Gao Zimu had no way of guessing what was on his mind. He knew that his return was bound to bring a storm, but he hadn't expected him to be so impatient.
Seeing that he could not refuse, he decided he wanted to witness the other party's strength. He lowered his head and said respectfully, "Your subject obeys."
The Emperor, seeing him take the bait so easily, couldn't help but feel proud. He made a gesture of invitation and led him to the square in front of the main hall. He clapped his hands three times, and immediately a hundred warriors rushed out from all directions, surrounding him.
Looking at their ferocious expressions, he knew that things were not as simple as the Emperor had described. Today, it was either he died or they died. Su Dan Novel Network.
After a stalemate for a long time, no one knew who lost patience first and charged at Gao Zimu with all his might. Gao Zimu stood still. When the opponent reached him, he quickly and accurately grabbed his wrist and kicked his knee. The opponent immediately fell face down and couldn't move for a long time.
The crowd exchanged glances and charged at him simultaneously with great tacit understanding. The unbelievable happened. Today, they had their eyes opened wide. They had never seen anyone punch so fast. They only saw afterimages and were given little time to think. When they engaged with him, they realized how powerful he was. Soon, the ground was littered with people, all writhing in pain and unable to get up. Some even vomited several mouthfuls of blood, clearly needing a long period of recuperation.
In a place where no one noticed, the Emperor's face turned green. He had sent them to the battlefield to temper them and had them fight against the Imperial Guards for years. To his surprise, they were no match for him. Had his plan failed today? He was extremely unwilling but powerless.
"It seems that Your Majesty's men are often lazy and need more training. If they can't even defeat your subject, how can they protect Your Majesty's safety?" Gao Zimu, infuriating him to no end, added fuel to the fire.
"My imperial brother is right. We'll have them visit the Third Prince's mansion another day to learn from you, for you are known as the God of War," the Emperor said with a forced smile.
"I dare not say for anything else, but training them is not a problem," Gao Zimu replied, as if he didn't know it was a polite remark, and readily agreed.
This made the Emperor almost fall back in anger. How could he entrust his men to him? If he used his eloquent words to sway their minds, and these people later stabbed him in the back, he wouldn't even know how he died.
To stop himself from getting angry, he quickly changed the subject. He instructed the head eunuch beside him to personally escort the Third Prince back to his mansion with gifts and announced that the palace would host a banquet tomorrow night to welcome him, hoping he would attend.
Back in his mansion, with the people he had brought with him, the Third Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the encounter with the Emperor had been mentally exhausting, the thought of meeting her, disguised as a woman, on the street that day inexplicably settled his heart.
An hour before the banquet began, Gao Zimu, with the help of his servants, dressed himself and leisurely made his way to the palace.
The courtiers greeted him politely. They were all clear-headed. Although the Emperor appeared to be on good terms with him, he actually wished he were dead. If they wanted to live well, it was safer to stay away from the Third Prince, as everyone had a family behind them and couldn't become a sinner in their clan.
The Third Prince paid no attention to this and entered the Changshou Palace right on time. He sat in his seat. He hadn't eaten all night and was already hungry. Disregarding their strange glances, he began to eat.
The ministers couldn't help but sweat for him. They all guessed that this was a banquet of conspiracy. They didn't believe that the intelligent Third Prince didn't know, nor was he afraid of poison in the food.
However, anyone who could conquer the empire by himself was certainly not a fool. There was only one possibility: the Third Prince was very sure that the food was not poisoned and would not pose a threat to his life. How he had judged this, everyone was curious, but none could know.
Since his arrival, the discussion in the hall had subsided considerably. Everyone waited awkwardly. After an unknown amount of time, the Emperor and Empress arrived hand in hand.
After some perfunctory remarks, the banquet officially began, and several dancers came forward to perform.
After the first dance, the Emperor led the applause, "Good, well danced! I will reward you handsomely later."
The dancers were overjoyed and quickly kowtowed in thanks. The Emperor waved them away and then looked at the Third Prince, "Brothers, only the two of us remain. You have guarded the imperial mausoleum for so many years, and it has been hard work. Come, let your brother toast you."
Immediately, a palace maid with a wine pot came forward, poured a cup for the Emperor, and then went to pour wine for the Third Prince. The Third Prince glanced at her with interest but said nothing.
"Come, let's drink it down. This first cup is to celebrate your return," the Emperor raised his wine cup high, smiling at him, as if genuinely happy for him.
Gao Zimu hesitated for a moment before slowly picking up his wine cup. The Emperor saw his expression and drank his own cup without a word.
Seeing that he was slow to move, the Emperor expressed his displeasure, "What? Is my imperial brother afraid of poison in the wine? Or do you dislike the wine I bestowed?"
"Your Majesty worries too much. Your subject has not drunk wine for many days and fears he may not handle it well and offend your Majesty." The Emperor saw his hesitation and interpreted it as an excuse to delay. He spoke grandly, "It's alright. Today, in front of all the ministers, I promise that if you lose your composure after drinking, I will pretend it never happened and will not blame you."
"Then your subject will drink," Gao Zimu looked at him with a hint of panic. Seeing the Emperor nod affirmatively, he confirmed again, "I'm really drinking?"
The Emperor nodded again. Some of the ministers below could not help but close their eyes, thinking of the Third Prince bleeding to death on the spot and feeling a sense of pity.
The Emperor, however, was excited to see him drink the wine. He found other excuses and toasted him several more times, a triumphant smile appearing on his face. The thought of him bleeding from all seven orifices and dying soon made him feel refreshed.
The wine pot of the palace maid had a hidden mechanism, with two pouches inside – one with poison and one without. It seemed as if they were drinking from the same pot of wine, but in reality, the difference was enormous.
Everyone silently counted the minutes, waiting to see when the Third Prince would succumb to the poison. But what they did not expect happened. They saw the Third Prince stagger to his feet, glaring at them fiercely, and shout, "You despicable barbarians, how dare you drink and make merry on the land of the Celestial Dynasty? Watch how I deal with you!"
With that, to everyone's horrified gaze, he overturned all the tables in front of him, scattering the food everywhere.
Screams erupted, and people immediately surrounded the Emperor, adopting a protective stance as if facing a great enemy.