Xu Xingfeng received a look from his father and immediately understood. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. That night, I was out and not at home."
"Oh? Where are you then?" A dangerous glint flashed in the Emperor's eyes.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject..." Xu Xingfeng seemed to have something difficult to say, and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "This humble subject has a confidante at Yichun Pavilion, so I went to see her."
Yichunlou was a brothel that was not doing very well at first. However, after the most popular brothel, Yanyulou, had an incident, Yichunlou rose to prominence and replaced Yanyulou as the largest brothel in the capital.
Xu Xingfeng said he was going to Yichun Tower to find some confidante, but that meant he was going to find prostitutes for fun.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. "Yichun Tower?"
"Your Majesty, Yichunlou is a brothel in the capital," Laifu explained to the emperor promptly from the side.
So, Xu Xingfeng went to a brothel to find women that night?
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I felt that this trivial matter might offend Your Majesty's ears, so I lied and said that I was at home," Xu Xingfeng explained in a panic, fearing that the Emperor would punish him for deceiving the Emperor.
"You unfilial son." Xu Ding glared at Xu Xingfeng from the side, wishing he could slap him twice.
"Your Majesty, please forgive this old minister for failing to discipline his son properly, allowing this rebellious son to do such a thing." Xu Ding looked furious.
Although there was nothing wrong with men visiting prostitutes, and many officials had intimate female companions in brothels, officials were still officially prohibited from entering such places of entertainment.
Therefore, this matter is neither too big nor too small. Xu Xingfeng is already an official in the imperial court, and it is against the rules for him to go to a brothel like Yichun Tower late at night. It is understandable that he lied for a moment.
"Then what is the name of your confidante at Yichun Tower?" The Emperor narrowed his eyes, staring at Xu Xingfeng, as if asking out of curiosity.
"Your Majesty, this..." Xu Xingfeng hadn't expected that the Emperor would actually want to ask the courtesan's name. He glanced at his father subconsciously and could only answer with a forced smile, "Your Majesty, her name is Liu Xing."
The Emperor gave Laifu a look, and Laifu nodded and immediately turned to leave.
Seeing Lai Fu leave, Xu Ding and Xu Xingfeng exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. They had never expected that the Emperor would suddenly investigate Xu Xingfeng's affairs that night and even ask for Liu Xing's name. Perhaps Lai Fu's departure was to investigate whether they had lied about the matter.
Why would the Emperor suddenly suspect them? They act very cautiously. Could it be that they exposed something at some point?
He Liufeng stood aside without saying a word. He had also received the news that Zhou Wenli had secretly met with a mysterious person a couple of days ago at Yichun Tower.
Could it be that the mysterious person who contacted Zhou Wenli was Xu Xingfeng?
Considering Xu Ding's secret training of troops, could it be that Xu Ding was colluding with the people of the Zhou Dynasty? Thinking of this possibility, He Liufeng's eyes darkened.
Does Xu Ding really have that much guts?
He Liufeng looked down at the person kneeling on the ground. He hadn't missed the panic in Xu Xingfeng's eyes just now. However, Xu Ding, that old fox, had disguised himself very well and showed no sign of anything unusual.
Laifu returned quickly, standing obediently beside the Emperor with his head bowed, as if he hadn't done anything.
But everyone present knew exactly what Laifu had gone out to do.
The Crown Prince stood there blankly, completely unaware of what had happened or why his father had suddenly summoned them to the Imperial Study and asked Xu Xingfeng some strange questions.
Although the crown prince did not know exactly what had happened, he had some guesses in his mind.
The Emperor asked Xu Xingfeng where he was on the night the incident occurred in his residence, but he lied immediately. What was the real story behind this?
Was it really just a simple matter of going to Yichun Tower to find some girl named Liu Xing?
"Your Majesty, I wonder why Your Majesty suddenly asked about my son's whereabouts that night? Did something happen?" Xu Ding asked tentatively. He had kept his meeting with that person very secret, and Feng'er had always been a cautious and steady person, so he shouldn't have revealed any trace of it.
Today, the Emperor summoned them specifically and inquired about their whereabouts that night. Most importantly, the Emperor mentioned the night of the incident at the Crown Prince's residence, rather than giving a specific date.
On the night of the incident at the Crown Prince's residence, could it be that the Emperor suspected that the person who was there that night was Feng'er?
How is that possible?
This guess was too absurd and was directly rejected by Xu Ding. How could the person that night have been Feng'er?
Something flashed through Xu Ding's mind, but he couldn't grasp it.
The Emperor stared at the man on the ground for a long time before speaking, but he did not answer Xu Ding's question. "Xu Ding, is there anything you are hiding from me?"
"Your Majesty, this old minister has always been loyal to Your Majesty and would never dare to deceive you in any way." Although Xu Ding did not know what the emperor wanted to know, he could only express his loyalty at this moment.
"Very good." The Emperor gave Xu Ding a meaningful look, then fell silent again.
Silence fell upon the Imperial Study once more. The incense burner emitted wisps of agarwood, and faint white smoke rose gently, dissipating into the air before disappearing, leaving only a lingering fragrance.
Inside the room, everyone had their own thoughts. Xu Ding remained calm, but Xu Xingfeng, being younger, was not as composed. When he saw the Emperor hear the name of Miss Liu Xing and instruct Lai Fu to arrange for someone to investigate the matter, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He was now unsure whether Liu Xing could hold out, or whether the Emperor would notice anything.
Xu Xingfeng became increasingly nervous as he thought about it. At that moment, he noticed another gaze fixed on him.
Xu Xingfeng followed the gaze and saw He Liufeng staring at him thoughtfully. Xu Xingfeng quickly pretended to be calm and lowered his head, but his heart was in turmoil. Why was the Prince of Nanqing looking at him like that?
As Xu Xingfeng was making wild guesses, a young eunuch quickly walked in. The eunuch walked to Laifu's side, whispered something in Laifu's ear, and then took two steps back.
Lai Fu walked straight to the Emperor's side and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, the people have arrived."
"Let them in." The Emperor first observed the expressions of the Xu family father and son before slightly raising his hand.
"Yes." Lai Fu bowed and stepped back, then gave the little eunuch a wink, and the little eunuch immediately left.
As the young eunuch left, several more people entered the imperial study.
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