Peasant Woman's Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 1957: Chapter 1954: The Banquet

The woman’s eyes grew increasingly frantic, "Why, when my whole family was humiliated back then, didn’t you step forward and scold those beasts? Now that I can use my own hands to get revenge, what right do you have to stop me?"

"My lord, I have misjudged you." The woman looked at him sorrowfully, and slowly, a tear slid down from the corner of her eye.

As the tear reached her chin, the emotions in her eyes gradually subsided, leaving no trace, as she calmly looked back at King of Huainan, "My lord, this time, I want to avenge them with my own hands."

As she spoke, an iron box appeared in her hand, and upon opening it, she released a Gu insect into King of Huainan’s body.

The Gu insect disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The shock in King of Huainan’s eyes turned to confusion, and after a while, his senses slowly returned.

-

In the palace, seats around the banquet were filled with officials.

Chu Heng took his seat at the Ministry of War’s position. At first, he chatted with familiar officials for a while, then fell silent.

Unfamiliar with the officers of the Ministry of War, he didn’t take the initiative to approach them; instead, he kept his gaze wandering around.

He did not see King of Huainan anywhere.

Speculations already formed in his mind.

As the hour for the banquet approached, even the officials who had been silent before started discussing the absence of King of Huainan.

Chu Heng cast a glance at a guard in the shadows and made a gesture.

Soon, the guard disappeared from the shadows.

Chu Heng sat down, took a sip of tea.

Suddenly, a voice announced the arrival of Emperor Xuanming.

All the ministers hurriedly knelt in salute.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor..."

The gaze of Emperor Xuanming was kind, revealing nothing amiss, "Rise, my dear ministers."

When Emperor Xuanming reached his seat at the head of the table, Deng Jieyu sat at his side, while the other consorts, except for the Empress, did not attend.

"Report, King of Huainan has arrived..."

This announcement made the already uneasy ministers instinctively look towards the entrance.

Considering Emperor Xuanming had already arrived and King of Huainan was yet absent, his courage seemed too large.

Since King of Huainan was responsible for the troops in the Northern Region, several officials with weaker dispositions turned pale.

Speculation about the underlying situation was rife.

Yet, Emperor Xuanming was more composed than any minister; he smiled and raised his hand to let King of Huainan rise, "Why do you arrive so late today, my dear minister?"

"Forgive my tardiness, Your Majesty. As I was entering the palace, I encountered a disturbance with some horses in the marketplace, so I stayed to resolve the issue, which made me late." King of Huainan explained apologetically, neither humble nor overbearing.

The other officials: "..."

They could hardly believe that King of Huainan would use such an obvious excuse when reporting to Emperor Xuanming.

For a moment, the surroundings were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Emperor Xuanming seemed oblivious to the perfunctoriness in King of Huainan’s words; he raised his hand: "No wonder I noticed bloodstains on your clothes, come, take your seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." After King of Huainan saluted, he turned and sat down at a position nearby.

The atmosphere was a bit tense, so the other officials didn’t dare interrupt. Instead, the Beirong Prince spoke up, directly addressing the matter of cooperation.

"Oh? Is that so? The goods your country brought are indeed rare within our realm. Since your country has the intention of establishing trade relations, I find it quite intriguing. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Minister Qi couldn’t quite gauge Emperor Xuanming’s decision to agree so quickly, but he knew that once a treaty was signed between the two nations, the trade involved would certainly be lucrative.