At this moment, inside the Qianqing Palace.
The Empress Dowager was sitting on the armchair in the inner palace. Her eyes were fixed intently on the man lying on the bed. A pang of heartache welled up in her heart involuntarily. After all, he was her own son.
Now his face was deathly pale, and his lips were tinged with a purple hue, showing signs of poisoning. He looked extremely frail and sickly.
"Sigh." She couldn't help but let out a sigh. Immediately afterwards, she heard a commotion outside, as if there were people arguing.
Thinking of this, annoyance welled up in her heart. She wondered who on earth dared to make such a racket outside the Qianqing Palace, the emperor's residence.
Just as she was thinking this, a palace servant rushed in from outside. With a troubled look on his face, he said to the woman in front of him, "Empress Dowager, Prime Minister Nangong has returned. Now he's leading all the officials to visit the emperor's majesty!"
Upon hearing his words, the Empress Dowager's face turned ashen, and a sense of unease welled up in her heart.
Why would that old fox Nangong suddenly return? Someone must have leaked the news from the palace about the emperor's coma. That's why he rushed back to the capital in such a hurry and caused such a big stir.
But now that the fire was right at the doorstep, she naturally couldn't avoid it. After all, there were all the court officials outside. One slight misstep might make them question the royal authority.
Thinking of this, she stood up, took a long, deep look at the man on the bed, and then strode out.
At this time, outside the Qianqing Palace, Nangong Liuyun was standing at the very front of the group of officials, his head held high in an arrogant manner. The officials behind him were all obsequiously inquiring about his well - being, looking extremely disgusting.
Prime Minister Dongfang was standing at the back of the line. He really despised their behavior, but at the same time, a deep sense of unease welled up in his heart.
General Lian beside him also noticed his anxiety, so he whispered words of comfort, "Don't panic, Right Prime Minister. The Empress Dowager will surely come up with a better solution!"
The man being comforted lowered his eyes and said nothing, but in his heart, he asked himself, "Will things go smoothly today?"
After a while, the Empress Dowager appeared in front of them. Everyone bowed respectfully and shouted, "May the Empress Dowager be in good health and safety."
Then Nangong Liuyun pretended to look extremely worried and asked, "Empress Dowager, ever since I heard the news that the emperor was assassinated, I've rushed back non - stop, for fear that something might happen to the emperor's majesty!"
As he spoke, he frowned. If someone who didn't know better saw him, they would surely think he was an extremely loyal official.
The Empress Dowager frowned tightly when she saw his appearance. After all, she was a woman in the harem, so it was normal for her not to know much about the affairs of the previous court. But she also knew how powerful the Nangong family was. When he said such things, he simply wanted her to admit personally that the emperor had indeed been assassinated.
Thinking of this, she hooked her lips into a smile and then said, "Prime Minister Nangong is truly a loyal subject. But how did you hear about the emperor's matter? And leading all the officials to stand so ostentatiously in front of the Qianqing Palace, do you regard our royal family as a mere decoration?!"
As soon as she said this, it immediately had a deterrent effect. The court officials below all lowered their heads, afraid that their eyes might meet the Empress Dowager's and bring unnecessary trouble to themselves in the future.
Prime Minister Nangong stared at the woman in front of him and thought to himself that she really deserved to be the Empress Dowager. Even in such a situation, she could remain calm and composed, and she was extremely confident. If it were an ordinary provocateur, they would have been scared away by her long ago.
But he wasn't one to be trifled with. So he immediately bowed his head respectfully and then said humbly, "Please calm down, Empress Dowager. I've served the emperor for generations. How dare I ignore the royal family? I'm just really worried about the emperor's majesty. After all, he's the pillar of the Dongsheng Empire!"
He spoke so sincerely that he even couldn't help shedding a few tears at the end.
What a great actor!
Then he told the truth about how he knew the emperor had been assassinated and even presented a lot of evidence. On the surface, there was no flaw at all.
Moreover, there had been a lot of people at the flower - viewing party by the Sui Xin Lake back then. It wasn't strange for them to have seen such a bloody scene.
The more the Empress Dowager listened to his words, the faster her heart beat. After all, she had already heard all the details about the assassination, and what he said was exactly the same.
Seeing a flicker of wavering on the woman's face in front of him, Nangong Liuyun knew that his words had hit home. He couldn't help curling his lips and then continued, "I heard it was the Queen who insisted on going out of the palace, and the emperor was injured to protect her?"
As soon as he said this, everyone gasped in surprise. No one had expected that it would finally involve the Queen.
"What on earth is going on? What exactly happened to the emperor?!" asked an official. He was the Li Jian official who shared the emperor's administrative duties.
His usual job was to correct the emperor's mistakes, so he dared to say anything. He also knew that the emperor was dedicated to the people, so he supported him whole - heartedly.
Now he asked so eagerly because he was really worried.
As soon as he asked this question, the other officials couldn't hold back any longer. They all asked about the emperor's condition.
After all, they had been kept in the dark for too long. Every day they were told that the emperor had just caught a slight cold, but now it turned out that he had been seriously injured in an assassination.
The Empress Dowager frowned tightly when she saw their appearance. Their aggressive manner made her feel extremely annoyed.
"Shut up!" she roared angrily. Then she continued with a cold look on her face, "The emperor was indeed assassinated, but it was just a minor injury. We didn't tell you because we were afraid that some villains might take advantage of the situation!"
When she said the word "villains", her eyes stared fiercely at Nangong Liuyun in the distance, emphasizing the two words heavily.
But he didn't care at all. Instead, he looked arrogantly as if he was completely right. He nodded to the officials below, as if to say that he was right.
"But why did the emperor keep it from us for so long...?" Assistant Minister Dong asked timidly on the side. After all, he was there to assist, and he must play his role well at this moment.
The Empress Dowager didn't expect that this coward would dare to question her. It seemed that he was really acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might. Then she said, "I naturally need to find out the assassin!"
She had already suspected that the affairs outside the palace must be related to the Dong family. It was just that she had no evidence, so she couldn't say anything. Now she could take this opportunity to test him.
The obsequious look on Assistant Minister Dong's face disappeared. After hearing her reply, his face darkened. As if feeling guilty, he lowered his head and then stammered, "You're right, Empress Dowager..."