Huangfu Mi frowned deeply, and when he heard Meng Wan ask this question, his frown deepened, almost pressing together. He looked at Meng Wan, but did not speak, only shook his head.
Upon seeing this, Meng Wan stiffened. "Didn't see him? Why?"
Huangfu Mi's expression darkened further: "Li Desheng said that Father Emperor is playing music with Consort De and has no time to see me right now, so he asked me to come back."
Meng Wan raised an eyebrow. It was Consort De again.
"She's playing music with the Emperor? Aren't singing and dancing forbidden in the palace? What is Father Emperor trying to do?"
"Who knows what he's up to? He even made your older brother stand guard outside, not allowing anyone to enter. I originally thought of forcing my way in, but I was afraid of implicating your older brother, so I gave up on that idea!"
Huangfu Mi was clearly furious, and his voice became unusually loud when he spoke. Seeing this, Meng Wan quickly poured him some tea to help him calm down, and then sat down in front of him.
"It seems the Queen really intends to use her to bewitch Father, and Father is clearly bewitched as well, refusing to even see you. It seems things are truly dire this time!"
"Hmm." Huangfu Mi nodded. "I also feel something is wrong. Father is bewitched by that woman. I'm afraid he won't believe me even if I complain to him."
“Yes!” Meng Wan nodded. Seeing that Huangfu Mi’s face was getting darker and his brows were furrowing more and more, she knew that he was worried. At this moment, she could only comfort him: “Go to the palace again tomorrow. Father will always attend the morning court. You can talk to him about it. Father doesn’t like the Empress very much. If you say that the Empress killed his child, I think he will definitely not be indifferent.”
"This..." Huangfu Mi hesitated for a moment, pondered for a long time, but could only agree. He nodded, his expression softening slightly. Just as Wan'er had said, his father would have to attend court eventually, so he would just have to endure it a little longer. He would definitely complain to his father tomorrow!
With this thought, Huangfu Mi felt a little more at ease. After resting early, he left the mansion early the next morning. However, upon entering the palace, he was told by the head eunuch that the emperor was unwell and would not be attending court that day.
Huangfu Mi was already annoyed by what happened yesterday, and hearing the eunuch's words only made him angrier. Ignoring the head eunuch and Meng Junheng's attempts to stop him, he stormed headlong into Zhengyang Palace.
Upon entering, seeing the emperor emerge from the inner palace disheveled and looking annoyed, Huangfu Mi immediately flew into a rage, shouting at the emperor, "Father, what are you doing? You're skipping the morning court session to be with a woman! Have you lost your mind?"
The emperor was already in high spirits, and now that he was disturbed, not to mention Huangfu Mi's harsh scolding, he couldn't stand it. He immediately turned hostile and shouted at the furious Huangfu Mi, "How dare you speak to me like that, Seventh Prince, have you gone mad?"
Because Huangfu Mi had always been favored, he wasn't afraid of the emperor at this moment. Even when the emperor shouted, he didn't care. Instead, he stepped forward and said, "You skip the morning court and mingle with women. Even if I weren't crazy, I would still criticize you. Such behavior is a disgrace to the common people and to all living beings!"
These words were quite sharp, and the emperor immediately turned hostile, pointing at Huangfu Mi with trembling hands. After a long while, he shouted outside, "Guards! Prince Heng has committed treason and spoken disrespectfully to me. Drag him out and give him thirty strokes of the cane!"
Immediately, someone rushed in, wanting to pull them apart, but dared not move because of Huangfu Mi's status. At this moment, they could only watch the father and son with trepidation.
Seeing this, the emperor became even more furious, and his voice suddenly rose: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and take action!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Huangfu Mi flicked his sleeves, ignored the eunuchs, and turned to leave.
Seeing this, the emperor became even angrier. He wanted to say something, but Huangfu Mi had already walked out. Seeing his nonchalant attitude, as if he didn't take the emperor seriously at all, the emperor felt a surge of anger and shouted, "After you've finished beating him, you're not allowed to send him back. He'll kneel outside Zhengyang Palace for me until I allow him to return!"
News of Huangfu Mi's accident quickly reached the Prince's residence, and it was Meng Junheng who personally went to tell Meng Wan.
Meng Wan was playing with Xue Tuan with Xiao Yun'er, but now she couldn't care less about anything else. She had a sedan chair prepared and headed to the palace. Along the way, she kept holding Meng Junheng's arm: "Big brother, what exactly happened? Why would the Emperor hit him? Isn't he his favorite?"
A barrage of questions left Meng Junheng speechless. It was true that the Emperor favored the Seventh Prince the most, but today he had dared to trespass into Zhengyang Palace and even made accusations against the Emperor. The Emperor could not tolerate this under any circumstances.
He sighed, took Meng Wan's hand in return, shook his head, but remained silent for a long time.
Huangfu Mi was still kneeling in front of Zhengyang Palace, his back straight, showing no signs of distress. Meng Wan, unaware of the situation, hurriedly stepped forward, half-squatting in front of him, and grabbed his shoulder: "Brother said you were hit, where were you hit?"
Looking him up and down, she couldn't tell anything through his clothes. But when her hand touched his back, Huangfu Mi gasped, and Meng Wan's eyes widened: "You were beaten? Beaten on the back? How much?"
The series of questions, though intended as concern, made Huangfu Mi somewhat embarrassed. After all, being beaten by his father in front of his beloved woman was not a glorious thing. So he pushed her hand away, forced a smile, and said, "It's alright, really alright. A few dozen lashes are nothing to me. Don't worry."
Meng Wan was displeased that he was still acting tough at this point. She glared at him and snorted, "What do you mean by 'small matter'? You got beaten and have to kneel in this cold wind. How can it be a small matter? I don't care. You should go and apologize to Father Emperor and ask him to forgive you first."
I heard Meng Junheng tell me the whole story on the way here, so it's no wonder Huangfu Mi was angry. But going head-to-head with the Emperor is like an egg hitting a rock, which is not a wise move.
"I don't want to!" Huangfu Mi refused without even thinking. He knelt there, enduring the pain, his teeth clenched tightly: "If he wants to be a tyrant, then let him be. I will not ask for his forgiveness. I did nothing wrong."
Zhenzhen'er was stubborn to the extreme. Meng Wan was speechless and could not say anything. Looking at his firm gaze and resolute face, she pondered for a moment, and then knelt down next to Huangfu Mi.
Huangfu Mi was clearly taken aback. "You..."
Before he could finish speaking, she had already smiled and pulled a hand warmer from her bosom, handing it to him and stuffing it into his arms. Then she said, "What do you mean 'what ...'? Hurry up and hold onto it, or you'll freeze and I'll have to carry you back.'"
After making a joke, Huangfu Mi's eyes deepened, staring intently at her. His pale lips trembled slightly from the cold, but he seemed oblivious, gazing at her with clear eyes. After a while, a smile appeared on his lips.
Without saying a word, he simply reached out and hooked his arm around her shoulder, and the two of them knelt there, their hands clasped tightly together.
--
Inside Zhengyang Palace, the Emperor was playing chess with Consort De when the Chief Eunuch, Li Desheng, bowed and entered: "Your Majesty—"
"A decisive blow!" With the last piece placed, seeing that Consort De had no chance of turning the tide, the Emperor triumphantly withdrew his hand: "Jinxiu, you've lost again."
Jinxiu was Consort De's maiden name. Hearing the Emperor say this, she smiled, glanced at Li Desheng who was standing there, and then turned to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty's chess skills are superb, and I admit that I am no match for you. How about we play another game? Would Your Majesty give me a chance?"
Her playful tone made the emperor laugh heartily, "Since you've put it that way, I'll let you win a round, but I'm tired from playing today, let's talk about it tomorrow!"
He patted his hand and got off the soft couch, seemingly only noticing Li Desheng's figure at this moment. He asked, "What is it?"
Li Desheng bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Heng..." He glanced at Consort De briefly, then lowered his head again. Seeing the Emperor raise his hand, he continued, "The Princess Consort has also entered the palace. She is kneeling outside with His Highness, requesting to see His Majesty. Your Majesty..."
Upon hearing that Wan'er had also arrived, the Emperor was visibly taken aback. At this moment, Consort De also got up and added some incense to the incense burner. The wisps of smoke rose, and the Emperor's thoughts were drawn to the fragrance, causing him to become distracted. After thinking for a long time, he said, "I don't have time. Let her go back. If she wants to stay with the Seventh Prince, she can kneel with him until she admits her mistake."
"Yes," Li Desheng replied before leaving.
"The spices today seem different from before. What are they?" As soon as the person left, the emperor turned to Consort De and asked with a smile.
Consort De lowered her head: "Your Majesty, I noticed that Your Majesty was in a bad mood, so I lit benzoin and added a calming spice."
The emperor smiled, his dark eyes filled with joy as he looked at Consort De. For some reason, although he had three thousand beauties in his harem, he rarely indulged in such sensual pleasures, but he could never control himself when facing Consort De.
Seeing that everyone had been dismissed, he stepped forward, embraced Consort De, and then quickly walked into the inner palace.
The curtains fell, filling the room with an ambiguous and alluring atmosphere.