Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 908 – Shocking Night at the Inn
6th month, 28th day, Quanzhou.
Early in the morning, the prosperous Quanzhou City welcomed a special group of people.
The Great Xia Dynasty Honglu Temple Zhang Yi brought officials from the Science, Education, Culture, and Health Department and the Industrialization Department, forming a hundred men envoy group to visit Great Sui.
Two days ago, Great Xia Honglu Temple had already told the Great Sui Honglu Temple. Gao Ying reported the matter, and after asking the emperor, they agreed.
Gao Ying represented the emperor to visit the ambassador group and led them into the inn.
Within a meeting room there, the two officials met alone.
Gao Ying raised his tea cup; he took a sip and asked, “What instructions do the Xia King have for your trip?”
For Great Xia to send out an envoy group was as Emperor Wen and Gao Ying had expected. Only, what was their purpose? Were they going to continue the cooperation or become enemies?
No one was sure.
With that, Emperor Wen arranged for Gao Ying to probe before he officially met them in case anything awkward happened in court.
Zhang Yi smiled. He was a diplomacy expert and was used to all this, “My king said that since Great Xia and Quanzhou have been having such a good relationship, he wants to congratulate the ascension of Emperor Wen. At the same time, he hopes to continue the good relationship.”
When Gao Ying heard that, he let out a long and comfortable sigh of relief, “I’ll tell his highness about the kind intentions of the Xia King.”
Following which, the two old foxes conversed for over an hour, probing at one another. Only then did Gao Ying leave to report to Emperor Wen.
Seeing which, Zhang Yi was deep in thought. Now, it was all up to them to react.
…
Afternoon, Handan City.
News of the ambassador group sent by Great Xia had spread to Di Chen’s ears.
Difeng spies noticed that the expression of Gao Ying was really relaxed when he left the inn and was not as stressed out as before. Obviously, Great Xia was not there to look for trouble.
“Emperor Wen is going to take a light approach.” Di Chen stood in front of the window. Looking into the sky, his heart was really annoyed.
Juedai Fenghua looked at the man in front of her. He had continuously faced setbacks but did not fall. She sighed and said softly, “How are your preparations?”
Di Chen turned around; a cold glimpse appeared in his eyes, “If the Great Xia ambassador group is assassinated in Quanzhou, will they continue the cooperation?”
“Would it work?” Juedai Fenghua hesitated, “The inn is guarded by Great Sui Guards, and the Great Xia envoy is protected by advanced guards. To assassinate them is really difficult.”
Di Chen smiled, “We do not have to use a sword to kill someone; we can use poison.”
Juedai Fenghua frowned and said in shock, “You want to use number 15? That’s just not worth it.” Juedai Fenghua was in charge of Difeng and knew about the arrangements of Difeng in Quanzhou.
Similar to the Shanhai Guards, Difeng had spies in all nine imperial cities. Number 15 was one of the managers of the inn.
Juedai Fenghua had spent a lot of effort to develop him.
Di Chen shook his head and said coldly, “Great Sui is a key chess piece to restricting Great Xia, so we cannot let them cooperate. If it works, sacrificing numbed 15 is worth it.”
“That’s great, I’ll go do it.” Seeing Di Chen insist, Juedai Fenghua could not oppose.
In the end, Di Chen was still the master.
…
Night, inn.
Based on the system, Emperor Wen would officially meet them the next day.
Zhang Yi was not interested in Quanzhou, so he obviously would not tour it. Zhang Yi spent the day in the inn to prepare for the next day.
There were also safety considerations as to why he did not go out.
Before coming to Quanzhou, the king had told him that he was worried about someone having ideas.
When Ouyang Shuo signed the trade agreement with Chuanbei City-State and Xiangnan City-State, Chun Shenjun had planned an assassination; the event was still fresh in his head.
During this trip, apart from 50 elite guards, the Shadow Guards were led by Cui Tianqi to personally protect them. They were to ensure the safety of the envoy and Zhang Yi especially.
At 6 PM, Gao Ying once again came to the inn to represent Emperor Wen to treat the envoy to a feast.
They interacted during the feast. There were songs and dances; it was a really bustling event.
At this very moment, the servers carried bowls of nourishing soup as the final dish of the dinner.
“Please!”
Gao Ying sat at the head position and looked at Zhang Yi. He smiled as he said, “This is ginseng soup specially made from Gaoli ginseng; it’s really nourishing and can remove exhaustion.”
Zhang Yi said, “Emperor Wen is truly kind.” He took up a spoon and drank, “It really is delicious.”
When Gao Ying heard this, he was delighted.
Just as Zhang Yi drank the third mouthful, he felt an immense pain in his stomach. Along with the pain, his mouth and nose bled. The fresh blood dripped into the soup and spread apart, becoming a flower.
“Sir!”
Since they were having a feast and were within the inn, Zhang Yi only brought two guards along. They stood behind him responsibly to focus on the situation.
Both of them noticed Zhang Yi’s unusual circumstance right away.
Their shouts instantly pierced the atmosphere. Other members of the envoy turned around. Seeing their leader bleeding and obviously poisoned, they all crowded around.
“Sir!” An official from the Business Department exclaimed, rushing out of the door, “Men, quick!”
The following guards of the envoy were standing outside. They charged in upon hearing the shouts. However, how would the Great Sui guards allow them to enter before they understood the situation?
Both sides were locked in a standoff outside.
“Move!”
The following guard’s captain was really solemn, and he pulled out his Tang Blade without any hesitation.
With a ‘Shua!’ the other 50 guards pulled out their blades. Under the moonlight, the blades gave out chilly glows.
The Great Sui guards were unfazed and said in a low tone, “Without orders, no one is to enter.” Luckily, the commanding general knew the seriousness of the situation and did not pull out his sword. He just used his shield.
Instantly, the Great Sui Dynasty formed a shield wall in front of the door.
At the same time, he purposely said loudly, “Send some men to see what happened.” He said that to let the Great Xia guards feel at ease.
“Yes sir!”
A few guards entered the hall upon hearing the order; the current hall was in chaos.
Seeing that Zhang Yi was poisoned, Gao Ying could not keep calm anymore. The spoon slipped from his hand and into the bowl; the thick soup splashed everywhere.
Gao Ying was really clear that if Zhang Yi died here, it would be a calamity to Great Sui. Thinking of which, he forced himself to calm down and shouted, “Summon the imperial physician!”
Saving Zhang Yi was the important matter.
‘Please do not die.’ Gao Ying prayed in his heart.
After which, he said to the guards who came in, “Immediately lock down the inn, no one can enter. Capture everyone in the hall for questioning.”
“Yes!” The guards captain nodded. Next, he asked, “What about the Great Xia Guards?”
Gao Ying frowned as he thought for a moment before he said, “Let them in!”
50 Guards could not cause much. However, if they were to forcefully stop them, it might cause problems instead.
“Yes sir!”
In just a few minutes, Gao Ying had already gotten everything under control. As expected from an experienced official.
After arranging the important matters, only then did Gao Ying walk toward Zhang Yi. When the other members of the envoy saw Gao Ying, they looked at him with animosity.
Zhang Yi looked at him in disbelief, “You, you all actually poisoned…”
Gao Ying said sincerely, “We did not poison you. The imperial physician will come soon.” At this moment, Gao Ying could not give any explanation. However, he believed that Zhang Yi was a smart person.
The more he said, the easier it would be for the other party to misunderstand.
“He obviously drank your ginseng soup and was poisoned, yet you still dare to argue?” The envoy members were furious as they scolded Gao Ying.
Gao Ying was expressionless; he only looked at Zhang Yi. A few minutes had passed, and his face was turning dark. Obviously, it was a potent poison. When Gao Ying saw that, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Zhang Yi looked at Gao Ying. He was unsure whether the latter was lying or saying the truth.
No matter what, Zhang Yi knew that he could not panic. He bore the pain and said, “Go back to the room; do not act rashly.”
“Yes!”
Zhang Yi was the core of the group and everyone would listen to his orders.
After a short while, Zhang Yi was moved to his room. He lied on his bed as Gao Ying was blocked outside the door.
Within the room, Cui Tianqi stood; he looked ashamed.
Zhang Yi knew that the young man was the true right hand man of the king, “The enemy poisoned me and caught us off guard. It is not your fault.”
“Sir, what should we do?” Cui Tianqi asked.
“Send the news back to the imperial city.” Zhang Yi was preparing for the worse.
“Understood!” Cui Tianqi nodded; he knew what to do.
“All of you go down; let’s speak when the physician arrives. Remember; do not start conflict with Great Sui before the truth comes out.”
Zhang Yi came here as an ambassador. Seeing how Gao Ying acted, Zhang Yi would rather believe that he was poisoned by someone else. As such, they could not be rash and mess up the king’s matters.
His life was small, while the king’s ambitions were huge.
“Yes!”
When the other members of the envoy saw that, they could only leave.
In a short while, Zhang Yi was the only person left. He lied lonelily on the bed. No one noticed that he was holding a small porcelain bottle in his hand.