In the emperor's palace, a scalding cup of hot tea was instantly smashed to the ground. The tea splashed onto the kneeling eunuch below, making him shiver. He lowered his already bowed head even further, as if it were about to touch the ground.
The emperor roared in fury, "Guards!"
The eunuch on the ground was originally an inner - court eunuch sent out by the emperor's personal eunuch, Fu Donghai, to conduct an investigation. At this moment, with the emperor in a thunderous rage, Fu Donghai immediately knelt beside him. "Your Majesty," he said.
The old emperor's expression was sinister. "Go and bring Concubine Li, Xie Guang, and their bastard child to me! Remember, be discreet. Issue an order that everyone must keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, they will be sent to the inner palace service and never be allowed to leave!"
He absolutely could not let the news of this scandal in the palace, which tarnished his dignity, spread. Otherwise, what face would he, the emperor, have left?
Fu Donghai acted swiftly. He led his men to first tie up Concubine Li and the young prince, and then went to the queen's palace to find Xie Guang.
Xie Guang was whispering something to the queen. When they saw him barge in, both of them were startled.
The queen immediately frowned and said in a deep voice, "Fu Donghai, barging into the queen's palace, what crime do you think you deserve?"
As the chief eunuch beside the emperor, Fu Donghai had the greatest backing. How could he be afraid of the queen? He only showed a bit of respect on the surface.
He forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. This humble servant is here by the emperor's order to invite the eldest prince for a talk."
His manner was more like an arrest than an invitation.
The queen was filled with suspicion and her eyes involuntarily turned to Xie Guang.
Xie Guang's mind raced. There were so many strange things about today's events, but he really hadn't done anything wrong. He had truly come to the palace just to pay his respects to the queen.
Even when Concubine Li sent him a message asking to meet him, he had just glanced at it and then forgotten about it. He had never intended to go...
No!
Xie Lingqiao!
In a split - second, he suddenly grabbed the queen's hand. His lips moved a few times, but before he could say anything, he heard Fu Donghai sneer, "Your Highness, please come quickly. The emperor is waiting for you."
Xie Guang gritted his teeth. They were definitely trying to silence him!
He could only stare fixedly at the queen for a few seconds. Then he let go of her hand, stood up, straightened his sleeves, and his face gradually darkened. "Eunuch Fu is right. Let's go."
The queen watched his departing back. Her heart skipped a beat and she couldn't help but take two steps back, then slumped down on the chair.
Before leaving, Xie Guang had written three words in her palm - the young prince.
How could she not realize that their scheme had been exposed!
That stupid Concubine Li!
Manao rushed in from outside the house in a hurry. There was a hint of panic in her eyes, but her expression remained calm. "Your Majesty, what's going on?"
The queen gritted her teeth. Her mind was racing, but she couldn't sort out her thoughts. She grabbed Manao's hand tightly. "The emperor has discovered the relationship between the young prince and Guang'er!"
This incident had happened so suddenly that it had almost caught them off guard.
They had covered it up so well before. How could it be exposed today?
Manao was shocked and couldn't say a word for a long time.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. She glanced at the queen and then said firmly, "Your Majesty, for now... we can only make the prince firmly deny that he knew anything about it. We should say that it was all Concubine Li's own doing. She was infatuated with the prince and that's why she committed this great mistake..."
The queen's eyes were dark and hard to read. She gritted her teeth and said, "That bitch Concubine Li deserves to die! But if that's the case, I'm afraid the young prince won't be able to escape death... He's Guang'er's only bloodline!"
"No," Manao said firmly. "The young prince and Concubine Li have completely different statuses. Although the young prince is not... not the emperor's own child, he is the prince's child, the emperor's own grandson, and his first grandson at that! His status is naturally more noble than others. Even if the emperor is reluctant... he will never kill the young prince."
The queen's breathing gradually quickened. Her mind was swirling with various thoughts, but she couldn't find a way to get out of this unscathed.
For now... this was the only option!
The queen made up her mind. A hint of cruelty flashed in her eyes. "Help me change my clothes. I'm going to the Zichen Palace to see the emperor!"
Her Guang'er was smart. Even in such a situation, he would never show any flaws in front of the emperor. As long as he didn't admit that the young prince was his son before she arrived, there was still a chance for a turnaround.
In the Zichen Palace, compared to the "invitation" of Xie Guang, the eunuchs under Fu Donghai were not so polite to Concubine Li.
Seeing that she was about to shout in panic, they directly stuffed a cloth in her mouth and put her in a sedan chair. The sedan chair was well - covered so that they could explain to other concubines they met on the way that the emperor had summoned her to accompany him in the Zichen Palace.
As for the young prince, due to his noble status, they couldn't use such a method. But he had always been a naughty child. The eunuch first coaxed him by saying that the emperor wanted to see him. When he hesitated and wanted to find Concubine Li, they lied to him that Concubine Li had already gone.
In this way, they tricked him into the Zichen Palace.
When Xie Guang arrived, the emperor was grabbing Concubine Li by the neck. His somewhat bloated face turned purple due to anger and looked extremely terrifying.
His heart skipped a beat and his steps towards the door faltered. Only when the emperor let go and looked over did he slowly walk in.
"Father," he said, bowing his hand to pay his respects, but was suddenly slapped in the face by the emperor.
"You still have the nerve to call me father!" the emperor pointed at him, his face flushed with anger. "Doing such a heinous and immoral thing, you are simply a heartless and ambitious scoundrel! I shouldn't have been soft - hearted and released you from prison back then. I should have let you die there!"
Concubine Li slumped on the ground, almost soaked in cold sweat. She trembled and didn't dare to say a word.
The young prince was wailing loudly beside them. After scolding Xie Guang, the old emperor was almost driven crazy by the shrill cries. In a fit of anger, he kicked the young prince. "You still have the nerve to cry! Shut up!"
This kick was full of anger and he didn't hold back at all. The young prince was kicked and rolled on the ground for several times, and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Concubine Li let out a scream. Forgetting her fear, she crawled to the young prince's side and hugged him in her arms, crying, "Call the imperial physician quickly!"
Xie Guang couldn't help but take a half - step forward, but then stopped himself.
No, he couldn't show any concern. The old emperor was suspicious and cruel. If he showed the slightest bit of hesitation, it would be him lying on the ground vomiting blood in a moment!
He closed his eyes tightly, covering the hatred that welled up in them.
The old emperor watched coldly as the young prince vomited blood and fell into a coma, but there was not the slightest ripple in his heart. "A bastard. I can kill him whenever I want."
The queen had accurately predicted Xie Guang's attitude, but she had never expected the old emperor's heartlessness.
The common saying goes that the older a person gets, the softer their heart becomes. But this didn't apply to the old emperor at all.
As his body grew older and weaker, his suspicion became more and more serious, and he became more and more blood - thirsty.
Whoever dared to openly covet his throne, even his own son, he would dare to kill!