After the divorce, the four big guys became my servants

"Yes!"

Yuwen Qi responded heavily.

The emperor's carriage slowly left the majestic imperial city at dusk.

A dark crow flew across the sky, blending into the night sky, only occasionally making a deep and shrill cry, like its last wail.

When Emperor Chu and Yuwen Qi arrived at the Eastern Palace, it had already been quietly surrounded by Yuwen Qi's men.

Eunuch Su helped Emperor Chu get off the imperial carriage, and Yuwen Qi followed behind him.

When the guards saw the king coming, they were all shocked and knelt down to salute: "Your Majesty, long live your Majesty!"

The emperor did not say anything. He swept his deep eyes across the silent East Palace and walked in with hurried steps.

A young eunuch with quick steps hurried to Yuwen Lian's bedroom and told him what had happened.

Yuwen Lian put down his brush and was about to say something when he heard the eunuch's shrill voice from outside: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

He glanced at the nervous eunuch who was shaking, and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, come with me to welcome the emperor."

After saying that, he walked out from the desk.

Emperor Chu had already strode into the room with an expressionless face.

"Your son greets His Majesty." Yuwen Lian knelt down and saluted respectfully.

Emperor Chu had a cold expression on his face. He took a deep look at his most beloved son, then sat back on the couch.

"Prince Jing, you said you had something important to report to me. Why don't you just speak frankly in front of the Crown Prince?"

Yuwen Qi took a step forward, lowered his eyes and said, "Yes."

Yuwen Lian, who was kneeling on the ground, calmly reminisced with him: "Sixth brother, I wonder what I have done to make you invite the emperor to the East Palace? The emperor has always had a cough, and this action of yours was really rash."

The first reaction was to express concern for Emperor Chu.

The cold eyes of Emperor Chu softened a little.

The next moment, Yuwen Qi sneered: "Now that things have come to this, my brother should stop pretending to be a filial son. How did you curse my father in private? Do you really think that others don't know?"

Emperor Chu's brows immediately turned cold, and he clenched his hands on his knees violently: "Prince Jing, do you know what you are talking about!"

Even the servants in the room were shocked.

Just because the word "curse" is really serious.

Think about the time when Emperor Wu of Han was in his later years, hundreds of thousands of people were implicated in a witchcraft scandal. The crown prince and Empress Wei both died in the scandal. Even today, a thousand years later, it still makes people shudder.

If there is anyone in this dynasty who really dares to use this method to curse the emperor, wouldn’t that be committing a heinous crime!

"I have sufficient evidence to accuse you of this in front of you, my father!" On the other side, Yuwen Qi knelt down with his hands clasped in his hands, and said righteously: "As long as you order a search of the East Palace, you will surely find the filthy things!"

There was silence all around, and Emperor Chu did not speak for a while.

In the flickering light and shadow, he saw his eldest son's eyes, which seemed as calm as water, yet seemed surging with sadness.

His heart suddenly felt like it was being tightly grasped by something.

In front of him was his eldest son, who was very smart, generous and kind since childhood. When his eldest son was seven years old, he made him the crown prince of Da Chu, making him the heir to the entire country.

Over the years, everyone in the court and the country has known that the crown prince is the most favored by the emperor.

But today, his other son said with certainty that his eldest son was secretly cursing him.

Emperor Chu didn't want to believe it, but he still wondered in his heart: I imprisoned him in the Eastern Palace before, could he really have no grudges against me?

When people get old, they become suspicious.

Therefore, Emperor Chu came to the East Palace with half belief and half doubt.

Now facing Yuwen Lian, he finds it difficult to decide whether he should believe him or not.

So he hesitated and asked in a deep voice: "Prince, do you have any?"

Yuwen Lian lowered his eyes and said, "I didn't do that. I have a clear conscience."

Yuwen Qi immediately said: "In this case, please ask your father to order a search of the palace!"

"Wait." Yuwen Lian suddenly glanced at the King of Jing beside him, "Sixth brother accused me of murdering my father and led the guards to surround the East Palace, pressing forward step by step. I know I am innocent and I am not afraid of searching the palace. But sixth brother swore so solemnly, what if he had not found any filthy things in the East Palace?"

"If the search is fruitless, I will voluntarily take all the blame!" Yuwen Qi said confidently.

He was convinced that Yuwen Lian had made a serious mistake. Could it be that the spy's words were wrong?

This move was nothing more than the last-ditch effort of his eldest royal brother.

Yuwen Lian nodded, then bowed to Emperor Chu again, and said word by word: "Father, do you really suspect that your son has committed such a treasonous act?"

Emperor Chu looked straight into his eldest son's eyes and was speechless for a moment.

As Yu Wenlian spoke, a tear fell from his eyes: "My mother died early, and I grew up under your care. In my heart, you have always been the most respected person..."

"Even though I made a mistake before and you imprisoned me in the East Palace, I never had any resentment towards you. Now, you listen to the slander of others, which really... hurts the relationship between you and me as father and son."

After these earnest and heart-wrenching words, Emperor Chu was silent for a moment, and a complex expression flashed across his old face.

He always treated Lian'er differently from other princes.

Before he ascended the throne, he had his eldest son. After his first wife passed away, he took his eldest son with him and raised him personally, acting as both a father and a mother.

After he ascended the throne, he was so busy with state affairs that he had no choice but to make his first wife's cousin the queen and give his eldest son to the queen to raise.

It seemed that from then on, something was different between them, father and son.

Seeing Emperor Chu's moved expression, Yuwen Qi felt uneasy.

Today's matter must succeed and not fail. Otherwise, when the prince ascends the throne in the future, will he let him off easily?

Therefore, Yuwen Qi immediately kowtowed and said, "Father, I am also your son. Don't you believe in me, your brother, and not in me?"

Emperor Chu had already lost his judgment after being advised by his two sons one after another.

They are both his own children, and he is in a dilemma.

Yuwen Qi said confidently: "If I had not received the true news, how could I risk my life to identify my brother? Please believe me, father!"

After hearing these words, Emperor Chu finally made a decision.

"Just a search will suffice." He pondered, "If there is nothing, then the prince will be cleared of all charges. If there is, then it proves the filial piety of the King of Jing."

Yuwen Qi was overjoyed and kowtowed fiercely: "Father, you are wise."

Yuwen Lian said calmly, "I will obey my father."

At this moment, he knew that compared to the father-son relationship in the imperial family, his father always cared about him more.

The palace guards received the order and began to search the entire East Palace.

Although the palace appears quiet on the outside, it is actually turbulent.

The three Yuwen family members, father and son, sat together in silence in this spacious hall, listening to the sounds of the palace being searched outside.

The waiting process is the most torturous.

The father was worried about which son had made the mistake.

The younger brother is worried about whether he can bring down his older brother.

My brother is worried that something unexpected might happen.

For each of them, every second felt like an eternity.

After a long time, a guard trotted into the room and reported, "Your Majesty, we found something in the corner of the study."

"Send it up."

"Yes!"

The guard presented something wrapped in a dirty cloth.

When the cloth was lifted, a pile of strangely shaped wood was revealed.