Chapter 128

Chapter 128: A Sudden Change at the Banquet The Crown Prince led Mu Yuheng and Ling Jiayue toward the palace gates, and the three of them chatted and laughed about amusing events from the campaign. Before long, they arrived at the Dismounting Stele. Ling Jiayue had originally intended to ride a horse home, but the Crown Prince suddenly spoke. “General Ling, why not ride back with me in my carriage? I’ll take you home.” As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, Mu Yuheng looked at him. The Crown Prince smiled and said, “You come too. Surely your elder brother wouldn’t forget you.” Upon hearing this, Mu Yuheng teased him, “Isn’t that exactly what I was afraid of—that you’d forget me? Yue’er, come with us. Riding in a carriage is more comfortable than riding a horse.” Hearing Mu Yuheng say this, Ling Jiayue nodded and followed them into the carriage. Once the three of them were seated, the Crown Prince teased, “Seventh Brother, what did you just call General Ling? Don’t you know that a maiden’s given name cannot be called casually? By doing that, you could delay General Ling’s marriage.” Ling Jiayue’s face flushed red at these words. Mu Yuheng, however, was completely unashamed. “What do you mean, delay it? I intend to marry Yue’er. What’s wrong with calling her by her name?” Ling Jiayue’s face grew even redder. The Crown Prince had long since seen the affection between the two of them, so he stopped teasing them. Afraid that Ling Jiayue might be unable to take the joke and become angry with him, he restrained his playful mood and told the two of them about the Third Prince’s attempt to harm the sovereign. After hearing this, Mu Yuheng was furious. “How could Third Brother do something so vile—something worse than what a beast would do? This is outrageous!” The Crown Prince said, “I’ve already switched the poison powder. It is harmless and will only cause Father to fall temporarily unconscious, though he will still be able to sense what is happening around him. This will make it possible to expose Third Brother’s true face before Father.” Mu Yuheng and Ling Jiayue nodded upon hearing this. By then, the carriage had already reached the entrance of the Prime Minister’s Residence. The coachman called from outside, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, we have arrived at the Prime Minister’s Residence.” Hearing the coachman, Ling Jiayue said, “Your Highnesses, we have arrived at the Prime Minister’s Residence. I shall take my leave first.” The Crown Prince frowned at her words. “You needn’t be so formal in the future. We will all be family from now on, so there’s no need to keep saying ‘Your Highness’ and ‘this subject.’ It sounds too distant. When there is no one else around, just follow Seventh Brother’s example and call me Older Brother.” “Yes, Older Brother. I’ll be going now.” As she spoke, Ling Jiayue rose and stepped down from the carriage. Seeing how warmly the Crown Prince treated Ling Jiayue, Mu Yuheng was delighted as well. The two brothers then remained in the carriage and departed. The moment Ling Jiayue stepped out of the carriage, she saw Madam Liu, Ling Taian, and the others waiting outside the gates. The instant Madam Liu saw Ling Jiayue return, she completely forgot about maintaining her decorum. She rushed forward, embraced Ling Jiayue, and cried, “Yue’er, you’ve finally come home. We’ve been apart for three years, and your mother has missed you terribly. Let me look at you—were you injured?” Madam Liu pulled Ling Jiayue around and examined her from every side. Although Ling Taian was also very happy to see Ling Jiayue, he was not as emotional as Madam Liu. He calmly said, “Madam, calm down. The child has returned, so let her go home first. Don’t stand here at the entrance. Let her wash up and get some proper rest.” “Right, right, you’re absolutely right. Look at me—I was so excited that I forgot everything. Yue’er, let’s go home. Let’s go home.” Madam Liu led Ling Jiayue into the residence. Ling Jiaxuan, meanwhile, said to Ling Jiayue with genuine warmth, “Little sister, welcome home. You’ve finally returned.” Feeling the warmth of her family, Ling Jiayue was overwhelmed with happiness. Madam Liu, Ling Taian, and the others had not seen her for so long, and they all gathered around her. For a time, Ling Jiayue felt as though she were the moon surrounded by countless stars. When night fell, the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments rang out from the palace. The victory banquet hosted by Mu Yuye began. As the music slowly rose, the princes, nobles, and aristocrats who had come to attend the banquet streamed into the imperial palace. It was an exceptionally lively scene. The Third Prince entered the palace with Feng Yu once he judged that the time was right. Mu Yuyang whispered, “Feng Yu, have you prepared the poison powder? I told you to bribe a palace servant and put it into the wine. Has it been done?” Feng Yu also replied in a low voice, “Your Highness the Third Prince, I bribed a palace servant to put the poison powder into the wine. It will absolutely not interfere with your grand plan. You can rest assured.” “I’ve never had reason to doubt your work. After tonight, I’ll be second only to the sovereign and superior to everyone else. You’ve helped me with so many things, so naturally I won’t mistreat you.” Mu Yuyang painted a rosy picture for Feng Yu. Feng Yu did not respond. He merely remained quietly at Mu Yuyang’s side. The Third Prince also stopped speaking to him. Once he arrived at the banquet, he took his seat. Thinking that tonight would be Ling Jiayue’s death, he grew even more excited and began drinking from his wine cup. Seeing Mu Yuyang like this, Feng Yu did not stop him. He simply stood quietly to one side. Suddenly, Feng Yu noticed that the Crown Prince was looking at him. That gaze seemed to ask whether the poison powder had been placed properly. Feng Yu nodded silently, and the Crown Prince nodded in relief. Before long, Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng, the two main guests, arrived. Emperor Mu Yuye also arrived with Su Wanrong. Seeing that everyone was present, Mu Yuye dispensed with further formalities and ordered the banquet to begin. As soon as the banquet started, Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng raised their cups to toast Emperor Mu Yuye. When Mu Yuyang saw Mu Yuye lift his wine cup, a feverish light ignited in his eyes. He watched Mu Yuye drink the wine. He watched Mu Yuye collapse. He could not wait any longer. He immediately rose, pointed at Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng, and shouted angrily, “How dare you? You actually dared to murder Father!” Mu Yuheng had known that this change would occur, so he was not alarmed. He merely looked at Mu Yuyang and asked, “Third Imperial Brother, what do you mean? How can you say that we tried to murder Father? His Majesty merely drank more than he could handle.” The Third Prince’s eyes bulged with madness as he said frantically, “You clearly intended to murder Father! Guards, quickly execute these two on the spot!” As soon as the Third Prince finished speaking, numerous guards surged out from within the banquet hall and surrounded Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng. The Crown Prince shouted furiously, “Third Brother, this is a royal banquet. You cannot behave recklessly here. What you’re doing is tantamount to rebellion!” Mu Yuyang said frantically, “They are the ones rebelling! They attempted to murder the sovereign! I am merely purging the traitors around the sovereign!” Everyone present understood that a coup had erupted within the palace. They shrank back in fear, terrified that they might be caught up in it. Mu Yuyang’s gaze toward Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng grew even more vicious. He ordered the guards, “What are you waiting for? Execute these two at once!” “Who dares!” At that moment, Mu Yuye suddenly sat up and shouted angrily at the assembled guards. Mu Yuyang stared at Mu Yuye as he sat upright, then pointed at him and said, “Impossible! Impossible! How are you unharmed?” “You presumptuous traitor! How dare you curse me? This is a banquet I hosted, and you even dare to draw weapons here. Guards, seize him!” With Mu Yuye’s order, the Imperial Guards immediately seized the Third Prince, Mu Yuyang. “Father, your son has something to report.” The Crown Prince suddenly spoke. “Go ahead,” Mu Yuye said. The Crown Prince then recounted all of the Third Prince’s acts of colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation. He also produced the letters proving Mu Yuyang’s treasonous dealings and handed them to Mu Yuye. Only then did Mu Yuyang realize that Feng Yu had betrayed him. He suddenly slapped Feng Yu across the face and shouted furiously, “How dare you betray me!” The Crown Prince said coldly, “It was merely that your actions had become too intolerable to stand by and watch. You are a prince, yet you dared to collude with the enemy and betray the nation. You truly deserve death.” After hearing everything, Mu Yuye looked at Mu Yuyang with a coldness that made him seem like he was looking at a dead man. When Mu Yuyang saw the look in Mu Yuye’s eyes, he finally began to beg for mercy. “Father, I was wrong. I’ll never dare do it again.”