Chapter 96

"Got you, Chando Wuzhen." Tianjixing Yuxuanji, who was also the top courtesan of Luojing, muttered to herself. She took out a brocade pouch and carefully placed the invisible prey between her palms into it, then tied it up. A rare look of satisfaction appeared on her face.

Although people often say that the dead do not speak, for Yuxuanji, this statement was absolutely incorrect. As a descendant of the Tianji Sect, she had countless methods to use on the souls of the dead, extracting all their secrets.

One can imagine that after Chando Wuzhen's soul fell into Yuxuanji's hands, it would face endless torment and infinite pain. Chando Wuzhen would neither be able to live nor die. After being forced to reveal all her secrets, her soul would dissipate and disappear forever from the world. Such a fate was absolutely unimaginable by ordinary people: it was tragic!

Chando Wuzhen's soul was captured by Luojing's top courtesan, Yuxuanji. Of course, the people in the Golden Hall could not see this.

What the many onlookers in the hall could see was only a large, fat man, weighing at least three hundred pounds, suddenly running out. Then this fat man grabbed Chando Wuzhen and threw her to her death.

No one cared about Chando Wuzhen's life or death. In fact, daring to take out a weapon in the Golden Hall and threaten a prince was already a capital offense. Being thrown to death on the spot was quite normal. Therefore, the focus of everyone's attention was on the identity of this fat man.

"Lord Tiger Shark Wen Dahu? It's actually Lord Tiger Shark Wen Dahu? He's still alive?"

Shocked exclamations arose from the crowd. Immediately after, Lord Golden Scale Sima Tianxia and Lord Golden Jade Huangfu Yu, also among the Five Lords of Donghuang, stepped forward, pointed at Wen Dahu, who had returned to his original appearance, and opened their mouths wide in surprise, unable to close them.

The situation took many twists and turns, and finally, it took a sharp turn, leading to this outcome. The Empress Queen tightly pressed her lips, her face pale, her fingers clenched into fists, and her whole body trembling slightly.

Beside her, the Prince of Storage looked at the Empress Queen with fear and said softly, "Mother, please... take care of yourself."

The Empress Queen took a deep breath and finally managed to stabilize her emotions. She waved at the Prince of Storage and said calmly, "Don't worry, I'm fine." Then she raised her voice and said, "Fourteenth Prince, you did well, very well. Haha, I underestimated you. Alright, you've won this battle. As agreed, the treasure and the beauty will both be yours."

As soon as she finished speaking, the hall erupted in cheers. The people, who had finally reacted, clapped their hands excitedly and cheered for Xiao Sheng.

Among them, the Prince of Virtue and Ling Ziling were the most excited. Even the usually cold and aloof Prince of Sword rarely showed a smile, nodding slightly at Xiao Sheng. The Prince of Heroism was even more elated, almost clapping his hands red.

As for the fallen Son of Donghuang lying on the floor, no one was interested in looking at the corpse of this loser, not even the Empress Queen, who had proposed the policy of "Donghuang people governing Donghuang, unchanged for a hundred years."

In fact, the Empress Queen was more concerned about why Wen Dahu was still alive. After waiting patiently for a moment, she raised her hand, and the applause in the hall gradually stopped. The Empress Queen coldly asked, "Lord Tiger Shark, why are you here? I believe you have a lot to say. Go ahead and speak."

Wen Dahu bowed and said in a rough voice, "Your Majesty, the truth is..."

According to Wen Dahu, this is what happened. That night, Wen Dahu and the other lords of Donghuang were in the guesthouse, discussing the Empress Queen's birthday celebration. Suddenly, Chen Suibian burst in, boasting and demanding that the lords of Donghuang submit to him.

Chen Suibian's plan was to defeat the Fourteenth Prince at the banquet, then take advantage of the Empress Queen's praise to suddenly assassinate her, causing chaos in the world. Chen Suibian would then return to Donghuang, declare independence, and split Donghuang from the Da Hao Dynasty, ruling it as a separate kingdom.

Wen Dahu, loyal to the Empress Queen, opposed Chen Suibian. They fought, and Chando Wuzhen suddenly used a curse to attack, causing Wen Dahu to lose and suffer serious injuries. Seeing the situation was dire, Wen Dahu fought his way out and escaped from the guesthouse.

Chen Suibian sent the First-Class Lord Jiben to pursue Wen Dahu. However, Wen Dahu used Jiben's carelessness to employ a treasure he had kept for many years, killing Jiben. But he himself was also on the brink of death.

At this moment, Wen Dahu was very fortunate to encounter Xiao Sheng. The Fourteenth Prince saved Wen Dahu and found a secret place for him to recover.

Wen Dahu was very grateful and revealed Chen Suibian's plot. The Fourteenth Prince immediately decided to stop the conspiracy against the Empress Queen. In the end, under the wise leadership of the Empress Queen, the Fourteenth Prince successfully defeated Chen Suibian, thwarting another plot to split the Da Hao Dynasty. He moved from one glorious victory to another.

Wen Dahu's story was a mix of truth and lies. If carefully examined, it had many flaws. However, the truth was not really important. What mattered most was to give the Empress Queen a way out and not make her lose face.

After hearing Wen Dahu's story, the Empress Queen's expression improved. She nodded and said calmly, "So that's how it is. Lord Tiger Shark refused to submit to the rebel Chen Suibian and remained loyal to the Da Hao Dynasty. Very good, very good." She paused and then looked at Huangfu Yu and Sima Tianxia, saying coldly, "Lord Golden Jade, Lord Golden Scale, what do you have to say?"

Huangfu Yu and Sima Tianxia exchanged glances, their knees trembling, and they both fell to the ground, kowtowing to the Empress Queen and trembling, "Your Majesty, we are guilty, we are guilty. Please punish us."

Their heads hit the floor with a thud, clearly genuine, not just for show.

The Empress Queen snorted coldly and said, "Alright, stand up. Considering your past contributions to stabilizing Donghuang, I will forgive you this time. If it happens again, the law will not tolerate it!"

She raised her hand high but put it down lightly, with almost no real punishment. It was clear that although the Empress Queen was angry, she still favored Huangfu Yu and Sima Tianxia, whom she had personally promoted.

She paused and then announced, "By imperial decree, the First-Class Lord Jiben is stripped of his title. The First-Class Manor is to be completely destroyed. From now on, Donghuang will be governed by Lord Tiger Shark, Lord Golden Jade, and Lord Golden Scale. You must learn from this and work together to maintain the prosperity and stability of Donghuang. Severely punish rebels like Chen Suibian and prevent such incidents from happening again. Do you understand?"

Wen Dahu, Huangfu Yu, and Sima Tianxia all responded in unison, saying a few words of gratitude for the Empress Queen's kindness. With this, the matter was settled.

Originally, according to the plan, there were many more performances, and the banquet was to continue until midnight. However, with all the events, the Empress Queen had lost interest and had no mood to sit through another two hours.

The Empress Queen stood up and said calmly, "Ladies and gentlemen, today we have gathered to celebrate my birthday. I am very pleased. Unfortunately, I am not feeling well. Let's end it here." She waved her sleeve and ordered, "Prepare the carriage, back to the palace."

Liu Qingyun, the eunuch who always accompanied the Empress Queen, stepped forward and called out, "Her Majesty's command, prepare the carriage, back to the palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flurry of footsteps came from outside the Golden Hall. Immediately, a dozen eunuchs rushed in, led by an old man with white eyebrows and white hair, his face full of wrinkles, his age unknown. The people in the hall were first stunned, then their hearts leaped to their throats in shock. The surprise quickly spread throughout the Golden Hall.

This old man was named Zhang San. His name was ordinary, but his seniority was very, very old. He had entered the palace during the reign of the founding emperor. In the previous emperor's time, he was assigned to serve the crown prince. Later, when the crown prince ascended the throne, he became the current emperor, Emperor Xuan.

Emperor Xuan always trusted Zhang San. Although Zhang San refused to serve as the head eunuch of the Office of Ceremonial, preferring to stay by Emperor Xuan's side and do small tasks like serving tea and water and cleaning the courtyard, everyone inside and outside the palace knew that Zhang San was the emperor's most trusted confidant.

When Emperor Xuan first ascended the throne, he was young and impulsive, often acting rashly without considering the consequences. Advice from ministers or the Empress Queen was often ineffective, but if Zhang San advised, Emperor Xuan would usually listen. Therefore, everyone said that the true prime minister of the Da Hao Dynasty was actually Zhang San.

Five years ago, Emperor Xuan retired to the inner palace to recuperate and never saw the court ministers again, entrusting power to the Empress Queen. Zhang San also retired with Emperor Xuan to the Yangxin Hall, continuing to serve him. From then on, Liu Qingyun gradually replaced Zhang San's position, becoming the head eunuch of the Office of Ceremonial and the Empress Queen's confidant.

For years, Zhang San had not left the Yangxin Hall. But now, he suddenly appeared. What did this mean?

For a moment, everyone in the hall was guessing, but no one could figure out the reason.

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