Chapter 293 A Thorn in the Eye
Inside the Zichen Palace, the previous bustle was long gone, and the densely packed hall was now silent. Everyone lowered their heads tremblingly, and carefully raised their heads to take a look at the emperor in the center of the palace.
Pei Luoshu seemed to be very leisurely, drinking the wine in his glass slowly.
There was a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold.
After a moment, Wen Zhiheng, who had been silent all the time, spoke softly.
"In Daye, assassinating His Majesty is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of your clan!"
The envoy from Tianqi State hurriedly explained.
"Your Majesty, there must be some misunderstanding here. Your Highness the Princess does not know Kung Fu."
"When the princess performed the dance just now, it was the envoy who was boasting. Everyone in the palace knew that this was Princess Tianqi. Why is the envoy now vehemently denying it?"
Princess Tianqi raised her head and said.
"I am here to marry your Majesty. How could I assassinate your Majesty? Isn't this ridiculous?"
"Whatever I think in my heart is less shocking than the reality."
The Tianqi envoy wanted to explain, but was stopped by His Majesty in the palace with a soft voice.
"The way Tianqi celebrates birthdays is quite interesting and novel."
When everyone heard this, the tense atmosphere in the Zichen Hall eased.
I heard His Majesty say again.
"Where is Fan Shijie, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites?"
A thin official stepped forward and saluted.
"I am here."
"Are you in charge of receiving the envoys?"
"It is you, my humble servant."
"You must be tired recently, go home and rest first."
Minister of Rites Fan Shijie's hands trembled, but he replied respectfully.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Where are the guards of the second squad of the Palace Front Command?"
"I am here."
"If you neglect your duties and slack off in your work, you will be punished with thirty lashes as a warning to others."
"yes."
Pei Luoshu glanced at the different looks of the people in the hall and said.
"I think this kind of interesting thing is only good once. Next time, it won't be fresh anymore."
Afterwards, the singing and dancing continued, and everyone was talking and laughing, as if the assassination just now had been blown away silently like the wind.
Cui Yongan followed Wen Zhiheng out of the hall.
"What's the meaning of today's incident?"
Wen Zhiheng got on the black carriage outside the palace, and Cui Yongan followed him.
"Tianqi is a small country that depends on Daye for survival. For Your Majesty, using them as a warning to scare other foreign nations is the safest option."
"How could they accept that Tianqi was wronged?"
"A weak country must be beaten. If you don't have a strong fist, you can only swallow your anger. But it depends on what Your Majesty does."
"What effect does this have?"
"This is the first time that these countries have met with Your Majesty. They want to hear Your Majesty's every word and action. Naturally, Your Majesty will also present his attitude in front of them."
"You civil servants just have too many thoughts."
Wen Zhiheng said expressionlessly.
"Your Majesty has set up this trap, which has three advantages. First, foreigners think that Your Majesty is a king who is both kind and powerful, and is shrewd and wise. Anyone who wants to move Daye will be carefully considered. Second, these foreign countries all want to pay tribute to the beauty. Once this loophole is successfully opened, then Your Majesty's insistence on keeping his wife faithful and filling the harem will be brought up again. Those old ministers will use this excuse to continuously fill the harem with people. The declining noble families will seize this opportunity to return to their glory no matter what. Third, the Minister of Rites and the other officials are all on the side of Grand Tutor Zhang. Taking this opportunity, replacing them with your own people, wouldn't it be great?"
Cui Yongan clicked his tongue.
"You guys keep calculating like this, aren't you afraid of dying?"
Wen Zhiheng closed his eyes in silence.
"Perhaps he did it for Chen Shiyi."
Cui Yongan raised his eyebrows.
"Is she coming back?"
"How could she not come back for his birthday?"
Cui Yongan patted his shoulder.
"Go find someone to marry. If you continue like this, His Majesty will regard you as a thorn in his side."
Wen Zhiheng raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"You should also be careful not to let His Majesty regard you as a thorn in his side."
Cui Yongan snorted.
"How is that possible? He is trying to coax me now, but you know, I am on his side now."
"That's what you think," Wen Zhiheng said with a serious expression. "You have to remember that he is no longer the one who used to drink and eat at the same table with us. He is now the king, and the king's mind is not something you and I can guess. Now that he relies on you, you are naturally proud and at ease. If one day your power becomes a hidden danger to him, he will just get rid of you as soon as possible."
Cui Yongan blinked.
"Why do I feel like you are scaremongering?"
Wen Zhiheng smiled.
"Yes, I am telling you a lie. You can choose not to believe it."
Cui Yongan's eyes were filled with doubt.
"What about Brother Lan?"
"This is a problem left over from the imperial court. Marshal Lan Tong has been envied by every generation of emperors in Daye. Of course, Your Majesty is no exception. However, he is now in the process of centralizing power. If things go smoothly, Marshal Lan Tong will probably have a hard time."
Cui Yongan frowned.
"Should we help or not?"
"Yes, you are the one who works for the court and gets paid by the court, so how can you not help?"
"I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around this."
"Do your own thing well and leave a way out for yourself."
Cui Yongan nodded, then suddenly thought of something and spoke again.
"You said your brain works well when it's working well, but it's very different from your character. If you can't figure something out, you'll never figure it out."
Wen Zhiheng lifted the car curtain, glanced out the window, and said casually.
"When people face loss, courage and fear are both choices. Just think of me as a coward. Besides, not everything you do will get you a result, and some things are not considered a gain just because they have a result."
In the afternoon, Chen Shiyi and Fu Da rode fast horses to Kyoto.
Yue Zhi came over to pick her up.
"His Majesty has told me to take you to where you are staying."
"OK."
Only after arriving at the house did Chen Shiyi relax and rest for a while.
There are a lot of things going on in Qingzhou, so let Jingran handle them there first, and she will take care of them after she returns from Kyoto.
After three days of non-stop working, she is now a little tired.
"When will His Majesty arrive?"
Yue Zhi replied respectfully.
"Your Majesty is hosting a banquet for foreign guests, so it is not clear yet."
Chen Shiyi nodded and then smiled.
"Yue Zhi, thank you for your hard work. I like this house very much."
Yue Zhi, who usually had a blank expression on his face, raised his lips slightly.
"As long as your majesty likes it, however, for the sake of secrecy, I have not found a servant for you..."
Chen Shiyi waved his hands.
"I'll take care of these little things myself, you go ahead and do your work."
After washing, she felt much more relaxed. She took a few books from the study, lay in the rocking chair, basking in the sun, and flipping through the pages.
Before she knew it, she fell asleep.