ATSBTBMACP 20

Chapter 20

In the original text, the reason why the Great Zhou made such a fuss about the Bei Qi envoy’s visit was because the Bei Qi regent, He Lian Zhuo, had also come.

The specific events of the palace banquet were not described in detail; it only stated that after the banquet, Pei Ji’s sister, Princess He Yi, who shared the same mother, was appointed to marry He Lian Zhuo for a political marriage.

Although Bei Qi was a powerful country, the emperor was a puppet; the real person in power was the regent, He Lian Zhuo. This person was ruthless and cruel, loved beautiful, soft, and graceful young girls, and had a penchant for sadism; the number of women who had been tortured to death in his bed was countless.

In the original text, after Princess He Yi was married to Bei Qi, she died of a sudden illness within a month. When the news reached the Great Zhou, Pei Ji was deeply saddened and determined to ascend the throne and lead his troops to attack Bei Qi.

…

The palace banquet began at the You hour and a quarter (7:15 pm).

The Crown Prince’s manor was some distance from the palace; in the afternoon at the Shen hour (3-5 pm), the servants of the manor came to Yan Nuan Pavilion to notify Song Beiyao to depart.

From the moment he got on the carriage, Song Beiyao lifted the carriage window and looked out.

The cold wind poured in; Ling Feng was freezing and couldn’t help but say, “What are you looking at outside?”

There were too many things to see in Li Du City; however, Song Beiyao wasn’t looking at them. “Thinking about something?” he said slowly.

“What?” Ling Feng sniffled. “Can you close the window? I’m cold; are you not caring about your health?”

Song Beiyao coughed a few times and finally closed the window. “Thinking about whether I should save someone,” he folded his arms, leaning his head against the carriage, his face pale.

“Save who?” Ling Feng was curious. “Do you know anyone here?”

“Not exactly.” Song Beiyao was silent for a moment, slightly closing his eyes, sighing softly, “Forget it; what does it have to do with me?” Why bother with this trouble.

“What is this all about?” Ling Feng was puzzled; he leaned closer and whispered, “I’m telling you, at the palace banquet, be careful; the Great Zhou royal family is full of intrigue!”

“I know.”

The carriage swayed and bumped along, finally arriving at the palace gate; upon entering the palace, they had to get off.

Near the You hour, as dusk fell, several palace servants with lanterns were waiting outside the palace gate. One of them, seeing Song Beiyao, hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying that he was a servant of the Crown Prince, and led them into the palace.

Initially, standing outside, it wasn’t clear how big the palace was. They walked around for a long time without reaching their destination; Song Beiyao felt something was amiss and said, “Haven’t we arrived yet? It’s getting late; we might miss the start of the banquet.”

“It’s not late; we’re almost there.”

The path they walked became darker and darker; at a corner, the servant suddenly stopped: “Both of you, my master has requested your presence.”

Upon hearing this, Song Beiyao understood; this person was not Pei Ji’s man. The person who wanted to see him must be related to the original owner of this body.

This was a garden in the palace; there were no figures around; Song Beiyao vaguely saw a light in the woods beside him.

Ling Feng went in first; Song Beiyao paused slightly and could only follow into the woods.

Upon approaching, they saw two people. One was dressed as a guard, holding a palace lantern in his left hand and a knife in his right. The other man was tall, wearing a dark green round-necked python robe; his face was hidden in the shadows.

Ling Feng immediately knelt down and said, “Master,” Song Beiyao thought something was wrong.

Before he could react, the man said to him, “Beiyao, you’ve been in Pei Ji’s manor for a month and haven’t contacted me. How’s the plan going? I heard that he’s quite attentive to you recently; he even brought you to this palace banquet; it seems to be progressing well.”

Heard? From whom?

Song Beiyao calmly lowered his eyes and glanced at Ling Feng, took a step back, and mimicking Ling Feng’s address, vaguely said, “Reporting to Master, it’s still in progress.”

However, the next second, the man suddenly stepped forward, grabbing his neck, “Who are you? You’re not Song Beiyao!”

He had been discovered so quickly!

The force on his neck increased; his breathing became more and more difficult; the fear of death made him stiff.

“Master!” At this moment, Ling Feng hurriedly said, “Master, why are you doing this? This subordinate entered the Crown Prince’s manor with the fourth prince of Zhao from the beginning; no one was replaced.”

The man suddenly let go; Song Beiyao finally caught his breath, covering his neck and gasping for air, coughing heavily several times.

“You? You’ve only known him for a few days,” the man said cruelly. “Beiyao’s martial arts were taught by me; I know Beiyao’s thoughts and actions like the back of my hand; how could I not see that this person is not him.”

The man then took the knife from the guard and threw it on the ground: “Ling Feng, I order you to kill him now.”

Ling Feng looked up in astonishment: “Master!!”

“Do it.”

Amidst the stalemate, a low voice suddenly came from behind, followed by footsteps.

“This king didn’t know that Fifth Brother brought this king’s consort here; what is the meaning of this?”

Pei Ji strode closer, his expression cold. He glanced sideways at Song Beiyao beside him. The young man slowly lowered his hand from his neck, his eyes downcast, not looking at him; he didn’t know what he was thinking; his face was pale.

Looking at Ling Feng kneeling on the ground, he also kept his head down without saying a word; there was a sharp knife beside him, the silvery blade gleaming coldly.

Pei Ji’s cold eyes narrowed: “It seems that if this king had arrived a step later, he might only have seen the consort’s corpse.”

The guard immediately knelt down and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, please calm down! The knife accidentally fell to the ground; there was no intention to offend the consort.” He quickly picked up the knife and sheathed it.

Pei Ming also bowed respectfully: “This minister happened to encounter the consort in the garden; initially, I didn’t know the consort’s identity; seeing his beauty, I stopped to chat for a few words; Your Highness, please don’t blame me.”

Neither of their words seemed believable. Pei Ji turned to Song Beiyao: “Is that really the case?”

Song Beiyao’s eyes blinked hesitantly twice; recovering, he smiled faintly: “It’s really the case.”

He hid it well, but when Pei Ji arrived, he saw the fear and apprehension that hadn’t yet dissipated from his expression. Something must have happened, but he intentionally concealed it.

Pei Ji looked at him deeply, saying nothing more, turning around, “Let’s go; the banquet is about to begin.”

“Good.”

Ling Feng also stood up and followed silently.

After the few people left, the woods returned to silence. Pei Ming retracted his hand, his face grim: “Send a message to Su Yue, telling him to pursue Song Beiyao with all his might. No, the consort of the Crown Prince’s manor.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Remember to tell him that I want him to pursue with all his might; this person must not be left alive.”

“This subordinate obeys.”

…

After leaving the garden, Song Beiyao followed behind Pei Ji, trying to speak to him; however, he was exceptionally cold.

It was probably because the incident in the garden had made him suspicious.

But the book had too little background information on “Song Beiyao”; even Song Beiyao himself didn’t know the reason.

Fifth Prince Pei Ming, what exactly was his relationship with the original owner? Could it be that the original owner’s infiltration into the Crown Prince’s manor as a spy had something to do with the Fifth Prince?

In that case, what role did Zhao Kingdom play?

And Ling Feng’s “Master,” did Pei Ming have another identity?

Pei Ming recognized that he wasn’t the original owner today; I wonder if he would take any action…

Thinking as he walked, he unknowingly arrived at Liu Xiu Palace, where the banquet was held. The palace was vast; at first glance, it was magnificent; it was already filled with the royal family and high-ranking officials of the Great Zhou.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—”

With the sharp voice of the eunuch outside the hall, everyone stood up and welcomed His Highness the Crown Prince into the hall.

The Bei Qi envoys didn’t understand the rules of the Great Zhou and didn’t intend to follow them; they just sat in their seats, watching two figures, one black and one red, enter the hall.

The man in the black brocade robe with gold-threaded kirin embroidery was tall and straight, his face handsome and imposing; his gaze swept across, giving people an immense sense of oppression.

He Lian Zhuo had seen Pei Ji; his gaze was on the red figure from the beginning; he asked the person beside him, “Who is that?”

The man in the dark red robe had a slender figure and elegant demeanor; as he walked, his robes fluttered like clouds; his long black hair was loosely tied behind him; his face was as white as jade; his eyebrows and eyes were exquisitely beautiful; his eyes flickered with tenderness, captivating, making people unable to look away.

“That is…” The man on the side was also stunned, pinching his thigh, “That’s the fourth prince of Zhao, the consort the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou newly accepted a month ago.”

He Lian Zhuo had seen many beautiful women; when had he seen such beauty?

His gaze gradually became deep and greedy, lingering on those crimson lips and willow-like waist. Those legs hidden under the robes must be slender and white; they must be intoxicating to hold.

Just imagining it made him excited.

The two passed in front of the envoy’s seats and went straight to the front seats opposite the envoy’s seats.

The emperor hadn’t arrived yet; most of the officials had arrived. The originally lively Liu Xiu Palace became much quieter due to the Crown Prince’s arrival.

Song Beiyao sat beside Pei Ji, feeling the gazes from all directions, both overt and covert. He was very familiar with this feeling and didn’t take it seriously.

Palace servants poured wine for the two; after a while, the Empress arrived slowly, supporting the Emperor.

Everyone in the hall stood up again and welcomed the Emperor.

As they sat down, Song Beiyao raised his eyes and lightly glanced at the person on the imperial throne. The Emperor was clearly old and frail, plagued by illness; he didn’t look like he could live much longer.

When Song Beiyao’s gaze swept past, he happened to see a group of women sitting opposite. A woman in a peach-colored pleated skirt kept staring at him; seeing him look over, she sweetly smiled at him, the two dimples at the corners of her mouth particularly cute.

The girl was pretty and lovely, with a resemblance to Pei Ji’s eyebrows and eyes; Song Beiyao quickly guessed who she was and smiled at her slightly.

The palace banquet officially began, with music and dance, and a sumptuous feast.

Song Beiyao repeatedly thought of Princess He Yi’s fate, feeling uneasy; he raised his wine cup and said to Pei Ji, “My husband, I have something to say to you.”

“What is it? Say it later,” Pei Ji’s expression was rather cold.

“Then I’ll toast my husband.” Song Beiyao said with a smile.

Pei Ji glanced sideways at the wine cup in his hand and said coldly, “This king is not drinking today.”

Song Beiyao helplessly put down the wine cup. It seemed that the incident in the imperial garden had created a rift between Pei Ji and him.

After the first round of music and dance, taking advantage of the Bei Qi envoy’s offering of gifts, the old emperor patted the Empress and asked her to speak on his behalf.

“The regent previously proposed watching the princess dance at the banquet; His Majesty has already arranged this,” the Empress smiled. “Princess He Yi is the best dancer in our Great Zhou; let her perform a dance for the regent now.”

Upon hearing this, Song Beiyao frowned. Was Princess He Yi chosen at this time?

Looking to the side, Pei Ji’s hand holding the wine cup was white at the knuckles, and the veins on the back of his hand were slightly bulging.

Bei Qi was a powerful country with abundant troops, in no way inferior to the Great Zhou. Now that the Great Zhou Emperor was seriously ill, it was not a good time to be at odds. Song Beiyao knew that even if Pei Ji was reluctant, he couldn’t come forward at this moment.

At this moment, a voice came from the envoy’s seats: “I don’t want to watch the princess dance now. I heard that Zhao produces beautiful people, both men and women who can sing and dance well; seeing the fourth prince of Zhao today, he is indeed stunning.”

Song Beiyao was unexpectedly mentioned; he was slightly startled and looked up. A cold gaze instantly wrapped around him like a venomous snake.

“I wonder, Fourth Prince, can you perform a dance for me?”