But when Emperor Chongjin looked at Xuandi, he did not see the panicked young man he had expected. Instead, Xuandi remained calm and composed after hearing the words, a stark contrast to Duke Zhongwu.
The fact that two people reacted so drastically to the same thing left Emperor Chongjin somewhat bewildered.
Emperor Chongjin's expression darkened slightly. He glanced at Dejiang and said sternly, "Did you hear what Niannian said? Please invite the Fifth Prince and Duke Zhongwu to the side rooms and prepare paper and pens."
Dejiang had already done it once yesterday, so he naturally knew what to do. He immediately led the eunuchs to the two people in the side rooms on both sides.
Emperor Chongjin asked a few questions slowly and deliberately, while Huo Chengche and the Empress Dowager remained silent.
This matter was neither too big nor too small, but it involved Le Hengchang and the important minister Zhongwu Gong. The Empress Dowager did not concern herself with state affairs and did not say much about it.
As for Huo Chengche, he was naturally on Hengchang's side. Even for the sake of his own little baby, he would not allow his father to have any estrangement from Hengchang.
Huo Chengche had indeed intended to say a few words on behalf of Xuandi and his uncle, but when he saw Xuandi's indifferent expression, he knew that his father's method was probably ineffective this time.
Although he didn't know what Xuandi was going to do, he knew he would definitely have a way to deal with it.
Thus, Huo Chengche also shut up and remained silent, leisurely watching the show.
Soon, Dejiang retrieved the confessions of Xuandi and Zhongwu Gong from the side rooms on both sides.
Emperor Chongjin took it and immediately began to read it. His relaxed brows furrowed, and his expression became very complicated and difficult to understand.
What surprised everyone even more was that after Emperor Chongjin finished reading it once, he flipped back and carefully read it several more times.
Although the Empress Dowager did not know what Emperor Chongjin wanted to do at first, she immediately understood his meaning when she heard his arrangements.
She didn't look at the contents of the two papers, but seeing Emperor Chongjin's expression, she couldn't help but guess that Xuandi and Duke Zhongwu's accounts probably didn't match.
"In my opinion, there may be some hidden story behind this matter. If the Prince of Hengchang really had rebellious intentions, then he would not have needed to send Niannian here." The Empress Dowager was clearly biased towards Niannian and Hengchang because of her affection for the Prince.
Emperor Chongjin put down the two sheets of Xuan paper, met the Empress Dowager's expression, shook his head slightly, and handed the Xuan paper to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. There is no discrepancy between what they said." He could not see any flaws in their argument.
This must have been carefully planned and agreed upon beforehand, or it must all be true. But in either case, it doesn't match the reactions of the two people just now.
If they had discussed it beforehand, Duke Zhongwu wouldn't have let it slip so easily. If it were true, then Duke Zhongwu wouldn't have looked so guilty when the two of them were taken away separately.
This was the reason for Emperor Chongjin's complicated expression; he truly couldn't understand it.
The two were brought back. Xuan Di still had that same cheeky, irritating look, arrogant and unruly, which made Emperor Chongjin very unhappy. Emperor Chongjin glanced at him and then looked away.
Duke Zhongwu still looked uneasy, looking nervously at Emperor Chongjin. This made Emperor Chongjin wonder if this old man was really so timid, and was just worried that he would be displeased by such a trivial matter.
But Lord Zhongwu, that reckless man, had a very big heart. He really didn't believe that the reason this fellow was trembling like that was just because of that.
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