mynovelweb Chapter 376
Chapter 376
Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of the Xi brothers sitting opposite them from the corner of his eye. They were also covertly observing Yue Fuguang.Yue Fuguang ignored the various burning and probing hidden gazes. Her peripheral vision lightly swept over their pale faces. With a slight purse of her lips, she thought: The surround sound produced by the system is truly worth having!
Caring little for whether they lived or died, she continued her performance. "Little Zhu, these people are quite pitiful too. The two brothers from Beili are being schemed against by their own biological father, used as targets to protect his most beloved son and attract all the open and hidden attacks from the court and beyond.
"As for the two from Xiqiang, one has an unknown father, and the other is being plotted against by his own brother while pretending to be a love-struck fool.
"Gan Tang is even more pitiful. Her father favored a concubine, and the causes of her mother's and brother's deaths remain unknown. Gan Sheng picked up the throne for cheap, yet he constantly guards against her, the legitimate princess.
"And Lan Xuan'er seems the most likely to inherit the throne as the Empress of Nanzhao, but unfortunately, she doesn't know that her second sister and third brother are currently more valued by their Empress mother. It is only a matter of time before she is replaced."
The individuals mentioned naturally matched themselves to her words. Their faces changed colors as vividly as the autumn scenery in the forest she had seen today.
Especially Bei Yue and Gan Tang; they knew their own situations very well, and Yue Fuguang was absolutely right.
Particularly Gan Tang, who had never given up investigating the truth behind the deaths of her mother, the Empress, and her brother.
However, years had passed, and she had yet to find much useful information. Since Yue Fuguang said this, did she know something?
[Master, that Gan Chengjiang is just like Emperor Mingxi's father. They both wanted to depose the Crown Prince and support the son of their favored concubine to take the throne.
However, the late emperor did not have Gan Chengjiang's luck. He failed, whereas Gan Chengjiang not only succeeded but also did so without arousing the suspicion of his court officials.
Just look at Gan Tang. She definitely never suspected that her own royal father was one of the true culprits who murdered her mother and brother!]
Having these old matters brought up multiple times, Emperor Mingxi was already able to treat them with indifference, especially since he was the victor. A secret sense of pride even rose in his heart.
He calmly ignored the covert, evaluating glance Gan Tang shot his way.
It was also this glance that made the monarch and his subjects even more certain that the members of the diplomatic mission could indeed hear the inner thoughts of the Junior Preceptor.
Emperor Mingxi concealed the dark gleam that flashed through his eyes. When he looked up again, his expression was entirely warm and genial.
"One of them? Were there others involved?"
Hidden beneath the table, Gan Tang's distinctively knuckled hand turned faintly white from clenching her fist too tightly.
She forcefully suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and the tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes. With trembling hands, she gripped her wine cup and downed it in one gulp.
Cough, cough, cough!
She seemed to have choked on the wine, coughing incessantly, her eyes turning red from the exertion.
"Sister Tang, drink slowly." Lan Xuan'er used the pretext of patting her back to block most of the probing gazes with her own body.
[Does Master remember Little Zhu telling you that Gan Chengjiang's death was related to the Changsheng Sect?]
"What, does this have something to do with the deaths of Gan Tang's mother and brother?"
[In his early years, Gan Chengjiang firmly believed in the Changsheng Sect. Nanyue is rich in herbs, and some within the Changsheng Sect were highly skilled in medicine. They achieved great fame for a time by healing the sick and saving lives.
Because of this, they gained Gan Chengjiang's trust and were appointed to search for immortal herbs and refine immortal elixirs.
The pills refined by the Changsheng Sect of Nanyue mostly used medicinal herbs, which was different from the heavy metal-laden pills Emperor Mingxi took later on.
The medicine he took was too nourishing. Eating it year after year, as his body grew old and weak, unable to handle such strong tonics, he ended up being nourished to death!]
"Didn't you say the Changsheng Sect was highly skilled in medicine? Could they not know about Gan Chengjiang's condition? Were they doing it on purpose?"
[Because the Changsheng Sect, or rather Panshan, had already used Gan Chengjiang to achieve their goal of replacing the Crown Prince, it naturally didn't matter to them whether he lived or died.]
"Panshan planned early on to let Gan Sheng take the throne, and then ally with Beili and Xiqiang to annex Dayan? So the upcoming three hundred years of chaos are also part of Panshan's plan?"
[Great chaos in the world and frequent dynastic changes make it easier for Panshan to support the people they favor to take power.
Master, I only told you that after Dayan was divided by the three nations, due to their weak control over Dayan's territory and resistance from local forces, their power contracted within a few years due to internal political instability. This led to the emergence of temporary regimes like Great Liang, Great Wei, and Great Zhou.
In fact, apart from the rise of Dongyi, the other nations—Beili, Xiqiang, Nanyue, and Nanzhao—were also plagued by constant internal strife. Xiqiang and Beili didn't last many years before they followed Dayan into ruin.
Over the course of three hundred years, Nanzhao was annexed several times by the Nanyue dynasty, which saw frequent changes in rulers.
Although that Gan Tang later became the Emperor, she was also the last Emperor of Nanyue, assassinated in her sleep.
Her son fled and managed to establish a resistance force, but two years later, he was betrayed, defeated in battle, captured, and tortured to death.]
"Hiss! Sounds like hardly anyone in this room has a good end!"
[Exactly! Mortals only have a short lifespan of a few decades, yet they exhaust themselves scheming and deceiving for fame and fortune, only to meet terrible ends. I don't know what they're after!]
"After who dies the most miserably?"
[Speaking of miserable, Bei Yue might still be able to enjoy a brief period of glory under Bei Ji's deceptive flattery. That fool Bei Ye actually thinks Chancellor Wei will support him.
In reality, it's all an illusion used to confuse him and the court officials. They have joined forces with Bei Ji, openly repairing the gallery roads while secretly marching to Chencang.
Once Bei Yue falls, it will soon be Bei Ye's turn. The old emperor is letting him replace Bei Yue as the new target, all so his eighth son can smoothly inherit the throne.]
"Tsk tsk tsk, how absurd! They are all his father's sons, but the difference between who he loves and who he doesn't is way too obvious!"
[Just as absurd as Bei Ji is Xi Yan. Xi Yan isn't like Bei Ji, who is entirely focused on supporting the son of his favored concubine to take the throne.
He treats all his sons like Gu bugs, raising them to fight each other. He actually got this inspiration from Nanzhao.]
"Raising Gu? Then Xi Yuanshan and Xi Ling must have it really rough!"
Swept by Yue Fuguang's faint gaze, Xi Ling and Xi Yuanshan felt an icy chill in their hearts. A bone-piercing coldness engulfed their bodies, nearly freezing their very minds.
Unlike Xi Yuanshan, who was struck by the revelation that he was being schemed against and raised like a Gu bug by his own father, Xi Ling was more concerned about the phrase "unknown father"!
Wasn't his father Xi Yan? How could his father be unknown!
Thinking of the endless rumors surrounding the mystery of his birth mother since he could remember, Xi Ling lowered his head, concealing the cold gleam in his eyes.
Not only was his mother unknown, but his supposed biological father might also be fake. Could Xi Yuanshan truly be his cousin?
It wasn't that Xi Ling was completely oblivious in his heart, but he dared not dwell on it. He constantly warned himself that the matter of the heavenly voice had yet to be verified, so what it said could not be entirely trusted.
Therefore, when Xi Yuanshan looked over, he deliberately raised his wine cup and offered a distant toast to Xie Zhiyan.
Seeing Xi Ling's obvious evasion, Xi Yuanshan said no more. In truth, like Xi Ling and the others, he still did not fully believe in the heavenly voice.
Hearing the massive gossip regarding the royal families of various countries, the diplomatic mission was shrouded in gloom, while the monarch and officials of Dayan were filled with just as much joy.
They put into practice Emperor Mingxi's words before the banquet began: "Today's gathering is all about enjoyment. Everyone, please make yourselves comfortable and do not be bound by formalities."