Chapter 277: State Banquet: Part Eight

State Banquet: Part Eight

In fact, Ba*Hejie's ability to come to Dongling this time was not to provoke war, but to apologize to Dongling!

The reason was simple, because Xidi's current situation was very bad!

Xidi was a nomadic nation, and their folk customs had always been fierce. Regardless of age or gender, everyone knew how to ride and shoot, which made Xidi's combat power never weak! Otherwise, they wouldn't have occupied the two cities of Rong and Jin with lightning speed when Dongling was in civil strife!

Only, ever since the old Xidi sovereign passed away, Xidi had been in civil strife for several years, which caused Xidi's national strength to decline rapidly. So Xidi now looked strong on the surface, but was already hollow on the inside!

Ba*Hejie knew these inside stories well, so he had originally thought that after the Third Prince ascended the throne, he would persuade him to recuperate. But it was a coincidence. Just as the Third Prince Xiao Zhe ascended the throne, Ba*Hejie fell ill!

This illness lasted for half a month. In order to recover his health as soon as possible, Ba*Hejie closed his doors and refused to see guests. But as a result, half a month later, when Ba*Hejie recovered and went to court, he was shocked to hear that Xidi had already stationed troops on the border!

This gave Ba*Hejie a big fright! After asking carefully, he understood. But at this time, the Emperor's imperial edict had been issued, and the troops had been sent out, so saying anything was meaningless. Moreover, Ba*Hejie knew that all of this was the work of that Nie Wenhao. But at this very moment, all he could do was try his best to salvage the situation!

Therefore, after careful consideration, Ba*Hejie entered the palace overnight to explain the situation to the new sovereign Xiao Zhe. And that Xiao Zhe was naturally a savage person, brave but not resourceful. Fortunately, Ba*Hejie had high prestige in Xidi and was deeply trusted by the royal family, so he finally persuaded Xiao Zhe and rushed over, taking advantage of this Dongling state banquet!

Only, Ba*Hejie never expected that before he could express his goodwill, everything would be ruined by that idiot Xiao Lanshu!

Ba*Hejie was angry in his heart, wishing he could kick her to death more than anyone else present! But Ba*Hejie understood that no matter how stupidly hopeless Xiao Lanshu was, she was still a Xidi princess and the only younger sister of Xiao Zhe, so he had to bring her back alive!

As for the marriage alliance?! Hehe... in the next life!

Ba*Hejie was angry and furious, but for the sake of Xiao Lanshu, he lowered his status to the extreme at this moment. Without waiting for Yin Fengzhan to speak, he immediately continued,

"Respected Your Majesty, please listen to me. Although our Princess Lanshu is a bit arrogant, she is a person who dares to act and dares to admit it! And just as Princess Lanshu admitted to the two murder cases just now, if the matter of poisoning your country's Princess Anguo was also done by her, how could she deny it?!"

"Furthermore, our Xidi people have always been straightforward in doing things. If they hold a grudge against someone, they will deal with it directly. They would not use such a roundabout method as poisoning. Therefore, I believe that the matter of Princess Anguo being poisoned still needs to be investigated carefully!"

Ba*Hejie was a smart person, and he saw it clearly. When Nie Jinxuan talked about the two murder cases, Yin Fengzhan did not speak, and didn't even move his eyebrows. But later, when he heard that little girl whose name he didn't know say that Nie Jinxuan was poisoned, Yin Fengzhan flew into a thunderous rage!

So it was clear that unlike Nie Jinxuan, who was holding onto Xiao Lanshu for those ten-plus lives, what truly angered Yin Fengzhan was that Xiao Lanshu had actually laid a hand on Nie Jinxuan. Therefore, Ba*Hejie did not mention the two murder cases at all, and directly pointed out the key point, so as to dispel Yin Fengzhan's murderous intent!

Therefore, in front of the civil and military officials of Dongling and envoys from neighboring countries, Ba*Hejie had no choice but to sacrifice his old face and speak with extreme sincerity. But hearing this, Yin Fengzhan didn't even look at him.

Yin Fengzhan did not make a sound, and the guards who had been somewhat hesitant because Ba*Hejie stepped forward immediately understood, and then dragged Xiao Lanshu and walked outside!

Several burly guards had long been gnashing their teeth in anger at this woman Xiao Lanshu after hearing Nie Jinxuan's words. Naturally, they wouldn't be gentle, and they were afraid that Ba*Hejie would persuade the Emperor in a while, so they moved even faster!

And at this moment, seeing Xiao Lanshu being dragged away like this, Ba*Hejie was shocked again. It was clear that Yin Fengzhan was not listening to him at all! But as the Xidi State Preceptor, Ba*Hejie was not a pushover. So thinking of this, seeing that soft tactics didn't work, he sank his face and his gaze sharpened,

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Dongling, as the saying goes, guests are guests. Although Princess Lanshu harmed lives and is intolerable to heaven, her crime does not deserve death! Besides, Princess Lanshu is our Xidi's most noble princess. Just now, not only did Your Majesty allow others to beat her at will, but now you actually want to execute her by lingchi... Doesn't this mean you don't put our Xidi in your eyes?! Or does Your Majesty feel that just for the lives of a few lowly people, you want to turn against Xidi?!"

Since he had to be hard, Ba*Hejie's voice became increasingly sharp. While speaking, Ba*Hejie glanced at Xiao Lanshu, who had already been dragged far away, and seeing Yin Fengzhan still motionless, Ba*Hejie was burning with anxiety.

Yin Fengzhan did not make a sound, which made Ba*Hejie's heart sink deeper and deeper. And seeing that Xiao Lanshu was dragged out of sight, Ba*Hejie couldn't hold it anymore, gritted his teeth, and suddenly shouted,

"Your Majesty, please listen to me again! If Your Majesty can spare Princess Lanshu's life, I am willing to exchange one person with Your Majesty!"

Ba*Hejie was truly anxious! He was even speaking incoherently! At this moment, hearing this, Yin Fengzhan, who had been motionless, finally turned his eyes to glance at him. Seeing this, Ba*Hejie hurriedly stepped forward, came to Yin Fengzhan's side, and said,

"Your Majesty, Princess Lanshu is our Xidi princess. I presume Your Majesty does not want to be enemies with Xidi just because of such a small matter! Besides, Dongling is now just calming down from turmoil. Mobilizing troops suddenly at this time, I presume, is not a good thing... And, I actually came here this time to send Your Majesty a big gift!"

Ba*Hejie deliberately lowered his voice, carrying a touch of mystery. But hearing this, Yin Fengzhan snorted coldly, and then looked up at Lian Feng,

"Bring him up!"

"Yes!"

Respectfully responding, Lian Feng turned and waved his hand. Then, several guards dragged a man up!

And the man dragged up was dressed in brocade, quite exquisite, but his head was covered with a bag, making it impossible to see his face.

For a time, everyone present was stunned. At this moment, looking at the man dragged up, Ba*Hejie was stunned, and then after looking carefully at the clothes the man was wearing, he was shocked and dumbfounded!

"This... this..."

Ba*Hejie had always been steady, but at this moment he was too scared to speak. Looking at his shocked appearance, Yin Fengzhan glanced at him coldly and said in a deep voice,

"Is the big gift the State Preceptor mentioned him?!"

"..."

Ba*Hejie had already seen who the person was, and at this moment he had nothing to say. Seeing him like this, Yin Fengzhan shifted his gaze, signaled the guards to take the man down, and signaled Lian Feng to go down and execute the punishment!

Yin Fengzhan was going to execute Xiao Lanshu on the spot. Seeing this, seeing that Yin Fengzhan was really going to make a move, and his trump card had already been held in Yin Fengzhan's hands, Ba*Hejie had no choice but to ignore everything else and shouted repeatedly,

"Your Majesty, wait!"

Having said this, Ba*Hejie lifted his robe, knelt directly in front of Yin Fengzhan, and shouted,

"Your Majesty, please, for the sake of long-term peace between the two countries, please spare Princess Lanshu's life! If Your Majesty agrees, I am willing to return the two cities of Rong and Jin to their original owners. Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

At this very moment, if it weren't for the sake of the big picture and going back to give Xiao Zhe an explanation, Ba*Hejie would have wanted to cut Xiao Lanshu into a thousand pieces directly before Yin Fengzhan made a move!

Think of Ba*Hejie, who came from a prominent background, traveled around the world since he was a child, learned a lot of knowledge, became famous in Xidi at the age of twenty, rose through the ranks, became the State Preceptor at a young age, and was above ten thousand people. All these years, even when facing the Xidi sovereign, he had never been so humble!

Even when the old sovereign passed away and Xidi was in civil strife, he remained calm. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he still relied on him!

But now, just for this troublemaking Xiao Lanshu, he not only lowered his old face but also acted so humbly in front of Dongling's officials and envoys from neighboring countries. How could Ba*Hejie not be angry?!

But Ba*Hejie knew clearly that no matter how much he hated her, he had to save Xiao Lanshu's life. After all, Xiao Lanshu was Xiao Zhe's only younger sister, so even if she died, she had to die in the hands of their own Xidi people, and absolutely could not be executed in Dongling, and by lingchi at that!

Ba*Hejie was anxious, so he had no choice but to bet everything! He thought that after escaping this disaster, he would bring Xiao Lanshu back to the country and then think of other ways! At this moment, hearing Ba*Hejie say he was willing to return the two cities of Rong and Jin to Dongling, the Dongling ministers below were shocked, then overjoyed, and then whispered to each other quietly!

And after a brief whisper, several ministers were eager to stand up and say a few words. But at this time, Zhou Jin, who was also sitting among the officials, shook his head, signaling his colleagues not to be impatient!

Seeing this, the ministers who were about to stand up and persuade were stunned, then turned to look at Pei Yaoguang on the other side. At this time, they saw Pei Yaoguang raise his eyes slightly, then quietly raise his hand and make a horizontal gesture across his neck, followed by a cold snort!

Pei Yaoguang's move was fast, and his eyes revealed obvious arrogance. But looking at his actions, the ministers were shocked, and then suddenly came back to their senses!

That's right! What are the two cities of Rong and Jin?! Their master never cared about these things!

Moreover, the key to this matter is that Princess Lanshu found Princess Anguo unpleasant. For such a person, how could their master tolerate her?!

The ministers present were not fools. Being reminded by Pei Yaoguang, they suddenly realized and lowered their heads, not daring to say another word!

The Dongling ministers collectively shut their mouths again! At this moment, listening to Ba*Hejie say this, Yin Fengzhan suddenly laughed.

Yin Fengzhan rarely laughed, at least in public, almost no one had seen him laugh! And this laugh made heaven and earth lose color, peerless in elegance! But it made people feel cold in their hearts, not daring to look directly!

And after laughing, Yin Fengzhan narrowed his eyes instantly and looked down at Ba*Hejie, who was kneeling in front of him,

"The two cities of Rong and Jin were not returned by your Xidi, they were taken back by me directly!"

Yin Fengzhan said every word clearly and forcefully. Hearing this, the Dongling ministers were all shaken, while Ba*Hejie widened his eyes, looked up at Yin Fengzhan, and then after a long while, he couldn't help but tremble his lips and ask back,

"May I ask Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty, why are you so insistent on executing Princess Lanshu? Your Majesty should know that the person who poisoned Princess Anguo was not Princess Lanshu..."

Ba*Hejie believed that with Yin Fengzhan's intelligence, it was impossible not to see that there was something tricky about the poisoning! And it was precisely because of this that Ba*Hejie couldn't figure out why Yin Fengzhan was so persistent! One must know that no matter what happened before, Nie Jinxuan was not dead after all, and Ba*Hejie considered the conditions he proposed to be very superior, so Yin Fengzhan really had no reason to refuse!

Ba*Hejie didn't understand! He really didn't understand! At this moment, hearing this, Yin Fengzhan's expression changed instantly, and an unspeakable gloom surfaced in his deep eyes again. Seeing this, Ba*Hejie was startled, but before he could react, he saw Yin Fengzhan grab his collar and lift him up directly,

"If she dares to have this thought, she deserves to die ten thousand times!"

Yin Fengzhan said it very simply. As the voice fell, without caring about Ba*Hejie's instantly pale face, he threw him aside, turned and walked back to his seat, and shouted,

"Execute!"

A state banquet, everyone was terrified!

And after Yin Fengzhan's order, heart-rending screams came from outside!

It was Princess Lanshu's! Yin Fengzhan really executed Princess Lanshu by lingchi on the spot, and the screams of being cut into a thousand pieces made everyone present pale, and some timid officials' wives were even scared to the point of fainting!

And Ba*Hejie was dumbfounded, tasting true fear for the first time in his life!

Just like that, the state banquet finally ended. Everyone retreated in silence, and Yin Fengzhan didn't even give the body of Princess Lanshu, who was executed by lingchi, to Ba*Hejie, but directly had people throw it into the mass grave outside the city! Ba*Hejie was so scared that he didn't dare to stay in Dongling anymore. As soon as he left the Imperial Palace, he ran back to Xidi!

The storm ended here. And that night, when Yin Fengzhan returned to Yongle Palace, he simply told Nie Jinxuan some things, then made an excuse that he had something to do, and went out again! ===== CHAPTER 278 =====