"Yuan'er, you're so kind. I'm fine now."
Hai Ling really liked west Yuan; she was different from the other members of the west family—she was very innocent.
Xi Liang and west Yuan were also familiar with each other, and Xi Liang didn't dislike Xi Yuan's personality. The three of them sat together, chatting from time to time, and were very friendly with each other. The Empress Dowager glanced at them with satisfaction and then inquired about Hai Ling's banquet.
"Your Majesty, I heard that you are hosting a banquet for court officials tonight. Are you in good health?"
The Empress Dowager's first words were full of concern, which made Hai Ling feel a little better. She looked up at the Empress Dowager and said softly, "Don't worry, Mother, I'm fine."
Although the Empress Dowager said this, she was still concerned about why Hailing was hosting a banquet for those high-ranking officials in the court.
"You're clearly not feeling well, so why do you insist on hosting a banquet?"
Hai Ling naturally couldn't reveal the real reason. Tonight, she was still waiting to catch the mastermind behind the scenes, so how could she let slip anything? Therefore, she smiled and said, "Mother, have you forgotten that the Emperor has been away from the capital for some time now? With the Emperor gone, the affairs of the court have been handled by the officials. As the Empress, it is only right that I, Ling'er, entertain these officials."
Having said all that, even if the Empress Dowager had her doubts, she couldn't press the matter further. She simply gave Hailing a few careful instructions, telling her to take care of her health and not to be careless, to which Hailing readily agreed.
The group chatted for a while in Cixi Palace, then Hailing led Xiliang away to Liuyue Palace to make arrangements for the evening. Xiyuan, who had finally managed to get into the palace, eagerly followed Hailing into Liuyue Palace to play.
In the evening, the Guangyang Palace was decorated anew.
The court officials, accompanied by their wives, arrived early, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere inside and outside the palace.
The moon was out tonight, and its light shone like water on the inside and outside of Guangyang Palace. Hailing, holding Little Lion Qiuqiu in her arms, led the group into Guangyang Palace. Inside the palace, all sounds ceased, and everyone bowed to Hailing.
"Your Majesty, we have come to pay our respects."
Hai Ling glanced around. The hall was filled with a sea of people, all standing respectfully. She smiled and nodded, then slowly walked over, her eyes gleaming coldly. Everyone who was supposed to come had come. She hoped that the person who had used Yunjiang was among these people. Soon, Qiuqiu would catch the person who had touched the Tianzhu silk. She wanted to see who this person was who hated her so much that they were willing to set fire to Qingqian Palace.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
After everyone expressed their gratitude, Hai Ling led Xi Liang, Nalan Mingzhu, and the others to the head of the table. Hai Ling, dressed in a light purple gauze dress with her dark hair loosely tied up, radiating light, slowly sat down in the center, holding a small yellow lion named Qiuqiu in her arms. She exuded an aura of dominance and nobility. The lion's head was half-leaned against her chest, so others couldn't see its appearance clearly and just regarded it as an ordinary pet, paying little attention to it. Xi Liang and Nalan Mingzhu were seated below Hai Ling, the two of them flanking her on either side. Today, there was likely someone behind the scenes in Guangyang Palace. Whether the Yunjiang people were behind this person was unknown, so they had to be careful and not let anyone harm Hai Ling.
The head of the hall lowered his head, and everyone took their seats. Hai Ling smiled and glanced at everyone before her clear, cold voice rang out.
"I am hosting this banquet today, firstly to thank the officials in the court. With the Emperor away, everyone has been diligently doing their jobs. As the Empress, I am very pleased, so I am offering this banquet to thank you all."
After she finished speaking, many ministers below her stood up and said, "We are humbled. It is our duty to serve Your Majesty."
"Sit down, there's no need to be so formal today. As for the other matter, as everyone knows, someone set fire to Qingqian Palace a few days ago. I was thinking, could we take advantage of today's banquet to find out who the culprit is?"
These words caused an uproar in the hall. The ministers were at a loss for what the Empress meant and looked at each other, discussing among themselves.
Finally, the Marquis of Ningnan stood up and asked, "Does Your Highness mean that the arsonist is among us?"
"I only have a suspicion, that's why I said that. As for whether it's true or not, I don't know. However, I do have a way to try. Everyone, please sit down and be patient. We'll find out soon enough."
As soon as the words were spoken, Marquis Ningnan accepted the order and sat down. Inside the hall, some people were afraid, some were calm, and some were even more uneasy. In short, everyone had their own expression. Hailing, Xiliang, and the others watched the people below with cold eyes.
Hailin stopped looking at anyone else and instead looked at the little lion in her arms. Then she took out a piece of silk and placed it between Qiuqiu's noses, and spoke with a smile.
"Qiuqiu, go and see who smells of this medicine. Find her, and I'll reward you with three pieces of meat today."
Upon hearing her words, Qiuqiu's eyes lit up, its body swayed, its fur trembled, and it shook its head with joy. Hailing released its body, and it leaped onto the main hall.
At this moment, everyone in the hall realized that the big-eyed, yellow-haired creature was actually a young lion cub. Although it was still young, it was still terrifying in appearance. Its fur was golden and there wasn't a single stray hair. It opened its blood-red mouth, stuck out its red tongue, and kept panting and breathing heavily. It paced back and forth in the hall. Seeing that some people were afraid and others were panicked, the cub became even more excited. It wasn't in a hurry to find people. Instead, it walked around the hall and roared from time to time.
This shock caused everyone in the hall to turn pale and tremble like withered leaves in the wind. The military officers fared somewhat better, but the civil officials were completely limp and dared not move. Someone even called out to Hai Ling at the head of the table, "Your Majesty, what is this?"
Hailin, seeing that Qiuqiu had frightened someone, called out to it with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Qiuqiu, hurry up and go find it, don't scare people."
Her voice was cheerful. After speaking, she looked at the people on both sides of the hall and explained softly, "This is my pet, Qiuqiu. Don't be afraid, it won't hurt anyone. As long as you haven't done anything to harm me, Qiuqiu won't bite you. Otherwise, it won't."
After these words were spoken, those who had not harmed the Empress breathed a sigh of relief. On the contrary, those who had harbored ill intentions towards her still looked grim. Just as Hai Ling had expected, wherever it went, if it sensed something from the aura of a person, it would stop, shake its head, and frighten them. Otherwise, it would walk over and search the entire palace one by one.
Hai Ling, Xi Liang, and Nalan Mingzhu all stared at the ball, watching its movements. As it approached each person without making a sound, they couldn't help but feel disappointed. Could it be that the person who instructed Yun Jiang to administer the drug wasn't actually here, or that he wasn't even a member of the court? Just as they were thinking this, suddenly the ball's golden body leaped into the air and pounced on one of them with incredible speed and ferocity, as swift as yellow lightning.
Chapter 97 Feng Yao's Suicide [VIP Text Version]
At the banquet, Little Lion Ball Ball, like a fireball, leaped at a person and sat down on that person's lap in front of everyone in the hall. Then, it shook its head, opened its blood-red mouth, and roared, making everyone's ears ring. When the roar stopped, someone shouted "Ah!"
Everyone looked over and saw that the person being pinned down by the little golden lion was none other than Princess Fengyao, the princess of Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion. At this moment, the princess's face was pale, her eyes filled with fear and panic. She flailed her hands, trying to push the little beast off her, but Qiuqiu not only did not leave, but also stretched out its two paws to hold her down, its mouth wide open, its eyes gleaming with ferocity, staring at her intently, as if it wanted to bite her.
This damned woman, this wicked woman, it's because she smells of celestial silk that she tried to harm her master, so it won't let her off the hook. Thinking this, it shook its head again and moved even closer to Feng Yao, who screamed repeatedly.
"Get away! No, no!"
Inside the hall, many people gasped. It wasn't because the little lion was sitting on Feng Yao's back—although the lion looked fierce, it was still quite rational and didn't have the urge to bite or eat people—but because the Empress had said earlier that the little lion would find the culprit who burned down Qingqian Palace. Now that the little lion was sitting on Princess Zhaoyang's back, did that mean Princess Zhaoyang was the one who burned down Qingqian Palace? This was unbelievable. As everyone thought about it, they began to discuss it.
Hai Ling narrowed her eyes and coldly stared at Feng Yao, whose face was pale. Xi Liang, Nalan Mingzhu and the others glared at her angrily. Sure enough, this woman had done a good job. Now that they knew it was her, they would definitely not let her go. They all looked at Hai Ling, who was surrounded by the aura of a cold pool, and directly gave orders to Qiu Qiu.
"Come back, Ball Ball."
Upon receiving the command, Little Lion Ball immediately leaped into the air and landed at Hailin's feet, then obediently snuggled into Hailin's arms.
This scene left many people speechless, which made them even more fearful of the empress and dared not be careless.
Ignoring everyone else, Hai Ling directly ordered the guards outside the door: "Guards, arrest Princess Zhaoyang."
Outside the main hall, palace guards rushed in and pounced on Princess Feng Yao of Zhaoyang. Several of them grabbed Feng Yao with a single reach.
The hall erupted in commotion as everyone stared at Feng Yao. By this time, Feng Yao had recovered from the shock of the little lion Qiuqiu and screamed repeatedly, "Your Majesty, why are you arresting me? Why are you arresting me?"
After she finished speaking, she shouted again at Prince Zhaoyang, Ye Ranyi, who had been sitting next to her: "Your Highness, save me! I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything!"
Although Prince Zhaoyang Ye Ranyi disliked Feng Yao, she was, after all, his woman, and there was no reason for him not to say a word. So he stood up and looked at Hai Ling with deep eyes.