Chapter 358 Poisoning
“Your Majesty, this is not appropriate. If the court officials find out…” Before Wen Zhong went down the mountain, his master had told him to handle official business strictly and not to invest too much unnecessary emotion.
However, Wen Zhong unknowingly realized that he had come to love and care for His Majesty as if he were his own junior. He found that he could no longer treat His Majesty as the cold and indifferent emperor of every generation.
"It's alright. I am as close as family with the Grand Tutor. If the court officials knew, they would only envy the Grand Tutor." Chang Hao would not let the Grand Tutor slip away. The play has been set up and is about to begin. It can't be done without an audience.
Wen Zhong reluctantly allowed Chang Hao to pull him away, saying, "Your Majesty, this is against the rules."
"In this palace, who dares to use rules to restrain me?" Chang Hao's words silenced Wen Zhong's thousand words. Seeing Wen Zhong being pulled away by him, Chang Hao felt reassured.
If the Grand Tutor truly resists, Chang Hao cannot persuade Wen Zhong, an immortal who possesses magical arts.
Chang Hao pulled Grand Tutor Wen away from Qiankun Palace. As they left the palace, they ran into Uncle Bi Gan, who was requesting an audience with the King in front of the inner court officials. What a coincidence!
"Uncle Wang..." Chang Hao called out with a smile, truly a stroke of luck.
"Your Majesty..." Bigan bowed. The king seemed to be in a good mood today, so perhaps there was still room for maneuver in the matter of the Marquis of Dongbo.
“Uncle, your timing is perfect. The Empress Dowager has prepared a family banquet at the Wanshou Palace. Why don’t you come along?” Chang Hao invited.
Bi Gan thought about it again and agreed, "It would be better to move His Majesty with emotion during the family banquet." "Your subject obeys the decree."
As they approached Wanshou Palace, Wen Zhong and Bigan heard the sounds of string and wind instruments coming from within. They frowned, wondering why the family banquet had started before the King had even arrived. Did the Empress Dowager even respect the King?
"This is outrageous!" Bigan was furious. Now that Zishou was the highest-ranking member of the royal family, the Empress Dowager was becoming increasingly unruly.
"Uncle, Grand Tutor, the Empress Dowager must be lonely in the deep palace. This is a small matter, and I don't mind. Let's go, don't keep the Empress Dowager waiting." Chang Hao put on a dutiful act, and his back as he headed towards Wanshou Palace revealed his urgency.
In Wen Zhong and Bi Gan's eyes, the king at this moment was a pitiful little man who lacked love and was pretending to be strong. Any elder who treated him with sincerity would be moved, let alone when Emperor Yi was alive...
Bi Gan and Wen Zhong exchanged a glance, their anxiety barely concealed. Judging from the King's demeanor, he was incredibly tolerant of the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager were sensible, that would be fine. However, she didn't seem like the type to stay in line. If she were to stir up trouble in the court, the King might not be able to withstand the woman's unreasonable demands.
"Greetings, Mother Empress." Chang Hao bowed respectfully as he entered the room.
"Greetings, Your Majesty..." The sounds of music filling the hall suddenly fell silent.
Empress Dowager Jiang rubbed her temples. The sudden dizziness made her too lazy to look up and pay attention to Chang Hao, leaving him standing there.
Wen Zhong and Bi Gan were taken aback by the magnificent and resplendent hall as soon as they entered.
The Empress Dowager was truly, truly, truly outrageous! Bi Gan was so angry he almost fainted.
Wen Zhong promptly patted Bi Gan and quietly transferred a breath of spiritual energy to him. Empress Dowager Jiang was really too inappropriate; no wonder Bi Gan was angry.
"Greetings, Empress Dowager..." Bi Gan and Wen Zhong bowed in unison, also reminding Empress Dowager Jiang to stop and tell the King to rise.
They dare to embarrass the king in front of them; who knows how they might mistreat him when they can't see him.
"Get up, all of you." Empress Dowager Jiang was surprised that the King would summon the Grand Tutor and the King's uncle. She felt uncomfortable for a moment. In front of outsiders, Empress Dowager Jiang still had to maintain her dignified image. What should she do?
"Uncle Wang, Grand Tutor, please take a seat." Chang Hao first greeted the audience he had brought over, and then ordered everyone to stand up.
Ziqi was so frustrated he was practically bleeding inside. Without Zishou's permission, they could only kneel on the ground. Zishou, on the other hand, only needed to bow to his mother. This was the kind of treatment he only received when he was willing to give his mother permission. Despite sharing the same father and mother, the difference in their status was like heaven and earth. How could he not hate him?
After Bi Gan took his seat, he was displeased by the ivory chopsticks and gold and jade bowl in front of him. He didn't even mention the luxurious dishes at the family banquet. After carefully looking at the furnishings of Wanshou Palace, he saw that many items that could only be used by the king were piled up in Wanshou Palace. Empress Dowager, you are very good. Isn't this just using your status as the Empress Dowager to suppress your own son?
What appeared in Wen Zhong's mind was the increasingly desolate Qiankun Palace. If it weren't for the King, he would have liked to leave in a huff. In his memory, when Emperor Yi was alive, Qiankun Palace was not like this, and His Majesty was not as aloof and cold as he is now.
Isn't this a dereliction of duty by the Empress Dowager?
"Mother, everyone is here, we can begin," Chang Hao 'kindly' reminded Empress Dowager Jiang.
Empress Dowager Jiang forced a smile and clapped her hands to signal the musicians to continue.
The music resumed, and the palace women, with their flowing sleeves, danced gracefully, their waists swaying beautifully. However, Chang Hao had no interest in appreciating their movements, and frequently raised his cup to invite Grand Tutor Wang Shu to drink with him.
Ziyan gritted his teeth. Why did his uncle and the Grand Tutor ignore him when he raised his cup, while Zishou, who was so pretentious, looked so honored when he raised his cup? Was the difference really that big?
Originally hesitant about whether to embarrass Zishou, Ziyan was blinded by jealousy and immediately signaled to Cai'er that there was something wrong with the wine.
Cai'er's hands were trembling uncontrollably, but her life and fortune were in the hands of the Second Prince, so she dared not disobey his orders.
Fortunately, it was only a problem with one pot of wine, and the second prince said it was just a laxative, so it should last until the banquet ended.
As soon as the wine in the wine vessel changed, Chang Hao's keen sense of smell immediately detected it. He already knew what kind of poison Zi Qi had used and had prepared an antidote. Fortunately, it wasn't a lethal poison; otherwise, Chang Hao wouldn't have dared to be so careless.
Ziyan raised his glass to toast his third brother with a grin, unable to suppress his smile as he thought about what was about to happen.
Chang Hao pretended not to notice, smiled and raised his glass in a toast, then drank the wine in one gulp.
Cai'er poured herself another cup, her hands trembling, and couldn't help but pray to the passing gods...
Chang Hao waited patiently for the poison to take effect, but it didn't happen. If he hadn't been certain that he had drunk a cup of poisoned wine, he would have thought it was a hallucination.
Suddenly, Chang Hao recalled his legendary birth. Could it be that his body truly possessed some extraordinary ability, such as being immune to all poisons?
"Forget it, I won't wait any longer." Chang Hao used his 'shallow' cultivation to make his pulse appear as if he were poisoned, which shook his internal organs. A trickle of blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth before he collapsed towards the Grand Tutor.
Wen Zhong was so startled that he didn't even notice the wine cup in his hand fall to the ground. He grabbed the king who was falling towards him and subconsciously channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into him.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Bigan ran to Chang Hao, so anxious he almost bit his tongue.
"The wine... is poisoned..."
Startled, Cai'er released the wine pot from her hand. The copper pot rolled on the ground and then stopped at Bigan's feet. Bigan immediately bent down and picked up the copper pot that had not been completely spilled.
"What?!" Ziyan's eyes widened. Impossible.
"My son... quick, call the physician." Empress Dowager Jiang's heart was pounding. Yan'er was just a bit sharp-tongued, but he really didn't have the guts to poison her.
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