Chapter 201: Palace Banquet Trap

"Because I hate her even more. If it weren't for her, our family would have lived a good life. It's because of her that my husband slowly embarked on this path of no return!!"

After saying that, she cut her throat without any hesitation, and blood drew an arc in the air and splattered all over the ground.

"Husband~"

She fell to the ground and slowly closed her eyes, with a smile on her lips.

Shen Anan just glanced at him lightly and looked away. Perhaps she had killed too many people and had already become numb.

"Bring Chen Tian here."

There were no adequate conditions on the road, so food and lodging had to be made do. Chen Tian had previously lost a finger and had lost a lot of blood. Now he looked very weak, and his face was haggard and pale.

He was taken over by Qingfeng.

"Do you know her?" Shen Anan pointed at the lifeless woman on the ground.

Chen Tian's eyes were blank at first, then they slowly widened when he saw the woman on the ground, "You...you killed her?"

"You killed her!!!" He was shaking, almost roaring, with murderous intent in his eyes.

"To be more precise, he died for love out of fear of committing a crime."

"So, you know her, and you have a deep relationship with her?"

Chen Tian gritted his teeth and glared at Shen Anan.

"You don't have to look at me like that. I'm not a saint. I will kill anyone who threatens my life without hesitation, and you are no exception."

"She is just a woman. How can she have the ability to kill you now?" Chen Tian gritted his teeth.

"So, she committed suicide."

"You know her, so you should know who Shin Yunbai is, right? You are not friends at all, but relatives with some kind of blood relationship, right?"

Chen Tian pursed his lips and chose to remain silent.

"This woman is your aunt, so you must have grown up in the Cao family in Jiangnan. Even if you didn't, you should have had some contact with the Cao family and had a close relationship with them."

"Fifth Prince, think about it carefully. Perhaps I can give you your freedom in return."

Chen Tian turned and left, "You don't need to ask, I don't know anything."

Qingfeng wanted to step forward to stop him, but Shen Anan waved his hand to stop him.

Chen Tian's back seemed to be bent a lot, and he walked towards the carriage step by step.

"Princess Princess."

Shen Anan, "With the passing of loved ones one after another, no normal person would be able to hold on for long. He should be on the verge of going crazy and collapsing now."

…

Capital city.

Finally, it was time for the flower-viewing banquet hosted by Concubine Liang.

In the imperial garden, palace maids and eunuchs are walking around, and there are all kinds of precious potted plants on display, which are enough to dazzle anyone's eyes.

"There are many people present today, all those above the third rank and their families are here. It seems that Concubine Liang and the Emperor have a big trick up their sleeve."

Ling Chenyi said with narrowed eyes.

Xiao Yuan glanced at it indifferently and then withdrew his gaze with a lack of interest.

"In two days, she should be back."

That was all he cared about now.

The dignitaries from various families have already started toasting each other.

If it was Concubine Liang, she would definitely not have the face to invite so many people, so the emperor did help behind the scenes.

At this moment, all the ladies who had some reputation in each family brought their daughters to Liangpin to make themselves familiar with her, and surrounded her and praised her happily.

Sitting next to Concubine Liang was Miss Li, the daughter of the Minister of War.

While she was talking to those ladies, she would occasionally cast a subtle glance at Xiao Yuan, and then immediately lower her head shyly.

Ling Chenyi raised his eyebrows, "It looks like it's heading for your backyard."

As soon as the words fell, Liangpin's voice rang out, "Fourth Prince."

“…”

Everyone looked over here, Liangpin had a smile on her face, but the latter seemed to be deaf to it and didn't even glance at them.

Liangpin's smile gradually stiffened and became awkward.

She called out again, "Fourth Prince, a few days ago, I happened to hear that you enshrined a tablet in Xiangjue Temple? Is it true?"

Xiao Yuan's fingers gripping the wine cup slowly tightened, and he slowly raised his eyes to look at Concubine Liang.

He didn't say anything, but his eyes made Liangpin's scalp tingle and a chill ran through her head.

But she has the emperor's support. Thinking of this, Liangpin immediately straightened her back.

"Your father mentioned it a few days ago. He is busy with government affairs, so it is not appropriate for him to worry about such a trivial matter. There is no one in charge in the harem now, so I will take the initiative to talk to the Fourth Prince."

In an ordinary family, she would be considered a stepmother.

"What does Concubine Liang want to say?" Xiao Yuan put down the teacup, his tone calm.

Liangpin smiled, "You are a prince, you are different from ordinary people. Only the royal family can be worshipped. You set up a tablet in Xiangjue Temple privately. Not only is it unreasonable, but now that your father is still in good health, it is not good for him, don't you think?"

Royal descendants can only kneel and serve the royal family. Those that Xiao Yuan should respect are all in the royal ancestral temple.

In fact, everyone present could guess who Xiao Yuan was worshipping. Logically speaking, it was normal for a son to offer incense to his dead mother, but the prerequisite was that those rules and regulations could not be made public.

Just like Xiao Yuan was not the son of the Empress Dowager, theoretically speaking, his mother should be the deceased original queen.

But Xiao Yuan, when has he ever been a person who follows logic and common sense?

He glanced at me, "I offer you a sacrifice? You are being used to meddle in other people's business!!"

Saying this to the dead is respectful, but to the living it is a curse.

Liangpin knew that Xiao Yuan was a tough guy, but how could she save face when she saw him being so ruthless in front of all the officials?

His face darkened immediately, "Fourth Prince, although my rank is not high, I am still your father's concubine, and what I said today is also what your father meant."

Xiao Yuan drank the wine in his cup calmly and said, "So? Since you know that your rank is not high, why are you still jumping around? Are you relying on your father's will, or are you just pretending to be powerful?"

This word was quite new to the audience. Many officials lowered their heads, but their shoulders could not help shaking.

Liangpin was so angry that her facial features were distorted, and the girl from the Li family hurriedly pulled her sleeve.

Only then did Liangpin remember the main purpose of the banquet. .

While the jealous woman from the Shen family was away, he stuffed his niece into the backyard of the Fourth Prince's mansion, and also helped the Emperor to dampen Xiao Yuan's arrogance.

She smiled coldly, "The Fourth Prince is right. I am indeed humble, but looking at Daliang, everyone here is a loyal dog in front of the emperor."

She felt that she was telling the truth, but she did not notice that the faces of the officials present were slowly turning blue.

"I also know that the Fourth Prince is filial. The tablet enshrined in Xiangjue Temple should be that of Concubine Shu. But could it be that the Fourth Prince has forgotten the rumors about Concubine Shu?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Imperial Garden became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The officials all held their breath, sweat breaking out on their foreheads. This was the emperor's weak spot, and he had never dared to mention it for all these years. But today, Concubine Liang was so bold, was she trying to save her life?

However, Concubine Liang held her head high, looking totally unconcerned.

She was following the emperor's orders, so there was nothing to be afraid of. The only thing was Xiao Yuan's cold gaze, as if he was looking at a dead person, which made her feel a chill on her back.

"Fourth Prince, you may be filial, but you are the heir to the throne after all. Everything should be based on the reputation of the royal family. It is also the Emperor's mercy. Otherwise... with Sister Shufei's reputation during her lifetime, let alone offerings, I'm afraid you won't even have a tablet."

"But the emperor still thought about the relationship between husband and wife and allowed Sister Shufei to be buried in the imperial mausoleum. Even if the fourth prince thought about the kindness of your father, he shouldn't let him...ah-make it difficult...to do it."

Liangpin's voice was suddenly strangled by the neck along with the sound of Xiao Yuan overturning the table, and it took a long time before it slowly came out of her throat.

"You... this is the imperial garden of the palace. I am your father's woman. You... what do you want to do?"

"My father once said something. I wonder if you remember it, Concubine Liang." His voice was neither hurried nor slow, without any ups and downs, but it made everyone present feel numb.

He turned around, drew his sword from the waist of the guard who was maintaining order behind him, and walked towards the stairs step by step. "Father said that anyone who dares to discuss the death of Concubine Shu will be killed without mercy."

Liangpin stood up from her chair and quickly hid aside, "I... I am seeking truth from facts, and it is... it is also your father's intention."

Xiao Yuan said nothing, and pointed the sword in his hand at Liangpin's forehead.

Ling Chenyi's eyes widened in shock.

"Damn you, Liangpin. Why did you bring up Shufei when there are so many other things to mention? Don't you know that Shufei is Xiao Yuan's Achilles' heel?"

Not to mention killing her, just based on the humiliating words she said just now, Xiao Yuan might even chop her into pieces in front of everyone.

But in return, Xiao Yuan will also face punishment.

Ling Chenyi rushed forward, "Xiao Yuan, no, the emperor might want you to kill Concubine Liang so that he can have a reason to punish you, calm down."

He looked like a demon crawling out of hell, and there was no warmth in his eyes.

Shen Anan, Concubine Shu, is the reverse scale that he must protect at all costs, and no one is allowed to touch! ! !

"Fourth Prince, what my queen said is true." A maid said loudly, "Now it has spread not only in the palace, but also outside the palace. The queen Shufei committed adultery. Even...even you are not the emperor's heir."

The maid's words were like adding fuel to the fire. Liangpin yelled and staggered back, "You want to kill her, it wasn't me who said that. I didn't say you were a bastard."

The palace maid trembled, "Yes...it was the Fourth Prince's wife who said that!"

Her roar brought the chaotic scene to a state of silence.

"The rumor came back from Jiangnan. The Fourth Prince's wife found out personally that you are not the Emperor's son, but the illegitimate offspring of Concubine Shu's adultery with someone else!!"

Liangpin was stunned.

She turned around and looked at the palace maid, her face filled with astonishment.

What a mess? How could she not know? The emperor never said that. Where did she hear it from?

"What nonsense are you talking about?" She growled at the maid.

He is still saying this at this time. Do you want her to be pierced to death by Xiao Yuan's sword?

"Your Highness, what I said is all true. The Fourth Prince's wife has already announced to the world that the Fourth Prince is not the heir to the throne. It is because of the Emperor's kindness that he has been suppressing this. Even the previous Concubine Shen asked to be executed for the sake of the royal family's reputation because she knew about this."

The Imperial Garden fell into deathly silence.

Ling Chenyi looked at Xiao Yuan worriedly.

If Xiao Yuan was only angry at the palace maid's words before, the words after that were a fatal blow to him!

They all knew why Shen Anan married Xiao Yuan, so Concubine Shen was silenced because she knew about this, and the indirect death of Madam Shen was also to protect the so-called royal face.

They knew that all this was most likely planned by the emperor, but Shen Anan didn't know, so for the sake of her beloved grandmother, it was possible that such a ridiculous statement would be spread.

Injure Xiao Yuan by a thousand and the Emperor by eight hundred.

"Damn it!" Ling Chenyi gritted his teeth. In order to completely bring down Xiao Yuan, the emperor was willing to cuckold him! ! !

"Xiao Yuan, calm down. Let's go back and discuss it." He grabbed Xiao Yuan's wrist and said.

The two of them thought of thousands of ways, but they never thought that the emperor would be so decisive! !

The way the officials looked at Xiao Yuan slowly changed.

In terms of qualifications, abilities, and talents, no one can compare to the Fourth Prince Xiao Yuan. He is the undisputed candidate for the crown prince.

But the emperor suppressed him time and again, even treating that waste Xiao Ze better than the Fourth Prince. It turns out that the Fourth Prince Xiao Yuan is not a prince! !

Now everything made sense, and the officials seemed to have suddenly discovered some huge secret and everything became clear.

Xiao Yuan's expression remained extremely calm throughout.

The only disturbance came when the palace maid uttered the words "Fourth Prince's Consort".

He had no doubt that she would abandon him for Madam Shen.

The pain at the tip of his heart was indescribable, as if someone had cut off a corner of it with a knife, and his body was convulsing in pain.

He knew that all this was a conspiracy by his father, but she had truly hurt him, and the pain was a hundred times more than having a knife stabbed into his body.

His good father really knew how to deal with him! ! ! !

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the palace maid.

Liangpin also looked at her maid, she was so shocked that even her expression was numb.

Why doesn't she know anything?

When exactly did it happen?

The palace maid's eyes flickered and she didn't dare to look at Concubine Liang.

Ling Chenyi looked at the reactions of the others before he came back to his senses.

Liangpin was just a feint by the emperor. This palace maid was the key to the emperor's situation. Xiao Yuan drew his sword and forced the palace maid out in advance, which should have disrupted the emperor's originally perfect plan.

In this way, there are many loopholes, and only by breaking the impasse can a breakthrough be found.

Thinking of this, he slowly let go of Xiao Yuan's wrist.

Sure enough, this guy always has plans in mind, but he is too concerned and becomes confused! !