While Wilhelm was explaining the space program to Elizabeth and Margaret, the attendant approached to ask if they should serve the meal.
"Let's eat first."
The mother and daughters of Queen Elizabeth marveled at the exquisite dishes being placed on the table by the attendants.
"I prefer Chinese cuisine; I hope it suits your taste."
Margaret asked with curiosity, "Brother Wilhelm, what are you using to eat?"
Wilhelm waved the chopsticks in his hand. "These are called chopsticks; they're Eastern eating utensils."
"I want to try them too."
"Sure, does Elizabeth want to try? How about you, Your Majesty?" Although the dishes were designed for use with knives and forks, if she wanted to try, there was no issue. Wilhelm called for an extra set of utensils to be placed in front of Margaret.
Margaret eagerly picked up the chopsticks but held them in a cross. "Huh, why is it like this?"
As Margaret struggled with the chopsticks, eight dishes and one soup were laid out on the table. Given Wilhelm's current status, he could have a feast every day, but he didn't like extravagance; usually, he just had two dishes and one soup. The aroma of the food was so enticing that it could make street beggars instantly weep in envy; Wilhelm even saw Queen Elizabeth swallow her saliva. He smiled and said, "Margaret, stop playing; you won't learn in a short time. Let's eat. Your Majesty isn't worried that I've put poison in the food, are you?"
Poisoning food has been one of the most common methods of political assassination throughout history. As early as in ancient Rome, King Mithridates VI of Pontus conducted poison experiments on prisoners, and the tyrant Nero forced slaves to eat various mushrooms to determine which were poisonous. In medieval Europe, kings used crystal cups and gemstones supposedly to detect poison, but they also had dedicated tasters who would eat the food prepared for the monarch to ensure it wasn't poisoned.
In ancient China, there were also instances where emperors were poisoned through their meals. The "Zizhi Tongjian" (Volume 86, Jin Ji 8) records that Emperor Hui of Jin, Sima Zhong, "On the night of the 17th day of the 11th month, ate poisoned wheat cakes and died the next day at the Xianyang Palace." Thus, to ensure food safety, royals typically employed two methods: one was having someone taste the food before the emperor, a task usually assigned to serving eunuchs, known as "tasting meals." If there was poison, the emperor could avoid a deadly fate.
Wilhelm took food safety very seriously, having every dish checked by professional testers before he would eat.
After several attempts, Margaret finally gave up in frustration and picked up a spoon to ladle some of the fragrant, milky soup.
"Wow!" After taking a careful sip, Margaret couldn't help but exclaim. "Brother Wilhelm, what kind of soup is this? It's so good! I've never had such delicious soup."
"Crucian carp soup, Margaret, what do you usually eat?"
Margaret pouted. "Nothing but potatoes! And hard, salted fish! Mom, why are you glaring at me?"
Queen Elizabeth showed a hint of embarrassment on her face and said sternly in a low voice, "Speak less at the table and focus on eating."
Wilhelm interjected with a smile, "Your Majesty, don't be too harsh on children; it might stifle their innocence."
However, Margaret didn't dare to speak another word and just buried her head to eat quickly. She devoured a lion's head meatball, swallowed a serving of shark's fin, and gnawed through most of a squab. Seeing that she was about to finish the whole squab, Wilhelm looked at Queen Elizabeth in astonishment. "Does she usually eat this much?"
Queen Elizabeth softly asked, "Margaret, why are you eating so much?"
Margaret, with her mouth full, mumbled, "Woo, this is all too delicious. I won't be able to eat it once we go back; I want to eat my fill."
"..." Queen Elizabeth was stunned, her eyes suddenly turning red with tears welling up.
Seeing this, Wilhelm quickly said, "Margaret, you'll be staying here for a few days; you can eat slowly."
Margaret, who was about to pick up more food, paused her hand in mid-air, looking at Queen Elizabeth in disbelief. "Is that true? We're not leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes, it's true." Queen Elizabeth nodded, covering her eyes with one hand, and hurriedly stood up. "I apologize, I need to excuse myself."
Watching Queen Elizabeth leave in haste, Wilhelm asked Margaret, "Are you okay? Did you eat too much?"
Margaret patted her belly and said with a grin, "I'm a bit full, but I think I can eat a little more."
"You better stop eating, or you might burst your belly." After saying this, Wilhelm left the dining room and found Queen Elizabeth on a balcony not far from the dining room. Muffled, barely audible sobs came from her slightly trembling shoulders.
"Your Majesty." Wilhelm approached and handed her a handkerchief.
"Thank you." Queen Elizabeth thanked him, taking the handkerchief to wipe her tears.
Wilhelm sighed lightly. "The wars of adults shouldn't burden children. Even princesses of the royal family are in such a state; I can't imagine how dire the lives of ordinary British people are."
Queen Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but Wilhelm spoke first. "You can't expect mercy from your enemies in such matters, can you?"
Queen Elizabeth gave him a resentful look and then turned to gaze at the moon outside the window, lost in thought.
Wilhelm quietly accompanied her to watch the moon for about ten minutes, finding it quite boring, and was about to persuade her to go back to eat when he heard Queen Elizabeth ask softly, "Your Highness Wilhelm, what you were talking about, leaving Earth, can it really be done?"
"Does Your Majesty think I was just entertaining children?" Wilhelm said earnestly. "Of course, it can be done. Within a few years, we will break free from Earth."
Queen Elizabeth expressed disbelief. "How is that possible with current technology..."
"Are you saying that with current technology, spacecraft can't reach escape velocity?" Wilhelm's face showed a proud smile. "That's what you think."
"What?!" Queen Elizabeth was shocked. "Has Germany already developed such a spacecraft?!"
"The technological development of Germany is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. I mean no offense, but even though you are an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Leeds and a queen, you're still among the ordinary. Of course, I'm not elevating myself. Your Majesty, do you know why I started this war?"
Queen Elizabeth answered without hesitation, "Naturally, to wash away the humiliation of the last war."
Janik shook his head slightly. "You see, you're still bound by ordinary thinking. I can tell you honestly, I didn't start the war for revenge or expansion or conquest; I did it to integrate as many resources as possible. Let me ask you another question; if Britain had the resources of a unified Europe, what would you do with them?"
Queen Elizabeth thought for a moment and sighed softly. "I suppose Your Highness already has the answer."
"Naturally, you would build more warships, more planes and cannons, conquer more lands, never stopping until you ruled the earth. But I am different; a significant portion of the integrated resources has not gone into war but into the space exploration program. Your Majesty might ask why I need to unify Europe through war. Could you persuade the different European countries to unite and cooperate sincerely? Just the question of who would lead would cause several nations to clash. Not to mention Britain, acting like a disruptive force, constantly stirring trouble to prevent European unity."
"Prejudice and selfishness are human weaknesses. Civilization has been around for six thousand years, but humans have not lost their aggressive and discriminatory nature. To expect people from different countries to work together harmoniously is simply impossible."
"Now that Germany has swept across Europe, it's clear who the leader is; everyone naturally looks to Germany as the head."
"Of course, there's a saying, 'long division leads to unity, long unity leads to division.' Even if Europe is united now, it might split again in the future. But before that happens, I will pioneer the path to space, much like Columbus discovering the New World."
"If Britain's goal was to dominate the seas, then our journey will be among the stars!"