066

066

Xu Huanong looked at herself in the mirror, dressed in a bright red outfit to accentuate her good complexion.

However, this color is what she hates the most. Every year for her birthday banquet, she receives all sorts of bright red clothes. I don't know whether to praise the seamstress for her skill or for her many ideas, but the clothes sent over the years have never been the same.

It seems the time for the wedding has come. The clothes sent today are exceptionally elaborate. Touching the fabric, I noticed several beads strung together on a short thread, sewn exceptionally tightly.

However, it seemed that her staged death was about to take place. Xu Huanong reluctantly put on her clothes, but her thoughts drifted to the place where the poisoner had been, wondering if they could live up to her expectations.

Jiang Chaoyu never expected that this move would allow Xu Huanong to escape unscathed. However, she was waiting for news from the Crescent Moon Gate, but the delayed arrival of the carrier pigeon made her worried that something might have gone wrong.

When Zeng Chenhua was putting the hairpin in her hair, he noticed that she seemed a little anxious and became puzzled. After he finished, he gently cupped her face and asked, "What's wrong?"

While she was still thinking about other things, she was suddenly held up and met Zeng Chenhua's concerned gaze. She only said softly, "It's nothing, I just feel like I'm lying to myself."

Upon hearing that he was lying, Zeng Chenhua became a little anxious, "But you're not feeling well. If you're not feeling well, then we won't go."

Jiang Chaoyu immediately thought that it wouldn't do if he didn't go. If her junior brother needed help, it would be convenient for her. Otherwise, if something happened, she, as his senior sister, would feel even more guilty.

She took Zeng Chenhua's hand and smiled faintly, "It's alright. Perhaps it's just a bit cold today and I'm not used to it."

"That's good."

Zeng Chenhua held Jiang Chaoyu's hand and could feel its coolness. He held her hand tightly, trying to warm it up.

"Okay, I'm not too cold." She said she wasn't cold, but she still didn't pull her hand away, letting Zeng Chenhua hold it. However, she was more concerned about her junior brother's situation, as she hadn't received any news.

Xu Ninghui had already planted people at the banquet, but he didn't intend to target the princess. He couldn't miss this excellent opportunity to take down the emperor. At the same time, he replaced the poison that Jiang Chaoyu had given him earlier.

What he held in his hand was the Soul-Destroying Powder. At first taste, this medicine tasted like sweet wine, but it would cause sudden death within an hour, and even the King of Hell's Fate-Changing Manual could not save him.

He arranged for two people, one to work in the imperial kitchen and the other to serve the emperor.

Xu Ninghui gripped the letter in his hand, looking at the carrier pigeon that had been waiting for so long. This time, he didn't plan to send a message. Even Senior Sister Li didn't know about this plan. He would take responsibility for the trouble this time and would never implicate the sect.

"Junior brother, how are the preparations going?" Li Yuanxiu watched from a distance. Xu Ninghui remained motionless, and the carrier pigeon occasionally preened its own feathers, making Xu Ninghui look even more like a wooden statue.

Upon hearing the voice, Xu Ninghui turned around and bowed to Li Yuanxiu, saying, "Senior Sister, don't worry, this will definitely succeed."

Li Yuanxiu glanced at the bottle of poison in Xu Ninghui's hand and noticed that it didn't seem to have been brought by Jiang Chaoyu. He asked curiously, "Junior brother, is the poison in your hand the one we'll be using this time?"

Xu Ninghui hadn't expected that the medicine in his hand had been seen, so he tried to evade the question: "No, this is for next time." Unable to find a suitable excuse, he had no choice but to gloss over the matter.

However, Li Yuanxiu didn't know much about medicine, so he didn't pay much attention to this aspect.

"Alright, have you told your junior sister about this?"

"Don't worry, Senior Sister, I'll tell you right away." With that, she tied the prepared letter to the leg of the carrier pigeon and sent it to find Jiang Chaoyu.

Watching the carrier pigeon fly away, Li Yuanxiu felt relieved. "That's good. I'll be extra careful this time."

"yes."

With less than a quarter of an hour until departure, Jiang Chaoyu looked out the window but the carrier pigeon never came. She was worried that Xu Ninghui might have changed his plans.

However, it can't be too obvious, otherwise Zeng Chenhua will come over to check on it again.

Jiang Chaoyu anxiously fiddled with her fingers, not even noticing that her fingertips were turning red. As she lowered her eyes, the carrier pigeon arrived at the window.

Seeing the letter tied to the carrier pigeon's leg, she felt relieved and hurried forward to open it.

The letter only said, "Don't worry, senior sister, everything is ready!" But she trusted Xu Ninghui. As long as he said he was not worried, then he must be ready. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

He burned the letter and then walked out of the room as if nothing had happened.

Zeng Chenhua was still outside having his servants put his things away when he saw Jiang Chaoyu come up and immediately took her hand. "You seem so happy. Is there something you need?"

In Zeng Chenhua's view, Jiang Chaoyu's smile was as warm as the winter sun, and even she herself didn't notice it.

"It's nothing." She said it was nothing, but her words were filled with excitement.

"Alright, let's get in the carriage." Zeng Chenhua gently helped Jiang Chaoyu into the carriage. It had been raining for the past few days, but the sun was shining unexpectedly today.

The smell of dried rainwater still lingered in the air, mixed with the sweetness of autumn fruits.

As usual, the streets were bustling with activity. Zeng Chenhua, as an unfavored prince, had already been moved by the emperor to a somewhat remote suburb under the pretext of poor health and the need for rest.

If attending a banquet, one usually needs to leave home earlier.

Upon reaching the gates of the imperial city, officials were required to dismount from their carriages and walk into the city. However, Zeng Chenhua was different; his leg had already been injured, so the emperor specially ordered that Zeng Chenhua be exempted from walking.

Jiang Chaoyu gently lifted the curtain and saw Jiang Yuyao's figure. Beside her was Jiang Yunxin. She seemed to be puzzled as she did not see the Prime Minister Jiang.

Zeng Chenhua seemed to sense her confusion and explained, "Ministers and officials follow different paths. You will see that when the banquet begins."

"oh."

This year's birthday banquet seemed to be more solemn than in previous years. Upon entering, one could see swans raising their necks and spouting water in the center of the pond. The men's and women's families were in separate areas.

The male relatives are on the left, and the female relatives are on the right.

As soon as you sit down, you can hear the melodious sound of musical instruments. Although it is autumn, many kinds of flowers that do not belong to this season are blooming nearby, which attracts butterflies to flutter around.

If it weren't for the fact that autumn had arrived, everyone present would probably have thought it was spring.

Jiang Chaoyu overheard that the fortune teller had divined the princess's fate, predicting that next spring would be the most auspicious time for marriage, and that marrying then would ensure the country's future prosperity. However, she found this amusing; the prosperity of a nation was somehow tied to a woman's marriage.

However, she was even more curious about the letter's mention of poisoning the princess. If an envoy from a neighboring country were to poison someone, wouldn't that be tantamount to a public declaration of war?

It was common knowledge in the capital that the eldest princess had been ill for a long time, and she usually only appeared for half an hour at her birthday banquets. Who knew how long she would be able to stay at this banquet? How could she possibly poison her? It was truly a mystery how Xu Ninghui's plan would unfold.

Both letters were addressed to the Eldest Princess, yet her health had been confirmed perfectly at the previous banquet. How could a woman become the biggest obstacle, unless…

Before Jiang Chaoyu could connect these things, she looked up and saw the emperor appear on his high throne.

She bowed to the group, and suddenly it dawned on her: this was all a plot against the emperor. Seeing that there were no familiar faces beside the princess, she wondered what Xu Ninghui's plan was.

It wasn't until Yu Guangzhong saw what seemed to be a familiar face beside the emperor that she understood Xu Ninghui's words about being at ease; he was simply confused.

There were at least three groups of people at this banquet, but the targeting was so clear – was it aimed at the eldest princess?

!

Jiang Chaoyu suddenly smiled. Looking at the many envoys who came forward to present gifts, she finally understood that the saying "the one involved is often blinded" was true.

She kept wondering what the real purpose of this was.

It turns out it was all very simple from beginning to end: helping the princess fake her death. Someone who could feign illness for so long, even to the point that the entire capital knew she was sick, must be someone with even greater power behind them.

This time, she even used the Crescent Moon Sect to help her fake her death, so that even if someone were to investigate, they would only be held accountable to the Crescent Moon Sect. However, the Eldest Princess seemed to have underestimated the determination of someone burdened with hatred. Jiang Chaoyu stared intently at the familiar face behind the Emperor.

She never expected Xu Ninghui to dare to do something so grand, even going so far as to set a trap for the emperor.

At this moment, only Yam was beside her. She didn't know if Yam knew about Xu Ninghui's plan, so she quietly probed, "Do you know anything else this time?"

Yam didn't quite understand Jiang Chaoyu's meaning. "What does Madam mean?"

Seeing her curiously turn around and ask him the same question, he didn't know if she was pretending or genuinely didn't know, and he had no way to continue asking, so he had to give up.

As each envoy stepped forward to present gifts, each one more lavish than the last, the emperor's plans began. The fortune teller had only mentioned sending the princess to a neighboring country, without specifying which, and so the emperor's calculations were set in motion.

He looked at the messengers below as if they were merchandise, calculating in his mind who was more valuable.

However, the person next to the princess was in their seat, while the princess herself seemed to be late in arriving.

Normally, I would have already been sitting in my seat, but for some reason this time I wasn't.

I used to be quite interested in trying the pastries at banquets, but during my time at the prince's residence, my appetite seems to have become a bit spoiled. I picked one up, smelled it, and then lost my appetite, so I had to put it down.

The banquet was filled with unfamiliar ministers and officials, and because of his changed status, he was no longer sitting with his sister Jiang Yuyao, which made him feel even more bored.

However, she still needed to stay alert, fearing that something might happen to Xu Ninghui.

She kept glancing at the emperor, but the person behind him remained motionless, which puzzled Jiang Chaoyu.

Jiang Chaoyu felt thirsty and took a small sip. As she put down the cup, she suddenly realized that the poison seemed to be put into the cup.

"The Princess has arrived!"

A sharp sound pierced the music and interrupted the chatter. The princess, surrounded by her entourage, slowly emerged from behind a wide fan.

Everyone's attention was drawn to him, and Jiang Chaoyu's attention was also diverted for a moment, but suddenly realized something was wrong and her gaze returned to the person. She saw him take the teacup from the tea server, cover the cup with his sleeve, and then put it down.

The action was swift and went unnoticed, but it made Jiang Chaoyu gasp. She hadn't expected Xu Ninghui to use such an easy method. What if it failed?

Jiang Chaoyu reacted and followed the others in bowing. However, she noticed that the princess's complexion seemed to have become rosier, and her clothes made her look quite healthy.