If she dared to say another word like that, he would not come to Cining Palace to pay his respects for a month.
"If she truly has merits, why is she still unmarried?"
"This?" The Empress Dowager pursed her lips, unable to speak under her son's imposing presence.
Liu'er was not striking in appearance, and more importantly, her personality was quite aloof and disagreeable, making most people afraid to marry her. Naturally, the Empress Dowager wouldn't be foolish enough to tell the Emperor this.
Originally, she hadn't intended for Liu'er to enter the palace. If she could find a good husband, there would be no need for her to enter the palace. But now, she couldn't get married. Although she knew the Emperor would be angry, she hadn't expected him to be so furious.
She remembered that he had been scared by Liu'er once when he was a child, and after that, he never went to the Prime Minister's mansion again.
The mother and son were in a standoff when a small eunuch ran in from outside the palace gate and knelt respectfully. "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Prime Minister has arrived?"
When the Empress Dowager heard her younger brother had arrived, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was good. Her brother was always resourceful and would surely have a way to get Liu'er into the palace.
Feng Xie heard the little eunuch's words, let go of his mother, and sat on a nearby couch, his face dark as he waved his hand sternly.
"Go and summon the Prime Minister? I want to see what he's here for again?" His tone was quite impatient. The little eunuch glanced at the Empress Dowager, and seeing her signal to invite the Prime Minister, he quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty," got up, and rushed in.
Not long after, Prime Minister Liu Wenjie walked in with steady steps. Seeing the Emperor sitting there with a dark expression, he respectfully paid his respects to the Emperor first.
"Your subject pays his respects to Your Majesty."
The Emperor looked at Liu Wenjie, seeing his anxious expression, and not knowing what he wanted to do, he didn't hurry him to rise, but spoke in a stern voice, "What are you here for again?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, this subject knows Your Majesty is unwilling for Liu'er to enter the palace, so this subject has come to inform the Empress Dowager that this matter should end here." As soon as Liu Wenjie finished speaking, the Empress Dowager's face turned displeased. She hadn't expected her brother to say such a thing.
Didn't he, with a face full of sorrow, beg her to let Liu'er enter the palace back then? And now he was playing the good guy, making himself an interferer in his son's eyes.
"Liu Wenjie, did you say that?" The Empress Dowager's soft, clear voice carried a warning that was imperious without anger.
Hearing Prime Minister Liu's words, the Emperor's expression seemed to improve slightly. He ignored the Empress Dowager's scolding and told Liu Wenjie to rise. Liu Wenjie thanked the Emperor and stood aside.
Hearing his elder sister's breathing becoming heavier, he felt a little guilty and quickly reported.
"Replying to the Empress Dowager, it is not that this old subject spoke pleasing words, but that Liu'er this girl is unwilling to enter the palace. She left a letter and ran away from home." Liu Wenjie took out the letter Liu Liu had left from his sleeve and handed it to the Empress Dowager with both hands.
The Empress Dowager exclaimed in surprise, "Oh," so it was the girl Liu's idea. She knew that girl, who was always independent and intelligent. She hadn't expected her to make such a move first. The Empress Dowager opened the letter and nodded after reading it, "Then this empress has wrongly blamed the Prime Minister."
The Empress Dowager was fine, but the Emperor's face on the side had become extremely grim. He, the Emperor of a proud nation, was rejected by an ugly woman, and she even ran away from home.
If this matter were to reach the ears of outsiders, he would likely become a laughingstock for everyone under heaven. Feng Xie, thinking of this possibility, was instantly enraged and wanted to kill. He stood up, paced to the Empress Dowager's side, and took the letter. He saw that it was written in delicate handwriting.
"Liu Liu has run away from home. When the selection of concubines ends, I will naturally return. Liu Liu's letter."
Feng Xie's sexy lips curved into a cold, captivating smile. The starry sparks in his glazed eyes flashed with a world-shattering undercurrent. Good for you, Liu Liu, I didn't expect you to get ahead of me.
"My son, you don't need to worry anymore. Liu'er has already run away from home, so my son just needs to proceed with the selection of concubines as scheduled," the Empress Dowager said, smiling at her son. Since Liu'er wasn't entering the palace, why was her son still looking so unhappy?
"Consider her to have some self-awareness," the Emperor snorted coldly. Although he was angry about the slight humiliation this woman had brought him, compared to her ugly face, it was a small sacrifice. After all, outsiders didn't know about this matter.
Just then, the Emperor's personal eunuch, Xiao Wanzi, walked in, kowtowed respectfully to the Emperor, and reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, just now there was news from outside the palace saying?" The little eunuch raised his head and looked at the people in the palace, unsure whether to speak. He lowered his head and awaited the Emperor's decree.
Feng Xie waved his hand and ordered, "Speak."
The little eunuch, receiving Feng Xie's order, quickly said, "The capital is spreading rumors that Your Majesty was rejected by the second miss of the Liu family? And the second miss of the Liu family ran away from home?"
Upon hearing the little eunuch's words, Liu Wenjie and the Empress Dowager exchanged glances, unsure how to speak.
Looking at the Emperor's handsome face, it was terrifyingly contorted. A predatory light flashed in his star-like eyes, his breathing grew heavier, his thin lips were tightly pressed, and his large hand heavily struck the high table beside him.
The high table shattered in response, and along with the sound of shattering came the Emperor's icy words.
"Good for you, Liu Liu, how dare you make me a laughingstock in the world? I will never let you off."
After saying this, the Emperor immediately stood up and looked coldly at Prime Minister Liu, "I don't want to investigate who spread this, but Liu Liu must enter the palace. Prime Minister Liu, return to your mansion immediately and find Liu Liu's whereabouts, or don't blame me for being ruthless." With that, he flicked his sleeves and strode out of Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor's receding figure, then turned to her brother, who was smiling like a fox, staring at him intently, waiting for him to explain what was going on.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, didn't Liu'er successfully enter the palace?" Liu Wenjie's lips curled into a confident smile as he looked at his elder sister, the Empress Dowager.
"But didn't Liu'er run away from home?" The Empress Dowager pointed to the letter the Emperor had thrown on the ground. Liu Wenjie walked over, picked up the letter from the ground, brushed it off, and put it into his sleeve, replying respectfully.
"Liu'er did run away from home. This subject merely used this matter to get her into the palace smoothly. The Emperor will never tolerate losing face like this, he will definitely send people to find Liu'er, so we have succeeded."
The Empress Dowager's face showed disapproval.
"But if you do this, the Emperor will definitely hate Liu'er, and when Liu'er enters the palace, she will not receive the Emperor's favor."
Liu Wenjie's sharp lips parted, "That is between Liu'er and the Emperor. Liu'er is different. The Empress Dowager should know her intelligence. In this world, if anyone can be worthy of the Emperor, it is Liu'er. In fact, I am doing this for the Emperor's own good. Such a charming and powerful person like the Emperor, I'm afraid no ordinary woman can subdue him. So, whether it's success or failure for Liu'er, it's her fate. Even if she fails, it's better than her growing old alone outside."
"Oh," the Empress Dowager heard her brother's words. Indeed, he was a resourceful old fox, and her son was still a little too young.
In the Imperial Study, the Emperor was in a rage, throwing the memorials on the dragon desk everywhere. The eunuch Xiao Wanzi, sweating profusely, picked them up and placed them on the dragon desk. The Emperor threw them down again and loudly ordered Xiao Wanzi, "Pick them up again or I'll throw you too!" Frightened, Xiao Wanzi immediately shrank to the side, not daring to make a move.
The Emperor called out to the outside, "Ri Ying, Yue Ying?" As his voice fell, two tall, expressionless men walked in from outside and respectfully clasped their fists, "Your Majesty? What do you require of your subordinates?"
"I am going out of the palace. You two accompany me. I want to find that damned woman, find her immediately, and see how I will deal with her later!" Feng Xie's icy tone carried a hint of biting cold. Ri Ying and Yue Ying were Feng Xie's personal guards, highly trained experts he had painstakingly cultivated, and it would be difficult to find opponents for them in the martial world.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the two replied in unison.
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