AUBTN -Chapter 357 Unable to Decide

The Duke of the Left, Lu Xiang, hurried over along with several senior ministers of the Inner Cabinet. All of them wore grave expressions.

“So this is the hospitality of Great Wei?”

Seeing more people enter, Itō suddenly turned around and roared in awkward Chinese.

He pulled off the white cloth covering the corpse.

Xiang Du lay motionless in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open in death. At his neck was a deep, bone-exposing slash, the flesh grotesquely curled outward—an appalling sight.

“Is this your so-called alliance? Your so-called land of righteousness and courtesy?” Itō’s hands trembled as he pointed fiercely at the straight, upright blade stuck beside the corpse.

On the hilt, the signature flying-fish pattern of the imperial Jinyiwei was clearly engraved.

“An eye for an eye!” Itō’s eyes were bloodshot, his saliva nearly spitting onto the front row of imperial guards.

“On the surface, you host us with banquets in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but in secret you send the Jinyiwei to assassinate our chief envoy in the dead of night! If Great Wei does not hand over the owner of this blade today, if you do not give our East Island nation an explanation, then His Majesty the Emperor will raise an army across the sea and bathe the Central Plains in blood!”

“Hand over the murderer! A life for a life!”

The Japanese warriors behind him stepped forward in unison, their swords instantly drawn.

“Impudence!”

Lu Yan strode forward, standing directly in front of his father.

“Don’t act rashly!” Lu Xiang grabbed his son’s sleeve.

Shen Jue stepped forward, his figure subtly blocking the group of ministers. His dark, sharp phoenix eyes swept over Itō before he spoke in an unexpectedly calm voice.

“Lord Lu, esteemed ministers, this place is soaked in blood. It is not a place to linger.”

“Since this matter involves the Jinyiwei, it should be handled entirely by myself and the Prince of Jing. Please return to your residences and await further news.”

Lu Xiang looked at the tense, knife-edge situation, then at his son radiating killing intent. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

He patted Shen Jue’s shoulder and said solemnly:

“Your Highness, this matter concerns national relations. A single misstep could lead to war between two countries and endless suffering. You must handle it with great care.”

“Rest assured, Lord Lu,” Shen Jue replied with a slight nod, his gaze deep and unreadable.

“We will not fail His Majesty’s trust.”

Lu Xiang nodded and turned to the other ministers.

“Let’s go. We will report this matter to His Majesty in full detail.”

Escorted by imperial guards, the ministers quickly left this dangerous place.

As they departed, the atmosphere grew tense once again.

Lu Yan’s cold gaze swept like a blade across Itō and the armed warriors. With a flick of his wrist, his embroidered spring saber was suddenly drawn.

“Drawing weapons before the Son of Heaven—are you trying to rebel?”

Under his oppressive aura, dozens of Japanese warriors instinctively took a step back.

Then Lu Yan’s eyes locked onto the murder weapon on the ground.

It was indeed a standard Jinyiwei embroidered spring saber—undeniably authentic.

“Prince of Jing? I heard you are in charge of the Jinyiwei!” Itō was not afraid at all. Instead, he stepped forward, pointing directly at Lu Yan’s nose with a cold laugh.

“What? Not only did your people kill our chief envoy, now you want to silence me too? Come on then—cut my throat! Let all the envoys of the world see how Great Wei breaks its promises!”

Shen Jue slowly stepped out from behind Lu Yan, his sleeves gathered leisurely.

His gaze lingered briefly on Itō’s agitated face, then subtly swept across the surroundings.

Outside the walls of the guesthouse and beneath the covered corridors, foreign envoys from various nations had gathered at some point.

Last night’s grand banquet had only just ended, and yet by this morning, such a shocking murder case had erupted. Naturally, all the envoys staying at the Sifang Guesthouse had been alerted.

At this moment, they were whispering among themselves, pointing toward the inner courtyard.

Su Hewan stood off to the side with a blank expression, her gaze quickly sweeping across the corpse and the surrounding environment.

【Where are the Northern Barbarian envoys? Xiang Du was a Northern Barbarian spy. Now that he’s dead, there’s no way they wouldn’t come watch the show.】

A faint smile flickered across Shen Jue’s eyes. This woman truly had a remarkably sharp mind.

Just then, a sudden round of applause echoed from the corner of the corridor.

The sound was especially clear in the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere of the courtyard.

The Northern Barbarian envoy, Tuoba Lie, dressed in a fur coat, pushed through the crowd and strode out with an arrogant swagger.

A brazen, gleeful sneer hung on his face.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a fine spectacle this is,” Tuoba Lie said as he walked up to Ito, sighing theatrically.

“Lord Ito, my condolences. I told you, people of the Central Plains are the most hypocritical. They speak of Confucian virtues—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust—but inside, all they carry are despicable schemes and knives in the back!”

Tuoba Lie turned to the gathered envoys and raised his voice deliberately.

“Honorable envoys, open your eyes and see clearly! Last night, the Great Wei Emperor was still toasting at the banquet, speaking of unity under heaven. Yet this morning, the head of the Eastern Island’s chief envoy was nearly severed! The weapon used wasn’t even concealed—this shows they don’t regard us foreign states at all!”

“Tuoba Lie! Do not slander us!” the Minister of the Honglu Temple shouted angrily, trembling with rage as he pointed at him.

“Slander?” Tuoba Lie sneered. “The evidence is right there on the ground. Are you blind?”

His gaze then turned provocatively toward Lu Yan.

“If Great Wei does not give everyone a satisfactory explanation, then today it is Lord Xiang Du who dies. Tomorrow, it could be me, Tuoba Lie—or the Moon Clan’s envoy group! Who would still dare stay in this Sifang Guesthouse?”

His words immediately stirred unrest among the watching envoys.

“That’s too brazen…”

“They even dared to kill the Eastern Island’s chief envoy inside the guesthouse?”

“What are they trying to do, Great Wei?”

“That knife really is from the Jinyiwei… no mistake about it…”

In an instant, waves of doubt, accusation, and condemnation surged like a tide.

The officials from the Honglu Temple and the Court of Judicature exchanged uneasy looks, cold sweat dripping down their backs.

“Prince Regent!” Minister Liu of the Honglu Temple suddenly dropped to his knees, his voice trembling.

“This matter concerns the fate of the nation! It may lead to a national disaster! I humbly request an immediate investigation into the Jinyiwei and strict punishment for those involved to calm the anger of the foreign states!”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Yu Qing was the first to flare up.

She absolutely could not allow anyone to bully Lu Yan!

But Lu Yan simply shook his head at her.

In a calm voice, he said, “My Jinyiwei act with integrity. If we were to kill someone, why would we leave the weapon behind? This is clearly a frame-up!”

“Frame-up?” Tuoba Lie pressed forward step by step. “Without your order, who else could use the Jinyiwei’s blade to frame someone?”

Ito then suddenly drew half of his samurai sword, roaring hysterically, “Hand over the murderer! Otherwise, it means war!”

“War! War!” the warriors behind him shouted in unison, their voices shaking the skies.

The entire guesthouse felt like a bowstring pulled to its limit—one final force, and it would snap completely.

Even Shen Jue was unable to make a decision at this moment.