understand the people, understand her country, value the livelihood of the people, strengthen the nation—that was the only way she could sit stably on the throne for long. And his master had for the first time let Snow White the princess contact ordinary people, see ordinary people, and slightly understand ordinary people’s living conditions.
“Queen—”
Osborne I lightly coughed, about to say something more, when he saw Ye Tang suddenly topple backward.
“Marinfield!”
The one who caught Ye Tang was not the shouting Osborne I, but Kay behind Osborne I.
Before the queen’s head could hit the floor, Kay scooped her up. Then he cradled the frail queen horizontally and, kneeling on one knee, reported to Osborne I: “Your Majesty, it seems Her Highness the Queen has fainted. Please allow me to escort Her Highness the Queen back to her chambers.”
For some reason, Osborne I felt displeased seeing Ye Tang cradled horizontally by Kay and subconsciously glanced around.
The maids were each shorter than the queen; having them carry her might result in dropping her. Specifically ordering another knight to replace Lord Osley in carrying away the queen would seem like a cover-up…
The martial man gave up thinking.
“Go quickly and return quickly.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kay said as he stood up.
Passing through the corridor and up the stairs, Kay felt the queen in his arms was very light, light like a little bird that had not eaten its fill.
…Did this person really eat properly?
Kay glanced at the queen and resisted the impulse to stroke her cheek.
Ye Tang had started with a fake faint but later truly fell asleep. This was because she had too many things to do; she wished she could turn twenty-four hours into seventy-two. It was also because Kay carried her back to her chambers too carefully.
Along the way, he not only tried his best not to let his armor make friction sounds but also held Ye Tang very steadily, making her feel like she was sleeping in a hanging basket—though her body was suspended in air, she felt very secure.
By the time Ye Tang woke up, Snow White had long been waiting by Ye Tang’s bedside.
“Mother!”
The little princess held back until her mother woke before daring to shed tears. She feared her crying would disturb her mother’s sleep.
“Snow White.”
Ye Tang opened her arms, and the little princess climbed onto the bed and burrowed into her mother’s embrace. Ye Tang kissed her black hair, then her eyes, and said: “Mother is fine.” Only then did the little princess break into a smile through her tears.
“Snow White, you did very well today.”
Ye Tang stroked Snow White’s hair. Snow White sniffled, hugged Ye Tang, and said: “Mother, I never knew before that there were people so poor… I didn’t know people couldn’t afford cloaks, I didn’t know people wore such thin clothes on such cold days, I didn’t know some people had no shoes and walked barefoot in the snow… I didn’t know there were people in the world who had never eaten white bread, I-I didn’t even know eggs originally came with shells…!”
Tears rolled down the little princess’s face once more.
“Then Snow White, you must know that you have the power to change all this.”
Ye Tang released Snow White and met her eyes: “At the same time, Snow White, you must know that becoming king is not a simple matter, and changing a country is even less easy. If you choose to sit on the throne, from now on you will surely see many more people even more pitiable than this, even more wretched than this… If you do nothing, those people might soon obtain ‘death’ as an eternal release. And their replacements will keep being born endlessly.”
“But if you want to change these people’s fates, you must pay a very great price. Your life will never be peaceful; your existence must be dedicated to endless learning and endless struggle. In your lifetime, you may not live to see whether all your choices were correct… You will agonize over whether you were right for ten years, twenty years, thirty years… a hundred years.”
Seeing Snow White tremble, Ye Tang asked: “Even so, are you still willing to exhaust your life fighting for these people?”
“I…”
Ye Tang’s question was indeed too profound and too cruel for an eight-year-old child.
Snow White very much wanted to answer her mother lightly, without any hesitation: “Yes!”
But she could not. Because she realized how many people’s lives, how many people’s existences she would bear.
Snow White felt ashamed of herself for lacking the courage to shoulder all this, and it made her hate her own incompetence and powerlessness.
“…I want to try, Mother. I don’t want to give up without trying! I don’t want to admit defeat from the start!”
“Even if I might not be able to change all this… I still want to try.”
Ye Tang smiled and wiped the tears from Snow White’s cheeks.
“Then Mother shall make a prophecy for such a Snow White.”
“Snow White, as long as you do not give up, this world will surely change for you.”
With that, Ye Tang took Snow White’s hands and kissed this pair of small hands that might bring hope to many people in the future.