He has been in high office for twenty years, but it was not because of the recommendation of the ministers below that he reached this position.

He had fought for the throne bit by bit by following the previous emperor. He had gone through bloody battles, killed enemies on the battlefield, ridden alone for thousands of miles, and had debates with envoys from enemy countries in a crowd. What had he not done?

Until now, don’t you understand what happened in the Gu family?

If that were the case, then his reputation as Emperor Wu of Northern Qi would really be destroyed.

The emperor snorted coldly and looked at Concubine Li and the second prince.

"Since you are deeply regretful about this and your filial piety is commendable, then starting from today, the two of you will go to mourn for the old lady of the Gu family for forty-nine days to comfort her soul in heaven."

What?

The second prince was stunned and looked at the emperor in astonishment, "Father, what do you mean?"

He just cried and said sorry to his grandmother, but it was just lip service, can it be taken seriously?

Of course the emperor could see what the purpose of Concubine Li and the Second Prince was.

He also agreed to it, without mentioning their anxious fight for the throne. He just downplayed it and put them in solitary confinement.

"What I mean is that one of you is one of the four concubines, and the other is a prince. If you do something wrong, you should set an example and show the people what filial piety is."

"So, starting today, the two of you will go to the Gu family and observe mourning for the old lady of the Gu family for forty-nine days. We can talk about it after she passes the age of seventy-nine."

"I will send Eunuch Yang to accompany you."

As he said this, he raised his hand.

A white-haired eunuch walked out from behind the screen and said, "I will obey your majesty's order and go with Concubine Li and the Second Prince to mourn for the old lady of the Gu family."

Then, he came to Concubine Li and the Second Prince, "Your Majesty Concubine Li, Your Majesty the Second Prince, please come in!"

Concubine Li and the Second Prince looked at each other in shock.

Both of them thought that they would be scolded when they returned today, and maybe Concubine Li would be locked up in the cold palace, but they didn't expect that the result would be like this in the end. They were left to observe mourning?

For a moment, the two were caught off guard and could only say goodbye and head to Gu's house overnight.

Then the emperor called Shen Cangyun in.

Shen Cangyun had been suffering for several days, with new and old injuries on his body. He had also been waiting outside for more than an hour, and was now on the verge of collapse.

After entering the room, he knelt down immediately and said, "Your Majesty!"

The emperor's eyes fell on his face and he said lightly, "The Prime Minister has been very busy recently. He looks haggard."

Shen Cangyun: “…”

He served as prime minister for seven or eight years. Although he was second only to the emperor, he had never seen through the emperor on the throne.

Because in terms of experience and achievements, what Shen Cangyun had done was far inferior to that of the extraordinarily heroic Emperor of Northern Qi.

Kneeling on the ground, he could only tremble, "I am incompetent and have caused Your Majesty to worry."

"You are incompetent."

The emperor snorted, "You can't even tell who is your own daughter. I even doubt whether you were the one who handled the case nine years ago."

"!"

Shen Cangyun's heart skipped a beat.

Nine years ago, remnants of the previous dynasty sneaked into the capital and wanted to blow up the city. Hundreds of people came at once.

Li Xiangyi passed the message to him through Shen Ruyi.

He led his men to capture them all in one fell swoop, using the method provided by Li Xiangyi.

At that time, he thought Li Xiangyi thought highly of him and gave him such great wealth.

But he didn't expect that it was not him that people respected.

It’s Shen Ruyi.

I did all that just to make Shen Ruyi's life better.

But what does the emperor mean by saying this now?

Shen Cangyun was puzzled and couldn't help looking at the emperor, "I am sorry to disappoint Your Majesty."

Thinking of what the emperor had just said about his daughter, he explained, "Your Majesty, I was deceived and mistook mud for pearls and jade. I kept it by my side and pampered it for so many years, but in the end I realized that everything was in vain..."

The emperor was so angry that he laughed, "Prime Minister, don't forget that Shen Ruyi was conferred the title of Princess Zhaoyang by me personally!"

Although he didn't know what kind of ability Shen Ruyi had that made his youngest son risk his life to protect her, what kind of vision did Lao Jiu have?

That's the son who looks most like him!

Just because of this resemblance, Lao Jiu would not even look at any low-quality stuff.

As a result, when it entered Shen Cangyun's mouth, it turned into mud?

Also paid by mistake?

Shen Cangyun's heart skipped a beat.

Only then did he remember that although Shen Ruyi almost angered him to death, she had already established herself in the court. Not only did Li Xiangyi say that she was the Ziwei lucky star, but the emperor also conferred her the title of princess!

After realizing that he had said something wrong, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, calm down. That's not what I meant."

"I am just saying that Jiaojiao is my biological daughter. I feel bad about her living away from home for so many years."

"Yeah?"

The emperor looked at him and said, "Then, since the Prime Minister knows your second daughter so well, you should know where she has been since she came to the capital, right?"

“…”

Shen Cangyun was a little confused when he heard this.

"Your Majesty's meaning...I don't quite understand."

Shen Cangyun raised his eyes and looked at the majestic emperor in front of him, but when he saw him, he found that the expression on the emperor's face was not majestic, but sneer and mockery.

He was a little confused for a moment.

The emperor looked at him and said, "Your second daughter has been to Yingchun Tower a total of seventeen times in the year since she came to the capital."

"Even if the Prime Minister doesn't know where she came from, he should at least know where Yingchun Tower is, right?"

"What?"

Shen Cangyun's eyes widened and his defense was broken.

"That's impossible. How could she go to a place like that? Jiaojiao is in poor health. She has been recuperating at home for the past year. She has only been to Zuixinlou once..."

"presumptuous!"

Eunuch Qian interrupted him with a sharp shout, "Are you saying that the emperor wronged your daughter?"

"…I dare not!"

Shen Cangyun broke out in a cold sweat and quickly knocked his head to the ground.

But how could Shen Jiaojiao go to Yingchun Tower and be targeted by the emperor?

Shen Cangyun was puzzled.

The emperor threw a piece of paper in front of him and said, "It seems that our prime minister really doesn't know how to judge people. He can't even control his own little daughter, let alone manage the affairs of the court."

"I see that you have been very worried lately and don't seem to be able to manage the government, so I will grant you a month's leave so that you can go home and rest."

After saying that, he waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your consideration!"

Shen Cangyun responded somewhat slowly, but he was still confused until Eunuch Qian escorted him out the door.

He needed to rest. Not to mention he was tired, even his injured body needed to be recuperated.

But such a big thing happened in the Gu family today, even if he was not very smart, he could feel the turmoil in the court, but why didn't the emperor blame him today?

Instead, he mentioned Shen Jiaojiao?

To the emperor, Shen Jiaojiao was just an insignificant woman in the harem. He would not pay attention to her, let alone deliberately mention that Shen Jiaojiao went to Yingchun Tower!

When the word Yingchun Tower was mentioned, Shen Cangyun couldn't help but shudder and asked hurriedly, "Eunuch Qian, how did the emperor know that my daughter had been to a place like Yingchun Tower?"

What exactly caught the emperor's attention?

This is simply incredible!