Inside the hall, there was total silence.
The Queen Mother said to the maid unhappily, "Go and bring the food box over."
"Yes!" Following the Queen Mother's instructions, the palace maid hurriedly withdrew, and then hurriedly handed over the food box that Zong Zheng Xiaoting had given her yesterday.
The emperor looked at the food box that was handed to him with a frown, and then he looked at Concubine Hua, who frowned in disgust, covered her mouth and pretended to vomit, while the empress dowager and the other two beside her also had pale faces.
Seeing the emperor's expression, the queen mother tried to hold back the urge to vomit and said angrily to the emperor, "Your Majesty, look at these. This is what I am angry about. Zong Zheng Xiaoting is simply lawless. He teased me and the princess like this, causing me and Yunluo to eat a lot."
The Queen Mother was furious and slammed her palm on the heavy table. "Your Majesty, do you think it's okay for me to punish you in this way?"
"Really?" Zong Zheng Xiaoting sneered, "The Queen Mother wants to frame someone, and she really has no problem finding a way."
"Brother Emperor, what mother said is true. Go and take a look at that glazed restaurant. It's so mysterious. It's obvious that they deliberately deceived mother and tricked us into eating." Gong Yunluo hurriedly spoke for the empress dowager with an angry look on his face.
"Princess Xiaoting, what do you say?" Gong Yunyang looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting with an encouraging and trusting smile, which made the empress dowager and others frown.
Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at the emperor's gaze and expression, and felt upset.
"May I ask Your Majesty, did I take the initiative to invite You when I prepared these dishes?" Zong Zheng Xiaoting stared at the Queen Mother without blinking. Seeing that the Queen Mother remained silent, he became aggressive again, "Another question, Your Majesty, when You Majesty said yesterday that Princess Yunfei smelled the fragrance and wanted to try it, did I ever hesitate? Besides, was it I who arranged the decoration of the Snow Palace today? If Your Majesty hadn't wanted to spy on my ingredients today, who would have found out that there was a bug in it even if it was placed in front of them according to the method I used yesterday?"
Zong Zheng Xiaoting pressed his questions one by one, but was left speechless after being blocked.
"Hmph, you also know that even in broad daylight, you can't figure out the reason. You gave it to the Queen Mother like this. It's simply disrespectful of others." Gong Yunluo was so angry that he pointed at Zong Zheng Xiaoting and accused him.
The Concubine Hua on the side could not help but nodded, "Your Majesty, I also think that the princess is very disrespectful in doing this. She even gave me a portion. If it wasn't for the fact that she was going to give it to Your Majesty, I would have been more careful and cautious. I really wouldn't have known that it was these things!"
The new favorite concubine's help at this moment gave Gong Yunluo a boost. Gong Yunluo raised his chin proudly towards Zongzheng Xiaoting.
"Really?" Zong Zheng Xiao Ting asked with a smile, "May I ask the Queen Mother, about the romance last night, can this princess eat it?"
"Humph, who knows if this is what you ate?" The Queen Mother snorted.
Zong Zheng Xiaoting raised his lips when he heard this, "Does the Queen Mother think that this princess is cheating?"
"Your Majesty, these things are really the princess's heartfelt gifts." Qingqing knelt down hurriedly. "Your Majesty, if the princess had been rude first, how could I dare to ask you for help? When the princess was in Prince Zhan's mansion, she often ate these tonics, but these are secret recipes, and the princess is reluctant to give them to others. If it weren't for the queen mother and the princess's love, the princess would really be reluctant to give them away. Your Majesty, think about it, these things, the princess is a royal branch and jade leaf, how could she use her own dignity to do mischief?"
"Yes, I also think it is delicious." Situ Xunxiao on the side glanced at Zongzheng Xiaoting, "The princess refused to tell me the recipe in the palace. She was not happy to eat even a little bit."
"Really?" The emperor raised his eyebrows, looked at Situ Xunxiao, and pursed his lips into a straight line.
"If that's true, why don't you testify to it right here and now, Princess?" Concubine Hua, who was standing aside, looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting with a smile on her face.
The emperor looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting with a hesitant look on his face. Just as he was about to speak to help him out, Situ Xunxiao spoke again, "That's great. I can also relieve my grievances and serve as a witness for the princess."
As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor glanced at Situ Xunxiao and Zongzheng Xiaoting who were looking at each other, and said coldly, "Go down and prepare, so that I can take a look myself."
"Yes!" Qingqing bowed and stepped back. After a long while, she presented the dishes made yesterday. Under the bright light, the processed dishes did look tempting. Zongzheng Xiaoting, who was sitting next to Situ Xunxiao, scooped a mouthful and put it into his mouth. Without hesitation, he looked at Situ Xunxiao with a hint of excitement, as if saying, do you really dare to eat it?
"Hehe..." Situ Xunxiao laughed softly, took the spoon from Zongzheng Xiaoting, followed his example, and put it into his mouth, his face full of enjoyment.
Looking at Situ Xunxiao's appearance, Zong Zheng Xiaoting's smile gradually emerged on his face, and he lowered his voice and said, "Situ Xunxiao, you really are not afraid of anything."
"Zongzheng Xiaoting, you are too brave." Situ Xunxiao said this with a double meaning, gritting his teeth. However, this made Zongzheng Xiaoting's smile deepen. The two of them lowered their heads and whispered, giving people a feeling of happiness and sweetness, which made Gong Yunluo and Gong Yunfei on the side jealous.
"Your Majesty, do you think that the princess, who is a royal family, and whom I, the king, regard as a delicacy, is really malicious?" Situ Xunxiao looked at the emperor and smiled.
"This..." Gong Yunluo was shocked and suddenly shouted, "Who knows whether the food is real or fake!"
"Really?" Situ Xunxiao glanced at Gong Yunluo, then turned to look at the emperor. "Now, the empress dowager and the princess each have their own opinions. To verify the truth, the most authoritative person is none other than the emperor. What do you think?"
With a provocative look, Situ Xunxiao seemed to be saying, do you dare to eat it?
The emperor, who was always provoked and frustrated by Situ Xunxiao, looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting smiling at Situ Xunxiao and gritted his teeth in hatred, "Since the War King said so, I naturally believe in Princess Xiaoting's character and the War King's sincerity."
Seeing the emperor's compromise, Zong Zheng Xiaoting had no intention of letting it go. What the emperor did today was indeed puzzling, so...
"Your Majesty, since Princess Yunluo still has objections, in order to be fair and give an explanation to the Empress Dowager, we have to ask Your Majesty to make the decision personally. Only in this way can people be convinced, right? Your Majesty said that he believes in Xiaoting, but Xiaoting is unwilling to do so, which makes people unconvinced. I ask Your Majesty to take action to shut up the people." Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at the emperor with a face full of joy and expectation.
Gong Yunyang looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting, and after a struggle, he seemed to have thought of something and smiled heartily, "Princess, what you said is very true. I also think this is a good idea."
The emperor's words shocked the empress dowager and everyone else, and while swallowing extremely quickly, Zong Zheng Xiaoting laughed secretly. This was clearly a fake delicious expression. This Gong Yunyang was indeed a master who should not be underestimated! However, this happiness did not last long. Zong Zheng Xiaoting's heart became heavier because of the emperor's actions.