Chapter 141

  Murong Feng forced a smile, but Murong Qingliang gave her an extremely unpleasant feeling. No matter what the reason was, whether it was time or beauty in front of him, how could he be so forgetful of his wife who had gone through thick and thin with him? Did he really deserve the wife lying on the ground?

  Wasn't he extremely grieved when Lady Murong passed away?

  The emperor sat beside his mother, smiling and exchanging pleasantries.

  Murong Qingliang stepped forward and toasted with Chun Tao, holding the cup of wine and smiling at the Empress Dowager: "Qingliang toasts the Empress Dowager a cup, wishing her longevity and boundless prosperity."

  Then, with great respect, he personally poured a cup of wine for the Empress Dowager. The small wine jug was placed in Chun Tao's hand, and although it was only a small jug of wine, Chun Tao held it as if she were holding a bucket of wine, trembling slightly, perhaps due to her pregnancy.

  "Your Majesty, Chun Tao is pregnant and will soon give birth. Look, she's even clumsy with a wine jug now." Murong Qingliang looked at Chun Tao beside him with affection and said softly, "Please don't mind, Your Majesty."

  The empress smiled slightly, picked up the wine in front of her and said: "Thank you, Prime Minister. I also hope you can have a happy old age. People, sometimes really should learn to be true to themselves, don't wrong yourself."

  Murong Qingliang smiled and said: "This wine was specially brought from a foreign country by Qingliang, it tastes good, Empress Dowager can drink a few more cups."

  "Good." The empress dowager smiled and said, the wine entered her mouth, indeed soft and mellow, not spicy, with a hint of sweetness, "Indeed it's not bad, rarely does the prime minister take such pains, I thank you here."

  "It's good as long as the Empress Dowager likes it." Murong Qingliang replied respectfully, "Spring Peach, put the wine jug in front of the Empress Dowager. This wine was specially brewed by Qingliang for the Empress Dowager with great effort. If it can suit the Empress Dowager's taste, Qingliang is truly relieved."

  Murong Feng's unease grew heavier, and Murong Qinglang recovered so well that there was no sign of sadness on his face. It seemed... she felt a little uneasy in her heart, but couldn't quite put her finger on the reason why.

  The routine was the same as before, roughly every time the Empress Dowager's birthday was spent in this way, with more and more people in front of her, laughing and talking, trying their best to show off themselves.

  Murong Feng vaguely felt a little dizzy, as if he was tired, couldn't say why, just felt the chaos in his heart getting heavier and heavier, feeling restless.

  She looked at Sima Rui, who was chatting with Sima Minglang, his expression normal.

  Am I being too paranoid?

  The rain outside has been falling continuously. It's making Mu Rong Feng's heart chaotic, a mess that can't be described. She's holding her wine cup, but doesn't feel like taking a sip at all. The fragrant wine sent by Mu Rong Qing Liang is right in front of her nose, yet it can't arouse any desire in her to take a taste.

  No matter what she saw on TV or in books, or her own experiences over this period of time, they all told her that the days in the palace couldn't be so peaceful and calm. The ancient poem also said "the mountain rain is coming, the wind is full of towers", now the peace makes her suspicious. She had seen Murong Qingliang's sorrow when Mrs. Murong died, he suddenly became several years older, and even vowed to avenge, otherwise it would be difficult to calm down the resentment in his heart, why was he so calm now?!

  "Simarui, I have an uneasy feeling." Murong Feng said softly to Sima Rui, unable to conceal the panic. Women are intuitive animals, and her feelings have always been accurate. She always felt that behind Murong Qing's calm back was absolute unrest.

  Simarui gently patted Murong Feng's back and said faintly, "It's okay."

  Suddenly, a loud thunderclap rang out, as if it had exploded in the room, startling everyone and bringing them to a halt.

  The emperor smiled and said: "This thunder is really loud, it even scared me. Come on, everyone, let's continue drinking. Xue Er, come here, your father has gone to great lengths, where did he get such good wine?"

  "Yes, Murong Qingliang indeed spent a lot of thought and effort, taking half a year's time to prepare these fine wines for the Empress Dowager's birthday." Murong Qingliang suddenly said with a smile, a cold and eerie smile that sent chills down one's spine, a smile that was tinged with sadness, resentment, and a hint of sinister intent.

  The emperor was taken aback and didn't understand. "Prime Minister, why are you making such an expression?"

  "Hmph! ——" Murong Qingliang's gloomy smile seemed to have been waiting for this moment, and he said, "Your Majesty, I've waited far too long for this moment. Now, I'm going to savor it and see how the emperor, who has always been above everyone else, will respond to today's situation."

  "Father, what's wrong?" Murong Xuan asked in confusion.

  "Hmph, you still have the face to ask, now you are still the daughter-in-law of this dog emperor, after your mother's death, you can still hold hands with the son of this dog emperor who caused your mother's death?! Don't you know that Sima Zhe has long been secretly sleeping with Hongyu, and the husband you serve wholeheartedly is embracing his brother's woman every night? This is the precious crown prince of the dog emperor, the future Emperor of the Great Xing Dynasty! Haha, what a joke!" Murong Qingliang laughed loudly towards the sky, her heart clearing up.

  "Father! ——" Mu Rong Qian's face changed, she only called out once and couldn't say another word. Father must have planned this for a long time, but what exactly did he do tonight that made him dare to speak so boldly?!

  "Everyone, please sit quietly. This fine wine has cost me a lot of thought, half a year's time, and I've been brewing it in front of you all." Murong Qingliang smiled, but his face was full of tears, with a worn-out expression. "This wine contains poison, a tasteless poison that only exists in Wumeng country, and there is no antidote. Haha, Your Majesty, you probably haven't noticed that Concubine Li isn't here? If she were here, she might have detected something, but even if she were here, she wouldn't have discovered it. This was specially researched by the Prime Minister of Wumeng country for me. I promised him that he could sit on the throne of Wumeng country, and now he's probably already sitting on the throne."

  "What did you just say?" The emperor's face changed color, still gritting his teeth as he asked.

  "Now, Princess Lihua is accompanying her own brother. Do you think the prince of Wumeng came here to choose a wife by chance? No, it was intentional, arranged by the prime minister of Wumeng to let him come to the Great Xing Dynasty. The king of Wumeng has fallen ill, and now that the prince is here, there is no one in the palace, so the prime minister can take advantage of this opportunity to seize power. Haha, it's just a small scheme, but it fooled the prime minister into willingly helping me create such a wonderful poison." Murong Qingliang said with a smug expression, "However, now they are difficult to deal with, the prince of Wumeng was poisoned by the prime minister when he arrived, and now he must be having an attack. Princess Lihua will be busy taking care of him, I'm afraid she won't have time for you."

  "What poison have you put in the wine?" Sima Minglang frowned and asked.