A lazy bum transmigrates and marries a eunuch – it's awesome!

Chapter 263 The Upcoming Banquet

The troublesome sister-in-law, who was male in body but female in mind, finally left, and Chief Supervisor Xiao felt a sense of satisfaction in framing her.

The next day at work, he was especially nice to Jin Zekang, which made the Regent think that Xiao Yuan had done something to betray him behind his back.

But his good mood didn't last long before something even worse happened.

After half a month of wrangling and probing, the Quanrong finally couldn't hold back any longer and proposed to congratulate the new emperor on his ascension to the throne in person.

The congratulations were a pretense; the real intention was to hold a banquet to gather the officials of the Great Jin Dynasty.

They planned to launch an attack at the banquet, using both soft and hard tactics to force the Great Jin to provide them with food and supplies.

In recent days, they have also won over some officials, who will then support the Quanrong on the grounds that it is not advisable to go to war between the two countries.

The Jin Dynasty never had a unified attitude towards barbarians; the pro-war and pro-peace factions each had their own audience.

As for which faction will be given important positions, it all depends on the national strength at the time and the attitude of those in power.

When encountering a spirited and ambitious emperor, the pro-war faction is considered a loyal subject.

Those peacemakers who are unwilling to fight are spineless cowards and traitors who betray their own side.

If the reigning emperor is timid and cowardly, then the pro-war faction will be seen as criminals who instigate war and disregard the lives of the people.

The peace faction, on the other hand, would be regarded by the emperor as virtuous ministers who cared about the people and entrusted with important responsibilities.

Under such circumstances, the pro-war generals had a lot of enthusiasm and a desire to serve their country, but nowhere to put it into practice.

Seeing this, the barbarians on the border became even more arrogant and domineering, constantly invading the border, burning, killing, and looting, causing untold suffering to the people.

As for national strength, it's even easier to explain: most of the time, if the army is strong and well-equipped, they will fight; if the national treasury is empty, they will make peace.

After all, supplies must come before troops arrive, and war is a money-burning affair; you can't afford to fight without a substantial financial foundation.

The situation in the Great Jin Dynasty is quite complicated now.

This year's harvest is bad; not only did the Quanrong suffer, but the Jin Dynasty was not far behind.

The national treasury is in a difficult situation on both sides.

Especially with the emperor being young and the regent and the marquis of Zhenguo standing on equal footing, it was generally believed that the Great Jin Dynasty did not have the strength to confront the Quanrong head-on.

The court officials speculated that the two newly appointed officials might not want to fight, which is why many officials accepted large sums of money from the Quanrong and planned to advocate for peace.

Jin Zekang was originally a proponent of peace.

He wasn't afraid of the Quanrong, but the court was unstable and the risk of a long-term war was too great.

The second prince's uncle stationed troops in Shu; his nephew died in a rebellion.

If the imperial court were to mobilize a large number of troops to fight against the Quanrong, he might very well stab them in the back.

Xiao Yuan also had this concern, so after discussing it, the two decided to wait and see.

They didn't want to fight, and the Quanrong, having suffered a disaster, might not have the ability to wage war against them.

The rivalry between the two countries is a process of mutual probing; both sides are afraid to fight.

Only you know your true strengths and weaknesses.

Prince Tosai of the Quanrong tribe delayed his audience until now in order to have more time to search for his red-clad beauty.

Seeing that there was no hope of finding the person, he had no choice but to shoulder his responsibility.

People tend to get angry when they're feeling down, and this time he was really determined to cause trouble.

He not only won over many officials in advance but also prepared some programs, determined to get what he wanted.

This was the first banquet held by the court since the new emperor ascended the throne, and foreign envoys also offered their advice, so the scale of the banquet was quite large.

Officials of the third rank and above were allowed to bring their families to the banquet, and officials from the Court of State Ceremonies also prepared various entertainment programs.

Xiao Yuan knew that the Quanrong were not to be trifled with, so he deployed many experts from the Eastern Depot and even prepared some quick-thinking students as a precaution.

In the past, when other countries paid homage to them, they would ask some tricky questions, and even use them as a basis to bet on food or money.

There's no such thing as a thousand days of thievery, only a thousand days of guarding against thieves.

The challenge was devised by the entire nation and presented to them for immediate answers, putting the Jin Dynasty at a significant disadvantage due to its passive defense.

I wonder what kind of trouble the Quanrong will cause this time.

The Eastern Depot's people discovered that they had brought skilled fighters and strongmen, but they couldn't find out anything else.

Jiang Xinyu and Bao Beibei have never liked banquets, which are often seen as hypocritical and troublesome occasions.

But their identities are special.

One was the rightful wife of the Marquis of Zhenguo, whom she had no choice but to go; the other, who had to protect Jin Zekang's life, also had to go.

Fortunately, Bao Beibei moved into the Regent's Palace; otherwise, Jin Zekang might not have been able to come today.

I wonder which brilliant strategist was so willing to spend the money to hire more than fifty top assassins.

The Regent's Palace guards were all wiped out, and even the secret guards could only hold out for a short while at most.

If Bao Beibei hadn't intervened, even if Jin Zekang had managed to evade the Regent's Palace's forces, half of them would have been killed.

Jin Zekang finally understood why Bao Beibei was so confident; Jiang Xinyu had strongly recommended her.

They are truly capable; barring any unforeseen circumstances, this must be the pinnacle of combat power in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Those top assassins couldn't even last a single round against her.

A beautiful woman in a flowing dress, as graceful as a butterfly, rushed into the group of assassins like a tiger among sheep.

The method of murder was just too horrible.

The crowd with knives passed by, and heads fell to the ground. This woman probably has some kind of obsession with heads.

Even if you cut a person in half, you still have to go back and cut off their head.

She had her own understanding of death; she believed that even being cut in half at the waist was not considered death, only when the head was severed did it count as death.

It was as if the corpse could stand up and bite her again if its head wasn't severed.

The scene was too bloody; blood was everywhere, and human heads were rolling underfoot. His regent's palace instantly turned into a haunted house.

To be honest, even the assassination attempt didn't cause him that much psychological trauma.

Last night, he dreamt that he went to a watermelon field with Azhuo to pick watermelons. He kept picking watermelons, one after another, and they turned out to be human heads. This dream woke him up in a fright.

Although it was comfortable when Ah Zhuo coaxed him to sleep, it was embarrassing, okay? Ah Zhuo thought he was a coward.

Later, when she complained to Xiao Yuan, she found out that Jiang Xinyu also had that problem.

Not only did they chop off people's heads, they also liked to smash their heads with spiked clubs, just like hitting a watermelon, and the brains would spill out with a "plop".

Xiao Yuan felt that this was probably how their teacher in the fairy cave taught them.

But he wouldn't tell Jin Zekang; he just said it to annoy him.

Haha, very successful.

Jin Zekang regretted it. Why did he have to be so rude and say that to Xiao Yuan?

Not only could they not eat lunch, but tofu pudding and tofu were also permanently removed from the Regent's Palace menu.

Regardless of how you look at it, Bao Beibei's methods of murder were a bit bloody, but she was very capable, and with her around, my safety level increased dramatically.

Who knows what kind of trouble the Quanrong will cause today? Jin Zekang definitely needs to keep Bao Beibei, this life-saving artifact, by his side.

He couldn't reveal his sworn brother-sister relationship with Jiang Xinyu, so he gave that identity to Bao Beibei.

Otherwise, what would it be like for a dignified regent to have a woman by his side?

Female bodyguard?

Have you ever seen a guard dressed in such flamboyant clothes?

He did offer some tactful advice to Bao Beibei, suggesting she keep a low profile or dress as a man.

Unfortunately, this big shot wouldn't agree.

She went through so much trouble to finally get dressed in women's clothing, how could she possibly change back into men's clothing?

Now it's him begging for protection, not the other way around for them to need his wages to support themselves.

In terms of dominance, only Bao Beibei gets to choose him; he doesn't get to choose others.

His foundation was too weak, and he was living a rather stifled life as regent.