No pop-up ads, so refreshing! Thanks for your support! Sounds great ^_^... Chapter 99

  "Otherwise, Princess, what did you think it was for?" Nan Chengyao spoke lightly, one word at a time, asking instead of answering.

  The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, her lips maintaining a sharp smile: "Just now in front of the Chengtian Gate, Your Highness was indeed furious for the sake of a beauty."

  Nan Chengyao sneered, his eyes cold and warning as he looked at Qing Fei: "My things, if you don't like them, I'd rather destroy them myself than let others bully or humiliate me, especially a dog slave who has eaten leopard gall!"

  The Empress Dowager bit her lower lip and fell silent.

  But Nan Chengyao didn't wait for her reaction, and again spoke to the Emperor in a softer tone: "Your Majesty, what she is carrying in her womb is my first child, so I naturally cherish it. However, this is not the main reason why I am unwilling to depose the Empress."

  He slightly paused, took out a memorial from his bosom and handed it to the small eunuch beside him to present to the Emperor. He quietly opened his mouth: "Father will understand after reading."

  "What is this?" The emperor asked while unfolding the memorial.

  "This is one of the memorials that I, as a son, was ordered by my father to review. It is a report from Long Fei, who led the expedition against Qin Zhao, and it was urgently sent to the imperial court from Ye City, 600 miles away. As for what happened during the battle with the Northern Barbarians, I have already reported it clearly to my father after returning from the campaign. However, at that time, because Murong Qing was my concubine, many of her achievements were not mentioned. But it is true that she risked her life in Ye City and achieved great things for our dynasty; it is also true that she won the hearts of the people in the north. My father can see the petition from the people of the northern border attached to the back of this memorial, which says that suddenly deposing her would lose the hearts of the people. According to Qin Zhao's description in the memorial, it is not impossible that chaos could ensue."

  The emperor flipped through the memorial and the petition attached to it, his expression changing: "How many more memorials like this are there?"

  "Not many, but there are some. Just like in the south of Xinjiang, there are also people who come to replace Murong Wei's life." Nan Chengyao seemed to think for a moment before speaking again.

  The Emperor slammed the memorial in his hand to the ground with a "pa" sound, coldly saying: "As expected, it's a hundred-legged worm that dies but doesn't stiffen! That Murong Yu actually had the audacity to lead troops to attack the capital, if not for the conscience of one of his deputy generals informing the court, who knows what would have happened?! And now, should I still pardon them?"

  I couldn't help it, just as I was about to speak up, Nan Chengyao's voice rushed out first: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! The fate of the Murong family has already been exhausted, and our Southern Dynasty is destined by heaven. This point, Murong Liu must also be aware of, otherwise he wouldn't have only brought two or three close attendants back to the capital. I think that just like Murong Qing told me before, he still doesn't have the guts to rebel, nor can he come up with anything good!"

  He said as he turned his head to look at me, with a strong and cold glint in his eyes, as if reminding me of what he had said before.

  "Is that so?" The emperor looked at me lightly.

  I took a deep breath and nodded in response with a "yes".

  "But as a military general, he cannot return to the capital with his troops without my permission, which is a capital offense. He doesn't even follow this basic rule, what use do I have for him?" The Emperor sneered coldly while quietly gazing at me.

  I gritted my teeth, but still couldn't control the trembling. I had to lower my head and force myself to endure in silence, when Nan Chengyao's voice sounded again...

  "This is natural, and it's only right to be cautious. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good for the world." He paused, then continued: "However, I think that instead of executing Ling Chi by slow slicing, we should change it to beheading at noon. Murong Yu has made great contributions in the battle of Mo Bei, and he also worked hard on the southern border. It's not right to execute him by slow slicing just because of the 'treason' committed by two or three people. This would hurt the hearts of our soldiers. As for Murong Qing, she is just a weak woman. On the day when the Murong family rebelled, she was in the inner courtyard, weak and pregnant. I can confirm that she didn't know anything about it. Since everything has already been settled, I think that sparing her would not harm our dignity, but rather calm the hearts of the people of Mo Bei, and demonstrate the kindness of our dynasty."

  The emperor listened to him without a word, and after a long time, he opened his mouth with a clear tone, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, firmly locking onto Nan Chengyao's face: "It was you who proposed changing the punishment of Mu Rongdiao's family from lingchi to beheading back then——you repeatedly pleaded for the Mu family, what was your intention?"

  Nan Chengyao calmly looked back at the Emperor, his tone calm: "Your Majesty asks this because my queen is a daughter of the Murong family. However, Your Majesty has forgotten that this marriage was not sought by me. If it were anyone else making suggestions to me, after careful consideration, you might find that these words are not inappropriate in any way. It's just that nowadays, everyone avoids mentioning the Murong family whenever possible, and I am simply doing my duty as a prince."

  As he spoke, the emperor stared at him unblinkingly, but he was calm and natural, without a hint of impropriety. Seeing that the emperor still did not speak, he slightly lowered his eyelids, then raised them again after a moment, speaking slowly and clearly, word by word.

  "If Your Majesty must suspect my intentions, I can only say that the current state of the Murong family is not worth my scheming. On the contrary, it's a pitfall that could lead to self-destruction if one is not careful. I understand this clearly, yet I still chose to do what I did, with the sole consideration for the prosperity of our Southern Dynasty and the private desire to give my child a normal childhood with their mother by their side, making up for the regret of my own childhood. There are no other motives beyond that."

  The emperor's expression shook, and his eyes slowly calmed down. Suddenly, he furrowed his brow, raised his hand to rub his temples forcefully, and Empress Qing hastily said: "Your Majesty, does your head hurt again?"

  Li Kang'an also shouted in a loud voice: "Hurry up and call for Imperial Physician Tai!"

  The little eunuch who was serving in the house responded with a "yes" and hastily left, but before long, Wang Hai came in hastily with a tray, his movements so quick that it didn't seem like something he had just prepared on impulse.

  The imperial concubine saw the things on the tray and couldn't help but scold angrily: "You stupid slave, what are you messing around with?! I told you to go invite the imperial physician! What did you bring these things in here for?!"

  Wang Hai hastily knelt down and knocked his head on the ground: "I saw that Your Majesty had a severe headache, and this prescription was usually effective in the past, so I thought of using it before the imperial physician arrived... I deserve to die! I deserve to die..."

  The emperor glanced at the tray, at the scallion juice in the jade pot, and a complex expression flashed across his eyes, perhaps another wave of pain was coming, he suddenly frowned: "What are you all stunned for, don't you hurry to help me apply the medicine!"

  Wang Hai hastily replied "yes", stepped forward and presented the medicine to Li Kang'an's hand, and knelt down in front of the emperor with a basin of cold water.

  After the emperor had his head soaked in cold water, he closed his eyes and let Li Kang'an wipe it clean. As a mixture of Sichuan pepper and south star aniseed oil was applied to his temples bit by bit, his complexion gradually calmed down.

  Opening my eyes, I saw that Nan Chengyao was still standing in the hall. His eyes slowly filled with a complex emotion that couldn't be put into words, but ultimately he just gave a slightly tired wave of his hand: "Just leave it for now, you can all go down, I'm exhausted."

  Still remember the shocking swan's reflection (harem)