69novels Page 176
Page 176
The Six Paths Hall is probably used to being arrogant in Wu Kingdom, and now they are showing no restraint in the Yang family!
Zhao Ji didn't even bother to exchange pleasantries with the host, the head of the Yang family, or even glance at him. Instead, he went straight to the seat where Sun Shiyi had just been sitting, then casually sat down with a flick of his cloak.
This is the position of head of the Wu Kingdom delegation. Zhao Ji did this simply to announce to Wu Kingdom and everyone present that he is the one who calls the shots in this delegation!
This action naturally sparked much discussion among the Yang family members.
However, the people of Wu Kingdom seemed to be used to it and all lowered their heads. Sun Shiyi even stood next to Zhao Ji with a fawning smile.
Judging from his appearance now, he looks more like a servant!
"Play the music!" Seeing that Zhao Ji's face was expressionless, Sun Shiyi smiled and then waved to the dancers below.
The dancers were also terrified by the atmosphere. Hearing Sun Shiyi's order, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue dancing.
Ren Ruyi and Linglong exchanged a glance and then joined the group.
However, the two women were now much more cautious than before.
As assassins from an intelligence organization, both men instinctively sensed that the suddenly appearing leader of the Six Paths Hall was there to cause trouble! They feared the banquet to come would be anything but peaceful!
For assassins like them who have pre-planned strategies, the biggest worry is that things won't go according to plan.
For example, Wei Tingyu's appearance just now directly ruined Ren Ruyi and Linglong's previous plans, causing everything to fall apart, and they can only reconsider their approach later.
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Chapter 159 Saving a damsel in distress is an attitude! Even if there's no need to save her, you should still save her!
"How dare you!" However, the dancers had only danced a few lines when Zhao Ji's expression suddenly changed, and he slammed his hand on the table in front of him!
It even shook the dishes on his table, causing many to spill out and creating a mess.
The dancers, unaware of what had happened, suddenly collapsed to their knees, their legs giving way. The officials of Wu Kingdom also rose and knelt before Zhao Ji to beg for forgiveness.
Old Man Yang was nearly scared to death by his palm strike and shout, and his face turned very pale.
Even Yang Xian was unlucky. He was drinking just now, and suddenly he choked and started coughing violently on the side!
Wei Tingyu frowned deeply; this Zhao Ji was far too arrogant!
You must know this is the Yang residence, not your Wu Kingdom! How dare you act so wildly here?
These people are used to running rampant in Wu Kingdom. Apart from the emperor of Wu Kingdom, everyone else has to give them some face.
It seems that even now that we're in the capital of this dynasty, this bad habit hasn't been corrected anytime soon!
Logically speaking, if you have a problem, that's your business and has nothing to do with Wei Tingyu. He's too lazy to bother with you anyway.
But you scared your brother-in-law and father-in-law half to death. If you don't make this kid pay the price, how will you be able to stand up straight in front of Yang Yueniang in the future?
"General, what is the reason for this?" Sun Shiyi blinked, then looked at Zhao Ji with a panicked expression and asked!
"The next line of this song is 'The general died in a hundred battles!'" Zhao Ji glanced at Sun Shiyi with a cold expression and then said, "His Majesty is personally leading the expedition against Anguo as the general, and you dare to harbor evil intentions and curse His Majesty! You deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Especially when he said the last sentence, Zhao Ji's tone even rose several degrees.
Seeing this, Wei Tingyu couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Sure enough, all these henchmen of the emperor were the same! Putting aside everything else, their skill in labeling people was first-rate!
They can easily find fault with someone, make connections, and then give them a good beating!
Of course, unlike Wei Tingyu's current inner turmoil, the officials of Wu Kingdom were terrified, especially Sun Shiyi.
It should be noted that the dance performed by these dancers was done with his prior consent. If he were to take the blame now, his fate would be predictable.
"Please calm down, my lord!" Thinking of this, Sun Shiyi quickly bowed to Zhao Ji and said, "This humble official would not dare to have such an intention! We absolutely had no such intention!"
The other Wu Kingdom officials were also kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear. After all, none of them could bear the blame if this false accusation were leveled against them.
If Liudaotang were to report this to the imperial court, the people here would be lucky to escape with their lives, and their entire families might be implicated.
However, Zhao Ji ignored them and simply played with a wine glass in his hand.
"Lord Zhao seems to be planning to..." At this moment, Sun Shiyi's attendant quickly stepped forward and whispered in his ear, then gestured with his eyes to a large desk next to him.
On this table were piled up all sorts of gifts brought by the diplomatic missions from Wu Kingdom.
As an envoy, one should present a valuable state gift to the court of the host country, but at the same time, one should also bring a large number of other gifts to make friends with local dignitaries and ministers.
This kind of thing is very common in this era, and can even be described as blatant.
After all, Wu Kingdom and our dynasty have not been at war, so it cannot be considered an enemy country. Even if the ministers accept gifts from the Wu Kingdom's envoys, there will be no problem.
Only after being reminded by his attendant did Sun Shiyi realize his mistake. He glanced at the mountain of gifts, hesitated for a moment, and then bowed to Zhao Ji, saying, "It was my foolishness that caused this oversight. I'm afraid that spies from Anguo have infiltrated the delegation!"
At this point, he took two steps forward, a smug smile on his face, and continued, "My lord! I am also worried that these gifts may contain accusations or false charges!"
"We implore you, sir, to bring them all back for questioning!"
Upon hearing Sun Shiyi's words, Zhao Ji finally smiled. And not only him, but all the Six Paths Hall warriors who had accompanied him also wore smug expressions.
Going for a stroll with the adults was definitely worthwhile! With so many gifts, even if the adults took the lion's share and I only got a small cut, it was still quite a lot!
However, the expressions on the faces of the Yang family members were not good.
The fact that Sun Shiyi brought so many gifts to the banquet clearly indicated that he intended to give them to his family afterward.
Now, this Six Paths Hall Master from Wu Kingdom has actually snatched the prize from us? How can the greedy Yang family members possibly swallow this insult?!
However, these people were always cowardly. Seeing that Wei Tingyu was just watching the show with great interest and had no intention of standing up for them, the Yang family could only grimace and swallow their anger.
However, the fact that the prize they had almost gotten their hands on had been snatched away left them feeling extremely restless and uneasy.
On the contrary, Yang Xian seemed to have already transcended such low-level interests and did not show any concern about losing these gifts.
Of course, Sun Shiyi was also very good at dealing with people! He had brought many gifts along the way, so he immediately signaled to the Yang family head with his eyes not to worry, as they would give him another gift later.
After seeing this, Old Man Yang calmed down and was no longer as agitated and anxious as before.
"Sit down, everyone!" Zhao Jicai didn't want to deal with Sun Shiyi anymore; what other business could he possibly have with the Yang family? His purpose for this trip was simply to make a quick buck! Now that he had succeeded, he naturally smiled and addressed the ministers of Wu Kingdom present.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" The officials of Wu Kingdom expressed their gratitude after hearing Zhao Ji's words, and then rose to take their seats.
This scene naturally left the Yang family members dumbfounded. Compared to the long-peaceful current dynasty, they truly witnessed just how high the status of military generals could be in a country in the midst of war.
Just like these civil officials of Wu State, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of Zhao Ji, a military officer, completely losing all their civility.
"My lord, does this clear up all the suspicions against the official?!" At this moment, Sun Shiyi approached Zhao Ji again and asked with a smile.
However, Zhao Ji simply picked up his wine glass and took a slow sip, his eyes darting around, clearly plotting something mischievous again.
"Only bribes were delivered by spies... were there no spies?" His next words stunned everyone present.
Everyone knows that the so-called capture of enemy spies is nothing more than an excuse Zhao Ji came up with to amass wealth.
Now that he has already obtained the wealth, he is still unwilling to let it go. This is clearly a case of him trying to find someone to be a scapegoat!
This gives the Six Paths Hall an excuse for extortion today, while at the same time using the life of this poor scapegoat to intimidate the officials of Wu Kingdom, telling them not to talk nonsense when they go back!
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of everyone from Wu Kingdom changed drastically, and they all lowered their heads in fear, afraid of being called out by name.
After all, once they're accused of something like this, they're finished. They have no way to prove they're not spies!
However, Sun Shiyi was also stunned, and it took him a few seconds to react.
He blinked, then looked thoughtful, but quickly smiled and said to Zhao Ji, "You're right, sir!"
Then Sun Shiyi pointed at the kneeling dancers and said, "They are all spies!"
After all, Sun Shiyi couldn't possibly step forward to take the blame himself, nor could he push forward the other court officials of Wu Kingdom, so he had no choice but to sacrifice these dancers.
Even he himself didn't know that he had actually guessed two people correctly with just a casual gesture. At the very least, Ren Ruyi and Linglong were indeed assassins sent by Anguo.
Neither of them expected that their flawless disguise would be exposed because of this farce.
Seeing the two women's bewildered expressions, Wei Tingyu almost burst out laughing. Sure enough, the plot hadn't changed at all!
"Then drag them out and execute them immediately! Let's relieve Shi Yi of this burden!" Zhao Ji naturally didn't care whether these dancers were innocent or not; he just wanted to use a few heads to intimidate the officials of Wu Kingdom, so he immediately nodded and spoke.
"I will obey your orders, sir!" At the moment, Sun Shiyi had no time to care about the life and death of others. As long as he could clear himself of any wrongdoing, he immediately bowed and accepted Zhao Ji's orders.
Then Zhao Ji waved his hand in a very pretentious manner, and the six Six Paths Hall warriors who had been standing at the door rushed in.
"My lord, spare us!" The dancers were truly panicked. Apart from Ren Ruyi and Linglong, the rest were indeed just pitiful girls.
They were just dancing, but they never expected it to lead to their deaths! They were all trembling with fear and desperately begging for mercy!
Just looking at him was enough to make him look pitiful. Even Yang Xian, a spoiled brat who always liked to bully others, couldn't bear to close his eyes!
The old man of the Yang family naturally did not want to see blood splattering in his banquet hall, and immediately tried to speak up to stop it.
Logically speaking, as the host here, and not a citizen of Wu Kingdom, it wouldn't be a big deal if he spoke up to stop Zhao Ji's actions.
Even if Zhao Ji, the henchman of the Wu Kingdom emperor, was arrogant, he would not dare to forcibly commit massacres in the residences of nobles from other countries.
Old Yang was a very timid man by nature, and he only opened his mouth. But as soon as he saw Zhao Ji's fierce eyes and expression, he immediately cowered!
"My lord! Please spare us!" Ren Ruyi, who was also among the dancers, looked helpless and pitiful and begged for mercy.
At the same time, she kept glancing at Prince Han, hoping he would ask her to stay. She reasoned that this would give her a chance to remain by his side and enter the Han residence!
This is a golden opportunity for Ren Ruyi!
"Your Highness, save me!" she even cried out pitifully to him.
However, she was disappointed!