Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 438 Negotiating a Deal

Although the Prince of Dongping had always been strong and healthy, he was old after all. This cup of poisoned wine almost took his life.

Fortunately, Doctor He from the Imperial Hospital still had the antidote he had used back then, but he was still in and out of a coma for a full ten days.

It was not until the noon of the tenth day that the palace servants coming and going outside finally woke up the Prince of Dongping completely with a sentence: "This means that all the four kings and eight dukes have been copied."

He stood up, drank the porridge, took the medicine, and then went to see Emperor Zhaoming.

Prince Duncheng came over in person and told him clearly: "The deadly medicine was found in a paper bag on King Xi's body, but it was empty."

The King of East was stunned.

Then Prince Duncheng told him: "The North Palace has been raided, the West Palace has been sealed, and now only the East Palace and the South Palace are still operating as usual.

"The Nan'an King's family is very discerning. Although the storm has not yet arrived, the whole family has closed the door and no one is coming in or out. Even the servants' quarters in the back alley are dead silent."

The East King slumped his shoulders and smiled bitterly: "Old Huo's family are all honest people, and they have been the best to me in the past years.

"First, depose the crown prince... At that time, the Jin family wanted to drag the Shui family and Old Huo to compete with me. But I never thought that they could be so crazy."

Dun Cheng then told him: "Your Majesty may want to let the Western King confront you face to face before deciding whether you two should go or stay."

"Okay. Come on. I can do it now." King Dong was very calm.

But Duncheng was out for a long time, but he only sent back a message: "Wait a little longer."

At first, the King of East could still take his medicine and eat his meals peacefully, but as the sun set and the night grew late, the emperor still had no successor, and Dun Cheng never showed up again, the King of East began to get anxious.

The eunuchs who "served" him used excuses such as "Your Majesty is busy", "Every family is in turmoil", and "Many people in the palace are clamoring for mercy" to delay.

The King of the East finally made it to the fourth watch, when suddenly someone came to say, "Your Majesty has accompanied the Queen Mother, the Crown Princess, the Imperial Concubine, and the Second Prince to catch up with the Crown Prince and the Emperor, and go to the temporary palace to celebrate the Lantern Festival!"

Everyone just marveled:

"What on earth did those guys who were confiscated do to disgust the Emperor and His Majesty so much that they didn't even want to stay in the capital?"

"Not necessarily. Didn't you bring the imperial concubine with you? You didn't even bring the queen!"

"If they all leave, who will be left in the capital? Of course, the Empress and the third, fourth, and seventh princes will rule the country! We can't let the Imperial Concubine rule the country, right? She is the daughter of a traitor!"

"The Empress can only guard the palace, but the imperial court still needs the princes and important officials of the imperial family to guard the country!"

"Prince Yu is locked up, Prince Zhongshun is also under house arrest, who else is left in the royal family? Prince Dun?!"

King Dong lay quietly on the bed, but he listened to the discussions outside.

The news slowly turned around in his mind, and the King of the East's expression gradually became solemn. He stood up and immediately urged them to find Prince Duncheng, and then asserted:

"Your Majesty will definitely not hand over the affairs of state to the Queen. Who is in charge now? Invite them here immediately! I have something important to discuss with you!"

After waiting anxiously for half an hour, Lin Daiyu finally arrived at the courtyard where he lived with Feng Tang, Situ Sheng, Tao Han and Chu Kai in a car.

Although the courtyard is small, it has everything. The East King and the West King live in the east and west rooms of the main house, the side rooms are used to boil medicine, and the imperial physicians and eunuchs who "look after" them temporarily live in the two side rooms.

Now that Lin Daiyu and her group came in, the eunuchs and the imperial physician were a little confused. Situ Sheng stepped forward to introduce the people, and the imperial physician and the eunuchs were curious and wanted to see Lin Daiyu's appearance clearly, but they were glared away by Chu Qian.

After entering the main house, Situ Sheng pointed to the east and said, "The East King is this way." He then raised his chin toward the west and said, "The West King is over there."

Daiyu nodded: "Please ask the two princes to come out."

He stood in front of the desk, turned around and faced the door.

The door curtains on both sides were opened, and the tall and strong East King with white hair and beard, and the West King with flickering eyes and pretending to be weak, walked out, one quickly and the other slowly.

Tao Han and Chu Kui stood behind Daiyu on either side. Feng Tang ignored the two kings' gazes and stood at the door, holding the long sword at his waist with a blank expression.

Only Situ Sheng hid in the ear room, rested and listened to the excitement.

Seeing the two princes passing Daiyu by with disdain, Tao Han frowned and snorted, "Your Majesty has given your order. Prince Mu Shi of Dongping and Prince Jin Qi of Xining, kneel and listen!"

Kneel and listen?

The two kings' brows were furrowed.

But the Eastern King was much more efficient. He turned to Daiyu, lifted his robe and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, Mu Shi is here!"

The Western King then slowly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Jin Qi."

Daiyu did not look at them either, but stared straight ahead, and began to speak in a leisurely voice: "The Emperor has ordered that during my northern hunting trip, the affairs concerning you two shall be entrusted to Princess Zhaoqing.

“Once this matter is settled, Mu Qing must discuss all actions with Zhao Qing and garrison the capital until I return.

"Appreciate this."

The King of the West was stunned.

The King of the East showed a trace of relief, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I accept your order and thank you."

Daiyu nodded slightly and held out her hand for Prince Dong to stand up: "Is Prince Mu all right?"

"All the remaining poison in this old minister is gone, and his skills are as good as yesterday!" As he said this, the King of East shook his clenched fist.

King Xi's brows jumped, he cried out "ouch", closed his eyes and fell down, pretending to faint.

No one helped him.

Daiyu just looked down at his clownish behavior and asked coldly:

"Who gave you the idea to start with my family and lure the Rong family onto your pirate ship?"

The King of the West lay motionless on the ground.

The East King and Feng Tang looked at the West King lying on the ground like a pile of mud, and they both felt incredible, followed by contempt.

The two of them sneered at the same time.

Tao Han looked at the gray-haired fat man in his fifties with disgust, then turned to look at Chu Qian: "It's quite cold today."

Chu Qian understood Tao Han's intention immediately and replied in a serious tone: "It will probably snow again. The knees of the elderly will suffer."

As he spoke, he walked up to the King of the West, raised one foot, and was about to step on the King of the West's knee!

King Xi opened his eyes and climbed up by himself as if nothing had happened.

Chu Qian also retreated behind Daiyu without saying a word.

Daiyu looked at him with admiration.

As expected, as someone who came from Gongzhengsi, he is professional in his work.

"These past few days, I've heard the palace servants chatting around, and it seems like it's not just His Majesty who's not in the palace, right?

"The Grand Master, the Queen Mother, and the Crown Prince, should all be out together, right?"

The Western King spoke directly to the point, "There is no one in the palace who dares to make decisions about me.

“Besides, Sister Lin, you have now become the so-called Princess Zhaoqing, and you must be wholeheartedly clinging to the Queen Mother and the Emperor.

"How about you let me go back to the palace and wait for His Majesty to come back to the capital to deal with me? Then I will tell you everything that happened over the years, one by one. How about that?"

Daiyu looked at him coldly.

The Western King smiled at her sinisterly: "Don't you want to know about your parents' revenge? Don't you want to know how your younger brother died?"

Everyone began to look at him with disgust and hatred.

Daiyu opened her red lips and said: