The Queen sealed her heart and locked up her love, and the Emperor was trapped in the crematorium

Prince Nan'an stared at his concubine Qi with a gloomy face, feeling secretly annoyed.

He is really crazy! Even if the princess is ill and can't attend the banquet, she shouldn't bring a concubine with her. Wouldn't this bring shame to the Nan'an Palace?"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and his brows furrowed tightly. Not only was the Nan'an Palace now disgraced, but it might also cause dissatisfaction from the Empress and the Emperor. If they blamed him, the entire Nan'an Palace would become a laughing stock in the capital. Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on the Nan'an Prince's forehead.

Xiao Chengxu glanced at Prince Nan'an coldly, his face as gloomy as water, "The Prince Nan'an's Mansion doesn't seem to understand the rules. Pass on my order. The palace will send four nurses to the Prince Nan'an's Mansion to teach everyone in the mansion etiquette and norms."

"Also, Prince Nan'an, the petition you submitted a few days ago to make you a concubine should be dropped. You should not mention it again. Although Qi Shi has the merit of giving birth, she is the descendant of a criminal and is not fit to be a concubine."

Originally, Xiao Chengxu didn't pay much attention to Prince Nan'an's memorial. It wasn't his backyard, so it was Prince Nan'an's business who he wanted to promote. Considering that Prince Nan'an had been working diligently recently, it wasn't impossible for him to go along with the situation and do him a favor.

But now, Xiao Chengxu suddenly changed his mind.

Since you are a concubine, you should stay in the position of a concubine for the rest of your life. Don't even think about going one step further and becoming a concubine in the royal palace.

A concubine of a royal palace, even if she is not from a famous family, must be from a good family with a clean record. The Qi family is not worthy of her.

Xiao Chengxu did not implicate the married girl, but that doesn't mean he is lenient with her. Now that she is right in front of him, he will naturally not let her go easily.

After these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent, as if everyone was afraid to speak.

The King of Nan'an forced himself to smile and knelt down to express his gratitude: "I thank you for your grace, my Lord."

He secretly complained in his heart, thinking that this was a trivial matter, and he did not expect that the emperor would suddenly change his mind.

He didn't dare to look up, with his forehead pressed to the ground, feeling the strange looks from the guests around him.

Prince Nan'an knew in his heart that this time his request to appoint a concubine as his concubine had completely failed and he might never have another chance in the future.

Moreover, he was also worried that the emperor would become dissatisfied with him, which would affect his future and status.

Prince Nannan couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he should not have easily agreed to Qi's request. Now, he has brought trouble upon himself.

Qi's face was as pale as paper, even frighteningly pale, and her body was shaky, as if she would fall down at any time. She seemed to have suffered a huge blow and could no longer support her body. She had to kneel down with trembling legs, following the King of Nan'an. At this moment, her face was full of despair and helplessness, as if she was about to faint in the next moment.

If it weren't for the last bit of rationality in her mind constantly reminding her that she was at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, facing the supreme emperor, and any carelessness would be regarded as a breach of etiquette in front of the emperor. If she accidentally angered the emperor, the consequences would be disastrous. Otherwise, she would have rolled her eyes, lost consciousness, and passed out.

However, it was precisely because of this bit of rationality that she managed to stay sober and not make a fool of herself in public.

Xiao Chengxu's casual words completely cut off Qi's path to advancement. Unless the person sitting on the throne changed, as long as Xiao Chengxu was still the emperor, she would always be a concubine. Even if the King of Nan'an doted on her, he could not give her a higher status.

Moreover, after what happened today, everyone could see that this concubine not only angered the queen, but also the emperor. Prince Nan'an would probably have a rift in his heart, and it was hard to predict whether he would still dote on her as before, and he might even fall out of favor from then on.

Xie Yaoqing looked at the woman in front of her with cold eyes, her heart full of disdain, and snorted coldly, "How dare you, a mere concubine, be so presumptuous in front of me! What, do you think you are qualified to challenge my majesty? Or do you think I will tolerate your rudeness?"

"Are you feeling aggrieved about your family? Are you holding a grudge against me? Humph, I'm afraid you're not just dissatisfied with me, you're probably even holding a grudge against the emperor."

Xie Yaoqing's gaze was as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at Qi, causing the other party to shiver.

However, Xie Yaoqing did not stop, and her voice became more and more cold and ruthless, "Since you are so attached to your people and resent this palace and the emperor, you might as well go on the road to accompany them, so that your people can reunite underground."

Xie Yaoqing did not take a concubine seriously. She was not a big threat to her. But that did not mean she would let him act recklessly in front of her, and she would not easily let go of anyone who dared to provoke her.

Xie Yaoqing did not think she was a compassionate and tolerant Bodhisattva, and she did not have such a good temper. If this concubine could be obedient, perhaps she would not deliberately embarrass her. However, now this woman not only did not know how to restrain herself, but took the initiative to provoke her, which was undoubtedly seeking her own death.

Xiao Chengxu's eyes became even colder, and his voice seemed to be filled with ice, making people feel cold. He coldly questioned Prince Nan'an: "Prince Nan'an, are you also dissatisfied with me? You let such a lowly concubine slap me in the face. Otherwise, I will let you sit on the throne? So that the Qi family can be cleared of all charges."

Emperors are suspicious, and as a prince of a different surname, Prince Nan'an naturally needs to endure more suspicion and vigilance. If Prince Nan'an had not always acted like a wealthy and idle person, I'm afraid what he is facing at this moment is not just a simple questioning.

How could the Prince of Nan'an dare to admit that he had such thoughts? He hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, please understand. The Queen is very perceptive. I absolutely do not have such thoughts. I will definitely discipline Qi and will never let her talk nonsense and do anything that offends the Queen. Although Qi is stupid and ignorant, she has given birth to my children. I beg the Emperor and the Queen to be lenient with her."

Prince Nan'an looked at Qi, who was trembling on the ground, with a trace of pity in his eyes, and continued to plead: "Your Majesty, Queen, please spare Qi's life."

It must be said that Prince Nannan was a man of affection and loyalty, not the heartless and iron-hearted person, otherwise he could have pushed everything onto Qi and found ways to get away with it.

Perhaps he really was a womanizer and had some genuine feelings for Qi, or perhaps, as he said, it was because Qi had given birth to his children, so his move to protect Qi was indeed worthy of respect.

Xiao Chengxu looked at Xie Yaoqing, meaning that he would leave it to her to deal with it.

"Since the prince is begging for mercy, I will let her go and spare her life, but..."

Hearing that Xie Yaoqing was willing to let Qi go, Prince Nan'an was delighted and said quickly, "Thank you, Queen, for your kindness and willingness to spare Qi. It is only right to punish Qi slightly and give her a severe warning. I will leave it to you, Queen."

Xie Yaoqing raised a smile, "Since the prince said so, I will not be polite. Qi, since the Prince of Nan'an pleads for you, I can spare your life, but some punishment is inevitable. I see that you have a sinister heart, so in the future you should just worship the Buddha, eat vegetarian food and chant sutras to cultivate your character, and don't leave the Prince of Nan'an's mansion to avoid causing trouble."

This is house arrest, or it would be more appropriate to say solitary confinement. House arrest usually has a time limit, either three to five days, or three to five months. But if it is for a lifetime, what is the difference between it and imprisonment? Maybe it is even worse than imprisonment. Imprisonment does not necessarily last forever, as there is always hope. But it is inevitable that one will not leave the Nan'an Palace in this lifetime. From now on, Qi will be trapped in the Nan'an Palace.

They were lucky to be able to save their lives. The backs of Prince Nan'an and Qi were soaked. After expressing their gratitude profusely, they sat down nervously, trying to maintain a decent demeanor and tasting the wine and food in front of them without any appetite.