AUBTN -Chapter 120 Envoys from Western Fan

One month later.

Four people were gathered around a table… playing mahjong.

“Pung! I win! Pure suit!”

Yu Qing excitedly pushed her tiles forward and immediately stretched out her hand for the money. “Pay up, pay up! Lu Yan, hurry and help me collect!”

Lu Yan sat beside her peeling grapes. Hearing that, he smiled indulgently and reached out to snatch the money from Shen Jue’s hand.

“Hand it over.”

Shen Jue leaned lazily against his chair. The chips in front of him had already been completely wiped out.

Yet he wasn’t flustered at all. Instead, he simply turned his head to look at Su Hewan beside him.

“Wanwan, our family has no money left.”

His tone was completely justified, even carrying a hint of coquettishness.

Su Hewan sighed helplessly and took silver out of her purse to pay his debt for him.

“Lord Shen, have you used all your calculating ability on scheming against people’s hearts? You’re losing this badly at mahjong.”

Taking the opportunity, Shen Jue held her hand and kissed it, his eyes filled with a tenderness that could not melt away.

“Scheming against people’s hearts is too tiring. In the future, leave that kind of brain-draining work to Lord Lu. As for me, I just want to live off my wife now.”

Su Hewan glared at him with a flushed face, but her heart was as sweet as honey.

The Empress Dowager’s thousand-year birthday celebration had arrived.

As scheduled, the delegation from Western Fan arrived.

This was not merely a birthday congratulation—it was also the first formal confrontation between Great Wei and Western Fan since the new emperor’s ascension.

Although the young emperor Zhao Chen was still young, after experiencing the upheaval at the Temple of Heaven, there was already a hint of the calmness of a young ruler between his brows. He ordered a banquet to be held in Baohe Hall to welcome the envoys who had traveled from afar.

Inside the grand hall, songs and dances flourished, and the music of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air.

Yet beneath it all flowed a subtle undercurrent.

Because of their previous merit in saving the emperor, Su Hewan and Yu Qing were granted special permission to sit at a side table.

Meanwhile, Shen Jue and Lu Yan stood to the left and right beneath the young emperor. One in red and one in black—the two figures were like fierce guardians, suppressing all the demons and monsters in the hall.

“Announce—the envoys from Western Fan request an audience!”

As the eunuch’s shrill voice rang out, a group of people stepped into the hall.

Walking at the front was a burly man built like a bear. His face was covered in a thick beard, his eyes fierce, and every step he took seemed to make the ground tremble. This was the eldest prince of Western Fan—Tuoba Lie.

Following closely behind was a pale, thin young man. After every two steps he would cough lightly, as if a gust of wind could knock him over. This was the third prince of Western Fan—Tuoba Yun.

【Seriously? These character designs are way too stereotypical.】

Yu Qing peeled peanuts while internally complaining nonstop.

Hearing her thoughts, the corner of Lu Yan’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

He raised his wine cup to conceal the smile in his eyes, while his gaze sharply swept across the members of the delegation.

“Tuoba Lie of Western Fan greets the Emperor of Great Wei!”

The eldest prince didn’t even bother to bow. He merely clasped his hands casually, his voice booming like thunder.

“My royal father heard that Great Wei’s new emperor is still young, so he specially sent me to take a look. If Great Wei has no capable men, the iron cavalry of Western Fan would be happy to help Your Majesty guard this realm!”

The moment these words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

“Outrageous!” Prime Minister Lu Zhixing slammed the table and stood up.

But Shen Jue merely slowly stroked the jade thumb ring on his finger without even lifting his eyelids. His voice was soft, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness.

“Your Highness has traveled a long way. Perhaps you haven’t fully woken up yet? Our prison happens to have several empty private rooms. If the prince finds this hall too noisy, I wouldn’t mind inviting you there for some peace and quiet.”

Tuoba Lie’s expression changed as he was about to flare up in anger.

But behind him, the third prince Tuoba Yun suddenly began coughing violently.

“Cough… cough… elder brother… you must not be rude…”

Tuoba Yun’s face turned pale. Trembling, he performed a proper kneeling salute. “Your Majesty of Great Wei, please forgive us. My elder brother is straightforward by nature. If he has offended Your Majesty, Tuoba Yun is willing to accept punishment on his behalf.”

The young emperor, Zhao Chen, replied calmly, “Third Prince, you speak too seriously. A seat for the prince.”

Halfway through the banquet, the atmosphere turned strange and tense.

Taking advantage of the moment while offering a toast, Su Hewan leaned close to Yu Qing’s ear. “Did you notice?”

Yu Qing blinked and lowered her voice. “That First Prince is a textbook manic type. When the dancers were performing just now, he squeezed his wine cup until it deformed. His eyes were full of killing intent. Someone like him explodes at the slightest provocation. But that Third Prince…”

“Looks frail, yet every step he takes is digging a pit for his elder brother,” Su Hewan said calmly.

“In history, whenever brothers put on a show of harmony like this, it usually ends with blood flowing like rivers.”

On the other side, Shen Jue and Lu Yan were also speaking quietly.

“The old king of Xifan is gravely ill. These two came to fight for the right to inherit the throne,” Lu Yan said in a low voice.

“Tuoba Lie commands a large army. Brave but brainless—nothing to worry about. But this Tuoba Yun…”

“The dogs that bite rarely bark,” Shen Jue said as he took a sip of wine.

“That kneel just now not only made Tuoba Lie look arrogant and domineering, it also won the sympathy of the entire court. Compared to his useless elder brother, his methods are far more sophisticated.”

Lu Yan frowned. “Looks like the Jinyiwei will have to keep a close watch these next few days.”

“Watching won’t help,” Shen Jue said with a soft chuckle. His gaze fell on Su Hewan, who was currently peeling shrimp for Yu Qing, and his eyes instantly softened. “Some things can’t be prevented.”

As it turned out, Shen Jue’s words became a prophecy.

Early the next morning, an autumn rain washed the dust from the capital—but it could not wash away the spreading smell of blood in the diplomatic residence.

“Report—! Something terrible has happened!”

A young eunuch stumbled into the imperial study, his face deathly pale. “Your Majesty! The First Prince of Xifan… he… he’s dead in the residence!”

“What?”

The young emperor was shocked.

A Xifan envoy dying in the capital of Great Wei was a major diplomatic taboo between two nations!

If the matter were mishandled, war could break out at the border at any moment.

Half an hour later, the residence was completely surrounded by the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot.

The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood.

Tuoba Lie had died in his own bedroom. His eyes were wide open, unwilling to close even in death. But the most shocking sight was the knife embedded squarely in his chest.

It was a Xiuchun saber.

The standard weapon used by the imperial guards and the Jinyiwei of Great Wei.

“What… what is going on?” The prime minister, who arrived shortly afterward, nearly fainted at the sight.

“This blade… this blade belongs to the imperial guards?”

Everyone present turned their gaze toward Lu Yan.

As the Commander of the Jinyiwei—and also someone who commanded part of the imperial guard—the appearance of this blade was equivalent to throwing the blame directly onto his head.

Lu Yan’s face turned ashen. He strode forward and checked the serial number on the hilt, then let out a cold laugh.

“What a clever trick. This is indeed an imperial guard blade—but it belongs to the batch reported missing from the armory a few days ago.”

“Lord Lu, now is not the time for explanations,” Shen Jue said as he walked in from outside.

He glanced at the corpse on the ground and covered his nose with a handkerchief in disgust.

“His Majesty’s verbal decree: Shen Jue and Lu Yan are to jointly investigate this case. Within three days, you must give Xifan an explanation.”

After speaking, Shen Jue turned and looked at the light green figure behind him, the corner of his lips curling into a teasing smile.

“Come on, Wanwan. Time for you to take the stage.”

Carrying her medical kit, Su Hewan walked over and crouched beside the corpse.