Chapter 78 Assassination
"Yes. You guessed it right. On March 3rd, there will be a royal spring banquet. My great-aunt will personally make a new set of clothes for each of you."
The eldest prince laughed and said, "It's rare to see clothes made by my great-aunt herself."
The Fourth Prince smiled slyly and said, "Then it's settled. Grandma, please don't regret it."
After he finished speaking, he pointed to the vegetables on the table and said, "These were all made by my mother."
Li Yueyao was surprised: "You haven't even tasted it, how do you know?"
"My mother likes to add spices when cooking. Do you think these dishes have a lot of them?"
The Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince looked at it and nodded.
When the virtuous concubine was exposed by her own son, she said:
"Among the remaining dishes, there's one I made. Guess what."
The fourth prince began to taste the remaining dishes one by one, but said he couldn't taste it.
The third prince, the eldest prince, and the crown prince are even worse. Not only do they not understand Li Yueyao, they don't understand Concubine Xian either.
After tasting all the dishes, he shook his head.
Finally, the emperor pointed to the roast duck in the middle and said proudly:
"This dish was made by Consort Xian, and the rest were made by my aunt."
The Second Prince was eating roast duck when he looked up and asked, "Father, how did you know?"
The emperor laughed and said, "When I was young, I often went to Su's house, and every time I went there, there was always a roast duck on the table.
Later I learned that it was done on purpose by Consort Xian."
Li Yueyao judged the emperor as the winner, but finally agreed to make a piece of clothing for everyone, and everyone was very happy.
After the meal, Concubine Xian asked the Fourth Prince, "You really can't tell the difference between that roast duck and the real thing?"
The Fourth Prince laughed and said, "Mother, if I guessed everything correctly, then what should Father guess?"
The virtuous concubine reached out and poked his forehead: "You are so young and don't learn good things. You only learn to flatter your superiors."
The fourth prince said with a smile, "Mother, this is my colorful dress to entertain you."
"Hippie, remember what I told you?"
"Remember, keep a low profile and don't publicize anything. Be respectful to the Crown Prince and help your second brother more.
I already know all this, so you don’t need to explain it any more.”
The two were talking when they suddenly saw Fu Shou coming in from outside with a panicked look on his face.
"Your Majesty, a group of villagers from the east are causing trouble, and the Duke of Zhenguo has sent people to deal with it.
But there seemed to be some unusual movement in the western forest, and flocks of birds and beasts rushed out of the forest.
General Feng thought something was amiss and suggested leaving as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian stood up and frowned, "Where is His Majesty?"
"Your Majesty is fine and is already packing up to leave."
"Well, that's good. Let's go over there too."
After saying that, he pulled the Fourth Prince out.
The emperor's carriage was ready for departure and had just come out of the north gate.
Li Yueyao looked up at the scenery as she walked, but after looking for a while, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
There was some dust floating in the air, but it was very quiet ahead.
Immediately, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he quickly stopped the imperial carriage.
Li Yueyao boarded the emperor's carriage and said, "Your Majesty, there's an ambush on this road. We need to take a detour."
The emperor was shocked when he heard this.
"Why do you say that, aunt?"
Li Yueyao picked up the teacup on the table, placed it on the table and said:
"Look, they first created civil conflict in the east, then drove the beasts and insects from the west, and to the south was Luoxia Lake.
So we can only go north, and this is the most convenient way to go back, and it is also the route we originally planned to take."
The emperor nodded after hearing this.
Li Yueyao asked Sun Fu to lift the curtain of the sedan chair in front of him and pointed outside.
"Do you see any dust in the air?"
The emperor looked at it and nodded, "Yes."
"But listen, close your eyes and listen carefully, what can you hear?"
The emperor closed his eyes and cooperated. After listening for a while, he opened his eyes and said, "I can't hear anything."
"That's the problem. There's clearly no wind today, so where does all this dust come from?"
The virtuous concubine said beside her: "It must be a group of people coming here, raising the smoke and dust."
Li Yueyao nodded.
Then he continued, “When we came here, didn’t we praise the quiet mountains and clear bird songs along the way?
But now, where is the bird singing?"
"Frightened away."
The virtuous concubine replied calmly.
Just as they finished talking, they saw the Duke of Zhenguo coming over and saying:
"Your Majesty, something is not right ahead. I will send someone to take a look."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "Alright."
Li Yueyao said, "Your Majesty, you and Concubine Xian will take her carriage, and I will take yours. Go quickly."
"Aunt, how can I let you block the knife for me?"
The emperor suddenly became stubborn.
Li Yueyao said, "Your Majesty, please go. Recently, General Fengshenyu and the Left Prime Minister have had a serious quarrel. It's possible that he is targeting me.
With this arrangement, my car is empty, which is relatively safe."
The virtuous concubine immediately found the loophole.
If they were targeting Li Yueyao, they could have taken action when Li Yueyao was traveling alone.
In the current situation, with the Imperial Guards and the Duke of Zhenguo present, the difficulty of assassination has increased greatly.
This look was directed at the emperor.
But at this time, the emperor felt that Li Yueyao's words made some sense, so he hesitantly took the virtuous concubine off the imperial carriage.
Li Yueyao winked at Concubine Xian, and Concubine Xian had no choice but to follow the emperor.
Sure enough, after a while, I heard fierce shouts and screams coming from the front.
Feng Qing gathered his men together, seemingly to protect the imperial carriage, but in fact they were guarding the virtuous concubine's carriage even more closely.
After a while, the Duke of Zhenguo came over and said:
"Your Majesty, let's take a detour. This gang of thieves seems to have planned this and is very difficult to deal with."
Before the emperor could speak, Li Yueyao said, "Go find a most ordinary carriage."
Li Yueyao and Concubine Xian looked at each other and said:
"You and His Majesty take a few children with you, pretend to be wealthy businessmen, and have Feng Qing escort you out."
The virtuous concubine thought for a moment and said, "Now we can only abandon the near and seek the far.
Go from Luoxia Lake, cross the Cang River, and mobilize the troops stationed outside the city?"
Li Yueyao nodded and said, "Not bad."
The emperor heard this and said anxiously, "Aunt, let's go together."
Li Yueyao smiled and shook her head: "No, I have to stay."
"No, aunt, let's go together."
The emperor was very persistent at this moment.
"If they all leave, who will stay to disguise you and attract their attention?"
The Second Prince suddenly stood up with his head held high and his chest puffed out:
"Grandma, I am willing to stay with you and fight against the enemy."
Li Yueyao looked at the second prince and smiled. This child is really a natural born general.
"Your mother is in poor health. You must not take any risks. Go back with your father."
The second prince hesitated when he heard Li Yueyao mention his mother.
The Fourth Prince then stepped forward and said, "Second Brother, you escort our father back to the palace first. I will stay here to accompany my great-aunt."
The Second Prince turned to look at his younger brother, who was a head shorter than him, and questioned:
"Fourth brother, can you handle this with your small body?"
The fourth prince smiled and said, "I may not be good at fighting, but I am smart. Don't worry, second brother."
On the other hand, the Third Prince and the Crown Prince were shocked and stood there without saying a word or moving.
The eldest prince opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was determined to stay, Concubine Xian said:
"Be smart, save your life, and protect your great-aunt."
The fourth prince said, "Father, mother, don't worry. I will protect my great-aunt."
The emperor looked at his son and Li Yueyao and didn't speak for a long time.
After the emperor and the virtuous concubine left, Li Yueyao changed into men's clothes, put on the emperor's robe, and then played chess with the fourth prince on the imperial platform.
"Is Heng'er afraid?" Li Yueyao asked.
The Fourth Prince smiled and said, "When the time comes, you need to be bold. Isn't that what you taught me, Grandma?
Besides, the Duke of Zhenguo and the Right Guards led by him are fighting in front, and the outcome is still uncertain. What is there to be afraid of?
And I have already made up my mind. If I win, I will return to the palace as soon as possible and bring people to welcome my father, the emperor, and my mother.
If we lose, we will run up the mountain over there."
Li Yueyao saw that the Fourth Prince had the same idea as her, so she asked with a smile:
"Why do you want to go to that mountain over there?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com