The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Empress Feng paused sadly at this point, then continued, "But Father thought His Majesty was waiting, so he wouldn't allow me to call the imperial physician. He insisted on seeing His Majesty first and apologizing to him. But after all that commotion, Father's injury is probably even more serious now. Your Majesty... Father is late because of some mishaps on the way. Even so, Father is anxious to see His Majesty. Please, Your Majesty, consider that Father's lateness was not intentional and that Father is so seriously injured, and please don't hold Father accountable for his mistake!"

Everyone listened to Empress Feng's words and looked at Emperor Mingde, seemingly waiting for his reaction.

Emperor Mingde lowered his gaze slightly, concealing the glint in his eyes. "I see. I am not such a petty person. It is understandable that the old master was injured and delayed on the way. You see, we should have listened to the Empress and had the imperial physician examine the injury first. Now, with all this trouble and hassle, I'm afraid the injury will worsen! What should we do?"

Emperor Mingde glanced at the wound on Old Master Feng's waist, which was haphazardly wrapped with gauze, and the blood seeping out seemed to be increasing. Emperor Mingde's eyes flickered, as if he was guessing at Old Master Feng's scheme.

A sudden injury? That's too much of a coincidence!

Is it true, or is it just a ruse orchestrated by Old Master Feng? Both are possible, aren't they?

Thinking of this, Emperor Mingde's gaze towards Old Master Feng deepened. "Where is the imperial physician? Quickly summon the imperial physician so that he can examine the old master!"

Old Master Feng forced a smile onto his pale face. "This old minister is terrified. I have troubled Your Majesty. I only wish to do my best to keep Your Majesty from waiting too long. Even if I suffer some hardship, it is no problem!"

"Old Master Feng is in good health, but he shouldn't be pushed around like this, should he? If anything happens to him as a result, I will be guilty." Emperor Mingde narrowed his eyes, still smiling, but his words startled everyone present, and they looked at Old Master Feng with even more strange expressions.

Is the Emperor guilty? How could Old Master Feng allow the Emperor to be guilty? No matter how powerful the Feng family is, the Emperor's words are heavier than a thousand-pound jack. Can Old Master Feng's injured body bear it?

Old Master Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he cursed under his breath. The situation was gradually moving in his control, but now it seemed that everything had returned to the beginning.

It seems he underestimated the current Emperor Mingde!

Yes, inviting him at this critical juncture, ostensibly to discuss Feng Yu's affairs, is actually forcing him to personally deal with Feng Yu. In this way, I have no legitimate reason to blame him, and I even have to be grateful for his leniency towards the Feng family.

Emperor Mingde, ah! It seems this trip to the capital will be quite challenging.

Old Master Feng gritted his teeth inwardly. No matter how much dissatisfaction and resentment he felt, he had to suppress it. In front of so many officials, he could only take a step back and kneel heavily on the ground once again.

Of course, with this kneeling, his pained expression became even more obvious. He even subconsciously covered his wound and let out a muffled groan. This kneeling made everyone present gasp. What was Old Master Feng doing this time?

Emperor Mingde frowned, but the astute An Mi and Bai Yi noticed the fleeting glint in his eyes. Although it was so quick that it was almost imperceptible, they still saw it. The two couldn't help but smile, thinking to themselves, "So far, the Emperor still has the upper hand!"

It seems that Old Master Feng's self-inflicted injury ruse will continue!

Emperor Mingde reached out and helped Old Master Feng up, "Old Master, what are you doing now?"

Old Master Feng suppressed a cough and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister is terrified. This old minister has caused Your Majesty worry. This old minister dares not make Your Majesty feel guilty."

Emperor Mingde's lips curled up slightly, and he burst into laughter. Although things had not gone as he had expected, the fact that Old Master Feng had knelt down twice in front of so many people in such a short time was still quite impressive!

Ha! He wanted to let Old Master Feng, and everyone present, know who the true king of the Great Jin Dynasty was, and that even Old Master Feng had to kneel and kowtow before him!

Emperor Mingde felt a surge of pride and chuckled, "I was just joking. Look how serious Old Master Feng is. Get up quickly, lest you aggravate your wound."

"A joke?" Old Master Feng's lips twitched involuntarily. The officials present remained composed, but a chill ran down their spines. The Emperor was merely joking, yet Old Master Feng, as a subject, still had to kneel in fear. What about them?

An emperor is still an emperor. As long as he sits on that throne, he holds the power of life and death over everyone!

Old Master Feng felt aggrieved, but he still had to express his gratitude, saying, "This old minister thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

Empress Feng and Feng Qing quickly helped Old Master Feng up from the ground. Empress Feng had seen everything. She had been confident that her father would find a way to deal with the Emperor, but now she was also a little uneasy.

She knew how shrewd and experienced her father was, but what had just happened...

Empress Feng couldn't help but frown secretly. Just then, the imperial physician was notified and rushed over. Emperor Mingde glanced at Old Master Feng's wound and hurriedly summoned the imperial physician, ordering him to treat him on the spot.

Old Master Feng was taken aback and immediately understood Emperor Mingde's intention. He wanted to see if his injury was a ruse.

Although it was a ruse, it seemed that Old Master Feng had anticipated this and had made preparations beforehand. "In that case, we will have to trouble the imperial physician."

"It's alright, it's alright," Emperor Mingde said with a smile. He then instructed Eunuch Qin to have a couch brought over so that Old Master Feng could lie down. In front of so many people, the imperial physician followed Emperor Mingde's instructions and removed the gauze from Old Master Feng's waist.

When the gauze was removed, revealing a deep wound on his waist, the expressions of countless officials changed, and they secretly wondered why Old Master Feng had suffered such a serious injury.

Emperor Mingde saw this and a deep, almost imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes. If this injury was a self-inflicted wound deliberately staged by Old Master Feng, then Old Master Feng had indeed been too cruel to himself. The fact that he had suffered such a fate made Emperor Mingde feel a sense of schadenfreude.

"Father, how did you get this injury? I asked you before, but you wouldn't tell me. This has made me worry so much, and it's no wonder the Emperor is worried too." Empress Feng bit her lip, her voice tinged with a sob.