For a moment, the entire hall fell into a dead silence as everyone turned to look at General Mu. At that moment, General Mu finally realized that today he was likely in grave danger. His daughter’s life was uncertain, and he had fallen into Mo Xiao Li's trap. All signs indicated that this time, Mo Xiao Li was truly prepared to bring him down completely.
Thinking this way, he felt somewhat steadied. He suddenly stood up and glanced around before saying, "Your Majesty, ever since you came here, I have been worried that something might happen to you. Therefore, I took the liberty of sending some people to guard you. If anyone dares to act recklessly here, I will find them."
Everyone present could hear the threat in his words, but Mo Xiao Li seemed not to have heard it at all. Instead, he chuckled lightly, picked up a teacup from the table, took a gentle sip, and then suddenly smashed the cup on the ground, producing a loud shattering sound. Everyone was startled, and the palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly knelt down.
However, this did not frighten General Mu at all; instead, he stepped forward calmly and said, "Your Majesty, please do not be angered by trivial matters. After all, your health is the most important thing, isn't it?"
"Thank you for your concern, General Mu. However, my health is perfectly fine. I just didn't expect you to care so much for me by bringing people here early. But perhaps you are unaware of some issues involved?" Mo Xiao Li suddenly smiled and said.
General Mu felt assured and naturally did not take his warning to heart. He smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, please do not think that everything is decided by me. Sometimes it is wise to be cautious of those around us. I truly had no knowledge of what happened before, but can you really suppress the news that the Empress is still alive?"
This blatant threat had no effect on Mo Xiao Li now because sometimes when one already understands the situation in their heart, they do not take such words seriously.
At that moment, Li Fusheng suddenly approached and bowed to Mo Xiao Li and the others before whispering, "Your Majesty, the people sent to Nanyang have returned."
Everyone's attention was drawn to this statement, while Mo Xiao Li seized the opportunity when no one was watching to clench his fists tightly; his heart was already filled with rage.
Before long, two individuals were brought in. They first bowed to Mo Xiao Li before one of them spoke up: "Your Majesty, during our investigation in Nanyang, we uncovered some matters; however..." He glanced around at the others present. Mo Xiao Li naturally understood his meaning and was just about to let them leave when General Mu suddenly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, since this concerns the Empress, why don't we all listen? Perhaps we have misunderstood something."
As soon as he finished speaking, it immediately drew agreement from everyone present. Only Qian Zhao Yi stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, since this is a matter of state affairs, I shall take my leave." She pretended to prepare to exit.
However, Mo Xiao Li knew there was no escaping this time and could only say: "My beloved consort need not leave; it is not a big deal."
Then he turned back to the two people and said, "How is your investigation going?"
"In response to Your Majesty, during this secret investigation in Nanyang, we discovered something strange."
"What is it?"
Another person immediately replied, "The people of Nanyang do not speak at all about the Wise King's consort. It is said that this consort is an ominous person, which is why she has been confined to a place that no one knows about. Because of this, the Emperor of Nanyang has been quite disappointed in the Wise King. For some time now, the Wise King has not been in the capital but has been with that consort in that unknown place. We have made great efforts to investigate, but in the end, we still could not find out where that place is."
"The only thing we know is that the consort comes from our Western Yan, but we cannot confirm whether that person is the Empress."
Everyone listened quietly to their words and couldn't help but whisper among themselves. However, Mo Xiao Li suddenly laughed and then looked at General Mu, saying, "My dear Minister Mu, since this is the result, I really don't know how you investigated this matter on that day unless you already knew about it, right?"
Upon hearing this, General Mu immediately knelt on the ground. This news was particularly unfavorable for him; not to mention anything else, just the crime of deceiving the emperor would be enough for him to suffer.
"Your Majesty, you must believe what I say. At that time, I truly investigated and found that the Wise King's consort is indeed the Empress. I really do not dare to deceive Your Majesty."
"How can I trust your words? I have always known that you do not want the Empress as your daughter, but I did not expect you would do such a thing."
Mo Xiao Li said this while looking towards the door and solemnly ordered, "Come here! Arrest General Mu and await punishment. We will return to the capital in three days!" After saying this, he turned and left without caring for the calls from those behind him.
Meanwhile, in a relatively remote area of Nanyang, a maid was preparing medicine while chatting with someone beside her. "What has happened to the prince lately? Wasn't it said that the consort was ill? Why hasn't he come to see her? Has he forgotten so quickly?"
"Don't say such things! If the prince hears it, we won't be able to bear the consequences. You know how good he is to the consort. This time when she fell ill, I heard that he went out to find a famous doctor for her examination. He should be back soon." The maid beside her hurriedly advised in a low voice.
However, for that maid, these words were nothing to worry about. Instead, she laughed and said, "You are really overthinking it. The prince must think that this princess cannot be presented in public, so he is keeping her hidden. Otherwise, people outside wouldn't even know who our princess is..."
But before she could finish her sentence, someone behind them interrupted, "What are you doing here instead of properly attending to the princess?"
The two of them turned around in fear and saw the steward standing at the door, looking angrily at them. They immediately stood up, lowered their heads, and said softly, "Steward Wang, this servant knows she was wrong. Please let this one off just this once."
Steward Wang snorted and glared at them, saying, "You better be careful. The prince will be back soon. If anything happens to the princess during this time, don't expect to leave here alive."
Hearing Steward Wang's words, both of them were a bit frightened and hurriedly replied, "This servant understands. You can rest assured, Steward Wang."
After hearing such words, Steward Wang finally felt reassured and left. Watching him go, the two exchanged glances and quickly returned to their tasks.
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