"Hmph!"
Seeing that the Emperor knew but did not punish them, Mu Hansu felt no gratitude towards him. Instead, he became even more arrogant. "Do you think I will be grateful to you for this?!"
A fierce glint appeared in Mu Hansu's eyes. "My father and I have reached this point, and there is no turning back. I just don't understand, Father Emperor, you clearly dislike the Crown Prince, so why have you never deposed him?!"
The Emperor lowered his head, not answering Mu Hansu.
However, the Crown Prince did not seem to care much about this.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor let out a bitter laugh. "It seems that today, my son and I cannot reach an agreement on this matter. Then, there is no need to say more."
The Emperor took a step back, his gaze gradually turning cold. "Now, if you can break through the people of the Hall of Official Virtue, this empire and the throne will be yours. But you want me to write an imperial decree? Not a chance! Mu Hansu, I will act as if I never had a son like you!"
"Good, very good!"
Mu Hansu raised his eyes, his vision blurring with tears.
But soon, the pain in his eyes vanished, replaced by hatred and anger. "Father Emperor, then let's start with your favorite Prince Chang!"
He suddenly reached out, his hands clamping around Mu Changxi's neck—
Song Chaoyu couldn't help but take a step forward, only to see Mu Hansu suddenly turn his head. "What, A'yu, have you already given up on him? Do you still want to save him?!"
"No."
Song Chaoyu sneered, standing behind Mu Hansu. "I just want to see how you plan to kill him."
"Heh—"
Mu Hansu did not carry a weapon, but he had an army of thousands behind him, so he felt no fear. Gripping Mu Changxi's neck, he lifted his body. "It's just strangling this weakling to death. Is there anything I can't do?"
Mu Hansu had to exert all his strength to hold Mu Changxi, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"Scoundrel!"
The Emperor wanted to step forward to stop Mu Hansu. "You scoundrel! Why don't you just strangle me to death?!"
However, the Crown Prince immediately blocked the Emperor. "Father Emperor!"
The Emperor turned back, his body trembling uncontrollably. The Crown Prince looked outside. "Father Emperor, let's retreat! The archers outside are in position, and countless arrows will be fired at any moment. Father Emperor, we must retreat!"
"Chang'er!"
The Emperor's eyes remained fixed on Mu Changxi. Even as the Crown Prince pulled him, his eyes reddened. "Chang'er, it is Father Emperor's fault. It is Father Emperor's fault!"
"Chih—"
Amidst the Emperor's cries, perhaps only Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi could hear a voice speaking before them—
"Mmm—"
Mu Hansu let out a soft gasp and then lowered his head. He loosened his grip on Mu Changxi's neck.
Song Chaoyu, standing behind Mu Hansu, could not see what was happening in front.
She only felt Mu Hansu's body subtly shift.
She reached out, supporting Mu Hansu's body.
At the same time, Mu Changxi, in front of Mu Hansu, also moved slightly. One hand pressed against Mu Hansu's abdomen, and the other covered Mu Hansu's mouth.
"Go, retreat."
Mu Changxi, having recovered slightly from the dizziness of being choked, said in a low voice, "A'yu, follow my steps. Don't let the people outside notice. Let's slowly retreat."
The archers outside could only see the two of them sandwiching Mu Hansu between them.
The archers would not act without Mu Hansu's command.
So they could only watch as Mu Hansu, Song Chaoyu, and Mu Changxi slowly moved back towards the rear hall.
The rear hall had too many obstructions to their vision, and soon, Mu Hansu's figure disappeared from sight.
—
At this moment, in the rear hall, the Emperor, after being supported by the Crown Prince, was still cursing Mu Hansu.
But the next moment, he froze—
He saw Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu supporting Mu Hansu. What surprised the Emperor the most was not that a sharp hairpin was already lodged in Mu Hansu's abdomen.
It was that Mu Changxi's legs were able to walk on the ground unharmed, supporting Mu Hansu!
"What... what is going on?"
The Emperor looked at Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi with astonishment, as well as Mu Hansu, who was injured, not dead, but pale and immobile.
Song Chaoyu sneered and walked out from behind Mu Hansu. Under Mu Hansu's wide eyes, she lightly gestured to her waist. "I hid a poisoned hairpin here. What did you think I was standing behind you for?"
In that situation, no one had noticed that Song Chaoyu had handed the hairpin to Mu Changxi, who was facing her!
"How... how is this possible?!"
As Mu Hansu spoke, blood also seeped from his mouth.
Song Chaoyu only smiled wider. "Mu Hansu, you underestimate me, and you are too arrogant. To catch the bandit, first catch their king. I think if you die, those soldiers outside will naturally not dare to act rashly. Also, those Southern Kingdom troops supporting you have probably already withdrawn. I didn't kill Ti Le. Ti Le was listening in the cabinet while I was talking to you!"
"Song Chaoyu!"
Mu Hansu's forehead veins bulged, as if he wanted to say something to Song Chaoyu, but he couldn't move his body even an inch!
He could only stare at Song Chaoyu in fury. "You lied to me! You lied to me from the beginning!"
"Yes, I lied to you. So what?"
Song Chaoyu stepped forward with a cold laugh and then took Mu Changxi's hand. "I never thought of leaving Prince Chang."
"Chang'er!"
At the same time, the Emperor also walked forward, his gaze falling on Mu Changxi's legs.
If it weren't for Mu Hansu's complacency because he never expected Mu Changxi to walk, he wouldn't have gotten so close to Mu Changxi and been stabbed in the weakest part of his abdomen.
After all, even Song Chaoyu behind him was being watched by the archers outside.
"Father Emperor, actually, your son has been deceiving you."
With things having come to this, Mu Changxi no longer hid anything from the Emperor. "My legs were never broken. I never went to the Southern Kingdom. Everything was just for my son to save his life."
"You all lied to me, you all deceived me!"
The Emperor was clearly having trouble accepting this. "You were so young then, you certainly couldn't have planned all this. Was it your mother, did she also lie to me?!"
"Father Emperor!"
The Crown Prince also stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute to the Emperor. "Now is not the time to discuss this. What should we do next?"
Mu Changxi's tone was exceptionally calm. "The poison on the hairpin will not kill Mu Hansu immediately. But it will paralyze him and render him immobile. Father Emperor, now is the time to counterattack."