The World is Shocked 111. The Banquet {2)

The emperor agreed to the request of the Northern Rong prince so easily, and the ministers present were very puzzled. After all, the emperor was very concerned about his reputation and was close to the powerful ministers. This could be said to be a self-degrading thing that was not in line with the emperor's usual behavior. Regardless of what others said, Yelu Ye was very satisfied with the Great Chu Emperor.

The emperor was good at talking, and he turned around and showed respect to the person opposite him, laughing loudly and saying, "In this case, I hope Princess Ding will give me more guidance in the future."

Ye Li raised her head and smiled calmly, "I don't deserve your advice. Prince Yelu is also from a noble family, so I'm sure he would never do anything rude to offend the ladies of our Great Chu."

Yelu Ye smiled but said nothing, and just sat down to drink.

The queen sat next to Mo Jingqi, looking sideways at the emperor and the cold and pure Concubine Liu, who was dressed in a snow-white dress and looked as cold as a pear blossom. She frowned and said softly, "Concubine Liu usually doesn't like to take care of things, but today she thinks so much about the princess' marriage." Concubine Liu lowered her eyes and looked at the wine glass in front of her, saying lightly, "I have overstepped my bounds, Your Majesty, please forgive me."

. "Mo Jingqi looked around at his wife and concubine, and smiled at the queen: "The concubine is also concerned about the diplomatic relations between the two countries, so the queen should not blame her." A trace of anger flashed across the queen's brows, but she quickly calmed down and said calmly: "Well, I heard that there is also a lady from the Liu family who is among the candidates this time. Concubine Liu is devoted to the country and the palace is not unaware of the

"I am a person that the emperor values. But the emperor... Tianxiang is accompanying me in the palace these days, so I will not participate. If the emperor chooses her to marry, an imperial decree will be enough, and the Hua family and I will never complain."

Mo Jingqi was startled. He and the queen had been married for nearly ten years, but the queen had never spoken to him in such an obviously angry tone. Then he realized that the queen was angry about her only niece's reputation as a concubine. Thinking back to the past ten years, although there was no passionate love, being the legal wife was still different. Mo Jingqi

He couldn't help but wonder if his idea of ​​marrying Hua Tianxiang was too much. The queen only had this one niece, and Changle only had this one cousin. In fact, Mo Jingqi knew in his heart that letting Hua Tianxiang marry Beirong would be useless except to annoy the Hua family. It couldn't even sow discord between the Hua family and Prince Ding's Mansion.

Concubine Liu Gui slapped the queen in the face, so it was nothing to compensate her. Looking at the queen's angry and beautiful face, Mo Jingqi's expression softened slightly, and he patted the queen's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will have Tianxiang's name deleted later."

The queen lowered her eyes, revealed a very faint smile, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Your Highness, Ye Li nonchalantly withdrew her gaze from above, turned back and whispered to Mo Xiuyao with a smile: "It seems that there is no need to worry about Tianxiang." Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, and Ye Li smiled and said: "The Queen seems to have persuaded the Emperor on behalf of Tianxiang." The Queen had no favors and no children, but she was able to sit firmly on the throne of Queen for many years in a palace surrounded by powerful enemies. Even Sheng Chong

Even Concubine Liu did not dare to offend easily, which shows that she is definitely not an easy person to deal with. Just now, Concubine Liu bypassed the Empress and spoke out. Here, the Emperor would let go as long as the Empress showed a little dissatisfaction. But Concubine Liu... Ye Li's clear eyes passed over the woman in the snow-covered clothes in the palace, and frowned thoughtfully.

"The Queen's wisdom is not inferior to anyone else, it's just that she doesn't mean to be. Ah Li, on the other hand, seems to have some strange abilities." Mo Xiuyao laughed softly. Although they were sitting in the front, they were still far away from the dragon throne in the palace. They could see the expressions and eyes of the people above, but they had to listen to the words of the people above.

Whispering, Mo Xiuyao thought he couldn't do it in this crowded hall. Ye Li curled her lips, glanced at him and said generously: "Yes, I know lip reading, isn't it okay? Do you want to learn?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "No need, my wife will do it."

Ye Li glanced at him, then lowered her head to look at the wine in front of her. She knew that she had revealed too many flaws in front of Mo Xiuyao. At first, it was accidental, and she could attribute it to her having relaxed her vigilance after more than ten years of ordinary life. Later, she gradually became unwilling to hide in front of him, and sometimes even deliberately

Showing a side of herself that is different from ordinary people. Actually, this can be considered a test, but Mo Xiuyao never showed any strangeness towards her difference, as if it was natural for her to do so. This made Ye Li feel surprised and secretly happy, after all, not everyone likes to live their whole life wearing a mask and hiding themselves.

Because it was a welcoming banquet for the Prince of Beirong, the night banquet did not end after the dinner in the main hall. Instead, the emperor brought all the concubines, princes, princesses and ministers to the highest Star-Picking Pavilion in the palace to enjoy the specially arranged fireworks and large-scale singing and dancing performances. Sitting on the high building, Ye Li looked at the emperor in front of him with a look of interest and raised her eyebrows with some disapproval. This deliberate so-called grand welcoming banquet was simply wishful thinking to give the ambitious Prince of Beirong some shock, and it was almost like triggering his ambition to rule the Central Plains. After all, Beirong was the poorest of the four countries, and would never have a similar feeling of awe towards the Great Chu, which occupied the most fertile land of the four countries. The harsh environment and tough temperament make them want to plunder without regard for anything.

"Princess Ding...Uncle..." The Star-Picking Tower was much more relaxed than the main hall. Princess Changle had quietly approached Ye Li after sitting for a while. Many people's eyes were on the fireworks in the sky and the singing and dancing downstairs, so not many people noticed her. Ye Li looked down at her and smiled faintly, "Why are you here, Princess?" Princess Changle blinked and whispered in Ye Li's ear, "My mother told me to tell you to be careful of Concubine Liu." Ye Li was startled, and looked up at the Queen not far away. The Queen's lips curled up with a faint smile and nodded slightly. Ye Li nodded in thanks, touched Princess Changle's head and said with a smile: "So you are here to pass on a message for the Empress. Thank you, Princess." Princess Changle waved her hand and said generously: "You're welcome. This princess doesn't like Concubine Liu either."

"Why?" Ye Li asked curiously. Concubine Liu had a cold personality, but she wouldn't offend a little girl. Concubine Liu had helped her twice before, and she didn't have any hostility towards her, but this time... Ye Li clearly felt that Concubine Liu's attitude towards her was a little different since the last time they met in the palace. This was a very subtle change, and it was completely invisible on the surface. It could only be said to be an intuition. And Ye Li always believed in her intuition, because it had saved her life countless times on the battlefield.

Princess Changle pouted and said, "She always looks like she doesn't like anyone, but father always listens to her. She is not good at all. She ignored Zhenning when she cried. Mother would never treat me like this. Mother loves Changle the most." The last sentence was definitely a show-off.

"Zhen Ning?" Ye Li looked at Mo Xiu Yao in confusion. Mo Xiu Yao said calmly, "The Emperor's second princess, Princess Zhen Ning, the daughter of Concubine Liu Gui."

Ye Li looked ahead, and then she realized that something seemed to be missing from Concubine Liu Gui, who was dressed in white like snow. The emperor granted all the concubines, princes and princesses to turn off the fireworks, so basically all the concubines with status and children in the palace brought the princesses and princes with them. If it was said that children could not be brought with them at the previous dinner due to etiquette, now even the two little princesses and princes who were about one year old were held in the arms of the wet nurse, so it was a bit strange that Concubine Liu Gui's two sons and one daughter were nowhere to be seen. Especially since the second princess should be seven or eight years old this year and is not an ignorant child. Is it really as Princess Changle said, that Concubine Liu Gui doesn't like her own children?

"Princess, do you often play with Princess Zhenning?" Ye Li asked with a smile.

Princess Changle shook her head and said in a depressed tone, "Zhen Ning doesn't like to play with me either. She only likes to play with her brothers, but she doesn't allow me to go with them to see them. Mother said that I am too young to take care of my brothers. But...Zhen Ning is younger than me."

Ye Li pinched Princess Changle's little face and sighed slightly in her heart. The Queen really protected Princess Changle very well.

"There are assassins!" Suddenly there was a sharp cry, and several dark shadows emerged from the darkness and rushed upstairs. Ye Li rolled his eyes speechlessly, stretched out his hand and pulled Princess Changle to his side. The Zhaixing Building was in chaos, and a large number of guards rushed to the front where the emperor, empress, princes and princesses were. The ministers and women below were in a mess and each found a place to hide. Ye Li saw it clearly at a glance, the people behind these black-clothed men were not comparable to those rubbish he saw that night. Each of them was a master picked from a hundred, and the guards upstairs suffered a great loss when they met them. The blood frightened the women and screamed, and the whole building was in chaos.

Princess Changle hid beside Ye Li, only showing a small part of her head to peek. Ye Li patted her forehead and said, "Don't look, be careful not to scare you."

Princess Changle quickly shrank back and asked worriedly, "Princess Ding, will my mother and father be okay?"

Ye Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, even if all of us here are in trouble, they won't." If there is still trouble with so many guards around, then everyone on this floor will be killed by the assassin. Among the ministers, those who are good at martial arts also stepped forward to meet the black-clad assassin. This is not only for the safety of themselves and everyone else, but also an opportunity to show off in front of the emperor. Mo Xiuyao sat steadily beside Ye Li. The secret guards who appeared at some point steadily guarded the area around them. Even if one or two occasionally broke through the defense, they were dealt with by Qingluan and An Er and An San standing by. In the chaotic upstairs, they showed a strange calmness.

"I say, Your Majesty, do you want to go forward and protect the carriage?" Ye Li asked softly, looking at Mo Xiuyao with a hint of sarcasm. Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Now, the emperor will not think that I want to protect the carriage, but will think that I want to stab the carriage."

Ye Li looked sideways in the direction of Mo Jingqi and shook her head in boredom. It was said that the emperor was a man of both civil and military talents. How scared of death must he be to have all the guards on the upper floor surrounding him? While staring at the assassin, he was also distractedly staring at them. I'm afraid it's not just Mo Xiuyao, anyone who is related to Prince Ding's Mansion will be regarded as an assassin if they go there.

"Hey, it's not good for the prince and princess to be so leisurely in such a chaotic place, right?" Not far away, Yelu Ye dealt with the assassin easily, and at the same time he found time to smile at Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li.

Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, "If you can't even deal with a few assassins, what's the point of having palace guards?"

Yeluye laughed loudly and said, "Your Highness is right. It is indeed not worth it for Prince Ding to personally deal with these few petty thieves."

"Prince Yelu, please move aside. You have led all the assassins here." An San, who was standing in front of Ye Li, casually killed an assassin and said expressionlessly. Yelu Ye raised his eyebrows, and his eyes paused for a moment on the man who fell in front of An San, and smiled: "I'm sorry, I don't know why these assassins always like to pester me. The guards of Prince Ding's mansion are really extraordinary." There was no wound on his body when he fell to the ground, only a very fine wound on his neck, and not much blood flowed out, but the assassin fell to the ground and died without even struggling. Such means, even a professional killer may not be able to do better. The man in front of him was only wearing the clothes of an ordinary guard, but he showed complete leisure and calmness in the bloody and chaotic crowd.

Looking at the melee in front of her, Ye Li raised her eyebrows and asked in a low voice: "Are the assassins coming for Yelu Ye?" A large number of these assassins were coming for Yelu Ye. This might be because Yelu Ye looked the strongest, but it was impossible for these assassins to fail to recognize Yelu Ye's completely different attire from Da Chu.

Mo Xiuyao stared at the handsome man who was always approaching them, and said, "It may have something to do with him, but... the assassins are all from the Central Plains. Neither Yeluye himself nor Yeluhong would send people from the Northern Rong to the palace. Yeluye deliberately led the assassins here to test your strength." Mo Xiuyao's strength is known to the world, and there is no need to rely on a few assassins to verify it. Yeluye certainly couldn't expect to rely on a few assassins to kill him, so it could only be for Ye Li who was sitting next to him.

Ye Li smiled and said, "Do I need to take action in this situation?"

An San in front of him replied softly, "Of course not. If the princess needs to personally take action against just a few assassins, doesn't that mean that the subordinates have no role at all?" Ye Li looked up at An San and smiled, "You are now my princess's right-hand man, not a secret guard. Please don't rush to charge into the formation, okay?" Hearing this, An San's face immediately fell. He still liked the days of being a secret guard. If an enemy came, he would rush up and beat him to a pulp. It's not like now, he has to wait for the secret guards to slip through the net before they can take their turn. But the secret guards of Dingguo Palace are very qualified, and basically there will be no slip-through fish.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "I think he didn't want to test Ah Li's kung fu, but wanted to test Ah Li's courage."