"My marriage is none of Your Majesty's concern," Xiao Changqi said coldly, glancing at the Empress.
The Empress, however, maintained a virtuous and gentle demeanor, and said with a smile, "In the past, when I was in charge of the inner palace and also had to teach the Crown Prince, I inevitably neglected to care for the Seventh Prince. Seventh Prince, please don't blame your mother."
The old emperor snorted coldly: "Your Majesty is too kind. When Consort Wen passed away, the seventh prince was already seven years old. Was he really not capable of handling things?"
The Empress smiled lovingly and said, "Although you are seven years old, you are still just children. In your mother's eyes, no matter how old you are, you are all your mother's children."
Xiao Changqi coldly watched as the old emperor and empress played good cop and bad cop roles respectively, then picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Finally, the topic shifted back to Xiao Changqi's marriage. The Empress even called out Liu Yushi's daughter at the banquet: "Pingting, is she of marriageable age this year?"
Liu Pingting curtsied and replied gracefully, "Your Majesty, I have reached the age of marriage."
"In my opinion, Pingting and the Seventh Prince are a perfect match, so why not bestow Pingting upon the Seventh Prince as a concubine? What does Your Majesty think?"
The old emperor nodded in satisfaction and was about to issue a decree when suddenly the sound of a wine cup being slammed back onto the table came from Xiao Changqi's table.
Xiao Changqi coldly raised his eyes, his icy gaze, as sharp as a blood-stained blade, falling on the old emperor and empress: "If Your Majesty and Your Majesty like them, you may take them into the palace."
The Empress's gentle and virtuous expression froze for a moment: "Seventh Prince, your mother is choosing a concubine for you."
"No need." Xiao Changqi didn't give her the slightest bit of face.
"Your Majesty..." The Empress looked at the old Emperor, hesitant to speak.
The Empress was his wife, and Xiao Changqi's audacity to disrespect her meant that he had no respect for his father, the Emperor!
"Seventh Prince!" The old emperor slammed his fist on the table in anger, and then coughed heavily due to his agitation.
The crowd said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Seeing that things were going smoothly, the Crown Prince immediately rebuked Xiao Changqi with righteous indignation: "Seventh Prince, Father is currently unwell. As his son, it's one thing for you not to respect Father's teachings, but you even deliberately anger Father. You are simply unreasonable and disregard human ethics!"
"Father, I humbly request that Your Majesty punish the seventh prince for his filial impiety."
Xiao Changqi remained expressionless, standing with his hands behind his back, his cold and fierce gaze seemingly fixed on nowhere.
Xiao Yan stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Father, you know the seventh prince's temper best. He had no intention of disobeying you. Please forgive him this time."
"Cough cough cough...!!!" The old emperor coughed more and more violently, and even his wrinkled face turned bluish-purple.
It doesn't look like it was coughed up; it looks more like...poisoning.
The Crown Prince's purpose was clear: he wanted Xiao Changqi to bear the blame for angering the Emperor to death.
However, Yuan Qing had long anticipated that the Crown Prince would take action at the New Year's Eve banquet. In order to avoid being put in a passive position, he specially arranged for an assassin to assassinate the Emperor.
As soon as the Crown Prince shows any unusual behavior, the assassins under the command of the Prince Gan will begin their operation.
Just then, shouts came from the west from the palace guards: "Assassins!"
The imperial guards standing around immediately drew their swords and stood in front of the old emperor, shouting, "Protect Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing the word "assassin," the Crown Prince's gentle and refined expression changed.
He hadn't given any signal, so how did someone take action?
The Crown Prince had made two preparations. Ideally, Xiao Changqi would anger the old emperor to the point of death from poison. If not, he would arrange for assassins to infiltrate the palace and assassinate the old emperor at the banquet. Then, he would take advantage of the opportunity to save the emperor and kill him.
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