Chapter 20 A Woman's Heart, Like a Needle at the Bottom of the Sea

The reason Liu Fu is so bold is because he now has some confidence.

The imperial court was such a tiny place.

If pushed too far, they could release a few ferocious beasts and directly take the Liao emperor and crown prince hostage.

Even if the outcome is bad, Liu Fu can always find a way to escape.

To be honest, Liu Fu had long possessed the ability to kill the Liao emperor, but he simply didn't want to do it.

The fact that the current Liao emperor is greedy for profit and unwilling to send troops rashly is a great advantage for the Later Han dynasty.

If the Liao emperor is killed and replaced by a radical who doesn't want annual tribute and only wants to destroy the Han, then...

Even though the Liao Kingdom paid a heavy price, if it were to actually send troops to attack the Later Han, it would cause many unnecessary disasters.

As for Liu Fu's behavior today, he was so tough, daring to say anything and even pointing his finger at the Crown Prince to curse him.

Firstly, the Later Han Dynasty had just been established, and he himself had come to Liaodong as a hostage. If he were to show weakness at this time, it would further undermine the confidence of the Later Han army and people.

Furthermore, for Liu Fu, to gain more reputation points, he had to do things that others dared not do, shocking more people in order to obtain huge rewards.

As the saying goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, especially since I am someone who possesses a system.

The ministers in the court were all acting like madmen, relentlessly attacking Liu Fu with words.

Liu Fu was too lazy to argue with them, so he simply wrote down their appearances and went back to have the scouts of the Later Han Dynasty verify their identities.

On the contrary, the Liao emperor in the court, after all, was in a big situation today. After speaking to persuade the emperor to make peace, he only said a few firm words, and the matter of the audience was hastily covered up.

“You Han people are arrogant and conceited. You have become hostages of my Great Liao, yet you still speak so disrespectfully.”

"Guards, escort the Eighth Prince down and arrange for him to stay in a separate courtyard. Let's leave it at that!"

The Liao emperor managed to save face with a few harsh words.

Liu Fu was just fine; what business was it of a prince of the Later Han Dynasty with the Liao court?

Liu Fu was taken to an empty villa, where he would stay from now on.

Originally, according to the Liao emperor's wishes, a hostage residence was to be built for him.

But what use would Liu Fu have for this hostage residence?

Since you've already come to the Liao Kingdom as a hostage, why bother building a special hostage residence for you, so that others can use the title of hostage to annoy you all day long? You might as well give up a dilapidated mansion.

On the contrary, this secluded and elegant villa is more suitable for Liu Fu to do some secret things.

However, there is one downside.

This place is located in a remote area, with high walls and deep courtyards, making it even more isolated from the outside world.

Before today's audience, all eyes were on Liu Fu, so Liu Fu was safe.

From today onwards, living in this separate residence, one must be wary of the Liao Emperor's secret plots to find a fake prince to replace oneself.

Liu Fu just didn't expect that this would happen so suddenly.

The Liao emperor had long been troubled by Liu Fu's matter. Finally, the audience ceremony ended, and the person to impersonate Liu Fu in the secret chamber was ready.

Then, by putting on that specially made human skin mask and learning Liu Fu's walking style and daily routine, the resemblance to Liu Fu had reached nine out of ten.

The Liao emperor was very satisfied and took another special look at the craftsman's imitation of Liu Fu's handwriting.

It's so realistic it could easily be mistaken for the real thing.

By this time, all the replacements had been prepared. Before he could even come up with a solution himself, Consort Wu, who had been living with Liu Fu, came to the Liao Emperor to ask for his permission.

"I know Your Majesty intends to take action against Liu Fu. Perhaps I could lend you a hand?"

Because of her previous cohabitation with Liu Fu, Consort Wu had been under suspicion by the Liao Emperor, who now treated her coldly and had not favored her since she returned to the palace.

This woman's mind is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. After thinking it over, Consort Wu realized that only by following the Liao Emperor could she live a life of luxury.

This is a rare opportunity to express my true feelings to His Majesty. If I help the Liao Emperor kill Liu Fu, I can take the secret of losing my virginity to Liu Fu to my grave and never let outsiders know it again.

He could also take this opportunity to regain the Liao emperor's trust and be favored again.

Upon hearing Consort Wu's plan, the Liao Emperor clapped his hands and laughed:

"Excellent! My beloved consort, act quickly! I will reward you handsomely after you succeed!"

Consort Wu returned excitedly, personally made several presentable pastries, and mixed poison into a jar of palace flower dew, storing the poison in a yin-yang pot.

This Yin-Yang Pot is a kind of mechanical wine pot with two compartments for storing wine. One compartment holds ordinary wine, while the other holds poisoned wine.

By simply switching the mechanism in secret, one can pour out fine wine and poison at will, making it an exceptional tool for poisoning and murder.

After preparing everything, Consort Wu immediately boarded a carriage and personally went to the villa where Liu Fu was staying.

"So it's Consort Wu who has arrived."

Looking at the accompanying palace maids and eunuchs, as well as several golden-armored warriors, and seeing Consort Wu bring over a brand-new imperial robe, Liu Fu knew her purpose.

Consort Wu spoke slowly at this moment:

"That day at the border, I was saved by the Eighth Prince. I am deeply grateful for this life-saving grace, so I made him a set of brocade robes to express my thanks. I also personally made some pastries and brewed this exquisite Hundred Flowers Dew. I hope the Eighth Prince will not refuse to accept it?"

Before Liu Fu could even agree, Consort Wu had already opened the Yin-Yang Pot and started pouring out the wine.

But when she activated the mechanism of the Yin-Yang Pot, the subtle sound of the mechanism operating, though inaudible to others, was clearly heard by Liu Fu's abnormal hearing.

Upon hearing the loudspeaker noise, Liu Fu knew there was something wrong with the wine.

Consort Wu handed over another cup of fine wine and poured one for herself as well.

Liu Fu sniffed the cup; it should be non-poisonous.

Consort Wu raised her cup and clinked it with Liu Fu's, then drank it down first as a sign of respect.

When it came to Liu Fu, he didn't care whether it was poisoned wine or fine wine; he poured it all into the animal breeding ranch.

Seeing that Liu Fu had drunk the fine wine, Consort Wu nodded, poured herself a second cup of fine wine, and then, with a sudden twist of fate, poured Liu Fu a cup of poisoned wine.

"Eighth Prince, let's have another drink."

After saying this, Consort Wu drank first as a sign of respect.

Liu Fu had already noticed something unusual about the wine in his glass; it had a slightly pungent medicinal smell. He immediately pretended to drink it, but actually poured it into the animal breeding ranch.

After drinking three cups and eating a few pieces of poisoned pastry, Consort Wu got up to take her leave.

Just as she was about to leave the mansion and board her carriage, Consort Wu turned back and gave Liu Fu, who was seeing her off, a forced smile on her face, while secretly sneering to herself:

"Your Highness, the food we fed you was all highly poisonous, and the wine and water we drank were poisonous enough to kill your guts. You will surely die in no time!"

"Hmph! You think you'll survive this time?"

Upon returning to the palace, Consort Wu immediately went to the Liao Emperor to claim credit, recounting everything that had happened since meeting Liu Fu, which delighted the Liao Emperor.

After seeing Consort Wu off, Liu Fu returned to his bedroom, locked all the rooms inside, and sealed all the windows.

In this way, no one can see in from the outside.

After doing all this, Liu Fu instructed the giant ground otter to dig a tunnel, and then jumped into the tunnel alone.

That night, Consort Wu first took a petal bath, then dressed herself up, applied fragrant balm and rouge, making herself breathtakingly beautiful, enough to captivate all.

When she returned to her palace in high spirits, humming a little tune, she found someone lying on the phoenix bed.

Upon seeing this person, she was immediately terrified, almost screaming out loud...