Emperor Chongjin stared at Duke Zhongwu for a long time, so long that even the fat smile on Duke Zhongwu's face froze.

Finally, Emperor Chongjin snorted coldly and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice, breaking the eerie silence.

“Although Xuandi was young at the time, he was still the fifth young master of Hengchang. He came to the capital without even informing you. If something happened to him in the capital, could you bear the responsibility? Or are you worried that if I or the late Emperor found out, something might happen to him?!”

The Duke of Zhongwu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This humble subject would never have dared to have such thoughts! It is truly... truly..."

"What is it?" Emperor Chongjin emphasized, his voice heavy with nasal tone.

Duke Zhongwu shuddered, catching a glimpse of Xuandi out of the corner of his eye. Before Xuandi could even look him in the eye for help, Duke Zhongwu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and hurriedly said, "It's the Fifth Young Master! It was the Fifth Young Master who was worried that he would be dragged back by the Prince and beaten, so he—"

"cough!"

This time, Duke Zhongwu suddenly stopped speaking not because he didn't know what to say, but because Xuandi beside him coughed softly, which startled Duke Zhongwu so much that he dared not continue.

But at this point, the meaning is already quite clear.

As expected, Duke Zhongwu was quite familiar with Xuandi. Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the Empress Dowager immediately thought of what happened the day before yesterday.

The other day, Xuandi acted so silly in front of her, begging for a reward. She thought he wanted some great favor, but in the end, he just asked her to keep it a secret and not let the Prince of Hengchang know that he had sneaked into the capital.

"Alright, Your Majesty, back then Xuandi was just a seven or eight-year-old child. He had a tantrum at home and ran away to play with his uncle who was close to him when he was a child. It was no big deal. Since Tangzhi already knows he was wrong, Your Majesty should not make a mountain out of a molehill."

The Empress Dowager immediately sided with Duke Zhongwu. She had always been very friendly to Duke Zhongwu and the Qin family, as they were the family of her deceased virtuous daughter-in-law and the legitimate maternal uncle of the Emperor of Xiheng!

Not to mention that the Qin family, the Duke of Zhongwu, has been loyal and virtuous for generations, keeping a low profile and never causing trouble, making them the mainstay of the court.

Her daughter-in-law was a perfectly good girl who married into the family, but she passed away a few years later. Wasn't it because she was exhausted from bearing children for her son and worrying about the household? The Empress Dowager always felt somewhat sorry for the Qin family.

Now, the more she dislikes the chaotic state of the imperial harem, the more she cherishes the memory of her deceased daughter-in-law. Even if it's just a case of loving the house because of the woman, the Empress Dowager will still protect Qin Tangzhi.

With the Empress Dowager's words, Emperor Chongjin naturally couldn't refuse his mother's request.

Before he could vent his anger, the Duke of Zhongwu's words completely extinguished his anger. His face darkened, and he looked at the Duke of Zhongwu with a cold snort, saying, "Since my mother has already pleaded for you, my dear minister, please sit down."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xuandi and said, "You sit down too."

There was nothing he could do; his son and mother both sided with the other party.

Emperor Chongjin had been enjoying the feeling of being all alone for the past two days. He didn't want to really become all alone, so he snorted and decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

Upon hearing this, Duke Zhongwu breathed a long sigh of relief and gave Emperor Chongjin a simple, honest smile.

This guy had always been indifferent to him, so this sudden change to being so obsequious really took Emperor Chongjin quite a bit to get used to.

He met the Duke Zhongwu's smirk with a cold expression and shouted, "Silence!"

The Duke of Zhongwu's fat face stiffened, and he quickly stopped smiling, sitting up obediently, looking rather ashamed.

Emperor Chongjin was somewhat satisfied. "Since you know your mistake, my dear minister, you must make amends for it with good deeds."