Upon hearing this, Eunuch Qi's expression stiffened slightly: "Does His Majesty mean..."
"It's just that Lian'er replaced it."
Qiao Lian'er sat on the dragon throne to the side, feeling immense admiration. How could an emperor who ruled over a peaceful and prosperous world be simple?
It was easy to deduce the whole story.
Qi Gonggong's scalp tingled, and the tingling sensation made a layer of cold sweat appear on his forehead.
"This is too, too convoluted and bizarre. Could this search be targeting the Qiao family?"
The emperor couldn't help but recall that the eldest prince had volunteered to personally investigate the rumors of someone colluding with the enemy.
As a result, letters were found in the Qiao family's incense burner. Before the letters were even opened, the eldest prince immediately accused the Qiao family of treason and implicated the Pei family as well.
The Pei family, as a non-royal family, holds great power and should be a major threat. Why have they been allowed to remain?
Since the founding of the Great Swamp Kingdom a century ago, the Pei family has helped the Great Swamp Kingdom resolve crises of foreign invasion and internal power struggles more than twenty times. Generation after generation, they have made contributions to the Great Swamp Kingdom, and even sacrificed many of their clansmen and children.
This is the anchor of the Great Swamp Kingdom, unlike those princes and dukes who only care about eating, drinking, and having fun, and who are openly and secretly fighting each other.
Therefore, the Pei family was very important in the hearts of their ancestors. Even if they didn't need it, they would keep it and worship it, even if it was just as a lucky charm.
The eldest prince actually set his sights on the Pei family, which the emperor cannot tolerate.
He also threatened to ruin the Qiao family. He dared to say that none of his princes and princesses were as filial to him as Lian'er, nor could any of them please him as much as Lian'er.
When these two events overlapped, the emperor felt a surge of anger, an emotion he had never experienced before, and one he had never vented his anger on the eldest prince.
But this time, the eldest prince was far too ignorant.
The emperor closed his eyes, trying hard to control his anger, but it wouldn't subside.
"Go, bring the First Prince here."
The eldest prince had been confined to the palace, and when the emperor suddenly summoned him, the prince assumed it was to appease him and gladly went.
But when he arrived outside the bedchamber, he keenly sensed the oppressive and cold atmosphere inside and immediately became uneasy.
Could it be that Father Emperor has found out something again?
The emperor sat on the throne, his face gloomy, emanating layers of oppressive power.
"Chu Yaozhao, do you know your crime?"
Upon hearing his father address him by his full name, the eldest prince was startled. This was something that had never happened before. He raised his head, a hint of panic in his eyes.
"Father, I do not know. What crime have I committed?"
"Do you really think that just because I wasn't present at today's search, I knew nothing about it?" The emperor stared intently at him. "From the very beginning, this was all part of your scheme to deal with the Qiao family and wipe out the Pei family in one fell swoop. Your volunteering at the morning court was nothing but an act. You wanted to use the search as a pretext to solidify the crimes of the Qiao and Pei families."
The eldest prince broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't expected his father to reveal the whole story so easily. Could it be that Qiao Lian'er or the Pei family had gone to his father and impeached him?
But then again, it's impossible. Without evidence, neither family would be foolish enough to pin the blame on a prince; that would only get them smeared.
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