Though it was called a night banquet on a painted boat, it was actually a fair for power and wealth transactions.

Luo Xiu was there on official orders to deliver a bribe of gold leaves. It was his first time in such a high-ranking event since coming to Ling State.

That night, he saw the regent, who wasn’t supposed to be there. He witnessed the guards inserting a brightly colored bamboo tube into the window of a room before leaving with a smile.

Luo Xiu hid and waited until the regent left, then sneaked out. On his way, he ran into one of the guards holding the bamboo tube, who was speaking with two other guards.

Though far away, Luo Xiu heard something like “you’ve made the wrong choice,” hinting that the regent might have targeted the wrong person.

Tao Sheng has a remarkable memory, both in this life and the previous one. It might have been honed by her music training, allowing her to remember almost every piece she has played and details from years ago.

Luo Xiu had only mentioned this incident once, but Tao Sheng remembered all the details clearly.

After arriving in Ling State, Lord Li took her on a pleasure boat and talked about this. Tao Sheng remembered Luo Xiu’s words and privately informed Ji Yanming and King Huan to investigate.

Bamboo tubes like those are usually used to breed poisonous creatures, like snakes or bees. After Ji Yanming’s investigation, he suspected the regent was behind the death of the princess’s husband, though it was unclear if the wrong person had been targeted.

But this information was enough for them. Once they discovered it, they could inform the princess.

Even without the maid’s reminder, Tao Sheng would have found a way to tell the princess. Now that the maid had reminded her, things made more sense.

Princess Wen Yi’s expression gradually turned cold.

Her husband had indeed died on the pleasure boat under mysterious circumstances. He had been stung by a poisonous bee that appeared out of nowhere.

After the incident, Princess Wen Yi sealed off the pleasure boat and questioned everyone who attended the banquet. But she found nothing and had to accept it as an accident.

Now Tao Sheng gave her another idea. The person who accidentally caused her husband’s death was the regent. It was very likely that the regent meant to kill someone else but mistakenly targeted her husband.

How absurd.

This was Tao Sheng’s first time in Ling State, so they didn’t know that the regent wasn’t on the invitation list for the painting boat four years ago. Therefore, the princess was more inclined to believe Tao Sheng wasn’t lying.

Remembering the tragic scene when her husband died, the princess closed her eyes and said, “What you say better be true.”

“Whether it’s true or not, you’ll know once you check it,” Tao Sheng said. “I’m telling you out of kindness. If the king hadn’t treated me well and if you weren’t his elder sister, I would have used this secret to blackmail the regent.”

Of course, Tao Sheng only said this to create a tense atmosphere.

The regent of Ling State was as ruthless as Ji Yanming in the story. To try to blackmail the regent… Tao Sheng was risking her life.

As they spoke, another maid entered to report that Lord Ji had arrived and was waiting for Miss Luo outside. He said he had something to discuss and wanted to take Miss Luo back to Qingling Terrace.

Princess Wen Yi had heard that the Great Zhou delegation was taking too long to leave, making it hard for the regent to do his work. Her brother was in a tough spot, so she wanted to talk with this girl, using both persuasion and threats to get them to leave sooner. However, she didn’t expect this to involve a murder from four years ago, which made her lose her composure.

The regent, whom she had trusted for so many years, was now revealed to be the murderer of her husband. This was a huge shock. The princess couldn’t even stand up and asked Tao Sheng to leave: “I have a headache and need some peace. You can send Miss Luo out.”

The task of creating discord between Lord Li and the regent, as well as setting a trap between the princess and the regent, was going more smoothly than Tao Sheng had expected.

Once these rifts formed, even if they left Ling State and returned to Da Zhou, things would still progress in the desired direction.

Ji Yanming was still playing the role of the cousin who cared for Tao Sheng. He personally helped her into the car. After the car started and drove away from the princess’s mansion, he told Tao Sheng: “Something happened in the capital.”

“In the capital?”

“Yes, here’s a letter from the King of Chu. Take a look.”

Tao Sheng could never have imagined that the situation in Beijing had become so tense.

After reading the letter from the King of Chu, she took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself. “Cousin, are you going back?”

“This can’t wait,” Ji Yanming replied. “King Huan is preparing. We’ll leave at twilight.”

There won’t be a fight on this side of the border anytime soon, and even if one happens, it won’t be as serious as what’s happening in the capital.

Now that both sides are evenly matched, and the prince holds the capital, it’s hard to say who has the upper hand. However, with the addition of their 30,000 troops, things might change.