After my whole family overheard my thoughts, they went berserk.

"Shut up!" Emperor Tianqi coldly reprimanded Mu Xiuyan.

At a time like this, how could one possibly stir up trouble in public?

He is the Crown Prince of Tianqi!

You absolutely must not say such hurtful things!

"Father, the Sangnan Kingdom seems very sincere this time, but in reality, they have a conspiracy. Perhaps the deaths of these Sangnan princesses were orchestrated by them to take the opportunity to attack our Tianqi Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, the Sangnan envoy was furious and said, "Since that's the case, then we can only report the truth to the Emperor. As for what His Highness the Crown Prince said, we will relay it word for word!"

"We take our leave!" The officials from Sangnan rose and turned to leave the court.

This morning, after receiving news that several princesses of Sangnan had been murdered in the palace, they came to inquire about the cause.

Unexpectedly, Tianqi Kingdom's attitude seems to be deliberately orchestrated!

Their Sangnan Kingdom has always been powerful and rarely bows its head. It is rare for them to come to Emperor Tianqi to seek peace, but they have been trampled on like this.

There's really no need to be humble anymore!

“Father, the Sangnan Kingdom has already been defeated by us. There is no need to fear them. If they provoke trouble again, I will lead my troops to defeat them once more!”

"Your Highness, please watch your words!"

An old minister stepped forward and said to Mu Xiuyan, "It is a good thing that Sangnan Kingdom has come to seek peace this time. Now that this matter has escalated, the two countries are bound to go to war again."

"Although Tianqi Kingdom won the battle, war will inevitably deplete its military strength and may even affect the surrounding people. It is best to avoid war if possible, and there is no need to provoke conflict!"

Mu Xiuyan not only ignored the advice, but also made a lot of nonsense.

"It's just that a few princesses from Sangnan have died. To put it nicely, they were princesses; to put it bluntly, they were just a few women. What our Tianqi Kingdom has the least shortage of is women. We don't need Sangnan Kingdom to send them to us!"

"shut up!"

Emperor Tianqi found such words lacking the composure expected of a crown prince. How could the crown prince speak like this in court? Did he have no face left?

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Several ministers tried to persuade the Tianqi Emperor when they saw that he was angry.

Emperor Tianqi was furious. The matter from last night hadn't been resolved yet, and now he was being troubled again. He was just too much of a worry.

He doesn't look like a prince at all!

"Dismiss the court!" Emperor Tianqi was so angry he couldn't speak. He stood up, waved his sleeves, and strode away.

Several ministers watched as Emperor Tianqi left in anger and then tried to persuade Mu Xiuyan, saying, "Your Highness, you were too impulsive."

"Although the Sangnan Kingdom is hateful, we still need to maintain some dignity in the current situation. Moreover, there is still no progress on the matter of Princess Sangnan's tragic death, so we have no reason to confront them head-on."

"Hmph, the mere Sangnan Kingdom is already a defeated foe, what is there to fear?!" Mu Xiuyan ignored all advice and strode away.

Now that their Tianqi Kingdom has become the second strongest nation and has also established friendly relations with the Huayao Kingdom, what do they have to fear?

What does it matter if a few princesses of Sangnan die?!

Looking at the arrogant Mu Xiuyan, the ministers shook their heads and said, "Your Highness has really gone too far this time..."

They all felt that the crown prince had changed.

The former crown prince was humble, but after his trip to the Huayao Kingdom and the death of the seventh prince, he no longer resembled his former self.

I never realized he was so arrogant.

If he really becomes the new emperor in the future, the future of the Tianqi Kingdom will be truly worrying!

After Emperor Tianqi returned, he summoned Consort Jing and also called the Empress over.

As she entered the palace gates, the Empress happened to run into Consort Jing. She couldn't help but sneer inwardly; it seemed she had guessed correctly.

"Your Majesty, I greet you!" Consort Jing bowed to the Emperor.

Emperor Tianqi, with a cold face, did not tell Consort Jing to get up, but instead made her kneel in front of him.

The Empress also entered and bowed to Emperor Tianqi, saying, "Your Majesty, I greet you."

Emperor Tianqi initially intended for the Empress to kneel as well, but upon looking up and seeing her haggard face, and considering her different status from Consort Jing, he instead told her to rise.

"Get up."

The Empress rose and walked over to Emperor Tianqi, sitting down below him.

"How is the investigation going regarding last night's events?" the Emperor asked the Empress.

The Empress replied, "Your Majesty, I interrogated the matter all night last night. The investigation is still ongoing, and I believe we will provide an answer in the next few days."

Emperor Tianqi looked up at the Empress. She not only looked haggard, but also had heavy dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she was truly exhausted.

Although he was annoyed and anxious, he couldn't press the Empress any further, and he believed that she was also seriously investigating the matter.

"Then what happened with Physician Zheng last night?" Emperor Tianqi's gaze shifted from the Empress to Consort Jing.

Consort Jing lowered her head, nervous and unsure how to explain.

Last night, she thought the matter was over, but she never expected it to escalate to the Emperor's level today.

"Empress, you speak," Emperor Tianqi said, turning to the Empress.

The Empress spoke up: "Your Majesty, there was a small misunderstanding between Consort Jing and Imperial Physician Zheng last night."

"A minor misunderstanding?" Emperor Tianqi retorted, "Do you know how important Physician Zheng is in the Imperial Medical Academy? He resigned from his post before me today in court!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Jing's expression changed drastically.

The Empress had already anticipated this outcome. When Physician Zheng ran into the pillar last night, she knew he would no longer want to stay in the Imperial Hospital.

Unexpectedly, he resigned from his official post today.

"Imperial Physician Zheng has resigned?" The Empress looked surprised, then said with regret, "Imperial Physician Zheng was a good physician, how could he..."

"Even you know he's a good physician, but what did you all do last night?" Emperor Tianqi said angrily. "You've dragged a physician into matters of the inner palace; you're disgracing me!"

Upon seeing this, the Empress immediately said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was my fault for handling the situation improperly, which caused Physician Zheng to be humiliated and attempt suicide by hitting his head against a pillar!"

At this moment, Consort Jing's face was ashen, her head was bowed, and she dared not utter a single word.

Emperor Tianqi became furious when he saw that Consort Jing remained silent. He loudly questioned her, "Consort Jing, don't you have anything to say?!"

Consort Jing raised her head, nervously clutching her skirt, and said, "Your Majesty, last night..."

"How was last night?!" Emperor Tianqi asked angrily.

Consort Jing said, "Last night, I..."

She didn't dare to say.

Facing the imposing Emperor Tianqi, Consort Jing was already afraid. She dared not tell the truth, much less admit her actions from the previous night.

But she knew that everyone had witnessed this, and she didn't want to admit that she had slandered Doctor Zheng, nor could she justify it.

"Your Majesty, I was wrong!" Consort Jing loudly admitted her mistake to Emperor Tianqi.

The Tianqi Emperor glanced at her coldly and asked, "What did you do wrong?"

"I have wronged Physician Zheng, and I know I was wrong!" Consort Jing said.

The fact that the Emperor could ask these questions clearly shows that he knows everything that happened last night.

Emperor Tianqi looked at the Empress and said, "Consort Jing is a member of the harem, and you are in charge of managing all the concubines in the harem. Empress, what do you suggest we do?"

The Empress looked at Consort Jing and said with an understanding expression, "Perhaps Consort Jing has some unspeakable difficulties. You may speak up. I believe His Majesty will understand."

Hearing the Empress say this, Emperor Tianqi was relieved. At this moment, she was still reasonable and did not take the opportunity to turn the tables.

Otherwise, he would think that she was also involved in what happened with Physician Zheng last night.

In fact, the Emperor was indeed involved. If she hadn't wanted to punish Physician Zheng, she wouldn't have pushed him to the brink.

But she's clever and always knows how to make excuses for herself.