Chapter 589: Ambush in the Imperial Palace, Failure at the Last Moment

"If Her Majesty Queen has nothing else to say, I will take my leave first!"

As he said that, Lin Hao stood up, bowed to Liu Wan insincerely, took a step forward, turned around and walked out.

Seeing this, Liu Wan's face changed again and again. Asking her, the Queen of the Great Song Dynasty, to perform singing and dancing for a minister was simply the greatest insult to her. She said there was nothing she could do.

However, if this painting of the Night Banquet really fell into the hands of Ke Zheng's so-called clean people, then Liu Wan would have no way out.

To take a step back, even if the current emperor does not dislike her, she can forget about continuing to be the queen.

It would have been fine if it was in the past, but now she is the noble queen.

I have long been accustomed to a life where I am second to none, holding the power of life and death, and where a single word can decide the fate of everyone in the world.

To suddenly make her return to her previous life of poverty and being bullied by others was even more unacceptable than killing her.

Therefore, in order to maintain one's own power, one has to choose the lesser of two evils.

Seeing that Lin Hao was about to leave the imperial study, Liu Wan gritted her teeth and stomped her feet:

"You stop!"

"Oh?" Lin Hao turned around with a smile, knowing that the queen was about to compromise, so he pretended to be puzzled and asked:
"I wonder if the Queen has any other instructions?"

"I promise you!" Liu Wan took a deep breath and secretly comforted herself in her heart, "A little impatience can ruin a big plan. I will be patient today. The day I get the Night Banquet Map, it will be the day when Marquis Jing'an will confiscate the family property and exterminate the clan."

Liu Wan swore that once she got the Night Banquet Painting, she would tear Marquis Jing'an into pieces to avenge today's humiliation.

Looking at the beautiful queen, Lin Hao said in a tone that seemed to be thinking about you:

"It seems that the Queen is not very willing to do so. I think it is better not to embarrass her!"

"It's not difficult, not at all." When Liu Wan said this, it seemed as if she was squeezing it out from between her teeth:
"You can dance, but it's late at night, so singing is not very convenient!"

"It doesn't matter. It's my honor to be able to appreciate the Queen's beautiful dance!" Then Lin Hao asked with a smile on his face:

"But is it really not difficult for Her Majesty the Queen?"

Liu Wan took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and said calmly as possible:

"Don't be embarrassed!"

How could she not be embarrassed? It was so embarrassing that she felt like dying, but did she have any choice?

"Then please, I like to watch soft dancing."

Liu Wan closed her eyes and said helplessly:

"Okay~!"

Liu Wan hated Lin Hao so much in her heart. She thought that being able to see her dance was a blessing she had earned in several lifetimes, yet she dared to be picky.

But even though she scolded him, Lin Hao now had the fatal handle on her, so she could only do as Lin Hao requested and perform a soft dance for him.

Then Liu Wan began to dance, dancing like a butterfly.

But to be honest, Lin Hao thought her dancing was average.

Not only were her hands, feet and waist stiff, but especially during the part where she was turning in circles, the Queen almost fell down, leaving Lin Hao speechless.

Lin Hao's expression naturally fell into the eyes of the Queen Mother. She was so angry that she tightened her hand holding the sword again and again. Several times she almost couldn't help but want to chop this bastard with a sword.

Regardless of how well she danced, she finally managed to perform a soft dance.

At this time, Liu Wan put one hand on her waist, and held the dragon table with the other hand, breathing heavily. She hadn't danced for many years, and she was so tired after dancing this dance that she was sweating profusely.

"Marquis Jing'an, I have done what I promised you. I hope you will keep your promise!"

"Don't worry, Madam. Although your dance is a little disappointing, I will keep my word. I will definitely deliver the painting to you at this time tomorrow night."

"Okay, I believe you!"

Liu Wan automatically ignored Lin Hao's negative review and waved her hand to tell Lin Hao to go away.

But when Lin Hao walked to the door of the imperial study, Liu Wan suddenly remembered something and said:

"By the way, the emperor asked me to tell Marquis Jing'an that the tobacco paste you presented to His Majesty last time has been used up!"

"Bring some with you when you go to the palace tomorrow."

"Yeah~, bring more!"

Liu Wan thought that the day Lin Hao went to the palace to deliver the painting would be the day he would die, so Liu Wan asked Lin Hao to bring more opium paste so that the emperor would have enough of it in the future.

After Lin Hao left, there was a crackling sound of things falling in the imperial study.

After a long time, Liu Wan's cold voice came from the imperial study:
"Someone, go and get my brother, General Liu, to come over!"

"Yes~!"

······
next day
"what?"

"You want me to help you copy a painting of a night banquet, and then take it to the palace to deceive the Queen?"

Zhao Pan'er blinked her big watery eyes, with an incredible expression on her face.

It was not difficult for Zhao Pan'er to copy the Night Banquet, but if she used it to deceive the queen, it would be a serious crime that would lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the clan.

Zhao Pan'er was puzzled as to why Lin Hao wanted to use a fake painting to fool the Queen, and even said it out loud!
Then she thought about how she had not been able to get the real Night Banquet Painting back from Ouyang Xu, and she thought Lin Hao was taking the risk for her.

So Zhao Paner said with emotion:

"Don't worry, give me a little more time. I promise to find the real Night Banquet Picture within three days~!"

In Zhao Paner's opinion, since she knew where the real painting was, there was no need to take the risk of deceiving people with a fake painting.

Little did he know that even if Lin Hao had the real painting, he would not give it to Liu Wan so readily.

Do you really think you can take away the Night Banquet Painting by just dancing with clothes on?

That is underestimating Lin Hao. Then Lin Hao said with a smile:

"It's okay, there's no rush for the real painting, I just want the fake one!"

"There is obviously a real painting, why do we need a fake one?" Zhao Pan'er was still confused.

"Oh, this matter is quite complicated. I can't explain it to you right away. Just tell me if you can draw it, okay?"

"If you're having trouble, I'll find another artist to help me paint!"

Lin Hao couldn't tell Zhao Pan'er that he was going to use a fake painting to tease the queen, right?

"No, let me draw it!" Zhao Pan'er quickly stopped him.

If Lin Hao finds an outside painter to copy his painting, who knows if that person is reliable? At least she can guarantee that she will never betray Lin Hao.

Moreover, she didn't think that other painters could draw as well as she did. Besides, she had only copied it once before, and other painters definitely hadn't seen the original painting.

······
That night, Lin Hao came to the small palace again.

However, this time the eunuch who led the way did not take Lin Hao to the imperial study, but took him to the northwest corner of the palace, a side hall that had been abandoned for many years.

"Please come in, My Lord?" The eunuch stopped at the door of the side hall and made a gesture to Lin Hao to invite him in.

Lin Hao smiled slightly and walked into the side hall carelessly, looking completely unguarded.

At this time, the eunuch who led Lin Hao looked at Lin Hao's back, with a gloating look in his eyes.

He didn't know how this Marquis Jing'an had offended the Queen.

But he knew that Marquis Jing'an was doomed to die today.

Because the Queen had ambushed dozens of Imperial Guards in this side hall.

"Tsk tsk, why offend anyone else, why offend the Queen who is favored by the emperor?" Looking at Lin Hao entering the side hall, the eunuch said disdainfully:
"You've kept me awake most of the night, and I'll have to help you wash the floor later."

"What bad luck."

Then the eunuch stood outside the palace gate and looked around vigilantly.

"Haha~, this Liu Wan is really cautious enough."

Before stepping into this side hall, Lin Hao had looked through the eunuch's memory and already knew that there were people lying in ambush here, and he knew the number of people and their distribution locations.

If she didn't make a move, it would be fine. But once she made a move, she would kill. Unfortunately, the person she met was Lin Hao.

Afterwards, Lin Hao still pretended not to know, and walked leisurely to the courtyard of the side hall and came to the room where the Queen was.

Seeing that there was only one man in armor beside the queen, Lin Hao naturally knew who he was, but at this time Lin Hao directly ignored him and instead smiled and bowed to Liu Wan:
"Your subject Lin Hao greets Her Majesty the Queen!"

Liu Wan's outfit today is completely different from last night. When she met Lin Hao yesterday, she was wearing a queen's phoenix robe, giving people a feeling of elegance and luxury.

But today, she was wearing a bright red outfit and even had a sword slung around her waist.

When Lin Hao saw Liu Wan dressed like this, his eyes lit up.

Not to mention, she also has a bit of a heroine vibe, which adds to the allure.

"Forget it!" Liu Wan had a blank expression on her face, and no emotion could be heard in her tone. Her eyes were fixed on the scroll in Lin Hao's hand.

Then Liu Wan said to the man next to her:

"Go, bring the things to me."

This Night Banquet painting is a thorn in her side. It’s all because of that bastard Wang Ai. Why did he paint the Night Banquet for no reason?
But it doesn't matter now. The Night Banquet Painting will soon fall into her hands, and no one can use her background to attack her anymore.

As soon as Liu Wan finished speaking, the burly man wearing armor and with a full beard behind her immediately came over and dodged the Night Banquet Picture in Lin Hao's hand.

Lin Hao had no intention of dodging and let him take the Night Banquet Picture away, only jokingly saying:

"Oh~, the prince's uncle is here too."

Lin Hao seemed to have just discovered that there was someone beside the Queen. This man was none other than the Queen's cousin, the current Grand Marshal Liu Mei.

Historically, he was Liu E's ex-husband. His real name was Gong Mei, but after Liu E was presented to Emperor Zhenzong of Song, he decisively changed his name to Liu Mei.

He was recognized as Liu E's brother. With the support of his ex-wife, he climbed up from a silversmith who could not even get enough food to the position of Grand Marshal, one of the Three Dukes. He was definitely a winner in life.

Of course, that is history. This is the world of film and television after all, so it is somewhat different from history.

Liu E has become Liu Wan, so it doesn’t matter whether her ex-husband is Liu Wan’s brother or her ex-husband.

"Hmph~!" Liu Mei snorted coldly and ignored Lin Hao.

Then he returned to Liu Wan with the Night Banquet Painting, bent down, raised the Night Banquet Painting above his head with both hands, and handed it to Liu Wan respectfully.

"My queen, this Marquis Jing'an~!"

Liu Mei looked at him and asked if it was time to silence Lin Hao, but Liu Wan ignored him. At this moment, Liu Wan's mind was on the Night Banquet Picture, so how could she care about anything else?

Then he couldn't wait to open the Night Banquet Picture, wanting to determine whether it was real or fake.

However, she felt embarrassed after opening the scroll, because she had never seen the original and she had forgotten that she did not know how to appreciate paintings.

So he hurriedly asked Liu Mei:
"Where is the painting appraiser I asked you to find?"

"Someone, please invite the painting appraiser up!" Liu Mei shouted loudly outside the hall.

Now that the painting is in hand, there is no need for the Royal Guards lying in ambush outside to hide any longer.

As soon as Liu Mei finished speaking, a team of royal guards wearing armor and holding spears came in, carrying an old man with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged.

The remaining imperial guards were all blocked outside the door, waiting for the Queen's order to kill Lin Hao with the swords!

Looking at the dark crowd outside the palace, Lin Hao was not afraid, but instead felt playful. His expression suddenly changed, and he pretended to be nervous and said:
"Empress, what do you mean by this? Are you going to kill people to silence them?"

Liu Wan ignored Lin Hao and asked someone to untie the painting appraiser first:
"Sir, please help me check the authenticity of this painting!"

"Okay, okay, I'll do it myself~!" the painting appraiser replied quickly, fearing that he would be a step too slow.

After watching the appraiser open the painting, the Queen looked at Lin Hao with a half-smile and said:
"Marquis Jing'an, did you like the soft dance yesterday?"

"To be honest, my dancing is just average!" Lin Hao said honestly.

A dangerous look flashed in Liu Wan's eyes. She danced so hard yesterday and yet she was just average?
She felt that Lin Hao was lying with open eyes. After all, even the government praised her dancing.

"By the way, Her Majesty the Queen owed me a song yesterday. How about singing 'Spring in the Branches of Red Apricots'?"

Liu Wan looked at Lin Hao as if he was a dead person. He was about to die, and he still wanted to listen to her sing?
Originally, Liu Wan wanted to play a trick on Lin Hao like a cat playing with a mouse, but now she found that the Marquis of Jing'an seemed to be really stupid, and she instantly lost the mood to play tricks on him.

"Okay, after you die, I will sing for you in front of your grave!" Liu Wan waved her hand and said to Liu Mei:
"Take him away and torture him to death!"

Anyone who dares to threaten her must pay the price. Lingchi death is the price that Marquis Jing'an paid for threatening her to dance.

However, Lin Hao was not in a hurry at all and looked at Queen Liu Wan with a smile.

At the same time, the painting appraiser opened the scroll, but after only one glance, he asserted, "This painting is an eagle-grade one!"

"Wait, don't do it yet!" Liu Wan's face changed, and she hurried to the painting appraiser and asked:
"Are you sure this painting is a fake?"

"I am sure!" said the painting appraiser firmly.

"Maybe I saw it wrong? Why don't you take a closer look!" Liu Wan said anxiously.

Liu Mei, who was standing by, glared at the painter fiercely and said:

"You old bastard, how can you conclude that this painting is fake after just one look? Did you look at it carefully?"

"Your Majesty, spare my life!" The painting appraiser quickly unfolded the painting of the Night Banquet and said:
"This painting must have been painted today. Look, the ink on it hasn't dried yet. It must be a fake!"

Liu Wan and Liu Mei looked at each other and thought something was wrong, but Liu Wan asked without giving up:
"Is it possible that the painting got damp because of the recent humid weather?"

However, the painting appraiser's words made her completely give up.

"This is absolutely impossible!"

I only heard the painting appraiser say with a bitter face:
"The painting being damp and the ink not drying up are two completely different things. Although I am old and my eyesight is blurry, I can still tell the difference!"

"That makes sense!" Liu Wan nodded, then waved her hand and said:

"Since the painting is fake, what use do I have for you? Come, take this old man down and chop him off."

"My Queen, please spare my life~!"

The appraiser begged for mercy desperately, but Liu Wan didn't even look at him. When this appraiser came to appraise her paintings, his fate was already determined.

Regardless of whether this Night Banquet painting is real or fake, she will kill the painting appraiser.

"Empress, what should we do now?" Liu Mei asked with a worried look on her face.

It can be said that his fate is tied to that of the queen. If the queen falls, those Qingliu factions will never let him go.

So the person in this world who most doesn't want anything to happen to Liu Wan is Liu Mei.

"What else can we do?" Liu Wan said unhappily, "Of course we have to find the real painting."

However, Liu Mei hung her head and said:
"I have sent out all the people I can to look for this night banquet painting!"

"But up to now, apart from the last time someone in Qiantang heard that the Night Banquet Painting might be in Yang Zhiyuan's hands, no one has ever heard of the Night Banquet Painting again."

"Unfortunately, my people were a step too late. By the time they arrived, the entire Yang family had been wiped out and the house had been burned down." Liu Mei looked regretful when she finished.

"Ah~!" After hearing Liu Mei's words, the Queen sighed heavily.

Naturally, there is no doubt about his brother's loyalty to him, and the relationship between the two can be said to be one of shared success and shared failure.

So anyone in the world could betray her except Liu Mei. But what's the use of being loyal alone? Ability and brains are the key.

Since the ink on the Night Banquet painting that Lin Hao brought out wasn't dry yet, that meant he had just copied it today. If he didn't have the real painting in his hand, what could he use to copy a fake one?
Therefore, the real Night Banquet Picture must still be in Lin Hao's hands. He could never have imagined such an obvious thing.

If Liu Mei wasn't really loyal and she didn't have many people she could use, Liu Wan would have kicked this idiot away long ago.

The kind that you can kick as far as you can.

"You step back first!" Liu Wan waved at Liu Mei unhappily.

It seems that I have to hurry up and transfer Xiao Qinyan back to the capital. Although Xiao Qinyan is not as loyal as Liu Mei, he is smart.

"Your Majesty, are we going to kill Marquis Jing'an?" As she spoke, Liu Mei glared at the leisurely Lin Hao.

"What are you killing? You only know how to fight and kill. Get out, everyone of you get out, you too!" Liu Wan was furious. She was irritated just by looking at this idiot Liu Mei.

The reason why he brought this fake painting was because he was sure that I would kill him to silence him. In this case, would he not have any backup plan?
She dared to guarantee that if Lin Hao was really killed, the painting of the night banquet would definitely fall into the hands of Ke Zheng and other clean people.

(End of this chapter)