The Emperor noticed Jun Mohan holding a peculiar square object and was very curious.
"Han'er, what is this thing in your hand?" the Emperor asked, his tiger-like eyes wide open, stretching his neck to peer at Jun Mohan.
"Your Imperial Father, this is a mobile phone that Li'er gave me," Jun Mohan said proudly.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor's lips turned downwards in displeasure.
"Li'er is too biased. She gives you gifts but not me."
Jun Mohan: "..."
He could be jealous of this too!
"Your Imperial Father, I didn't seek you out today to discuss this, but to show you some videos."
As Jun Mohan spoke, his long, fair, and well-defined fingers gently swiped across the phone screen, opening an application. He then held the phone out to the Emperor, and the video Jun Mohan had filmed that night in the underground city of the Dark Night Pavilion began to play.
The Emperor, watching the immersive and terrifying footage on the phone, saw the large vats filled with children submerged in black liquid, exuding a sinister aura.
"Han'er, who put these children in the vats?" the Emperor asked, his face full of shock as he looked at the images on the screen.
"Your Imperial Father, I filmed these videos in the forbidden area of the Dark Night Pavilion. They are all real scenes," Jun Mohan said earnestly.
"This, this... are all these children dead? How truly hateful! These people's methods are truly wicked, to do such things to such young children, it's utterly inhumane!"
The Emperor's tiger-like eyes widened in anger, his dark eyes cold, and his fists clenched.
"Your Imperial Father, out of the dozens of children submerged in these vats, only one little girl survived. She has already been rescued by Li'er and me, and I have sent people to help her find her parents."
Jun Mohan lowered his gaze, coldly glancing at the video playing on the phone, wishing he could tear apart the mastermind behind the deaths of these children.
"Alas, it is fortunate that you and Li'er have destroyed this demonic place. Otherwise, who knows how many more children would have suffered. Seeing the clothing of these children in the vats, they should all be from the Tianwu Kingdom, shouldn't they?" the Emperor said with a heavy heart.
"Yes, Your Imperial Father," Jun Mohan nodded slightly.
"With so many children missing, what were the local officials doing? Not a single official reported this to the court." The Emperor was so angry he almost fainted.
"Your Imperial Father, this matter must be dealt with severely to reprimand the officials in court, otherwise, they will become even more lawless," Jun Mohan suggested.
"Han'er is right. Those imperial officials who take their salaries but fail to fulfill their duties should be beheaded," the Emperor stated sternly.
Just then, Leng Ruo Li had finished brewing the golden flower tea for them.
"Your Imperial Father, Your Highness, Li'er has brewed golden flower tea for you. Please come and try it."
Leng Ruo Li's sweet voice, like that of a nightingale, melodious and intoxicating, gently reached the ears of the Emperor and Jun Mohan.
"Alright, Your Imperial Father and I will be right there!" Jun Mohan replied.
"Han'er, please remind me of this matter again at the morning court tomorrow. Let's go, I want to see what tea Li'er has brewed for us," the Emperor said, his expression returning to normal, a smile on his face.
Immediately, the father and son went to the pavilion where the Empress Dowager and Leng Ruo Li were. Seeing the steaming, faintly fragrant golden flower tea on the table, they eagerly wanted to taste it.
"Li'er, this golden flower can also be brewed into tea!" the Emperor asked in surprise.
"Yes, Your Imperial Father. This golden flower is a treasure," Leng Ruo Li said with a sweet smile.
The Emperor looked at the pale yellow tea soup that Leng Ruo Li handed him. He raised his hand, picked up the cup, and took a slow sip, savoring the taste.
"How is it, Emperor? Isn't the tea brewed by Li'er good?" the Empress Dowager asked with a faint smile.
"The tea soup is slightly bitter yet with a hint of sweetness. It's quite good!" the Emperor praised.
"It is a bit bitter, but Li'er added a piece of rock sugar, which made it even better," the Empress Dowager said with a chuckle.
Jun Mohan also lifted his cup and took a sip of the tea brewed by his consort.
"Li'er, this flower tea is brewed exceptionally well!" Jun Mohan praised her without reservation.
Then, the Empress Dowager's maids brought various pastries. Leng Ruo Li and the other three chatted happily. Leng Ruo Li began to tell them the story of "The Monkey King's Three Defeats of the White Bone Demon" from Journey to the West.
The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and Jun Mohan all listened with rapt attention. When Leng Ruo Li recounted how Tang Sanzang drove away Sun Wukong, the Empress Dowager's eyes turned red, and she felt it was unfair to Sun Wukong.
---
In Phoenix Perch Palace, the Empress, upon learning from Xiao Anzi that her second brother, Lin Zhenfan, had been severely tortured for returning to the capital without authorization, immediately flew into a rage and smashed everything she could in her palace.
"The Emperor is going too far! It's just returning half a month early to celebrate that old woman's birthday, and he ordered such heavy punishment for Zhenfan? He's simply too hateful, he doesn't take our Lin family seriously at all."
The Empress spoke with a ferocious expression, her face at this moment resembling that of a rabid dog in its fury.
"Empress, you've only just recovered. Please don't be angry. Even if the Emperor hates the Lin family, without absolute proof, he wouldn't dare to act against them," Xiao Anzi tried to console her.
But his words were met with the Empress's cold laughter.
"Heh heh— He wouldn't dare?"
"If he didn't dare, why would he have blinded one of my eyes and crippled one of my legs? I was his wife for over twenty years, and I bore him two sons, yet he hates me so much for that lowly woman. He doesn't even care about our twenty years of marriage."
"It was he who forced me to steal other men. Ever since that lowly woman died, he hasn't touched me. When the nights are quiet, you don't know what it's like for a woman to guard a vast, empty room, how difficult those days are... So, I started stealing men. Those men brought me much joy, which I can never forget."
"Hahaha—"
"I want to cuckold him and make him hate me for the rest of his life!"
The Empress spoke madly and eccentrically, her words becoming increasingly outrageous as she spoke.
The Empress's words caused Xiao Anzi to break out in a cold sweat.
Her Highness the Empress has truly gone mad, even daring to speak of sleeping with other men, she's risking her life.
"Your Highness, I beg you, please stop talking. If your words are overheard by those with ulterior motives, our entire Phoenix Perch Palace will be in danger," Xiao Anzi quickly tried to stop her.
"No, I'm not afraid! I will speak. Let me see if he dares to kill me directly. Haha..." The Empress became more and more frenzied.
Xiao Anzi was helpless. To prevent the entire staff of Phoenix Perch Palace from bringing disaster upon themselves, he took advantage of the Empress's inattention and knocked her unconscious.