Chapter 417 The Da Jing delegation enters the city, and the people protest.
Fortunately, the shouts from the surroundings drowned out the baby's cries; otherwise, the sound of a baby girl crying coming from the carriage of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion might have aroused suspicion.
Upon hearing the baby's cries, Wanyan Zonglie seemed to have some kind of telepathic connection, guiding him to lift the curtains.
I saw a luxurious carriage with a flag bearing the character "Xiao," which belonged to Xiao Xuance.
Xiao Xuance!
No wonder I reacted that way.
The minister riding in the same carriage as him advised, "Fourth Prince, your identity cannot be exposed since you are traveling to the capital in secret. Why don't you lower the curtain?"
The Fourth Prince received a box containing a baby girl, and he immediately became very angry.
For the next few days, he had a gloomy face and was sullen, as if he wanted to kill someone, and the ministers dared not provoke him.
Zhang Gutong could only try to reason with him gently.
Wanyan Zonglie lowered the curtain, clenched his hands on his thighs, and closed his eyes slightly.
Xiao Xuance, his greatest enemy, unexpectedly won the first encounter upon entering Lin'an City. No wonder he reacted that way.
If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have lost so badly, and he wouldn't have lost Zhao Furou.
The woman he both loved and hated ran away pregnant with his child, causing his child's death. He would never forgive her in this lifetime.
We also need to let her know the consequences of running away.
The people confirmed that it was a delegation from the Great Jing Dynasty that had come to the capital for peace talks.
"Slap slap slap!!!"
"Get out! Get out of our Great Zhou! We don't welcome you!"
"They invaded our land, raped and plundered on our Great Zhou territory, and now they want to negotiate after losing? There's no such thing as a free lunch! Dream on! We will not negotiate."
"No peace talks! No peace talks!"
The people shouted and threw rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and stones at their carriages.
"Get out of my Great Zhou!"
The Imperial City Guards rode horses to protect the carriage on both sides.
They drew their swords and brandished them towards the people, shouting, "Back off! All of you, back off!"
The people threw the objects while backing away; as long as they had enough arm strength, they could hit the target.
The commander shouted again, "Stop! Stop! In times of war, envoys are not to be killed. Besides, the two countries have already made peace. We can't destroy this..."
“They are barbarians, devoid of morality and ethics, and will not abide by the covenant. Signing it would be pointless. We should kill them and then send Marshal Xiao to lead troops to their lair and wipe them out.”
"Destroy them..."
The people were filled with righteous indignation, and they even attacked the Imperial Guards. These guards had mastered excellent martial arts skills and were used to fighting enemies on the battlefield, but instead they were protecting the enemies of the Great Zhou.
To hell with not killing envoys! Haven't these people spilled the blood of the people of our Great Zhou?
"Stop! Anyone who dares to smash again will be thrown into jail and severely tortured!" The Imperial City Guards shouted again, targeting the few who were smashing the most and arresting them. They were about to arrest the others, but the civilians who had not participated in the beating deliberately ran over to stop them.
"Even if we have to use severe torture, we will smash them to death."
Some chivalrous individuals also wanted to take action. They disguised themselves as street vendors, hiding swords and other weapons under their tables. When the delegation's carriage passed by their stalls, they would pull out their weapons and attack the delegation.
The two sides had only been fighting for a short while when a large number of imperial guards rushed towards them.
They pointed their repeating crossbows at the civilians, preventing them from advancing, shouting, "Those who don't want to die, back off!"
The righteous men killed more than a dozen Dajing soldiers, but seeing this, they dared not fight back.
"withdraw!"
"Chase!"
This matter concerns diplomatic relations between the two countries. People have died on the Dajing side. If we don't capture the culprits and give Dajing an explanation, it will affect the peace talks between the two countries.
The imperial court also had no way to explain this to the people.
Zhang Gutong lifted the curtain and said to the commander of the Imperial Guards, "When two countries are at war, envoys are not to be killed. Our envoys trust the Great Zhou, so we brought only a few people with us. We brought nothing but swords and knives into Lin'an. I did not expect that this is how you would treat us."
"This was the work of a few radical citizens and has nothing to do with the imperial court. We will catch the culprits and give you an explanation. Don't think I didn't see it; you deliberately let them go just now!"
"Why do you say that, sir? It is those people who are highly skilled in martial arts, and we are not as good as them."
"When I meet your Emperor of Great Zhou, I will definitely submit a report against you."
"Those who are innocent will remain innocent. Please do as you please!" The commander of the Imperial Guards casually bowed towards the carriage and led his men away.
This action really angered Zhang Gutong.
With a stern face, he flung the curtain down.
As the Right Chancellor of the Great Jing Dynasty, he would have left long ago if he hadn't prioritized the overall situation.
"Fourth Prince, we have lost more than a dozen warriors. We cannot swallow this insult. If we open this door, they will take our Great Jing even less seriously."
We've only suffered a few defeats, but we haven't lost the overall battle. Their treasures, as well as the retired emperor, the crown prince, and other members of the royal family, are still in our hands. The Great Zhou is the weaker party. Do they really think we're afraid of them?
Wanyan Zonglie slowly spoke: "What's the rush? They haven't even gotten off to a successful start, let's just wait for them to court their own doom."
"What the Fourth Prince said is true. We will arrange more manpower and wait for them to walk into our trap so that we can avenge the warriors who sacrificed their lives for our Great Jing."
The inner palace, the Hibiscus Palace.
When Zhao Furou returned to the palace, she learned from a palace maid that her stillborn baby had been stolen by thieves.
From then on, she dreamed every night of a crying baby girl calling her "Mother"...
The child questioned her, "Mommy, why didn't you protect me?"
Why did you abandon me?
Zhao Furou cried uncontrollably, her tears soaking her pillow. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't deserve to be your mother..."
A tall, dark figure quietly slipped in through the window.
He walked to the bedside and sat down. His cold, large hand stroked her cheek, then moved down to her neck like a venomous snake, tightening its grip inch by inch.
Zhao Furou woke up with a start, quickly opening her eyes, "Who..."
The hand that was gripping her neck lifted her up by the neck.
Zhao Furou struggled to breathe, trying to pry open the hand that was strangling her neck. "Uh... let go, let me go... Someone, help me..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com