sjar Chapter 99 Another Unexpected Incident
Chapter 99 Another Unexpected Incident
The emperor shook his head and smiled, "It seems we have won this round."
Jiang Zhi stood up and stepped forward. "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, I have a request that I would be grateful for."
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor exchanged a glance and said, "If you hadn't been so determined to discover Ah Cai today, my birthday banquet would have become a laughing stock."
"Speak, what is your request?"
Jiang Zhi said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, A Cai offended Consort Duan, but he is still redeeming himself by winning against Emperor Wei today, which can be considered as atonement."
“Ah Cai is young and has no one to rely on. If he leaves the palace, he will wander around. I am willing to take him back to the Jiang family.”
"Moreover, my brother also loves playing chess."
The Empress Dowager nodded slightly, glanced at Min, and thought again.
"Well, since he won today, it can be considered that he has made amends for his mistakes."
"You discovered him, and you gave him the opportunity. His coming and going is up to you, if he agrees. Get up."
Jiang Zhi slowly rose to her feet. "Thank you, Empress Dowager."
In front of the chessboard, Min wanted to successfully capture all of Wei Zhuo's black pieces.
Wei Zhuo stared at Min Youxiang in disbelief, his mind blank.
He lost the game, which meant he had no chance of marrying Princess Zhaoyang.
"Brother Wei," the emperor said, flicking his dragon robe, "you must keep your word."
Min then tried to kneel down and pay his respects.
"You have won this game of chess today, which is also a way of redeeming yourself."
"I ask you, would you be willing to stay in the palace as a chess player, or go with the Princess of Liang?"
Min wanted to look up at the emperor again.
"Your Majesty, my victory this time was purely coincidental. I was merely showing off my limited skills before an expert. I really dare not serve as a chess player in the palace."
“Since I was discovered by Princess Liang, I am willing to follow Princess Liang.”
Min thought that although he was skilled in Go, he still couldn't compare to someone who truly understood the game.
If Jiang Zhi hadn't given him the hint beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to win at all.
"Alright, then so be it."
At this moment, Pei Shangdao, sitting opposite Wei Zhuo, silently watched the situation, lowered his head to take a sip of tea, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
Wei, sitting in his seat, clutched his clothes tightly and glanced at Pei Shangdao.
His eyes were slightly narrowed.
If he loses a game of chess, doesn't that mean he's been slapped in the face?
Even a servant of the Great Yan could defeat him; now, he had no other choice.
At the men's banquet, Gu Yuan's eyes swept over Jiang Zhi from head to toe.
But this scene happened to fall into Gu Liang's eyes.
He didn't move, but raised an eyebrow at him, a hint of ruthlessness hidden in his eyes.
Gu Yuan stood up with a smile on his face, "Since the game is decided, why don't you all follow Zilan to Sorrowful Lake for a look?"
"Bailu Academy will be holding a birthday celebration for the Empress Dowager. We invite the Empress Dowager to visit Sorrowful Empty Lake."
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Since it is Yuan'er who is so kind, then you may all come with me to Sorrowful Lake to enjoy the view."
Wei Zhuo, sitting in his seat, had a gloomy expression.
She stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty."
"Now that my gift has been delivered, I will not trouble you any further."
"Farewell."
His voice faded into the distance as he walked away.
As the emperor watched Gu Yuan's retreating figure, a wave of emotion washed over him.
Wei Zhuo's visit this time was not only to marry Zhao Yang, but also to warn him.
"Let's go," the Empress Dowager said.
We had just arrived at the shore of Sorrowful Empty Lake.
Then a group of figures in white robes took a small boat from the lakeside and headed towards the opposite Sorrow Mountain.
Just then, a loud bang was heard, and a hill on the lakeside suddenly shook twice and collapsed!
Suddenly, rocks flew everywhere, raising a cloud of dust. The beautiful scene instantly crumbled, causing chaos among the courtiers.
The emperor's expression changed drastically. "Go and see what's going on."
The palace guards received their orders and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan quickly bowed to the emperor and said, "Father, I will go and see."
After saying that, he quickly followed the Imperial Guards and went with them to the place where Sorrow Mountain had collapsed.
Imperial Guards, armed with swords, searched the scene.
Report! Nothing unusual to the north!
Report! Nothing unusual in the east and south!
Report! No abnormalities found in the water!
After hearing these words, the commander finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Continue the search."
Unless there's an assassin, it has nothing to do with me.
As for whether it was built or not, only His Highness Prince Jing can explain to His Majesty, since it was made out of his filial piety.
He glanced at Gu Yuan with a sympathetic look.
Gu Yuan lowered her eyes, her hands trembling involuntarily.
Since he took over the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, everything has proceeded according to his plan. Although there were some mishaps along the way, they were all minor.
He was always afraid that something unexpected might happen on important days.
His affair with Jiang Luan had already earned him a reprimand, and he had to kneel in the royal ancestral hall for two hours before his father could calm down.
Tonight, Wei Zhuo promised him that he had no rivals in Yanjing and that he would be able to marry Zhao Yang.
He originally thought that Zhaoyang would be married off to the Northern Di as he wished, which would better reflect his promise, but he never expected that the damned Jiang Zhi would trick him.
Just when tonight's banquet was about to go smoothly, another mishap occurred.
He really began to suspect that Gu Liang was sabotaging him from behind, after all, it wouldn't be difficult for someone like him to do something underhanded.
But even if he were to do something drastic, he would need a reason.
The Imperial Guards searched the scene but found nothing.
Just as everyone was about to return to report, a member of the Imperial Guard suddenly ran over.
He handed a piece of cloth to the commander of the Imperial Guards, saying, "Commander, this was found in the pile of rocks."
Gu Yuan glanced at the cloth; it looked somewhat familiar, as if she'd seen it somewhere before...
The commander of the Imperial Guards unfolded the cloth, revealing a piece of coarse gray cloth with messy ink stains, but the writing was still legible, and there were also some dark red fingerprints on the cloth.
When he saw the words on it, he couldn't help but gasp and looked up at Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan frowned and walked towards him. "What is this?"
Upon seeing him approach, the commander of the Imperial Guards immediately put away the cloth. "Your Highness Prince Jing, please forgive this humble servant, but this item needs to be presented to His Majesty for inspection."
Gu Yuan paused, puzzled. "Something found in the pile of rocks, is it that I, the king, cannot look at?"
The commander of the Imperial Guard bowed slightly to him, saying, "It's hard to tell if this item is genuine or not; I really dare not speak presumptuously."
"Your Highness Prince Jing, please come with me to His Majesty's presence."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the emperor without waiting for Gu Yuan's reaction.
Gu Yuan was puzzled. Looking at his back, she kept recalling the thing she had just glimpsed in her mind.
He was certain he had seen it somewhere before, not long ago, and in the hands of one person.