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The night was approaching as expected, yet the vast palace was eerily silent, with everyone bowing their heads in fear and silence. At that moment, the Empress Dowager sat on a nearby stool, playing with the Little Prince in her arms.
Seeing this, Jinghe stepped forward with a smile and said, "Empress Dowager, it's not that I speak out of turn, but I find the circumstances surrounding the Little Prince's birth rather suspicious."
The Empress Dowager shot her a glare and replied angrily, "Impudent! Is this something you can say? Are you taking advantage of my affection for you and becoming increasingly unruly?"
Jinghe immediately knelt down, covering her mouth with her hand in apology, "I was just overthinking it. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager glared at her again and coldly said, "I'll let you off this time, but do not let me hear similar rumors again. Don't blame me for being unkind when that happens."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager."
Meanwhile, Mu Junqi lay quietly on the bed, his face still very pale, with even his lips lacking color. Ziyue and Huixin were attending to him by his side.
The Empress Dowager had naturally heard about the urgent situation at the Border Defense. After playing with the Little Prince for a while, she had the Nursemaid take him away and then got up to check on Mu Junqi. She instructed them to take good care of the Empress before leaving with everyone.
Tianming Palace Study
Mo Xiao Li glared at the documents in front of him, his expression growing darker with each passing moment. Li Fusheng beside him trembled slightly; after serving the Emperor for so many years, he had never seen such a grim expression.
Suddenly, he swept all the documents off the table onto the floor and shouted angrily, "Come here! Summon General Mu to the palace!"
At that same time, the General's residence was unusually bright; it was as if something significant had happened. Many members of the Imperial Forest Army stood at the entrance.
In the main hall of the General's residence, General Mu sat in a position of authority, looking down at those below him with evident disdain. He showed no regard for them and mockingly said, "Xia Gonggong claims that His Majesty has summoned me to the palace. However, it is dark outside; even you know that outsiders cannot enter the palace at night. Even if His Majesty summons someone, they must wait until the hour of the tiger to enter."
This rule had been established during the reign of the Former Emperor after an incident where an outsider took advantage of a summons to meet a concubine inappropriately. It was decreed that henceforth any emperor wishing to summon an outsider must wait until the hour of the tiger.
However, today's situation was rather sudden, and given General Mu's high status and power, how could a mere eunuch possibly sway him?
As the time approached, after such a long wait, if General Mu could not be brought into the palace, it would be difficult for him to escape blame. Since he had already offended two parties, it was better to offend the imposing figure in front of him.
He took a step forward and smiled, saying, “Servant certainly understands this rule, but given the sudden turn of events and the many people following us, nothing will happen. When the Emperor lays blame later, General Mu should be careful.”
Unexpectedly, General Mu laughed instead of getting angry. “Are you threatening me, my lord? If it weren’t for my assistance to Former Emperor back then, how could we have the world we have today?” After a pause, he continued, “Of course, I don’t want Xia Gonggong to find it difficult to act, so I’ve thought of a solution for you.”
At this moment, Xia Gonggong was already in a state of panic. Hearing this made him overjoyed, and he quickly smiled and said, “Please enlighten me, General Mu.”
“It’s simple; can we just have the Emperor come here soon?”
Upon hearing that from the Midwife, everyone in the hall knelt down and paid their respects, saying, “Congratulations to Empress, congratulations to Empress.”
Outside the hall, Mo Xiao Li had long been impatient. Hearing this announcement, he looked incredulously at Li Fusheng beside him and said, “Did she give birth to Elder Brother?”
Li Fusheng and others immediately knelt on the ground together and said in unison, “Congratulations to the Emperor on the birth of a prince! Long live our Emperor!”
Now, Mo Xiao Li was convinced of what he had heard. He excitedly turned to the side and said, “Good! There will be generous rewards,” laughing without regard for his image.
Then, the tightly closed door opened. The Midwife, beaming with joy, bowed to everyone and said, “Congratulations to the Emperor; it’s a Little Prince. Both mother and child are safe now.”
“Li Fusheng, reward him,” he said to Li Fusheng behind him before looking at the Midwife excitedly and asking, “Can I go in now?”
“Your Majesty should not rush. We will handle everything inside first,” she replied respectfully before walking back in.
Mo Xiao Li paced outside, unable to contain his excitement. Meanwhile, Consort Xi, smiling brightly, bowed to him and said, “Heaven bless our Western Yan. The birth of the Little Prince must be extraordinary. Congratulations to you, Your Majesty.”
Before she could finish speaking, a distant shout grew closer. Everyone looked toward the door in confusion and saw a bloodied man staggering in. His body bore marks from whippings; clear bloodstains were visible on his tattered clothes.
Mo Xiao Li furrowed his brows as he watched the scene unfold, while Li Fusheng had already stepped down the stairs and walked towards the man. "What is going on?"
"The... Border Defense is in crisis, Nanyang has launched an attack," the man seemed to have exhausted all his strength, struggling to finish his sentence before collapsing to the ground.
Everyone present was shocked by this sudden turn of events, their eyes wide as they stared at the scene. At that moment, Mo Xiao Li exuded a chilling aura as he approached the man and coldly asked, "What exactly is happening?"
This question was incredibly arrogant; it was likely that only General Mu would dare to speak like this. Just then, an angry voice came from outside the hall, "I didn't expect General Mu to have such wisdom at this time!"
The crowd turned to see who had arrived. It was Mo Xiao Li, dressed in a golden brocade robe, accompanied only by Zuo Yunqing and Li Fusheng. His expression was unreadable, yet there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Your loyal subject pays respects to Your Majesty.; long live the Emperor!" Everyone knelt down with General Mu, shouting in unison.
Mo Xiao Li merely glanced at them and said lightly, "You may all rise."
General Mu stood up and looked at him, saying, "I wonder what brings Your Majesty here at this late hour? If there has been any negligence, please forgive us." He bowed again as he spoke.
However, Mo Xiao Li turned to Xia Gonggong beside him and said, "I ordered you to find someone, yet it took you so long. It seems you truly do not understand my temperament."
Xia Gonggong suddenly knelt on the ground and trembled as he replied, "Your Majesty, forgive me! I am at fault; I am at fault!" He knocked his head against the ground forcefully.
Meanwhile, General Mu chuckled and stepped forward with cupped hands, saying, "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be blamed on Xia Gonggong. After all, there are rules established by the Former Emperor, and I am merely adhering to those rules. Please do not hold him accountable."
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