Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 479 Please Kill Song Yan (1)

Luo Yuheng was also surprised that his son-in-law had such great charm that he could even attract a girl from the State of Chu.

However, it shouldn't be a problem if they become siblings.

Luo Yuheng felt that this was truly a wise decision.

It was rather presumptuous of him to suddenly adopt a girl he had just met as his goddaughter, especially since she was a woman of such high status and great strength as Lin Xue. However, for some reason, Lin Xue did not feel much aversion. Upon hearing this, she simply smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam, but... I have an adoptive mother."

Although the Lin family may not have been entirely sincere when they first adopted her, they have taken good care of her over the years.

Lin Xue is not the kind of ungrateful person.

It is disrespectful to adopt a second mother without the consent of the adoptive parents.

"Don't worry, Madam, I will get you back to the manor safely." Lin Xue said with a smile, "I will be staying in Dongling for a while. If you encounter any trouble, please feel free to come to me." Lin Xue felt that this lady might have taken a liking to her decent strength, which was why she wanted to take her as her daughter. It wasn't hard to understand, after all, the scene of dozens of assassins suddenly appearing was quite frightening.

These assassins were after all targeting her. This lady was merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire. The assassination attempt failed, and no one could guarantee what they would do next. Perhaps this lady would suffer an undeserved calamity.

Her identity was the deputy envoy of the Chu Kingdom delegation.

They still have some sense of pride.

During her time in Ningguo, protecting this lady wouldn't have been difficult. A simple word to the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial would have been enough for them to arrange for her safety. However, she would eventually have to return to Chu, and it was uncertain how long she could maintain this facade once she left.

As the saying goes, "When people leave, the tea grows cold," and that's always been the case.

Once the protection of the Ningguo government is gone, no one can guarantee that the assassins won't vent their resentment over the failed assassination attempt on this lady.

And this lady could not possibly leave her home and follow him to the State of Chu.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Xue felt very troubled.

Luo Yuheng, on the other hand, looked relaxed. Even though she was rejected, she didn't seem too disappointed. She just glanced at the corpses around her, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, as if she was somewhat disgusted with the environment. She then walked towards the other end of Chang'an Street.

Lin Xue then hurriedly followed from behind.

The area affected by the fire and the fighting was not very large.

Before they knew it, the two had left the main road.

The chirping of insects was faint.

The moonlight, filtering through the leaves, cast dappled patterns of light on the ground.

The two weaved through the alleyways between the buildings.

“You must be more than just an ordinary businessman, right?” In the silence, Luo Yuheng slowly spoke: “The assassins who just attacked were mostly skilled in martial arts, and they were fearless. Rather than assassins, they were more like death squads specially trained by certain people. They were unafraid of pain and death, and their only purpose was to complete their master’s mission.”

"If it were just an ordinary businessman, it probably wouldn't be worth investing such a large sum of money."

Training assassins is extremely difficult and very expensive.

Looking across Ningguo, ordinary high-ranking officials of the imperial court did not even have the qualifications to train assassins; only those aristocratic families had the financial resources and energy for it.

Lin Xue blushed slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed at being exposed, but there was no point in continuing to hide it now: "Madam is right, I am indeed not a merchant. I am a general of the Chu Kingdom, and this time I am sent as an envoy to the Ning Kingdom to temporarily serve as the deputy envoy."

“General…” Luo Yuheng pondered, a smile appearing on his face: “Female generals are quite rare.”

He probably already knew Lin Xue's true identity.

After all, the only female general in the Chu Kingdom was the one who led her army to capture two cities in Ning Kingdom before the new year.

Luo Yuheng originally thought that these assassins might be after him, but Lin Xue intercepted them. However, it now seems that the target might actually be Lin Xue.

"It seems that someone wants to provoke a full-scale war between Ning and Chu." Luo Yuheng sighed helplessly. There is never a shortage of ambitious people in this world. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They don't care how many people will lose their lives in the event of a full-scale war between the two countries. They only care about how much benefit they can gain from the chaos.

And there is no more justifiable reason to wage war than the killing of an envoy.

"The assassin, or rather the person behind the assassin, should not be from Ningguo."

"Ningguo is weak, and its military strength is no match for Chuguo. Everyone in the court knows this." Luo Yuheng didn't say one more thing, which was that, apart from some crazy people who wanted to take advantage of the situation.

"Could it be that someone in the Chu Kingdom is dissatisfied with you and wants to take this opportunity to kill you?" Luo Yuheng pondered for a moment before asking.

Lin Xue's consciousness subconsciously followed Luo Yuheng's train of thought, and in the end, her lips twitched and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

I hadn't thought about this before.

Now, reminded by Luo Yuheng, she was surprised to realize that she had indeed offended quite a few people. Not to mention anything else, she had beaten up almost all of the Chu Emperor's sons... Apart from the Crown Prince who liked to be beaten, the other princes were all capable of targeting her.

As for the noble young men she had beaten, the number was countless.

"The assassins were already lying in ambush on Chang'an Avenue. Clearly, they knew you would pass through there."

"Be careful of the people in the delegation."

Luo Yuheng's words were light and casual, but when they reached Lin Xue's ears, they made her body tremble violently, and her expression gradually became serious.

Yes, to set up such a trap in advance, one must have complete control over her whereabouts.

This would have been impossible without someone within the mission acting as an inside agent.

A slight smile appeared on Lin Xue's lips. Things were getting more and more interesting. She wasn't afraid at all; on the contrary, a faint excitement rose up deep inside her. After all, these days had been too boring. A little excitement now and then would give her a little exercise.

Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps came from afar.

He subconsciously looked up and found a group of Ningguo's imperial guards.

Right among the Imperial Guards, Lin Xue also spotted the figure of the head of the delegation.

It was probably because she had not returned to the post station for a long time, and a fire broke out on Chang'an Street, that the mission couldn't help but arrange for a search.

"lady……"

He finished speaking but received no response. When he turned around, he saw that the lady who had been by his side had disappeared without a trace.

Lin Xue was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

She roughly knew who had secretly helped her when she was assassinated.

……

Because of the assassination attempt, the inn's security has become even tighter.

The chief envoy of the Chu delegation was named Chu Yue.

National surname.

His true identity was the nephew of the Chu Emperor, making him a member of the royal family.

However, the grandfather of the Chu Emperor and the grandfather of Chu Yue's father were cousins, so although Chu Yue and the Chu Emperor were relatives, their blood ties were somewhat distant.

In addition, the nobility titles of the Chu state were reduced by one rank for each generation after the third generation.

Like most noble families in the State of Chu, Chu Yue's family inevitably declined. Chu Yue was not the eldest son and had no right to inherit the title. Fortunately, he was quite intelligent, fluent in various languages ​​and etiquette, and managed to secure a position in the Court of State Ceremonial. Now, after more than a decade in the Court of State Ceremonial, and having handled some urgent matters with merit, he now serves as the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, a fourth-rank official, making him arguably the most successful member of his family.

Chu Yue knew very well how much His Majesty valued Lin Xue. Therefore, when he heard that a fire had broken out on Chang'an Street, where Lin Xue had gone, Chu Yue was immediately terrified and gave the three people who returned with the news a severe scolding. What a joke! If Lin Xue had died in Ningguo, he would have no chance of getting the position of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, which he had worked so hard for over a decade. He would definitely be stripped of his official post by the Emperor.

When he saw the assassination scene littered with corpses and Lin Xue nowhere to be seen, he almost fainted.

After Lin Xue returned to the inn, although she claimed she was unharmed, Chu Yue still summoned all the accompanying physicians for a thorough examination. Only after confirming that Lin Xue had nothing else to worry about besides a small, almost healed cut on her finger did he feel somewhat relieved. Then, Chu Yue issued a stay-at-home order to Lin Xue. From then on, except for essential reasons, Lin Xue was confined to the inn and forbidden from going anywhere. Even if she wanted to go out for a stroll, she couldn't go too far, and she had to be accompanied by at least ten skilled martial artists.

Lin Xue expressed her protest.

But the protests were ineffective; she was only the deputy envoy, while Chu Yue was the chief envoy. The rules of the military were useless against the delegation. Even if Lin Xue were to put a sack over his head upon their return to Chu, Chu Yue would accept it. After all, being beaten was much better than losing his position or his life.

The original plan was to go to court to meet Emperor Ninghe the next day, but due to Lin Xue's assassination, it was postponed for three days.

Three days later, the tiny, half-inch-long wound had completely healed, and Chu Yue, Chu Menglan, and Lin Xue finally stepped onto the Ningguo court.

As soon as Lin Xue gave her name, she could immediately feel the hostile gazes from all around her, but she ignored them.

After exchanging greetings, we got down to business.

The amount of tribute had already been determined in the previous negotiations. This time, the focus was on how the tribute would be transported and which country would be responsible for escorting it. Don't underestimate this matter; after all, whoever is responsible for escorting it will be held accountable if it gets lost, and the cost of feeding the military and horses involved in transporting the tribute is also considerable.

On the other hand, there was the issue of prisoners. Lin Xue captured two cities and took many officers and soldiers prisoner.

Lin Xue was not Bai Qi; he did not have the habit of massacring surrendered soldiers.

It wasn't Song Yan who had any interest in cutting off all the people's heads and making a mound of skulls.

However, these surrendered soldiers need food, lodging, medical treatment, and medicine every day, which requires food and money, right? Ningguo should pay for this, shouldn't it? The prisoners can't be returned for no reason; they should be given some ransom, right?
This certainly needs to be discussed properly.

The court was in an uproar, more chaotic than a marketplace, with officials red-faced and spittle flying from their lips. Clearly, this wasn't Lin Xue's forte; she was practically falling asleep listening. Even the usually talkative Chu Menglan was surprised to find herself barely getting a chance to interject, with only Chu Yue engaging in a heated debate with the assembled scholars.

Although he was only one person, Chu was the victorious state after all, so Chu Yue naturally had the advantage. Whenever he talked about Ning's pain, many Ning officials would show constipated expressions, followed by panting and glaring angrily. Lin Xue was worried that those people might take off their shoes and throw them directly at Chu Yue's face.

By noon, they still hadn't been able to reach a concrete conclusion.

Of course, all of this was within Chu Yue's expectations. Asking for an exorbitant price and then settling for a bargain? Next, the Ningguo Honglu Temple and the Chu delegation will probably have a handover. It is estimated that after three to five rounds of negotiations, it will take about ten days to half a month before this matter is truly settled.

As the clamor in the court gradually subsided, Emperor Ninghe let out a soft breath. His head was buzzing, and the pain spread slowly like ripples on the surface of water.

Brain tumor.

Terminal illness.

Incurable.

The words Song Yan once said still echoed in my mind.

Even though he already knew his fate, Emperor Ninghe still felt a pang of sorrow at the thought that he would pass away in two or three years and that the Ning Kingdom, which he had fought for all his life, would no longer have anything to do with him.

There's probably some reluctance involved.

After all, although he was the Emperor of Ning, he rarely left the palace, and he had never left the capital city, so he never got to see the beautiful land with his own eyes.

After Song Yan left, Emperor Ninghe naturally sought out some imperial physicians and medical books to research records of brain tumors or similar conditions... He learned a little about it, and it was generally understood that once someone contracted this disease, the growth rate of the fleshy lump in their brain would be very fast.

Perhaps in three or five months, or perhaps in a year or two, they will lose their lives.

At the same time, the pain caused by the brain tumor will increase dramatically, and within a few months, it will become unbearable.

It has been three months since Song Yan left Dongling.

Emperor Ninghe felt alright, perhaps because the prescription given by Song Yan was effective. Although it could not completely eradicate the tumor in his skull, it greatly reduced the rate of tumor growth. Although the pain was more severe than before, he could still bear it.

Song Yan also left some painkillers, but Emperor Ninghe was generally reluctant to take them unless absolutely necessary. Although he didn't know how those medicines were made, just looking at the packaging gave him a feeling that they were extremely high-end and precious. Song Yan probably didn't have many of these medicines, and he planned to save them for when he couldn't bear the pain anymore.

The noisy court used to be something Emperor Ninghe found very annoying, but now he actually felt a little fond of it... After all, once he was gone, he would never hear such noise again.

When the court returned to silence, Emperor Ninghe still felt a slight sense of reluctance.

However, Emperor Ninghe understood that such silence in the court couldn't last too long. He let out a soft sigh and looked at Chu Yue, Lin Xue, and Chu Menglan, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes. He also hoped that one day, Ninghe's envoys could be as proud, as domineering, and as fearless as they were in Chu, Liang, and Zhao... Suppressing these thoughts, Emperor Ninghe smiled slightly on his pale face: "Let's end it here for today. The envoys may go back and rest..."

"The Court of State Ceremonial should treat them well, lest the foreign envoys think that our dignified Ning Kingdom does not know how to treat guests."

Chu Yue bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. This humble subject will take his leave now."

After speaking, he gave Chu Menglan and Lin Xue a wink, indicating that today's business was over and it was time to go back. What remained was the Ning Kingdom's own court assembly.

As a royal princess, Chu Menglan naturally understood the proper etiquette in this regard. She obediently bowed and prepared to leave. But at that moment, Lin Xue suddenly stepped forward, first bowing to Emperor Ninghe, before speaking: "Your Majesty, may I ask if I may listen in?"

As soon as these words were spoken, almost everyone's gaze fell on Lin Xue at the same time.

Chu Yue frowned. As a foreign envoy, it was quite presumptuous of him to sit in on the Ning Kingdom's court assembly. After all, matters discussed in the court were of great importance. Even if he was accused of trying to pry into Ning Kingdom's secrets, it was perfectly normal... However, Chu Yue did not stop him. After all, Chu Kingdom was the victorious nation!

Even if they make some excessive demands, what can Ningguo do about it?

Chu envoys often did such things. When they went to neighboring small foreign countries, they would deliberately do some taboo things, such as deliberately demanding that there be pork on the table, pointing at the king's nose and shouting at him. But that was considered polite. They also did things like having the imperial concubine accompany them to drink, or getting drunk and teasing the empress dowager.

If blood could be spilled on the spot, that would be the best outcome.

After all, murdering the Chu envoy provided a legitimate reason for sending troops.

As for the envoys who bravely sacrificed their lives, they were granted titles and honors, and their descendants were granted special genealogies.

Win-win.

However, Ningguo was not a small country with a foreign tribe.

Lin Xue wasn't a proper envoy; she was a general. Shouldn't it be her turn to be in such an obvious suicide mission?

For a moment, Chu Yue was also unsure what Lin Xue was thinking.

There was a brief moment of silence in the court, followed by a sudden uproar. Many Ningguo officials glared at Lin Xue, their faces showing a hint of humiliation.

Even Emperor Ninghe's expression gradually turned cold, his eyes fixed on Lin Xue. Despite his defeat, Emperor Ninghe had reigned for twenty years, and his imperial authority was not to be underestimated. Even Lin Xue couldn't help but tense up, as if she were carrying immense pressure on her shoulders. Her throat moved slightly, and Lin Xue spoke again: "Your Majesty may not know, but Lin Xue is originally from Ning Kingdom. I am quite curious about the Ning Kingdom's court. I believe Your Majesty is magnanimous and would not be unable to grant even this small request of mine?"

Emperor Ninghe chuckled: "Since you've said so, if I don't agree, wouldn't I be considered petty? Fine, I'll allow you to listen in."

But inwardly, I couldn't help but sigh.

Lin Xue is a natural-born general.

In the vast Ningguo, perhaps only Song Yan can compare.

The fact that such a talented person could not be retained is the fault of the emperor.

Lin Xue bowed again, then quietly stepped back with Chu Yue and Chu Menglan, joining the last in line, clearly indicating that she would only listen and not interrupt.

"Speak if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned." With a flick of his whisk, the eunuch Wei Zhong's slightly shrill and hoarse voice echoed through the court.

As soon as the voice fell, one person stepped forward.

Upon seeing this person, Emperor Ninghe's expression immediately darkened, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The man was clearly in his forties or fifties, but despite his age, he had a handsome face and a naturally good appearance. His knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, proclaiming in a loud voice, "Your subject, Lu Yuanzheng, Minister of Rites, humbly requests..."

"Kill Song Yan!"

Lin Xue, who had already retreated to the side, suddenly raised her head, her cold gaze falling on Lu Yuanzheng, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

You want to kill my brother?

court death!

(End of this chapter)