The Queen Mother suppressed her anger. She was unable to defend herself against the accusations made by her grandson in front of all the civil and military officials and concubines.

He looked at Xuan Ling meaningfully and sneered, "Your Majesty, what a trick."

Xuan Ling smiled grimly, "It just so happens that today, in front of all the officials, I, your son, also want to resolve the matter of the secret decree."

From the audience, Yu Mo's heart-wrenching cry was heard: "Mother! Mother, wuwuwu..."

Rong Guiyi's hands finally fell down due to weakness.

Xuan Ling said, "Send Rong Guiyi back to Liuyun Palace and pass on the order. Rong Guiyi raised the prince, so I will grant her a gracious burial as a consort."

The Minister of Rites said, "I obey your order."

Then, Xuan Ling extended his hand towards Yu Mo and said in a low voice, "Yu Mo, come here."

Yu Mo's face was covered with tears, but he stared at the empress dowager, motionless.

——The seeds of hatred have been deeply planted.

As the eldest prince suddenly lost his mother, this was a great opportunity. The lower-ranking concubines were powerless and dared not move, while the higher-ranking concubines could not sit still, so Concubine Shu and Concubine Liang stepped forward at the same time.

"Your Majesty, may I accompany Yu Mo to Liuyun Palace?"

"Your Majesty, Yu Mo just lost his mother. Could you please let me accompany her and take care of her?"

Xuan Ling waved her hand, and Concubine Shu and Concubine Liang immediately supported Yu Mo, who was shaking with tears, on the left and right, and slowly led him out of the hall.

Outside the palace, the pearls and jade in Concubine Shu's hair swayed slightly, her eyes full of pity, and she said softly: "Yu Mo, don't be afraid, follow Concubine Shu..."

Concubine Liang sneered. Her crimson brocade dress made her face look gorgeous. She gently pinched Yu Mo's shoulder with her fingertips and whispered, "Sister Shu Fei is really anxious. If you don't know, you would think Yu Mo is already your son."

Concubine Shu's eyes turned cold, but her face remained gentle: "Sister Concubine Liang, be careful with your words. Yu Mo is sad now. You and I are both concubines. We should be considerate of the emperor and take good care of Yu Mo."

Concubine Liang snorted softly: "Compassionate? Sister is really good at pretending to be a good person."

The two men's eyes met, and undercurrents surged.

Yu Mo seemed not to hear anything. He just stared at Rong Guiyi who was being carried away by the palace servants, tears rolling down his face silently.

Inside the palace, the empress dowager held a roll of bright yellow silk in her hands and said in a deep and cold voice, "Here is the late emperor's secret decree. Madam in charge, please read it aloud."

The head nanny read aloud, "...I command the Emperor to choose a prince to be raised by the Empress Dowager, to inherit the teachings of the Heavenly Family..."

As soon as the words fell, the whole hall was in an uproar!

Prime Minister Feng's pupils suddenly shrank—the late emperor had actually left such a secret decree?!

Although he did not know the secret that Concubine Jia was the Empress Dowager's biological daughter, he also knew that the Empress Dowager favored Concubine Jia. If the prince was born under the Empress Dowager's name, wouldn't he fall into Concubine Jia's hands in the future?

——Then wouldn’t his daughter, Concubine Liang, ever have a chance to make a name for herself?

He immediately stepped out and said in a deep voice, "Empress Dowager, I dare to ask you - are you raising the prince for yourself, or for one of your concubines?"

The Queen Mother tightened her fingertips, and the jade Buddhist beads made a slight "click" sound.

——This old fox actually saw through her thoughts directly!

Her expression remained unchanged as she said calmly, "I am only following the late emperor's wishes and doing my part to educate the heir."

Xuan Ling's lips curled slightly as he spoke slowly, "Mother, all officials know that imperial edicts must be made in duplicate, one in the hands of the official and one in the Ministry of Rites."

He turned his gaze to the Eunuch Liu, the Minister of Rites, and said, "Mr. Liu, go check the Eunuch Liu archives. Do you have the secret decree in the hands of the Empress Dowager?"

Lord Liu bowed and said, "I obey your command."

The Queen Mother's brows tightened unconsciously, and her knuckles turned white.

——She actually forgot about this!

Half an hour later, Lord Liu hurried back and knelt down to report, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites...does not have this secret decree on file!"

The hall suddenly became silent.

Xuan Ling slowly raised his eyes and spoke in a low voice, "My dear ministers, if there is no archive, what do you think should be done with this secret decree in the hands of the Queen Mother?"

Lord Wang stepped forward, "According to the regulations... it should be considered invalid. In more serious cases... it could even be considered a false edict."

The Queen Mother slammed the table, then laughed in anger: "How dare you! How dare you question the secret decree in my hands?!"

Xuan Ling smiled slightly, speaking in a gentle tone, "Mother, calm down. After the Queen was deposed, Le Wen and Le Yun are left without anyone to take care of them. How about... you take Le Wen with you to raise him?"

The empress dowager dug her fingertips into her palm, her eyes swept towards Yu Chen in Sheng Xiyan's arms, and her back teeth were bitten so hard that they hurt.

What I want is Yu Chen’s eldest grandson, not a granddaughter!

Her plan was completely ruined!

I just regret that I missed one move.

At this moment, Le Wen trotted forward and grabbed her sleeve with tears in his eyes: "Grandmother..."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Queen Mother had no choice but to reach out and embrace her, suppressing her anger and saying, "Since the Emperor has made the decision, I will raise Le Wen."

She changed the subject and said coldly, "Rong Guiyi is gone, who will raise Yu Mo?"

Xuan Ling's eyes were deep as he spoke slowly, "Master Gao has made great contributions to the cultivation of rice. The harvest has been abundant for three years, and his contribution has benefited the country."

Mr. Gao quickly stepped out of the line, knelt down and bowed his head.

Xuan Ling: "Draft an imperial decree to promote Gao Guirong to Consort Gao. From now on, Yu Mo will be raised by her."

Gao Guirong was stunned for a moment, then kowtowed in ecstasy: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace! I will definitely treat Yu Mo as my own child and take good care of him."

Such a good thing! I didn't even pray to the Buddha before going out today! I must pray more when I get back.

Xuan Ling said, "I hope you can raise Yu Mo into a good man of integrity and perseverance."

"I obey your command."

The Queen Mother closed her eyes and had nothing to say.

"So what about Princess Le Yun?" someone asked.

Xuan Ling said majestically: "Le Yun is still young, I plan to give her to Concubine Liang to raise."

Prime Minister Feng felt complicated - although it was not a prince, Concubine Liang had Le Yun, so there was hope.

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