Chapter 364: Dealing with Each Other Honestly (2)

Xin Yuening gently raised her hand, and a palace maid brought in a small box. Xin Yuening opened the box, which contained a stack of letters. Handing the letters to Lou Suxin, Xin Yuening looked heartbroken and said, "These are all letters that this concubine intercepted secretly. Empress Dowager, please take a look. They are all instructions from Haoyue to the Qing sisters. They sent the Qing sisters into Qiongyue, not with a heart of submission at all. The Qing sisters bewitched the Emperor, bewitched Prime Minister Lou and General Su, and want to shake the foundation of our Qiongyue."

Looking at those letters stamped with the Haoyue seal, and then looking at Yan Hongtian lying on the bed with a pale face, Lou Suxin had no mood to look at the content in detail. She threw the letters at Qingfeng's face and said angrily, "Qingfeng, the Royal Family has treated you well, and you actually plot against the Emperor! You deserve to die!"

"I..." The paper slid across her cheek, burning with pain. This was clearly a trap laid by Xin Yuening, but at this moment she was powerless to break free.

"Cough, cough." The person who had been lying on the bed suddenly sat up. The Imperial Physician immediately stepped forward to support Yan Hongtian, letting him lean against the side of the bed. At this time, his face was still gray and blue, but his eyes were much clearer than before, and his black eyes were locked on Qingfeng.

Qingfeng didn't know if he had heard the words of Xu Ji and Xin Yuening just now. Facing his cold black eyes, she wanted to explain, even eager to explain, "I didn't! You believe me! I am not a spy, and I didn't let anyone poison your meals. Those so-called letters are all forged."

Qingfeng expected to see even a little bit of belief in those eyes, even if it was hesitation. Unfortunately, except for a piece of coldness, she saw nothing.

Xin Yuening stepped forward and urged, "Emperor, please don't listen to her words anymore. This woman is vicious and has ulterior motives."

"Someone, throw Qingfeng into the Ministry of Justice prison. Pass my decree, and have the other two of the Qing family locked in the prison as well." The low voice carried no emotion. Qingfeng couldn't believe that this was the man who had been discussing the child's name with her affectionately just now?!

"Yes." The Imperial Guard had been guarding outside. Hearing Yan Hongtian's words, they walked quickly into the inner chamber, and two people supported Qingfeng and walked out.

Her arms were twisted in pain, but Qingfeng didn't feel it. She could now understand Zhen Zhen's mood when she was thrown into the Cold Palace. This man already didn't trust you, so what was the use of saying anything? Unfortunately, she was not Zhen Zhen, and couldn't bear it silently like that. When turning around, Qingfeng looked at Yan Hongtian and said word by word, "Yan Hongtian, I hate you."

"Emperor! Emperor!"

The moment she was pushed out of the room, terrified shouts came from behind. Qingfeng looked back and only saw a trace of dark blood at the corner of Yan Hongtian's mouth.

The doors of Yonghua Palace were mostly closed. Since noon, Fuling had been hearing various sounds from outside. The neat and hurried footsteps of the Imperial Guard carried a restless atmosphere. She faintly felt that something must have happened, but she didn't go out to inquire, just sitting and standing uneasily.

Holding Prince Han in her arms, Fuling walked back and forth in the courtyard. Yan Han was already over a year old and couldn't speak yet, but he liked to babble and pull Fuling's hair. Usually, Fuling would just smile and let him pull it for fun, but today she couldn't help but grab the child's hand and hold him tightly in her arms.

Today was really strange. It was already past the You hour, but she hadn't seen Ming Ze come over. Usually, he would wait outside Yonghua Palace a quarter of an hour early. Why was he late today?

Fuling walked dozens of circles in the courtyard, but her heart not only failed to calm down, but as time passed, she became even more uneasy. Fuling was just about to call the nanny to come out and hold the Prince into the room so she could go out and take a look, when the doors of Yonghua Palace were finally pushed open, and Ming Ze's tall figure walked in.

He had always had a cold face, and Fuling was already used to it, but today his cold face clearly carried doubt and worry. She hadn't spoken to him for several months, but today she had to break it. Fuling held the Prince and greeted him, asking, "What's going on outside?"

Ming Ze turned around, closed the door again, and replied in a low voice, "Consort Qing plotted against the Emperor and has been thrown into the Ministry of Justice prison."

Fuling was shocked, "How is this possible?!" She had been by her master's side for so long and had never seen her do anything harmful to the Emperor. Moreover, her master had just given birth to a princess for the Emperor, so how could she plot against the Emperor?

Fuling's heart was in a turmoil, thinking about whether to go out of the palace. Perhaps Lady Lou and Miss Qing could help. Fuling hadn't figured it out yet, when the tightly closed door was suddenly pushed open violently from the outside. Fuling only felt her waist tighten, and Ming Ze had already circled her and the little Prince in her arms, flashing back seven or eight steps.

Fuling had just stood firm when Ming Ze had already drawn the long sword from his waist, blocking in front of her. However, the people who came in were actually Imperial Guards, led by Imperial Guard Commander Guo Yi.

Ming Ze saw who it was, slowly put down the long sword, no longer pointing it at the people, but did not sheath the long sword, still staring at them vigilantly.

Fuling looked at the dozen or so people who rushed in and couldn't help but frown. After calming her mood slightly, Fuling held Yan Han and took a step forward, asking loudly, "What are you doing?"

Guo Yi glanced at her, and finally his gaze stayed on Yan Han. He replied coldly, "Qingfeng colluded with Haoyue and plotted against the Emperor. Prince Han can no longer be raised by her. This general is acting on the Empress's decree to take him to Yilan Palace."

Seeing that he didn't even salute the Prince, the sinister look in his eyes not only gave Fuling goosebumps, but even Yan Han was so scared that he kept burrowing into her arms. Seeing two Imperial Guards making a move to step forward and snatch the person, Fuling hurriedly retreated a few steps, avoiding their hands, and asked with forced calmness, "Do you have the Emperor's imperial decree?"

Guo Yi didn't take her seriously at all and replied, "This general is acting on the Empress's verbal decree."

Guo Yi gave a wink to the two guards. The two didn't dare to neglect and walked straight towards the child in Fuling's arms. In panic, Fuling hid behind Ming Ze, and then thought that hiding like this was not a solution, so she urged, "Wait! The Emperor handed Prince Han to Consort Qing to raise, and he issued an imperial decree in front of all the civil and military officials, and even announced it to the world. If you want to take Prince Han away, unless you have the Emperor's imperial decree, otherwise, please go back."

The two guards hesitated for a while and looked back at Guo Yi. Guo Yi also didn't expect that a palace maid would dare to stop him. He glared at Fuling and said angrily, "Presumptuous, this general is acting, you, a palace maid..."

"I am a female official personally appointed by the Emperor, fifth rank. Commander Guo doesn't need to put on official airs in front of me. Without an imperial decree, I will not let you take the Prince away!" Fuling didn't dare to retreat. If she retreated, this child would not be saved!

Ming Ze was a bit surprised, turned his head to look at the woman standing behind him, but who was not afraid or retreating at all. He didn't expect that she had such a side. Ming Ze was distracted for a moment, and Guo Yi was already annoyed and ashamed, "It's not up to you!" Saying this, he pulled out the blade from his waist and slashed towards Fuling.

"Ah—" Fuling never expected that he would actually draw a knife, and she was still holding the Prince in her arms?! If she only suspected the purpose of this group of people at first, now she could be sure that they were aiming for Prince Han's life!

The cold air brought by the blade pressed towards her face. Fuling couldn't dodge in time, and could only protect the child in her arms with her body, closing her eyes in fear.

With a crisp "clatter," the sound of swords clashing made people's hearts numb. The expected pain did not come. Fuling opened her eyes and saw Ming Ze holding a long sword, blocking that fatal blow for her.

"Ming Ze..." Fuling's eye sockets were a bit hot, and words were stuck in her throat.

"Ming Ze, what are you doing? How dare you stop this general!" Guo Yi never thought that this usually silent and cold person would actually block his knife for a palace maid.

Ming Ze didn't talk much with him, holding the sword in one hand to guard in front, and protecting Fuling with the other hand as they retreated towards the outside of the gate. "Run! Go to Dongsheng Palace."

After Ming Ze finished speaking, he pushed Fuling out of the door and kicked back with his foot. Just as Fuling fell out of the door, the door also slammed shut with a bang.

"Ming Ze!" Fuling shouted, but no one answered her. She only heard the sound of sword fighting coming from inside the door. Fuling dared not stay and could not look back. Holding Yan Han tightly, she had no time to think about anything, just rushed towards the direction of Dongsheng Palace. Seeing Dongsheng Palace getting closer and closer, she would arrive after passing the corridor in front. The sky was gradually getting dark, Fuling's feet were a bit soft, and her hands holding the Prince were shaking. She needed to cross a few stone steps to walk onto the corridor. Fuling gritted her teeth and walked forward. Suddenly, her hand felt a pain, and a hand grabbed her arm firmly.

"Ah!" At this time, any movement was enough to scare Fuling out of her wits. Fuling screamed in shock, and those hands immediately covered her mouth again.

"Don't scream!" The deliberately lowered voice was very familiar. Fuling looked up and saw the person pulling her. Fuling finally calmed down, and the person let go. Fuling whispered, "It's you..."

"Dongsheng Palace is not safe now either." The person made a gesture of silence, looked left and right, and seeing no one, walked towards the side path. Fuling looked at the direction of Dongsheng Palace, then looked at the person, and finally followed the person's footsteps, quickly disappearing into the night.

After Qingfeng was taken out of the palace, she was directly escorted to the Ministry of Justice prison and locked in a large cell. It was empty inside, with a lot of straw spread on the ground. Sunlight shone in from the large window above the cell, making it bright, but at the same time, cold wind poured in from there, giving the whole cell a cold feeling. Qingfeng leaned in the corner of the cell and laughed at herself. Yan Hongtian had thrown her into the prison again. What was comforting was that this place was much better than the Heavenly Prison, but unfortunately, her state of mind was far worse.

When she was thrown into the Heavenly Prison, although she was in pain all over, except for worrying about her younger sister's situation, her heart was calm. But at this moment, her heart was both chaotic and sad. Yan Hongtian's distrust made her disappointed while also giving birth to resentment. Before leaving, seeing him vomit blood, shouldn't she be happy? But why did her heart feel like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, aching dully.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 365 =====