The woman appeared to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, dressed in a magnificent long dress of brocade with gold embroidery, her hair adorned with jewels, and her face alluring, especially her upturned eyes, which seemed to gleam with a dark light.
Su Hua's senses were extremely sharp. Although the woman only glanced at her before looking away, she could clearly sense the other woman's displeasure.
She had never seen anyone in the palace before, let alone the emperor's concubines, who were completely unrelated to her... Only those eyes seemed somewhat familiar.
Changsun looked at her and explained slowly, "This is the Third Prince's mother, Consort Shu."
"Consort Shu?" Su Hua was taken aback.
Wei Jianjia's aunt, Consort Shu.
So much has happened lately that she almost forgot about this person.
The nephew resembles the uncle, and the niece resembles the aunt. These upturned eyes are seven or eight parts like Wei Jianjia's. Thinking of this, Su Hua pursed her lips and looked at Madam Changsun, "Aunt, do you know how Miss Wei is doing now?"
Lady Changsun sighed, "A month ago, Prime Minister Wei sent her to the Jiangzhou General's residence as a concubine."
As the mistress of Prince Gong's mansion, she was well aware of the intricacies involved. When Su Hua asked, she briefly recounted what had happened at the Wei family a few months ago.
Finally, he patted her hand with a smile, "But Hua'er, don't worry. Our Prince Gong's Mansion is not to be trifled with. We will never let the Wei family bully our own people!"
A blush quickly spread across Su Hua's face.
Before coming to the capital, she never expected that the Prince Gong's Mansion would protect her in this way, and that Zichen would truly consider everything for her.
Seeing Changsun's enthusiastic manner, Su Bai's lips curled into a smile. Yesterday, the brother and sister returned from Prince Gong's Mansion with a cart full of gifts. Now, having witnessed the Yu family's attitude, Su Bai could finally put her mind at ease.
As the Emperor and Empress took their seats, one delicious dish after another was served, and princes, nobles, and ministers presented gifts to celebrate the Emperor's birthday.
A luminous pearl from the East China Sea, a jade ruyi from Nanshan, a deep-sea pearl bracelet, a top-grade white jade Buddha statue, a jade screen, a seven-colored translucent glass vase, red coral...
With each line recited by the officiant, the gazes of the crowd grew increasingly intense.
The Su family sent two gifts: one was a 300-year-old ginseng in the name of the Princess of Le'an County, and the other was a 'Longevity Embroidery' in the name of the Su family.
Jun Qingcheng and the others, who had originally intended to take the opportunity to cause trouble, had to give up for the time being when they saw the plump ginseng and the embroidered ornaments that formed a large "longevity" character.
After all, such a ceremony would be impeccable even among the assembled officials!
After a full incense stick's time, the chanting of ceremonies finally stopped, and just as everyone was about to raise their glasses, a clear voice rang out from the envoys' seats.
"I heard that His Majesty Yu the Great is searching for the Soul-Severing Flower. It just so happens that my Western Rong royal family possesses one. I brought it with me today, intending to present it to His Majesty and wish him a long and prosperous life, as bright as the sun and moon!"
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a figure in crimson purple slowly walk to the center of the hall, holding a jade box in her hand.
With a click!
The jade box was opened—
A five-petaled flower, entirely dark green and shaped like a cat's paw, appeared in the center of the jade box.
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
"The Soul-Severing Flower?!"
"The legendary Soul-Severing Flower, said to be able to cure all poisons and snatch people from the clutches of the King of Hell?"
"The Western Rong have really gone all out this time..."
Su Hua's heart skipped a beat.
The most difficult antidote among the three poisons of the three insects and three flowers is the Soul-Severing Poison. It grows deep in the desert and has a very short flowering period. Zichen and the Yu family sent people to search for a long time, but they couldn't find even a trace of it.
In other words, the only one that still exists in the world is in the hands of this Western Rong Queen.
But the name of this Western Rong queen was actually Wen Huzheng...
Thinking of this, Su Hua turned her head to look behind her, only to see that A Zheng had secretly hidden a pot of wine in her sleeve and was sipping it lightly. When she saw her looking over, she just smiled with her eyes narrowed, looking completely carefree.
At the next banquet table, Jun Qingcheng frowned slightly. "Mother, is Imperial Uncle searching for the Soul-Severing Flower? I've never heard of this before. Does Imperial Uncle need an antidote?"
“Neither your mother nor your father have heard of this.” Princess Yan shook her head. “This Soul-Severing Technique is probably not something your royal uncle would use.”
Her husband was a carefree prince who didn't need to attend court and had never heard of the matter of searching for the lost soul.
The emperor on the throne and the old Prince Gong beside him exchanged a glance.
Previously, the new queen had repeatedly refused to pay a high price to the Western Rong for the Soul Severance. Now, she's just offering it up like this, which suggests there's more to the story.
Sure enough, just as the murmurs subsided, the Queen of the Western Rong, holding the jade box, smiled and said, "We of the Western Rong have always loved chess. A few days ago, I happened to encounter a difficult game and was unable to come up with a solution."
I've heard that the young masters and ladies of Dayu have been learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since childhood, and there are many who are skilled in chess. If someone could solve this chess game for me...
"I will personally offer up my soul even if it is severed!"
At this point, she subtly changed the subject, and when she spoke again, her voice clearly carried a touch of girlish naiveté, "Of course, it's okay if you can't solve it."
"When the late king was alive, he always instructed me to find a valiant and virtuous king consort for Yu the Great. If the chess game cannot be resolved, this death will serve as a betrothal gift for my future king consort. What does Your Majesty think?"
Upon hearing this, everyone secretly grumbled: "To speak so openly and brazenly in public, calling someone 'Wang Fu' is truly an eye-opener."
Moreover, their great nation can't even solve a simple chess game, and they send a man to be the king's consort to exchange for medicine?! If word gets out, people will laugh them to death!
No matter how nicely Wang Fu speaks, he is essentially just a son-in-law who marries into a family. Any decent man would never travel thousands of miles to the Western Rong to become a son-in-law who marries into a family.
The emperor smiled and looked up at the group of people below him. "Young masters and ladies, is there anyone willing to step forward and try? Whoever can solve this chess puzzle will be richly rewarded!"
Upon hearing this, many of the young men and women responded loudly in agreement.
Among them were several princesses who loved chess, and even a prince was present.
The Queen of the Western Rong looked at the people lined up in a row and coughed lightly, "I didn't have time to say it earlier, but the chessboard in my hand is not an ordinary chessboard, but a magic chessboard."
If the player's mind is unstable, they may become trapped in a dreamlike state and do something absurd.
As she spoke, she instructed the maid to set up the chessboard.
The chessboard stood upright, seemingly cast from refined iron, and was dozens of times larger than an ordinary chessboard, with each chess piece the size of a silver ingot.
As the chessboard was set up, everyone sat at the banquet table and could see the board fairly well. However, in just a few blinks, they suddenly felt dizzy from the sight before them.
Fortunately, someone nearby pulled him up in time.
Upon seeing this, the young masters and ladies who had previously been so confident immediately backed down. They had long heard of the Western Rong illusions, and given the chess game involved, who could possibly unravel them?
Jun Qingcheng had been observing Su Hua and the people from Prince Gong's mansion, and naturally did not miss the changes in their expressions. She had a vague guess in her heart.
Seeing that Su Hua was about to make a move, she quickly stood up first and looked at the throne with a smile, "Uncle Emperor, Mingzhu is willing to try this illusion chess game."
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