Chapter 339 Order
Early morning.
Rong Que sat on the dragon throne in his court robes, his eyes slowly sweeping over the Minister of Rites, and then looking at the young men from the noble families who were part of Duke Xue's party behind him.
"There is evidence of the murder committed by Concubine Qi. I cannot allow such a vicious woman to remain in the harem. She is a princess of the Great Qi. I cannot punish her directly because of the friendship between the Great Qi and our dynasty. However, she cannot be allowed to stay in the palace either."
He paused and looked at the reaction of the Minister of Rites.
The Minister of Rites, with dark eye sockets and a tired look on his face, just stood there with his head down, saying nothing, and the remaining children of noble families did not jump up and down in opposition as usual.
It seems that I have been warned before coming here.
One hundred and eight people died overnight. It seems that this blow was indeed quite heavy.
Rong Que snorted coldly, "The Minister of Rites will go to Da Qi on my behalf and return the princess of Da Qi!"
The Minister of Rites did not dare to disobey and had to force himself to accept the order.
After the court session, he immediately rushed to the residence of Duke Xue. "Duke, aren't you asking me to die? When Da Qi sent the princess here, we made a good deal with them to ensure the safety of Concubine Qi in the palace. As a condition, Da Qi opened up private trade for us, but now..."
Duke Xue gave him a cold look and said, "Why are you panicking? It's not that far yet!"
Overnight, one hundred and eight people who were skilled in tracking, disguise and martial arts were all killed. Duke Xue was so angry that he vomited blood, but after calming down, he immediately realized that he had fallen into Su Qingqing's trap.
At yesterday's palace banquet, Su Qingqing was clearly testing those marquises' wives. She wanted to use some of them, but she didn't know who was still loyal to her.
She and Rong Que teamed up to act out this drama, deceiving not only Yue Niang but also the marquis' wife.
I'm afraid that the marquis' wife was followed by someone on her way to the Minister of Rites' house after the banquet.
She and Yue Niang received different news, and these news complemented each other and verified each other's authenticity. It just so happened that this verification was designed by Su Qingqing.
hateful……
Not only did he fail to make a correct judgment, he even sent all his people in Kyoto away, and stuck out his head for Su Qingqing to chop off.
And there is little Zhezi.
He had finally managed to get himself into the imperial study, but now he was afraid that everything had been revealed.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Duke Xue glared at the Minister of Rites and said, "According to the news from Imperial Physician Liu, he is basically certain that Jixiang's poisoning has caused Jixiang to feel great resentment towards the Queen.
She is serving the Queen. If we promise her a huge reward and ask her to tamper with the Queen's diet, then we can ensure that only Concubine Qi has the antidote..."
As the two were talking, suddenly the voice of Duke Xue's attendant came from the door of the study, "Duke, Master Jin is here."
The Minister of Rites frowned, "Why is the chief escort here?"
Duke Xue looked at him, and the thought of sending the Minister of Rites away came to his mind, but he suppressed it, and finally said, "Let him in."
The door of the study was pushed open, and the chief escort of Weiyuan Escort Agency, Mr. Jin, strode in with an anxious look on his face. Seeing the Minister of Rites was also there, he clasped his fists in greeting and turned to Duke Xue and said, "Duke, just now, the palace received an imperial edict and sent it to Weiyuan Escort Agency."
Duke Xue twirled his fingers and said, "Did the Emperor assign you to take care of the little prince of Zhao State?"
Grandpa Jin shook his head, "Not only that, the emperor not only asked us to escort the little prince of Zhao Kingdom back to his country, but also asked us to help the court and escort the princess of Da Qi back to the court."
The Minister of Rites was startled and almost knocked over the teacup in his hand. "What? You were asked to escort Concubine Qi back to Great Qi? This...what is this? Duke, His Majesty did this on purpose. Does he know that the Weiyuan Escort Agency is with us?"
It is not scary that the emperor knows that the Weiyuan Escort Agency is in cahoots with them. What is scary is that the emperor knows the identity of the chief escort of the Weiyuan Escort Agency.
No, it shouldn’t.
If the emperor really knew his identity, wouldn't his first reaction be to use this identity to put pressure on him?
Duke Xue's mind was in a mess. He tried his best to put these worries aside and focus on the present. "Did His Majesty say when we will leave?"
Mr. Jin said, "The young prince of Zhao will leave after lunch today, and the princess of Daqi will leave early tomorrow morning. After the imperial edict is issued, I dare not disobey it. I have already received the order, but what should I do with this mission?"
Duke Xue waved his hand, signaling him to stay calm.
"First, you arrange for someone to escort the little prince of Zhao State. All actions should be carried out as we agreed before. There is no need to change them. As for escorting the princess of Da Qi back to the court, you arrange for someone to act as if they are ready. People may not be able to leave tomorrow morning."
Mr. Jin immediately clasped his fists and said, "Okay, I'll go get ready now."
As soon as he left, Duke Xue immediately instructed the Minister of Rites, "It's too late. Let Imperial Physician Liu take action immediately. It depends on him whether he can help this time . Tell him that if he really does a good job, I will buy him a house in Suzhou and Hangzhou and give him the Little Red Mansion."
The Little Red House is a famous singing and dancing house in Jinling area.
Not to mention the beauties among them, the income from this little red building can be said to be a fortune.
The Minister of Rites did not dare to delay and went to do it quickly.
When he was the only one left in the study, Duke Xue's pent-up anger and anxiety burst out, and he picked up the cup at hand and smashed it hard.
Such a good plan was forced to be in such a mess!
Whenever he thought of the 108 men he had lost, his heart ached so much that he bled.
The guard team prepared by Weiyuan Escort Agency consisted of ten people in total, wearing the agency's uniform and driving the agency's carriage, and stopped in front of the Prince's Mansion.
When Su Heng returned to the court, Su Qingqing rushed over early in the morning.
Looking at the yard full of things to take away, Su Qingqing felt helpless and amused, "You said you must take a bed back with you, it's ridiculous, it's as if we can't make beds in Zhao country."
Su Heng rolled his eyes, "I want to, it's none of your business."
Su Qingqing was too lazy to pay attention to him. She just counted the things and instructed Wang Yu beside her to make sure to send the person back safely.
Wang Yu was followed by an unfamiliar follower.
The easy-going Second Prince stood behind Wang Yu without saying a word, just like an ordinary follower. After Su Qingqing's instructions, Wang Yu waved his hand and asked his men to load these things onto the car.
The second prince followed his followers and left.
He bent down, lifted the heavy bed, and loaded it directly onto the car parked at the door of Weiyuan Escort Agency, as if he was just a taciturn member of the Su family army.
Under the shade of a tree, Su Qingqing lowered her voice and said to Wang Yu, "Keep an eye on him on the road, give him some freedom, but make sure he is safe while keeping an eye on his little movements."
She used the Second Prince because she felt he was useful, especially at this time when talents were urgently needed, and also because of her relationship with Qin Wanru.
But that doesn't mean she really trusts him.
