Chapter 197 Falling into the Trap
Feng Deshun walked over to Cui Shiliang and asked in a low voice, "Prime Minister Cui, what happened? Where is he?"
His gaze swept over the dozens of women in military uniforms standing with swords in the center of the field, and he said with disdain, "Is that all the little girls you have?"
Cui Shiliang also lowered his voice and asked in return, "How did you get in? Didn't you say you were waiting for me to give you a signal? What about the Imperial Guards lying in ambush outside? Have you all been dealt with?"
Feng Deshun frowned. "I sent troops here only after receiving your signal. What Jinwu Guard? There isn't a single guard outside the gate."
"I didn't send a signal at all!" Cui Shiliang finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice filled with urgency.
The people present already had doubts about the Dragon Guards' sudden encirclement of the main hall, and now, seeing Cui Shiliang and Feng Deshun arguing in hushed tones, they all sensed that something was wrong.
Lin Xueyan stepped forward directly, "Cui Shiliang! You keep saying that the Princess is plotting a rebellion, but in my opinion, it's you who's plotting the rebellion! Aren't the people leading troops to surround the Linde Hall and pointing their swords at the officials your men?"
Cui Shiliang's expression changed drastically, and he immediately retorted sharply, "Minister Lin, do not speak nonsense. General Feng has brought troops here precisely to stop such a treasonous act and protect the land of our Great Qi!"
Lin Xueyan retorted without any politeness, "Leading troops to quell the rebellion? General Feng is stationed at Longwu Gate, which is a full two miles away from Linde Hall. How could he have arrived so quickly? I'm afraid he was already lying in ambush outside the hall."
These words hit the nail on the head. Many officials in the hall nodded in agreement and began to whisper among themselves.
"Minister Lin is right. The Dragon Martial Army is stationed at Dragon Martial Gate, which is far from here. How could they have arrived so quickly?"
"Moreover, without His Majesty's order, how could the Dragon Martial Army be mobilized so easily?"
"They've probably prepared everything long ago, just waiting for today's palace banquet to begin..."
"Then why is Prime Minister Cui so insistent on accusing the Eldest Princess of treason? Isn't that too suspicious?"
...
Amidst the murmurs, Cui Shiliang immediately realized that regardless of whether the Imperial Guards had arrived or not, Li Yuanzhao's rebellion was a done deal, and there was no need for him to dwell on anything else.
He pointed sharply at the throne, his voice rising several decibels.
"My lords, look for yourselves! After His Majesty drank the wine personally poured by the Princess, he immediately suffered from poisoning, coughed, and turned blue-purple. Isn't this irrefutable evidence of plotting to murder the Emperor? She used the smashing of the cup as a signal to have the dancers display their weapons, intending to take advantage of the chaos to control the officials and seize the throne. This is evidence of her rebellion!"
At this moment, Li Yuanzhao, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
Her voice carried a perfectly timed hint of disbelief, “Prime Minister Cui, just now Father Emperor suddenly had a cough attack, and in my haste I accidentally dropped the wine cup. I don’t understand why you would conclude that I poisoned the wine? Let alone… such a malicious accusation as treason?”
As she finished speaking, she slowly turned to the side, completely relinquishing the throne behind her.
All eyes in the hall immediately focused on it.
Li Ye was leaning back on the soft cushion of the throne, while Eunuch Xu served him warm water to soothe his throat.
His cough had long since stopped, and although his face was still pale, the previous bluish-purple discoloration had faded. His eyes were clear, and he was calmly observing everything in the hall. There was no trace of him being "poisoned and on the verge of death."
Cui Shiliang's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Just now, Li Yuanzhao's figure happened to block the throne. He only heard Li Ye's violent coughing and assumed that His Majesty had been poisoned or even died on the spot.
But when he suddenly met Li Ye's dignified eyes, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!
“You…you…” Cui Shiliang’s finger trembled as he pointed at Li Yuanzhao, unable to finish his sentence, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
Why is Your Majesty still sitting so comfortably?
Has the poisoned wine lost its effectiveness?
Or was there no poisoned wine in the first place?
His mind was in complete chaos, and his previous composure and confidence had vanished.
Looking at Cui Shiliang's flustered appearance, and then at the shocked Feng Deshun beside him, as well as the Dragon Guards behind them, Li Ye slowly spoke, "Minister Cui, Minister Feng, what are you doing?"
Although his voice was still somewhat weak, it carried the unique majesty of an emperor.
Cui Shiliang suddenly came to his senses, immediately knelt down and kowtowed, frantically trying to explain himself.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty... Your Majesty received a secret letter stating that the Princess will poison your wine and lead troops to force you to abdicate! General Feng and I came here to protect Your Majesty out of concern for your safety!"
Upon hearing the words "poisoned wine," Li Ye instinctively looked up at Li Yuanzhao in front of him.
He had assumed the cough was caused by the strong alcohol, but could something have been put in the wine?
A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he looked at Li Yuanzhao with a more inquisitive gaze.
Li Yuanzhao remained completely calm. Meeting Li Ye's gaze, he picked up the Nine Dragons Golden Cup on his desk, which still contained a little less than half a cup of wine, and drank it all in one gulp.
She then held the empty cup upside down and said to Cui Shiliang, "Prime Minister Cui, this is just ordinary imperial jade liquor. Look, I drank it too, and it's fine. You've really wronged me."
Just then, Imperial Physician Wen, who had been standing guard beside the throne, stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, I have just examined your pulse. Your pulse is stable, and there are no signs of poisoning. Your violent cough just now was merely a relapse of an old ailment caused by drinking too quickly and the alcohol fumes entering your lungs. You will be fine after a while."
As the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Imperial Physician Wen is also attending the palace banquet today.
As soon as Eunuch Xu called for the imperial physician, he immediately went forward to examine and treat the patient.
Therefore, what I say at this moment is beyond question.
Upon hearing this, Cui Shiliang muttered to himself, "Impossible... This is impossible..."
Immediately, he noticed the female soldiers holding swords all over the hall, and as if grasping at the last straw, he suddenly raised his voice.
"And what about these people? They are clearly female soldiers of your Imperial Guard! According to the law, it is forbidden to privately possess weapons or draw swords in formation when the Emperor is near. What is their behavior if not treason?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Xiao, who was sitting next to Cui Yunyi, hurriedly stood up, walked quickly into the main hall, and knelt down.
Cui Yunyi looked at her actions with confusion. What was it to her at this time?
Xiao Jieyu looked terrified, and her voice was trembling with fear.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent! These are not female soldiers of the Imperial Guard, but dancers from the Pear Garden! For today's New Year's Eve banquet, I specially choreographed a sword dance, having them first wear dance skirts to warm up the atmosphere, and then change costumes to perform the sword dance. They were definitely not hiding any weapons!"
As she spoke, she quickly walked to the side of a woman in military uniform, snatched the gleaming silver sword from her hand, and twisted it forcefully with both hands.
With a "crack," the longsword broke in two, revealing a pale yellow wooden blade underneath.
"Your Majesty, look! This sword is a wooden sword painted with silver lacquer. It's not a real sword; it was made to look like this only for the performance!"
The other dancers followed suit, breaking their longswords one by one.
Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that the broken sword indeed only showed the grain of wood.
Such a sword couldn't even split a melon on the table, let alone kill someone.
Cui Shiliang looked at the wooden sword fragments scattered on the ground, then at the pointing crowd and the furious emperor, and finally met Li Yuanzhao's ambiguous smile.
He finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.
Even Cui Yunyi, who had been sitting upright the whole time, could no longer maintain her composure and suddenly stood up.
They then realized they had fallen into a trap!
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