The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"Your Majesty, I have truly been wronged!" Feng Yu anxiously defended himself.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Yu'er has always been loyal to Your Majesty and to our Great Jin Dynasty. Your Majesty, please don't wrong him!" Empress Feng stepped forward, her expression also showing her urgency. "Yu'er is a rare military genius. If he is wronged, it will surely chill the hearts of the court officials who are loyal to our Great Jin Dynasty."

Emperor Mingde completely ignored Empress Feng and Feng Yu's words, his gaze fixed on the dragon robe on the ground. An eerie silence filled the imperial study. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Emperor Mingde gave Eunuch Qin a meaningful look. Since entering the study, Eunuch Qin had been on edge. Seeing Emperor Mingde's signal, he instantly understood, immediately walking to Feng Yu, picking up the dragon robe from the ground, and respectfully presenting it to Emperor Mingde, "Your Majesty..."

Emperor Mingde reached out and gripped the dragon robe in his hand, his gaze lingering on the Feng family's emblem on it. Empress Feng and Feng Yu became even more nervous, but at this moment, neither of them dared to speak, fearing that they would provoke Emperor Mingde's even greater wrath.

But in that silence, Empress Feng finally couldn't hold back any longer, "Your Majesty..."

"This dragon robe is truly exquisite."

Before Empress Feng could utter two words, Emperor Mingde interrupted her, his tone neither sarcastic nor angry, but it made Empress Feng and Feng Yu feel uneasy.

"emperor……"

"The person who made this dragon robe put so much thought into it; it seems they truly cared," Emperor Mingde chuckled.

Empress Feng's heart skipped a beat, "Your Majesty..."

Emperor Mingde's eyes widened suddenly, and he slammed down the dragon robe in his hand, but this time, it landed on Empress Feng.

"Ah..." Empress Feng was caught off guard and stumbled backward, but caught the dragon robe steadily. It felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. At this moment, what made her feel even more like she was being crushed by Mount Tai was not only the dragon robe in her hand, but also the questioning that Emperor Mingde was asking her.

"Empress, you keep saying that the Feng family is loyal and devoted, so you must know a lot about the Feng family. Then take a good look and see if this really belongs to your Feng family or just to Feng Yu." Emperor Mingde's sharp eyes swept over Empress Feng, his gaze seemingly driving her to the brink of despair.

Empress Feng was not stupid. She realized that Emperor Mingde was pressuring her. He didn't want to pursue the matter any further. He was convinced that the matter of the dragon robe was inextricably linked to the Feng family. Whether it was a setup or not, he probably just wanted to see a result. Or perhaps, he even hoped that the Feng family or Feng Yu would be implicated because of this matter.

Empress Feng gripped the dragon robe tightly in her hands, her heart skipping a beat.

"Take a good look, does this thing reveal the ambition of the Feng family?" Emperor Mingde seemed unwilling to wait any longer. Seeing the difficulty on Empress Feng's face, he felt pleased.

Empress Feng froze, her eyes darting around in a panic. She glanced at Feng Yu kneeling on the ground and subconsciously shook her head. Of all the members of the Feng family, Feng Yu was the one she loved the most. She had long regarded him as her own son. How could she bear to...

“Aunt…” Feng Yu seemed to realize something, and his expression became even more panicked. He even felt that his life was in the hands of the people in front of him.

This cry softened Empress Feng's heart, and she looked up to meet Feng Yu's pleading eyes.

"Let me in to see my father..."

Outside the Imperial Study, the Second Prince's voice rang out. Everyone heard it. Emperor Mingde frowned but did not express his opinion. However, this sudden voice was enough for Empress Feng to make a choice in her heart. This voice was also the driving force that sent Feng Yu to hell.

Feng Yu stared intently at Empress Feng. In his eyes, the reluctance in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by composure and calmness. Feng Yu's heart skipped a beat, as if he had already guessed something. "Aunt, this isn't..."

"Yu'er, stop talking. I have advised you before, telling you to be eager to serve the Emperor and the Great Jin Dynasty. But I never expected that you would have such ambitions in your heart. How can you face me, the Feng family, and the Emperor?"

Empress Feng questioned coldly, her face grim. After a pause, she continued, "Do you know that your ambition could even implicate the entire Feng family?"

"No, Aunt..." Feng Yu's worst fears had come true. Now, he was filled with utter terror. His aunt had used him as a pawn and discarded him!

Feng Yu wanted to defend himself, but at this moment, Empress Feng gave him no chance. She sighed deeply, looking extremely regretful, and walked to Feng Yu's side, saying helplessly, "Yu'er, you know your aunt loves you, but there's nothing your aunt can do for you in this matter. Just admit it!"

If she didn't abandon Feng Yu, then she would be dragging the Feng family down with her. Empress Feng wouldn't be that foolish. Abandoning Feng Yu would at least protect the Feng family. Even if she lost Feng Yu, she would still have the Feng family as her support. She naturally had a scale in her heart to weigh which was more important to her, Feng Yu or the Feng family.

Bai Yi watched this unfold, a subtle smile playing on his lips. He glanced at An Mi, their eyes meeting in mid-air. In truth, even though Bai Yi was absolutely certain he would lose Feng Yu's head over this matter, he hadn't expected that instead of spending time and effort, he would be too idle to do anything but watch the show.

Upon hearing this, Feng Yu's lips curled into a faint smile, a smile tinged with sarcasm. He understood his aunt's meaning all too well, didn't he?

Abandoned pawn? He never imagined that he, Feng Yu, would one day be abandoned like this!

But he was so unwilling!

"Your Majesty, this dragon robe does not belong to me. In fact..." Feng Yu's resentment surged. The words "abandoned pawn" lingered in his mind, and the more he couldn't shake them off, the more he felt the urge to perish together with the enemy.

However, Empress Feng did not give him a chance. "Yu'er, what good is it if you try to argue in front of the Emperor? You made this dragon robe on your own. You are a prodigal son with ambitions. Your Majesty, you don't need to consider that he is my nephew or that he is a member of the Feng family. Deal with him as you see fit. The Feng family cannot tolerate someone who has disgraced the Feng family!"

"Father, Mother... what exactly is going on..." The Second Prince was granted permission to enter and happened to see this scene. He was about to ask when Empress Feng anxiously interrupted him.