Chapter 278 The Imperial Seal Cannot Be Found
"Are you telling the truth?" The emperor, who had been indifferent until now, finally stood up. The murderous intent around him made Concubine Hui calm down completely.
Concubine Hui took a few steps back in fear before she steadied herself. In her heart, she hated herself for her impulsiveness.
"Is what you said true?" The emperor stepped forward and grabbed Concubine Hui's neck. Concubine Hui's breathing stagnated and she began to gasp for breath.
"Is it true?" the emperor asked again. He no longer looked as cold as before. It seemed that Concubine Hui had touched the emperor's bottom line.
The emperor's grip gradually tightened, and Concubine Hui's expression became increasingly ferocious.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Shangguan Nanfeng was standing outside. When he heard the wrong voice, he immediately rushed in.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw his father holding his mother's neck with both hands, and his mother's feet were almost off the ground with her eyes rolled up.
Shangguan Nanfeng panicked. He rushed forward and pushed the emperor away.
Concubine Hui then collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Father, please abdicate." Shangguan Nanfeng raised his sword and pointed it at the emperor.
The emperor was dazzled by the cold light of the sword and saw the blood still on it. His eyes flickered and he finally regained some rationality and suppressed his anger.
When he looked at Shangguan Nanfeng, his eyes accidentally swept over Concubine Hui. It was as if he was looking at a dead person.
Concubine Hui was frightened. She had never seen the emperor look at her like this before. She lowered her head guiltily, then as if she thought of something, she raised her head with pride.
"Your Majesty, you have no way to retreat now." Concubine Hui looked at me with a victorious look, no longer as cowardly as before.
"Mother, if father doesn't write it, you can write it for him." Shangguan Nanfeng saw that the emperor was slow to act and lost his patience, so he told Concubine Hui his thoughts directly.
"Feng'er, you have to think clearly. What you did was to force the emperor to abdicate. If you turn back now, I will forgive you because you are my child."
The emperor looked at Shangguan Nanfeng, who was on the verge of a confrontation with him, with deep disappointment in his eyes.
"Father, it seems that you are no longer qualified to negotiate conditions, right?"
Shangguan Nanfeng did not feel much of a stir when he heard the emperor's words. After all, he was in control of the palace now, and his father's words were just a scare.
"Feng'er, I hope you won't regret it." The emperor sighed and finally suppressed the reluctance that belonged to a father.
"Father, from childhood to adulthood, you have never had me, Shangguan Nanfeng, in your heart. The one you care about the most is just Shangguan Nanxing. Why do you have to pretend to be nice here?"
Shangguan Nanfeng looked at the emperor and expressed his dissatisfaction.
"Mother, Father won't write. Then you come, Qingzhu, and bring the medicine."
Shangguan Nanfeng didn't wait for the emperor to speak, he hardened his heart, his eyes similar to the emperor's were filled with murderous intent. Now that he had come this far, there was no way back.
So what if I killed my father!
"My son, it's finished." Not long after, when Qingzhu brought the poison, Concubine Hui had already written an imperial edict imitating the emperor's handwriting.
"Father, all this is caused by your favoritism. All of this is your fault." Shangguan Nanfeng stared at the emperor, his eyes were red at this time. Even with tears in my eyes.
I just don’t know if these tears were because of the guilt for killing his father or because he was too excited.
"Feng'er, I'm very disappointed." The emperor looked at the poison served, then looked at Shangguan Nanfeng who now looked like a madman, sighed lightly, and after saying this there was a long silence.
"My son, as long as you get the Imperial Seal, you will be the next new emperor of Dongyou."
Concubine Hui walked to the imperial desk with a triumphant smile, ready to take the imperial seal.
"Father, everything is a foregone conclusion. You can go with peace of mind." Shangguan Nanfeng took the poison from Qingzhu and walked towards the emperor step by step.
Even at this time, the emperor still had a look of indifference, as if everything in front of him was still under his control.
Just as Shangguan Nanfeng was about to feed the medicine to the emperor, Concubine Hui's surprised cry was heard.
"Where is the Imperial Seal?"
Shangguan Nanfeng was stunned. When he looked up at his mother, he saw that his mother was holding an exquisite box lid in her hand, and the bright yellow brocade box on the table was empty.
"My son, if the Imperial Seal cannot be found, everything we do will be useless. After all, every imperial edict must be stamped with the Imperial Seal, and the coronation ceremony must also have the Imperial Seal, so that all the ministers will recognize it."
After Concubine Hui directly told the emperor the importance of the imperial seal, he looked at the emperor as if he suddenly realized something.
"Your Majesty, did you hide the Imperial Seal?"
When the emperor heard Concubine Hui's questioning, he didn't even bother to give her a glance and continued without saying a word.
"Mother, what should I do?" Shangguan Nanfeng looked at the poison in his hand and met his father's eyes. For a moment he didn't know how to start.
"We must find the imperial seal. We must find it even if we have to tear down the imperial study or dig deep underground."
Concubine Hui looked at the emperor's back, gritted her teeth, and said viciously.
"Then what should we do about our father?" Shangguan Nanfeng no longer had the ruthless look he had before.
"Put him under house arrest for the time being. Let Eunuch Zhu announce the emperor's decree in the Golden Palace tomorrow. The emperor is not feeling well, so you are temporarily in charge of the court affairs. Now we must do our best to find the imperial seal."
Concubine Hui raised her head and looked around the imperial study, wondering where the emperor would hide the imperial seal.
"But, mother. How can we announce the decree without the imperial seal?" Shangguan Nanfeng looked at Concubine Hui with a puzzled expression.
"When the time comes, we only need to announce the decree. There is no need to show the decree to the ministers. If they don't read it, how can they know whether it is true or not?"
Concubine Hui looked at Shangguan Nanfeng and explained patiently.
"What mother said makes sense. Come, bring Eunuch Zhu up." Shangguan Nanfeng loudly ordered his men and then put the poison aside.
The emperor always kept his head up and looking straight ahead. As an emperor, he absolutely could not lower his head.
"Your Majesty, we have searched everywhere but couldn't find Eunuch Zhu." Not long after, Shangguan Nanfeng's men came hurriedly to report.
"My Lord, during the day, Eunuch Zhu's residence caught fire. When the fire was put out, there was only a charred body inside..."
At this time, the young eunuch who surrendered to Shangguan Nanfeng whispered the whereabouts of Eunuch Zhu.
"Mother, this..." After hearing what the little eunuch said, Shangguan Nanfeng remembered that he did see a fire somewhere in the palace during the day.
"My son, this is too coincidental." Concubine Hui looked at Shangguan Nanfeng, then turned to look at the emperor.
"Your Majesty, did Eunuch Zhu run away with the imperial seal?" Concubine Hui directly stated her guess.
After hearing what Concubine Hui said, the emperor just glanced at her and still said nothing.
"Mother, your guess is very likely true, otherwise how could such a coincidence happen." Shangguan Nanfeng thought for a moment and then agreed with Concubine Hui's guess.
"Well, if that's the case, then the imperial seal is most likely not in the palace. But just in case, we still have to look for it in the palace."
Concubine Hui nodded slightly and told her next plan.
"Mother, since Eunuch Zhu is not here, what should we do about the imperial edict?" Shangguan Nanfeng glanced at his father, only to see him looking back at him with pity in his eyes.
"Find another eunuch. Regardless of whether Eunuch Zhu was burned to death for real or fake, at least this reason will convince the court officials."
Concubine Hui suddenly felt powerless. Her previous confidence now began to waver, but in front of her son, she had to hold on.
"Okay, let's do as mother says. Father can't move now. If word gets out and Eunuch Zhu hears about it, it will probably be even harder to find him.
Let's put the emperor under house arrest first. After all, Eunuch Zhu has always cared about the emperor the most. We can use the emperor as bait to catch the turtle in the jar. ”
After Shangguan Nanfeng heard Concubine Hui finish her speech, he signaled the people around him to start taking action.
As for the emperor, ever since Shangguan Nanfeng wanted to kill him with a bowl of medicine, he looked at Shangguan Nanfeng with cold eyes.
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