◇ Chapter 76 (76) Everyone’s White Moonlight (Part 2)
For a moment, everyone looked up.
Their emperor, known throughout the world for his gentle and kind character since he ascended the throne, was a graceful and elegant gentleman. He was staring at the young man below with an indescribable fiery gaze.
They didn't understand, or didn't dare to understand, why His Majesty looked at the boy like that.
After waiting for a long time for Emperor Jianguang's order, Lianzhi raised her eyes.
The dark, round eyes showed a hint of confusion and disdain.
It was this familiar look that made Emperor Jianguang more resolute in his decision. He coughed lightly to atone for his gaffe, "Prince Zhulan is a distinguished guest of our Daning, and we must not treat him poorly. The enthronement was too hastily carried out, and it is inappropriate for him to stay in the inn. How about asking the Helan envoys to move to the palace from now on to demonstrate our Daning's hospitality."
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate!" The Prime Minister was the first to stand up and stop him. "It is against the rules for a foreign minister to reside in the palace!"
"What's against the rules? Aren't the envoys from Mobei also staying in the palace temporarily? Besides, it's not the inner court. The Prime Minister probably doesn't want the envoys to live in a remote palace, right?" The Taifu, a close minister of Emperor Jianguang, pushed the words back.
A small commotion erupted at the banquet, each with their own agenda. Bai Kang, who should have been present, poured himself a glass of wine, appearing to be staying out of the situation and protecting his own safety. The officials from the Ministry of Rites also lowered their heads in silence. Da Xi Mi tried to determine the underlying meaning of Emperor Jianguang's words. The Empress Dowager, upon seeing Lianzhi's face, paled and remained silent. Concubine Lian nearly crushed the jade cup in her hand.
The argument in the center of the hall continued. The prince and the envoy at the center of the discussion quietly retreated. The prime minister stroked his beard, trying to make a subtle retort, when suddenly, an angry rebuke came from above. The empress dowager slammed the table, calling a halt to the two.
"This is settled," Emperor Jianguang said. The Prime Minister was helpless, knowing he couldn't change Emperor Jianguang's decision, and sat back down in frustration. Lianzhi covered her veil again and returned to her seat at the table.
The music in the hall began to play again, and the dancers emerged gracefully to the melody. Their figures were graceful, their sleeves fluttering, and they were as light as a fluttering butterfly. But half the people in the hall had already shifted their attention beyond the seats, beyond the dancers, to the man who had just appeared.
Suspicion, fear, and a hint of...amazement.
Whether it was the dancers carefully trained by the palace's music bureau or Concubine Lian, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Daning, they all paled in comparison to Helian Zhulan.
Lianzhi sipped his wine, ignoring the inquiring glances that fell on him. Let them look, he knew he was handsome, and it was natural for him to be liked!
However, there were two gazes in the crowd that he couldn't ignore. One came from the dragon throne, carrying a disgusting aura that made him frown.
Another...
Lianzhi raised his eyes secretly, and Bai Kang, who had been glancing at him just now, quickly turned his head and pretended nothing had happened.
Bai Kang was angry.
Lianzhi felt guilty for a moment, but then calmed down. He hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't him who made Bai Kang angry!
Emperor Jianguang's words had practically informed everyone that Daning was determined to ally with the Helan tribe. The most panicked were probably Bahar and his group; without winning over Daning, they would undoubtedly be defeated in Mobei this time.
While everyone was watching the dance, Bahar stood up and stepped out of the line. His face showed no sign of shame or anger at being harassed or ignored. He said respectfully, "A glass of wine to your respected Majesty. May your Majesty be in good health, may the country of Daning be peaceful and prosperous, and may the people be blessed and blessed for a long time to come!"
Bahar's Mandarin was quite good, and his choice of words was flawless, showing that he had been well prepared. Unlike Da Ximi, who was still cramming Daning language the day before leaving for Daning.
Before entering the throne room, Lianzhi had anticipated Chen Fengke's actions. Now, looking at Bahar trying to please Chen Fengke like a clown, he felt only regret.
No matter how hard he tried, Chen Fengke would not send troops to help Mobei.
He lowered his eyes and took another sip of wine. Although Emperor Jianguang no longer wanted to deal with these doomed Mobei troops, he still wore a smile on his face and raised his glass, saying, "May the friendship between Mobei and our dynasty endure forever, and may we share the blessings of peace. My lords share my heart and my aspirations. How about we toast the envoy together?"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
During the banquet, all the officials of Daning rose and drank their cups. After three rounds of drinking, everyone at the table showed varying degrees of drunkenness. Suddenly, the sound of a jade cup falling to the ground was heard from the upper table, followed by Concubine Lian's exclamation and Emperor Jianguang's grief-stricken cry: "Mother!"
The Empress Dowager tilted her head and fell towards the table, dropping the wine glass in her hand to the ground, spilling the wine all over the floor. The officials below couldn't see clearly, but Emperor Jianguang and the palace maids beside her could see that the Empress Dowager's face was pale, her lips were blue, and a trace of blood was slowly flowing from the corner of her mouth.
"The wine is poisoned! Imperial guards, protect the emperor! Seal the palace gates immediately!"
Eunuch Lu shouted. The singing and dancing in the palace suddenly stopped, everyone caught off guard by this sudden change. The imperial kitchen staff had been escorted to the front of the palace, and several imperial physicians rushed to examine the food served to the Empress Dowager, as well as the food that Emperor Jianguang and Concubine Lian had not yet consumed.
"Your Majesty, it's poison in the wine," the imperial physician said tremblingly. "Fortunately, the Empress Dowager didn't drink much. If you treat her immediately, the poison can be cured."
Fortunately, they arrived in time and the head was saved.
"Your Majesty! The wine that the Empress Dowager drank just now was this one!" Nanny Xuemei held up the gilded wine pot. The pot had a strange shape and was presented by the envoy from Mobei when they first entered the hall.
Several jugs of this wine were presented as tribute, and there was also a jug on the table of the Helan tribe. But the Helan tribe and Mobei had an irreconcilable feud, so how could they possibly drink their wine?
Emperor Jianguang was furious, and the imperial guards pinned Bahar and the others to the ground. Bahar was stunned, his mind racing: "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with us!"
"Go and test the other pots." Emperor Jianguang said in a deep voice.
wrong.
Lianzhi looked at his expression and the Queen Mother who had fainted from the poison, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. The imperial physician examined the remaining jugs of wine and found that, apart from the jug in front of the Queen Mother, the wine from the Helan tribe was poisonous.
The palace banquet suddenly deteriorated and could not continue. It had to be abruptly disbanded, and the Mobei envoys were ordered to be detained in the inner prison until their fate was determined. The eunuchs from the imperial kitchen and Nanny Xuemei were also punished with a cane for negligence.
This is an unexpected disaster.
After this incident, the plan for the Helan envoy to temporarily live in the palace was put on hold. Lianzhi breathed a sigh of relief—he wanted to enter the palace quickly and get closer to Chen Fengke.
But it would be nice to delay it for a while, he didn't want to see that face again.
An air of unease permeated the court, and an inexplicable air of death hung over the Golden Throne Hall. Lianzhi followed the envoys out of the palace and boarded her own carriage.
Arus didn't come with us today. He wasn't an envoy, and being from Mobei, his status was awkward. Inside the car was Geerer. Lianzhi got in and said quickly, "The Queen Mother has been poisoned."
"What!" Geril screamed softly, "But our people..."
"There's something wrong with the tribute wine from Mobei," Lianzhi said succinctly, stroking his chin. "I'm worried it might implicate one of our people. The Mobei envoy is no fool. Why would he poison the empress dowager in public at this critical moment?"
The poison in the wine of the Helan tribe probably has nothing to do with Mobei.
"Let the driver go faster," Lianzhi said, closing his eyes. He wanted to recall everything that had happened during the banquet. Geerer opened the window and said awkwardly, "Prince, we can't leave."
"Um?"
"Lord Bai's car is blocking our way." Geerer replied.
The moment he finished speaking, the scarlet figure jumped out of the car opposite. Bai Kang walked over, ignoring the driver's question, and pulled the door open.
"Go down."
Bo Kang's expression was calm, and his tone was indistinguishable from emotion. He stared intently at Lian Zhi, but Ge Ri Er knew he was speaking to him.
He didn't move, looking timidly at Lianzhi. Bo Kang repeated again: "Go down."
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Gezhi was about to leave the center of the storm, but Lianzhi grabbed his sleeve and said, "Don't leave."
Listening carefully, the tone seemed to be filled with a sense of suffocation. Their prince seemed angry too.
"Didn't you hear me?" Bai Kang grabbed Lian Zhi's wrist and pulled his hand off Geer's sleeve. Lian Zhi was really angry now: "Geer, you serve me and listen to me! Bai Kang, do you want to embarrass yourself at the palace gate?"
Bai Kang's figure was easily recognizable. His undisputed presence in front of the Helan Tribe carriage had already drawn the attention of many nearby. Not to mention the usually smiling Minister Bai, now sporting a look of officialdom. There were also faint sounds of quarreling coming from within the carriage.
There is much to speculate about in the quarrel between the Minister of Rites and the foreign envoys.
Bai Kang turned a deaf ear to him, picked up Geerer, threw him out of the carriage, ordered Qinghe to take him to his carriage, then quickly climbed onto Lianzhi's carriage and slammed the door shut.
"Drive." He ordered the driver before getting on the car.
"What do you want to do?" Lianzhi's face was cold, but she didn't ask him why he ordered her driver around.
Bai Kang stared at him expressionlessly for a while, then suddenly kissed Lianzhi's lips hard.
"Hmm?" Lianzhi was startled and tried to slap him. Bai Kang was very strong, holding his wrist tightly, almost biting off the tip of his tongue. Lianzhi twisted his waist several times, but Bai Kang just groaned twice and didn't let go.
After a long moment, Bai Kang finally let go, pinching his chin. Lian Zhi's face was still furious, her beautiful face flushed red. Bai Kang bit his cheeks twice, earning a slap on the back from Lian Zhi.
"So many people are looking at you." Bai Kang suddenly hugged his waist and buried his head in his neck.
"Hmm?" Unexpectedly, he suddenly returned to his normal tone. Lianzhi didn't react and hugged him back.
"They are all looking at you. Even the Grand Marshal and several generals are looking at you." Bai Kang said sullenly.
Not to mention that Emperor Jianguang looked at him in a very strange way, not like an enemy, but on the contrary... the officials below almost popped their eyes out when they saw Lianzhi. It was clearly not a look of respect, disgust or fear, which made him very angry.
What made him even more angry was that the always self-disciplined General Xue was also staring at his wife! That was his wife!
"Wife, how come you are so beautiful?" Bai Kang pinched Lianzhi's cheek and stroked the place where his teeth marks were left. Lianzhi was speechless for a moment after being praised by him, not knowing whether to be angry or not.
"Have they liked you for a long time?" Bai Kang continued. Lian Zhi was embarrassed and patted him: "What nonsense!"
However, he had noticed the look in General Xue's eyes. Unlike his son, General Xue was a man of integrity and honesty, not one to lust after beauty. Furthermore, once the other officials saw his face clearly, they quickly lowered their heads—after all, everyone knew who he looked like.
Rather than being curious about his appearance, General Xue seemed to be looking through him at someone else. Lianzhi could conclude that the person General Xue was thinking of at that time was definitely not the person he used to be.
【Author’s words】
I am about to write about the things before my rebirth ()
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