Chapter 273: State Banquet: Part Four

State Banquet: Part Four

For a time, the large banquet hall was unusually quiet, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Yin Fengzhan, who was sitting in the high position, and Princess Lanshu of Xidi!

Yin Fengzhan still did not speak, and Xiao Lanshu could only maintain her bowing posture, her beautiful and charming large eyes looking at Yin Fengzhan. But no matter how hard Xiao Lanshu tried, Yin Fengzhan, sitting in the high position, still sat there coldly, motionless!

So gradually, the smile on Xiao Lanshu's face could no longer be sustained, and her charming eyes were gradually stained with anger... But just when Xiao Lanshu was about to explode, she heard Yin Fengzhan suddenly say in a low voice,

"Rise."

Yin Fengzhan finally spoke. Hearing this, Xiao Lanshu, who was about to explode, was stunned, and then instantly filled with joy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As the voice fell, Xiao Lanshu stood up and looked at Yin Fengzhan affectionately again. But no matter how she looked, Yin Fengzhan still sat there quietly, motionless. The scene remained very stiff. Seeing this, before Xiao Lanshu, standing in the center of the state banquet, could speak again, the Xidi State Preceptor Ba*Hejie, sitting on the side, laughed aloud, then looked up at Yin Fengzhan and said,

"Your Majesty, Princess Lanshu is the most noble and beautiful princess of our Xidi. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks of the dance just now?"

Ba*Hejie was clearly trying to resolve the awkwardness for Princess Lanshu. Hearing this, Yin Fengzhan, who had been motionless all along, finally turned his eyes to glance at him.

"Very good!"

"Hehe~, as long as Your Majesty is satisfied! You must know that in order to satisfy Your Majesty, Princess Lanshu has put in a lot of effort..."

Ba*Hejie spoke with a smile, and at this moment, hearing these words, everyone present was stunned!

One must know that some things can be done, but are not easy to say. Although even a fool could see that Princess Lanshu of Xidi had designs on Yin Fengzhan, no one had pierced this window paper.

But now that Ba*Hejie had spoken, he had clearly pierced this window paper!

And now that the two countries of Xidi and Dongling were each stationing troops on the border, facing each other, Xidi had sent a princess and clearly wanted to form a marriage alliance with Dongling... Doesn't that mean that Xidi is bowing to Dongling?

So thinking of this, everyone present couldn't help but have a bottom line in their hearts. But just then, a cold snort suddenly came from the opposite side.

The sound was not loud, but in the quiet state banquet, it was heard clearly! Hearing the sound, everyone present couldn't help but notice that the person who had just snorted was actually Prince Yun, Yin Fengjin!

At this moment, after the cold snort, Yin Fengjin slowly put down the wine cup he was holding, and then said coldly,

"The dance is indeed not bad, it seems some effort was put into it. However, in this Prince's opinion, your country seems to have put effort into more than just this woman's dance!"

The current Prince Yun, Yin Fengjin, was already very different from before.

Thinking back to when he relied on Crown Prince Yin Fenghan to suppress Yin Fengzhan, it was a toss-up for more than ten years. Although he stood on Yin Fengzhan's side in time after the late Emperor died, Yin Fengjin was still somewhat worried.

One must know that he had followed Yin Fenghan for so many years, but in the end, he was only responsible for guarding the prison. So when Yin Fengzhan first ascended the throne, Yin Fengjin was also very nervous, fearing that Yin Fengzhan would find him unpleasant and deal with him!

But what Yin Fengjin didn't expect was that ever since Yin Fengzhan ascended the throne, not only did he not move him, but he also gave him a lot of things to do, which made Yin Fengjin very moved!

And Yin Fengjin understood that Yin Fengzhan did this to win him over, but Yin Fengjin was not a fool. He knew very well that in this world, life goes on without anyone, and now that Yin Fengzhan gave him tasks, it meant he trusted him, so he naturally had to return the favor!

Once he thought it through, the estrangement dissipated, and they were blood brothers after all. Therefore, although Yin Fengjin was now being ordered around by Yin Fengzhan every day, he was still in pain and happy!

Of course, Yin Fengjin naturally understood the situation between Dongling and Xidi, and he knew even better that, given Yin Fengzhan's temperament, he would never let it go just because Xidi sent a woman. So without waiting for Yin Fengzhan to speak, Yin Fengjin was the first to challenge Ba*Hejie!

Yin Fengjin's words carried obvious sarcasm and implication. But to this, Ba*Hejie was just stunned, then said with a smile,

"I presume this is Prince Yun! Hehe, but I don't understand what Prince Yun's words mean?"

"What does the State Preceptor think it means?"

"Hehe~, I ask for Prince Yun's instruction~!"

No matter what Yin Fengjin said, Ba*Hejie still had a smile on his face. Hearing this, Yin Fengjin sneered coldly and then raised his voice,

"I wouldn't dare to instruct, but since the State Preceptor has spoken, this Prince will speak directly... May I ask what your intention is in suddenly stationing troops on our Dongling border?"

Yin Fengjin asked very directly, and it was clear that Ba*Hejie had long been prepared. So as soon as Yin Fengjin's voice fell, Ba*Hejie immediately said,

"Hehe~, I presume Prince Yun has misunderstood. Because I presume Prince Yun also knows that our Xidi sovereign has just ascended the throne, so it is natural to make some adjustments to the domestic military deployment. Therefore, what Prince Yun just called stationing troops seems a bit..."

"Military deployment?! Does military deployment require 100,000 troops and 30,000 cavalry?"

"Hehe~, of course! Otherwise, if our Xidi intended to provoke a war, why would I be here with Princess Lanshu now? You must know that my life is nothing, but Princess Lanshu was born to the same mother as our Xidi sovereign. So if our Xidi had ulterior motives, how could we have been ordered to come here? Wouldn't that be like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth?!"

The smile on Ba*Hejie's face did not change, and his answer was quite smooth. But as the voice fell, before Yin Fengjin could speak, a laugh was heard from the side, and then the Vice Minister of Rites, Zhou Jin, stood up from his seat.

Zhou Jin was only forty years old this year, but his appearance was quite good. After standing up, he didn't waste words, bowed to Ba*Hejie, and laughed,

"Vice Minister of Rites, Zhou Jin, pays his respects to the State Preceptor of Xidi~!"

Compared to Prince Yun Yin Fengjin just now, Zhou Jin was quite polite. Hearing this, Ba*Hejie nodded with a smile,

"So it is Minister Zhou, nice to meet you!"

"Not at all, it is my honor to be able to meet the State Preceptor of Xidi today~!"

Ba*Hejie knew how to smile, and Zhou Jin knew how to smile even better. After some polite pleasantries, Zhou Jin began to flatter Ba*Hejie. But as he spoke, Zhou Jin changed the subject,

"Hehe~, speaking of which, I have truly admired the State Preceptor for a long time. Years ago, before I entered office, I heard that there was an amazing person in Xidi. A civil official who was both brave and resourceful, who spoke directly to the sovereign at the age of twenty, eventually allowing your country to gain two border cities for nothing... Tsk tsk, for such merit and such courage, I admired you to the ground back then!"

Zhou Jin continued to speak with a smile, but hearing this, everyone present suddenly realized.

One must know that the two cities of Rong and Jin in Dongling fell into the hands of Xidi because of Ba*Hejie. Ba*Hejie became famous in Xidi because of this, rose through the ranks, and finally sat in the position of State Preceptor. Now, although Zhou Jin was polite on the surface, he was actually reminding Ba*Hejie, and also smoothly shifted the topic from marriage alliance to the two cities of Rong and Jin on the border!

And Ba*Hejie was also a shrewd person, so hearing this, his eyes moved. But before he could speak, he heard Zhou Jin say with a smile again,

"And now that the State Preceptor has come to our Dongling at such a critical moment, hehe... so I am curious, could it be that the State Preceptor wants to talk about the matter of those two cities of Rong and Jin back then?"

Zhou Jin was polite on the surface, but actually disparaging. But Ba*Hejie was not an ordinary person after all, so after Zhou Jin's voice fell, he immediately said,

"Hehe~, is Minister Zhou talking about that matter... Sigh, it's been so many years, I have forgotten many things..."

"Forgotten? Sigh, then the State Preceptor really has a bad memory~! But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if the State Preceptor has forgotten, I still remember, and not only do I remember, all of us in Dongling remember!"

Having said this, Zhou Jin shed his previous politeness, and his expression sank instantly.

"State Preceptor, now that you have come to Dongling in person, I will not beat around the bush... The two cities of Rong and Jin have been Dongling territory since ancient times. Our Dongling has not mentioned it all these years, but it is not because we have forgotten. And now that your country is stationing troops on the border for no reason, fine, let's say your country is making military deployments, then may I ask the State Preceptor, when will your country return the two cities of Rong and Jin to our Dongling?"

Seeing Ba*Hejie playing dumb, Zhou Jin directly resorted to courtesy before force! And back then, Xidi taking advantage of Dongling's civil war to steal the two cities of Rong and Jin was not an honorable thing to begin with. So now that Zhou Jin was so upright, and in front of envoys from neighboring countries, he clearly wasn't giving Ba*Hejie any retreat or face!

Marriage alliance?! Hmph, even if you Xidi are willing, it depends on whether we in Dongling are willing!

You stole two of our cities, and now you think you can settle it by stuffing a woman here?! Truly a pipe dream!

At this moment, Ba*Hejie didn't expect Zhou Jin to use this move, and he was stunned for a moment. But just then, Princess Lanshu, who had been ignored all along, suddenly turned around and glared straight at Zhou Jin, shouting,

"What do you mean? I am a dignified Princess Lanshu, and now I have come to your Dongling on my own initiative. Isn't that enough?"

Contrary to her previous affection for Yin Fengzhan, at this moment, Xiao Lanshu's arrogance and wildness were fully displayed. Being roared at by her, Zhou Jin was startled. But just then, a cold female voice suddenly came from behind,

"So what if you are a princess?! Just as Minister Zhou said, the two cities of Rong and Jin have been Dongling territory since ancient times. Do you think that just by relying on a princess like you, you can exchange for our two cities of Rong and Jin and quell the flames of war?" ===== CHAPTER 274 =====