When Emperor Yong arrived, he immediately saw the Crown Prince, Tan Hanchi, Qiao Zhongguo and the Second Prince waiting at the door of the imperial study.

His eyes swept across everyone one by one, and when they landed on the Second Prince, he couldn't move his eyes away.

Huang Pei was following beside him and felt that Emperor Yong's footsteps suddenly paused, and then suddenly quickened.

He was confused, and when he looked up, he saw Emperor Yong walking up to the second prince.

"Greetings to Father, Your Majesty."

"Get up."

Emperor Yong's voice was low and full of majesty.

The second prince noticed the black brocade robe in front of him, and his heart couldn't help but feel a little moved.

He slowly stood up, looked up and met Emperor Yong's gaze, smiled and whispered, "Father, your son is back."

When Emperor Yong saw this face, he was distracted for a moment.

The moment he saw the second prince, he couldn't help but miss Yu Liu, as if the memories of Yu Liu that had gradually faded during this period of time suddenly came alive again.

"Shenglang, you will never forget Yu'er, right? Yu'er... Yu'er is reluctant to leave you either."

"Fate is playing tricks on me, Shenglang, why am I a princess of an enemy country, why can't anyone tolerate me......"

"Shenglang, don't blame them. Don't blame the Queen. The Queen... Yu'er understands her. She did it for Yongchao and for you, Shenglang..."

The scene of Yu Liu's last moments suddenly flashed through his mind, and Emperor Yong felt heartbroken again.

At this moment, the attachment and rekindled affection he had felt for the Queen over the past few days began to fade away.

"Your Majesty, I report to you."

Qiao Zhongguo was standing aside. Seeing Emperor Yong's infatuated gaze fixed on the second prince's face, he was shocked and quickly spoke to bring Emperor Yong back to his senses.

Doesn’t His Majesty already know the Second Prince’s background?

Although it has not yet been finally verified, is this not enough to shake the emperor's love for the second prince?

Emperor Yong was brought back to his senses by Qiao Zhongguo's loud voice. His whole body trembled slightly, and a hint of clarity flashed in his eyes.

"Come in, everyone."

Emperor Yong strode into the imperial study and his eyes immediately turned to the secret compartment on the wall.

The prince looked calm, without revealing any emotion on his face.

The second prince followed behind him. He was originally skeptical, but now his brows relaxed and his eyes showed amazement.

Mother...

When everyone was in place, Qiao Zhongguo knelt in the hall first to plead guilty.

He had already sent back a letter of apology for failing to escort the enemy properly this time, and it all depended on how Emperor Yong would deal with it.

Emperor Yong had a gloomy expression on his face, but he was concerned about the injury of the Second Prince first.

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince knelt beside Qiao Zhongguo, his voice choking with sobs as he said sincerely:

"Father, my son's injury has almost healed. This incident happened suddenly, and Master Qiao cannot be blamed entirely. I hope that Your Majesty will punish me leniently."

"I just didn't expect this journey to be so dangerous. I was afraid... I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to return to the capital and fulfill my filial duties to my father!"

As the Second Prince spoke, his originally pale face looked even weaker, his eyes turned red, and he kowtowed heavily.

Qiao Zhongguo: (;?_?)

Okay, okay, that’s how we act, right?

"Your Majesty!"

Qiao Zhongguo suddenly let out a loud howl, startling everyone!

Huang Pei: “…”

He hadn't slept well in the past few days and was distracted just now. Lord Qiao's shout almost scared him to death!

Qiao Zhongguo kowtowed and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"I am terrified, too. I am afraid that my life will end at Balapi Ridge, and I will not be able to return to continue to serve His Majesty loyally!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Emperor Yong: "......"

Is this Qiao Zhongguo crying here?

"Alright, Lord Qiao, you failed to provide adequate escort, injured the second son, and delayed the marriage trip. You really should be punished."

"Everyone knows about the marriage. Now that something has happened, I cannot hide it. I will issue an order this afternoon to punish you for failing to escort the enemy properly. Are you convinced?"

Emperor Yong has not forgotten his original plan after all. It is time to lower Qiao Zhongguo's reputation among the people.

"As for your resignation, you just said you were afraid you could not be loyal to me. Could it be that your resignation was just an excuse you made up to get away with it?"

Qiao Zhongguo didn't expect that his clever move would actually contradict himself.

Fortunately, he was very thick-skinned, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I failed to do my job well and injured the Second Prince. I am too ashamed to appear in front of Your Majesty every day!"

"I cannot be your Majesty's loyal minister, but I will still do my best to help you."

"When I returned to the capital, I heard about the horrific events of the National Defense Movement at the post station. I was heartbroken! So many young children and teenagers, are they just going to live in a muddle for the rest of their lives?"

Speaking of this, Qiao Zhongguo's eyes really turned red.

"Your Majesty, I can't help but think in my heart that if I can't realize my ambitions in the court, then I should do my best to correct these young people."

"The above are all my sincere words, without any falsehood!"

When the prince heard this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy with Qiao Zhongguo.

He followed Huang Pei to Huguo Temple that day, and before leaving, he went to see those young men.

Their eyes were dull and lifeless, their bodies were covered with scars, and they really looked like the walking dead. The children were full of hatred for them and were always on guard, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

When he saw these scenes, his heart was broken!

Lord Qiao has great justice in his heart, and he was able to bring up this matter so appropriately. He really has a kind heart!

As expected, Emperor Yong also sighed.

At this time, the prince took the initiative to stand up and said in a gentle voice: "Father, the people are still angry about this matter. We should investigate it thoroughly and root out this gang of thieves!"

At this point, the Crown Prince turned to look at the Second Prince, "Second brother, it's not that my brother is targeting you. The mastermind behind this is an old friend of Concubine Yu. I wonder... have they looked for you?"

The second prince knew that this incident would become one of the reasons for the trouble, and he had already thought of a countermeasure on the way. At this moment, his face was full of disgust.

"Brother, you are kindhearted and have great ambitions for the people. How could I, your younger brother, judge you by my own standards?"

"My second brother has also heard about this matter. It is truly appalling! But while my second brother is heartbroken, he is also extremely sad and angry."

"Mother came here alone to marry the princess, in order to make the two countries friendly! Mother has a sense of justice. Even Zhou Bo said that mother always taught them to be kind to others and not to harbor hatred."

"Who would have thought that they would disregard my mother's last wishes and do such a heartless thing!"

At this point, the Second Prince bowed to Emperor Yong and said righteously:

"Father, I have never seen those masterminds. I beg you to call them here now. I want to question them in person!"

When he returned to the capital this time, everyone's face remained expressionless. He still couldn't be sure whether his background had been exposed!

Especially since there has been no news from Liuyun for a long time, I don’t know if there is no movement in the palace or the entire Chonghua Palace has been controlled.

So he simply went with the flow and called Aunt Rou out to have a look. With just a little clue, he would be able to make a judgment!

If this time the matter only involved the Huguo Temple, he would have plenty of ways to get out of this situation safely, and there would be no need to risk everything and reveal his trump card!