Emperor Tianhui stared at Long Fei Ye, who was standing stiffly in front of him. He was more shocked than angry!
Can't do it?
He dared to say he couldn't?
Long Fei Ye had already told him multiple times that he couldn't do it, but this time was different. This time, he was facing an imperial edict!
Emperor Tianhui backed up a step and asked in disbelief, "Long Fei Ye, are you going to defy the edict?"
But Long Fei Ye only said mildly, "Chendi has already defied the edict."
His tone was light, but it emanated a domineering air that made it impossible for anyone to ignore him. Even though he'd rejected Emperor Tianhui, he was still lofty and untouchable!
Emperor Tianhui gave a start, as if he'd been intimidated by Long Fei Ye's aura.
No, he was the emperor. His authority wasn't to be challenged.
Emperor Tianhui swept a table full of memorials to the ground as he narrowed his eyes at Long Fei Ye. Killing intent rose from his body as he glared at him. After a moment, he ordered without hesitation, "The Duke of Qin defied the edict. Take him to the Hall of Regrets and confine him there. Without Zhen's permission, no one is allowed to visit him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, guards entered the room to detain Long Fei Ye. Emperor Tianhui looked at him Cold, expecting him to regret his actions and beg for mercy.
But Long Fei Ye didn't resist. Instead, his lips rose into a cold, contemptuous smile as he was led away by the guards.
It wasn't until the mountain-like figure vanished from the doorway that Emperor Tianhui fell back into his chair, as if waking up from a nightmare.
He calmed himself down and glared angrily at the frightened Eunuch Xue. "He … he … he actually dared to defy the edict! Is he planning to rebel? "
"Does he really think Zhen won't dare to deal with him? This time, Zhen's going to deal with him! "
"Eunuch Xue, you go! You go! Stand guard personally for Zhen. No one is allowed to take half a step into the Hall of Regrets. Tell him that if he doesn't marry Princess Rongle, he can forget about leaving for the rest of his life! "
…
Eunuch Xue was scared to death, his heart pounding in his chest. He'd served two generations of sovereigns, but this was the first time he'd seen someone openly defy an imperial decree in front of the emperor. His mind was a blank, so he didn't even hear what Emperor Tianhui had said.
"What are you waiting for?!"
Emperor Tianhui roared angrily as he swept everything left on the table to the ground. He was so angry that his nostrils were about to fume!
Only then did Eunuch Xue come back to his senses. Not daring to tarry, he scrambled out.
That day, the news that the Duke of Qin had defied the imperial edict and was placed under house arrest at Regret Palace spread out, shocking the entire court.
After all, the Duke of Qin's power was enough to overturn the court and the common people. Even Emperor Tianhui feared him and wouldn't touch him lightly. But once he did, it would mean that Emperor Tianhui was serious!
The situation was very serious!
Grand Concubine Yi was the first to receive the news. She'd lost her meal halfway through and rushed to the palace, but not only was she unable to enter Regret Palace to see Long Fei Ye, she was refused entry to the imperial study as well.
Although the details of the Duke of Qin's rebellion hadn't been made public, Princess Rongle's early return and the movements at the Three-Way Battlefield made it clear to everyone that it had something to do with the political marriage alliance. In a flash, there were all sorts of opinions and rumors, with the most popular being that Qin Wangfei had bewitched the Duke of Qin to stop the marriage alliance.
Grand Concubine Yi waited outside the imperial study for an entire day until Emperor Tianhui came out in the evening.
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Qin was muddle-headed for a moment. Let me go in and coax him?"
Emperor Tianhui didn't even spare her a glance as he prepared to leave. Grand Concubine Yi hastened to chase after him, but a eunuch stopped her from getting any closer.
"Your Majesty, you know Feiye's personality as well. He's been stubborn since he was young. Just let me coax him, he'll definitely change his mind. Your Majesty, the situation at the borders is changing every day. If you …"
"Grand Concubine Yi," Emperor Tianhui cut her off angrily, "Grand Concubine Yi, is the Duke of Qin rebelling against the imperial edict?"
Grand Concubine Yi's expression changed at these words. She immediately shut her mouth and stood unmoving in place.
Cold, Emperor Tianhui looked at her and asked, "Grand Concubine Yi, tell me, is the Duke of Qin rebelling?"
"No! The Duke of Qin would never dare! Your Majesty is a wise judge! "
Grand Concubine Yi immediately fell to her knees. She'd never kowtowed to anyone since the late emperor's death, but she was very clear in her heart that seniority meant nothing in the face of imperial power.
Imperial power was the Heavens, the Earth, and everything else!
Seeing Grand Concubine Yi kneel, Emperor Tianhui gave a cold snort and left with a flourish of his sleeves.
It wasn't until the dead of night that Grand Concubine Yi returned to the Duke of Qin's estate dejectedly. Quite a few people had already arrived, either members of the imperial family or high-ranking officials and officials. All of them were waiting for news from Grand Concubine Yi.
Naturally, the various factions in the court had different reactions to such a thing. Some people hit a person when they were down, while others watched from the sidelines. Still others ran to rescue them.
If this was any other situation, the nobles and officials would've rushed to rescue them if they were imprisoned. But the key point was that the one being imprisoned was the Duke of Qin!
In Tianning Country, Emperor Tianhui was the one who ranked above the Duke of Qin. Who could help him?
Seeing Grand Concubine Yi's expression, the people who wanted to ask questions all quieted down, their brows knitted. They'd come not only to ask about the situation in the palace, but to verify whether the rumors were true.
The Duke of Qin only favored Han Yunxi and believed Han Yunxi's slanderous words. That was why he'd defied the imperial edict and refused the marriage alliance. No one could imagine such a thing.
But many of them had heard about the writ of special privileges and were puzzled.
Finally, someone couldn't help but ask, "Esteemed Imperial Concubine, doesn't the Duke of Qin have the writ of special privileges in his hands? If we still can't find a way in a few days, why don't we ask for the late emperor's writ of special privileges? "
Hearing this, Grand Concubine Yi's gloomy face turned even gloomier.
The New Year's Eve banquet, Changping's incident, and the writ of special privileges had spread through the grapevine, but never made it public. Now she wouldn't express her stance in front of the crowd.
She hung her head and didn't answer for a long time. In the end, she waved a hand to dismiss the crowd.
The crowd was helpless and didn't dare to ask any more questions. They all took their leave.
Emperor Tianhui's words still lingered in Grand Concubine Yi's ears, making her tremble with fear and unwillingness.
Back then, the late emperor had been seriously ill while the Duke of Qin was still young. But if not for the fact that she had no one to back her up and that her family's power couldn't compare to the empress dowager's, the throne might not have been Emperor Tianhui's!
"Revolt? Heheh … "
As she thought, Grand Concubine Yi broke into a cold laugh.
At this moment, Han Yunxi saw that everyone had left before entering the rooms. She called out, "Mufei …"
She had been scared to death as soon as she heard the news. She never expected the Duke of Qin to defy the imperial decree. Her heart burned with impatience as she prepared to enter the palace, but Zhao mama held her back.
Who would she find in the palace? Who would she beg? Would she be able to find anyone? Would she be able to move them?
Would the Duke of Qin allow her to do that? She'd only be seeking her own humiliation.
Grand Concubine Yi finally recovered from her thoughts. She raised her head to look at Han Yunxi before breaking into a cold laugh. "Han Yunxi, do you know what imperial decree the Duke of Qin defied?"
Han Yunxi could guess that it was the marriage alliance. Otherwise, what else could make the Long Fei Ye and Emperor Tianhui clash like this?
"It's the marriage alliance! Are you happy now? "
Grand Concubine Yi said as she rose to her feet and walked towards Han Yunxi step by step. Cold, she asked, "Are you satisfied now?"
"I …"
Han Yunxi backed up two steps. Although she'd guessed it was the marriage alliance, hearing Grand Concubine Yi speak with such certainty still made her heart race!
"Are you satisfied?" Grand Concubine Yi roared.
Han Yunxi didn't expect this and blurted out, "I'm not!"
"You're still not satisfied?" Grand Concubine Yi knitted her brows with a cold smile as she shook her head.
"That's not what I meant! What does it have to do with me who he marries or not? He's never asked me a single question! "Han Yunxi fumed as she explained loudly.
Long Feiye had never mentioned Duanmu Yao's affairs to her at all!
But Grand Concubine Yi didn't believe it. She suddenly forced Han Yunxi to stand in front of her and ask word by word, "Han Yunxi, just what kind of method did you use to bewitch Feiye?"
Bewitch?
The word shocked Han Yunxi so much that she lost her footing and fell heavily into a chair behind her. There was nowhere to run.
"Mufei, what are you saying? I didn't! "
Long Feiye wasn't someone who could be bewitched so easily. Moreover, if she could bewitch him, she wouldn't have had to suffer so much after marrying into the family. She wouldn't have had to deal with so many troubles.
"You didn't? If you didn't, why did Feiye refuse the marriage alliance? He was forced to marry you back then. Now he's marrying Princess Rongle. What's the difference? "Grand Concubine Yi asked immediately.
This …
What's the difference? If there was a difference, marrying Princess Rongle would be a match made in heaven. Marrying her would be the laughing stock of the entire city.
Han Yunxi had nothing to say.
Long Fei Ye had been forced to marry her back then. He didn't even want to show his face on the wedding day, but he still agreed in the end.
Why was he so unyielding this time?
What was the difference between being forced to marry one and being forced to marry two? Couldn't he just put up with it?
"You didn't? If you didn't, why would he use the writ of special privileges on you? What does your life or death have to do with him? Don't you know the writ of special privileges is his second life? "Grand Concubine Yi demanded angrily.
This time, Han Yunxi was even more speechless. If the writ of special privileges hadn't been used on her, Long Fei Ye wouldn't have been put under house arrest this time. Even if he defied an edict, Emperor Tianhui wouldn't have been able to do anything to him.
"Han Yunxi, it's all because of you! Because of you! "
Grand Concubine Yi pressed her hands against Han Yunxi's shoulders, her grip tight. Her resentful gaze seemed to want to tear Han Yunxi to pieces. Faced with violence, Han Yunxi lost her courage for the first time. She allowed Grand Concubine Yi to grab her without a word, nor did she push her away.
She was stunned and confused. Her mind was empty.
Grand Concubine Yi was so angry that she felt unwell all over. In the end, she tossed out a few words and left with a flourish of her sleeves.
She said, "Han Yunxi, you jinx. If anything happens to Feiye, I definitely won't let you off!"
Han Yunxi sat in her room for a long time until Zhao mama came to find her. Only then did she recover her wits.
"Zhao mama, His Highness couldn't have really met with an accident, right?" she muttered.
Zhao mama sighed. "Defying an edict … that's a capital offense. All these years, His Majesty's been itching to catch His Highness's tail! Aye, His Highness has always been cautious, so why did he … "
Hearing this, Han Yunxi's heart sank to the bottom. She hadn't bewitched Long Fei Ye, but she'd used the writ of special privileges. In other words, she'd harmed Long Fei Ye in the end.
Very quickly, ten days passed. No one could persuade Emperor Tianhui, and there was no news from the Hall of Regrets. All they could do was wait.
Grand Concubine Yi didn't enter the palace, either. As soon as she saw Han Yunxi, she didn't say a word, but her gaze was so venomous it could kill!
Han Yunxi was filled with guilt. She didn't go anywhere, but sat outside Long Fei Ye's quarters for an entire day.
Today, Zhao mama ran over in a fluster. "Esteemed wangfei, esteemed wangfei …"
Han Yunxi rejoiced and immediately went to greet her. "Zhao mama, is there any news?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
