Prince Nan Huai could no longer tolerate Zi'an's arrogance tonight, and angrily said, "Sister-in-law, please respect your status. You are a princess, not a shrew. This is Xiwei Palace, not a busy city. It is not a place for you to act like a spoiled brat. Murong Jie did not rebel in the past because he did not need to rebel. He held the imperial power and military power. Why would he need to rebel? But now it is different. The emperor has recovered from his illness and is back in power. He is used to sitting in a high position and may not want to come down. So he took advantage of the truce between the two countries to rush back to the capital and seize the throne. Such sinister intentions are truly wolfish ambitions. Even if Sister-in-law is eloquent, she cannot defend herself."
Zi'an turned around and stared at him fiercely, "You are a minister who plotted rebellion, but you speak so hypocritically. Do you have any shame? I am ashamed for you if you don't find it disgusting. Who do you think you can hide the things between you and the noble concubine from? If the emperor doesn't punish you, he will give you a chance to reform for the sake of brotherhood. Who do you think you can hide the things between you and the arms dealer from? When I was in the palace, the noble concubine asked me for money to repair Qingning Pavilion. Who knew that the money was finally given to Weapons dealer, don't think I don't know. The shopkeeper Hu Huanxi of the Hu family told me that someone took my banknotes to exchange. That person was very strange. She followed him for the sake of caution and found that he was from Dayue country and made a living by selling weapons. I investigated later and found that the noble concubine had taken the banknotes of the state-owned bank before asking me for money. Because the arms dealer could not exchange the banknotes of the state-owned bank, you sent someone to exchange them with Lord Liang. Lord Liang has been kept in the dark by you until now."
"You're talking nonsense!" Prince Nan Huai was so angry that he was shaking all over. He finally understood why the arms dealer said those banknotes were fake. It turned out that Hu Huanxi and Xia Zian had secretly done something about it.
He stared at Zi'an viciously, almost wishing to skin him alive. If she hadn't caused him to become enemies with the arms dealer, he would have gotten these bows and crossbows long ago, and there wouldn't have been any complications today.
However, it was no coincidence that she brought this up. She had kept silent about it for such a long time, but now she suddenly mentioned it here. It seemed that this was indeed an overwhelming conspiracy.
Zi'an had no intention of letting him go just like that. She was determined to let out all the frustration she had been holding back for days before going to Beimo. Not only would she let it out to Prince Nan Huai, she would also let it out to the Emperor.
"Am I talking nonsense? You know in your heart that Lao Qi is your brother, and you attacked him several times. He has been tolerant and evasive towards you out of brotherhood, and you still want to frame him
If he really wanted to fight for the throne, he would not have volunteered to lead the army and left Beijing to fight. Didn't he know how dangerous it would be for him if he left? But he had no choice, because he was a descendant of the Murong family and the emperor's younger brother. If he didn't share the emperor's worries, who could take up this responsibility? You are also a member of the Murong family, but what have you done for the people of the Murong family? You have been constantly sowing discord. For your ambition and selfish desires, how many crimes of fratricide have you committed? The emperor is kind and has given you opportunities to promote you again and again, but this kindness will eventually run out, so just do it. "
Prince Nan Huai was completely enraged by her, but Shang Qiu calmed down. He stopped Prince Nan Huai and bowed to Zi'an, "Princess, I was offended by my words just now. Please forgive me. Prince Nan Huai and the Regent have a deep brotherly love. They have never been as cruel as you said. If there are such rumors in the market, they must have been spread by people with ulterior motives to hurt the relationship between the prince and his brothers."
Zi'an sneered, "Really?" Then she said to Zhuangzhuang, "Let's go. Heaven will decide right from wrong."
She took Zhuangzhuang away.
Shangqiu was a man with strong language organization skills. Seeing how he calmed down quickly in a short period of time, she knew that it was impossible for her to stay in Xiwei Palace and wait for his counterattack and defense.
Because everyone knows that today's words, although seemingly a conversation between two parties, are actually spoken to the emperor.
The emperor was in the inner hall and could not hear the conversation between the two, but Eunuch Lu reported back everything that had just been said in the hall.
After the emperor heard this, he was silent for a while before he said, "The princess' words were righteous and stern, and every word was a denunciation. Was she denouncing Old Eighth? No, she was denouncing me. She has many complaints against me."
Eunuch Lu said worriedly, "But the emperor must not punish her now. She will have to go to Beimo tomorrow. I don't know if it will work, but at least she can get the Beimo Crown Prince to come to the capital as a hostage, and she can also go to deal with the Xianbei separately. This opportunity is rare."
The emperor shook his head. "I will not blame her, let alone punish her. What she said is irrational. She probably deliberately made trouble before leaving for the Northern Desert to vent her dissatisfaction. Xiaoluzi, she made me feel relieved. At least, if she really had ulterior motives, she would not say it. Her trouble just proves that she is open-minded. Recently, I have indeed been a little..."
He paused as he spoke, tilted his head to think for a moment, and suddenly sneered, "But she doesn't understand that the imperial power must be centralized, and no one can covet it, and everything must be balanced. If the balance is lost, the situation will be out of control. Prince Nan Huai has ambitions, but no real power. The Seventh Prince has no ambitions, but he holds great power. It's not that I don't trust the Seventh Prince, but I must be careful to prevent anyone from disrupting my Great Zhou Dynasty."
"Your Majesty's words make sense." Eunuch Lu thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "However, as Your Majesty said, everything must be balanced. If we blindly suppress the Regent, won't we lose the balance? He is still on the battlefield, and this war may not be stopped. Old Prince An Ran is unwilling to come forward, and Prince Qi has asked the Regent Princess to go. The Princess has cured zombie disease, but she lacks medical experience. It is not yet certain whether she can cure the plague in the Northern Desert."
The emperor smiled and said, "Do you really think that Lao Qi is still in the army?"
Eunuch Lu was startled. "Your Majesty is saying that what Prince Nan Huai said is true?"
"What he said may not be true, but Old Seven is definitely not on the battlefield. In fact, Old Seven also knows in his heart that although I don't know his whereabouts, I know what he wants to do. I didn't pursue him, which is actually a kind of trust. Trust is based on Old Seven's sincerity for the Great Zhou and for me."
Eunuch Lu looked at the emperor in surprise, "This... If it is true, then what is the matter with this hostage incident tonight?"
"No need to investigate. Prince Nan Huai is really ambitious, and he has never intended to give up purchasing weapons and recruiting soldiers. Regardless of whether he kidnapped Xin'er for real or it was Old Seven's conspiracy, who did Sun Fang'er meet tonight? Sun Fang'er is someone who stays by my side now. If I contact her, it is equivalent to finding out about my affairs. I was too careless. I always thought that Sun Fang'er was a person who changed her mind according to the situation, but I never thought that she had been with Old Eight for so many years, and the relationship between them was not as simple as she said."
(End of this chapter)