Chapter 1496: Get Close
Ning needed to find a way to get close to the Emperor, but no matter how he thought of doing it, there was just no way of getting close to the man.
He was surrounded by a thousand different people, and none of them could go close enough to thought the man. Getting a handshake from the man was an almost impossible task.
He needed to find another way to get close to the man. He needed some help.
Ning quickly looked around. He knew what he had to do. Since the Emperor was supposedly such a big believer in Zurinus, he would certainly be talking to the pope one of these times.
There was no way the man would invite someone like the pope and go without talking to him all day.
‘Where’s the pope?’ Ning thought, searching through the party until he found the man. He was about to go up to him when he noticed that he was talking with one of the women who had come with the Emperor.
It was the older woman, that looked to be in her 80s. This was the woman Ning did not believe to be the Empress. Was he wrong?
They seemed to be in deep conversation, which Ning didn’t feel like disturbing. He turned around, looking for someone else other than the pope.
The other possible person to go for would be Naman, the greatest merchant of the current world, but that didn’t seem possible as he was swarmed with people who did not seem to care about the Emperor.
They would likely never even talk to the Emperor.
Ning turned around. The people likely to speak to the Emperor were other rulers, but he wasn’t close to anyone. He didn’t want to be stuck taking care of a princess like he always had to, so Ning did his best to not head on over to any royal palaces during his trip here.
That might have worked against him this time around.
‘Maybe I should just ask Edward,’ Ning thought. The prince could help him meet the Emperor for sure.
However, when Ning saw Jasmine and him smiling with the occasional laughter as they danced, he didn’t want to disturb them.
This could maybe wait. The Emperor wasn’t going anywhere. He had plenty of time.
Ning walked around the party aimlessly for a while, mingling with people from time to time, talking with them. He was still recognized by people as someone whom the pope had talked to the moment he arrived.
The party continued for a while, with people dancing all around. Ning danced with a few ladies who seemed to want to learn more about him.
He also danced with both Jasmine and Arya amongst the others. These two were perhaps the only ones who did not intend to find a way to marry him.
The royal family put on shows. Songs, dances, and other shows. There were even fights between experienced fighters that everyone got to watch.
People enjoyed their time.
After a while, the celebration seemed to come to an end. It hadn’t officially ended, but people were clearly starting to think that it was time to return.
It was close to 9 pm, so they had to go back anytime now.
Ning looked at the pope and knew the man would leave anytime now as well. If he was going to meet the Emperor, now was the time.
“Your holiness,” Ning spoke softly as he came close to the pope. “Do you have a second? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Go ahead,” the pope said. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Do you remember why I wanted to meet you?” Ning asked, quickly reminding the pope about his journey to find a certain someone. He hadn’t told him that he had been searching for Zurinus, as that would likely not work with one of his followers.
“I wanted to come to you earlier, but you were talking with… a princess? Empress? I don’t know who that old woman that came with the Emperor was.”
“Miss Jenny? She’s the top custodian of our orphanage. She is a dear friend of mine.”
“A custodian?”
All the orphanages in the world were under the church’s rule; Ning remembered that. That meant the woman under the pope’s rule. He was a little curious about what she was doing with the Emperor though.
‘Orphanage,’ he thought. ‘Were they both raised in the same orphanage? A lost love he could never go after because of his status?’
Ning could only wonder.
“I need your aid in meeting with the Emperor. Just a single touch,” Ning said.
“You’re still doing that, huh?” Cardinal Marcus spoke from next to the pope.
“I have been doing that since I came here tonight. I’ve gone through many, and it is time I go through the man of the hour as well.”
The pope hesitated a little. “Say you are right by some chance and it is the Emperor. What happens then?”
Ning could only smile. “We should wait until more people leave before we do this. Just in case.”
The pope sighed.
They decided to wait for a while longer, but there wasn’t much time in their hand. The Emperor would return to his quarters any time now, and Ning would have to go perform multiple shenanigans to meet him.
If he was Zurinus, that would only cause him to run away from Ning. At that point, finding him would be impossible.
The pope took Ning to the Emperor, who was just done with his conversation with some foreign prince.
“Your Holiness!” the Emperor turned around and saw Ning. “Who might this be?”
“This is Ning. He’s an excellent young man, and I would like for you to meet him.”
“Oh, young Ning, is it?” the Emperor asked.
“It is, Your Majesty. I am Ning Ruogong. It is a pleasure to get to meet you finally,” Ning said, reaching out his hand for a shake.
The Emperor smiled back in response.
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