At this moment, Eunuch Cai came out with hurried, quick little steps, pressing his hands down to signal everyone to shut up.
"Stop shouting, stop shouting, the Emperor has already retired for the night."
Prince Li stood up abruptly and said loudly, "I have captured the fugitive Qiu Xue'er. Qiu Xue'er demands to see the Emperor before she will tell the truth. This matter is of great importance, so please inform the Emperor immediately, Eunuch Cai."
Immediately afterward, Master Shen cried out in anguish, "I beg Your Majesty to immediately interrogate Qiu Xue'er and clear General Qiu's name..."
"Yes, it's also to give Qiu Shuang'er justice..."
"And those two infants who died unjustly."
"..."
The crowd was making a racket, but the emperor did not come out.
Hongyu was worried. When she entered the palace, she specifically asked the guards and learned that the Kong sisters had already entered the palace and were probably in the emperor's bedroom at this moment.
To prevent the Kong sisters from gaining favor, she rushed forward, knelt at the doorway, and wept bitterly, "Your Majesty, Kang'er is dead and has no place to be buried. Please allow him to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, to accompany the late Emperor, so that he will not be lonely and mistreated..."
The heart-wrenching cries and poignant words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Kang'er was the late emperor's grandson, and he died in less than two months. It was truly pitiful! It is only reasonable for him to be buried with the late emperor in the imperial mausoleum.
Instead of resisting Hongyu, the crowd chorused to plead for Kang'er's safety, "Your Majesty, please allow Kang'er to be buried in the imperial mausoleum..."
Upon hearing this, Hongyu cried even more miserably, collapsing to the ground. Shuxiang and Chenjing quickly stepped forward to help her up.
"Xiangxiang, I want Xiangxiang..."
Shuxiang suddenly turned around and saw Prince An rushing towards her.
Good heavens, so much time has passed, yet Prince An still remembers Chenxiang? Even though Chenxiang disguised herself as a maid with the identity of a scholar, Prince An still recognized her.
Seeing that Shuxiang was trying to escape, Hongyu grabbed Shuxiang's sleeve, stood up, and shielded her behind her.
At this moment, Prince An arrived in front of Hongyu and raised his hand to slap her.
Just as the slap landed on Hongyu's face, four guards rushed out and restrained Prince An.
"You bastard! Let me go, let me go..."
Hongyu looked up, but the Emperor did not come out. She only heard a voice coming from inside the room, "It is permitted that Zhao Kang'er be buried in the imperial mausoleum."
Hongyu knelt down with a thud, choking out, "Thank you... Your Majesty... for your great kindness."
"After the morning court session tomorrow, I will personally interrogate Qiu Xue'er. You may all leave. You two may leave."
A moment later, Kong Feng'er and Kong Yan'er came out. As they passed by Hongyu, Kong Feng'er stopped and glared at Hongyu.
If Hongyu hadn't cried and screamed, the Emperor wouldn't have chased them out.
Hongyu was secretly delighted upon seeing this; it seemed that the Emperor still cared about her.
She stood up and left, supported by Shuxiang and Chenjing.
Before even leaving the palace gates, they saw a group of people gathered together. As they got closer, they could see that four guards were lying on the ground, and Prince An was being held down by Prince Li and Prince Jin.
Prince Jin shouted, "Third brother, let go! Fourth brother is convulsing and foaming at the mouth! Quick, someone, take Prince An away..."
At this moment, Prince Yan arrived in a palanquin. He quickly dismounted and, together with the others, helped Prince An onto the palanquin.
Hongyu was filled with doubts. The Fourth Prince was already mentally unstable and had been placed under house arrest by the late emperor. Fortunately, Songhua ascended the throne, released the Fourth Prince from confinement, and bestowed upon him the title of Prince An, allowing him to eat, drink, and have fun in his residence.
Strange, why would Prince An, who never participates in politics, enter the palace to seek justice for General Qiu?
Someone must be plotting this in secret.
Hongyu scrutinized Yan Wang, and their eyes met.
Yan Wang approached Hong Yu, nodded in goodwill, and said, "Today, when His Majesty was judging Zhi Ya, Zhi Ya handed over Kang'er's jade pendant. I placed it on the square table in the hall of Prime Minister Kong's residence and forgot to bring it back."
Fourth Brother has gone mad, and I'm in a hurry to escort him back. I'll have to trouble you to make a trip to the Kong residence and retrieve Kang'er's jade pendant.
Hongyu nodded hesitantly.
The carriage arrived at the gate of the Kong family mansion. Hongyu asked Shuxiang and Chenjing to wait in the sedan chair while she got off the carriage alone.
Then Kong Feng'er came limping over.
Kong Feng'er looked displeased. She had failed to win favor tonight, and on the way back, she was even kicked off the carriage by Kong Yan'er.
Upon seeing Hongyu, she became even angrier, blocking the entrance and speaking sarcastically to Hongyu, "Madam Yu has just lost her son, and you're already in the mood to run around and attract attention."
Attracting bees and butterflies? This clearly refers to Hongyu's flirtatious behavior.
Hongyu was not to be outdone. She was a first-rank imperial consort personally appointed by the emperor, while Kong Feng'er was not favored by the emperor and was still the illegitimate daughter of the Kong family. How dare she confront her?
Snap!
She slapped Kong Feng'er across the face and angrily rebuked, "The reason I visited the Kong residence late at night is because my son's jade pendant was found here. How dare you spout nonsense and try to seduce me? May I ask, Miss Feng'er, who is the bee and who is the butterfly?"
"You know perfectly well that if you hadn't entered the palace, I would already be..."
Snap!
Before Kong Feng'er could finish speaking, she was slapped again. She turned around abruptly and saw that it was Kong Que'er. She quickly bent down and stepped aside.
Kong Que'er rolled her eyes at Kong Feng'er, then turned to Hongyu with a beaming smile, and said kindly, "Madam Yu, don't be angry. It's just that my father has a good temper and spoiled Feng'er. Come on, I'll go with you to find the jade pendant."
After saying this, Kong Que'er stepped forward and pulled Hongyu into the Kong family mansion.
Suddenly, an old woman rushed over and bumped into Hongyu, falling to the ground.
"oh!"
Hongyu's arm ached from the impact. Clutching her arm, she looked down and saw an old woman lying at her feet, eyes closed, groaning, "Ah...you hit me! My purse is gone! Thief!"
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