When Hua Qi hurried back to the palace and went straight to the Qianqing Palace, he found that the emperor was not there. He was desperate and planned to go to the Zhaoren Hall in the back to find the Third Prince, the Crown Prince, in case the situation really turned upside down, so that there would be someone who could go to the Qingning Palace to persuade him. However, he saw a person who should not be there outside the Zhaoren Hall, at the Longguang Gate leading to the East Six Palaces.
The emperor was dressed in casual clothes and was walking slowly with his hands behind his back. There was no one around him. Facing this astonishing scene, he realized that the emperor had spotted him and was looking at him with a smile. He thought that even if he was good at fighting, he couldn't avoid it. He could only move forward helplessly.
After the ceremony, Hua Qi simply told the truth: "Your Majesty, you had someone stop the young lady from entering the palace, and she was almost worried to death! I finally got my son-in-law and Ah Liu to stop her and rush her back, and I thought you went to Qingning Palace."
"I've been there." The emperor uttered four words, and then said calmly, "The Queen Mother originally intended to issue an edict saying that it was she who ordered the death of the deposed queen and the eldest prince, but I said that if she dares, I will seal up the Qingning Palace from now on."
Hua Qi couldn't help but want to wipe his cold sweat after hearing these few casual words. The Queen Mother's attitude was predictable, and the Emperor's toughness was also predictable, but when the mother and son collided, it was really like a hammer hitting a steel knife, with sparks flying everywhere, making it difficult to predict! Even if he was as bold and stubborn as he was, he didn't dare to ask the Emperor what would happen after he said this, and simply shut up and pretended to be dumb.
The emperor didn't care that Hua Qi was pretending to be deaf and dumb. He walked forward slowly and said without turning his head, "I'm going to Yonghe Palace to see Concubine Yu now. You can come with me."
This was of course completely against the rules, but at this moment, Hua Qi no longer cared about the rules. As long as he could get out of this awkward situation between the emperor and his subjects, he would never say no even if he was asked to accompany the emperor out of the palace to visit some unspeakable places for pleasure. However, as he quietly followed, he couldn't help but glance behind him.
However, the emperor seemed to have eyes behind him, and said calmly: "Sanlang must have been tipped off by someone, so he realized that something was wrong and went to Qingning Palace to persuade them. I left him there, letting this filial grandson accompany the empress dowager for one night instead of my unfilial son."
This time, Hua Qi was so confused that he almost lost his pace. Fortunately, he reacted very quickly and said in astonishment, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is not so quick to report things, right? Uh... Could it be that Chu Kuan tipped off?"
"Who else but him? He's so quick-witted and nosy!" The emperor cursed angrily, and then suddenly stopped, just in time to face Hua Qi. Seeing this person who he had known since childhood looking at him innocently, he said solemnly, "He is like you, good at pretending, and can understand people's hearts the best. Do you think Sanlang will be controlled by him?"
This was a very serious accusation. Although Hua Qi and Chu Kuan did not have a very deep friendship, he immediately said righteously: "Although the Crown Prince is young, he has his own opinions and persistence. Not to mention Eunuch Chu, I am afraid that even Master Zhang can only persuade him in some aspects. It is absolutely impossible to blackmail him or do anything else."