Chapter 196
At the same time, there was an unusual and solemn atmosphere in the Shu State Palace, where people were always coming and going.
In the palace, the Chengqian Palace, where their most n.o.ble emperor lived, at this time, was surrounded by a heavy imperial army. Even a fly could not fly in. Just seeing this can make people feel the heaviness of the atmosphere. At the same time, it was shocking. Who would dare dispatch so many troops in front of the emperor’s palace? It was simply… a rebellion.
Yun Zhongli and Helian Mingyue were sitting in the palace, staring at the food in front of them dignifiedly, without touching anything.
Suddenly, a small commotion was heard outside. The door of the closed room creaked open and was pushed aside from the outside.
“Your Royal Highness, be careful of your steps.” Xizeyan reminded in a low voice while supporting Yun Shan into the Palace of Cheng Qian.
Yun Shan nodded, and glanced at the completely untouched food on the table. The corners of her lips were slightly hooked. She turned to look at Xizeyan: “You all go retire first.”
“But your highness…” Xizeyan raised his head, looking at Yun Shan with some worry.
“Everyone here is Ben Gong’s people, are you afraid that they will eat Ben Gong?” Yun Shan’s eyes were slightly cold. “Go, don’t make Ben Gong say it a third time.”
Xi Zeyan’s face turned pale. He swallowed, bowed and walked out.
The door behind her closed again. Yun Shan gave a smile, and walked towards the two.
“Royal Brother, Sister-in-law, it’s so late, why aren’t you eating? Is it because there is no one to serve you so you don’t have an appet.i.te? Come, Royal Sister will prepare soup for you personally.” Yun Shan didn’t care about the two cold faces facing her. Stepping forward, she picked up the soup spoon on the side and scooped a bowl of soup for Helian Mingyue, and handed it to the other party, “This red jujube and white fungus soup is the best for women to replenish the body. Sister-in-law recently worked hard to take care of the emperor’s body, so this soup was specially made for Sister-in-law. Sister-in-law should drink it while it is hot to see if it suits her appet.i.te.”
Helian Mingyue turned her face aside. She did not speak, and did not go to pick up Yunshan’s bowl of soup.
“Look at Royal Sister’s negligence. Does Sister-in-law think it is too hot?” Yun Shan smiled and didn’t care. She took the soup back, and blew it gently: “Come on, Sister-in-law, it’s not hot anymore. Drink while it’s fresh.”
Yun Shan brought the soup to Helian Mingyue again, and looked at her with a faint smile.
Helian Mingyue cast her eyes down at the soup. She smiled coldly, raised her hand, and directly swept the bowl of hot soup onto the ground. Accompanied by the cracking sound of the porcelain bowl, the entire soup in the bowl fell to the ground and splashed all over the floor.
He Lian Mingyue gave a cold look to Yun Shan. Just about to withdraw her gaze, Yun Shan smiled, then…
Slap… A loud and crisp sound sounded through the entire Chengqian Hall. He Lian Mingyue only felt a sharp pain on her face and her body fell to the side. There was a fl.u.s.tered exclamation from Yun Zhongli.
With a crash, Helian Mingyue reflexively grabbed the tablecloth beside the table when she fell. The plates and utensils on the table fell to the ground, making a huge noise.
“Yueyue!” Yun Zhong Li stood up and rushed towards Helian Mingyue.
He Lian Mingyue clutched her pained cheeks. She shook her head towards Yun Zhongli, and whispered in comfort: “I’m fine.”
Before her voice fell, she heard someone from a distance: “Oh, now even if brother and sister-in-law want to eat, they will have nothing to eat.”
Hearing Yun Shan’s voice was like waking up from a dream. Yun Zhongli hurriedly stretched out his hand to block Helian Mingyue behind him, with a look of alert. Helian Mingyue also squinted her eyes and looked at Yun Shan coldly.
Yun Shan glanced at the mess on the ground. She smiled and condescendingly looked at the two fallen on the ground. Her mocking eyes seemed to be looking at two living ants: “Brother, Sister-in-law, Royal Sister is warning you not to fight back. Don’t forget who is in charge of this palace now. If you behave compliantly, you will suffer less. Why bother to make yourself so miserable?”
“You don’t have to pretend to be kind! Yun Shan, you are a rebel, and you will face retribution for killing your brother to usurp the throne!” Helian Mingyue still had a red mark on her face, but there was no fear as she faced Yun Shan.
“I’ve already done everything that would be considered as rebellious and disobedient to one’s parents, so why should I be afraid this time?” Yun Shan laughed. She walked towards the two of them, then squatted down in front of them. She looked at Yun Zhongli’s slightly distressed and resentful look, she raised her eyebrows, “Royal Brother, your sister has nothing much to say. Your sister just wants to come over today to know one thing. Where is the Jade Seal of the Country?”
Yun Zhongli seemed to have expected that Yun Shan would come and ask him about the country’s Jade Seal: “I have hidden it in a place you will never find. If you have the ability, you can find it yourself, why ask me?”
As soon as Yun Zhong Li said this, Yun Shan’s eyes were immediately stained with danger: “Royal Brother, the patience of your sister’s is limited.”
Yun Zhongli didn’t feel threatened by her words towards him. He sneered: “Do whatever you want. You can kill us if you have the ability, but even if you kill us, you won’t find the royal jade seal of the country. You will never be the king of Shu righteously.”
Yun Zhongli’s eyes were full of pride, but if one looked closely, one could see a little imposing aura from it.
They thought that Yun Shan’s goal was just for the throne, but after being imprisoned, they found out that they were wrong. If Yun Shan only wanted the throne, she would have already committed a rebellion a few days ago when she caught the two. She should have killed them in one fell swoop and ascended the throne. But she didn’t do this. To everyone’s surprise, her purpose was to pa.s.s on the jade seal of the country.
She wants more than just the throne. What she wanted was the right and power to control the entire Shu Kingdom, so that all the people in Shu would obey her, that they would obey her rights and power.
Whenever he thought of this, Yun Zhong Li couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ver. Fortunately, he had the foresight of sending it away
Hearing the decisiveness in Yun Zhongli’s words, a touch of killing intent was drawn from her eyes. She smiled: “Royal Brother, the entire capital of Shu Kingdom is in the hands of your sister, both inside and outside. You have no chance to turn this around, so why are you being so stubborn at this time?”
“There is no possibility of turning it around? Haha, that’s not necessarily true.” Helian Mingyue stood up with the support of Yun Zhongli. She felt…uncomfortable being watched condescendingly by someone.
Yun Shan narrowed her eyes, as if she understood something. She chuckled: “Sister-in-law, do you mean Xi Er’s chance of turning things around?”
Helian Mingyue and Yun Zhong Li were shocked. They looked up in surprise at Yun Shan: “What did you do to Xi Er?”
The reaction of the two seemed to delight Yun Shan. Yun Shan curled her lips and smiled: “I haven’t done anything to her now, but it won’t be the same after this. Royal brother and Sister-in-law, you have been deep in the palace for a long time, so you don’t know that recently there appeared a group of spies from the Kingdom of Ye in our Shu Kingdom. Fortunately, your sister had the insight to capture them before these spies could shake the country’s capital.”
Although there were not many expressions on Yun Zhong Li and He Lian Mingyue, there was a bit of tension in their eyes subconsciously. Yun Shan obviously noticed this. Her face was slightly dark, she jokingly said: “However, there were still a few of the rebel party that got the news first and escaped from your sister’s hand. Brother and sister-in-law…”
Yun Shan leaned in front of the two of them and smiled: “You should know Xi Er’s whereabouts better than your sister. Now that these rebel parties are still running around, if Xi Er is with them, then your sister here might accidentally injure her when arresting the rebel party. Tsk tsk tsk…”
Yun Xi was their own flesh. When they heard Yun Shan’s suggestive words, both of them paled. “Yun Shan, Xi Er is your niece!”
“Niece?” Yun Shan seemed to hear some big joke, “Yes, she is my niece, but my hands have long been covered in blood. I don’t care about adding one more, even if this person is my niece or brother! Who dares to stand in front of me at this time will have to die!”
“Yun Shan, you are crazy!” Yun Zhongli’s eyes widened. He looked at the woman in front of him with a look of disbelief. He was completely unable to connect this woman who was already a bit crazy to the ethereal girl who had been brought back to the country and called him Royal Brother.
Yun Shan was startled by Yun Zhongli’s roar, but then she laughed with her mouth covered. Her body trembled slightly. Finally she couldn’t help but raise her head and laugh loudly.
“Hahaha…hahaha…” Yun Shan’s somewhat frantic laughter reverberated in the entire Chengqian Palace. The long-lasting laugh made the expressions of the Yun Zhong Li and Helian Mingyue even more solemn.
The arrogant laughter lasted for a long time. When Yun Shan seemed to have laughed enough, she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head to look at the two, and chuckled: “Yes, I’m crazy. It’s been six years. No, even before that, I have been mad, driven mad.”
Six years ago? ! Helian Mingyue and Yun Zhong Li looked at each other in surprise.
“Hehe, just think of me as crazy. Xi Er’s safety depends on Royal brother and Sister-in-law. Your sister will give Royal Brother and Sister-in-law a day to exchange for Xi Er’s safety for the Jade Seal of the Kingdom.”
Helian Mingyue was not a fool. Staring at Yun Shan, she sneered: “Do you think we’re stupid? Even if we tell you the whereabouts of Yun Xi, will you really let Xi Er go?”
Yun Xi was the crown heir of the Kingdom of Shu, the future emperor of the Kingdom of Shu. As long as Yun Xi was still around, the rightful successor of the Kingdom of Shu can only be Yun Xi. If Yun Shan wanted to obtain the Kingdom of Shu, it’s impossible to let go of Yun Xi.
“Now you can only choose to believe it or not. As long as I want to, I have countless ways to kill Yun Xi. For example, when hunting for the rebels of Ye State, the rebellious dog jumped over the wall and took Her Royal Highness as hostage. Under the army’s mistake, the crown heir was killed by mistake. Or the heir was willingly covering up for the rebels, but was killed by the revels. Such news should be very irritating to the crowd, right?”
Yun Shan glanced at the two white faces. But, she didn’t want to stay any longer. She turned around, “Whether Yun Xi’s life can be saved or not, it’s under my control, not yours. Royal Brother and Sister-in-law should think about it. Your Sister has something important to do and will leave first. Your sister will come and visit Royal Brother and Sister-in-law tomorrow, hahaha…”
Yun Zhongli looked at Yun Shan’s back with a cold face. As Yun Shan was about to walk out of the gate of Chengqian Palace, he called out aloud: “Shan Er…”
Yun Shan paused. She turned her head to look at him: “Royal Brother has finished thinking about it so soon?”
Yun Zhongli shook his head and stepped forward with a cold face. His hands hanging beside him tightly clasped: “Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you doing this? Why do you have to provoke war between the two countries? Why do you hate Ye country so much? Is it because they regarded your mother and you as hostages back then?”
Yun Shan was silent for a moment. She turned her head to look at Yun Zhongli and smiled slightly: “Why? Hehe, I just want to destroy everything that once destroyed me. Also, Royal Brother, you seem to have misunderstood something. I hate not only Ye Kingdom, but also the entire Shu Kingdom. Whether it’s Ye Kingdom or Shu Kingdom, one day, I will let them compensate me for everything I have lost. They will be buried together! Hahaha…”
Yun Shan no longer paid attention to the two people who were completely stunned by her own words. She walked out of the gates of Chengqian Palace, leaving the two of them staring at each other with stunned faces. They didn’t know what to say.
As soon as Yun Shan came out of Chengqian Palace, she took back her smile on her face and looked up at the dazzling sunlight outside.
Xizeyan, who had been waiting outside, stepped forward and called out: “Your Royal Highness.”
“Has the girl who ran out of Ji’s Mansion been caught yet?”
“Uh…” Xizeyan paused, but did not speak. The dodging gaze had already answered Yun Shan’s question.
Yun Shan glanced at him and slapped him. She reprimanded, “Trash, you can’t even catch one person!”
Xizeyan covered his face and looked at Yun Shan in disbelief. Raising his head, he noticed Yun Shan’s unhappiness, so the words he was originally going to argue with were swallowed back.
Looking at Xizeyan’s desire to speak, Yun Shan turned her lips upward. In her heart: It seems that this little traitor is still useful, at least this person in front of her understands his ident.i.ty and knows when to settle down. He knows what his responsibilities are and not to annoy the master.
“Have someone take a good look after Miaoyan. This time if something goes wrong, be careful of your life.”
Xizeyan’s face changed slightly. He hurriedly dropped his head and knelt down: “This minister will do his best to live up to the expectations of Your highness.”
Yun Shan stopped talking. Xizeyan got up from the ground, leaned forward, and whispered: “Your Highness.”
“Is there anything else?” Yun Shan turned to look at him and asked in a low voice.
“There is news from the spies that someone ordered troops to save the Emperor. The people from the va.s.sal states are probably already on their way to the capital.”
After Yun Shan listened to Xizeyan’s words, not only did she not feel nervous at all, but on the contrary, she chuckled: “It seems that this little niece of Ben Gong really has some abilities, hehe…”
“Princess, what should we do now?” Xize Yan was not as optimistic as Yun Shan. He had a solemn face. “If the Crown Heir meets these troops, then our plan…”
Yun Shan glanced at Xizeyan sarcastically, “Are you afraid?”
Xizeyan hurriedly lowered his head, concealing the flash of tremor in his eyes. He said in a fl.u.s.tered manner: “Your Royal Highness has a long-term vision and must have a countermeasure. Following Your Highness, how can this minister be afraid?”
The smile on Yun Shan’s face was profound. However, she did not continue entangling in this topic: “Since ancient times, it has been easy to gather these troops, only the emperor’s seal was enough. But if you really want to order these people, they must have the tiger amulet in hand. The tiger amulet of the Kingdom of Shu used to be in Ben Gong’s Old Uncle General’s hand, but since the death of uncle, the tiger talisman was recollected by the emperor, and transferred to a senior for temporary storage.”
“This senior…”
“Don’t worry, that senior is not someone anyone can invite. Even if they invite him, Ben Gong will have her own countermeasures.”
“Then we now…”
“Send someone to watch them. If necessary, Ben Gong doesn’t mind making a move first to get an advantage.”
Xizeyan’s face shuddered, and he bowed in response: “Yes.”
Yun Shan stretched out her hand to block the slightly dazzling sunlight above her head. The corners of her lips raised slightly. Since some people liked throwing themselves into a trap, then she doesn’t mind setting up traps for them to jump into.
That night, during the early evening when the lanterns were first lit, a strange atmosphere began to spread silently throughout the capital.
The loud and rhythmic cicadas and frog calls were exceptionally clear in the silent night. On the roof of Ji Mansion, several dark shadows quickly pa.s.sed over the roof.
Ji Miaoyan was lying on the bed pretending to sleep. Then as if he had discovered something, a pair of sharp eyes opened. His figure flashed, and after quickly concealing behind the side screen, he marked where the person sneaking on the roof landed. His eyesight and hands then quickly clamped the neck of the person closest to him.
The several people didn’t expect to encounter such a change as soon as they entered the door. They were stunned, and it took a long time to recover. They whispered: “Master Ji, don’t squeeze, we’re not malicious. We were sent by Jiang Zhaorou to save you.”
“Save me?” Ji Miaoyan was stunned. He slightly loosened his grip on the other party. The person who flew into trouble hurriedly took the opportunity to free his neck from under Ji Miaoyan’s claws, and coughed softly. While coughing, he complained angrily: “D*mn, I really am b.l.o.o.d.y unlucky recently. I was trapped by Feng Tingye that profiteer and finally crawled out of the dead man’s cave, but now I was almost strangled to death. I’m down once again!”
Ji Miaoyan was slightly taken aback. He stepped back, and through the moonlight he saw the few people who suddenly appeared in his room.
“Sixth prince, Senior Jin, this is…” Ji Miaoyan looked at the blus.h.i.+ng face of the coughing young man in a low voice.
“This is the famous ghost doctor in Jiang Hu.” Yun Zhongyue looked at Su Qingyan’s unkind face and said with some embarra.s.sment.
“Immortal Ghost Doctor? What are you doing in my mansion with a character like this?”
Su Qingyan heard Ji Miaoyan’s question, and his face became more and more ugly. He was not a good-tempered person. If he hadn’t been deceived by Feng Tingye when he got here, he would have already quit. Why would he want to jump into this muddy water?
“Do you think I want to come to this broken place where you are? If it weren’t for the rhino horn, you wouldn’t be able to carry me to your house even if you lifted a sedan chair.” Su Qingyan snorted, touched his neck and turned away. He was too lazy to pay attention to this man who almost strangled himself at first sight. He’s completely rude.
“Okay, okay, it’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.” Yun Zhong Yue looked at Su Qingyan’s dark face and secretly wiped the cold sweat on his head. In his heart, he judged that this Master probably shouldn’t be provoked. Thus, he took a step forward to stop the battle, “Master Ji, you have seen the situation outside, it took a lot of effort for the girl Jiang beside you to escape and find us.”
“She asked you to come?” Ji Miaoyan asked, a trace of surprise crossed his face.
“Yes, you have seen the ambition of my Fourth Sister. Now my Royal Brother and little niece are in danger, I hope you can help us.”
Ji Miaoyan was silent for a moment, but he replied: “You go, I won’t go out with you.”
“Why?” Yun Zhongyue obviously didn’t expect Ji Miaoyan to refuse. He was stunned for a while and exclaimed in surprise. Then he remembered his current situation and hurriedly covered his mouth. He glanced around with a guilty conscience. Determining no one noticed it, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Before Ji Miaoyan said anything, Su Qingyan snorted and interrupted, “Is it still necessary to talk? On the one hand, he was educated to be loyal to the king since he was a child, and on the other is his aunt that is related to him by blood. Isn’t it better for him to be stuck in this humble abode, not helping both sides. When it’s time, no matter who wins, he would be able to keep himself safe, isn’t that great?”
Su Qingyan’s words undoubtedly brought some obvious ridicule. Ji Miaoyan’s expression sank, but he didn’t refute it. It was because Su Qingyan’s words were not wrong. Although he didn’t promise Yun Shan to help her deal with the royal family of Shu Kingdom, if it’s possible, he also doesn’t want to do anything to this aunt who he treated as a mother from an early age.
“It’s a pity that your intention will come to nothing. After listening to what I say, even if you don’t want to go out anymore, I’m afraid you will have to go out with us.” Su Qingyan snorted coldly after watching enough of Ji Miaoyan’s ugly expression. He continued to speak, leading the conversation back to the topic.
“What?” Ji Miaoyan turned his head and glanced at Su Qingyan with confusion. Seeing a slightly contemptuous expression on Su Qingyan’s face, he had a bad premonition for some reason.
Su Qingyan’s face adjusted, and he uttered: “Your grandfather’s death is related to your aunt.”
“…” Death-like silence spread little by little throughout the room.
Yun Zhongyue silently hid his face, his premonition was indeed correct. This guy was like his little junior, a lively time bomb that can explode at any time, catching people off guard.
“What are you talking about?” Ji Miaoyan’s figure stiffened for a moment, a pair of eyes stared at Su Qingyan, and he asked with great difficulty.
“I said your grandfather was personally poisoned by the aunt you are reluctant to hurt.” Su Qingyan looked directly into Ji Miaoyan’s eyes, and replied word by word.
“…” Yun Zhong Yue had no energy to complain. The little person in his heart was already in tears. It was true that similar things gather together. This Su Qingyan was really the same as a certain someone! Brother, can we be a bit more tactful about this bomb? With that calm face, throwing a bomb without warning can easily kill people!
“Nonsense!” The obvious mockery in Su Qingyan’s eyes seemed to irritate Ji Miaoyan, and he let out a low growl. When he recovered, Ji Miaoyan’s fist had already been swung towards Su Qingyan.
Su Qingyan did not evade, and calmly spat out a sentence: “What are you so stimulated for? Is it because I offended the perfect elder in your heart, or because I said the guess you had in your heart? Did I break your self-deception? Your fantasy?”
The big fist of a sandbag just stopped in front of Su Qingyan’s face abruptly. Ji Miaoyan had a face as black as the bottom of a pot, but he still gritted his teeth and spit out: “What evidence do you have?”
“You want evidence?” Su Qingyan raised an eyebrow.
“Just relying on your mouth is useless. Everyone knows that my grandfather was so angry that he… unfortunately died. I think you all know what made my grandfather so angry. Now you suddenly tell me that my grandfather’s death was because of my aunt? Why do you think I should believe you? Especially when you mentioned Feng Tingye just now… are you also from Ye Kingdom? What makes you think I should believe someone who is most likely to be my enemy who might be trying to break our relations.h.i.+p?”
Su Qingyan did not shrink from Ji Miaoyan’s almost acrimonious questioning, as if he had expected it from the beginning. He smiled like he was harboring bad intentions: “You want evidence? That’s perfect, I have just that.”
“!”