There seemed to be flames shooting out of Emperor Yongjia’s dragon eyes as he stared at the sarcastic face of Empress Dowager Zhao.

This was his own mother! She knew his weaknesses the best.

Every word and every sentence pierced his heart and lungs.

From a patriarch of an aristocratic family to raising the flag to plot rebellion, he was the first among all the heroes to raise the flag to establish a new dynasty, accept civil officials and military generals who surrendered from all directions, and conquer such a large territory in just a few years…

This was definitely not something that ordinary people could do!

As soon as the assassination case was put in front of him, he had already deduced who the real murderer was. Therefore, the farce in the court today made him even more angry.

He usually turned a blind eye to it, did they really take him for a fool?

Empress Dowager Zhao looked at her son’s angry expression, and she felt a little regretful. She should have said the truth more tactfully, it was really inappropriate to hurt her son’s heart like this.

Empress Dowager Zhao coughed and slowed down her voice: “My words just now were a bit harsh, Your Majesty, please don’t take it to heart.”

Don’t get angry and cause harm!

Emperor Yongjia said nothing and continued to glare at her angrily.

Empress Dowager Zhao was able to humble herself. Her eyes soon turned red and she started to cry. “I was really angry when I heard these slanderous words against the Zhao family. In my anger, I spoke without thinking, and my words were a bit harsh. Do you still want to hold a grudge against me? I apologize and make amends to you.”

“However, I still say the same thing. The Zhao family would never dare to assassinate Lu Mingyu. If the Emperor does not believe it, you may as well order a thorough investigation. If the Zhao family is really involved, I will personally apologize. That should be fine, right?”

In the final analysis, the goal was to protect the Zhao family.

Emperor Yongjia said nothing, turned around, and left.

Empress Dowager Zhao couldn’t catch up with him, so she simply gave up. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves, called her maid, and whispered a few words to her. The maid quietly responded and quickly left.

As soon as Emperor Yongjia left, Qin Fei arrived.

“Yímǔ,”^[1]your mother’s older or younger sister Qin Fei said in a panic, her voice trembling, “How could the assassination of Lu Shi involve the Zhao family? I heard the news in the court today, and my legs went weak with fear.”

In a state of panic, Qin Fei shouted out yímǔ directly.

Empress Dowager Zhao looked gloomy and whispered, “Don’t mention it. I was also shocked. The Emperor came to Shouning Palace in person just now and told me about this. I was angry and said some unpleasant words and the emperor was so angry that he left.”

Qin Fei was ambitious but not so courageous. Now she was thinking, “It’s over. The Emperor must be suspicious of me.” She was in no mood to comfort Empress Dowager Zhao. She cried with red eyes, “Yímǔ, the Emperor will not be suspicious of me and Ah Xian, will he?”

“A few days ago, I was punished to be under house arrest and I didn’t even step out of the palace. Even after I left the palace, I didn’t go anywhere else, and I didn’t even see anyone outside the palace.”

“Yímǔ, you know me best. I don’t have the guts to assassinate Lu Shi! If the Emperor gets suspicious and blames me, you have to stand up for us!”
She knelt down while crying.

Empress Dowager Zhao immediately pulled Qin Fei up and whispered, “What are you afraid of? Things haven’t come to that point yet. Don’t say you didn’t do anything. Even if you made a mistake in the heat of the moment, I’m here to protect you.”

“Besides, if you think about it carefully, it’s not right. Lu Shi is pregnant, if something happens, it will be two lives. Who in the palace and outside the palace is most hoping that the Second Prince’s family will be in trouble? The Emperor is not a fool, he can guess it.”

“The one in Yanxi Palace is probably still feeling complacent, thinking that her plan went well and that she was able to divert the trouble away. She doesn’t think that even if the Emperor dotes on her, he can’t just sit back and watch her stir up trouble like this.”

“Look how angry the Emperor is. This time, neither mother nor son will be able to avoid trouble!”

Qin Fei was both happy and worried when she heard this. She stood up, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and whispered to Empress Dowager Zhao without saying anything more.

……

Emperor Yongjia left Shouning Palace in anger, his face so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it.

All the eunuchs were silent, no one dared to speak out to comfort him, and they just followed the emperor silently.

The Emperor first walked angrily towards the Yanxi Palace, then halfway there, he changed direction as if he was going to the Jiaofang Palace. Halfway there again, he went towards the Wenhua Palace.

Emperor Yongjia entered the Wenhua Hall, picked up the memorial, and threw it out without reading a few words. The memorials that filled the imperial desk were also thrown all over the floor. Not satisfied with that, he kicked over the chair.

The Emperor was really furious.

Eunuch Liu was a confidant who had served Emperor Yongjia for many years. At this time, he was the only one who dared to step forward and comfort him: “Your Majesty, calm down. Don’t get angry and damage your health.”

“The Ministry of Justice is urgently interrogating him. Sooner or later, they will get to the bottom of it. By then, the truth will be out. Your Majesty, why are you so upset?”

Emperor Yongjia twitched his lips, his eyes filled with gloom and fierce anger: “Tell me, do they all think that I am easy to fool and manipulate?”

Eunuch Liu: “…”

Was this “they” referring to Empress Dowager Zhao, Qin Fei, or the one in the Yanxi Palace? Or Empress Qiao and Su Fei?

Eunuch Liu carefully considered his words and responded cautiously: “Your Majesty is a man of great talent and strategy and a wise ruler. It is just a matter of time before you establish a new dynasty and unify the Central Plains…”

Emperor Yongjia sneered, “I don’t want to listen to this flattering nonsense. Let me ask you, do they think that I am biased in the harem and have lost my mind? Do they think that I am too soft-hearted and cannot do anything to them?”

Well, that confirmed it.

The person Emperor Yongjia was talking about was his beloved concubine in the Yanx Palace.

Eunuch Liu became more cautious and bowed his head in response: “The Emperor is wise, invincible on the battlefield, calm and decisive in the court. In the harem, everyone is his, so the Emperor is inevitably soft-hearted. A real man does not need to show off in the inner house.”

Eunuch Liu’s words were very tactful, but his meaning was very clear.

Emperor Yongjia was indeed too doting and indulging Meng Guifei and her son.

Emperor Yongjia fell silent.

Eunuch Liu dared not say anything more and signaled with his eyes, and several eunuchs quietly and lightly collected the memorials. Before Emperor Yongjia’s anger subsided, a eunuch came to report: “Your Majesty, Meng Guifei is here to see you.”

Emperor Yongjia’s eyes darkened and he said coldly, “Let her in.”

A moment later, Meng Guifei, who was carefully dressed and looked extremely charming, entered the Wenhua Hall.

The floor was in a mess and had not yet been cleaned up. Several chairs had been kicked over and were tilted here and there. The mess after the rage was all in the sight of Meng Guifei.

Meng Guifei showed a distressed look on her face. She stepped forward and held Emperor Yongjia’s arm: “Why is the Emperor so angry? Don’t hurt his body.” Then, she ordered Eunuch Liu: “You all leave.”

(End of this chapter)