Gan Qiongying was helped off the stage by her maids. After a moment of sighs, the people in the room immediately began to shower the Regent with flattery.
With the fall of King Kangguang, even Princess Duanrong bowed her head. All those who manipulated power knew that even the one in the palace was a puppet, and even Lady Kou supported the regent.
From this day forward, Regent Sima Rui will be the only one of his kind in the world, ruling over Nanzhao and Yindu.
Sima Rui's face was flushed. He looked in the direction where the dejected figure had disappeared through the doorway, scoffed softly, but his eyes were full of the joy of victory.
No one in this world can oppose him; he is the true dragon who should return to his rightful place.
The intoxicating aroma of alcohol and the flattering words of the crowd made Sima Rui feel as if he were floating on clouds, his feet not touching the ground. He even felt that the entire world was already his, and he could take it whenever he felt like it.
At this moment, Gan Qiongying stepped out, her expression of disappointment and forbearance completely gone, and quickly boarded a carriage.
The first step tonight is to make the Regent completely believe that she has been defeated and has bowed down at the Regent's birthday banquet.
She had sent out several groups of people from the princess's residence, who were already lying in ambush on the road the regent would inevitably take on his return journey.
Gan Qiongying, accompanied by several personal attendants, waited at the bend in the road in front of the Regent's Palace. She was the bait that would lure the Regent into stopping without any warning or suspicion.
The guards accompanying the Regent today are all his elite bodyguards, but it doesn't matter. Gan Qiongying sent out several groups of people today, totaling more than two hundred.
Moreover, this is only the first batch. If the first batch fails, the second batch of people can arrive from all directions in the blink of an eye as soon as they receive the signal.
Even if Sima Rui doesn't fall for it today, Gan Qiongying will use a human wave tactic to ensure that Sima Rui never returns.
Sima Rui's birthday banquet lasted until nearly midnight, when the wine had been drunk three times and the dishes had been served five times.
Sima Rui is of noble status and currently enjoys unparalleled fame, so naturally he cannot stay up all night with these people.
He left at midnight, surrounded by guards and coachmen who had been with him for years. They drove the carriage toward the Regent's palace.
Gan Qiongying waited in a narrow alley on the street; this was definitely not a good place to assassinate or ambush someone.
Especially since just around the corner is the Regent's Palace, facing the wide and winding main street of Yindu, the most prosperous street in the capital. The Imperial Guards patrol in waves, and although it is past midnight, the lights are still shining brightly, and the restaurants and entertainment venues are filled with laughter.
No one would have imagined that someone would dare to intercept an imperial official on the main street, at Sima Rui's doorstep, in a bustling city, attempting to impersonate him.
In such an environment, it's hard for people to feel any sense of vigilance.
Therefore, even the guards around the Regent, upon being stopped, did not immediately suspect assassins. Instead, they shouted, "Whoa! Whose carriage is blocking our way? We are from the Regent's Palace, get out of the way!"
The entire street, and the small bend in the road, was lined with the residences of officials from the imperial court. The guards of the Regent's Palace thought it was the carriage of an official returning home late, so although they spoke rudely, they did not utter any wild words, but simply asked the guards to make way.
Gan Qiongying stood on the side of the street, with Manyue holding a lantern for her beside her.
The night was deep and the dew was heavy. Gan Qiongying was wearing the cloak that Li Hua had repeatedly told her to wear while waiting for someone when she left the princess's residence earlier that day.
He said the night air was cool and that she should be careful not to catch a cold during the transition from autumn to winter.
The cloak was thick and was the kind that Li Hua often wore. It still had a lingering sandalwood scent. Gan Qiongying lowered her head and smelled it, feeling warm and sweet inside.
At this inopportune moment, she even recalled that before leaving home that evening, Li Hua had personally brought her ginseng soup to drink and had also instructed her not to drink too much alcohol during the banquet, lest it upset her stomach.
Because of Li Hua's meticulous care, Gan Qiongying felt strangely not nervous at all while standing here waiting for the Regent.
The outcome hinges on this moment, and today she will undoubtedly win while the Regent will lose.
Gan Qiongying's men stepped forward to negotiate, and a moment later, the Regent's personal guard whispered instructions to the Regent through the carriage window.
"Your Highness, this is the carriage from Princess Duanrong's residence."
Sima Rui leaned on a small table in the car, rubbing his temples. His head was spinning; he had been having such a good time today that he had drunk a little too much.
Upon hearing that it was Gan Qiongying's car, Sima Rui was slightly surprised, but just as Gan Qiongying had expected, now that they were at her doorstep, he indeed did not feel any wariness.
In addition, Gan Qiongying had left a deep impression on him with her incompetence during this period, and her restrained tears tonight made the Regent laugh whenever he thought about it.
A noble princess? A legitimate member of the royal family? Aren't they all his defeated opponents?
Even the current emperor is just a moth that he can manipulate at will.
The Regent now seems to be standing at the pinnacle, looking down upon all under heaven as mere ants.
"Make way, I want to see your prince." Gan Qiongying took the lantern and made Manyue and Chen Waquan step back to the side of the princess's carriage.
He personally carried the lantern and walked to the front of the Regent's carriage.
The voice, feigning arrogance, said, "You audacious servant, how dare you not kneel before me!"
Gan Qiongying snatched the whip from the driver's hand and lashed it across the driver's head and face as he tried to stop her.
No matter how senior the coachman was in the Regent's Palace, he didn't dare to act recklessly in front of the real princess. He took a solid lash and had to step aside.
However, soon, two guards surrounded the Regent's carriage, one on the left and one on the right, carrying unsheathed longswords, blocking Gan Qiongying from directly lifting the curtain and getting into the carriage.
"How dare you!" Gan Qiongying shouted.
She portrayed a loser who stubbornly maintained her last shred of dignity with remarkable depth, while the attendants in front of the Regent's carriage remained unmoved, listening only to the Regent.
At this moment, the Regent Prince lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Gan Qiongying with a playful expression.
His tone was languid, carrying the nonchalance of drunkenness, and even more so, a deep-seated disdain: "Princess Duanrong, what brings you here to wait for me so late at night?"
Gan Qiongying tilted her head slightly, looking like a proud peacock that would never bow its head, but her eyes were filled with trembling tears.
Seeing it only makes you want to ruthlessly destroy it.
Gan Qiongying said, "What, is the Regent making such a big show of force because he's afraid of a woman like me who can't even kill a chicken?"
Gan Qiongying deliberately mocked, "Are you afraid that if you say a few more words to me, you'll die?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com