Chapter 544: Though Crude and Clumsy, I Quite Like It!

A perfectly proper longevity banquet, yet it concluded with such a desolate result.

The wine pool and meat forest turned into a pool of blood and a forest of corpses.

The Crown Prince and the Empress were still bewildered, while the Fourth Prince had already been locked in the Heavenly Prison, never to step out again for the rest of his life.

The Crown Prince vaguely felt that something was amiss.

But he couldn't put it into words.

He should have been happy, yet his heart was sorrowful.

"M-Mother Empress, don't you think there's something off about today's events?"

Empress: "My son, what do you want to say?"

The Empress hadn't expected the matter to go so smoothly.

Crown Prince: "It's overly smooth; I, the son, haven't done anything, yet the Fourth Prince's doomed fate looks as if he invited it himself... Son, I am deeply uneasy."

The Crown Prince looked up at the lofty, murderous Emperor Chu.

"Zongzheng Wuxie has always been cunning and treacherous, yet regarding Father Emperor's affairs he has always been extremely cautious; if he truly did it, how could he have exposed a flaw like my wet nurse?"

"All of this is far too coincidental!"

The Empress swiftly covered the Crown Prince's mouth.

"My son, watch your words and deeds!"

When they returned to the inner chambers, the Empress hurriedly dismissed everyone around her.

With no one left around, she then pulled the Crown Prince aside to speak from the heart.

"Zongzheng Wuxie's fate today is due to his numerous daily misdeeds, thus he received this retribution."

"The witchcraft affair ultimately fell on his head; we barely escaped the mire, and if you keep speaking of this, won't the dirty water splash back onto us?"

"Had the Marquis Wei Wu and his son not suddenly rebel, Zongzheng Wuxie wouldn't have been scapegoated and thrown completely into the Heavenly Prison; it is both timing and destiny."

"From now on, your path will be smooth!"

"We must be happy, understand?"

The Crown Prince remained stunned.

Today's scene completely terrified him.

His father, the Emperor, is utterly ruthless.

His methods are also excessively cruel.

Seeing the Crown Prince like that, the Empress, angry, raised her hand and slapped him.

"Do you still understand?"

"No matter how glorious Zongzheng Wuxie has been these years, it was your father's deliberate indulgence."

"Your father had long been unable to tolerate the Wei Wu Marquis household, so back then Zongzheng Wuxie married the legitimate daughter of the Wei Wu Marquis family as the Crown Prince's principal consort!"

"If Zongzheng Wuxie hadn't grown increasingly arrogant these years, smugly thinking the Wei Wu Marquis household was a power granted by your father, he wouldn't have acted so baselessly and cruelly..."

The Empress dared not utter the three words "your father Emperor".

But she thought that deep down.

She earnestly and repeatedly admonished the Crown Prince: "My son, remember, never again provoke your father Emperor to anger."

"Mother Empress also doesn't know... if one day you anger your father Emperor, we will meet the same fate."

Speaking that, the Empress choked and sobbed uncontrollably.

She felt like a fox grieving a dead rabbit; seeing Consort Ning and the Fourth Prince's fates, and the Wei Wu Marquis household's downfall, she couldn't help but feel deep dread.

Since ancient times, monarchs have been the most ruthless.

What does Consort Ning's years of favor amount to now?

Now she is to be discarded, and wasn't she cast aside by the Emperor's sudden wrath?

If she hadn't been fortunate enough to become Empress, she and the legitimate Crown Prince would surely have been abandoned by Emperor Chu long ago.

Just as tonight Emperor Chu without hesitation ordered the Second Prince and the Wei Wu Marquis to be shot dead.

Li Qingluo, before leaving with the crowd, was called back by Ji Gonggong.

"Madam Li, His Majesty has issued a decree; please go to the Sacred Hall at once."

Emperor Chu wants to see her?

The Seventh Princess, who was about to return to the palace, immediately stepped forward to block Li Qingluo.

"Grandfather, why does Father Emperor suddenly wish to see Lady Nangong?"

"Lady Nangong saved many of us tonight. She is also weary; let her leave the palace and rest at home."

The Seventh Princess wore a nervous expression.

Li Qingluo was greatly surprised to see that she was willing to protect her.

The death of the Second Prince tonight must have terrified these princes and princesses greatly; at such a time, she still dared to risk angering her own father Emperor to protect her, showing she still has some conscience.

"Princess, my husband is already at the Sacred Hall; you need not worry."

Ji Gonggong hurriedly replied, "Your Highness Princess Qi, His Majesty merely wishes to see the wife of the Gallant Cavalry General; you are overly nervous."

After speaking, Ji Gonggong surprisingly glanced at Li Qingluo.

He didn't expect that Madam Li remained so composed.

Is she truly unafraid?

Or is she just pretending too well?

Only then did the Seventh Princess step aside, "Rest assured, I will not leave for now."

It seems she is very uneasy about her own father Emperor.

Emperor Chu is indeed brutal, and can even act ruthlessly toward his own children.

I truly don't know what else in this world could be his weak spot.

Li Qingluo lowered her head and followed Eunuch Ji forward through the chaos.

"Your servant, Lady Nangong, pays respects to Your Majesty; long live Your Majesty, long live, long long live."

The Chu Emperor eyed the young woman before him, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Raise your head, let me have a look."

Li Qingluo dared not lift her eyes, only raising her face slightly, yet her gaze remained downcast.

Seeing that a merchant's wife understood etiquette so well, the Chu Emperor even raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Li Wu, your wife truly is worthy of you."

"It's just a pity that her background is too low."

"However, I heard you saved my three princesses tonight?"

Eunuch Ji added from the side: "Your Majesty, there are still more than twenty palace attendants. This Lady Nangong… oh no, it's Lady Li, she is extraordinarily brave and decisive; the arrow that killed the heir of Prince Wu of Wei was shot by her."

The Chu Emperor was greatly surprised: "Is it you?"

"You also know archery? But was it Li Wu who taught you?"

In the state of Chu, women normally do not dare to expose their heads when going out.

Someone like Li Qingluo who knows martial arts is extremely rare.

All the women of the state of Chu do not advocate martial arts, considering it a very barbaric act.

Even noble women of each household usually have one or two maidservants who know a few tricks.

But a woman like Li Qingluo, who is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also capable of shooting and killing with a bow, is simply unheard of.

Duan Rongshi: "Your Majesty, the lady of my household has been raised by her father-in-law as a son since childhood. Thus riding horses, shooting arrows, and making money through trade pose no difficulty."

"Although she is clumsy, I am very fond of her."

"Please, Your Majesty, do not frighten her."

The Chu Emperor snorted: "Am I really that frightening?"

"Lady Nangong, tell me, are you actually afraid of me or not!"

Li Qingluo: "Your Majesty, the Son of Heaven's sacred countenance, I dare not stare directly; naturally I feel reverence."

"But I know, Your Majesty, you would not deliberately frighten those who are loyal to you."

The Chu Emperor let out a "ha ha" laugh.

It was the first sincere and hearty laugh he had let out tonight.

"Interesting, you two as a couple are both loyal to me?"