Chapter 590 Being Blackmailed
Du Wanchun did not press the matter further. She turned to the palace maid and instructed her to leave the palace immediately and inform General Lu of the news.
Zhou Ruiyuan should be at the Lu residence now that he has left the palace.
Not long after the palace maid left, Du Wanchun released the young eunuch from the palace and sent two people to follow him.
She changed her clothes and left the palace for the Lu residence.
When they arrived at the Lu residence, Zhou Ruiyuan and Lu Yan had already left.
Seeing Du Wanchun's flustered expression, Miss Mo asked her, "Wanchun, what's wrong?"
Du Wanchun told Miss Mo about how the remnants of the Wu family had colluded with the Southern Barbarians to assassinate Zhou Ruiyuan.
Miss Mo frowned. "Is this true?"
Du Wanchun nodded.
Miss Mo gripped the handkerchief in her hand, pondered for a while, and then said, "No wonder I found that person a bit strange today; I guess he was one of them."
"Who?" Du Wanchun asked hurriedly.
Miss Mo replied, "One of your uncle's junior lieutenants, who has only been with your uncle for a few months, said that he saw the emperor in the city and is taking him and your uncle there."
Du Wanchun frowned. "Where did they go now?"
Miss Mo shook her head, "Those people only said they saw the emperor, but they didn't specify where."
After hearing this, Du Wanchun looked up and glanced around before her gaze fell on a servant.
"Which direction did you see His Highness and the General go in their carriage today?"
The servant thought for a moment, then pointed south and said, "They went that way, saying it was some kind of inn."
Du Wanchun quickly looked up, pondered for a moment, then turned to Miss Mo and asked, "Aunt, how many inns are there this way?"
The old nanny beside Miss Mo came out and said, "There are five families. This servant can take His Highness and Miss there."
Du Wanchun was overjoyed and immediately asked the old woman to lead the way.
Although she had been in the capital for some time, having an old nanny like her to guide her would naturally make things much faster.
Du Wanchun led them onto the carriage and headed towards the two nearest inns.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ruiyuan and Lu Yan arrived at Consort Li's restaurant, led by a servant.
The servant looked around and said, "Your Highness, this is the place. This is where I saw the Emperor."
Zhou Ruiyuan looked up at the restaurant. "You mean it's inside?"
The waiter nodded. "That's right, it's in the restaurant."
Lu Yan looked up as well, "I remember this restaurant was bought by Wan Chun some time ago. The Emperor can't possibly come to your territory again, can he?"
The servant's expression changed visibly upon hearing this.
Zhou Ruiyuan turned his head, his gaze turning cold and sharp as he looked at the servant. "Is this really the place?"
The servant lowered his head slightly, clearly feeling somewhat guilty.
Zhou Ruiyuan grabbed his arm, kicked his legs, and slammed him heavily to the ground, coldly asking, "Who sent you?"
The servant was still feigning ignorance, "Your Highness, what are you saying? I don't know."
Zhou Ruiyuan dragged him into the restaurant, pulled out a dagger and held it to his neck, saying, "Speak! Who sent you?"
The servant stared wide-eyed at Zhou Ruiyuan, sweating profusely, trembling with fear. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly clutched his stomach, vomited blood, and collapsed to the ground.
Lu Yan rushed over immediately, "Oh no, he committed suicide by poisoning himself!"
Zhou Ruiyuan glanced at the servant with disdain, slowly stood up, and looked up at the top of the restaurant. "It's nothing. If he's dead, he's dead. I'll go up and take a look."
Lu Yan stopped him, saying, "This person went to great lengths to bring us here; there must be a trap."
Zhou Ruiyuan raised his eyes, revealing a confident expression. "I really want to see who is trying to trick me."
Lu Yan gripped the longsword in his hand, gradually understanding his meaning. "Very well, I will go with Your Highness."
Zhou Ruiyuan slowly walked upstairs.
He had noticed something was wrong with the servant before he arrived, but he pretended not to know, simply to lure the snake out of its hole.
The two carefully made their way upstairs.
The restaurant is acting strangely today; there are no customers and no waiters.
When they arrived on the second floor, they saw the Southern Barbarians sitting on a chaise lounge.
They tied up all the restaurant staff and left them in a corner.
Even Wu's nephews were kidnapped.
It seems the Southern Barbarians didn't intend to assassinate him; they wanted to kill the prince in the street.
Or perhaps they wanted to perish together with the crown prince.
Zhou Ruiyuan's eyes flashed with coldness. "You guys are really bold. Aren't you afraid I'll send men to surround this place?"
The southern barbarian sneered and said, "Surround this place? Fine, let's see if you dare!"
At this moment, two people arrived and brought out fuel and a tinderbox.
"If you dare send anyone here, I'll burn this whole place down."
Zhou Ruiyuan coldly looked at the things in their hands and sneered, "Didn't you always want to make peace? How come you've actually resorted to murder and arson now?"
The Southern Barbarian, hands on his hips, said angrily, "We kindly sought peace with you, but you looked down on us and were unwilling to marry your princess to us.
They had no intention of seeking peace when they came to the capital this time. The marriage alliance was just a pretext. Their real purpose was to kill Zhou Ruiyuan.
The emperor is now seriously ill. If Zhou Ruiyuan were to die as well, the Xuan Yue Kingdom would surely be thrown into turmoil. If they were to launch another attack then, it would be much easier for them to achieve their goal with half the effort.
Zhou Ruiyuan waved his hand and said indifferently, "Fine, go ahead and burn it. We'll die together."
The southern barbarians were all dumbfounded.
Zhou Ruiyuan sat down to the side, looking relaxed, not at all like he was being threatened.
“If I die, I die. I still have my brother and son. With them here, you will never be able to conquer us.”
After he finished speaking, he patted his clothes.
"Well, it seems the Crown Prince of Xuan Yue Kingdom is truly fearless." A rugged-looking, tall man from the Southern Barbarians slowly walked out from the crowd.
His face was covered in black beard, and only two fierce eyes were visible.
Lu Yan's expression darkened, and he drew his sword, shielding Zhou Ruiyuan behind him. "I've seen you before."
The black-bearded man laughed and said, "We've met on the battlefield."
Lu Yan frowned deeply, "You actually dare to come to the capital?"
Blackbeard spread his hands and smiled, "Why can't we come? Your Lord Wu from the capital personally welcomed us into the city."
The "Lord Wu" he mentioned was Wu's nephew.
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