The Queen Mother Dong heard many congratulations. Although her hearing was not very good, she knew that they were all blessings for her. Moreover, His Majesty was very busy, and being able to accompany her all day made her feel even better. Her toothless mouth was always smiling.
But she was eighty years old after all, and her physical strength was really not enough. As soon as the birthday performance ended and everyone hadn't finished the banquet, she started yawning repeatedly.
"Mother, are you tired?" Emperor Chen put down his silver chopsticks and asked with concern.
Although he had been raised by the Empress Dowager Cixi since he was young, and in terms of feelings, he probably had a deeper affection for her, but the Empress Dowager Dong was his biological mother, so he also had filial piety.
The Queen Mother yawned again and then shook her head. In old age, even if one's body is not strong enough, one still wants his family to be around.
Emperor Chen nodded, and personally served a bowl of red date and barley soup to Empress Dowager Dong. Empress Dowager Dong took it with trembling hands, and Emperor Chen hurriedly helped her to put it in front of her.
Chen Di retracted his gaze, and in front of him was still his mother's trembling and skinny hands. He knew that this might be his mother's last birthday party. Chen Di felt a little emotional. No matter who you are, you can't escape the cycle of life and death. He glanced at his own hands and saw that his hands were wrinkled and no longer as strong as they were in the past.
The three small countries that he had not yet conquered were a thorn in his heart.
He became increasingly worried that his life was limited and that he would not be able to complete this great undertaking that would go down in history.
As Emperor Chen was thinking about it, the Empress Dowager Dong beside him suddenly coughed.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Queen Mother Dong opened her eyes wide and pointed forward in horror.
The excitement at the banquet suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked at the high pile of peaches pointed at by the Eastern Queen Mother. Black ink marks slowly appeared on each peach, flowing from top to bottom, and gradually a strange human face emerged.
A young boy from some unknown family screamed "Black Impermanence" and then burst into tears. His mother was so frightened that she covered his mouth with her shaking hands.
Seeing the Empress Dowager Dong turn pale, Emperor Chen was furious and immediately called the imperial physician, saying, "Deshun, go and see what's going on!"
The chief eunuch Deshun immediately trotted over, squinted his eyes to examine it, picked up a little black ink with his finger and put it in his mouth to taste it, then turned and walked quickly towards the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, it's probably the paint used to write the birthday message that has melted. We need to take a closer look to find out what's going on..."
Emperor Chen was furious. He slammed his palm on the table and shouted angrily: "Where is Qi Mingcheng!"
The emperor was angry, and everyone in the hall stood up immediately.
You Yuji stood up and knelt down along with the others, saying in unison: "Your Majesty, calm down."
The Empress wanted to persuade Emperor Chen to calm down, but seeing that the Empress Dowager Dong was frowning and unhappy, she immediately said to His Majesty, "Your Majesty, I will take my mother to the side hall. Let the old lady rest for a while, and let the imperial physician come to treat her."
Emperor Chen agreed.
The Queen supported the Queen Mother and walked out from the east door. Before they walked out, they heard a commotion outside.
"What's wrong? Is this how you let Qi Mingcheng be in charge of the birthday banquet? Where is Qi Mingcheng? Bring him here to me!" Emperor Chen became even more displeased.
Nanny Li beside Princess Huarong came over in a hurry. Seeing His Majesty's expression, she knelt down before speaking, "Your Majesty, King Kang Jing sneaked into the room where the princess was resting and made obscene remarks. This is not decent. The princess ordered this old servant to come and ask Your Majesty to make the decision!"
"What? This is outrageous!" Emperor Chen left his seat and walked out.
Cui Xingxian, the prince consort in the hall, was stunned when he learned that something happened to the princess. He hurriedly followed His Majesty out.
All the people who were kneeling on the ground in the hall stood up and whispered to each other.
"Why would King Kang Jing want to humiliate my aunt?" Chen Lingyan didn't quite believe it. "Did my aunt misunderstand..."
"Shut up!" Princess Jinnan glared at her.
Chen Lingyan shut up. But she still didn't believe it. Who dares to mess with aunt's temper...
You Yuji half-lowered her eyes and listened to the discussions around her with an indifferent expression.
The resting houses were not far away, and after the hall had calmed down, it was easy to hear the noise outside, especially the sound of Princess Huarong scolding and lecturing. Although she was a princess, Princess Huarong was very rude when she scolded people.
The prince was the first to leave the table and go to the side hall.
Soon after, several princes and princesses also followed. Although the courtiers in the hall were curious, they still stayed inside. Only the royal family members went to the side halls one after another.
You Yuji stood quietly beside the princess, not saying a word. The princess was not feeling well and did not want to watch the excitement, but she could not resist Chen Lingyan's curiosity and wanted to go over to take a look.
"The other princesses have all gone there. If we don't go, wouldn't that mean we don't care about our aunt?" Chen Lingyan blinked. Chen Lingyan said this to cover up her desire to watch the fun.
The princess then went to the side door.
The chief eunuch Deshun ordered the two young eunuchs beside him to quickly put away the pile of birthday peaches. You Yuji took a last look at the "melted" birthday peaches, and silently followed the princess out, like an obedient and polite daughter-in-law.
"You babe, you actually dared to call me baby, aren't you disgusting?" Princess Huarong pinched her waist with one hand and pointed at Qi Mingcheng, who was kneeling on the ground with his arms forced by the guards.
Qi Mingcheng's face turned pale and red, and he tried to explain himself: "Your Majesty, this is really a misunderstanding! I didn't know that Princess Huarong was in the room. Even if you give me some courage, I would not dare to offend the princess!"
"Asshole, you are still quibbling at this time!" Princess Huarong rushed over, grabbed Qi Mingcheng by the collar with one hand, and slapped him twice on the face with the other hand. "At that time, you kept calling me princess, saying that you fell in love with me at first sight and that you thought about me day and night! Now you say you didn't know I was in the room? I am the only princess in the whole palace! You are deceiving the emperor!"
"I dare not! Your Majesty, this is truly a misunderstanding!"
Emperor Chen said nothing, and even the anger on his face disappeared. The emperor's mind is hard to predict, and no one can guess what he is thinking.
When Qi Mingcheng turned around and saw You Yuji, anger immediately appeared in his eyes. He was furious, staring at You Yuji with wide eyes, and shouted: "Your Majesty, it was she who framed me!"
Everyone looked at You Yuji.
Chen Anzhi was just watching the fun. He had always been at odds with Qi Mingcheng. He was secretly happy to see Qi Mingcheng in trouble today, but when he suddenly heard him blaming You Yuji, his face turned cold.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, even Chen Di, You Yuji raised her eyes slightly, blinked slowly, and showed a bit of surprise and confusion. She walked forward gracefully, and the people in front of her automatically made way for her.
You Yuji walked up to Emperor Chen, bowed dignifiedly, and said, "Your Majesty, after my granddaughter-in-law performed, she went to the side hall to change clothes. Later, she saw King Kang Jing wandering around in front of Princess Huarong's door and reminded the prince that the princess was resting in the house, and then she returned to the front hall. At that time, a team of palace maids passed by and they can all testify for my granddaughter-in-law."
"You framed me!" Qi Mingcheng's face turned red with anger. He wanted to stand up and strangle this vicious woman to death, but the guards held his shoulders, preventing him from moving.
You Yuji turned to look at Qi Mingcheng and asked, "The prince keeps saying that I framed him, but what reason do I have to frame the prince?"
"Because!" Qi Mingcheng suddenly fell silent.
The reason for framing him? Was he going to reveal that he used the unclear relationship between You Yuji and the owner of the Poison Tower to force her to send Princess Que away
Not to mention that he was the one who threatened others and wanted to forcibly take Princess Que. Although Princess Que was only a slave, she was now a member of the Jinnan Palace. If he told the truth in front of everyone today, it would be a slap in the face of the Jinnan Palace.
This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that His Majesty has been looking for news about the Poison House. If His Majesty knows that he knows but does not report it, it will be a capital crime!
Qi Mingcheng opened his mouth, not knowing how to defend himself.
Chen Anzhi rushed into the crowd, stood in front of You Yuji, pointed at Qi Mingcheng and said angrily: "Qi Mingcheng, you want to drag others to be buried with you before you die, right? You killed your wife, and you want to harm my wife too!"
Chen Anzhi finally found the opportunity to add insult to injury.
I feel so happy.
"An Zhi." King Jinnan scolded.
The word "death" is taboo in the palace, especially today is the birthday banquet of the Queen Mother Dong. What Chen Anzhi just said is a bit unlucky.
After being reminded, Chen Anzhi immediately realized that he had spoken out of turn. He immediately knelt down to apologize to His Majesty, "Grandpa Emperor, it was my grandson who spoke out of turn. I was really angry, so I spoke without thinking. Grandpa Emperor, you don't know that last time King Kangjing brought his wife to the mansion to apologize, on the way back, Princess Kangjing jumped out of the car. Although I'm not 100% sure, I guessed that it was King Kangjing's debauchery that made his wife sad. It's not surprising that he did such a frivolous thing today!"
Qi Mingcheng was so angry that his eyebrows twitched. But no matter how stupid he was, he knew that it was useless to defend himself at this moment.
Princess Huarong had already become impatient with what she was saying.
"Father! You have to make the decision for your daughter! She hasn't even fallen asleep yet. If she does, and he takes the opportunity to bully her, she won't be able to survive!"
The prince wanted to plead: "Father, King Kang Jing may have been confused after drinking..."
"Shut up!" Princess Huarong interrupted the prince immediately. "What cowardly words are you saying? Why do I have to be bullied before I can sentence him to death? If I don't sentence him to death today, I will kill him! Anyone who begs for mercy is going against me!"
In terms of arrogance and domineering, if Princess Huarong ranks second, no one in the world can be first.
The prince was just trying to gain a reputation for being magnanimous, but the word "cowardly" was too hurtful. He secretly glanced at the emperor's face and stopped talking cautiously.
Chen Xun and Chen Lian looked at each other and saw the same sadness in each other's eyes. His Majesty was a martial artist and did not like the prince's kindness and generosity. Today, the prince was the first to stand up and plead for King Kang Jing. Chen Xun and Chen Lian obviously did not approve of their father's action.
Emperor Chen was silent for a long time.
You Yuji quietly glanced at Emperor Chen's expression, then looked away. Emperor Chen was a perceptive person. Today's frame-up was not very clever. But You Yuji was sure that Emperor Chen would punish Qi Mingcheng.
She understood that the three kings of different surnames were originally established by His Majesty for his own reputation. Why did His Majesty immediately hand over the matter of the birthday banquet for the Queen Mother Dong to him after Princess Kangjing jumped out of the car? He probably wanted to deal with Qi Mingcheng. She was using a knife to kill someone, and His Majesty was probably more willing to go with the flow.
"I trust and respect you very much, so I gave you the responsibility of hosting the Queen Mother's birthday banquet. I never thought that you would make mistakes everywhere! You even disturbed the Queen Mother! You also insulted my beloved daughter with drunken words and disrespected the royal family! You are so disappointing!"
Qi Mingcheng sat on the ground with a pale face, already knowing the result in his heart.
"From today on, you will be demoted to a commoner! Come, take him away and lock him up."
"Father! I want to punish him personally!" Princess Huarong pointed at Qi Mingcheng.
Emperor Chen said nothing, which meant he acquiesced.
Princess Huarong then smiled with satisfaction.
"Cui Xingxian!" Princess Huarong yelled at her husband, "What are you doing hiding in the back? Take him back and use him as a target!"
Cui Xingxian hurriedly asked someone to take Qi Mingcheng away. He was a scholar and always obeyed the princess's words.
You Yuji didn't feel very happy when she saw Qi Mingcheng being dragged away.
She didn't want him to be demoted to a commoner.
She wants Qi Ming to die.
Of course, Qi Mingcheng would not survive for a few days if he fell into the hands of Princess Huarong.
"Your Majesty!" The chief eunuch ran over in a panic, "The owner of the Poison Tower was discovered in the palace!"
Emperor Chen was furious: "How dare you! Capture him alive immediately!"
The chief eunuch stammered, "The owner of the Poison Tower burned down the Yuanlong Palace!"
Yuanlong Palace is your majesty's bedroom.
The author has something to say: 77 red envelopes will be randomly dropped from readers who leave messages on both this chapter and the next chapter today~