Chapter 173 - The Instigator Was the Ninth Princess (1/2)

Chapter 173: The Instigator Was the Ninth Princess

Ling Zhang had never seen the emperor before, not even in his last incarnation. This was the first time that he had laid eyes on him. Before this day, he had thought that the emperor was a very portly man, but unexpectedly, he was very thin. It was just that he didn’t look very well, as if he had been born with a fairly weak const.i.tution, but even if this were the case, it didn’t change the fact that he was an emperor, and the commanding presence of him deterred most people present from looking him in the eye.

“You may rise, my Aiqing (a term of endearment used by an emperor or an empress to address an official in feudal China). This banquet is meant for Aiqing Yuwen, who has just returned to this city with a great victory. I’d like to drink this gla.s.s of wine first and, on behalf of all my subjects, thank Marshal Yuwen and all troops of the North-western Army for the valor they displayed on the battlefield. Without them, this great victory would never have been gained.”

After saying this, the emperor drank the gla.s.s of wine in one gulp. Naturally, civil officials and military officers of all ranks followed suit and also made some remarks the meanings of which were similar to that of the emperor’s.

Yuwen Tong drank several gla.s.ses in a row and the first round was finally over.

Among all attendees, envoys of the Wan Kingdom who had unabashedly attended this welcome reception were the only ones in embarra.s.sment, their faces dark with anger, which made them quite a sorry sight.

Ling Zhang was not the only one in this hall who had a gift for gab. Those civil officials and military officers were also masters of sarcasm, and some of them were even more sharp-tongued than Ling Zhang was. With everybody contributing to the discussion, those envoys of the Wan Kingdom were nearly reduced to vomiting blood due to anger, but they had no alternative but to swallow all those remarks.

Ling Zhang was puzzled. ‘What is it that they are after? Why did they put themselves in this awkward situation? They enjoy being ridiculed?’

No matter what the intention of this group of people from the Wan Kingdom was, the thing that Yuwen Tong wanted to do on this night was carried out as planned.

Halfway through the banquet, someone walked in from the outside, saying that he had something to report to Yuwen Tong.

However, right at the time when everybody believed that it was about some special military situation, the man reported, “Your Majesty, Marshal, the a.s.sa.s.sin who attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Childe Ling has been safely escorted into the capital city. The escort team is waiting right outside.”

‘An a.s.sa.s.sin?’ All officials were somewhat perplexed. They had heard about the a.s.sa.s.sination, but rumor had it that all a.s.sa.s.sins were dead. ‘Are they by any chance still alive?’

“Aiqing Yuwen, what’s going on?” queried the emperor.

“Your Majesty, one of the two a.s.sa.s.sins caught in Tanyang bit through a wax ball with poison inside and we failed to save him. The other one bit off his own tongue trying to commit suicide as well but was afterwards found still breathing by me, so I hurriedly forced some medicine into him to keep him alive and then had my personal bodyguards take him to a famous physician in Cangzhou who offered him medical treatment. Since I wasn’t sure whether this a.s.sa.s.sin would survive or not, to be on the safe side, I kept this to myself. Now that he’s been escorted back to the capital city, I think he must have survived. I’ll go outside and ask him who gave the order. It won’t be long.”

“Since this matter concerns the Palace Guards, I should not stand by. Have him brought inside,” said the emperor.

“Uh… Yes, Your Majesty,” Yuwen Tong replied and then instructed the man, “Go and bring him here.”

The man followed the order. There was a deathly hush in the hall. Everybody was speculating exactly what was going on. After all, the a.s.sa.s.sins were palace guards. Though their target had not been Yuwen Tong himself, the intention of the behind-the-scenes mastermind afforded much food for thought. There were indeed some conjecturing that the emperor had been the one who had sent the a.s.sa.s.sins, that the statement of Ling Zhang being the target was but a cover-up, that Yuwen Tong had been the actual target.

All those who made such conjectures were people who more or less knew about the true thoughts of the emperor, but now, hearing the emperor give the order to interrogate the a.s.sa.s.sin in front of so many people, they were somewhat puzzled.

‘Is His Majesty by any chance not the one responsible for this?’

As a matter of fact, the reason why the emperor had decided to openly interrogate the a.s.sa.s.sin was indeed to rid himself of suspicions. He did want Yuwen Tong killed, but not at this time, and he wouldn’t resort to this kind of method, because this would reduce him to infamy. If he suddenly had Yuwen Tong killed for no good reason and the palace guards were the ones who did it, what would his subjects think of their emperor?

The emperor had a suspicious mind but also knew that this kind of ill name was something he didn’t want.

Soon, the a.s.sa.s.sin was brought inside and forced to his knees in the middle of the hall, all his thoughts dashed, his face ghastly pale. “Your guilty servant pays his respect to you, Your Majesty. Please sentence me to death, though dying ten thousand deaths will not be sufficient to atone for my crime.”

“You do deserve a death sentence for being so bold as to make an attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate Aiqing Yuwen’s wife-to-be. Answer this question – who gave you the order?!” the emperor demanded in a severe tone of voice.

The a.s.sa.s.sin kowtowed with a loud bang and kept his brow against the ground. “I don’t dare.”

“Outrageous! His Majesty is right in front of you. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Answer the question right now, or else!” reprimanded an eunuch standing beside the emperor.

“I fear that all my family will be killed if I confess,” wept the a.s.sa.s.sin.

“Someone threatened to kill all your family and coerced you into doing that? Who is it?!” The emperor’s face darkened. “I a.s.sure you all your family will be safe. Make a full confession in front of us all.”

The a.s.sa.s.sin raised his head to look at the emperor. “Your Majesty, can you really guarantee that all my family will be safe?”

“How dare you! His Majesty’s words are an imperial edict, on which you are in no place to lay doubt!” the eunuch reprimanded him again.

As if having set his mind at rest, the a.s.sa.s.sin heaved a sigh of relief and replied, “I’ll confess. It was under orders fro–from the Ninth Princess that I went there to a.s.sa.s.sinate Ling Zhang. The Ninth Princess instructed me to do whatever it took to kill Ling Zhang, or else she’d have all my family executed.”

“Outrageous! The Ninth Princess is a n.o.ble member of the imperial family. How dare you frame Her Highness?!” the eunuch hurriedly snapped, taken aback.