Chapter 10

"What's going on here?"
"What is all this?"
After a short silence, the nobles came together and whispered.
"We're given this kind of food for a palace banquet?"
"This is too lazy."
The whispers of the nobles began to amplify and eventually became noisy, and Sophia almost became the laughing stock of the feast.
Susan saw this scene is very satisfied, did not waste her so long to set up, such an important occasion so big problem, she would like to see her queen's seat can still sit firmly.
The nobles who had been neglected were so angry that they tore their faces off and vented their discontent at her.
"Your Majesty! Don't you think this is very excessive? We are here to pay homage to the king, and you actually neglect us like this at the annual palace banquet, aren't you afraid of being chastised by the king?"
Other nobles echoed, and she even heard some of them saying.
'It's true that you are from a small family, fooling us with such things at the palace banquet, irresponsible and without any cultivation or ability to be a queen.'
Sophia panicked a little and looked around for Susan, trying to question her what was going on here and why she didn't follow the menu drawn up before.
The aristocrats were agitated, and when the first maid saw that something was wrong, she rushed to the back kitchen to ask what was going on.
Sophia finally found the person she was looking for next to Carl, and Susan had panic all over her little face.
She walked up to her and before she could question her, she heard her speak in panic: "Sister, what's, what's going on, I prepared everything according to your order."
Sophia was shocked, not expecting her to say such things, and then thinking about all her previous refusals, Sophia suddenly understood that she had done it on purpose.
And this feigned little white rabbit was still crying and whining: "Sister, I'm sorry, you blame me, it's all my fault that the party turned out like this."
"Obviously sister used to run the banquet in the clan like this, how come this time it turned out like this, it's all my fault, I should have poked around for sister properly."
She smashed the matter of Sophia's small family into reality in three sentences, and Sophia couldn't even refute it.
If she said now that it was all because Susan didn't follow the menu she drew up, she would definitely be said to be shirking her responsibilities and look even more petty.
And her good sister is crying like this, and she is still pretending to put the blame on herself, she is more like a shirker.
She coldly watched Susan's acting, feeling that her previous enthusiasm really fed the dog, she was actually bitten by her sister, whom she had grown up spoiling.
The mistake has to be borne, but she feels that her biggest fault is that she did not see Susan's malicious heart and wasted ten years of sisterly love.
Not wanting to look at her any longer, Sophia took a deep breath and faced the nobles-
She was just about to apologize to the crowd when Aaron, who had arrived late, brought a group of subordinates to the palace where the palace banquet was held.
The palace was quiet, and the nobles consciously retreated to the sides, suppressing their discontent and bowing in a regular manner.
"Get up." Aaron stepped over on the red carpet, took Sophia's hand and led her to sit down on the first place, and the nobles also sat down honestly.
"I heard you all making a lot of noise at the door, what, are you unhappy with my banquet?" Aaron gently squeezed Sophia's hand and handed her a look.
Sophia received his gaze and suddenly settled in her heart, cleared her throat and said softly, "Your Majesty, don't misunderstand, it's the nobles who misunderstood me a bit and thought I was neglecting them by preparing such food."
"Is it not?" An older noble questioned, "Historically, the palace banquet is set to a good specification, the palace banquet represents the face of the royal family, the queen is so perfunctory, where does she put the face of the royal family?"
The nobleman stood up trembling and paid a deep obeisance towards Aaron: "Your Majesty, everyone has seen all the Queen's actions since her coronation, we are not questioning your vision, but do you really think that the Queen's current actions are suitable for sitting in this position?"
Aaron unexpectedly did not rebuke the nobleman, but instead looked at Sophia beside him, his eyes calm and gentle, with trust in her.
"Queen, do you have anything to say?"
Sophia nodded gently to him and stood up, smiling gently, "I understand everyone's feelings, and I blame myself for not making myself clear at the beginning, I will give everyone a reasonable explanation."
She suddenly bent down and bowed to Aaron and said solemnly, "I know that as a queen, it is not appropriate to discuss political affairs, so I would like to ask the king to forgive me."
Aaron helped her: "The queen can speak boldly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." She turned to face the nobles again and said aloud, "Two years ago, the king led our compatriots to fight bravely, settled the turbulent society, and let us live a rich life."
"But now, two years later, our compatriots are fighting with each other, creating social unrest, and even some, exploiting the fruits our compatriots picked with their blood to achieve their luxury and make the people they fought so hard to protect suffer."
"My reason for setting up such a palace feast today is very simple, at that time we could not even eat such a simple meal, now we can not forget the suffering we suffered then, and forget our original heart!" Sophia's tone was so powerful that many people were infected and pondered.
Aaron was also surprised that she could improvise such words, but when he thought about it, he couldn't say that he really felt it, after all, there were indeed some problems within the Wolf Clan now.
He ate a bite of the humble meal in silence, nodded and said in a deep voice, "The Queen's words are very reasonable, in the past year, the atmosphere among the nobles has been getting worse and worse, climbing to the high position and pulling on the low position has been the norm, I think you all have been living too peacefully, and have forgotten how we were suppressed in the first place."
He pulled Sophia to sit down and patted the back of her hand: "You're doing the right thing, I'm sorry for you."
Sophia shook her head, quietly relieved in her heart, she almost couldn't act.
The nobles who were shocked by Sophia's words were so ashamed that they apologized to her, as to whether they were really ashamed in their hearts, then who knows.
The people took up the cutlery and ate the humble meal, Susan's teeth broke, she didn't think she had prepared a big show for so long, but was reversed by her two or three words, secretly hating her luck.
The carl beside him did not know the reason and thought she was still feeling guilty, so he gently comforted her.
Susan could not wait to gag him, she was exposed this time, and also offended Sophia completely by the way.
Sophia, although the crisis was resolved, but the whole party is not very high, a look of preoccupation, only when others talk, she will respond.
After the banquet, the nobles expressed their gratitude for the banquet and were sent out of the palace one by one by the servants, and Sophia and Aaron went back to their chambers.
"I'm sorry, it was my carelessness that messed up the banquet." Sophia stood in front of Aaron and said sullenly, with a bit of wetness in her voice.
She couldn't have imagined or thought that her sister, whom she had loved for so many years, would set herself up.
She remembered what good things she got in the past, will first take to Susan, what delicious, the first thought is also her, she was punished for her, take the blame for her, give her all the favor.
But now that I think about it, my actions were so stupid and ironic.
Her heart was in turmoil, and her blame for Susan turned into deep powerlessness. She asked herself over and over in her heart, what was the reason they had become like this?
As she thought about it, Sophia's tears of aggression rolled down and wet the carpet.
Aaron's rebuke that came to his lips was drowned in her tears, and he reached out to catch them, and the hot tears burned his skin, hurting him to the core.
He suddenly reached out and took her in his arms, and for the first time Sophia didn't struggle, leaning close to his chest, crying silently, soon wetting the thin clothes on his chest.
"Don't cry." He comforted her clumsily, trying to make a joke to tease her but couldn't, and could only pat her back in vain.
He knew it wasn't Sophia's fault, he was just angry that she wouldn't listen to him and let Susan bully her.
His eyes sunk, he gave Susan a mental note and said in a low voice, "You are my mate, I will never let anyone else bully you."
Sophia listened to his promise and was suddenly touched, no one had ever promised her this before, not even her closest relatives.
She had always suffered all the pain alone, from her fiancé turning into her sister's mate, to being betrayed by her own sister, no one had even a word of comfort for her, let alone anyone had ever cared about her feelings, only him.
Sophia finally couldn't help but cry out loudly, her sorrowful cries made the servants couldn't help but grieve for her, and they all walked away in silence.
Aaron kept hugging her tightly and let her vent her grievances and sadness until she fell asleep with him in her arms.
Aaron had a servant bring a wet towel, gently wiped the tears from her face, carried her to bed, and left the bedchamber with a sullen face.
Sophia slept restlessly, her brow was furrowed and she was murmuring restlessly, and she woke up before dawn after a night of tossing and turning.
She sat up in bed, only to feel her head and eyes ache, and her whole body was drowsy.
The servant helped her to take a bath, and only then did she gradually wake up.
Thinking about what had happened yesterday, Sophia was depressed, and after thinking about it for a while, she couldn't resist asking the servant to ask Susan to enter the palace.
She wanted to ask properly what it was about.
Susan did not shirk this time, simply cleaned up and followed the servant into the palace, Aaron heard about it and did not say anything, only instructed the servant to protect the queen well.
Sophia was waiting for her in the banquet hall where the banquet was held yesterday. She was sitting on the first place with a cup of hot tea in front of her and her face was full of fatigue.
Susan did not pretend to care for her anymore, and nonchalantly sat down in the first seat next to her hand.