Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 132: The Azure Dragon Case

Xingqing Palace.

At this time, the palace was extremely crowded. Almost all the officials brought their families, resulting in the Xingqing Palace Square being packed with people at a glance.

A stage was set up in the middle of the square. The officials sitting in the front row were of higher rank, and they sat in order from north to south. The highest-ranking military officers and civil officials of the Tang Dynasty were in the front row.

Su Wen was seated in the first row on the east side, closest to the stage. To the north was the Emperor's seat, with the Empress and the Imperial Concubine's seats to the side.

The three of them were no more than twenty steps away from the stage, which surprised Su Wen. He hadn't expected their positions to be so close.

Originally, Cui Lingyu was also going to come, but Su Wen initially disagreed. However, she couldn't persuade her otherwise, and Cui Lingyu was ultimately worried about Su Wen's safety, so she came along as well.

The banquet was set up with a small table for each person, on which fruit was placed. Cui Lingyu sat next to Su Wen. Cui Bi was not allowed to attend today's occasion, so a palace maid stood next to each seat to serve dishes and pour wine.

At a glance, there must be at least four or five hundred people here; the scale is simply astonishing.

After everyone arrived, they were led to their seats by the eunuchs. As dusk approached, almost all the officials were seated when someone in the hall called out loudly, "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone stood up, while the sage slowly walked to the chair.

The crowd bowed deeply in unison, saying, "May Your Majesty be greatly pleased and live a long and prosperous life!"

The emperor smiled slightly, extended his hand, and said, "I am very pleased. My beloved ministers, please take your seats!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone chorused again, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Then everyone took their seats one by one, and the Sage also sat down. As the Sage slightly raised his hand, Gao Lishi shouted, "Let the banquet begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, palace maids and eunuchs began to place dishes and delicacies on the small table in front of each person. The palace maids standing to the side hurriedly knelt down on one knee and began to pour wine into the wine cups of each minister!

Upon seeing this, Gao Lishi exclaimed, "Talent!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of dancers came up on stage. As the instruments started playing, the dancers began to dance.

The sage raised his wine cup without speaking, but everyone else raised their cups and drank it all in one gulp. After they finished drinking, the palace maid knelt down on one knee and filled the cups with wine.

After finishing his drink, the Emperor said, "Since the Kaiyuan era, I have reduced taxes and levies, and now there are already signs of a prosperous age. I urge all my beloved ministers to do their utmost to assist me in creating a golden age like that of the Zhenguan era. May the Tang Dynasty last ten thousand years, and may Chang'an last ten thousand years!"

As the emperor finished speaking, everyone raised their wine cups and chanted in unison, "May the Tang Dynasty last ten thousand years, may Chang'an last ten thousand years, and may the emperor last ten thousand years!"

The sage raised his cup again and said, "Let's drink together!"

Everyone started drinking, the dancing ended, and various acrobatic performances began to take the stage one after another.

Many officials took advantage of the mealtime to go down the cloud-like steps in front of the sage to offer gifts.

Su Wen had no idea that he was supposed to bring gifts, so he only brought his mouth, thinking he could eat and drink for free. It turns out that as the emperor, he also had to accept gifts.

Seeing that Su Wen had not brought any gifts, Cui Lingyu picked up a gift from the ground and looked at Su Wen, saying, "Su Lang, come with me to pay our respects to the Emperor and present our gifts."

Su Wen responded and quickly got up to follow Cui Lingyu to the foot of the cloud steps. After the two performed a deep bow, Cui Lingyu said, "Husband Su Wen and wife Cui Lingyu pay homage to the Sage. May the Sage's heavens be cleared of all dust and the land be free of imperfections and filled with joy."

Upon hearing Cui Lingyu's words, Su Wen couldn't think of any congratulatory words for a moment, so he decisively spoke up: "Your Majesty, I wish you boundless happiness and longevity."

Upon hearing this, Cui Lingyu couldn't help but look at Su Wen.

Upon hearing this, the emperor couldn't help but smile and said, "I thought Minister Su was only proficient in criminal law, but I didn't expect that Minister Su is also skilled in literature."

The sage murmured again, "May your happiness be as boundless as the Eastern Sea, and your longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountain!" The sage nodded, "Hmm, good, novel, reward!"

Gao Lishi then shouted from the side, "Minister Su of the Prison wishes His Majesty boundless happiness and longevity! His Majesty is pleased to offer wine!"

Upon hearing this, the officials all nodded slightly, and then raised their wine cups, saying, "May Your Majesty enjoy boundless happiness and longevity."

At this moment, two palace maids came to Su Wen and Cui Lingyu's side and poured them a cup of wine. After Cui Lingyu and Su Wen bowed, they said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Cui Lingyu handed the gift to a eunuch, then bowed to Su Wen and left.

At this moment, several illusionists came onto the stage. The one in the lead looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with a face full of wrinkles and graying temples.

He slowly began to speak: "This humble subject pays homage to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy eternal bliss, live as long as the heavens, and be blessed by Heaven!"

The sage nodded. At this moment, Cui Lingyu stared at the old man carefully, then looked at Su Wen beside him. Although he did not speak, Su Wen already understood what Cui Lingyu wanted to say.

Su Wen also looked at the old man.

The old man raised his hands and spread them slightly. Then he saw a large amount of white mist gradually rising on the stage, followed by a figure that instantly flew into the air.

Everyone was shocked by what they saw. Then, an extremely luxurious palace appeared out of thin air in the sky, and several fairies began to fly in the air.

This illusion left Su Wen somewhat puzzled; it was simply too mysterious and breathtaking, something no ordinary person could possibly create.

Previously, Su Wen thought this illusion was just a magic trick, but now it seems that this illusion is beyond Su Wen's understanding, like a divine magic!

Su Wen looked up at the sky and indeed saw several birds hovering above.

As the fairies began their dance, flying through the sky, Su Wen hurriedly looked towards the stage, but the entire stage was filled with thick, incandescent smoke, making it impossible to see where the old man had gone.

Just then, two fairies suddenly flew down from the palace to the ground and headed straight for the saint.

Each of them held a peach in their hands.

Just as the fairy was less than two or three steps away from the saint, the peach suddenly turned into a sword. Then, the fairy rushed forward and pierced the saint's chest with the sword. The empress and the imperial concubines who were standing nearby were shocked and horrified.

This scene happened so suddenly and so fast that Su Wen didn't even have time to react.

"An assassination attempt!"

As soon as he finished speaking, some ministers who were skilled in martial arts rushed forward. Behind them, a general of the Thousand Bull Guard took a step forward and swung his sword directly at the fairy.

With a single swing of the sword, it seemed to strike through the smoke. The fairy vanished instantly, and the smoke on the stage gradually disappeared in a moment, revealing a figure standing in the mist.

It was that old man, holding a knife with silk thread wrapped around one end, who laughed loudly, "Haha... Li Longji is dead!"