Those words shook everyone present, except for Concubine Yuan and Granny Wang, who all stared wide-eyed at Emperor Shunwu.
They even muttered to themselves: Has someone messed up the Emperor's mind?
To say such a thing as soon as he appears.
Could he be referring to the unloved Fourth Prince in his arms?
Nan Qi had the same guess, but he thought that Fei Nanyu was his aide, so the credit for resolving the palace crisis couldn't possibly go to a child of only a few years old.
With that thought, he suddenly felt emboldened.
"Your Majesty, you have suffered, and your son has been trying to find news of you, enduring thousands of hardships until finally rescuing you today.
I never expected to be bound by that traitor Fei Nanyu.
Your Majesty, please save your son."
Emperor Shunwu had already learned that Nan Qi was not his biological son, and he was even clearer that this crisis could only be resolved by the efforts of his biological son Nan Yu.
Originally, he had planned to deal with the rebellion of the Empress's party first before settling the matter with Nan Qi, but he never expected that Nan Qi would shamelessly come to claim credit at this moment.
"Guards, take Nan Qi to the dungeons and await his punishment."
Upon hearing these words, everyone present was caught off guard.
Emperor Shunwu saw that no one was moving after his order, so he angrily scolded them: "What? Have my words become useless to you?"
As he spoke, he raised the imperial token in his hand.
The troops that only obeyed the token would follow the orders of whoever held it.
As Emperor Shunwu raised the token, they swiftly came forward to seize Nan Qi.
Nan Qi was already bound tightly, and even standing was difficult for him. Being grabbed by several soldiers like this, he felt himself losing his balance.
At the same time, it seemed as though he had realized something, and his face was filled with unease and anxiety.
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?
Have I done wrong in rescuing you?"
As he spoke, he also cast a pleading glance towards Concubine Yuan.
Concubine Yuan met his gaze for a moment before immediately turning her face away.
No matter how muddled Emperor Shunwu might be, he was still the ruler of a nation, and that aura of a sovereign was undoubtedly present.
"Take him to the dungeons first and await his punishment."
The officials who had originally sided with Prince Qi immediately knelt and pleaded.
"Your Majesty, Prince Qi has merits in rescuing you. It is not appropriate to imprison him in the dungeons. Please reconsider..."
"Please reconsider..."
Emperor Shunwu was still not very clear on the details of how the palace crisis was resolved, but he ordered Nan Qi's imprisonment because of the issue with his identity. No matter whose fault it was initially, Nan Qi had been an imposter prince for over twenty years.
Especially after Mo Jiuye and the others left Fe Mama in Concubine Yuan's quarters, Emperor Shunwu questioned her extensively.
In front of the Emperor, Fe Mama dared not hide anything, and to try to spare Nan Qi's life, she took as much blame upon herself as possible.
Even so, Emperor Shunwu still deeply resented Nan Qi.
He had doted on Concubine Yuan, and his treatment of Nan Qi could be considered affection by association.
Yet the son he had cherished for over twenty years turned out to be someone else's child, which left Emperor Shunwu feeling like a complete fool who had been toyed with.
Seeing these ignorant officials pleading for Nan Qi without knowing the reason, Emperor Shunwu's face grew even darker.
"Hmph! Since you all wish to plead for this sinner, then you can accompany him to the dungeons as well."
The pleading officials were instantly drenched in sweat from fright when they saw this, exchanging glances without daring to say another word.
Minister Hao understood the situation, and he knew that the Emperor had not yet reached the step of purging the court. Imprisoning Nan Qi's supporters now would bring no benefit to the court.
Thus, he mustered his courage and spoke up.
"Your Majesty, it was Fei Nanyu and Prince Rui who led their troops to rescue you from the crisis earlier. Now that most of the Xue family's remnants have been captured, how do you wish to deal with this matter?"
Although Emperor Shunwu had become somewhat muddled, he had still been the ruler for many years and understood the priorities of different matters in his heart. Moreover, the one speaking was Minister Hao.
He still trusted Minister Hao, who had never chosen to side with any particular faction, always maintaining a heart that considered the interests of the court.
Earlier, he had only spoken so harshly because he was angered by those officials pleading for Nan Qi.
Now that Minister Hao had taken the lead, he followed that cue to back down.
"Hmph, I will spare you for today, but if anyone dares to plead for Nan Qi again, watch your heads."
The officials felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and although they still did not fully understand the situation, they dared not say another word, lowering their heads and standing aside like quails.
Emperor Shunwu swept his gaze across the room, finally settling his eyes on the Empress and Xue Prime Minister.
Xue Prime Minister had already realized that his fortunes had turned, and he had no grounds to dispute anything. Others might not know, but Emperor Shunwu was very clear that Xue had previously threatened him into handing over the imperial seal by holding the Empress Dowager's life hostage in the secret chamber.
Now that the situation had been completely reversed, anything more he said would only bring suffering upon himself.
The Empress had never imagined that her and her mother's clan's meticulous plans would fail like this.
At this moment, she was still unable to accept reality, only fully realizing her predicament when Emperor Shunwu looked towards her.
But she did not want to die, and she was even more unwilling to accept this outcome.
"Your Majesty, your concubine had no choice but to act this way, it was Xue Prime Minister who instigated me..."
Seeing his own daughter trying to shift all the blame onto him, Xue Prime Minister angrily retorted: "If it wasn't for you to become the Empress Dowager, why would I have done such a thing?"
...
Suddenly, a dramatic scene of backstabbing unfolded in front of the Phoenix Palace gates, with the two sides blaming each other until Emperor Shunwu finally lost his patience and rebuked them, putting an end to their dispute.
If there was anyone Emperor Shunwu resented the most at this moment, it was undoubtedly the Empress.
If looks could kill, the Empress would have died several times over already.
"Vile woman, you colluded with your mother's clan to imprison me, and even caused the death of my mother, the Empress Dowager. Yet you still dare to shamelessly make excuses for yourself?"
Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager had been killed, the officials present looked around in disbelief, but could not find her among the crowd.
"Vile woman, tell me, where is the secret chamber where you hid the Empress Dowager's remains?"
Emperor Shunwu had been knocked unconscious and taken to the secret chamber, and he had also been unconscious when leaving, so he was unaware of its location.
For the two days since Mo Jiuye had led him away from the chamber, the thought of his mother's death had been weighing on his mind.
After all, she was his biological mother, and she had died because of him.
Thinking of this, Emperor Shunwu's heart bled, and he longed to torture the one responsible for the Empress Dowager's death to a thousand cuts.
The Empress was now terrified by Emperor Shunwu's knife-like gaze, her fear stemming from her desire to live.
Perhaps revealing the location of the secret chamber could be her last chance to bargain for her life.
"Your Majesty, your concubine only became foolish and listened to Xue Prime Minister's words, committing these acts. I beg you to consider our many years as husband and wife, and as long as you are willing to spare my life, your concubine will reveal the location of the secret chamber."
The Empress had truly been frightened into stupidity, not even considering that she was not the only one who knew about that secret chamber.
