Chapter 143 The Most Ruthless Are the Imperial Families, the Imperial Palace Banquet Is Both Real and Fake

The days passed by in a flash.

The end of the year came soon. This winter was particularly cold, and snow fell early in the north.

The massive campaign to rectify corruption in the court over the past ten years in Da Yan finally subsided.

It is worth mentioning that in these months, Yunwan Chamber of Commerce has revived like a miracle, and many of its industries have reopened. The ladies in the capital are ecstatic. The expensive incense and precious silk they have been dreaming of are finally back.

The people in Da Yan are very puzzled about this. Shengjing Academy, Bailu Academy, and Xiangnan Academy have all impeached this matter, believing that the behavior of King Langya should not be tolerated.

Only the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue spread the gossip that Lu Yunwan spent a lot of money to make up for the hundreds of millions of silver owed to fill the treasury.

In addition, a large number of private industrial workshops were taken over by the Da Yan court and nationalized. Many clerks were sent to take over, escorted by the imperial guards, and all gossipers were tortured away.

In this way, many people understood.

The court was planning to acquire the Yunwan Chamber of Commerce and completely turn it into a money-making tool for Da Yan.

Only one person was not happy.

When the Princess of Jinwu heard about this, she was very dissatisfied and angry. She wrote again to question the cabinet.

But this time, the cabinet chose to remain silent and pretend that nothing happened.

In the capital of Da Yan, in order to show the style of a great country, the cabinet specially held a banquet to appease the Princess of Jinwu. It also invited the white-robed mage Jiang Shan, many officials, and talented people from the Hanlin Academy and major academies to attend. The dancers and the stage were arranged, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Among the many princes, only one prince in a green python robe was present.

Chongwen Wang, Lu Yunqing.

The most popular prince today.

The other princes declined on the grounds that they were ill and had no time.

At night, the lights were bright, and there were thousands of palace lanterns. The banquet was about to begin, and many ministers began to take their seats.

Lu Yunqing sat in front of the table, holding a glass of wine and sitting upright. There were countless delicacies in front of him. The dancers from the Jiaofangsi were very beautiful, with a slender waist, holding the pipa and tuning the strings.

King Chongwen took a sip of wine. Compared with a year ago, his gentle temperament had dissipated, replaced by a calmness, his eyes were calm, and he could not see his joy or anger.

There was a bit of reminiscence on his plain face.

Thinking back to the splendor of the Banquet of All Nations a year ago.

There were still many princes in this palace, including the heroic eldest brother, the gloomy and silent Lu Guangjing.

The honest and clingy third brother. Lu Guangren, who was leisurely and devoted to seeking immortality. Lu Mingkong, who was outspoken and angered him. And Lu Yunwan, who was flattering and fawning.

But no one came to this banquet now.

Is he hated by others?

No, they are afraid of him.

He is no longer the same as he was before. Where are those who looked down on him at the banquet?

This is the result.

Lu Yunqing believes that the current situation is the best result.

No one will die, just stay here honestly.

No worries about wealth, life and death, just wait for the moment when you ascend the throne.

Princess Ning saw him recalling and thinking again, knowing that he was thinking about those unbearable past events, and asked softly: "Are you still thinking about Lu Yunwan?"

"Do you feel guilty?"

Going back to the afternoon when Ning Feiyu disappeared a few months ago, as soon as she returned to the mansion, she saw a prince who looked like a child, throwing himself into her arms, talking nonstop, fortunately nothing happened.

After she told him what Lu Guangjing had said, the prince sneered on the spot, saying it was just a mere plot to alienate.

She just wanted to frame the seventh prince, and her intention was very poor.

But after that, she still fell into deep thinking, and it seemed that the plot was not resolved, but she fell into deeper concerns.

Her husband said that this incident reminded her.

There is no one who can be trusted absolutely.

The only person who can be trusted is oneself.

Even the seventh prince is the same.

He should not be open-hearted to Lu Yunwan, should not put himself in danger, and should not regard the other party as an ally, even Lu Yunwan cannot be trusted.

This time, Princess Ning encountered danger, which taught him a lesson.

How stupid and naive his previous thoughts were.

He should have understood this truth long ago.

So in the future, he used this incident as an excuse to put pressure on Lu Yunwan and mobilized his men to investigate his industries.

Any possible hidden dangers must be guarded against.

This is a qualified emperor.

Lu Yunqing smiled faintly, shook his head and said, "The imperial family is the most ruthless. What's the use of guilt? Guilt will only make people die faster, that's all."

The gentle Ning Wangfei saw her husband becoming more mature. While she was relieved, she also had a faint worry.

"I heard from Mr. Cui that the Sixth Prince now has a lot of power. If Your Highness intends to wash away the stain on him, you must make corresponding preparations."

The Ning Wangfei almost said the word "hidden danger".

Lu Yunqing frowned and said, "Sixth Brother will not harm me. He is different from Lu Yunwan, the profiteer."

"Besides, I have prepared."

The Ning Wangfei nodded gently and said, "It's good to be prepared. But I heard rumors that Lu Mingyuan was in the palace. After marrying his wife, he was still with Zhao Wangfei Yang Yingchan every day. Is this person's character really okay?"

Lu Yunqing said softly: "Madam, let's not talk about this topic, okay?"

"Sixth brother has done me a favor. Even if I take a step back, no matter what he did, what his character is, or what others say, I can't blame him, let alone slander him. My literary courage is also related to him to a certain extent, so I can't do such a thing."

In Confucianism, a drop of water is returned with a spring, which is exactly the truth.

The blessing of the sixth brother allowed him to spend his childhood smoothly, without being coldly looked down upon by others, and without accumulated shadows and knots in his heart.

This is already a blessing.

Princess Ning looked at her husband's expression, full of seriousness, and stopped talking. She thought she was a person who knew how to advance and retreat, so she didn't continue to talk.

Continue to look at the lively banquet.

However, some things, not saying them, do not mean they will not happen.

At night, on a table in a restaurant outside the street where the Jin Palace is located.

The restaurant was bustling with activity. A pair of yellowish lanterns stood at the door. One of them said "招财" (attract wealth) and the other said "进宝" (bring in treasure). They illuminated the snowflakes at night and matched the pure moonlight, creating a hazy and beautiful atmosphere.

A woman in black with cold eyes sat on a chair in the private room with her arms around her chest. She was waiting for someone. Her back was straight, and she looked like a female hero. Many passersby looked over here.

Soon, a tall young man with a bronze tiger mask appeared at the end of the stairs.

"Lord Luo Ying, I'm here. Is there another mission for the Prince of Jin's Mansion?"

The young man smiled and sat down, put his sword on the table, and took out the sound-stopping stone from his sleeve. The sound was limited to a few meters, so others could not eavesdrop.

"You are late."

Luo Ying said in a deep voice.

"And where have you been these days? There's no trace of you at all. I can't find you even if I want to. I have to use the jade token. If there's no special matter, I can't use the jade token to summon you. Otherwise, if King Jin finds out, we'll both be in trouble. You're not going to have second thoughts, are you?"

Faced with Luo Ying's questioning, Lu Mingyuan smiled helplessly.

This woman is really smart. She's experienced the dangers of the martial arts world. She's only been hiding for a few days, and she's found out about it.

It's not that he wants to disappear, but it's very troublesome to control multiple clones at the same time. The higher the level of the clone, the more so. The clone with the Tianzi level of combat power is at least Guanhai Realm, so he tries to control only one a day.

The time when Yang Jian appeared was occupied by Fahai and Zhao Gongming, so he disappeared naturally.

During the time he asked Yang Jian to hide, Luo Ying had been looking for him. But he didn't know that he had been practicing martial arts in the cold palace. The new magic weapon, the famous sword Yang Su, was very easy to use. With the fate of "Sword Master", he had a high affinity for the precious sword.

After all, is there any sword in this world that the sword master cannot control?

"Recently, Princess Jinwu has been looking for me very hard, so I have to hide from the limelight. Even so, I did not delay what Lord Luo Ying asked me to do."

"Every move of Luo Qiufu and every move of Prince Jin's Mansion are under surveillance. Now most of Wujian Pavilion are my people."

Lu Mingyuan explained as reasonably as possible.

"How did you find so many worshippers to join Wujian Pavilion?" Luo Ying asked suspiciously.

Lu Mingyuan smiled and said, "As for people, you just need to lure them with benefits, and then control them with means. His Royal Highness Prince Jin has demonstrated the means well enough."

"Most of the time, Prince Jin's Mansion has more movements, and Princess Jinwu doesn't have too many movements."

"You should not like Luo Qiufu, right?"

Lu Mingyuan was stunned by Luo Ying's sudden words.

"I don't feel anything."

Luo Ying's face looked better, and he crossed his arms and said, "That's good. I hope you won't feel pity for this woman. After all, you didn't kill the soldiers of the Jinwu Kingdom before. I know you have a bottom line in your heart, which is very different from those vicious and cruel warriors. Your reputation as a butcher is really unworthy of its name."

"My lord, have you been observing me for so long?" Lu Mingyuan looked unsightly.

Luo Ying raised her delicate eyebrows and sneered: "Do you think that anyone can be my subordinate? Or, in other words, those who have cultivated to the eleventh realm are all fools."

"Just like those spies who sneaked into the Great Yan Palace, they thought they were very smart and flawless. In fact, those masters were just too lazy to care. Their mentality was the same as if there was an ant under a person's feet. Would you keep staring at it? Only when the ant intends to bite people will you step on it."

Lu Mingyuan thought about it carefully and nodded honestly: "That's true."

Luo Ying stopped talking and didn't say anything else. He explained seriously: "I called you here today. The mission is very clear. The opportunity has come."

"What opportunity?"

Lu Mingyuan asked.

A rare smile appeared on Luo Ying's cold jade-like face.

"It seems that there is something wrong with King Jin's cultivation recently. He has been in seclusion. For this reason, no one is allowed to get close to him, not even me. The other three priests are the same."

"Oh?"

Lu Mingyuan remained calm and nodded slightly.

"So what should I do next?"

Luo Ying warned: "Don't act rashly for now. Although there is an opportunity, King Jin is still very cautious. Your mission tonight is to sneak into the palace and set up some resistance for the Eighth Prince at the banquet to welcome Princess Jinwu."

"If this is done well, you can officially become King Jin's confidant."

Lu Mingyuan said speechlessly: "Is it the same formula as before?"

"It's different. This time it's more difficult and there are more eyes in the palace, so there's a high chance that you'll lose your life. I'll go with you this time."

"How?"

The look on Luo Ying's face slowly changed, and the mist enveloped her. The subtle change changed her temperament.

Luo Ying actually turned into the appearance of Princess Jinwu!

"Do you know what to do?"

Even her voice was exactly the same as the princess's.

Lu Mingyuan was completely shocked.

After saying that, he took a disguise pill to keep consistent.

His appearance changed to that of the middle-aged general next to the princess.

"Got it."