Dethroned the Crown Princess? Then she became your mother

With a "bang", Eunuch An knelt heavily on the ground with such force that it seemed as if he wanted to attract everyone's attention.

"Your Majesty, what are your instructions?" Murong Shuo looked confused, not knowing what Eunuch An meant by this. He frowned and stopped.

Zhang Tianai was also puzzled, her eyes full of doubt.

Chunmei and the imperial physician beside her looked at each other, while the guards gathered around, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I have made a big mistake, a huge mistake!"

Eunuch An's voice trembled, and he waved the whisk in his hand lightly, sounding particularly sincere. "This old servant apologizes to Your Majesty, and also to Miss Zhang. I do not ask for forgiveness from Your Majesty or Miss Zhang, but because this old servant was indeed wrong."

As he said this, he was about to kowtow and apologize, his sincerity evident in his words.

"What did you say? What's wrong? What crime have you committed? Why do you involve me and the Zhang family?" Murong Shuo looked confused.

Zhang Tianai looked at Eunuch An quietly, with a slight smile on her lips, as if she had understood something. A gleam flashed in her eyes, but she did not speak, nor did she stop him.

Chunmei, the guards and the imperial physician remained silent, waiting for further instructions.

"Here's the thing."

Eunuch An no longer cared about the expressions of others, but only focused on His Majesty and Miss Zhang in front of him. "This old servant has always been prejudiced against Miss Zhang, thinking that her behavior is improper and shameless."

"It's all because of past events. Miss Zhang had interactions with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and later became close to His Majesty, and even..."

The old servant then developed evil thoughts and wanted to keep Miss Zhang away from His Majesty, even resorting to any means necessary.

Having said that, Eunuch An glanced at the imperial physician beside him, as if hinting at something.

Seeing this, Murong Shuo waved his hand to signal the imperial physician to leave, and the imperial physician tactfully left the room.

Eunuch An continued, "I, your old servant, have been dissatisfied with Miss Zhang and have repeatedly plotted to expel her from the palace."

"No matter how hard Miss Zhang tries, this old servant's feelings have not changed. I only hope she disappears to avoid damaging Your Majesty's reputation. I also don't want outsiders to know about Your Majesty's relationship with Miss Zhang."

"After Your Majesty left the temple and returned to the palace, this old servant became even more outrageous. He even secretly ordered someone to send poisoned wine to Miss Zhang, trying to make her..." When Eunuch An said this, his voice was choked with sobs and full of regret.

He took a deep breath and told the truth that although he acted rashly, fortunately no major disaster occurred.

He did not really want to kill Miss Zhang. The wine only contained a sleeping pill, which was intended to make her fall asleep so that he could leave quietly, or he could personally arrange for her to escape.

When the time is right, he will report to His Majesty that Miss Zhang left on her own and it has nothing to do with him.

If Your Majesty has any doubts, he is willing to die as an apology, and his words reveal his determination and regret.

After he finished speaking, he felt guilty, but also wanted to make his true feelings known to the public in order to find some comfort.

He really had never thought of hurting Gu. Even if he had a slight thought at first, it was quickly replaced by the idea of sending her away, hoping that she could stay away from trouble and be safe.

He slowly lowered his head and kowtowed deeply once more, his voice trembling, "I'm sorry! This old servant was terribly wrong. It wasn't until I discovered Miss Zhang's deep affection for Your Majesty that I suddenly realized how wrong I was."

"After tonight, I will have even greater respect for Miss Zhang. Your Majesty, Miss Zhang, I can no longer conceal this. I am willing to accept any punishment, even immediate death, without complaint."

After he finished speaking, he wanted to continue, but was interrupted by Zhang Tianai.

She had never expected that he initially just wanted to put her to sleep, and she had never expected that he would be so frank in front of His Majesty.

The previous misunderstanding dissipated like ice, and she realized that she might have wronged him.

The same was true for Chunmei, and her misunderstanding of Eunuch An gradually dissipated.

"Miss Zhang." Eunuch An called again, with a hint of relief in his voice.

"So there are such twists and turns behind this." Murong Shuo spoke, his tone revealing a hint of emotion.

"Your Majesty, I was too self-righteous in the past. I always used my own thoughts to interpret Your Majesty's intentions, thinking that I was doing what was best for Your Majesty. In fact, I was completely wrong. Fortunately, there is still a chance to make amends."

Zhang Tianai comforted gently.

Eunuch An blamed himself again, enumerating his faults in detail and speaking earnestly.

"There is nothing better than admitting one's mistakes and correcting them." Murong Shuo responded concisely and forcefully.

"Your Majesty!" Eunuch An raised his head, his voice slightly sharp, "I have said everything I wanted to say."

"No need to say more." Murong Shuo said lightly.

"Yes, Eunuch An doesn't have to do this." Zhang Tianai agreed, knowing in his heart that tonight's actions not only touched the emperor's heartstrings, but also deeply moved Eunuch An.

Her move was so ingenious and amazing!

"Miss Zhang," Eunuch An hesitated to speak. Although he had a thousand words in his heart, especially the sentence "I looked down on you before", he found it difficult to say it now.

He looked up at the emperor, as if seeking some kind of comfort or instruction.

"It's okay, it's really okay." Zhang Tianai responded with her unique gentleness and tolerance.

Murong Shuo was silent for a moment, staring at Eunuch An, and finally spoke: "I have actually been wondering when you would take the initiative to mention this matter."

When Eunuch An heard this, he was shocked, and then felt deep self-blame and regret.

He stared at the emperor in a daze: His Majesty had already seen through everything, but he was still deceiving himself.

Zhang Tianai and Chunmei were also surprised. They exchanged glances but remained silent tacitly.

Others, being at a distance, could only vaguely sense this subtle change in the atmosphere.

"I thought you would choose to remain silent." Murong Shuo continued, with a barely perceptible disappointment in his tone.

"But on second thought, if you really were like that, I would be even more disappointed."

Eunuch An finally came to his senses and blamed himself repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I was wrong, so wrong! I have disappointed Your Majesty and I deserve death. Fortunately, fortunately, no disaster has occurred."

He shook his head as he spoke, obviously still regretting his mistake.

However, Murong Shuo didn't blame you too much. He simply said, "I understand your intentions. As for punishment, we can discuss it after this matter is settled. Although you have made mistakes, your original intention was for me. I will deal with it as appropriate."

At this moment, Zhang Tianai spoke softly, her voice filled with a hint of weakness and self-blame: "Actually, all this is my fault. If it weren't for me..."

She hadn't finished her words, but her meaning was clear.

Eunuch An quickly interrupted her, "No, Miss Zhang, please don't say that. I'm shortsighted and have wrongly accused you. The relationship between you and His Majesty is not something I could speculate about."

When he said this, he was choked up.

Seeing this, Murong Shuo gently patted Zhang Tianai's hand, indicating that she didn't need to say anything more.

Then he turned to Eunuch An and said, "Alright, this matter ends here. You may withdraw and reflect on your actions. As for the punishment, I will make the decision myself."

Eunuch An accepted the order with a humble bow. Although he felt unwilling and guilty, he also understood that the most important thing at the moment was obedience and reflection.

"I swear I will never see such incidents again. You don't need to interfere in my private affairs. Just take care of yourself!" Murong Shuo said in a loud voice, turned around and left a final warning.

Eunuch An quickly agreed, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Zhang Tianai chuckled secretly in his heart, while Chunmei quietly looked at her own girl, only to see Zhang Tianai looking back at her with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Then the emperor took her hand again, jumped onto the horse lightly, leaned over and asked her with concern if she was in pain.

Zhang Tianai suppressed the discomfort, shook her head gently, and said insincerely, "It doesn't hurt."

Hearing this, he gently bent down and kissed her forehead, then spurred his horse and galloped towards the capital.

When they arrived at the gate of the capital, it was closed. The guards stepped forward and after a burst of rapid knocks and shouts, the gate slowly opened with a heavy creaking sound.

After passing through that door, Zhang Tianai knew that she had returned to the prosperous capital.

Murong Shuo led her to a place, then skillfully carried her down horizontally and landed her steadily on the ground.

Zhang Tianai looked around and finally her gaze fell back on him.

"Go in." Murong Shuo said briefly and forcefully.

Zhang Tianai remained silent, but her eyes were full of questions.

Seeing this, Eunuch An wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally chose to remain silent.