Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Beautiful and Strong Miserable Dad 24
During the last Ghost Festival ancestral worship, Zhuozhuo had been either asleep or playing, and hadn't paid much attention to Emperor Zhengping. Now, looking up, she saw that Emperor Zhengping had lost a lot of weight recently. His tall frame now looked like a branch under pressure. The dragon robes on him were hollow, and he exuded a forced majesty.
If Zhuozhuo had a richer vocabulary, he would know that Emperor Zhengping's current condition is that he looks strong but is weak inside, listless and crazy.
The assassination attempt on the Ghost Festival largely accomplished Emperor Zhengping's goal, but it was followed by a sense of emptiness and confusion after the release of his anger. Over fifty, looking back, he found no one by his side, no one to care for him, confirming his title as a lonely man.
These days, Emperor Zhengping often woke in the middle of the night, his ears ringing with the questions of Prince Chun and Prince Chu. Why kill them? Yes, if he wanted to vent his anger, he could have just killed a few ministers who showed disloyalty. Why kill his own son? Couldn't he have just imprisoned him for life?
Emperor Zhengping pondered day and night, unable to recall why he had made such a decision. Perhaps someone had plotted against him, though he had no evidence. However, having been immersed in political intrigue for decades, he could intuitively guess the suspects: none other than the two remaining princes, Prince Jing or Prince Li.
Emperor Zhengping's suspicions about the disabled yet harmless Prince Jing stemmed from his discovery that the secret guards left behind by their mother, the Concubine, were controlled not by the Prince of Chu but by Prince Jing. The deceived Emperor Zhengping felt more than anger, only relief, and wondered who would prevail, Prince Jing or Prince Li.
After learning that Qi had sent an envoy, Emperor Zhengping was quite looking forward to tonight's banquet, wondering what would happen when Prince Jing, Prince Li, and Prince Qi Zhang got together. Unexpectedly, before the banquet even started, it was Zhuozhuo who got into trouble first. Zhuozhuo was like a little fool.
After Feng Pansheng insisted on taking Zhuozhuo to worship their ancestors, Emperor Zhengping became more certain of his previous thoughts, thinking that he was only using Zhuozhuo, so Emperor Zhengping became more fond of Zhuozhuo.
At this moment, he looked at Zhuozhuo, his tone surprisingly kind, "You're still in the palace so late, aren't you sleepy? Children won't grow tall if they stay up late. Grandpa will have someone take you back."
Zhuozhuo shook his head and said in a baby voice, "I want to accompany Daddy."
"You're here, and your father still thinks you're making trouble." Emperor Zhengping laughed. Before he could say anything else, Feng Pansheng suddenly looked at him, a mocking smile on his face, and said in a gentle tone, "No."
Emperor Zhengping's expression instantly turned cold, and he made no effort to conceal his dislike for Feng Pansheng. He was too lazy to speak and gave Eunuch Wang a cold look. Eunuch Wang understood, took two steps forward, and loudly announced the start of the banquet.
The sound of stringed instruments rose, yet a cold silence fell over the banquet. The officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty observed Feng Pansheng's reaction. Seeing him smiling as he served food and peeled crabs for Zhuo Zhuo, they too began to laugh, toasting each other and enjoying the lively atmosphere. Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the Qi envoy's table seemed almost frozen.
Qi Zhang picked up the wine glass and took a slow look at it, then put the glass on the table with a click.
An envoy stood up and said, "Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty is rich in products. The women of our Great Qi love the Zhou Dynasty's gold-inlaid jewelry. It was a pity that we didn't have any in our tribute last year. I wonder if you could give us some today."
As soon as these words were spoken, the lively atmosphere became cold again.
Qi, weakened by frequent floods and earthquakes, and the growing strength of Great Zhou, which had been recuperating for years, had long since stopped paying tribute to Qi. After several years of preparation, it officially ceased paying tribute last year. The Qi envoy's direct request for tribute is truly shameless.
A young and energetic official from the Great Zhou Dynasty immediately refuted this, saying that only weaklings would beg for favors. If Qi was truly in trouble, it could simply ask sincerely and the Great Zhou Dynasty could provide some aid. If Qi wanted to strike a deal, it needed to show its strength.
The Qi envoy was surprised and said that it was normal for two people to exchange gifts when they were friends. They had come from the great Qi to celebrate Emperor Zhengping's birthday, bringing with them countless precious treasures. Why was the Zhou official so sensitive and thoughtful, blushing and trying to argue with him, like a shrew who would jump up and down at the slightest glance.
The young official of the Great Zhou Dynasty was infuriated by the rogue's words and didn't know how to refute it for a moment. The others were too embarrassed to argue. At this moment, a soft child's voice rang out, "You don't want to take a look, you want grandpa to give you something."
The Qi envoy immediately glared at him. Zhuozhuo wasn't afraid of him at all. He glared back with wide eyes, then said kindly, "We all heard what you just said. Are you mentally ill and have forgotten? My uncle Baizhu is a good doctor. Ask him to take a look at your brain."
Because of what they just said, Zhuozhuo suddenly had an idea and added, "You have to pay. Do you have money?"
The Qi envoy was in a dilemma. He couldn't decide whether to argue with Zhuozhuo or not. He simply ignored Zhuozhuo and said to Emperor Zhengping with a fake smile, "The Zhou Dynasty claims to be a country of etiquette, but I didn't expect an ignorant child to disrupt a night banquet. It's really eye-opening. In our Great Qi, women have no right to appear at such an important occasion."
Zhuozhuo blinked, not understanding what he was saying. Feng Pansheng wiped the soup from the corner of Zhuozhuo's mouth, gave the Qi envoy a neutral look, and said, "Her mere presence here qualifies her. But you, speaking so recklessly in front of His Majesty, deserve to be punished for impropriety."
As soon as he finished speaking, the imperial guards came forward and dragged the Qi envoy away. The other Qi people were shocked. Some shouted questions, some tried to stop him, some grabbed chairs and waited for defense, and some protected Qi Zhang.
Qi Zhang's calm expression finally broke. Perhaps because the excitement was too great, his body swayed. After being supported by his subordinates, he pushed them away with a grim expression, then took a deep breath, "Your Majesty, Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, what do you mean?"
Emperor Zhengping was originally furious, but when questioned, he chuckled, "Prince of Qi, didn't you hear? These people are following the orders of King Li. What's the point of you talking to me?"
After admitting his own marginalization before court officials and foreign envoys, the Zhengping Emperor, completely utterly ...
Qi Zhang's expression turned even uglier, and he looked at Feng Pansheng with resentment, but he quickly smiled, hiding his malice, like a gentle gentleman. "King Li, it's been years since we last met. Do we have to be so hostile upon our reunion? Consider our seven years of friendship, and please don't embarrass someone who has nothing to do with us."
Feng Pansheng seemed to find this funny. He moved his fingers, and the guards drew their swords and slashed at the people of Qi who were trying to stop them, forcing back the people of Qi who were trying to stop them, and dragged the envoy away like a dead dog.
The officials of the Great Zhou and the Qi, aware of the situation, fell silent, looking at Feng Pansheng and Qi Zhang with complicated expressions. The officials of the Great Zhou reacted even more violently, consciously or unconsciously adopting positions that would make it easiest for them to escape and hide, fearing that Feng Pansheng would suddenly attack and kill.
"King Li," Qi Zhang cried out helplessly, "It's not good to be so cruel and domineering in front of the children, right?"
The words and tone were so intimate that Zhuozhuo was confused. He looked back and forth between Qi Zhang and Feng Pansheng and couldn't help asking, "Who are you? Are you my father's friend?"
Qi Zhang said slowly: "We are friends for life and death."
"Daddy, what is a life-and-death friend?" Zhuozhuo asked Feng Pansheng, but Qi Zhang quickly replied, "It's a good friend you can trust with your life and death."
"But my dad doesn't want to pay attention to you." Zhuozhuo said in a baby voice, "You don't need to stay here anymore. Go away."
Everyone: “…”
This was the first time Zhuozhuo had been so unfriendly to someone. Feng Pansheng, who was too lazy to pay attention to Qi Zhang, smiled and patted her little head. Without even glancing at the people with different expressions, he said to Emperor Zhengping in a good mood, "It's getting late. I'll take my leave now."
After saying this, without waiting for Emperor Zhengping to speak, Feng Pansheng carried Zhuozhuo away from the table. As they passed Qi Zhang, he smiled and said, "Zhuozhuo, Daddy and him are not friends, but enemies. You're not wrong. Zhuozhuo is truly remarkable for being able to see the truth amidst others' lies and pretenses."
Zhuozhuo immediately turned his head to look at Qi Zhang and made a face, "You lie, you have a rotten nose."
A vein throbbed on Qi Zhang's forehead, his face pale with rage, his body swaying. The Qi people surrounded him, shouting, "Your Highness, please don't be angry!" Some even took out pills and fed them to him, but they still couldn't prevent Qi Zhang from fainting. For a moment, screams of fear reached the sky, as if Qi Zhang was already dead.
The guest fainted, forcing the banquet to end prematurely. Feng Pansheng, who had just stepped out of the palace, heard the commotion behind him and said in a sarcastic yet gentle tone, "Zhuozhuo, you see, when faced with something difficult to deal with, some people choose to pretend to faint to escape. This method is not good, it affects others too much."
Qi Zhang, who was really pretending to faint, said: "..."
The courtier who wanted to call Feng Pansheng to reprimand Zhuo Zhuo: "..."
On the carriage back to the palace, Zhuozhuo noticed that Feng Pansheng was in a bad mood tonight. He leaned into his arms and said worriedly, "Dad is unhappy because of the man who fainted? Let's have Uncle Gansong kill him. Will Dad be happy if he kills him?"
9972 was shocked. Why did Zhuozhuo keep talking about murder? Feng Pansheng, listen to what you taught me!
"Daddy, it's not because he's unhappy. He once bullied Daddy, but Daddy has let it go. When he gets the punishment he deserves, Daddy and him will be even. But Daddy would be happy if he died." Feng Pansheng didn't think it was wrong. He looked far away, "Daddy, it's because of something else."
"What's going on?"
"This is Daddy's secret, I can't tell you."
"Okay." Zhuozhuo allowed Feng Pansheng to have his own little secret. She said mysteriously, "Daddy, Zhuozhuo also has a secret that I can't tell you."
9972 immediately became worried. It knew all about Zhuozhuo's affairs too well. The only things that could be called secrets were transmigrating into a book and the system. This was not something that could be discussed.
In the midst of 9972's anxiety, Zhuozhuo said, "I hid some candy under the bed. I ate it secretly without Dad knowing."
9972:[……]
Feng Pansheng nodded in agreement, "Daddy doesn't know." He saw that Zhuozhuo was sleepy and confused, so he used his professional sleeping techniques and quickly coaxed Zhuozhuo to sleep.
When they arrived at the palace, Feng Pansheng put Zhuozhuo on the bed and found the candy hidden under the bed. After thinking about it, he decided not to take it away. He just told Qiuyu Qiufeng to keep a close eye on her and not let her eat too much secretly.
Feng Pansheng turned to leave, but couldn't help turning back. He lowered his head to rub Zhuozhuo's sleeping face before leaving. Instead of returning to the house, he left the yard and went to the storeroom, where he took out a long sword that shone with a cold light.
This sword had been hanging in Feng Pansheng's room. It was only after Zhuozhuo came that he kept groping for things, and he was worried about hurting her, so he put the sword in the storeroom. Now that it had been exposed to the light of day, the sword hummed softly and gleamed dangerously in the moonlight.
Feng Pansheng took the sword and went to the palace.
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