Chapter 696: If the prince can drink, why can’t you?
When He Fanxiong rushed out of the bedroom, his old face was distorted with anger and his gray beard kept shaking.
His eyes were red, and the wide cuffs of his court robe were deeply wrinkled.
"Sha Miaoyin! You are such a vicious woman!" He Fanxiong's voice was hoarse, like a wounded lion.
"Qingtuo almost lost his life, and now my life is in danger too. I'm going to go ask her right now to see what Sha Miaoyin really meant!"
"Wait a minute, Mr. He!" Ran Qingxuan stepped forward quickly and blocked her way with her slender hand. The moonlight shone through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows on her beautiful face.
"In fact, the poison that Qingtuo was poisoned with should have come from the wine at the palace banquet last night."
"Drinks?" Sima Hui's palms tightened and his old face suddenly changed color.
Han Yi pressed down hard on the sword at his waist, and the bronze wrist guard collided with the scabbard, making a crisp sound.
He Fanxiong staggered back half a step, his skinny fingers pinched deeply into his palms: "The wine and drinks at the palace banquet have all been triple-tested, how could it be..."
He suddenly stopped talking halfway, a sharp cold light flashed in his cloudy eyes: "Yes, only the things bestowed by the emperor can be exempted from inspection..."
"I remember that halfway through the banquet, the Queen ordered someone to send us some fine wine, saying that it was a tribute from earlier years that she had never been willing to drink..." Sima Hui's voice gradually became lower and his face became gloomy.
"I will tear off the mask of that vicious woman and ask her why she did this!"
He Fanxiong was furious and turned to rush out of the palace. The hem of his robe swept across the blue bricks, bringing up a gust of bitter cold wind.
Originally, he was the one who should have remained rational, but when it came to the lives of his family members, including his most cared-for grandson, how could he be rational!
Gu Yanchen flashed and quickly stopped the person in front of the door: "Mr. He! If we go there now, she can just say she doesn't know. Besides, the spies in the palace are complicated. If we alert the enemy..."
"Do you want me to swallow my anger?" He Fanxiong turned around abruptly, and his voice made the dust on the beam fall down.
"Qingtuo almost died. I can't just watch him suffer this!"
Sima Hui stepped forward quickly and gently stroked He Fanxiong's back, which was trembling with extreme anger.
"Mr. Gu's words make sense. The Queen poisoned him suddenly without any reason. She must have a backup plan. Why don't we..."
"As opposed to what?" He Fanxiong shook off his hand, his eyes bloodshot.
"Wait for that vicious woman to kill my grandson again?"
The candlelight in the hall flickered, reflecting the changing faces of the people.
Ran Qingxuan took a deep breath and suddenly bowed deeply to He Fanxiong: "I helped the He family take over Blue Rain. Now Qingtuo is in danger. I..."
"Mrs. Gu, please don't blame yourself."
He Fanxiong sighed heavily, and his anger subsided a little.
"In fact, we all know that if we don't take action first, it will be too late when we are passive..."
"Oh..." Sima Hui also sighed heavily. Although he knew everything, he was not sure what Sha Miaoyin was planning.
"It is not certain whether the Queen has any connection with the remnants of Balanch. Going there rashly would indeed alert the enemy..."
Lu Adong thought more simply, frowning and saying, "If we can catch one, we'll catch one. Can we not catch anyone and wait for someone... to get into trouble..."
When Ran Qingxuan raised his eyes, a blazing light was already burning in his eyes: "I have a plan that may be able to catch the real culprit."
As soon as these words were spoken, hope filled the eyes of everyone present!
......
When the morning bell rang the next day, the civil and military officials who had been waiting outside for a long time entered the palace one after another.
He Fanxiong sat on the left side of the dragon throne. His old face no longer had the anger from last night, but instead had a bit of warmth.
Sima Hui stood at the head of the civil officials holding an ivory tablet, with a smile on his lips, as if it was just an ordinary court meeting.
"My dear ministers." He Fanxiong said in a loud and deep voice.
"At the palace banquet last night, I thought everyone had drunk a lot of wine and would ask for leave, but I didn't expect everyone to come this morning..."
The relaxed and gentle voice made the court officials feel relaxed, and soon some of them dared to make jokes.
"It is said that it is not easy to get drunk when drinking when you are happy. It seems that everyone was happy yesterday, so we were all here this morning..."
"That's right..."
"Mr. Zhang is absolutely right..."
He Fanxiong looked down calmly, and when it was almost time, he got to the point.
"I drank quite a bit of wine yesterday, and I thought it was delicious. Also, I noticed that everyone talked a lot more after drinking. It's clear that wine really gives people courage.
I think it is good to drink some wine and speak the truth, so I specially ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare some today for you to taste. I hope you will not spoil my fun..."
The palace maids came in one after another, holding silver trays, each with a cup of amber liquid on it.
The sudden gift of wine made the court officials look at each other in bewilderment, but they dared not disobey and took the cups one after another.
Han Yi stood at the side of the military formation, his eyes like a hawk sweeping over every minister who received the wine.
Gu Yanchen hid in the shadow of the temple pillar, without any breath, as if he had merged into the darkness.
"Please!" He Fanxiong suddenly raised his glass, his eyes sharp.
The ministers raised their heads and drank it, but saw two civil servants standing in the back row hesitate after taking the wine. One of them quietly spit the wine back into the cup, while the other's face suddenly changed and cold sweat oozed from his forehead.
"Everyone." Seeing that it was almost time, He Fanxiong raised his voice suddenly, attracting the attention of everyone in the court.
"And the wine you drank today was the leftover from yesterday's palace banquet, and it was specially prepared for the Crown Prince!"
There was deathly silence in the court, and all the courtiers had puzzled expressions on their faces. Only the two people who showed signs of abnormality at the beginning had drastic changes of expression, and one of them even cried out in surprise.
At this moment, Han Yi pounced out like a tiger, and Gu Yanchen also flashed from the shadows. The two of them grabbed the wrists of the two ministers almost at the same time.
"Master Zhao, Master Qian." He Fanxiong stood up slowly, his voice as cold as ice.
"Why can't you drink the wine that the prince can drink?"
There was an uproar in the hall.
The captured Minister Zhao looked pale, while Censor Qian's legs went limp and he fell to his knees.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty is innocent..."
Minister Zhao struggled and shouted, "I am innocent!"
Censor Qian suddenly foamed at the mouth and his body began to twitch violently.
Ran Qingxuan flashed out from the side hall, grabbed his chin, and saw black blood oozing out from the corner of his mouth.
"There's poison hidden between the teeth again," she said coldly.
"Is there still hope of saving him?"
Ran Qingxuan shook his head, and the next second Gu Yanchen grabbed Minister Zhao's chin and forced him to open his mouth.
"He didn't have any..."
After receiving He Fanxiong's signal, Han Yi took a few steps forward, drew out the big knife from his waist and placed it across Minister Zhao's neck.
"You... General Han, what are you going to do... How can you carry a knife in the hall..."
Han Yi snorted coldly and said, "Your Majesty has approved it. Otherwise, how can we arrest you who plotted to murder the crown prince?"
The faces of the court officials changed drastically. They were afraid that the swords and knives would fall on them, so they all stood further away.
Minister Zhao looked as pale as death and he almost couldn't catch his breath.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
