but!
Even if he were killed, Sima Lie's ascension to the throne would be illegitimate, and the people would not accept him.
Sima Lie is an extremely shrewd man; he would not do something so foolish.
After a moment's thought, he shook his head, his pupils constricted, and said coldly.
"No, they don't want to kill me, they want to kill you! To be precise, they want to kill Empress Zhao Lan!"
Meals in the imperial palace have always been prepared according to strict standards. Judging from this breakfast, it must have been prepared just for Zhao Lan.
Moreover, according to custom, he should already be in the Imperial Study reviewing memorials at this time. If that person really wanted to poison him, they should have put poison in his food, not in Zhao Lan's food.
Therefore, the person that person actually wanted to kill was Zhao Lan!
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan's face turned deathly pale. If it weren't for the tyrannical emperor's timely reaction, she would probably be the one who died today!
Despite her initial shock, she couldn't help but feel a little more favorably towards Qin Yu.
If we were to ask who in the entire Great Xia Dynasty most wanted Zhao Lan dead, it would probably be Sima Lie.
This man first colluded with foreign powers to plot against Zhao Hu, then, still harboring malicious intentions, poisoned Zhao Lan. What's next? Wouldn't he be about to take Zhao Hu's head?
Thinking of this, Qin Yu's eyes couldn't help but darken.
Looks like we need to think of a way to deflate this old guy's arrogance!
Suddenly, an idea came to mind.
He couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a cold laugh.
"Since Prime Minister Sima has gone to such great lengths to plan this stunt, I certainly cannot let him work for nothing. I must also give him a generous gift!"
A return gift?
Zhao Yan frowned in confusion, her lips pursed.
Qin Yu smiled wickedly and beckoned to her with his finger.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and leaned in to listen.
As her lips parted and closed, a light gradually appeared in Zhao Yan's eyes.
Although the plan sounds absurd, upon closer inspection, it is actually feasible.
After thinking it over, she nodded slightly to Qin Yu in agreement.
After receiving Zhao Yan's reply, Qin Yu finally felt a little relieved.
Now it's up to him!
He flicked his sleeve, picked up the chopsticks that Zhao Yan had thrown down, and impatiently began to rummage through the food on the table.
After just a few bites, the food on the plate was shredded into tiny pieces.
The next moment, Qin Yu slammed his hand on the table and cursed loudly.
"Useless! What a bunch of useless trash! I am the Emperor of Great Xia! How dare they serve me such low-class food? Are these imperial chefs tired of living?"
As they were talking, Xuejian was leading her personal guards on patrol past the gate.
He spoke up at the right moment and stopped the person.
"Xuejian! Go and summon the head chef of the imperial kitchen! I want to see how many heads he has to lose!"
Upon hearing this, Xuejian immediately bowed and accepted.
"yes!"
Before long, Hu Xi hurriedly followed Xue Jian over.
Upon seeing Qin Yu, his eyes widened slightly, and his heart leaped into his throat.
What happened?
Why is the Emperor here if he's not in the Imperial Study?
Consort Jing didn't mention this to him!
If the Emperor were to mistakenly eat this food, he wouldn't have enough heads to lose!
Hu Xi swallowed hard, forced himself to remain calm, bowed to Qin Yu, and asked with a bow and salutation.
"This old servant greets Your Majesty. May I ask why Your Majesty has summoned this old servant here?"
"What is it? How dare you ask! Open your dog eyes and take a good look! This is the filthy pig swill you, the steward, have prepared for me?!"
"Those abalone, bear paws! All those delicacies! You, my servant, have embezzled them all!"
"I am busy with countless affairs of state every day, no wonder I feel weaker and weaker these days. How can I keep up with this?"
Qin Yu flew into a rage and cursed loudly. In a fit of rage, he raised his hand and smashed the bowl in front of him on the ground.
The porcelain bowl was smashed on the ground and shattered into pieces.
The spilled soup stained Hu Xi's clothes, but he didn't dare to move an inch.
Seeing that things were not going well, Hu Xi knelt down on the shard-strewn ground with a thud and repeatedly apologized.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old servant was confused. I will take the breakfast away immediately and make a fresh one!"
Hu Xi inwardly groaned. What the hell was wrong with this tyrant? He was indulging in such extravagance that he even ate abalone and bear paws for breakfast!
Just then, Zhao Yan, who had been sitting silently to the side, spoke up.
She mimicked Zhao Lan's manner, frowning as if displeased, and raised her voice.
“Food is hard-earned; many soldiers on the front lines are not getting enough to eat. As role models, the women of the inner palace should set an example of frugality. Since the Emperor does not like these meals, let them be given to his close attendants! In this way, everything will be used to its fullest potential!”
What?
This won't do!
The poison in the food was added by him personally. The attendants placed around the tyrant were all his own people. If they ate this, wouldn't the whole army be wiped out?
Hu Xi was immediately shocked and quickly got up to dissuade him.
"No, Your Majesty! This meal is prepared for Your Majesty. How dare these lowly servants taste it? This old servant will clean it up and prepare a new one for Your Majesty!"
As he spoke, he stood up and moved closer to the table.
Before his hand could even touch the plate, Qin Yu violently stood up and kicked him in the waist.
Hu Xi cried out in pain and was suddenly kicked to the ground.
"You dog of a servant, didn't you hear what the Empress said?"
Qin Yu glanced at him with an ambiguous expression and snorted coldly.
Hu Xi's face turned pale with pain, and he clutched his waist, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, no, no!"
But Qin Yu acted as if he hadn't heard, and simply flicked his sleeve, bestowing the meal upon the recipient.
"Considering that you serve me diligently by my side every day, this meal is a reward for you today!"
The eunuchs and palace maids, who had been keeping watch outside all night, were starving.
Moreover, they usually only eat leftovers, so how could they have the chance to eat such delicacies?
Upon hearing this, they were overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude.
"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty!"
As they spoke, they eagerly took the food from the table and went to the side hall.
Seeing that the situation had spiraled out of control, Hu Xi's face turned ashen, and his whole body trembled.
It's over, it's all over now!
Within moments, agonizing screams echoed from the side hall.
Upon hearing the sound, Qin Yu hurriedly strode out.
Peeking into the side hall, he saw that the eunuchs and palace maids all had purple lips and were gushing blood from their mouths, lying sprawled on the ground convulsing, their deaths extremely gruesome.
Qin Yu was shocked. His face turned ashen as he turned to look at Hu Xi and angrily rebuked him.
"This food is poisoned! Hu Xi, how dare you attempt to assassinate me!"
"Guards! Guards! Kill him!"
Hearing the commotion, Xuejian hurriedly drew her sword and rushed in, her whole body radiating coldness.
"Your Majesty..."
Hu Xi opened his mouth in fear, but before he could utter a word of explanation, Xue Jian beheaded him with a single sword stroke.
In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, and the head rolled to the ground, dying with its eyes wide open.
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