Still the same study room, King Deno sat high on his chair. In front of him stood two people. On the right was a man in his forties with a sinister look on his face, while on the left was an old man in his seventies with a rosy complexion. Judging from his unique appearance, one could imagine that he must have been a handsome man in his youth.
King Deno opened his closed eyes and said in a deep voice, "Hu Yi, are you ready for tonight's banquet?"
Hu Yi on the left immediately bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the venue has been arranged, and the evidence has been prepared and can be used at any time."
King Deno then asked in a low voice, "How about the personnel selection, Wei Nuo?"
The middle-aged man on the right with a gloomy face nodded and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have selected thirty members from the Black Guard, each of whom is a skilled fighter capable of taking on a hundred opponents. They have also been trained proficiently in the Ten Extinguishing Formation."
King Deno nodded in satisfaction and said, "Remember, I will not tolerate any mistakes tonight, and I will not allow anyone from the Tiger Family to escape. If there are any errors, heads will roll."
Hu Yi and Wei Nuo both trembled and said in unison, "Yes."
King Deno waved his hand and said, "You may go! Tonight, we will act according to plan."
Both of them bowed and withdrew.
After Hu Yi and Wei Nuo left, King Deno called out, "Xu He, are you here?"
A dark figure appeared in front of King Deno, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
King Deno said, "Tonight, take ten Shadow Demons with me to attend the banquet."
The shadow nodded, and then disappeared into the darkness.
King Deno laughed triumphantly and said, "The trap has been set. Han Luo, I hope you won't disappoint me tonight."
The night quickly arrived, and the bright lights illuminated the entire Right Minister's Mansion, showing the grandeur of the banquet hosted by the Right Minister.
Led by Han Luo, the Stadock family arrived at the front of the Right Minister's Mansion. Han Luo looked up at the towering plaque of the Right Minister, snorted lightly, and strode forward.
The welcoming guards at the gate saw Han Luo and immediately shouted without waiting for him to approach, "Duke Han Luo Stadock has arrived!"
In an instant, the noisy banquet hall fell silent as all eyes immediately focused on the six members of the Stadak family.
It was well known that the Prime Minister and the Stadak family had been at odds for quite some time. On one hand, the Prime Minister was leaning towards establishing diplomatic relations with the Stadak Empire and forming an alliance to encircle the Taelon Empire. On the other hand, the Stadak family was inclined to maintain national security through their own military strength without relying on external forces. How could these two opposing sides come together today?
The cause and effect of this situation was intriguing.
Hanluo took the lead and walked into the exquisitely luxurious banquet hall, adorned with gold, silver, and works of art, creating an enviable display of splendor.
Host Huyi was in the middle of the venue, engaged in intimate conversation with a few old friends. Not knowing what was said, he burst into laughter. When he saw the Stadak family enter, a strange smile appeared on his face as he went to greet them.
In an instant, the entire hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes involuntarily turned towards them, admiring the scene that could easily be considered the first wonder of the Duchy.
Huyi walked to Hanluo, stopping three steps away, and a big smile appeared on his face as he said, "Brother, this is probably the first time we've met privately in the past forty years! How have you been lately?"
His words shocked everyone present. "Brother?" Since when did Duke Stadak and Prime Minister Huyi become brothers?
The astonishing fact was hard to believe, but what happened next was truly surprising!
Hanluo sighed and said, "I haven't heard you call me 'brother' from your mouth for over forty years."
"It's funny how fate works. I guess you're very confident today! Before that, being able to hear you call me 'brother' is finally worth this trip."
Huyi's eyes flickered, and he felt wary in his heart, but he laughed loudly and slapped Hanluo on the shoulder, saying, "Brother, what are you talking about? Come on, come on! It's been a long time since we had a good drink as brothers. We must drink to our heart's content today."
With that, he pulled Hanluo to the seat of honor and started drinking.
Seeing them talking and laughing happily, the other guests almost thought they were seeing things. When did these two mortal enemies become so friendly?
On the other side, Yulai, Yahuah, Yaxu, Yaruo, and others greeted their own friends and started chatting on the side, and the atmosphere of the banquet became increasingly harmonious, at least for now!
Yawen, on the other hand, saw his father and brothers being unknowingly pulled apart, and he became anxious, but his mission was to take advantage of the fact that he knew fewer people in high society and find a way to escape using this advantage.
Little did he know that his actions had been noticed by someone with ill intentions.
After spending half an hour familiarizing himself with the layout of the Prime Minister's mansion, Yawen finally found an emergency escape route.
When he returned to the banquet hall, he saw that his father and brothers had already drifted far apart, engaged in separate conversations with others.
Yawen came to his second elder brother Yaxu's side, exchanged a knowing glance with him, and Yaxu made a seemingly unconscious gesture. Yawen understood in his heart that his second elder brother wanted him to inform the other brothers and their father.
At this moment, Hu Yi, who was previously chatting happily with Han Luo, suddenly bowed to Han Luo and stood up, walking to the center of the venue, and said loudly, "Attention, everyone!"
Everyone knew that the highlight of the banquet was about to begin. Hu Yi was about to announce the purpose of today's banquet. So far, no one knew why Hu Yi was hosting this banquet.
Hu Yi said loudly, "Bihua, please come here."
Two figures came to Hu Yi's side. One was a young girl who appeared to be around twenty years old, wearing a light blue evening gown, with a delicate and beautiful face. Everyone immediately recognized her as Hu Yi's granddaughter, Bihua Huidejia, who was famous for her beauty in the capital city and was twenty-one years old this year. The other person was a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes who appeared to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. No one recognized who he was.
Hu Yi smiled proudly and said, "Today, the main purpose of inviting everyone here is to introduce this young talent to you all."
"This is the first son of the first family of the Sida Empire, Shanyu Wei Belundika."
Everyone took a breath of air. The first family of the Sida Empire?
Isn't that the family that is rumored to have more power than the Emperor of the Sida Empire? Why would the heir of this family appear in the Duchy, and why would he be introduced into the social circle of the Duchy's nobility by the Prime Minister?
The answer was soon revealed. Hu Yi suppressed the voices of the crowd with a loud voice: "Today is not only the day when Shanyu Wei enters our social circle, but also the day when my granddaughter and Shanyu Wei are engaged."
Upon hearing this shocking news, everyone present couldn't help but gasp in surprise. It was too...unexpected.
Hu Yi's announcement immediately made many people think of a question. Does Hu Yi's action imply that the Duke of Deno intends to establish a relationship with the Sida Empire?
Many people turned to look at Han Luo, the leader of the opposition. How would Han Luo react?
The result was disappointing. Han Luo's expression was first blank, and then he smiled. He walked to Hu Yi's side and congratulated him with a smile, "Brother, congratulations on having a good son-in-law."
Hu Yi seemed to be very happy too. He smiled and accepted Han Luo's congratulations, and whispered, "Big brother, you won't blame me, right? The engagement with the Belundika family seems to be a bit against your position as the eldest brother."
Han Luo smiled and said, "Why would I? Don't think too much about it."
Hu Yi also smiled and said, "If big brother thinks this way, then I can rest assured. However, there may be some misunderstandings that need to be clarified later, so I apologize in advance."
Han Luo thought to himself, "Finally it's here."
But he said, "What's the matter? If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Big brother will definitely speak the truth and leave nothing unsaid."
Hu Yi smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, big brother."
Yaxuan below didn't care about what kind of drama Grandfather and Huyi, the old fox, were playing in terms of their relationship, and just took this opportunity to notify their father and brothers of the escape route.
While everyone was discussing, Yaxuan and others, led by Yulei, gathered at the back right side of the banquet hall near the window. If anything happened, they could quickly escape along the evacuation route that Yaxuan had discovered by jumping out of the window.
Suddenly, Yulei noticed that everyone at the banquet was looking at them with a strange expression.
"I wonder what's going on?" Yulei secretly wondered.
But he quickly found out the reason was a stack of letters in Huyi's hand.
It turned out that after Huyi finished speaking to Jianluo, he took out a stack of letters from his pocket and said, "Brother, please explain why there is a stack of letters under my subordinates addressed to General Yulei Stark, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, signed by Tarenyan Long, the Patriarch of the Long Family of the Tailong Empire?"
Although his voice was not loud, it was enough to make everyone at the banquet hall quiet down, after all, in the past few days, the spy incident had caused many people to suffer from investigation, especially those involved in military affairs.
Jianluo was shocked. The worst-case scenario had happened. The letters had indeed leaked out and had fallen into the hands of his archenemy Huyi.
Despite being a seasoned veteran, he was momentarily at a loss. He didn't know what to do.
Seeing this situation, Yulei couldn't help but walk up to Jianluo.
Yaxu said, "This is bad!" The original plan was to make an appearance at the banquet and then leave unnoticed when no one was paying attention, so that even if they were intercepted on the way, they could at least buy some time for the night.
Unexpectedly, Huyi openly brought up the supposedly last trump card, the letters, at the banquet, making it the center of attention. Now it was impossible to leave unnoticed.
Yaxu quickly said, "The plan has changed. The top priority now is for each of us to escape individually, and then regroup at the secondary rendezvous point after escaping."
After saying that, he followed Yulei and went to Jianluo's side.
Yahua, Yaruo, and Yawen followed behind him and came to the side of their ancestors and father.
Yulai looked at the letter in Hou Yi's hand and asked, "Right Prime Minister, where did you get that letter from?"
Hou Yi smirked and said, "Don't worry about how I got it, you just need to know that the letter ended up in my hand."
"General Yulai, can you explain why you have these letters? If you don't have a good reason, don't blame me for disregarding our friendship and arresting you as the highest military commander of the Republic."
As Hou Yi's words fell, a large group of soldiers in armor and full armament appeared in the venue immediately.
Hou Yi waved his hand to take action, but Yulai shouted, "Hold on!"
Overwhelmed by Yulai's imposing manner, everyone froze in their movements.
Yulai turned around and looked at Hou Yi, saying in a deep voice, "Hou Yi, it seems you were prepared early."
"But you forgot who I am!"
With that, Yulai turned around and said, "I, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies of the Republic, Yulai Stadak, order all of you soldiers to withdraw."
In an instant, the soldiers surrounding the hall panicked. They only knew that the Right Prime Minister asked them to come here today to capture the traitor against the Republic, but they were surprised to see that the one to be captured was Yulai. Now, hearing Yulai's order, they began to disperse from the encirclement. In fact, it was because even though the Right Prime Minister was the highest military commander of the Republic, it was Yulai, the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, who truly led them in life-and-death situations, so the soldiers were accustomed to obeying Yulai's orders.
Seeing the soldiers' reaction, Hou Yi's face changed slightly, and he sighed, "Yulai, I didn't expect the soldiers to listen to you so readily. But anyway, I didn't pin my hopes on them in the first place. It's good that they're withdrawing and not getting in the way."
Yulai said in a deep voice, "Hou Yi, what do you really want to do? What is your goal?"
Hou Yi shook his head and said, "Brother, you are mistaken. I have been acting in accordance with justice and righteousness. How can you say I have any ulterior motives?"
Hou Yi furrowed his brow and said, "It is well-known that you have always wanted to send my family to hell. Don't pretend anymore."
Upon hearing Hou Yi's words, Hou Yi's face turned cold, and he said, "Since you put it that way, I won't deny it. Do you know, Hou Yi, how long we have been waiting for this day? When I got hold of your son's treasonous letter, do you know how happy I was? Today, no matter what, Yulai, I have you in my grasp. You should think about how to protect yourself first!"
Han Luo gasped, "You..."
Suddenly, a voice from the gatekeeper interrupted, "His Majesty King Deno has arrived."
Han Luo cursed inwardly. He had never expected King Deno to come in person. The situation, which was already dangerous, had now become even more perilous.
Hu Yi, wearing a smug smile on his face, ignored Han Luo and went to greet the king at the gate.
All the guests followed behind Hu Yi, respectfully welcoming King Deno.
Soon, King Deno, dressed in luxurious attire and with a smiling face, arrived at the banquet hall. He sat on the seat of honor in the hall, surrounded by the people led by Hu Yi.
King Deno scanned the crowd and his eyes fell on the Stadak family led by Han Luo. His gaze flickered and he said to Hu Yi, "Prime Minister, I heard that today is the day of your granddaughter's engagement. So I came here specially to have a look, to congratulate you on one hand, and to see which young talent from which family has the fortune to marry the renowned beauty from my kingdom?"
Hu Yi respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your kind words. This is the Crown Prince of the Stadak Empire, Tuan Wei Belundika."
Tuan Wei immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Crown Prince Tuan Wei Belundika pays respects to Your Majesty."
King Deno looked at him carefully and laughed heartily, "Good! Good! Heroes do come from the young generation. Hu Yi, you have found a good son-in-law!"
Hu Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, your praise is too kind."
King Deno smiled, his gaze turned to Han Luo, and he said with a smile, "Han Luo, you're here too?"
Han Luo, seeing King Deno asking him, could only step forward and bow, "Yes, Your Majesty."
At this moment, King Deno's expression turned strange as he looked at the clothes on Han Luo, and he said, "The atmosphere seems a bit strange here? I heard you were arguing about something outside just now. You are all my loyal ministers, so speak up and let me hear it. Maybe I can help you resolve it, or maybe not. Speak up!"
Hu Yi took the opportunity to show the letter in his hand to King Deno. The more King Deno read, the more solemn his face became, even showing anger.
Yawen, who was standing below, suddenly felt his hand being grabbed, and he felt the words "Escape quickly" written in his hand. It was his second brother, Yaxu, writing in his hand.
Yawen knew that his second brother wanted him to escape quickly, but he shook his head. How could he abandon his family and escape alone?
Yaxu smiled bitterly, nodded at Yawen, and wrote in Yawen's hand, "Family, Heroes."
Yawen nodded. His second brother meant that their entire family were heroes and should not flee in the face of danger.
In fact, when King Deno stepped into the hall, it was already certain that the Stadak family had no hope left.
If they escaped, they would be seen as guilty of fleeing in fear. If they didn't, King Deno could execute the entire family for treason.
Yawen and Yaxu realized that Hu Yi's plan was flawless, and no matter how they had calculated beforehand, their family had no way out now.
They could only wait to see how King Deno would perform this play.