It doesn't matter what the lord is.

After a moment of trance, Lana had taken the handkerchief from my hand, calmly put it back in her pocket, and returned to the king with the wine jug. The king calmly extended his hand to her. My heart trembled, but Lana took out a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to the king as if nothing had happened. After the king took it, he looked at it several times and then gave it back to her.

When the king took it out to look at it, there was nothing on the handkerchief.

At first I even suspected that I was dazzled, but then I realized that Lana must have prepared two handkerchiefs in advance, one with bloody words secretly written on it, and the other was clean. The written handkerchief was hidden in her sleeve, and the unwritten handkerchief was placed in her pocket. After I looked at it, she casually put the written handkerchief into her pocket, and after the king asked to check it, she took out the other handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to the king.

He was so meticulous just to tell me this little bit of information.

You can imagine the weight of this word.

The king raised his glass and said:

"Then let me say something first. You have worked hard in the past year. But your fathers have worked much harder than you. This cup is for the lords who cannot be present."

As he spoke, the king picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

We drank it all in one gulp as well.

The king put down his glass, exhaled, and said:

"The day after tomorrow is the Spring Festival. We, the older generation, are still used to treating the Spring Festival as the New Year. In my eyes, this year is about to end and the new year is about to begin. There is a new atmosphere every year - I really want to say this, but this Yongtian Kingdom has maintained the current atmosphere for who knows how many years. There are some undercurrents and some storms, but as long as the national defense formation is still there, it will be difficult for those foreign races outside to invade our human territory. Similarly, as long as I am still in this position, it will be difficult for those undercurrents to come up with any tricks."

The voice he spoke in was very calm, and there was an air of intimidation about it.

Occasionally, a long-drawn tone, like the roar of a dragon or a tiger, echoed in the hall.

After the king finished speaking, the city lords filled their glasses with wine.

Then start waiting.

Thirty-six people couldn't stand up and toast at the same time, and there was no special training. So everyone looked at the young man named Bai who was sitting at the first seat, waiting for him to stand up and toast as the city lord's representative. However, in full view of everyone, the young man was still concentrating on eating the fish, patiently picking out the bones in the fish belly with chopsticks, and eating the snow-like fish meat bit by bit. Everyone looked at him, and he ate the fish by himself, until Xiao Hei next to him coughed, poked him quietly, and said a few words to him, then Bai stood up, raised his glass, and said:

"May Your Majesty live forever."

But in fact, there was no wine in his glass, and he had not drunk any wine from beginning to end. The glass that the princess had toasted him with was still beside him.

But maybe it was because he had the most powerful territory in the world, no one cared about it. Everyone raised their glasses to toast, and the king drank another glass.

In front of us youngsters, the king was still very majestic and domineering. The mighty and domineering king also said to us in a mighty and domineering manner:

"Your fathers are basically of the same generation as me. I am old, and sooner or later I will have to hand over my family business to my children. The same goes for your fathers. The Kingdom of Eternal Heaven will sooner or later rely on people like you. In the new year, I hope you can work diligently and be down-to-earth. You come from different territories and have grown up with different cultures, but humans are humans and cannot be at odds with their compatriots. I hope you can govern your fiefdoms well, manage your people well, and ensure that every household can have a hot meal and a bowl of hot soup, and live like a human being!"

Most of the thirty-six city lords lowered their heads, looking as if they were ready to learn.

Only Bai Huang raised his head and said calmly:

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, among the 300,000 disaster victims in Tianyue Mountain, who are starving and cold, sleeping in the open, are there any who are still living like a human being?"

35. Put things on the table

All the ministers and the city lord were stunned.

If we were to make a list of Bai Huang's top 10 life highlights, this scene would undoubtedly be one of them. After all, slapping the king in the face in front of so many people is not something that can be described as cool. I can even imagine that when Bai Huang gets married and has children, she will definitely tell him every now and then:

"Your mother was very arrogant back then. The royal family, the ministers, the sons and daughters of the thirty-six lords were all inferior to me. When I spoke, they had to shut their mouths tightly."

I can even imagine Bai Huang's child blinking at her and saying excitedly:

"Mom is so awesome! I want to be like her when I grow up~"

But the question is, will she live to see that day? Will I live to see that day?

Considering the frequency with which she gets into trouble, it might be difficult.

The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point, no one spoke, and the hall was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard clearly. I saw veins popping out of the king's hand as he held the armrest of the throne. His expression was well maintained, and he asked Bai Huang:

"The victims of the disaster at Tianyue Mountain? What's going on?"

Bai Huang stood up and said fearlessly:

"When Lid and I came here, it snowed heavily and the dragon carriage lost its way and mistakenly entered Tianyue Mountain. Thanks to this, I saw the tragedy of the world that I had never seen since I was born. Those people sleeping in the snow on Tianyue Mountain were half-naked, half-fed, and without even a place to shelter from the wind. I don't know how many people fell down and never got up again! Your Majesty, have you seen the porridge in their hands? It's called porridge, but it's actually a handful of bran mixed with a small amount of brown rice. It's bitter and astringent, and has no nutrition at all. Now I want to ask, is this what Your Majesty said, can everyone live like a human being? Not like a human being, but like a dog."

I saw the king's face gradually darken. He turned his head and asked a minister standing among them:

"Abai Le, is what Bai Huang said true?"

The chief of the civil officials was an old man with white hair and beard. Hearing this, he stepped out of the group and knelt on the ground, answering:

"Your Majesty, I have no idea. This year's disaster relief funds have already been distributed, so scenes like this shouldn't have happened."

Bai Huang said loudly:

"Logically? How can that make sense? I saw those people freezing to death with my own eyes, how could it be fake?"

Abai Le wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:

"I did not say that Miss Bai Huang was lying, but in my opinion, there may be some misunderstanding here. The distribution of disaster relief funds is in the hands of Tamros. If Your Majesty has any questions, you can ask him."

The king turned to Tamros and said:

"Come out and answer."

Tamros swallowed, stepped out, knelt beside Abel, and answered:

"Yes. Your Majesty, the 80,000 gold coins of disaster relief funds have been distributed, and all the ministers in the court can testify to this. As for what Miss Bai Huang said, I think we should send someone to investigate carefully before making a conclusion. Tianyue Mountain is very large, and what Miss Bai Huang saw may only be the tip of the iceberg. Maybe she just happened to encounter an area with a serious disaster... There is no conclusion yet."

This is a quite profound statement.

If an ordinary person said this to the king, he would have been criticized by the ministers. But Bai Huang's identity was there. If she said it was true, others would not dare to deny it. Ordinary people might be dazzled, but would Bai Huang also be dazzled? Whoever dared to say this, the Lord of Yunhai would not agree.

The king nodded.

Bai Huang said anxiously:

"Impossible! Is it just a coincidence that we went to the worst-hit area? Besides, if everything was just a coincidence and everyone had a clear conscience, then why did we encounter an assassination in Tianyue Mountain?"

"Assassinated? You guys?"

The king narrowed his eyes and glanced at me.

Bai Huang nodded.

The king leaned back on the throne and said calmly:

"My two sons, Prince Chao and Prince Xi, do you have anything to say? Prince Chao, you go first."

The two princes stood up.

The one sitting in the first seat should be King Chao, the one who was relatively calm when he first entered the room. Next to him should be his younger brother King Xi, the one who looked at us like he was picking vegetables when he first entered the room. By the way, I was probably a nobody in his eyes, so he didn't even look at me.

He bowed to the king and replied:

"It's not a good idea to make irresponsible comments on this matter. Even if there is a mistake, it is the fault of the subordinates. Most likely, it was the subordinates who made a mistake in doing things. Just check it out."

The king did not comment, turned to King Xi and asked:

"What about you? Do you and your brother agree?"

King Xi sneered and said:

"How can I dare to do this? I think there is a problem in the court, and it needs to be properly rectified!"

The king still did not make any comments, but asked the two men to sit down and asked again:

"Where are the other city lords?"

As soon as the voice fell, Norn from the Qiming Territory said:

"Your Majesty, the mayors of our thirty-four territories all arrived at the capital smoothly, except Bai Huang and Li De who got lost. It doesn't matter that they got lost, they just happened to go to Tianyue Mountain and happened to meet some disaster victims. There is no such coincidence in the world, there must be something fishy here. Maybe these two people have colluded with some people in the court and planned to take this opportunity to turn the capital upside down!"

Bai Huang was so angry that he couldn't speak clearly:

"Slandering! Putting the blame on someone else! The bad guy is the first to complain! You are taking advantage of me! You, you, you are sick."

Kaiya stroked his folding fan gently, squinted his eyes and smiled as he said:

"Since we entered the capital, all we have seen and heard is peace and prosperity. And all this is thanks to the governance of His Majesty the King. Miss Bai Huang now tells us that 300,000 people are about to freeze to death or starve to death in Tianyue Mountain, which is not far from the capital. This is really unbelievable."

Li Yi also took the opportunity to say:

"Your Majesty, I know Lid very well. When he was in Lingyun City, he often rebelled against my father and spent his days in debauchery. This man is insidious and cunning, and does all kinds of evil. That's why my father expelled him from Yunyang. I think he is most likely the instigator of this incident, intending to disrupt your Majesty's banquet. Such a person should be beaten out!"

sure.

You have also learned that good winds help strong forces.

Without me saying anything, other city lords would naturally battle with Norn and his group, and the two sides would go back and forth, exchanging sharp words, as if everyone had become a debater. In the hall, some people were shouting, some were whispering, some were rolling up their sleeves, and some were wiping their sweat. Behind the impassioned speeches, interests were interwoven into a big net that drew everyone in.

36. Let me tell you

However, this kind of dispute between city lords did not cause much splash.

The reason was simple. Except for Bai Huang and I, none of the thirty-six city lords present had any direct involvement in this case. They were not the ones who distributed the disaster relief funds, and they had never been to Tianyue Mountain, so their arguments would not have any impact on the outcome.

So who else is involved?

In fact, there is still a heavyweight figure who has not spoken out.

Bai Huang obviously thought the same as I did, and said loudly:

"By the way, when Lid and I arrived, White Guard Prime Minister Wumi was there too. He did his best to help the victims and calm their emotions, and he has a very good reputation among them. And when we were assassinated, it was the White Guards who saved us. If Your Majesty still has any doubts, you can ask him, and the truth will naturally come to light."

"Oh? There's also this matter."

The king turned to Ummy and asked:

"What do you think?"

Wu Mi lowered her head as if she didn't hear it.

For a moment, everyone in the hall held their breath, waiting for his answer. The two princes who didn't like each other looked away, the ministers who were whispering to each other fell silent, and the city lords who were sneering just now also quieted down. Bai Huang looked at Wu Mi with an extremely eager gaze, waiting for him to speak. Abai Le and Tamros, who were kneeling on the ground, were sweating profusely, and did not dare to look up at the king.

Every second seemed so long.

Soon, however, Wumi raised her head and said with a smile:

"Although I have been in Tianyue Mountain for a while, as everyone knows, Tianyue Mountain is very large, and it is impossible for me to visit every corner. What I have seen may not be the whole picture. This matter is of great importance, I am afraid that Your Majesty will need to personally send the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to investigate."

The king snorted coldly:

"I have to investigate everything, so what do I need you ministers for? Prime Minister Baiyi, I really don't see what you are capable of... In this case, let's just leave it like this. You guys have caused a mess, so it's good enough for me to clean up the mess for you."

Wu Mi cupped his hands, bowed deeply, and replied:

"I am ashamed."

The king turned to Bai Huang and said:

"You are very good and energetic. I have met your father and brother. They are both very smart and capable. But without your drive, young people should behave like young people. With you in Yunhai, Yunhai will not be lonely in the future. Don't worry, I have always been a role model and will not let my people suffer any grievances. I will investigate the matter of Tianyue Mountain thoroughly. You have made a meritorious report, come back and receive the second-class reward."

The two ministers kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief, and many people breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Bai Huang looked incredulous.

Perhaps in Bai Huang's opinion, since there were witnesses and evidence, and the witness was a famous white-robed minister, she should have let the parties be executed or proposed a solution. But in the end, there was only a sentence of "check it later", which was very different from what she imagined.

The most frightening thing in the world is procrastination. Once things are procrastinated, many variables will arise, and who knows if they will end up in nothing.

Unless someone adds fuel to the fire and brings more things to the surface.

But unfortunately, all parties have accepted and acquiesced to this situation, and no one is willing to say anything.

For them, this struggle will eventually have an outcome, and it is enough to do this at this stage. But for those who fell in the snowstorm at Tianyue Mountain, if they waited one more day, countless more people would die.

Watching Bai Huang sitting down in despair, I narrowed my eyes and tapped my fingers on the table twice. I raised my head, looked at the king, and asked in a voice that was not too loud but he was sure he could hear it:

"If it is found out that the culprit behind this is someone from the royal family, what will Your Majesty do?"

The king's hands, which had been relaxed, tightened their grip on the armrests again, leaned forward, and said in a deep voice:

"What do you mean?"

I sighed.

This is actually not something I should be saying.

However, let's just consider it as repaying Bai Huang a favor. I raised my voice slightly and said:

"What I mean is, if people around your Majesty, such as the two princes, are involved, will your Majesty punish them as well?"

Logically speaking, after these words were spoken, there should be many lackeys who shouted "how dare you" to come out to defend their master, but the amazing thing is that when these words were spoken, the hall was still strangely quiet. There was complete silence, and everyone lowered their heads and remained silent. In this solemn atmosphere that seemed to be about to clump, the king turned his head and glanced at the King of Chao and the King of Xi, and when he turned his gaze to me, his face was still smiling, but there was already a bit of murderous intent in his eyes, and he said to me word by word:

"If my son is really involved, I will never tolerate it."

I saw the little princess Lana next to me with a sad face. There was no way. If I said this, I would completely offend the king. But he didn't intend to let me go before, so let it be. Bai Huang is indeed a little troublemaker, especially when Bai Feng is not watching, she dares to say anything, but such a fool is also my friend. I will share the responsibility of her troubles with her.