After about three quarters of an hour, the clapping of boards outside the hall finally stopped. At this moment, a young eunuch hurried into the hall and knelt down to report, "Your Majesty! The man is dead!"
Emperor Wen said in a cold, expressionless voice, "Drag the body out and throw it into a mass grave! My dear ministers! Does anyone have any objections now?"
His Majesty's ministers were all silent, not daring to utter a word. At this moment, Prime Minister Li Mingfu bowed cautiously and said, "Your Majesty, we congratulate you on the birth of your beautiful bride!"
Emperor Wen raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at Li Mingfu sharply. He sneered inwardly: this guy always contradicted him, but he didn't expect that he would be so obedient today just because he had beaten an official to death.
What a coward! However, this also made Emperor Wen secretly happy, feeling that his majesty had been further consolidated.
After the court session ended, the ministers left the hall and were greeted by a strong smell of blood. Looking down, they discovered a pool of blood on the ground outside the hall, a shocking sight.
The faces of the civil servants turned pale in an instant, and some of the timid ones even vomited.
The military generals were accustomed to such scenes. There was not much expression on their faces, but they couldn't help but wonder who this imperial concubine who was so favored by Emperor Wen was.
While everyone was talking, An Qingxuan quietly approached Xiao Jinghan and asked in a low voice: "Jinghan! Whose noble lady is this?" He frowned slightly, and his eyes revealed a hint of worry and confusion.
Xiao Jinghan had a gloomy face and did not answer An Qingxuan's question. Instead, he lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, there are too many people here. Let's go back home and talk about it." After that, he turned and left, leaving An Qingxuan with a puzzled look on his face.
An Qingxuan followed Xiao Jinghan into the carriage. Xiao Jinghan took out a teacup and poured fragrant tea for An Qingxuan: "Uncle, have some tea!"
An Qingxuan took the teacup and took a big sip. Before he could swallow it, he heard Xiao Jinghan say in a cold voice: "The imperial concubine looks exactly like my mother!"
"puff--"
An Qingxuan spat out a mouthful of tea, and a lot of it even splashed onto Xiao Jinghan.
Xiao Jinghan frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
An Qingxuan's face looked a little ugly. As a good friend of Xiao Qichen, he was of course well aware of the emotional entanglement between Emperor Wen and Xiao Qichen.
There are too many secrets and conspiracies involved. If it is not handled properly, it may cause a huge storm.
Xiao Jinghan calmly handed a brocade handkerchief to An Qingxuan and said calmly, "When An Yu came to my house last night, she mentioned that the Queen had a big fight with Emperor Wen because of Jin Xiaohe."
An Qingxuan took the handkerchief, wiped the tea from the corner of his mouth, then snorted and said, "The Queen naturally doesn't want to see someone who looks like your mother staying by your Majesty's side. Back then, Your Majesty... Alas!"
Xiao Jinghan lowered his voice and continued, "I previously suspected that Jin Xiaohe was sent by Prime Minister Li Mingfu, but judging from the current situation, the Queen's intense reaction to this matter may not be closely related to Li Mingfu."
An Qingxuan frowned and asked doubtfully, "Could it be the Third Prince?"
Xiao Jinghan shook his head slightly. "So far, no clues related to the Third Prince have been found. And everything Jin Xiaohe said about her life is true. I'm just worried that she might be a spy sent by Yue Wu."
An Qingxuan's expression grew serious. "We can't rule out this possibility. Your Majesty's obsession with your mother was practically known to the world. If someone wanted to exploit this to deceive Your Majesty, it's very possible."
He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Jinghan, have you told anyone else about this?"
Xiao Jinghan shook his head and said indifferently: "No, I only told my uncle."
An Qingxuan nodded, and after a moment's contemplation, he said, "This matter is too complicated, and we need to consider it carefully. Please don't act rashly. Let's investigate everything thoroughly before we can make any decisions."
Soon, the carriage stopped at the gate of Wu'an Palace. Xiao Jinghan got up and got off the carriage, and An Qingxuan followed him down.
At this time, the housekeeper came over and said respectfully, "Your Majesty! Uncle! The princess said she had something to do and asked you to have dinner at the palace and wait for her return."
Xiao Jinghan frowned and asked, "Did the princess say where she was going to do business?"
The butler, with a stern face, replied solemnly, "The princess said I was not good at speaking and was afraid I might misrepresent the matter. She only said that if the prince asked, I should say it was a very important matter!"
Hearing this, An Qingxuan couldn't help but twitch his lips, thinking to himself: This housekeeper almost made Xiao Qi stay at her parents' house and not come back. He is really... uh! A wooden man!
In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince invited the Crown Princess and two concubines to dine together. The Crown Prince sat at the head table, with Li Jingshu, Li Xuemei, and Li Xuelan sitting on either side of him.
The palace maids came in one after another and placed delicious dishes on the table. The most eye-catching one was the plump steamed sea bass, which exuded an enticing aroma.
When the palace maid served the dishes to Crown Princess Li Jingshu, Li Jingshu looked at the sea bass, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and she said with a smile: "This sea bass is very delicious. Let the two sisters try it too!"
Although she hated the two concubines in her heart, she still had to maintain harmony in front of the prince.
Upon hearing this, Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan quickly stood up to express their gratitude, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Crown Princess!"
The palace maids then placed the sea bass on their plates. However, at this moment, Li Xuemei suddenly frowned, covered her mouth, and began to retch.
Seeing this, Li Xuelan on the side quickly covered her mouth and nose, her face became very ugly, and then she began to retch.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table became a little awkward, and everyone looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
The prince frowned and asked with concern: "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan looked at each other, a trace of panic flashed in their eyes. They knew they were pregnant, but they had not had time to tell the prince.
Li Jingshu raised her eyebrows and shouted, "Go quickly! Call the imperial physician!"
Li Xuemei's face flushed with shyness, and she said softly, "My sister and I didn't have our periods this month..."
The Crown Prince's face immediately lit up with joy, and he hurriedly instructed the palace maid beside him, "Hurry up and have the imperial chef prepare a few dishes suitable for the two concubines! Oh! Make more tonic soup!"
However, Li Jingshu, who was standing aside, was filled with endless sorrow. In the past, Cheng Li only had eyes for her, but now, he not only had two concubines, but also Liang Di and Liang Yuan.
In the future, he will have more and more women, and she will be just one of them.
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