Guanliang's hand holding the champagne glass trembled slightly.
'Marshal, you really are a once-in-a-generation logic genius!'
In the past, Guanliang never dug into his superior's intentions. Like the other colleagues, he would just throw his brain away, become an emotionless wage slave, and mechanically carry out orders from above.
This time, he couldn't help breaking his own rule. He couldn't help trying to figure his superior out.
The facts proved that the way a mentally ill person thinks was something a normal person like him simply couldn't understand.
Guanliang could only complain silently in his heart.
'Marshal, just how did you manage to tell that a ten-year-old little girl has the qualifications to inherit the position of marshal?!'
'Even if we take a step back and don't discuss that question first…'
'Don't you think morally kidnapping a ten-year-old child is a bit too much?!'
'She's only ten! Ten years old and she's supposed to take over an entire building!'
Of course, given the marshal's character, he wouldn't care who he gave a building to. But if it was given to the heir he had chosen… that was a different matter.
'What, when the time comes and Hua doesn't become the Xianzhou marshal, are you going to take the property back and leave her in debt?!'
Oh, the marshal wouldn't take it back. Every annual meeting, who knows how many assets he gives away, would he really care about a mere building?
Whether Hua becomes the Xianzhou marshal or not, just the assets she received from this one annual meeting alone would be enough for her to squander until the end of cosmic civilization.
But… if Hua doesn't take over the Xianzhou Alliance, then he, Guanliang, is absolutely guaranteed to get promoted and work even more overtime.
Guanliang roared internally.
At this moment, Hua, who was standing nearby, was once again egged on by everyone to draw a lottery.
General Yaoqing took the lottery ticket from Hua's hand. After glancing at the prize, his expression stiffened slightly.
He looked toward his own marshal for help, then raised his voice to announce the result, "As expected of Her Highness the Crown Princess. This time, it's a cruise ship..."
Zero smiled reassuringly at his subordinate. Upon hearing the result, he finally understood why the other man had been looking at him like that.
So that's what it was, they were afraid he'd misunderstand.
Clearly, the number of participation prizes and third prizes was much smaller, yet Hua had drawn a third prize twice in a row.
His subordinates were terrified he'd think they weren't doing their jobs.
Zero almost laughed out loud.
Hua's luck was truly something else.
After reassuring his subordinate and seeing him calm down, Zero lowered his head and tore open one of the lottery tickets in his hand.
He looked at the prize, participation prize, one hundred million patrol credits.
Zero's smile slowly faded.
Guanliang leaned over to take a look and let out a snorting laugh.
He urged, "What about the remaining two?"
Zero said nothing, tore open the remaining two tickets, glanced at them once, and put them back into his pocket.
He sighed.
"This time there were only three participation prizes, and I actually drew all of them."
The corner of Guanliang's mouth twitched.
The marshal's luck… really was consistently on brand.
He honestly didn't know what to say.
Was it bad luck? Or good luck?
If you say it's good, he couldn't draw anything other than patrol credits.
If you say it's bad, he managed to draw the only three participation prizes out of hundreds of first-, second-, and third-tier prizes…
Just as he was thinking that, the group of colleagues suddenly saw something and cried out in surprise.
Zero and Guanliang followed the sound and looked over. General Yaoqing was holding up a lottery ticket high, letting out a sigh of relief as he shouted, "As expected of Her Highness the Crown Princess! This time, it's the first prize, the most famous vacation planet in the entire cosmos..."
Everyone else present cooperated by applauding, sparing no praise as they showered their Crown Princess with compliments.
Zero listened while watching Hua being surrounded by the crowd, looking like she wished she could crawl into a crack in the floor. He leisurely took a sip of wine.
"Two third prizes and one first prize. That's not bad."
Guanliang couldn't stand watching anymore. He returned to Hua's side to help her out of the situation.
When General Yaoqing saw Guanliang, his eyes lit up, and he immediately handed over the lottery box.
This time, he didn't reveal the strategist-in-chief's prize in front of everyone. After Guanliang took three tickets, he withdrew his hand and went to look for someone else.
Guanliang held Hua's hand with one hand and the lottery tickets with the other as they walked in the direction where his former superior had been.
They didn't find him.
Guanliang immediately understood.
In the marshal's own words, he was a person who wasn't good at socializing. Every time he attended a social event, he would unconsciously find some remote, deserted spot and stay there alone.
The colleagues all knew this well. Except at specific times, no one would take the initiative to disturb him.
But only Guanliang knew that the man was using the opportunity to scroll forums and cram business-dinner conversation scripts.
His superior sat in a high position. When dealing with close subordinates, it was fine, no need for polite pleasantries. But this time, it wasn't just close subordinates; there was also the Vidyadhara Dragon Venerable.
Guanliang took Hua with him and searched around. Eventually, they found Zero at an extremely hidden dessert table.
Zero was bent over his jade terminal. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head, saw familiar faces, then silently turned back to look at the assorted desserts in front of him.
He picked and chose, took a paper-cupcake decorated with strawberries, and handed it to Hua.
Hua took it, picked up a spoon from the dessert table, and quietly started eating.
Zero casually asked, "Guanliang, what did you draw?"
Guanliang moved quickly and soon tore open all three tickets.
"A fishery, real estate, and a star destroyer."
Zero paused, then asked, "A fishery?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own tickets.
"I'll trade patrol credits with you."
Guanliang didn't really care and was about to hand over the ticket.
He had attended many annual meetings and drawn all kinds of prizes.
Items drawn at the annual meeting didn't need to be taxed, and privately they could exchange them.
The marshal didn't care about these things and usually turned a blind eye.
Sometimes Guanliang would also take prizes he wasn't interested in, like star destroyers, and trade them with colleagues for some novel gadgets.
As he handed over the ticket, he casually asked his superior, "What do you want a fishery for?"
Zero replied, "Fishing."
Guanliang's feelings instantly became complicated, and he withdrew the ticket.
Looks like his superior had already noticed something was wrong with his emotional state.
Not only that, he was actively trying to solve the problem.
'Given the marshal's temperament… if he couldn't catch any fish, wouldn't he just blast the water with artillery?!'
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if his superior didn't use weapons and honestly sat there waiting for fish to bite…
If those colleagues found out… wouldn't they jump into the water themselves and hang fish on his hook?
Zero was just about to take it when he saw Guanliang suddenly pull his hand back. He frowned.
After thinking for a moment, Guanliang suggested, "If you want to calm your mind, why not try other methods?"
Zero had only asked for the fishery on a whim.
As for whether fishing could really cultivate the mind… he truly didn't know.
Seeing that Guanliang had other options, Zero asked without thinking, "What methods?"
Guanliang wracked his brain. Unable to think of a proper way to dissuade his superior from fishing, he could only start talking nonsense.
"For example, learning an instrument, archery, painting, calligraphy, flower arranging, things like that…"
He had originally planned to copy the Six Arts of the Gentleman, rituals, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, mathematics, but then thought of his superior's personality and had to delete the most aggressive option, charioteering.
In ancient times, "charioteering" meant driving a chariot. Today, chariots had been replaced by star skiffs and star destroyers.
If his superior went out piloting a star destroyer… that would be disastrous.
Zero glanced at Guanliang and selectively ignored the option of practicing calligraphy.
Calligraphy? Practice what calligraphy? Hadn't he written enough over the past several thousand years?
As for the other options… self-study was out of the question.
Zero had neither the time nor the inclination to teach himself.
He would definitely have to hire teachers with absolutely no ties to hostile forces.
After investigating, he'd invite them to Yaoqing to teach classes.
Zero thought it through and realized that from selecting candidates, to throwing money around to silence them and make them keep secret everything related to him…
Every step would cost patrol credits.
Thinking this far, Zero decisively gave up.
"Forget it. I'll just focus on brewing tea."
He happened to be good at the tea ceremony. Rounding it up, wasn't that similar enough to painting and calligraphy? Didn't it also cultivate the mind?
Nowadays, he was no longer the workaholic who processed tasks day and night.
Zero no longer needed to help other Xianzhou generals handle affairs and had plenty of time to relax.
Before, it was 007. Now it was 996.
Of course, to scam his heir, he recently had to strictly follow a four-hours-on, three-days-off work system, and then use the time when the other was at school or asleep to handle the remaining work.
Zero and Guanliang fed Hua several more small cakes in a row. When General Yaoqing finally came over, the two sheepishly stopped.
They almost forgot, they still had to eat together later.
They followed General Yaoqing through a long corridor to the other end of the hotel's top floor.
Considering the special nature of the annual meeting, the subordinates had deliberately chosen a plated-meal system. According to business reception standards, they hired the most famous private chef in the star seas.
Zero had eaten the private chef's food before.
Each dish was only a few bites in portion.
He thoughtfully reminded Hua, "If you're full, the remaining dishes can be given to the strategist-in-chief."
Guanliang, "…"
He nodded, enduring the humiliation.
'It's just a few dishes… no big deal!'
The four arrived at the restaurant entrance. The people who had been speaking quietly all stopped at once.
They were all warriors who had been on the battlefield, with sharp hearing. At the sound of footsteps, they fell silent and looked straight toward the door.
Zero maintained his warm, flawless smile, nodded to everyone, then walked toward the main seat.
General Yaoqing followed closely behind and pulled out a chair for his superior.
Guanliang held Hua's hand and followed after them.
Their seats were right next to each other, with nameplates placed on the table.
Watching his superior sit down without any response toward General Yaoqing, Guanliang felt a strong sense of unease.
The marshal's state… was really not right.
He was never the type to accept subordinates' efforts as a matter of course.
If someone from another faction pulled out a chair for him, he wouldn't care. But if it was a subordinate… this reaction was absolutely abnormal.
Guanliang watched as his superior picked up the wine poured by a subordinate and stood up.
He lightly patted Hua on the shoulder, handed her the fruit juice from her place, then picked up his own wine glass and stood up with everyone else.
His superior maintained a smile that couldn't be faulted, praised the subordinates responsible for the annual meeting as usual, and said a few polite remarks.
Guanliang could tell at once that his superior had read a lot of forum posts.
With that man's emotional intelligence… he couldn't have said such nice-sounding words on his own.
Then his superior added, "Alright, everyone can relax a bit."
"At the next annual meeting, if there's any surprise you want, you can tell the strategist-in-chief in advance."
After saying that, his superior didn't say anything else. He took a sip of wine and sat down.
Everyone drank the wine in their glasses and sat down as well. Only after the person at the main seat picked up his chopsticks did they begin eating.
Fortunately, General Yaoqing had assigned one attendant to each guest.
Guanliang didn't need to split his attention to watch Hua every moment. The attendant took care of her.
After a few dishes, Hua kept her little face tense and looked at Guanliang.
Guanliang understood and said to the attendant beside Hua, "Give the remaining dishes to me."
Anyway, he wasn't the marshal. He didn't need to chat with dozens of subordinates and could just bury his head and eat.
When the final fruit platter was served, Guanliang ate only his own portion and left Hua's untouched.
He told the attendant to pack it up. After waiting a bit, the attendant returned with the packed fruit.
Holding Hua's hand with one hand and the fruit with the other, Guanliang led her toward the quiet dessert table.
"Save it. Later, you can take it over to him."
Hua hesitated, wanting to say something, but in the end she nodded.
Guanliang thought to himself that, for the sake of the Xianzhou Alliance, he was truly worrying himself sick.
As the marshal's strategist-in-chief, in public, he hoped the two generations of superiors could get along well so the eventual handover would go smoothly.
In private… he hoped that his superior, who always kept his distance from others and single-mindedly marched toward death, could live a little more easily in his final days.
The way his superior teased children seemed much happier than usual.
And besides, Guanliang really liked Hua.
Hua was kind and well-behaved.
But she was still a ten-year-old child.
She would feel uneasy about living under someone else's roof.
If she could get along a bit better with his superior… it would probably make her feel more at ease.
Thinking this, Guanliang led Hua to sit on a sofa to rest, then went to find some appetite-stimulating drinks and handed one to her.
Hua stared blankly in the direction of his superior.
Guanliang smiled, pointed at the superior surrounded by people, and said, "They're going to draw lots in private to decide who talks to him first."
After saying that, he changed the subject and chatted with Hua about strange stories from the various Xianzhou ships.
The two stayed in the quiet corner for several hours. A small portion of people left the restaurant with attendants supporting them.
Hua asked, "What should you drink to sober up?"
Hearing this, Guanliang instantly let out a sigh of relief.
As long as Hua was willing, it was fine.
If Hua wasn't willing… he really wouldn't have any way to mediate the conflict between the two.
He listed a few sobering drinks.
Hua ran off to find an attendant herself. After a while, the attendant brought over a small bottle of yogurt.
They waited a bit longer, until people were completely drunk and had left, then stood up and walked toward his superior.
General Yaoqing, who was responsible for the annual meeting, had stubbornly accompanied Zero and drunk everyone else under the table.
Finally, he was swaying and truly couldn't hold on anymore.
Zero didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at General Yaoqing's subordinate, who understood at once and quickly took his superior out of the restaurant.
Turning back, he saw Hua and Guanliang had come to his side.
Hua kept her little face tense and handed over the bag containing fruit and yogurt, saying, "The strategist-in-chief told me to give this to you."
Zero froze for a moment. He took the bag, looked up at Guanliang, and didn't say anything.
Seeing that his superior showed no signs of drunkenness, Guanliang knew he didn't need help.
He asked, "What about tonight? Where should Hua stay?"
If there had been even one female general who wasn't drunk, Guanliang wouldn't have asked this.
But those subordinates, the moment they saw their superior, rushed over like they'd lost their minds.
Letting a drunk take care of a ten-year-old child… he really wasn't reassured.
Zero knew this was an issue too. He rubbed his brow and said, "You're… in a family suite, right? How many rooms was it again? Forget it, let her stay with me on the top floor."
The top floor was the presidential suite. He couldn't remember the layout and paused.
Guanliang smoothly picked up the conversation, "The top-floor suite has three levels. You can stay on the third floor and let Hua stay on the second."
Zero nodded and, led by an attendant, went up to the top floor.
At the room entrance, they switched to a female attendant.
Hua followed her to the second floor. Lying on the bed, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
In the end, she sat up and went downstairs.
What surprised her was that that nasty adult was also on the first floor.
He was sitting at the water bar, drinking the yogurt she had given him. When he saw her, his movements paused for a moment.
He slowly set the yogurt down, fell silent, then propped his chin on his hand and said teasingly, "Your Highness the Crown Princess, may I ask, do you have some time?"
[T/N: Hello guys, translator here. Hope you all are enjoying the book and having a great day. I just started a new book "In a Hentai World As Takayanagi Family's Eldest Son" which, I hope you all will support. I am also now focusing on this account more and working on other fanfics as well. If you have like any specific type of fanfic or franchise please let me know, I will keep an eye out for them.]