Xi Xizhi slowly woke up from her dream, covered her mouth with her furry paws, yawned twice, and saw more than a dozen old ministers slowly walking in from outside as soon as she opened her eyes.
Situ Feiyu and Liu Fuqing were the first to arrive, walking side by side on the left and right, followed by their party's confidants.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
"Rise, all of you." An Honghan put down his brush, raising an eyebrow slightly. "In your opinion, how should I handle this matter?"
Recently, Situ Feiyu has been overshadowing Liu Fuqing in terms of his merit in controlling the floods in Fengzhou. Naturally, Liu Fuqing dislikes him and speaks first: "Your Majesty, regardless of the circumstances, Prince Duan and Miss Xi have indeed been in the same room. I believe that a woman's reputation is of utmost importance. I have thought about this for a long time and think it would be better for Miss Xi to replace the Fourteenth Princess and go to Huiying Kingdom for a marriage alliance. Furthermore, Prince Duan has also said that he is willing to take full responsibility. This is a solution that satisfies both parties."
Both for public and private reasons, Liu Fuqing hopes that His Majesty will adopt this suggestion.
Everyone knows that His Majesty dotes on Miss Xi, and Liu Fuqing does not want Xi Xizhi to become a factor influencing His Majesty's thoughts in the future.
An Honghan's gaze was as cold as ice, and his imposing aura was impossible to ignore. "If I disagree, are there any other options, my lords?"
Seeing Liu Fuqing's discomfiture, Situ Feiyu stroked his beard smugly. "Your Majesty, my method is exactly the opposite of Prime Minister Liu's. The matter of marriage should be handled by the princess. Although the Fourteenth Princess committed a crime by breaking into the prison, my Fengze Kingdom has other princesses. How can we allow an eight or nine-year-old child to marry Prince Duan as his principal wife and lose face for Fengze Kingdom?"
"As for the matter between Prince Duan and Miss Xi, what man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? At worst, after Prince Duan marries the princess, we can send Miss Xi to him as a concubine. In this way, we can preserve the dignity of our Fengze Kingdom and also give Miss Xi a good home."
A concubine?!
The little ferret in An Honghan's arms immediately widened its eyes. "Thank you!"
I originally thought Situ Feiyu's opposite approach was great, but who knew it was even more of a rip-off!
An Honghan's face was gloomy as he coldly looked at the ministers below.
Is this their so-called solution? They're all trying to push Xi Xizhi out.
Xi Xizhi placed her two little hands on An Honghan's thighs, nervously hooking them onto the embroidery on the dragon robe.
I was so angry that my heart, liver, spleen, and lungs ached. I cursed in my heart: How awful! Each of their bad ideas is worse than the last.
Why should she be the one to get married? Nothing really happened between her and Duan Yufei!
"Do you only remember that Prince Duan said he would take responsibility, but forget that I also said... that I sleep in the same bed with her every day?" The seemingly casual words were filled with a deep chill.
The ministers shuddered. "But Your Majesty, that morning all the ministers saw the bruises on Miss Xi's body."
A chorus of agreement filled the imperial study.
Xi Xizhi was furious when she heard this. She stuck her little bottom out and snuggled into An Honghan's arms, no longer looking at the officials.
Anyway, since 'Miss Xi' has disappeared, no matter how much you discuss it, you can't send her to Huiying Kingdom.
The thought of this gave Xi Xizhi a headache again.
Having finally cultivated into human form, I'll never be able to show my face to anyone again.
"Your Majesty, if what you say is true, then Miss Xi should be considered Your Majesty's person. A woman who commits adultery deserves to die a thousand deaths and have her entire family implicated! If Your Majesty does not punish Miss Xi, it will be difficult to appease the people!" The voice came from an unknown direction in the noisy imperial study.
"How can the dignity of my Fengze Kingdom be disgraced? I beg Your Majesty to punish Miss Xi."
"I hope Your Majesty will prioritize the overall situation. The marriage alliance between Huiying Kingdom and Huiying Kingdom is related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. We must not allow such a matter to cause the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries."
Each note was louder than the last.
Xi Xizhi tilted her head back, gritted her teeth, and couldn't help but curse inwardly. What had she done to offend them all? What did they mean by adultery? What did they mean by deserving to die? Just a moment ago they only wanted to marry her off to Huiying Kingdom, and now, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they all want her dead!
What good would it do you if she died!
Xi Xizhi, annoyed, scratched An Honghan's thigh a few times with her little paws.
To ordinary people, this action was simply due to the Phoenix Cloud Sable being too lively and active, and it did not arouse any suspicion.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind, and I grasped a single word—death.
As if she had figured something out, Xi Xizhi quieted down again and jumped onto the table in front of An Honghan.
Since these ministers want her dead so badly, then let's grant their wish.
The little paw quietly reached into An Honghan's teacup, dipped it in the water, and secretly wrote the character 'death' on the table.
This was all thanks to An Honghan's diligent teaching of characters; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to express myself in such a public setting.
An Honghan glanced at the words and immediately understood what Xi Xizhi was planning.
This weasel was clever enough to turn a desperate situation into a life-or-death one.
Xi Xizhi felt proud of the idea she had come up with.
Since he had no intention of turning back into human form anyway, he might as well fake his death.
It's not like I've never been a mink before, so what's so scary about it?
With food, drink, and someone to soothe her, besides, she can still change back to her original form when no one is around.
Despite the ministers arguing and making a huge fuss, An Honghan remained silent.
Only after a long time, when the ministers were hoarse from arguing and their voices grew softer, did An Honghan slowly speak, "I will bestow poisoned wine tonight. Are you all satisfied?"
Having received the expected answer, the ministers all beamed with joy, unaware that the other party had already devised a countermeasure.
"Your Majesty is wise." The ministers bowed in praise.
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