Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Since the queen has said this, it means that the king has already agreed. As for whether the elder brother knows about it, Hebrew Adam is unsure.

Although Hebrew Adam is strongly opposed to the queen hosting a birthday party during such tense times, since the invitations have already been sent out, as her son, he cannot ask her to cancel and embarrass her. He also cannot stop the queen from inviting his friends.

After all, attending a birthday party at the royal palace is a great honor for most of his friends, particularly for noble families.

Unable to refuse his mother’s request and unwilling to let anything happen to his friends, Hebrew Adam must plan how to ensure their safety.

While he may not have as much power as his elder brother, after the last training session, the king secretly entrusted him with some covert forces that he could utilize.

On the surface, he will mobilize his entire royal guard to protect himself and his friends. With both overt and covert protective measures, their safety during the journey should be well-secured.

However, having experienced many events and several brushes with death, Hebrew Adam’s previous arrogance has been worn away. Although he believes his arrangements are solid, he acknowledges that his youth and inexperience mean he should not be complacent and needs to carefully review his plan for any potential flaws.

After further contemplation and listing detailed protective measures, he finally felt relieved when he found no apparent flaws.

However, Hebrew Adam thought again about what he and his friends represent to the Gus Empire, and the importance of not making any mistakes.

Fearing that his own power might still be insufficient and his plans might not be comprehensive enough, and unsure whether his elder brother knows about the matter, he sent a message to his elder brother to inform him of the situation.

Although it was already late at night, his elder brother, who is diligent in state affairs during the day and trains late into the night, was likely still training and had not yet rested.

Having first served in the military before transitioning to politics, the elder brother is not only more experienced in these matters but also sharper and more thorough in his thinking. Hebrew Adam thought about this as he sent the message.

After receiving the message from his younger brother, the Crown Prince pondered for a while before messaging Hua Deqi and then replied to Hebrew Adam: “We will discuss this tomorrow.”

This indicates that his elder brother does not currently know about the queen’s planned banquet. If he did, he would be more assured and not simply pondering in silence.

The elder brother rarely returns to the palace and does not concern himself with the queen’s affairs. It is therefore normal that he is unaware of the queen’s plans if she wishes to keep them hidden from him.

Hebrew Adam could only follow his brother’s advice, go to bed, and wait for news the next day.

Early the next morning, Hua Deqi arrived at the Crown Prince’s office and reported: “What’s the plan here? Holding a banquet at this time—does she want to make it easier for others to scheme against her son?”

“The queen’s motives are indeed suspicious. Even the king wasn’t informed beforehand. But since she sent out the invitations yesterday, we have to go through with it for the palace’s reputation,” the Crown Prince said, clearly irritated.

“She also invited all of Hebrew Adam’s elite classmates.”

“What?” Hua Deqi exclaimed, like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on. “The bounty list issue hasn’t been resolved yet. We can’t let Hebrew and Manni leave the school.”

“The bounty list issue must be resolved as soon as possible. However, since they have been hiding at the school, others have been lurking without finding an opportunity, and we have no clues either,” the Crown Prince replied.

“I don’t want them to take any risks, not even a little. If anything happens to them, I would definitely be beaten up by the elders,” Hua Deqi said candidly.

“If they stay inside, those people will put pressure on the school, and over time, the school may not be safe either. It might be better to turn this situation to our advantage and see if we can eliminate the threat. Also, the queen’s decision to hold the banquet might have been influenced by someone behind the scenes, who used her to lure Hebrew and his friends out of the school. She is Hebrew’s mother, and it’s important for her to be aware of some things. I’m afraid she might inadvertently put Hebrew in danger by not knowing anything. Telling her directly might not work, but this could be a good opportunity,” the Crown Prince said thoughtfully.

The Crown Prince rarely spoke so much. His detailed analysis indicated that his decision was well thought out, not made on a whim.

In fact, Hua Deqi knew that the Crown Prince’s approach was the most appropriate. Once he accepted that he couldn’t prevent the situation, he calmed down, realizing that if he couldn’t stop it, he had to do his best, which was his strength.

The two of them spent a full hour in the office finalizing the security measures.

As Hua Deqi was about to leave to put the plan into action, he hesitated and turned back. The Crown Prince looked at him with an emotionless expression. If this guy turned back, it usually meant there was a troubling issue.

“Can we acknowledge our sister now? Uncle and Aunt know about her, and Aunt has already contacted her privately. Our sister is aware of the situation. If we continue to ignore her, she might think we don’t value her at all,” Hua Deqi asked. “We previously avoided acknowledging her to prevent her identity from attracting dangerous attention from certain organizations. But now that she’s being targeted with a bounty, it might be better for her to return to our family.”

“There is that possibility. The bounty could even double, and it is very likely,” the Crown Prince replied with a glance.

Hua Deqi sighed, feeling frustrated. “The elders in our family are also aware of Manni’s existence. They are pressuring me. Given her current situation, it would be better for her to return to the Hua De family. This way, we can station family guards around her openly, protecting her and deterring any threats.”

“With our cousin returning, what about Xiao Li? Do you have a proper arrangement? If cousin’s identity is exposed and not handled well, Xiao Li’s position will be very awkward. We can’t ruin Xiao Li’s future.”

“Twins—Uncle and Aunt have agreed that Xiao Li and Manni are to be considered as twins.”

“Although Aunt’s mistakes are considerable, she has really suffered over the years. I was also planning to suggest this approach,” the Crown Prince nodded, acknowledging it as the best solution available.

“This is really the fault of the Amber family. Fortunately, Aunt and her family are different, or Xiao Li wouldn’t be in such a good position today,” Hua Deqi said with a cold smile.

Although today’s situation was 80% due to the mistakes of Hua Deli’s biological mother and the Amber family’s direct line, 10% was due to the current queen, and the remaining 10% was due to the mistakes of Hua Deyu and his spouse. The only innocent party was Manni.

“Fortunately, the woman who took Manni from the Amber family was a good one, taking care of Manni diligently over the years. Otherwise, our Hua De family would never have let the Amber family off the hook,” Hua Deqi said firmly.

“As if you would let them off,” the Crown Prince said with a sidelong glance, implying he knew well enough.