Mountain and River Festival 215. The End of Friendship
Yeluye made such a big joke in front of the dignitaries of various countries. Seeing the white eagle being taken away after being locked in the cage and banging against the cage angrily to escape, Yeluye yelled and his face was gloomy and scary. The people present looked at his sly appearance and whispered to each other. The people in Dingwang Mansion had to be more restrained because of the courtesy of the landlord, but the envoys from other countries were not so reserved. Some people from Xiling even laughed so hard that they fell backwards, which made Yeluye even more gloomy.
Ye Li handed Mo Xiaobao to the nurse beside her and said with a smile: "Don't mind this little accident. Prince Yelu, why don't you go down and change your clothes?"
Yelu Hong nodded and said, "The princess is right. Please forgive me for accidentally disturbing the prince and princess. Seventh brother, go quickly." Yelu Hong and Yelu Ye had always been at odds when they were in Beirong. To say that they wanted to kill each other was an understatement. But now that they were in Da Chu, they had no intention of fighting in the nest, and Yelu Hong only reminded them lightly. Yelu Ye bowed to Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao with an unpleasant expression, then turned around and went downstairs to change clothes. The little episode just now did not affect everyone's mood. Yelu Hong still stood up and said with a smile, "Since the seventh brother has presented the gift first, the little king has also prepared a gift for the young prince on behalf of Beirong and my father. I hope Prince Ding and the princess will not dislike it."
Yelu Hong waved his hand, and two Beirong men came forward holding a brocade box. When the box was opened, a golden light immediately illuminated the entire banquet and dazzled the eyes of all the guests. The brocade box also contained a eagle, but unlike the white eagle that rushed forward, this one was a golden eagle. It was almost the same size as the white eagle, and was cast in gold, making it lifelike. Even the eyes of the golden eagle were inlaid with two emerald green gems. Just by looking at the weight that the two Beirong men were carrying together, you could tell that this was definitely not something that was covered in gold or gilded, but a golden eagle cast with real gold. Although there were many gold mines in the Beirong territory, the gift sent by the Beirong was definitely heavy enough.
Mo Xiuyao nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you for the generous gift from the Prince of Beirong." He waved his hand and someone immediately came forward to take the gift box and took it away. Yelu Hong didn't care and smiled faintly and sat back in his seat.
Afterwards, envoys from various countries presented their gifts one after another. The generals of Prince Ding's mansion did not dare to lag behind and presented their gifts to the young prince. It was not a big deal. Even when Prince Zhennan presented four Xiling beauties, Mo Xiuyao accepted them all without blinking an eye. The people present looked at Prince Ding and Princess Ding with strange expressions. Ye Li took a sip from the wine glass and laughed softly, "Your Highness is very lucky." Mo Xiu Yao snorted and laughed, "To be able to marry A'li, this prince is naturally very lucky." Ye Li raised an eyebrow slightly, "What are you going to do with the ten Xiling beauties?" Mo Xiu Yao said nonchalantly, "We have received so many gifts tonight, we can't not return the gifts, right? That Yelu Ye, Yelu Hong, Mo Jingli, Anxi... Forget about Princess Anxi, isn't it enough to give a few gifts to each one? Can they refuse my return gifts?" Even if they didn't want them, they could only deal with it privately. It was absolutely impossible for them to embarrass him in public.
Hearing this, Ye Li couldn't help but twitch her lips, "Mingxi and Feng San are right, the prince is really getting more and more stingy." It's okay to use the gambling money to hold a full-moon banquet for his son, but even the return gift has to be paid from the gifts given by others. Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Ali, you can't blame me for being stingy. Who let us have so many people in the Mo family army to eat and drink? Um... In addition, I saw a set of jewelry from the Western Regions two days ago. It's very beautiful and very suitable for Ali. It cost me a full 60,000 taels."
"Oh? For me?" Ye Li frowned slightly when she heard the price of 60,000 taels. That was 60,000 taels of silver, not 60,000 yuan. But she was still a little happy when she heard that Mo Xiuyao gave it to her. No woman doesn't like her husband to give her a gift. Mo Xiuyao nodded and complained: "These people are really ignorant. What does a little kid like Mo Xiaobao know? It's Ah Li who suffered the most in giving birth, okay? If you want to give a gift, you should give it to Ah Li."
Everyone in the palace looked at the apparently harmonious couple sitting in the main seat with some surprise. Prince Ding accepted ten Xiling beauties in front of so many people, but he didn't look unhappy at all. He even looked happier than before. What was going on? He didn't look like he was pretending to be happy?
Before anyone could say anything, a sharp voice suddenly came from the tower below, "The imperial edict has arrived!"
Everyone was stunned, most of them were a little confused about what was going on. How could someone come out to deliver an imperial decree at this late hour? The city gates should have been closed by now, right? And the Emperor of Great Chu was a little strange. He didn't even show his shadow before the celebration for Prince Ding, and now he came out to scare people when the banquet was halfway through. Many people turned their eyes to Mo Jingli, but saw that Mo Jingli also had a sword-like brow and a confused look on his face, and obviously didn't understand what was going on.
Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao, on the other hand, looked calm and attentive. The smile on Mo Xiu Yao's lips deepened and he glanced casually at Xu Hongyu and Xu Qingchen who were sitting in the audience. Xu Hongyu nodded slightly, and Xu Qingchen smiled calmly, looking like a bright and beautiful woman.
Soon, the messengers had already walked up to the tower. The leader was wearing the second-rank court robes of the imperial court, and he was the current Minister of Rites. The few people following behind him were also officials of the Ministry of Rites, and there were also several guards following, all of them looked solemn and serious. The Minister of Rites held the imperial edict in both hands, raised it to his head, and said loudly: "The imperial edict has arrived! Mo Xiuyao, receive the edict!" Everyone was shocked on the spot. This was not to celebrate the full moon of Prince Ding, this was clearly to ruin the party.
Mo Jingli led Ye Li and others to stand up and kneel to receive the imperial edict. Although he was not very fond of his brother, the emperor, he was still the King of Li of Da Chu, so he still had to put in some superficial efforts. As for the others, they were not so polite. The generals and officials of the Mo family army just pretended not to hear it. Those who should drink drank and those who should chat chatted. The so-called imperial edict is not even as good as a piece of straw paper in the northwest. As for the envoys from the countries of Xiling and Beirong, they looked like they were watching a show. Mo Xiuyao, who was sitting in the main seat, obviously had no intention of standing up to receive the imperial edict. As a result, only Mo Jingli and others knelt on the ground. Mo Jingli was secretly angry and couldn't help but scold his brother for being nosy.
Obviously, the Minister of Rites who was delivering the imperial edict had not expected such a situation. Looking at Mo Xiuyao who was sitting high on the platform, leaning lazily in his chair and looking down at him, the Minister of Rites said in a deep voice: "Mo Xiuyao, accept the imperial edict!"
"Read it." Mo Xiuyao said calmly. The Minister of Rites frowned and was about to speak, but Mo Xiuyao sat up and stared at him: "Either read the thing in your hand, or take the thing in your hand and get out of Ruyang City. I am in a good mood tonight and don't want your life."
"How dare you!" The Minister of Rites was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Mo Xiuyao and was speechless for a long time. Mo Xiuyao had been stripped of his title by the emperor a long time ago, but he still dared to be so arrogant. It was clear that he did not take the court and the emperor seriously at all. "Your Highness Prince Li!" The Minister of Rites was not a fool. He naturally knew that he did not have the capital to fight against Mo Xiuyao. He could only look at Mo Jingli who was kneeling on the side. Mo Jingli's face was gloomy. He felt that his face was lost by this royal brother. He stood up, looked at the Minister of Rites coldly and said, "Didn't you hear it? Do you really want to be thrown out without passing the order?"
The face of the Minister of Rites twisted for a few times, but he finally swallowed his anger. After all, the emperor sent him here to convey this decree. If he was thrown out before he could read it out, he would definitely be in trouble when he returned to the capital. Taking a deep breath, the Minister of Rites unfolded the bright yellow silk and read aloud: "By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The commoner Mo Xiuyao is so audacious and presumptuous that he has his own army and self-proclaimed himself a king and committed treason. The Xu family of Yunzhou colluded with the rebels and conspired to disturb the country. They should be executed. Mo Xiuyao seized his royal surname and was demoted to a pariah. The entire Xu family of Yunzhou shall be executed. I hereby declare!"
The entire tower was silent, and even the cries of the hawkers on the street not far below the tower could be heard clearly. Everyone couldn't help but look at the Minister of Rites holding the imperial edict with a madman's eyes. What's the use of that thing? Can you demote Mo Xiuyao for whatever reason you want? Even if you, Mo Jingqi, write a thousand imperial edicts to drive Mo Xiuyao into the dust, he will still be high above the princes in the northwest. Can you kill the Xu family just by killing everyone? Why don't you kill a member of the Xu family first? Just looking at the Xu family members sitting in the front row, you can know how unreliable the imperial edict of the Great Chu Emperor is.
Mo Jingqi certainly knew that this imperial edict was useless, so he did not send people here today to really kill the entire Xu family, nor did he really want to do anything to Mo Xiuyao. He just wanted Mo Xiuyao to lose face in front of the world's heroes and dignitaries.
"Haha..." A clear laugh suddenly broke out from the main seat. Mo Xiuyao leaned back in his chair and seemed to have heard something very funny. He laughed so hard that he fell into the chair. After finally finishing laughing, Mo Xiuyao sat up leaning on Ye Li's shoulder, looking down at the Minister of Rites who was trying to keep calm, and raised his eyebrows and said, "Seizing his surname? Did that idiot Mo Jingqi forget that my surname was not given by him. It's just a coincidence that I share the same ancestor with him."
"How dare you! How dare you be so disrespectful to the emperor!" Although the Minister of Rites scolded angrily, there was also a bit of embarrassment on his face. The founding of the Great Chu State puts filial piety first. The surname of the ancestors cannot be changed by anyone, including the emperor, except for those who have made great contributions and are given the national surname. Even if the prisoner has committed a serious crime of exterminating the entire family and exterminating the nine clans, the surname of the prisoner cannot be changed at will. Moreover, Mo Xiuyao's original surname was Mo, and it was not a surname bestowed by the emperor. In addition, although the two families have the same origin, they have established their own temples since Taizu opened the door. Mo Xiuyao and Mo Jingqi have the same surname, but they are no longer considered to be of the same worship. Mo Jingqi has the right to expel many princes and relatives in the capital from the clan, but he can't do anything about Mo Xiuyao. But no matter how embarrassing it was, they could not tolerate Mo Xiuyao insulting the emperor and calling him an idiot in public.
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows slightly, not paying any attention to the furious Minister of Rites. The person who was sent to the northwest by Mo Jingqi to die was obviously not an important figure. It was probably the newly appointed Minister of Rites, right?
Mo Xiuyao didn't bother with him, but the generals of the Mo family army couldn't stand it. They started to curse. The big bosses from the military camp naturally didn't have the elegance of the scholars in the court who cursed everyone. They dared to say any dirty words. I'm afraid Mo Jingqi has never been scolded as much as he was tonight. Mo Xiuyao leisurely enjoyed the soldiers' cursing and had no intention of restraining himself. Anyway, the full moon banquet of Mo Xiaobao was over. The rest of the time was for entertainment.
Lei Tengfeng sat next to the King of Zhennan and frowned, and asked in a low voice: "Father, what do you think King Ding means?" If Mo Jingqi's commotion spread, Mo Xiuyao would definitely lose face. If Mo Xiuyao wanted to stop this, the officials who delivered the imperial edict would not be able to get in. Now it seems that Mo Xiuyao not only has no intention of stopping it, but also seems to be indulgent and adding fuel to the fire. This makes Lei Tengfeng a little confused about what Mo Xiuyao wants to do.
King Zhennan narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Mo Xiuyao, who was sitting on the main seat with a smile but a hint of coldness in his eyes. Then he looked at Ye Li, who was sitting quietly beside Mo Xiuyao and watching the farce in front of her calmly, as if she was not angry at all. King Zhennan knew that Ye Li was not a woman without temper. In fact, she rarely lost her temper, but once she really got angry, not to mention women, most men in this world could not bear it. The Xu family members sitting below seemed to be quite calm, even the third and fifth sons of the Xu family, who had the worst tempers, sat quietly drinking, as if it had nothing to do with them.
After a moment of hesitation, the King of Zhennan said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid... Mo Xiuyao is going to really break up with Da Chu." This is not good news for Xiling. Although Xiling and even Beirong Nanzhao have been trying their best to alienate the relationship between the Da Chu royal family and Dingwang Mansion, they definitely don't want the two to really break up. If Dingwang Mansion and Mo's Army are an extremely sharp sword, then Da Chu is a scabbard that is already a little rusty. But it can curb the actions of Dingwang Mansion and Mo's Army when necessary, so that those who are forced to retreat by the sharp edge of this sword can have room to breathe and a chance to counterattack. Just like when Mo Xiuyao led his army to pacify the south, if it had not been restrained by the imperial court, the Nanzhao Kingdom would have existed in name only, even if it had not been destroyed. Once the Mohist army truly escaped the control of the Great Chu, it would be like a sword without a sheath. When it wanted to swing towards a certain place, it would inevitably bring about destruction and bloodshed, and no one could stop it.
Lei Tengfeng was startled. As the prince of Xiling Zhennan, he could naturally understand the key. But he didn't understand why Mo Xiuyao chose this time to break with Da Chu. When the Mo family army fought on the battlefield but was stabbed in the back by Mo Jingqi, Mo Xiuyao didn't lose his temper. After Ye Li fell off the cliff, although Mo Xiuyao killed 7,000 soldiers and occupied the northwest, he didn't really lose his temper. Even when Mo Jingqi issued an order to deprive him of his throne, he ignored it. But today... looking at the situation in front of him, Lei Tengfeng understood that Mo Xiuyao was probably not going to continue to endure. Is it because of the Xu family? Looking at the Xu family members sitting opposite with calm expressions. From the gray-haired Mr. Qingyun to the oldest of the five sons of the Xu family, each of them was a distinguished person with extraordinary temperament. However, it would not make sense to say that Mo Xiuyao had officially turned against Mo Jingqi because of them, after all, the Xu family had been in the northwest for quite some time.
King Zhennan sneered and said lightly: "Mo Xiuyao is right, Mo Jingqi is really an idiot, he fell into Mo Xiuyao's trap. Mo Xiuyao is waiting for him to attack first!" With the arrogance of the Mo family army, it would be wrong if they did not attack after being humiliated by Mo Jingqi like this.
Amidst the noisy shouting and cursing, Mo Xiuyao raised his hand calmly, and the shouting and cursing of the Mo family soldiers below immediately stopped. Everyone looked at Mo Xiuyao who was slowly standing up from his seat, and Ye Li who stood up with him. The two of them stood side by side, high above, which suddenly gave people a feeling of looking up. Mo Xiuyao looked at the Minister of Rites, whose face had turned blue with anger, with a cold smile, and then his eyes swept over Mo Jingli. Mo Jingli's heart suddenly tightened, and he stared at Mo Xiuyao tightly, and his hands behind his back were quietly clenched. Mo Xiuyao, what on earth do you want to do?
Mo Xiuyao said, "I know exactly what Mo Jingqi wants to say. It just so happens that everyone is here today, and I have something to say. After you finish listening, just take it back to Mo Jingqi without missing a word."
Zhuo Jing came up from behind holding a roll of bright yellow silk. Mo Xiuyao took it and looked at it. Without even calling it, he threw it down and said, "Feng San, read it!"
Feng San, who was originally drinking with Zhang Qilan, jumped up from the ground, and her gorgeous red dress flipped in the air like a red cloud floating down in the center of the hall. In her hand, she was holding the bright yellow silk.
"Mo Jingqi is incompetent and treacherous, and he framed loyal and good people. As an emperor, he did not care about the stability of the country. He first colluded with the enemy to design the previous king Mo Xiuwen, which caused the sudden death of the previous king at the border and the death of tens of thousands of Mohist soldiers. Later, he colluded with the enemy to kill the Mohist army and this king. The royal family of Da Chu and the Mohist army first had the hatred of killing their fathers and brothers, and then had the hatred of framing and slander. The Mohist army has been loyal to Da Chu for generations and would never return. Now they have suffered such humiliation and hatred, which has brought shame to their ancestors and their heroic souls are uneasy. From now on, with Feihong Pass as the boundary, the Mohist army and Da Chu will be governed by different boundaries, and the friendship will be severed!" Feng Zhiyao read out his own thoughts on the silk, as if he was carrying internal force. Not to mention the quiet city walls, even the noisy streets in the distance suddenly became quiet. Feng Zhiyuan's clear and heavy voice echoed throughout most of Ruyang City.
"The royal family of Great Chu killed my father and brother and insulted my heroes. This king and the royal family of Great Chu have no more ties!" Mo Xiuyao's voice finally echoed over the entire Ruyang City. On the tower, the soldiers of the Mo family stood up and shouted that the prince was wise. On the other side, Mo Jingli's eyes were complicated and difficult to read. The Minister of Rites, who had originally had a sullen face, was now pale and about to fall.