Chapter 26: Palace Banquet (2) [VIP]
"General, you may not know that the girl we just met is the most delicate among us. If something happens at this banquet, you will have a hard time explaining it. It would be better to let my daughter serve you. I will definitely make you happy."
Although this delicate figure was not as good as the girl he had his eyes on, she had an arrogant look, domineering yet charming. Sun Zhong took a closer look at her and a look of interest appeared on his face.
With a playful curl of his lips, General Sun's desire was slightly aroused. He raised his sleeve and beckoned Xu Anyao over: "You are quite interesting, young lady. Come, give me a shoulder rub, and then we can listen to the following little song together."
"yes."
Seeing that she had caught the general's eye, Xu Anyao was overjoyed. She walked to the table with a sweet smile, and then was shyly embraced by Sun Zhong.
If the students were willing, he would not be able to stop them. Qu Hanjin whispered to the remaining people to retreat to the side of the hall and continued to play the piano, leaving the center for the dancers who entered the hall.
After thinking for a moment, he turned his eyes to look at the calm and peaceful girl and ordered her, "Step back a little and don't attract attention."
Chu Qingluo smiled and agreed, then obediently moved to a corner and continued to play the piano calmly.
Everything was just as she expected. In a short while, Sun Zhong would gradually lose his strength... When the general left the palace, she would take the opportunity to take his life.
Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and her gaze naturally swept over Xu Anyao.
The Xu family's young lady's fair jade fingers paused for a moment, then fell to the rim of the wine cup. Her eyebrows slightly curved, her eyes lowered, and she concentrated on playing the music.
Sun Chong was greedy, drunken and lustful. He often invited women to accompany him. When he saw many beautiful zither girls, he would definitely choose one to serve him.
She pretended to be shy and buried her head in playing the piano, which made the general feel a little curious and interested in her.
But after all, Mr. Qu is here. If she doesn't want to, he will definitely not allow it. In this way, this good opportunity will be thrown to someone else.
Xu Anyao has always wanted to curry favor with powerful people and change his fate. He is arrogant and ambitious, and he will definitely become the one who serves the general.
This seems like a coincidence, but it is inevitable.
Hearing the sweet voices coming from the general's arms, Chu Qingluo smiled slightly, slowly stroking each note of the piano music, with a trace of indifference and coldness flowing in her eyes.
Beside the table in the main hall, Sun Zhong hugged the soft fragrance in his arms and chuckled in Xu Anyao's ear: "The beauty has won the heart of this general... How about I ask for you and marry you into the general's mansion?"
As he spoke affectionately, a hint of drunkenness appeared on his face. General Sun paused, then added flatteringly, "I'll let you be my wife and enjoy a life of luxury."
Hearing this, Xu Anyao suddenly trembled, and looked back with joy. He suddenly felt that he had someone to rely on from now on, and he no longer had to worry about the glory of the rest of his life.
Although the Xu family has produced three prime ministers, it has been in decline for too long. If we want to restore the Xu family's former prestige, General Sun is an excellent match.
"General, you really like me so much. I'm so happy..." Regardless of whether it was drunken nonsense or a sincere oath, Xu Anyao was overjoyed. She picked up the wine cup and handed it to her lips, saying obediently, "Come, let me feed you a few more glasses of wine..."
"Okay, okay..." Sun Zhong smiled, his rough hands grasping the woman's slender waist, and drank the strong wine in the cup. "May I know what your name is, beautiful lady?"
Moving a little closer to the general's arms, Miss Xu curled her lips in a feigned pout and poured him more sake: "General, please remember, my daughter Xu Anyao is from the Xu family in the capital. She has just reached the age of marriage and is still unmarried."
"Xu Anyao..."
Slowly pronouncing the name, Sun Zhong nodded in understanding, his eyes narrowed, and he felt even more drunk. "Okay, I'll keep this in mind..."
The eldest daughter of the Xu family was half-hearted and half-willing, acting the role of wanting to refuse but also to accept. The sake in the pot was poured into the cup again and again, and then drunk by the general again and again.
The hall was filled with joy, and the soldiers were all congratulating the princess and General Sun on their triumphant return.
One, two, three...
Silently counting the wine that Miss Xu fed her with her own hands, Chu Qingluo thought that the medicine should be taking effect soon. She looked at him coldly, and her jade fingers had already touched the dagger in her sleeve.
As she expected, within a quarter of an hour, Sun Zhong seemed to feel unwell and pinched his neck with both hands, showing extreme pain.
But if it was cartilage powder, how could General Sun be suffering like this...
She thought about it for a moment and realized that this was Feng Yan's trick.
That madman who seldom obeyed orders must have acted on his own, and what he gave her was not some cartilage powder, but an irreversible poison!
She didn't have time to think too much. She saw that Sun Zhong's throat was dry and his eyes were full of bloodshot. He twitched for a moment, and then looked at the beauty next to him ferociously.
"Wine... there's poison in the wine..."
The general realized something and wanted to take the life of this vicious woman, but blood was gushing out of all her orifices and she had no strength left in her body.
The dancing and music around suddenly stopped. Sun Zhong stared wide-eyed in shock and uttered the following two words with his eyes wide open.
“It’s you…”
Before he could finish his words, the pot and bowl rolled to the ground, making a few soft sounds that shook the entire palace.
So far,
The hall fell into deathly silence.
Chu Qingluo saw this scene, his expression was calm and peaceful.
This General Daning Sun should have died long ago. He has been taken advantage of by others during his years of life. She snorted coldly, her eyes full of coldness.
As for where she sprinkled the powder, she did it quietly before leaving Si Yuefu.
After playing one or two songs, Xu Anyao's fingertips were stained with powder, and the powder then fell into the cup, and Sun Zhong could drink it with strong liquor without anyone noticing.
But in this way, the powder you drink is very little, and only by drinking a few more cups can the medicine take effect...
In this way, the eldest daughter of the Xu family did help unintentionally.
But she had never expected that Feng Yan had changed the medicine without her permission. The poison was fatal once drunk, and there was no need for any subsequent action.
After the silence, a soldier walked forward tremblingly, sniffed his breath, and fell to the ground in horror, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word for a long time.
"No... no breath..."
He hesitated and mumbled, and the soldier pointed at the fallen man, still in shock, and said, "General... General..."
"ah!"
Xu Anyao shouted suddenly, stood up and then knelt down tremblingly. He was suddenly panicked, his face pale, and he was scared out of his wits.
The palace guards rushed over upon hearing the noise and surrounded the hall tightly. Countless long swords were unsheathed and placed on Miss Xu's neck.
It took him a while to realize the extent of the disaster that had beset him. Xu Anyao was horrified and shook his head in panic, his eyes particularly empty: "It's not me, it's not me... I have no idea..."
"How could this be..." Seeing the situation, the daughter of the Xu family couldn't help trembling. She was terrified and hurriedly looked at Princess Mu Xiao and Mr. Qu, tears wetting her cheeks.
"Princess, sir, someone must have deliberately murdered me. I hope we can investigate thoroughly..."
Mu Xiao immediately gave the order, shouting loudly in the hall: "First, take this woman to the prison and wait for her punishment!"
"Sir, save me... Sir, you must save me..."
His voice was almost choked, and Xu Anyao was trembling violently. He felt desperate as if he had nowhere else to go, and he kept repeating in his mouth.
Seeing this situation, Qu Hanjin was also surprised. He stood there and watched silently. His clear eyebrows and eyes made it unclear what he was thinking.
He turned his head calmly, his cold face no longer showing any sign of panic. He glanced at her calmly, without any joy or anger, and his eyes finally fell on Meng Ying'er.
After a moment's deliberation, he ordered in a deep voice, "Take your men back home first, and don't tell anyone about what happened tonight."
Before Meng girl could come to her senses, Qu Han had already walked steadily in front of the princess. He bowed respectfully, as if he was having a sincere discussion with Mu Xiao.
"Let Qu's students return to the mansion first. Qu will stay for questioning."
Mu Xiao would certainly fulfill Mr. Qu's request. After signaling the palace guards to let the zither girls leave first, the princess suddenly glanced at the collapsed General Sun and was at a loss for a moment.
No one expected that a celebration banquet would lead to the general's death.
There is no moon tonight, perhaps because the clouds have covered the bright moon, shrouding every corner of the imperial city in dusk. Although there are palace lanterns illuminating the sky, it still feels dim.
She had no idea how she got back to the mansion. Even after the Qin Ji who had returned to the mansion had gone back to her boudoir, Meng Ying'er still felt a lingering fear in her heart. She couldn't calm down for a long time, so she looked at the beautiful figure beside her.
Mo Ran pursed her lips, and the girl asked in a trembling voice: "I was scared just now. Can Xu Anyao come back..."
Chu Qingluo walked leisurely, sighed with regret, and replied softly: "Poisoning an official of the imperial court, I guess I can't come back."
"How could there be poison in General Sun's wine..." Meng Ying'er couldn't figure out the reason after thinking hard. She frowned and the more she thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed to her.
"Even if Xu Anyao is stupid, he wouldn't have that idea. Isn't that just digging his own grave..."
She would not tell anyone else about this beheading. Chu Qingluo also looked puzzled, as if she pondered it for a while, and then became more and more confused.
"I'm also scared..." She lowered her gaze slightly and comforted the girl, "There's no point in dwelling on it tonight. It's better to wait for the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the case and announce the verdict."
Still feeling a little frightened, Meng girl looked dazed. When she looked back, she didn't know what she had just said.
"Everyone has been frightened tonight, and the master hasn't returned yet. You have to calm down..." Chu Qingluo patted the maid's shoulder gently, still soothing her quietly, and said calmly, "The master trusts you and ordered you to lead everyone back to the mansion. If you lose your mind, the Siyue Mansion will be in panic and chaos."
"Qingluo is right. I need to stay calm and comfort the girls..." Meng Ying'er suddenly understood and walked back to the pavilion. Before leaving, she reminded them, "I'll go first. Go back to your room and get some sleep. Even though tonight is a sleepless night, don't go out again."
The girl's pretty back looked quite heavy tonight. Her eyes softened a little, as if some compassion was inexplicably touched.
It was only for a moment, and his eyes returned to coldness.
There was not a sound around, it was late at night and there was complete silence.
Chu Qingluo walked along the path to the back mountain. On a night without Xuanhui, the forest was even colder and gloomier.
Fortunately, not long after they entered the forest, the clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, and the moonlight poured down like a veil. She looked directly at the man in black clothes who had been waiting for her for a long time in the thin moonlight, and her eyes became colder again.
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