Chapter 221: Meeting the Western Turkic Prince Again
A bloody, life-and-death battle of annihilation was thus quietly resolved by The Crown Prince. After A'xi'er returned with his troops, he, with the help of The Crown Prince's forces, thoroughly crippled his evil-hearted older brother on the battlefield, leaving him with a broken arm and leg, unable to stir up trouble ever again. Then, he successfully forced an abdication, making his old father, the King, step down and formally transfer power to the young and vigorous A'xi'er.
With the new king's ascension, A'xi'er personally came to the capital to present tribute to the Great Tang on behalf of the Western Turkic, signing a treaty. It stated that the two nations would be on good terms for all generations and would never again commit an offense.
As The Crown Prince, the greatest contributor, he naturally attended this grand banquet celebrating the friendship between the two nations. He even brought the Crown Princess, Sun Jiaojiao, who had been missing for several months, to attend...
The Crown Princess, dressed in splendid attire, was still as bright and moving as ever. She looked as if she had been well-protected by The Crown Prince. What she didn't know was that during her absence from the capital, a bloody storm had swept through. The Crown Prince, under the pretext of searching for his wife, had dealt with a large number of corrupt officials and, while he was at it, meticulously cleaned out his opponents' factions. The entire royal court had undergone a massive change.
At the palace banquet, cups were exchanged and the atmosphere was extraordinarily lively. But the Crown Princess Sun Jiaojiao's gaze was constantly fixed on that new Western Turkic King, A'xi'er.
In truth, it wasn't just Sun Jiaojiao. All the women of the inner palace were incredibly curious upon seeing a man with such exotic features as A'xi'er. They stared at A'xi'er quite a bit, the word "curiosity" written plainly on their faces.
"Your Highness, Jiaojiao can't hold her liquor. I'd like to go... relieve myself." Sun Jiaojiao saw A'xi'er leave his seat and used the same excuse to leave hers.
The Crown Prince was worried and sent someone to follow Sun Jiaojiao.
After relieving herself, Sun Jiaojiao indeed ran into that Western Turkic Prince... no, he was King A'xi'er now.
Sun Jiaojiao shyly curtsied to him.
King A'xi'er recognized her. Wasn't this the beauty who was following behind The Crown Prince at the banquet? Rumor had it that The Crown Prince doted on his Crown Princess exclusively. This must be the "bright and moving" Crown Princess of legend, right?
The thought of how he had once, in the army tent, teased The Crown Prince by saying he wanted to ask for the Crown Princess in return, made A'xi'er feel inexplicably embarrassed. He didn't quite dare to look at Sun Jiaojiao, and his head dipped even lower.
Sun Jiaojiao saw there was no opportunity to flirt, so she just nodded and returned to the banquet without a fuss.
The person The Crown Prince had sent to follow her reported back to The Crown Prince that everything was normal. Only then did The Crown Prince relax and drink a few more cups.
The Crown Prince had just completed several major tasks in succession and had also cleaned up several other factions. His reputation and status among the princes were becoming more and more stable. Now, even the Western Turkic had reached a friendly relationship with him. The palace was never short of sycophants. The wine toasts were sent to The Crown Prince one after another, as if they wouldn't rest until he was drunk. Even though The Crown Prince had a high tolerance, he still got drunk.
The Emperor was particularly happy today. He granted The Crown Prince and Sun Jiaojiao the grace of staying the night in the Eastern Palace to rest nearby.
Sun Jiaojiao gave her thanks for the grace and helped The Crown Prince leave his seat.
After serving the drunken Crown Prince and getting him to sleep, Sun Jiaojiao found herself unable to sleep.
She put on an outer robe and went to the courtyard alone, walking around aimlessly and looking at the stars.
Suddenly, a hand reached out, forcefully clamping over Sun Jiaojiao's mouth. Sun Jiaojiao struggled hard, but she was no match for the strength and was dragged into a remote, small hall.
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