Sapele and all the personnel were captured, and her plan succeeded!

As long as the diplomatic delegation that was going abroad disappeared without contacting their homeland, the Inran Empire would have sufficient reason to establish a connection with Dibiles through the missing incident;

Who made those envoys "disappear" during their visit?

At that time, no one could prove the innocence of that country or Isabella.

With the incident of the diplomatic delegation as the spark, the two countries would start a war, and no one would suspect the Papal State;

After all, there were no witnesses from any third party at the scene;

From then on, all the members of the diplomatic delegation had to live in the basement of the secret church base, with the same result of silencing them all.

War is terrible for some, but beautiful for others;

The Papal State desires the two countries to go to war, and so does the girl;

However, the one who launched this ambush, didn't know one thing:

Even if there were no accidents with the diplomatic delegation, the emperor of Inran was already prepared to go to war with Dibiles.

This means:

Sapele and the others were suffering under the Empress for a war that was bound to happen, then they were collectively abducted and beaten along the way.

How miserable!

The reason for this misery is probably related to the degree of luck.

Sapele used a gun, and as everyone knows, gunners have always had bad luck...

The people of Inran are extremely pessimistic, while on the other hand, Dibiles as a whole is quite cheerful, with most of the credit going to the fake Empress.

"The war will come sooner or later, as long as we are strong ourselves, the other side will not dare to act recklessly."

The place where the military meeting was held was not necessarily a tense and closed room, but could also be deliberately chosen in a spacious and bright dining hall.

"On the contrary, if those people mistakenly believe that we are weak, then it is just right to teach them a lesson and make them regret being born in this world!"

Liu Caihua's declaration that infiltrated people's hearts made all the lords who currently stayed here and participated in military discussions feel relieved;

Allies cannot be won by attitude alone. If the other side wants war, then they must have planned for it long ago;

And following the diplomatic delegation's plan, they counterattacked the image of the Empress, making her more majestic in the hearts of these lords.

They completely misunderstood!

They mistakenly believed that the Empress already knew the entire plan of the diplomatic delegation from the beginning, and the reason why she behaved so poorly in diplomatic occasions was to punish the other side.

"Pretending to contemptuously taunt the opponent, making them spin around in their own hands, indeed a wise move, Your Majesty... but what are you doing right now?"

There were more than twenty tables of various shapes in the dining hall, and a fire was also burning on the other side of the stove, with dough and various meat fillings placed nearby.

"You can tell just by looking? I'm making dumplings."

"Dumplings? What is that?"

"Ah, right, nobody here has ever tasted such a delicious food. Let me tell you: it's a kind of food wrapped in dough with meat filling, can be boiled or pan-fried, and usually mixed with vinegar for consumption."

The female lords put one hand down and exchanged gestures under the table with their nearby colleagues, meaning they were asking if anyone had heard of the food called "dumplings".

Never heard of it!

The action of pinching the thigh represented the meaning mentioned above. Among the more than ten lords, who had enjoyed luxury, a feeling of inferiority arose for the first time;

They felt that compared to the Empress, their own lives in the past twenty or thirty years were almost worthless.

The conclusion of the military meeting was just one sentence:

When the enemy arrives, we will meet them head on. If the army of that empire dares to come, we will make them submit in minutes.

Immediately after the meeting ended, Liu Caihua revealed her intention of gathering the lords here, which was originally very simple:

"Shall we all have a meal together? It feels quite empty with only me in such a large dining hall. Today, let me show you my cooking skills!"

The lords sat in their chairs and their bodies relaxed. Some individuals who had a lower tolerance were supported by their colleagues to prevent them from falling to the ground;

However, one thing they all had in common was that a large amount of sweat appeared on their faces, dropping one by one, and feeling icy cold.

Oh no!

The queen actually invited us to have a meal. Such a scene has never happened before. Suddenly, she has become polite. Is she planning to use this opportunity to punish all of us?

Reduce our territories or directly arrest us?

What have I done wrong recently?

What grave mistake have I committed that warrants being summoned by the emperor to face questioning?

Leading the way is Sister Glasses, who is also uneasy. Although she is directly under the jurisdiction of the queen, she is also aligned with the lords.

Her extreme concern for her own territory makes Sister Glasses more worried than those around her.

She wonders:

Could it be that someone exposed the incident from years ago, when we took the queen to a restaurant and later paid for it with public funds?

Damn it!

Who is having a grudge against me?

As the mealtime approaches, there is no joyful atmosphere in the hall. Instead, everyone feels a suffocating sense of time dragging on.

Before the judge speaks, they can only maintain their proper sitting positions while their minds wander elsewhere.

They are thinking about whether they should voluntarily confess to some recent mistakes later on.

Only the person preparing the meal looks relaxed.

She estimates that with so many people present, they can only cook and eat together, or else there won't be enough space for all the dumplings.

Liu Caihua takes out a rolling pin. Remember, rolling the dough is a skill!

She must be fast, so as not to keep the others waiting for too long.

At the same moment, some people who are about to crumble under the pressure are mentally preparing themselves to confess their "crimes". They keep reminding themselves silently:

Don't keep the queen waiting! Quickly find a satisfying confession for yourself.

After rolling the dough, they officially begin wrapping the dumplings.

Liu Caihua is skilled.

She takes a wrapper, fills it with dumpling filling, and quickly folds it. Her movements are as professional as an expert.

Rows of dumplings go into the pot, with four types of fillings corresponding to four large pots. The dining hall now functions as a kitchen.

The water in the pot boils continuously. When all the dumplings float to the top, the maids help to fish them out while maintaining order at the stove.

In contrast, the lords are engaged in constant struggles and the scene is unusually chaotic.

They are not arguing about who gets to eat the dumplings first; rather, they are fighting for the privilege of being the first to confess their sins, arguing in hushed voices.

Some are arm-wrestling, some are wrestling each other to the ground, and their enthusiasm for being the first is truly a rare sight.

(Whispering) "I will confess to the queen first. Move aside!"

(Whispering) "How ridiculous! Why should I listen to you, a mere viscount?"

Everyone believes in the principle of leniency for those who confess and that the earlier they confess, the lighter the punishment will be. They are willing to resort to physical confrontation for this.

Their confrontation soon reaches a result.

As the queen finishes wrapping the dumplings and puts them into the pot, a seemingly insignificant lord slips out and kneels down with a "plop."

"I'm guilty!"

If someone listens closely, they can hear faint whispers like "tsk," "tch," and "tsst" coming from the scene.

"When everyone wants to be the first to taste the crab, the one who eats it first will face collective resentment."

This principle also applies when admitting one's mistakes.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I am responsible for arranging for my relative's child to attend school last time..."

They are not trivializing their offenses; it's just that this is the most severe wrongdoing the lords can think of. They can't come up with anything worse.

"What are you talking about?"

In Liu Caihua's eyes, a questioning expression gleams, and then, taking that person's confession as a cue, everyone else prostrates themselves, rushing to confess their errors:

"I didn't pay when I went to the market to buy something."

"I didn't assist an elderly lady who needed to cross the street."

"I casually hung up wet underwear outside the window."

...

What is going on?

Could this be something that NPCs do every day, like that thing?

Devotees go to the church every week to regularly confess, expressing their feelings of guilt.

Liu Caihua did not consciously become a good empress, but she was willing to pretend to listen carefully to those words, nodding occasionally to give responses that aligned with the NPCs.

After one side finished recounting all the "guilt and responsibility," Liu Caihua compassionately reached out her hand and helped the women in front of her up one by one, giving them warm expressions like a gentle breeze: "I forgive you all, let's forgive together!"

Not only did she forgive, but she also gave them gentle hugs, which surprised the lords who had been worrying if they would be punished not long ago. People, on the eve of losing something, always treasure the things they are lucky to salvage.

"Dinner is ready, let's have dumplings together."

Praising the empress, praising the dumplings, this was their unanimous sentiment. There was no one who would fight for the best position. Every person conscientiously lined up, with visible happiness on their faces.

With thin skin and generous filling, these dumplings were really delicious. The first batch of people who tasted them gave a thumbs up. After eating a few rounds, the beef dumplings were the fastest to disappear, followed by the pork and green pepper stuffing. Perhaps due to personal tastes, the lords did not seem to like the pork and celery stuffing, as well as the chive stuffing, but they could accept the green pepper stuffing.

Sister Glasses liked seafood the most and was the first one to eat the ones with shrimp. Opening her mouth and taking a few bites, she quickly finished one and then moved on to the dumplings with other fillings.

"Chew, chew, chew... It seems that as an empress, you have fully matured, so now I can retire in peace," Sister Glasses sighed. Liu Caihua did not intentionally ruin her good mood, but some things needed to be said: "The cost of this dinner will not come from the treasury, but will be deducted from your salary. Don't think I forgot about someone who used public funds to indulge in excessive eating and drinking."

"My education... Has it completely failed? How sad."

The dinner was enjoyed, and the whole day passed with flavor. Liu Caihua had a thought: The life in dreams was not bad, but illusions could not be sustained for long.

"When I wake up tomorrow, I am sure I will see familiar sights. Goodbye, beautiful dream!" Liu Caihua, filled with endless hope, turned over in bed and fell asleep after several steady breaths.

In her dreams, she seemed to experience the mundane daily life that repeated itself.