Chapter 657: Dancing Princess vs. East Factory Admiral 17
Shen Lang's brows were indifferent, as if he had already expected Chu Tuo to attack. He was wearing an ink-colored robe and stood tall.
"I believe that this assassination is not entirely a bad thing."
Chu Tuo snorted coldly, "The Northern Qi envoys were killed within the borders of my Meng State. According to you, this is a good thing?"
He was putting too much blame on Shen Lang, he was almost saying that Shen Lang had evil ambitions and wanted the relationship between the two countries to worsen.
Chen Lang: "While I was searching for the Northern Qi envoys, I happened to encounter an assassin. The assassin had poison in his mouth and wanted to kill himself to save the mastermind behind the scenes. Fortunately, I intervened in time and saved a life."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the audience looked up.
Quan Jiuyou spat out a melon seed shell, her red lips curled slightly, and she was satisfied that Chen Lang had erased her from the whole incident.
Chu Tuo's originally cold and angry expression froze for a moment, and his fingers hidden under the dragon robe tightened.
"Oh? My dear, have you been able to find out the identity of the person behind this?"
Chen Lang: "Your Majesty, the people from the East Factory are already conducting an investigation. We will give Your Majesty a reply within three days."
Chu Tuo's face was reluctant, and he said in a deep voice: "Okay, I will wait for your reply."
The assassination case was resolved, the palace banquet officially began, and the Northern Qi delegation presented Chu Tuo with an envelope.
Xuanyuan Qinglan: "This is a letter that my father asked me to bring to the Emperor of Chu. If the Emperor of Chu can answer the questions and agree to the terms, then on the border issue, Northern Qi is willing to cede land and pay compensation of two cities. For the next hundred years, it will not invade an inch of Meng State's land."
Meng State and Northern Qi State were neighboring countries, and the border was in turmoil all year round, and the people were living in dire straits.
The conditions offered by the other party were too tempting. Chu Tuo hurriedly opened the envelope, but was stopped by Xuanyuan Qinglan.
Xuanyuan Qinglan continued, "I've heard that Meng State is full of talented people. I wonder if the Emperor of Chu would be willing to make a bet with me?"
Chu Tuo: "What are you betting on?"
"If someone in Meng can answer the questions in the letter tonight, Northern Qi will voluntarily cede two cities. Similarly, if no one in Meng can answer the questions in the letter, then Meng will voluntarily cede two cities to Northern Qi. Emperor of Chu, what do you think?"
Chu Tuo was born as the top scholar in the imperial examination and was considered to be extremely talented. He had always been confident in his talent, but when it came to matters concerning the country, he still showed hesitation.
The Northern Qi delegation took the opportunity to fan the flames and praised Chu Tuo:
"Meng State has always been renowned for its elegance and refinement, with many scholars and writers hailing from it. I'm sure there must be many who can answer these two questions. Could it be that the Emperor of Chu is hesitating this time because he lacks confidence in Meng State's culture?"
Chu Tuo frowned.
Meng's military strength is not as good as other countries, but its cultural heritage is far ahead of other countries.
Many famous poems, songs, and famous verses were written by the people of Meng. Chu Tuo has a deep-rooted confidence in the culture of Meng.
Can……
Just by answering questions, you can own two cities. How can there be such a good thing in the world?
Xuanyuan Qinglan smiled, retreating to advance, and was quite easygoing:
"If the Emperor of Chu doesn't want to, then forget it. I thought it would broaden my horizons, but I guess I overestimated the cultural heritage of the Meng Kingdom."
As a person from outside the court, saying this outrageously in the Meng Kingdom’s palace was undoubtedly a slap in the face to everyone in the Meng Kingdom in public.
Chu Tuo's face turned pale, and he held the wine glass tightly: "Does what you just said count?"
Shen Lang stood up and frowned: "Your Majesty..."
Chu Tuo saw his disapproval clearly, and a feeling of anger of being looked down upon arose spontaneously. This Chen Lang opposed him in every way. If it were not for his obstruction, he would not have been able to control half of the power in the court until today.
"Shen Aiqing, please don't say too much."
He blocked Shen Lang's mouth.
"If I don't accept the challenge tonight, then the news of Meng's defeat tomorrow will spread to all countries. This is a matter of national honor and disgrace. Are you sure you can shoulder this responsibility?"
Shen Lang glanced at Chu Tuo with his deep black eyes, said nothing more, and sat down alone.
"The Emperor of Chu is truly courageous!" Some people in the Northern Qi delegation applauded.
Chu Tuo opened the envelope with trepidation, and when he saw the string of crooked and scribbled words on the paper, cold sweat broke out on his palms.
"What does Northern Qi mean by this?"
Xuanyuan Qinglan seemed to have anticipated this and explained calmly:
"To be honest with the Emperor of Chu, these two questions were asked by our Imperial Master. He has awakened his mind and can communicate with spirits. According to him, anyone who can answer these two questions will be blessed by the gods and possess astonishing talent. No one in the world can match him..."
And what you are seeing now is the title of the first question."
No one in the world can match him, this is undoubtedly the highest evaluation.
When Chu Tuo heard the words "National Master of Northern Qi", his heart sank.
The Northern Qi Dynasty did have a mysterious national teacher who ignored the Northern Qi monarch, but because of his great magical powers, he was deeply loved by the people of Northern Qi.
If someone else had written these two questions, he would have suspected that they were just making it up, but if it was the Imperial Master of Northern Qi...
Chu Tuo's face looked a little ugly.
He looked at the questions on the paper again, and after confirming that he couldn't understand them, he pretended to be calm and handed the letter to Eunuch Zhou beside him.
"Let everyone see it."
The letter was passed to Chen Lang. Quan Jiu curiously observed Chen Lang's reaction and found that his brows were tightly knitted, as if he had encountered a difficult problem. She raised her eyebrows with interest and became curious about the content on the paper.
It's rare to find a question that can stump Shen Lang.
By the time the letter reached Quan Jiu, a long time had passed. She lowered her head curiously and saw the question on the paper clearly. The corners of her mouth twitched violently.
The question is very simple, just one short line.
"How are you?"
Quan Jiu: “…”
I'm fine, thanks, and you?
The sound of clear English reading automatically popped up in her mind. She handed the letter to the next person calmly and began to wonder about the identity of the Northern Qi Imperial Master.
This question was asked by the Northern Qi State Master. I guess the probability that the Northern Qi State Master is a time traveler is as high as 99%.
"Do you have any solution, my dear ministers?"
Chu Tuo spoke in a deep voice, looking around with an oppressive gaze. All the civil and military officials who were stared at lowered their heads, feeling as nervous and awkward as if they were being called on by the teacher to answer a question in class.
The embarrassing thing is that after this statement was made, no civil or military official dared to speak out.
Chu Tuo's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, while the people from the Northern Qi delegation had a look of arrogance and success in their eyes, as they had expected this scene a long time ago.
Chu Tuo tightened his fingers, his nails digging into his palms, leaving hideous marks.
If he had known that the question was written by the Northern Qi State Master, he would never have agreed to Xuanyuan Qinglan's bet even if he was beaten to death.
But now it is too late to make amends.
The two cities would definitely not be handed over easily. Chu Tuo could only delay time and looked at Xuanyuan Qinglan:
"I will post a notice tomorrow, asking the common people for answers. Three days later, I will give Northern Qi the final answer. What do you think?"
Xuanyuan Qinglan shook his head: "Your Majesty, I said from the beginning that the betting time is only tonight."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
