Empress Xiao Qi sat in Kunning Palace, feeling restless for some reason. She could not help herself and stood up and paced back and forth restlessly.

Ever since the news of the emperor's defeat and capture came, Empress Xiao Qi was shrouded in a huge sense of unreality. How could it be possible? With so many troops and so many people accompanying them, how could the great country of Yan not be able to defeat those barbarians in the north who ate raw meat and drank blood? It must be that the soldiers were poorly trained and the people accompanying them were greedy and afraid of death, which made the emperor suffer such an injustice.

Empress Xiao Qi lived in the deep palace for a long time and did not understand or know how the ministers outside valued integrity. Even when the emperor was captured, Empress Xiao Qi only thought about whether the emperor would be angry with her when he came back, and she never thought that she would pay the price for her previous words and deeds.

She is the supreme queen. It is an honor for these slaves to work for her. Who dares to make her admit her mistakes?

After walking a few laps, Empress Qi felt much calmer. She sat back on the magnificent couch, took a sip of tea, and immediately knocked it over in annoyance: "What is this? It smells strange."

Qiu Shuang hurried forward and said with her head down: "Your Majesty, this is the ginseng tea you ordered just now. You said that you had palpitations after getting up this morning, so the Imperial Hospital prescribed a medicinal diet recipe for you. This was just delivered by the kitchen."

"I have no appetite. Remove all and redo it."

Empress Qi was fond of luxury, and it was not uncommon for her to be annoyed by the order she gave. The harem had long been accustomed to the extravagance of the Empress. She is the Empress, the supreme mother of the country, and it is her duty to be so extravagant. As for where the money of the Ministry of Internal Affairs comes from, it is none of their business.

Empress Xiao Qi did not take it seriously, but this time, as soon as she lowered her head, she heard someone in front of her say, "It's already this time, and the Empress is still picky about food and clothing. It's really eye-opening."

Qiu Shuang, who was standing in front of the Empress, was stunned for a moment and knelt down hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please spare my life, I didn't say that."

Empress Xiao Qi had never been offended like this. She was furious and her eyes swept towards the source of the voice like a knife. She wanted to see who had the courage to point fingers at her.

Chu Jinyao stood at the door with her people, her eyebrows were calm, and she was calm in the eyes of the Queen who almost wanted to kill her: "Empress, long time no see."

"It's you." The Queen narrowed her eyes. She heard yesterday that Chu Jinyao returned to the palace. She was regretful at that time, why Chu Jinyao didn't die outside. However, except for a few sneers in her heart, the Queen didn't take it to heart. Chu Jinyao was pregnant now, and she must be hiding from her like a mouse hiding from a cat. The Queen didn't think that Chu Jinyao would take the initiative to see her.

"It's really strange. The Crown Princess was so busy a few days ago that she hid outside the palace. How dare she come to my Kunning Palace now?" Empress Xiao Qi sneered, her expression full of displeasure. "What are you doing here?"

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I don't want to see your face like this either. Once I get the things, you can be alone and quiet." Empress Xiao

Qi instinctively felt something was wrong: "What do you mean?"

Chu Jinyao was too lazy to talk to her and directly ordered the palace servants behind her: "Go get the Phoenix Seal."

When Empress Xiao Qi heard this, she stood up from the couch in surprise: "How dare you! I am the Empress. There is no Queen Mother in the palace. I am the most honorable person. Who of you dares to do that to me?" "

Chu Jinyao raised her hand, and the eunuch behind her understood and immediately came forward with the imperial edict: "The Crown Prince's order: The Queen has made irresponsible remarks on state affairs and has colluded with the Liu Party to cause chaos and go beyond the rules. She has lost the virtue of a queen and has no etiquette to set an example for the six palaces. Therefore, the Queen's Phoenix Seal is now seized and she is ordered to live in seclusion in Kunning Palace

to reflect on her mistakes. No one is allowed to visit her." When Xiao Qi heard this, her eyes widened in shock. When she reacted, she was furious: "I am the Queen, and he is just the Crown Prince. What qualifications does he have to punish me?"

"Empress, you may have forgotten that the Sixth Division is now vacant, and it is the Crown Prince who is in charge of the country." Chu Jinyao sighed at this point, "And you urged the Emperor to lead the army in person, but now the Xuanfu Incident has occurred, and 300,000 Dayan men and more than 60 court officials have died outside the Great Wall. If you don't take responsibility, how can you put 300,000 souls to rest, and how can you appease the anger of the world?"

"It's their fault that they lost the war. What does it have to do with me?" Empress Dowager Qi still didn't think it was her fault. She looked at Chu Jinyao and sneered, "I know that you and Qin Yi are just taking advantage of the situation to take revenge on me. I warn you, I am the empress appointed by the emperor himself, and I am your biological mother. You are committing treason and imprisoning your biological mother. This is a perverse act and a great taboo of disloyalty and unfilial piety!"

Chu Jinyao was too lazy to talk to Empress Dowager Qi anymore. No matter what she said, Empress Dowager Qi didn't think she was wrong. She enjoyed the offerings of thousands of people, but she never felt that she had anything to do with the fate of this country. Was it the empress's fault that Xuanfu was defeated? Of course not. But since she was in this position, and had persuaded the emperor to lead the army in person before, now that something unexpected had happened, she wanted to stay out of it. How could such a good thing happen in the world?

Empress Xiao Qi watched helplessly as the Phoenix Seal, which symbolized the status of the empress, was forcibly taken away. Chu Jinyao lifted the brocade cloth to check it, and then waved to signal for it to be taken away. Chu Jinyao stood outside the palace with his hands behind his back, and whispered a word to the side. Immediately, many eunuchs came forward, closed the doors and windows of Kunning Palace one by one, and neatly put on the seals.

"What are you doing? I'll see who dares to do it!" Empress Xiao Qi was shocked and angry when she saw this scene, but without the Phoenix Seal, the empress was just a title, how could it be compared to the real power in the palace. Empress Xiao Qi watched helplessly as her palace was sealed off. The Kunning Palace, which had been magnificent just now, suddenly became dark, as if the sun could not shine in. Chu Jinyao nodded gently to Empress Xiao Qi through the only open palace door: "Queen, you should just stay in the palace and reflect on your past. You don't need to worry about the affairs of the six palaces and the outside world."

There was a faint noise outside. It sounded like a young woman. She seemed to want to force her way in, and when she failed, she cried and cursed. Empress Xiao Qi recognized the voice. It was her daughter, the precious and noble legitimate princess, the second princess Qin Yan.

The second princess came over and cried, but Chu Jinyao didn't even turn her head. She continued to look at the little queen quietly through the gradually closing palace gate.

The little queen was a queen in name only, and was charged with the crime of disrupting the government. Disrupting the government was completely different from harming the royal heir and oppressing the concubines. She was almost deposed, so what would happen to her children, Prince Lu and the second princess?

The little queen just stared at the tall and heavy palace door that closed little by little, and Chu Jinyao's figure was gradually reduced to only a piece of skirt, and then, even the last ray of sunlight was locked outside the door.

The Empress also collapsed to the ground. She murmured in disbelief: "How is it possible? I am the Empress, and he is only the Crown Prince. How can he seize my power by jumping the line?"

Qiu Shuang came over quietly, knelt gently behind the Empress, and said: "Your Majesty, it may not be jumping the line."

"What did you say?"

"I just heard from people outside that the cabinet said that the country cannot be without a monarch for a day, and has proposed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascend the throne and establish himself as the emperor." The Empress

broke the agate beads on her wrist with a "clang". The gorgeous and smooth beads bounced all over the carpet, gradually rolling to every corner, and could no longer be found.

In the harem, the power to govern the palace had been smoothly and without any room for negotiation transferred to Chu Jinyao, and the former dynasty was also discussing this matter enthusiastically.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince." An old minister said in a piteous voice, almost prostrating himself on the ground, "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Now that the emperor has fallen into the hands of Wala, the people are in turmoil and the country is in crisis. As the eldest son and crown prince, you should ascend the throne early to command the nine states and stabilize the people's hearts!"

Other ministers also knelt on the ground, "Please ascend the throne, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Qin Yi has been in Wenhua Palace for so many years, and this is the first time he feels caught between a rock and a hard place.

If he says he doesn't want the throne, that's pure nonsense. If he doesn't want to be the emperor, why did he occupy the position of crown prince and work so hard for so many years? But when this opportunity was really put in front of him, Qin Yi hesitated.

It shouldn't be like this. Qin Yi couldn't tell what was wrong, but his intuition told him that this development was not right. Just like when General Hu saw Chu Jinxian, everyone testified that she was the Crown Princess, but General Hu somehow felt that something was wrong. That was the experience and first judgment accumulated over many years of hard work. Before his mind could figure out the reason, his intuition had already sensed the danger and trap.

Qin Yi finally resisted the greatest temptation of his life. Qin Yi shook his head, his tone was also very firm: "The emperor is still in the hands of the enemy, and the capital is also facing danger. How can we focus on such things at this time? The most urgent task is to restore the national prestige, resist foreign enemies, and welcome the emperor back to the capital. There is no need to mention this matter again. I will never agree."

The ministers inside and outside knelt down and asked in unison that Qin Yi could ascend the throne first and hold the coronation ceremony later. But Qin Yi still shook his head. After saying this, his mind suddenly cleared up and his thoughts were surprisingly clear.

This matter is very strange, and he cannot take this step.

Seeing that Qin Yi was determined not to do so, the ministers looked at each other and did not dare to force it too much. When the emperor was still alive, Qin Yi was the crown prince. Now that the emperor was captured, Qin Yi was basically the king. No matter how hard they worked and how meritorious they were, they were still ministers. How dare they go against the uncrowned

king now? The matter of ascending the throne was deliberately avoided by everyone. Later, another minister proposed to move the capital: "Prince, the emperor was deceived by the treacherous party. Not only did he destroy the 300,000 troops in the capital, but now the emperor has also fallen into the hands of others. Now there are no troops to defend the capital. The capital is in danger. For the sake of your highness and the foundation of your ancestors, your highness should immediately move back to the old capital of Nanjing. Nanjing is surrounded by the natural barrier of Jiangnan in front and the granary of Jiangnan in the back. There are also 100,000 garrisons outside the old capital. It is an excellent choice for rebuilding the foundation and making a comeback!"

As soon as these words fell, someone immediately agreed. Qin Yi held back his anger and said in a deep voice: " Our ancestors left us a precept when they established the dynasty. As long as we are in the Great Yan Dynasty, we will not marry off our daughters, pay money, cede land, or pay tribute. Since our ancestors moved the capital to Yanyun in the north, the descendants of the Qin family will be the first line of defense to face the iron hoofs of foreign enemies. The emperor guards the country's borders. If we move the capital to the south, the country's borders will also move south to Jianghan. How is this different from handing over half of the country's territory to others? How can we, who study and govern the country, face the people in the future, and how can we face our ancestors in the underworld? "

In the huge palace, you can hear a pin drop, and no one speaks. Qin Yi stood up, his eyes sweeping slowly across the audience: "I don't want to hear about moving the capital a second time. From now on, the whole city is ready for war. Anyone who leaves the city without a military order will be shot. If the city falls, I, my unborn child, and all of you will die together."

The author has something to say: [The little boss queen in front has been beaten to a pulp, please keep up the good work, players! ]