The Eldest Prince rushed forward and grabbed Li Jing’s arm, lowering his voice and begging, “Second brother, I beg you. Envoy Zhou said that Mother has no intention of living. At this rate, Mother will really die. If Royal Father is willing to go to the Yanxi Palace and talk to Mother, maybe Mother will have the desire to live.”

“It was us, mother and son, who let you and Royal Mother down in the past. In the future, I will never compete with you. I only ask you to forgive Mother this time and come with me to see Royal Father.”

“As long as you are willing to plead for Mother, Royal Father will have a way out and will go to the Yanxi Palace.”

“Second brother, I beg you!”

As he said this, he actually knelt down to Li Jing.

A ray of sunlight shone through the thick clouds, suddenly revealing a brilliant light.

Li Jing was facing the sunlight and squinted reflexively. Then he calmed down and said in a deep voice, “Royal Brother, you are my elder brother. By kneeling down here, you are forcing me with brotherly love.”

The Eldest Prince said with red eyes, “I am not forcing you; I am begging you. Are you so cruel that you can watch my mother die?”

Li Jing sneered, “Two days ago, my wife met a vicious assassin. If she had reacted a little slower, she would have been stabbed and poisoned to death, and my unborn child would have died as well.”

“But Lu Shi is okay…”

“Whether Xiaoyu is okay or not is not a reason to forgive the mastermind.” Li Jing interrupted the Eldest Prince coldly: “If it were you, you would never forgive.”

“If you are willing to kneel, just kneel here. Don’t try to force me with this kind of pitiful strategy. Whoever wants to gossip that I, Li Jing, am cruel and heartless, just say it; I don’t care!”

After that, he left quickly.

The Eldest Prince: “…”

The Eldest Prince, kneeling on the ground, looked at Li Jing’s resolute back in disbelief. As raging rage surged in his heart, he felt a strange chill.

The gentle and modest second brother of the past had completely changed!

If his mother really couldn’t wake up, he would lose his greatest helper. How could he fight against Li Jing, who had the help of the Qiao and Lu families and the protection of Empress Qiao in the palace?

The Eldest Prince was confused and didn’t want to think about it anymore, so he just knelt outside the Wenhua Palace.

…

When Li Jing stepped into the Jiofang Palace, he saw Empress Qiao, who also hadn’t slept all night and looked haggard. And Huī’ān Gōngzhǔ, who also looked ugly.

Such a big thing happened in the palace; Hui’an Gōngzhǔ was worried, so she didn’t leave the palace last night. She slept in the Jiofang Palace for one night. Whether she was asleep or not, you could tell by looking at her dull face.

“Royal Mother, Royal Sister,” Li Jing stepped forward and frowned and asked, “Why do you look so ugly?”

Empress Qiao sighed, “Meng Guifei hasn’t woken up yet, and your Royal Father has not slept all night in Wenhua Palace. How can I sleep?”

“I can’t sleep or eat either.” Hui’an Gōngzhǔ’s brows were almost twisted into a knot: “Second brother if this goes on, the Guifei may really not survive. Royal Father…”

As a daughter, she didn’t want to say bad things about her own father. But some things were really uncomfortable to keep in your heart.

Hui’an Gōngzhǔ gritted her teeth and continued: “If the Guifei dies, all the mistakes will be gone. Father will definitely vent his anger on Royal Mother and you.”

After all, Lu Mingyu just had signs of miscarriage, and it was not a big deal.

The Lu family and the Qiao family joined forces to force Emperor Yongjia to severely punish the murderer. If Meng Guifei died because of this, it would become a thorn in the heart of Emperor Yongjia. It would be very unfavorable for Li Jing in the future.

Li Jing and Empress Qiao both understood the reason.

The best thing to do now was to take the initiative to put aside the assassination and comfort Emperor Yongjia first. Ask Emperor Yongjia to go to the Yanxi Palace and wait until Meng Guifei wakes up.

They must not let Meng Guifei become the cinnabar mole in the heart of Emperor Yongjia.

Li Jing’s eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, “Just now, my eldest brother knelt down and begged me outside the Wenhua Palace, but I ignored him.”

Hui’an Gōngzhǔ took a breath and quickly looked at Empress Qiao.

Empress Qiao was silent for a moment before saying, “Ah Jing did nothing wrong. We are not the ones who are wrong. Why should we be blindly tolerant and generous?”

“Meng Guifei will be lucky if she wakes up. If she really died, it would be her retribution. As for whether your Royal Father will be resentful and dissatisfied because of this, that is all in the future.”

Some things were possible to do. But they were unwilling to do them.

People lived for a breath.

How could they swallow this breath!

Li Jing’s brows relaxed slightly, and he whispered, “Thank you, Royal Mother.”

Empress Qiao looked at her two children, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of her mouth: “Ah Jing, Huian, for so many years, I, as a mother, have been enduring humiliation and giving in. Now you have grown up and started your own families. I have also let go of the two major things in my heart.”

“Your Royal Father has deep feelings for Meng Guifei. Meng Guifei is also a hot-tempered person who is cruel to herself and others. This time, if she dies, your Royal Father will definitely be angry. When the time comes, don’t rush forward; I will take care of everything.”

The brother and sister were shocked and blurted out, “How can this be possible!”

After Empress Qiao made the decision, she calmed down: “This is the worst-case scenario; don’t worry for now. Wait patiently. Maybe Meng Guifei can escape from death.”

After a pause, she said to Li Jing, “Continue to investigate the assassination. No matter what the result is, hold it back for now. Don’t rush to see your Royal Father.”

Emperor Yongjia even skipped the morning court, so how could he be in the mood to see his son now?

Li Jing nodded.

…

Qin Fei, who also did not sleep all night, went to Shouning Palace early in the morning.

No matter how much Empress Dowager Zhao disliked Meng Guifei, she was also not happy to see someone die in the palace. She frowned and asked, “What happened? Why did Meng commit suicide for no reason?”

Qin Fei whispered, “It must be related to the assassination of Lu Shi.”

Empress Dowager Zhao had been thinking about it for most of the night. Hearing this, she snorted coldly, “No wonder she wanted to commit suicide. She was so vicious and dared to murder the legitimate Prince. The Emperor was so sincere to her in vain.”

The four words ‘sincerely’ made Qin Fei’s heartache.

Qin Fei cheered up and said, “I heard that the Emperor also did not sleep all night. I don’t have the face to do that. Please go to Wenhua Palace and persuade the Emperor to take care of his health.”

Empress Dowager Zhao was also very worried: “I am really worried. I will go to Wenhua Palace to take a look. You can come with me.”

Qin Fei finally had some self-awareness. She smiled bitterly and said, “I won’t go, lest the Emperor is unhappy and think that I have ulterior motives. I will go to Yanxi Palace now, just hoping that the Guifei will wake up soon.”

The smile on her face was bitter, but she was laughing freely and happily in her heart. Great!

Two tigers fighting, and then both will suffer losses. It would be best if Meng Guifei closed her eyes today, and Emperor Yongjia would vent his anger on the Second Prince, Queen Qiao, and she could reap the benefits.

(End of this chapter)