Chapter 105: Rotten Jiang Shan

Su Xiao, the chief steward beside the emperor, held a whisk on his arm and walked quickly towards the center of the hall.

"Miss Qiao, the emperor is still waiting for you, please take off the red cloth quickly."

No, why is there such a pungent smell, like something is rotten.

Qiao Yihuan froze in place, not knowing what to do. She asked Qi Yun to buy several hundred kilograms of ginger for her because she was afraid that something might happen if she kept it at home. After all, she had a younger sister at home who always wanted to take away everything from her, so she had to be careful.

She didn't want Qi Yun to bother with it by keeping it in the princess's mansion, so she asked Qi Yun to keep it for the time being and send it to the palace on the way to the Emperor's birthday.

But why, why did it turn out like this?

The ginger on top of the ginger mountain has become moldy. If you don't look carefully, you might not notice it, but the pungent smell that hits you in the face is obviously because the ginger in the ginger mountain has rotted, which is why it has such a strong smell.

If I don't send this bucket of ginger to the emperor, maybe it will be fine. But if I send it to the emperor, I......

Seeing her standing there motionless with a helpless and frightened look on her face, Su Xiao took a step forward and lifted the red cloth.

Qiao Yihuan wanted to stop it, but she didn't dare.

Su Xiao had sharp eyes and saw at a glance that the ginger on the top of the ginger mountain was moldy. When the red cloth was lifted, the pungent smell of rotting ginger hit him in the face.

He glanced at Qiao Yihuan's uneasy and even frightened expression, his dark pupils moved slightly, and he looked in the direction of Minister Qiao with a smile.

"The gift that the Shangshu's eldest daughter prepared is so clever. I wonder if it was the Shangshu's idea for the eldest daughter or if it was the eldest daughter's own clever idea."

Minister Qiao paused for a moment, his expression slightly changed, and he glanced at the bucket of ginger beside Su Xiao. He couldn't see it because it was too far away, so he could only see the shape of a small mountain in the bucket.

There was something right in what Su Xiao said, but there was something wrong with Qiao Yihuan's unusual reaction.

"My eldest daughter is very thoughtful and clever. Her mother and I had asked her about this before, but she insisted on giving us a surprise on her birthday. It was only now that I realized she had prepared such a clever gift."

Su Xiao nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the 'barrel of ginger mountain' prepared by Miss Qiao is very clever. I wish Your Majesty a long life and a unified country!"

As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, all the ministers and their wives stood up and congratulated him in unison: "May the emperor live a long life and unify the country!"

The emperor was delighted. "Well, the gift from the eldest daughter of the Qiao family is very much to my liking."

Madam Jing'an narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman in the center of the hall, and glanced at Qiao Wanyan who was diagonally opposite. When their eyes met, there was a hint of imperceptible mockery in the eyes of both of them.

"Your Majesty." Lady Jing'an suddenly smiled and said, "The gift from the eldest daughter of the Qiao family is ingenious and unique. I'm afraid there has never been such an interesting gift in history. Your Majesty, why don't you let us take a closer look and broaden our horizons."

The emperor was in high spirits and waved his hand to approve it.

Two palace servants carefully lifted the bucket and walked towards the prince who was sitting in the first position on the left.

Before he even got close, He Zhiyu smelled an unspeakable odor. It was not until the bucket of ginger was presented to him that he was sure that the odor came from here.

He said calmly, "Father, this bucket of Jiangshan is a birthday gift from the eldest daughter of the Qiao family. I think such an important birthday gift should be kept well, otherwise if the palace servants are not careful and let the Jiangshan collapse, it will be a bad omen."

He Yanli's voice sounded calmly, "Jiangshan is stable, how can it collapse easily? People in the palace are very cautious, and my brother is overthinking. Bring it here and let me take a good look."

In the center of the hall, Qiao Yihuan looked at He Zhiyu for help. He Zhiyu received it, but He Yanli wanted to stop him, and he had no way to stop him in front of his father.

"Father, your son..."

Before he finished speaking, the emperor said, "It's okay, let King Jing take a look. But what the prince said makes sense, after King Jing has a look, put it away and store it well."

Qiao Yihuan was still uneasy. Prince Jing was not very friendly to her. She could even feel that he was a little annoyed with her.

She didn't understand where this annoyance came from. She hadn't done anything to offend him. He had even cut off one of Xiaoying's arms in the valley that day.

Therefore, at the moment, she was afraid that Prince Jing would not cover up for her like the Crown Prince did.

She couldn't imagine the consequences once the truth came out.

She shouldn't have trusted Jiang Qiyun so much. She should have checked it out in advance!

Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in such a dangerous situation now!

The palace servants carefully carried Jiang Shan in front of Prince Jing. He Yanli frowned, looked at the moldy ginger on the top of Jiang Shan, and turned his head to glance at the prince.

He Zhiyu had a solemn expression, and the gaze between them was like an ice knife in an extremely cold land, piercing into a person's chest with a freezing chill.

"May I ask, my royal brother, is it because of a cold that your nose is blocked?"

As soon as these words came out, Qiao Yihuan's face turned extremely pale. His legs were weak, and if he hadn't been forcing himself to support himself, he would have fallen to his knees in the next moment.

He Zhiyu's face was gloomy.

Minister Qiao also realized that something was wrong. There must be something wrong with Tong Jiangshan, otherwise Su Xiao would not have asked him that question for no reason.

If there really was a problem with Tong Jiang Shan, Su Xiao's words just now could help him get out of it and give himself a way out.

He looked at Su Xiao who had returned to the emperor, and saw Su Xiao also looking at him.

He nodded slightly, and Minister Qiao instantly confirmed what he was thinking.

Minister Qiao asked, "What does your Highness Prince Jing mean by this?"

He Yanli said slowly: "This bucket of ginger emits such a pungent smell, but my brother seems to have not smelled it. I asked that question because I am concerned about my brother."

Everyone was shocked when these words were spoken. Jiang Shan was emitting a pungent smell?

Could it be that the bucket of ginger is rotten?

Rotten, Jiang Shan?

Everyone looked at the emperor's face, but saw that the emperor looked normal and there was no big emotional fluctuation.

The emperor's mind was hard to predict, but everyone knew that the eldest daughter of the Qiao family had made a big mistake.

The queen's eyes flashed, "Show it to me."

The queen felt the prince looking at her, but she didn't look back. She had always disliked the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, so how could she let go of such a good opportunity?

When the palace servant delivered the bucket of ginger to the emperor, one could smell the rotten odor without even looking at it.

The queen angrily rebuked him, "How dare you! A bucket of ginger is supposed to have a good meaning, but you presented a bucket of rotten ginger to the emperor as a gift. What's your meaning?"