As night fell, the lights came on, and the bustling Hurgana seemed completely unaware of the undercurrents lurking beneath him.

Just like the scene of the Lantern Festival in Xialin's previous life, every family, every shop, and every street is lit up with lanterns covered with paper, linen, gauze and even silk, and bamboo as a frame, setting off the whole of Urgana with a bright light.

Legend has it that after the defeat of the Battle of the Black Sun, Albis the Great pondered over how to defeat a terrifying enemy who could devour the darkness brought by the sun, and finally came up with the idea of using this portable lantern to provide a source of light.

Over time, the number and type of lanterns hanging at the door of the house on New Year's Day in the Sassen Empire also showed the wealth and status of their owners.

Therefore, this year, because of the availability of cheaper paper that can be used as the skin of lanterns, ordinary ordinary families who had no way to support this expenditure also joined in the excitement and made one or two inexpensive paper lanterns or gave them to their children to play with, or hung them in front of their homes.

At festivals where fires and flammables are everywhere, fires are most likely to occur, and in order to prevent fires, they have prepared wooden barrels and tanks filled with water in every house and on the streets.

Although many of the great nobles and merchants of the prosperous Hurgana played with these lanterns, in the form of flowers, beasts, weapons and armor, books, and even stacked these beautiful lanterns in various forms into a mountain of luxurious and magnificent lanterns, it was clear that they could not compare to the financial resources of the true rulers of the Sassen Empire.

In the Longmian Palace, which usually looks luxurious and noble, lanterns of different shapes made of various colors of silk are decorated everywhere, and the corridors and palaces are set off like a fairyland, if it is not for these lanterns to be recycled, even the royal family cannot afford such a huge expense.

"What a beautiful scene! No matter what year you see these lanterns, it feels so wonderful!"

Beside the princess Dorothea, Count Karen sighed as he watched the colorful lanterns along the way with his hands behind his back, without the slightest hint of the entanglement and tension on the face of the princess Dorothy.

"Count Karen, why did you say my brother would choose the same path as us?"

The princess Dorothea didn't care about Count Karen's exclamation, and asked with some confusion and confusion.

"I guess I can't wait! Over the past three years, His Majesty has summoned several of our ministers, each time rumouring that a Crown Prince would be chosen from among you and His Royal Highness, but each time it ended with His Majesty's hesitation.

This time, Earl Hurt, Earl Hubbard, and our two Earls went to His Majesty to hear their hearts, but it was no different from before, and if it weren't for your Royal Highness, you believe too much in Sir Charlin's speculation, we might still have a lot of time to prepare."

Count Karen thought for a moment and replied.

"But if my father does decide to declare my brother crown prince tonight, we probably won't have the slightest chance to do so."

The princess Dorothea did not agree with Count Karen's words, even if it was as Count Cullen said, she could not afford to bet on that possibility, not to mention that in this bet, the odds of their enlightened faction winning were far less than that of the conservatives.

"Indeed, this is why Earl Stewart and I agreed to carry out the 'Capture the Pearl' plan, and despite the help of the Imperial Treasure, His Majesty's health is clearly worse than ever.

Since the end of the last court meeting, we have been recuperating in the Winter Palace, and we cannot afford to bet on the possibility that His Majesty will change his mind and determine the crown prince."

Count Karen also shared the uneasiness of the princess, but the two of them had already arrived at the Aran Hall, which was brightly lit as if it were daytime, and he continued to interrupt the topic:

"Your Royal Highness, let's not talk about this for now, let's go to the banquet first!"

Stepping into the brightly lit Aran Hall, where the court attendants and maids gathered, you can immediately smell the aroma of delicious delicacies cooked by various royal chefs

For the small family.

The tongue of the fire snake chicken, the crest meat of the thick boar, the tail of the cloud bird, and the fresh raw meat of the sharp arrow flying fish...... A wide variety of Warcraft organs are cooked into delicious dishes by skilled royal chefs, exuding tantalizing aromas and magic.

Even the drinks served are said to come from the moonshine brewed in the half-elven kingdom of Canaan across the sea, and the sweet dream wine brewed by the witch doctors of the southern native states.

Both of these precious and rich magical wines have incredible effects, moonshine can slightly boost the drinker's mental power, while helping mages meditate better and knights better feel the magic in their bodies.

After drinking, the dream wine can greatly improve the mental power in a short period of time, and at the same time let the drinker have a beautiful dream.

These two rare wines do not appear on the market even in Hurgana, but only in small auctions after the banquets of the nobles, where they are exchanged for some precious things, but here there are a dozen small oak barrels placed on each table.

What is surprising is that Emperor Plit, who was the last to arrive in previous years, actually sat on the main seat at the end of the long table in advance today, and was in good spirits and talked about some things with the palace minister Fosk Noll who was standing aside.

Seeing his daughter come in with Count Karen, he beckoned to the two.

"Gui'an, Father! May your body be as healthy as the evergreen cypress tree!"

"Your Majesty, in the new year, may your light shine like the sun in the sky, shining on the people of the vast land of the Empire!"

The two stepped forward to send their respective greetings, and Emperor Pulit smiled and blessed his two close people:

"My dear daughter Dorothea, I hope that your beauty will be even more dazzling, attracting countless handsome young people to bend their waists for you! May your wisdom continue to accompany me, Count Karen! Okay, please take a seat! When Earl Hutt arrives, the dinner will begin!"

"Yes, Father!"

Empress Dorothea glanced at Prince Fairmode, who was already seated on the left hand side of Emperor Pullet, and sat down on the second vacant seat on Emperor Pulit's right-hand side.

In the seats beside them were the young Third Princesses Silia Ahlika, the Fourth Princesses Anna Ahlica, and the Fifth Prince, Carlyle Ahlika, and then the Imperial Ministers.

As for the mothers of these princes and princesses, they did not have half a position in the court tradition of the Sassen Empire, so it was naturally impossible to go to this long table, even the mother of Fermod Ahlika.