The Imperial Consort's continued wailing made it impossible for the Emperor to remain unmoved.
The Emperor, with a hint of anger, slammed his hand on the table before him. "Enough! No more words from anyone! I will make the decision!"
Instantly, the grand hall fell silent.
Only the sound of the Imperial Consort's sobs could be heard, a sound that stirred a pang of discomfort in everyone's hearts.
The Emperor looked at the Imperial Consort with concern, attempting to coax her. "Imperial Consort, please rise quickly! You have been kneeling all day. Do your knees not ache?"
But earlier, when the Imperial Consort was kneeling, the Emperor had shown no other reaction.
At this moment, the chief eunuch personally stepped forward, leading his men to help the Imperial Consort to her feet. "Good Imperial Consort, if you do not rise, the Emperor will be heartbroken! Since matters have reached this point, the Emperor will surely not allow Prince Chang to be wronged."
Only then did the Imperial Consort stand. Song Chaoyu stepped forward to help her, but she waved her away, sobbing, "You are pregnant now. Just take good care of yourself."
She intended to use Song Chaoyu's pregnancy to remind the Emperor.
Meanwhile, Song Chaoyu's gaze shifted to Qifeng.
She was a person who loved children. Seeing the strained relationship between Qifeng and Haisha, and knowing that Qifeng had ten children, she felt a pang of sympathy for Qifeng.
Whether Qifeng was Mu Changxi's child, she knew in her heart.
Now that Haisha could not keep her own life,
The only thing Luo Yunshu could do was to ensure this child would not be implicated.
She placed one hand on her belly and beckoned Qifeng with the other. "Qifeng, come here! From now on, you are the eldest son of Prince Chang's manor. You must call me mother, do you understand?"
Qifeng, a small child, did not understand the adult's struggles.
He only knew that although he had never met Song Chaoyu before, if Zhao Yu treated him well, he was willing to go to Song Chaoyu.
"You... what do you want to do?!"
Haisha, at this point, whether genuinely afraid or still feigning,
She stepped forward and grabbed Qifeng's arm. "Qifeng, you cannot go with him! You absolutely cannot go with him! She will kill you!"
"Waaah!"
Qifeng, grabbed by Haisha, his eyes filled with fear.
He couldn't help but burst into tears, crying out in terror, "Mother, I was wrong, I don't dare anymore! Mother, don't hit me, I was wrong!"
This scene played out once more, causing everyone's hearts to tremble.
When someone pulled Haisha away, Qifeng ran towards Song Chaoyu.
Although he did not call Song Chaoyu "mother," his posture of hiding behind Song Chaoyu made everyone's hearts ache.
Song Chaoyu pulled him into her arms and patiently comforted him. "It's alright, Qifeng. Everything is better now. No one will hit you again. Don't worry, it's alright, it's really alright."
Seeing Qifeng and Song Chaoyu so affectionate, what more could others say?
The Emperor above snorted and gestured to Haisha with his chin. "Guards, drag her away! How can my Great Yue dynasty tolerate such a poisonous woman's insolence?!"
He intended to "deal with" Haisha. No matter how Haisha pleaded or begged for mercy, she could only be dragged away, with no room for struggle.
After Haisha was dragged away, the main hall finally quieted down.
The Emperor's gaze then turned to Minister Qiu. "Minister Qiu, you are envoys from the Southern Kingdom. I have always respected you, and after your arrival in Great Yue, I have treated you with great courtesy. But this is how it is?"
Minister Qiu nodded, naturally understanding that the Emperor was truly angered.
He hardened his heart and cupped his fists towards the Emperor. "Your Majesty the Emperor, this matter... we may have some misunderstanding. We were also deceived by Haisha. Please grant us an opportunity to explain!"
Shifting all the blame onto Haisha might indeed be their only viable option at this moment.
But the Emperor was already extremely annoyed. "Enough! Minister Qiu, since this morning, you have said many things to me. Must I listen to you now?"
He pointed to Mu Changxi, lying on the sickbed. "Chang'er is my most beloved son! You should know what it means to me when you come here today speaking ill of Chang'er. I have risked losing my father-son relationship with Chang'er for you to come here and speak such words. And this is the result you give me?!"
"Minister Qiu!"
The Emperor patted his chest, appearing heartbroken. "It's not that I don't know what kind of life Chang'er endured in your Southern Kingdom! I just don't understand why, now that Chang'er has returned to Great Yue and there are no more grievances between our two countries, you still refuse to let Chang'er go?! Must Chang'er die for you to feel content?!"
The Emperor's words were already very serious.
Minister Qiu knew that it was likely impossible to "deceive" their way through today.
He took a deep breath and turned to Mu Hansu, who had remained silent all along. "Your Highness Prince Ning, do you not intend to say anything? If you had not also doubted Prince Chang, how could we, as foreign officials, have come to the court of your Great Yue and spoken these words? Your Highness Prince Ning, Prince Chang is your brother! Are you just going to remain silent?"
He intended to pull Prince Ning down with them, hoping Prince Ning would protect them.
How could Mu Hansu not know?
His eyes turned cold, and he knelt before the Emperor. "Father, please enlighten me! Your son would never dare! It was they who found me first and told me they wanted to deal with my brother, Prince Chang, together. I was only afraid that Your Majesty would be deceived, which is why I acted as I did. I never imagined... things would come to this!"
He certainly did not imagine, and perhaps no one would have.
Song Chaoyu, holding Qifeng's hand, stood in the hall and sneered. "Perhaps the only benefit of this matter that Prince Ning has brought about is that we have gained a child for Prince Chang's manor."
She sighed softly and looked down regretfully at her bulging belly. "Your concubine is not as fortunate as the Princess of Ning, not knowing if the child in her womb is a boy or a girl. She always thought, if it were a boy, it would be a comfort. Now, there is no need to think that way. Our Prince's bloodline has returned to Prince Chang's manor, and everyone's hearts can be at peace! Thank you, Brother Prince Ning, for finding this child who was lost to us!"
She turned and bowed to the Emperor. "Father, Mother, please rest assured, your concubine will surely treat this child well in the future and will never allow the Prince's bloodline to suffer any bullying."