nashuaworldcup Chapter 183 It’s a mess
Chapter 183 It’s a mess
"In that case, Prime Minister, please take your seat!" Since the Prime Minister had already explained that he had other matters to attend to, Xue Huaiyu really couldn't possibly make things difficult for him.
After Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi were seated, the banquet began.
The palace maids brought out the delicacies one dish after another, and the banquet was lively with singing and dancing.
Sitting to Xue Huaiyu's right was Chen Xianlin. Xue Huaiyu had only brought Chen Xianlin, his concubine, to the banquet today.
At this moment, Tuoba Yanran suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have long admired the men of the Great Xia Kingdom for their bravery, fearlessness, and skill in battle. Today, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to see Your Majesty's countenance. I wonder if I may have the chance to witness the heroic bearing of the men of the Great Xia Kingdom?"
Seated on the high seat, Xue Huaiyu narrowed his eyes slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in them, before slowly asking, "Oh? What does the princess mean by this? Could it be..."
Seeing this, Tuoba Yanran decided to stop hiding her intentions and spoke frankly: "To be honest, Your Majesty, we have come from afar with a sincere heart, wishing to sign a ceasefire agreement with Great Xia."
"This princess will be choosing a husband from the Great Xia Kingdom, so I would like to invite any unmarried man from the Great Xia Kingdom to compete with me. Whoever wins will become my husband." After saying this, she bowed deeply to show her respect.
"Hahahaha, since the Second Princess has spoken, how can I refuse?" Xue Huaiyu then turned to look at the officials present, and then suddenly realized that the princes and nobles were not here; they were on the other side.
Xue Huaiyu then ordered his men to bring all the unmarried sons of officials over here.
At this moment, Tuoba Yanran suddenly pointed at Zheng Luoqi and asked, "May I ask, is that gentleman married?"
At this point, Xue Huaiyu understood everything. Tuoba Yanran was clearly after Zheng Luoqi; why did she have to choose Zheng Luoqi of all people?
Regardless of whether Zheng Luoqi agrees or not, Xue Huaiyu will be the first to disagree. If Zheng Luoqi really marries Tuoba Yanran, then the power of the Prime Minister's Mansion will surely reach its zenith and grow ever stronger.
Besides, this Tuoba Yanran is the second princess of the Northern Rong Kingdom! If the Prime Minister harbors treacherous intentions and plots a rebellion, with the Northern Rong Kingdom's assistance, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. The more Xue Huaiyu thought about it, the more terrified he became. He absolutely could not let such a thing happen!
Before Zheng Luoqi could even refuse, Chen Xianlin, who was next to Xue Huaiyu, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
A palace maid standing nearby exclaimed, "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine!"
Chen Xianlin quickly fainted. Before Xue Huaiyu could react to what was happening, Wen Nanwan, disguised as a palace maid, suddenly pulled out a dagger and rushed towards Xue Huaiyu.
Xue Huaiyu panicked and tried to dodge, but Wen Nanwan was quick enough to stab him in the abdomen.
Wen Nanwan wanted to continue attacking, but Ye Churan, who had rushed over, stopped her and restrained her. Ye Churan looked at Chen Xianlin, who had fainted on the ground, and was very worried.
She could only watch as Chen Xianlin was led away. Ye Churan turned her gaze to Xue Huaiyu, hurriedly stepped forward, reached out to support him, and anxiously called out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Xue Huaiyu clutched his abdomen, his face contorted in pain, and looked at Ye Churan with an expression that seemed to say, "Do you think I'm alright?" Then he fainted.
Everyone present was completely bewildered, utterly unaware of what had happened. It wasn't until they saw the blood seeping from Xue Huaiyu's abdomen that they snapped out of their daze.
"Ah!! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor! Quickly summon the imperial physician!" Zhang, the eunuch standing to the side, shouted anxiously.
Immediately afterwards, Eunuch Zhang ordered, "Guards, take this woman away immediately. We will deal with her after the Emperor wakes up!" As soon as he finished speaking, guards responded and took Wen Nanwan away from the scene.
Xue Huaiyu and Chen Xianlin were also carried away.
Things happened so fast that everyone was stunned for a while before they realized that they had just been talking about the Second Princess of Beirong looking for husbands, and now assassins had infiltrated to assassinate the emperor.
Zheng Yuxiang spoke first: "Lord Ye, today's banquet was hosted by Lord Ye, so what exactly is going on?"
"How did you let this assassin in? Where were the guards today? Are they all just sitting around doing nothing? All the guards responsible for protecting the Emperor today should be punished as they should be. As for Lord Ye, let him plead guilty after the Emperor wakes up!" Zheng Yuxiang said coldly.
Ye Churan dared not refute the Prime Minister's words, and bowed, saying, "What the Prime Minister says is very true."
"If anything happens to the Emperor, you will all come to me with your heads!" Zheng Yuxiang said, then turned and left without giving the people behind him a second glance, a sly glint in his eyes.
After Zheng Yuxiang left, he gestured to Zheng Luoqi to stay behind in case of any emergencies. Not long after Zheng Yuxiang left, another servant came to report: "Something terrible has happened! Something has happened to the women! Miss Jiang has fallen into the water and is no longer alive!"
"What?" Ye Churan asked in surprise.
So many things happened during Ye Churan's first time hosting a banquet for envoys; he himself hadn't expected it.
...........
Going back three days before the incident
Wen Nanwan rested in Chen Xianlin's courtyard as usual. Chen Xianlin had gone to find Xue Huaiyu that day and was not in the palace.
At this moment, Wen Nanwan keenly noticed a palace maid behaving strangely. The palace maid looked nervous, glancing left and right, as if she were secretly hiding something.
Wen Nanwan was puzzled and decided to go forward to find out.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Wen Nanwan said softly.
The palace maid was so startled by the sudden sound that she trembled and almost dropped what she was holding.
Her face was filled with panic, and she stammered, "Replying to Miss, these are just some rat repellent. Recently, rats have been causing trouble in my room, disturbing my peace. I had no choice but to ask someone to find some rat poison from outside the palace. However, because the poison is toxic, I was afraid of causing trouble, so I secretly hid it."
After saying this, the palace maid knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy: "Please have mercy, young lady, and please don't tell the Imperial Concubine about this! It's a serious crime to possess such poisons in the palace!"
Wen Nanwan stared at the packet of poison handed to her by the palace maid, secretly plotting a plan that gradually took shape in her mind...
"Get up. I won't tell the Imperial Concubine about this, but you can't take this!" Wen Nanwan said, putting the item away.
The palace maid nodded hurriedly in agreement and then retreated. As she turned around, a triumphant smile spread across her face where Wen Nanwan could not see.
This palace maid was arranged by Consort Jiang. From the beginning, she revealed the news that Ji Beichen was going to get married, and now she has delivered the poison to Wen Nanwan.