Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

It was the middle of the night, so Qin Tan naturally couldn't enter the palace. Fortunately, the guards at the palace gate told him that the Seventh Prince had already returned to the palace, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He then drove back to the Qin residence, but he just couldn't fall asleep that night.

As the sun rises and sets, another new day begins. When the first rays of sunlight climb over the gate of the Taihe Hall, the morning assembly begins as scheduled.

However, compared to the previous few days, today's morning court session was slightly less lively.

With the disaster relief arrangements finalized, the court was left with only trivial matters. Ministers were constantly accusing each other of drinking and carousing, or of taking concubines. A group of people were chattering and attacking each other.

Emperor Wulong watched his ministers engage in verbal sparring with a bored expression, occasionally yawning.

Last night, he poured out his troubles to Youlu all night. When he was about to go to bed, Youlu pulled him aside and talked about a bunch of plans to turn Meng Tianhong against him. The father and son didn't fall asleep until 3 AM, while he was woken up before 5 AM. At this time, he had two big dark circles under his eyes. Anyone who didn't know better would think that he was working hard for the country.

After a routine brief discussion with his ministers, Emperor Wulong adjourned the court.

Without the deer, the morning court session was utterly dull.

After the court session ended, Prime Minister Su and Xu Zheng tacitly followed Emperor Wulong into the imperial study. Surprisingly, Qin Tan was also there today.

Upon entering the Imperial Study and closing the door, Emperor Wulong pointed at Qin Tan and said, "I kindly sent Xiao Qi to treat your wife, but you let him return to the palace alone. Do you know that he was stopped at the palace gate yesterday? If I hadn't sent the Imperial Guards to look for him, he would have had to spend the night at the palace gate."

Qin Tan, knowing he was guilty, cupped his hands and said, "It was my negligence, Your Majesty. Please punish me."

Emperor Wulong waved his hand, took a sip of tea to refresh himself, and said, "I already know about your wife's matter. Minister Qin, what are your plans?"

He spoke casually, as if he were discussing the weather rather than a spy from an enemy country.

Qin Tan was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat, but after a moment of panic, he quickly calmed down.

The Seventh Prince said to the Emperor that his wife had problems, so it's no wonder the Emperor sent people to keep an eye on her and knew about yesterday's events. However, the Emperor hasn't ordered her arrest yet, and is even speaking to her in a friendly manner. This suggests that it's more like an attempt to appease her than to punish her.

However, he and his wife had not yet reached a conclusion yesterday.

After a moment's thought, Qin Tan made a decision.

He bowed deeply, knelt on the ground, and said earnestly, "All the mistakes are mine. I have no complaints if Your Majesty wishes to punish me. I only ask that Your Majesty give me more time so that I can persuade my wife to abandon the darkness and embrace the light."

Even now, his way of addressing Meng Tianhong hasn't changed.

"Oh?" A hint of interest flashed in Emperor Wulong's eyes. "Judging from what you've said, my dear minister, you intend to protect your fake wife?"

Qin Tan looked bitter. "I have spent more than ten years with him day and night. It would be a lie to say that I have no feelings for him. Since he was forced into this situation, I cannot ignore him for both reason and emotion."

"You are indeed loyal and righteous. What if he is unwilling to submit to Dayong and insists on serving the King of Nanzhao?" Emperor Wulong lowered his eyelids, his eyes filled with an inscrutable and dark expression.

Qin Tan did not hesitate, and said resolutely, "If he insists on being an enemy of Dayong, I will personally kill him!"

"Very well!" Emperor Wulong shouted, rising to help him up, his voice firm and resolute: "Remember your words today. If one day he stands against Dayong, then your entire Qin clan will be buried with him!"

"Your subject dares not forget." Qin Tan lowered his head and wiped away cold sweat.

He now faced two paths: either Meng Tianhong would resist to the bitter end, and the Qin family would die with him; or Meng Tianhong would submit to Dayong, and everyone would live in peace. But yesterday, when he discussed things with Meng Tianhong, Meng Tianhong's condition was that he must agree to continue being his wife, otherwise he would rather die than submit to Dayong.

But Meng Tianhong is a man, how can he be his wife?

Moreover, as the Minister of Rites, he is extremely strict about discipline and etiquette, and he would never do something that violates ethics and moral teachings!

Qin Tan was in a real bind.

Prime Minister Su stepped forward and patted Qin Tan on the shoulder, saying, "Lord Qin, if you have any difficulties, please speak up. Let's brainstorm and perhaps we can come up with a solution."

Emperor Wulong and Xu Zheng pricked up their ears.

"This..." Qin Tan's fair face flushed red, and he said hesitantly, "My wife is willing to submit to Dayong, but on the condition that I continue to be his wife. But he... he is a man, and I... sigh..." He couldn't help but sigh.

He was at his wit's end; besides the few people in front of him, he didn't know who else he could discuss things with.

Prime Minister Su, standing there without a care in the matter, said, "Then just agree to him. You've already been husband and wife for over a decade, what's a few more decades?"

"But this is really against morality..." Qin Tan was still struggling.

"Then just kill him." Emperor Wulong made a gesture of wielding a knife.

Qin Tan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to think about it some more."

Xu Zheng, who had been silent until now, said, "Wouldn't it be enough to just keep it a secret from others that your wife is a man?"

Qin Tan still had a long face, "But I can't get over this myself."

"Then kill him." Emperor Wulong sharpened his knife, ready to strike.

"Your Majesty!" Qin Tan cried out, almost in tears, "Please stop toying with me!"

Emperor Wulong clicked his tongue, "Look at your indecisiveness. I don't know what he sees in you. He's willing to risk his life and abandon his country for you, and you're still spouting off about etiquette and morality."

Qin Tan was startled and fell into deep thought.

Having had his fill of gossip, Emperor Wulong walked out with his hands behind his back, thinking, "I should go see what Xiao Qi is up to."

The kid was furious when he saw it, but missed it terribly when he didn't.

Prime Minister Su hurried to catch up, saying, "This old minister will accompany Your Majesty to give lessons to the young prince."

Xu Zheng also wanted to go along, but he had other duties to attend to, so he could only return to the government office with regret.

After everyone left, Qin Tan also left the Imperial Study in a daze.

Inside a side hall of Yixin Palace, Youlu was lying on the bed, engrossed in studying, holding a calligraphy brush in one hand and a book in the other. A sheet of Xuan paper was spread in front of him, and many open books were scattered around him. The books were covered with circles and dots, and the Xuan paper was also full of notes.

He had originally planned to catch up on his sleep, but thinking about Meng Tianhong's poison, he couldn't fall asleep at all. He asked a young eunuch to go to the Imperial Hospital to borrow many books about Gu poison from Elder Chen, and while reading them, he pondered how to detoxify Meng Tianhong.

Despite his confident pronouncements, he actually knew nothing about poisons and could only cram at the last minute.

When Emperor Wulong and Prime Minister Su entered, they saw that the hall was in a mess. They exchanged a glance and went into the inner room, where they saw Youlu with disheveled hair lying on the bed.

Prime Minister Su picked up a book that had fallen to the ground, flipped through a few pages, and asked in surprise, "Your Highness wants to learn how to raise Gu worms?"

Youlu only noticed them then, turned over and sat up, stretched and said, "Lord Qin and Meng Tianhong still have a lot to deal with. I'll learn about Gu poison in advance so I can help Meng Tianhong detoxify later."

Prime Minister Su was speechless. So you're going to try and apply what you've just learned.

Emperor Wulong sighed, wondering if it was too late for him to send men to arrest Meng Tianhong.