The man, who had surrendered, grumbled, "Could you please be a little gentler? I didn't hurt your little princess, shouldn't you be grateful to me? They say guests from afar are always welcome, are people from the Central Plains this rude?"
With a nonchalant voice and a roguish tone, the shadow guard had never seen such an arrogant prisoner before. With a sudden tightening of his grip, he used the iron chains to tightly constrict the man's arms, causing him to hiss in pain and finally forget his usual banter.
Xihe Palace is right next to Shouci Palace, and the commotion here quickly alerted the Empress Dowager.
Because of the man's earlier statement, "Report the collected intelligence back to the commander," everyone present was detained.
The eunuchs brought out chairs from the room. Emperor Chongjin and the Empress Dowager sat at the head of the table, while the Crown Prince sat below Emperor Chongjin, holding a little baby who wouldn't get down from his arms.
This matter involved court politics, and Consort Min Zhaoyi, the head of the Xihe Palace, only heard the commotion but was confined to her room and unable to inquire further.
As for Chen Zhixian, whom no one could remember, she was placed in the Empress Dowager's palace by Emperor Chongjin.
Emperor Chongjin sat upright, his imperial aura profound and imposing. His gaze, heavy with authority, pressed down on the bound man. "Tell me," he said, "who you are and who you work for."
The man, bound hand and foot, met Emperor Chongjin's gaze, yet remained nonchalantly standing there, his fair and handsome face showing no sign of panic.
"I'm a spy for Cheng Han Kingdom, of course I work for Cheng Han Kingdom. My base is in the courtyard next door. Oh, by the way, I have an accomplice, that palace maid over there, so you don't have to ask!"
As he spoke, the man, taking advantage of the situation, chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, how about you untie me since I've been so honest? I'm not very comfortable being tied up like this."
Emperor Chongjin gave the grinning man a deep look, sent men to search the neighboring courtyard, and then turned his gaze to the palace maid he had mentioned.
The palace maid bowed her head and kowtowed, saying, "This servant, Xiao Cui, greets Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth. This scoundrel is a treacherous rogue who has tried to humiliate me many times but failed. That's why he made up so many lies to harm me on his deathbed!"
Xiao Cui cried out, "Your Majesty, you mustn't believe this rogue's nonsense! He always talks such rubbish! Today, this rogue cornered me against the wall, but the little princess was playing in a tree and suddenly fell down, which led to what happened next! I know nothing about the enemy country's secret sighs!"
As she spoke, Xiao Cui looked up at the little boy and said, "Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, you can ask the little princess. She was in the tree at the time and should have seen it!"
The man never expected Xiao Cui to be so good at twisting the truth, but thinking about the little baby's angle, looking down, at the two round heads, and then imagining the scene Xiao Cui described...
His face darkened, and he looked at the little boy with a headache, but his eyes were already wandering away, clearly thinking of a solution.
Where no one could see, Xiao Cui smiled smugly.
"Sister is lying! This brother isn't a hooligan!"
Just then, the little baby's soft, sweet voice rang out with great certainty.
Xiao Cui was stunned. She looked up at the little boy in surprise, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief, and a hint of guilt flickering deep within.
The Empress Dowager and Emperor Chongjin exchanged a glance.
The Empress Dowager asked the little boy affectionately, "How does Niannian know that this older brother isn't a hooligan?"
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