novelraw Chapter 697 The Messenger
Chapter 697 The Messenger
Chapter 697 The Messenger
Having received Lan Wang's order, Hong Liu'er dared not delay in the slightest and hurriedly ran out, seemingly intending to bring the messenger back to Lan Wang as quickly as possible to report back.
After Hong Liu'er left, Lan Wang temporarily put the pill back into the wooden box and continued drinking and making merry with the others. It seemed that he didn't particularly want to pay attention to Zhu Yu, this clueless "youngster," until the miraculous effects of the pill were confirmed.
Zhu Yu and the others then retreated to the courtyard, found an empty seat, and sat down, pretending to listen to music and eat, acting as if they were not outsiders.
Fortunately, no more dancers sprinkling flower dew appeared during this process.
About half an hour later, Hong Liu'er finally returned, accompanied by a man dressed in a narrow-sleeved shirt. He looked unremarkable, but once inside the Lan Prince's mansion, he was completely at ease and showed no surprise at the extravagance of the mansion, as if he were someone who had seen the world.
When Lan Wang saw Hong Liu'er returning with her men from afar, he calmly opened the wooden box, took out the pill, crushed it with his fingertips, and dropped it into a jade cup on the table.
The messenger brought back by Hong Liu'er was very respectful when he met Prince Lan. He walked to the front of the hall and bowed to Prince Lan, saying, "This humble subject greets Your Highness."
"Please rise quickly, no need to be so polite." Prince Lan smiled kindly, raised his hand to gesture for him to rise, and had a servant offer him a seat in the hall. "You've traveled a long way to deliver this message, it must have been very tiring for you."
"To eat the people's food and do their duty is what a commoner should do." The messenger was polite and respectful, and his manners were more than adequate, but there was an inexplicable sense of estrangement in him, as if he didn't really care about the vassal king in front of him.
Lan Wang seemed completely oblivious to all this, and chuckled: "In any case, since you've come all the way to the vicinity of my capital, Lan Di, I absolutely cannot fail to show you the most basic hospitality."
It just so happens that I am hosting a banquet for guests at my residence today, so I invite the messenger to come and join me for a few drinks to ease my fatigue.
After you have eaten and drunk your fill, please stay at my residence. Afterwards, I will give you my reply, and you can then proceed on your journey back.
Upon hearing this, the messenger did not refuse. He thanked the king and, without needing the king to invite him, began to eat the food in front of him.
Lan Wang watched coldly for a while, then chuckled and beckoned to the maid beside him: "The messenger must be tired from his journey. Come, use my jade cup to pour him a cup of wine to moisten his throat."
As he spoke, he gently tapped the jade cup twice with the tips of his withered fingernails.
The maidservant quickly picked up the wine pot from Prince Lan's own desk, slowly poured wine into the jade cup, and then respectfully presented it to the messenger.
Zhu Yu watched this scene from the courtyard and inexplicably felt like laughing.
People belonging to the same group do indeed have their own habitual behavioral patterns, and once these habits are formed, they will often be repeated in each other's behavior, and they themselves are often unaware of it because they are so used to it.
From the moment the imposter Prince Lan crushed the pills and tossed them into his jade cup, to now having his maid pour wine from his own cup and present it to the messenger, this whole sequence of actions seemed strangely familiar to Zhu Yu. Wasn't it exactly the same act as at her wedding banquet with Lu Qing—just the same old trick in a different guise?
Whether it's using one's own jade cup and wine to lull the other party into a false sense of security and drink it down, or at Lu Qing's wedding banquet, the guard beside Lu Zhang secretly placed poison in the wine served to Lu Zhang and Lu Zhang's own jade cup to frame him, the seemingly different actions are actually based on the same underlying logic.
Before Zhu Yu could finish his thought, the cup of wine was already placed in front of the messenger. The messenger, without suspicion, politely thanked him, picked up the jade cup, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in one gulp.
Lan Wang remained silent, casually poking at the dishes in front of him with his chopsticks, but his eyes were fixed on the messenger who had been drinking.
The man initially showed no unusual behavior, continuing to eat and drink as if he didn't care much about his surroundings.
However, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, the man's eating slowed down.
This slowness isn't the kind of slowness that comes from wanting to stop eating after you're full, but rather a noticeable sluggishness in your movements.
Lan Wang noticed this change, and suddenly asked the man, "Was it you who delivered the message last time? Was it also delivered to the outskirts of my capital?"
The messenger slowly turned his head to look at King Lan. Although his eyes were looking straight at him, it seemed as if his gaze was somewhat unfocused.
“Last time… it was me, and also… when I came to this capital city… outside…” When he spoke, his tone and voice were noticeably different from before, as if he were talking in his sleep. His speech was slow and somewhat indistinct.
"Didn't they always wait at the pass in the past? Why have they been escorted all the way to the outside of the capital these past few times?" Lan Wang asked again.
"My lord said... when delivering the letter, you should... also check on the situation in Lan Kingdom... what's going on now..." Xin looked at the King of Lan with a blank, unfocused gaze, answering slowly but obediently, "My lord said... if I don't see it with my own eyes... I'm afraid the letter won't tell the truth..."
Upon hearing this, the King of Lan's expression changed slightly, looking rather displeased, and he let out a cold snort.
He glanced at Zhu Yu and Lu Qing, seemingly trusting Zhu Yu's earlier words more: "Oh? In that case, you've been delivering messages to the outskirts of the capital these past few times. Have you gone back to report anything truthfully to your master?"
"I am utterly loyal to my master... I have no selfish motives... I have reported everything I have seen and heard truthfully..." the messenger mumbled, "I told my master... everything in Lan is normal... there are no unusual phenomena, everything is under control... so my master can rest assured..."
Lan Wang did not immediately ask anything more. His gaze towards the messenger became somewhat complicated. The words "Everything is normal, there are no anomalies, and everything is under control" seemed to have made his emotions somewhat impure. He felt somewhat relieved, but also had a strange unease.
"Then does your master... have any new plans that he hasn't mentioned to me?" He thought for a moment and then asked.