The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Arriving in the study, he called the inner court steward and the commander of the imperial guards and asked, "Who was on duty last night?"

The inner court steward hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, yes, it is your humble servant!"

"Didn't you see anyone come in while you were on duty?"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty fell asleep last night and didn't notice it!"

"How dare you sleep on duty! If I was assassinated last night, wouldn't you know it?"

The steward was so frightened that he fell to his knees and said, "I am guilty! I beg the king to punish me!"

It's good that you know you're guilty! Come on! Take him away and give him twenty lashes of the cane! "

Here! The guards rushed in, carried the steward and left.

The more Zixuan sat there and thought about it, the more he felt that this was done by Guo Di.

He immediately left the palace and returned to the other courtyard. Several ministers quickly gathered around him and asked, "How is it, Your Majesty? Is there any news about Lord Ban?"

Zixuan said angrily, "Ban Yu was framed and beaten to death by Prince Chen in the palace last night."

"Ah? Is there such a thing? Then does Your Majesty know who is behind this conspiracy against Master Ban?"

"I already have a suspect in my mind. It must be Guodi who did it!"

In the palace of Guo Jiao, Guo Jiao received a report from a confidant in the palace that Ban Yao was beaten to death by Gui Yue last night.

He was terrified when he heard the news and wanted to have the king catch him and beat him up.

He then spread the news in the court to ruin Ban Ju's reputation.

If it were possible for Zixuan to drive him away in a fit of rage, that would be even more beautiful.

He never expected that the king would beat Ban Shu to death. Once Ban Shu died, Zixuan would definitely not sit idly by.

If he investigated this matter thoroughly, what if... He didn't dare to think about it anymore.

In the middle of the night, Guojiao was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt his body floating and then he lost consciousness.

When he woke up and saw the person in front of him, he trembled with fear: "Zi! Zixuan City Lord!"

Zixuan sat at the desk in the study and looked at him coldly: "Tell me, why did you frame Ban Yu?"

"I, I didn't, I, I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Really? It seems you won't confess unless you're severely punished! Someone, come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several guards rushed in...

Half an hour later, the guards came to report: "Your Majesty! The country is willing to recruit you!"

"Okay, bring him here!"

Here! A moment later, Guojiao was dragged in covered in blood.

Zixuan turned on the recorder and said with a cold look, "If you want to confess, tell me now!"

"Yes, yes!" Guo Jiao wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Last year when I was on a diplomatic mission to Zheng, Ban Yao insulted me in public."

"And he drove me out of the palace and humiliated me, in order to avenge Ban Yao."

"Last night I ordered my men to use aphrodisiac to knock him out and send him to Li Ji's bed."

"I wanted to embarrass him, but he was beaten to death by the king."

"I didn't mean to do it. It wasn't me who killed Ban Yi, it was the king! If you want to blame someone, blame him, not me!"

Zixuan nodded. "Let me ask you again, the palace is so heavily guarded, how did you get Ban Ju in?"

"My nephew is the steward of the inner court. He was on duty last night and he arranged all this."

"Are all the things you said true?"

"It's true, it's true! If I tell even a single lie, I'll be damned!"

"Please, Lord Zixuan, no no no, King Zixuan! Please forgive my unintentional sin and spare me this time!"

Zixuan ignored him. He didn't want to say a word to a scumbag like him.

He ordered the guards to lock him up in the woodshed and keep him under strict observation, pending further action.

He then went to the palace and told Gui Yue the results of his investigation.

Gui Yue was shocked when he heard this: "I didn't expect that this was actually planned by Guo Jiao? He is the real murderer!"

"City Lord Zixuan, where are our diplomatic envoys? Where are they now?"

"In the woodshed of my other courtyard. I'll have someone bring you to see me right away!"

After saying that, he gave a few instructions to the guards beside him, and the guards took his orders and walked out.

Half an hour later, Guo Jiao was brought up. When he saw Gui Yue, he burst into tears and said, "My king, help me!"

"City Lord Zixuan has imprisoned me for no reason and even beat me like this. I beg Your Majesty to help me, wuwuwu..."

After hearing this, Gui Yue angrily said, "State diplomacy! You have committed such a serious crime, yet you are still pretending in front of me?"

"I am terrified, and I do not know what crime I have committed."

"You knocked Ban Yao unconscious, and then colluded with the inner court steward to bring him into the palace and place him on Li Ji's bed!"

"Because of this incident, I lost my mind and beat Ban Yi to death! Isn't this a great sin?"

"I didn't! This is just Zixuan's one-sided statement. Your Majesty, please don't believe it! Wuwuwu..."

This... Gui Yue hesitated. Yes, Zixuan had no evidence, and it was really not acceptable to rely on one side of the story.

He looked at Zixuan, who smiled coldly and took out the recorder from his arms.

"Your Majesty, this is the confession of the diplomatic corps, please listen carefully!" After saying that, he turned on the switch.

Immediately, the conversation between Guojiao and Zixuan was heard from the recorder.

The two listened to the sound coming from the recorder in surprise and suspicion, one was terrified, the other was happy.

After hearing this, Gui Yue slammed the table and said, "Diplomatic relations! What else do you have to say this time?"

At this time, Guojiao was so scared that he collapsed on the ground and couldn't speak.

Gui Yue shouted, "Come here! Arrest Guo Jiao and put him in jail!"

Tomorrow you will be torn to pieces by chariots! Your entire family will be confiscated and exiled! Your wife and daughter will become slaves of the government!"

"The inner court steward colluded with foreign diplomacy to disrupt the palace guards and was sentenced to death by beheading! All property will be confiscated!"

After Guo Jiao was taken away, Gui Yue knelt in front of Zi Xuan with a guilty look on his face:

"City Lord Zixuan, I have committed the crime of negligence. Please punish me!"

Zixuan did not answer, but just snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and left the palace angrily.

After burying Ban Yu with great honor, Zixuan regained his composure and took his mother and ministers to travel around the State of Chen again.

Ten days later, the tour of Chen State was completed and the group left Chen State to go to Cai State.

At this time, the State of Cai had just formed an alliance with the State of Wu and defeated the State of Chu.

The whole country was in a festive mood. Zixuan listened to the people's discussions on the road and felt that Cai Zhaohou was a good person.

So, I quickened my pace to Shangcai, the capital of Cai. After entering Shangcai City, I was attracted by the prosperity of the streets.

Although the capital of the State of Cai was not big, its streets were clean, tidy, and well-arranged, and were in no way inferior to the capitals of those big countries.

Just as she and her mother were shopping with great interest, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of them.

A handsome young man got out of the car. After getting off the car, the young man walked quickly to her and bowed deeply.

"Excuse me, are you the City Lord Zixuan from Fugui City?"

Zixuan looked at him for a few seconds: "You are..."

The young man hurriedly introduced himself: "I am Prince Shuo, the crown prince of the State of Cai."

Zixuan nodded: "So it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it's me."

Gongzi Shuo said happily, "City Lord Zixuan, we've finally met you."

"My father went out to the suburbs to observe the people's sentiments and hasn't returned yet, so I have to ask you to greet him on my behalf. I'm sorry to bother you."

Zixuan smiled and said, "That's all right, that's all right. Your father cares deeply about the people and is a wise and benevolent ruler. I cannot praise him enough, so how could I blame him?"