Chapter 472: The Emperor and Empress Interrogation
The Sixth Prince pinched her nose lovingly, "I bought it just to cheer you up because I was worried that you would feel uncomfortable!"
Shen Tian realized, "Your Highness, are you talking about the Second Prince's wife holding a flower viewing banquet but excluding me?"
"Aren't you uncomfortable?"
Chen Tian shook her head honestly, "What's there to be sad about? I don't like to play along with them. If they don't invite me, I'll be happy. Besides, didn't His Highness let me watch the show in peace? How long can Zhao Wanyi continue to be so rampant!"
Murong Chen was very happy, "I'm glad you can figure it out!"
The Second Prince's wife felt frustrated copying scriptures, but she couldn't fool the Queen Mother. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. So she handed a sign to the palace, hoping that the Queen would plead for her.
As a result, her people didn't even get to see the queen.
Those who had been keeping an eye on the movements of the Second Prince's Mansion became more and more uneasy the more they thought about it.
At this time, Cen Yingfan escorted the second prince back to the imperial capital.
After spending several years at the border and being weathered by the wind and frost, Murong Xu seemed to have become much more stable.
He looked at the towering city walls, his eyes flashing with a determined look.
Cen Yingfan stepped forward respectfully and saluted, "Second Prince, how about I escort you to the palace to meet His Majesty first?"
The second prince nodded slightly, "Let's go!"
The team entered the imperial city, and the Second Prince's wife and her entourage were already waiting there.
When Zhao Wanyi saw Murong Xu on horseback, her eyes were red and she was very excited. "Your Highness!"
Murong Xu looked in the direction of the voice, his eyes a little dazed. Thinking of Zhao Wanyi's family background, a gentle smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he looked at her affectionately.
Zhao Wanyi's heart was pounding, and she felt so excited as if she was newly married after a long separation. She followed the team all the way out of the palace.
The eunuch sent by the emperor to greet him had been waiting for a long time. He saluted Murong Xu neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Second Prince, General Cen, the emperor and the ministers have been waiting in the hall for a long time. Please come in!"
As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Wanyi who was standing beside him, frowning slightly, "Second Prince Consort, if you want to enter the palace, I will pass on a message for you."
Zhao Wanyi came back to her senses, looking a little embarrassed, and hurriedly shook her head to refuse, "No, there is still something else to do in the mansion, I will go back and wait for Your Highness."
Murong Xu was satisfied with Zhao Wanyi's sensibleness, and immediately told her: "The concubine Cen and the child will go back with you. I will tell you more later."
When Zhao Wanyi heard the word "child", the smile on her face almost couldn't be maintained. When Murong Xu turned around, her face fell instantly.
With the help of her maid, she slowly walked towards the carriage and coughed lightly.
Cen Mingxue hurriedly came down with the child in her arms to pay her respects to Zhao Wanyi.
Zhao Wanyi cast her cold eyes on the child and asked in a gloomy tone, "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Cen Mingxue trembled, "Yes, yes, girl."
Zhao Wanyi sneered, her tone softened a bit, "Just this one?"
"Yes," Cen Mingxue replied respectfully.
Zhao Wanyi's expression became more and more contemptuous, "I have been with His Highness for many years, but I only gave birth to a girl. I am so useless! Go back home!"
Liu'er quickly helped Cen Mingxue into the carriage.
I was about to speak out of frustration.
Cen Mingxue shook her head at her, signaling her to be patient.
As soon as the carriage left the palace gate, Murong Xu and Cen Yingfan also entered the hall and respectfully saluted the emperor and empress.
"Your son pays homage to his father, the emperor, and his mother, the empress!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
The emperor looked down at the two people below and said nothing.
His silence puzzled Murong Xu and Cen Yingfan. The ministers who were optimistic about Murong Xu secretly changed their expressions and suddenly became uneasy.
Just when Murong Xu was feeling anxious.
The emperor ordered coldly: "Go and bring Cen to me."
Cen Mingzhu held the child in her arms and walked into the hall anxiously with the help of the palace maids. When she saw Cen Yingfan, she felt as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw and cried out aggrievedly, "Dad!"
"Mingzhu! Why are you here?" Cen Yingfan was shocked and his face turned pale.
Murong Xu on the side suddenly had a bad feeling.
The ministers were confused.
The emperor suddenly stood up, picked up the memorial beside him and smashed it on Murong Xu's head, shouting angrily, "Murong Xu! Look carefully! Are these your women and children?"
Murong Xu shook his head in panic, "Father, no, it's not like that! Father, please listen to my explanation!"
The emperor was furious. "You still want to quibble after all this! Murong Xu, oh Murong Xu! Don't forget why you went to the border in the first place! Fornication! I thought you would learn your lesson by going to the border, but I didn't expect that I would let you go back to the mountains and let you do more unbridled things. You even dared to touch a married woman. You are indeed my good son!"
"Is there some misunderstanding here?" The Taifu staggered two steps. Regardless of whether Murong Xu really robbed a married woman or not, he had to find a way to exonerate Murong Xu.
The Third Prince was not happy. "Grandmaster, what you said is wrong. Father has found this woman and my second brother's child. He must have investigated everything long ago. My second brother, you already have a child. You can't deny this. A man should take responsibility for his actions. You can't let a woman and a child stand in the way when something goes wrong!"
Murong Xu was so angry that he almost vomited.
The Grand Tutor's face turned pale and blue, and he was unable to refute.
The queen cried in disappointment and knelt down to beg the emperor, "Your Majesty, please give the second son a chance to explain. If it is really his fault, I will admit it."
"Mother, mother, it's not like that! I am innocent!" Murong Xu burst into tears. He no longer had the high spirits he had when he first entered the palace.
The emperor took a deep breath and looked at Murong Xu coldly, "For the sake of the queen, I will give you a chance to explain. If you dare to tell a lie, I will never let you off easily!"
All the ministers gasped and looked at Murong Xu nervously.
Murong Xu was extremely panicked, and his lowered head concealed his uneasy expression.
At this moment, Cen Yingfan kowtowed three times and cried in regret, "Your Majesty, please understand! This matter has nothing to do with the Second Prince. It's my fault for not educating my daughter well! At the beginning, my daughter was exiled to the border and almost died. The Second Prince had just arrived at the border and didn't know about it, so he saved my daughter.
As a result, my daughter developed feelings for the Second Prince that she shouldn't have, and she even tampered with his food. Fortunately, the Second Prince realized it in advance and did not fall into the trap. The one who had an affair with my daughter was only the guards around him.
Only the Second Prince and I knew about this matter. Even my daughter was kept in the dark. Later, my daughter became pregnant. I felt ashamed, so I had to beg the Second Prince to let my daughter return to Zhaohua County.
The Second Prince did not know about these things. I am guilty. It is all my fault!"
"Dad! What did you say?" Cen Mingzhu pulled Cen Yingfan's clothes in disbelief.
Cen Yingfan remained unmoved.
She looked at Murong Xu again, tears welling up in her eyes, "Your Highness! Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Please tell me, is this child your own flesh and blood?"
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