C38

The palace, the Qian Qing Palace.

Xiyue, Ji Mingyuan, and Eunuch Gao were already restless. The time for the assembly had already arrived, but the emperor had already disappeared without a trace. They didn't know if something had happened to the emperor, or if it was something important, but they couldn't search for him in broad daylight. After all, the disappearance of the emperor was a major event.

"No, I have to find Ran Er. What if something happens?" Ji Mingyuan suddenly stood up, and brushed his sleeves as he prepared to charge out.

"Esteemed wangfei, I can't do that. You're now the emperor's favorite concubine. If we openly search for him, it'll definitely cause a huge commotion. Besides, we don't even know where he's currently located. It'll be hard to find him in the vast sea of people!" Xiyue stopped Ji Mingyuan and advised.

"Then tell me, what do we do now?" He did not care if Qiao Guo would fall into chaos. What he cared about was Qiao Yifan's personal safety.

"How about this, this old servant go to the throne room and notify the Emperor that he's well today, and inconvenience the imperial court." Eunuch Gao said.

"You can't! The last time when the emperor stopped the imperial court, he almost fell for someone's weakness. Besides, the Regent would not do something rash. What if he comes to the palace and finds someone, how should we deal with him?" Xiyue frowned.

"You can't do that, you can't do that. You are the person that I trust the most. Now that something has happened to her, you actually dare to talk back!" Ji Mingyuan was clearly a bit angry.

"In this way, Eunuch Gao, please go to the throne room first and see how long you can drag it out for. Then, with the excuse of maintaining the safety of the palace, Sir Qian Hu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard will secretly search for the Emperor's whereabouts. This servant will wait here. Xiyue said with a calm expression.

"What kind of dangerous move?" Ji Mingyuan asked as he stood up.

"Find someone to replace the Emperor. We'll talk about it after we fight against the Emperor." Xiyue lowered her eyes and said.

"Nonsense!" Eunuch Gao shouted, "How can we let the emperor be replaced?"

"Although this is outrageous, there is nothing I can do about it. If this servant wants a servant here, with Eunuch Gao's help, there shouldn't be any problems." Xiyue explained.

"But how can you change your appearance!" Eunuch Gao compromised slightly, but still felt that it was inappropriate.

"If it's just a matter of appearance, then Imperial Concubine Yuan can help." Xiyue smiled. She thought back to when Ji Mingyuan had worn the same human skin mask as Han Yufeng and had tricked everyone. If she didn't have Yuanfei's help, she wouldn't have dared to think of doing such a thing.

"I can help, but I'm more worried about Ran Er's safety." Ji Mingyuan asked worriedly.

"Your majesty's safety is at ease. Before leaving, the emperor ordered his subordinates to guard the palace and prevent anyone from entering. In that case, the emperor wasn't kidnapped. There must have been something important that delayed his return to the palace." Meng Shi suddenly walked through the door and said softly.

"Senior Qian Hu's meaning is, Ran Er left the palace?" Ji Mingyuan asked in surprise.

"This subordinate is only guessing." Meng Shi cupped his hands and bowed his head, not saying another word.

"Alright, since Ran Er is fine, we should prepare a path for her. It wouldn't be too late to mix this with the imperial court today and search for her again." Ji Mingyuan bit his lip. As a concubine of the harem, it was only natural for him to share his worries.

"In that case, let's use this risky move!" Eunuch Gao nodded in agreement.

"Then this servant will go find a suitable candidate." Xiyue said.

"Aunty Xiyue, find a person with a clean background and don't speak carelessly." Eunuch Gao warned.

"Rest assured, eunuch." Xiyue bowed, then walked out of the palace.

The restless throne room was already filled with murmurs.

This morning at the imperial court, the emperor and the Regent had both left the imperial court at the same time. Thinking of how the emperor had said such filthy words at the imperial court, everyone shook their heads and let out a deep sigh. The two of them were getting more and more outrageous.

"The emperor has arrived!" Just as the crowd was about to wait for Eunuch Gao to announce his departure, another voice rang out, causing everyone to shudder.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Everyone kneeled down and kowtowed.

Xiyue stood by the side of the 'emperor' and nodded towards Eunuch Gao. It seemed that this first face-didn't arouse anyone's suspicions.

"His Majesty has decreed that all his beloved officials are to be equal to him," Eunuch Gao said as he looked at the 'emperor' sitting on the dragon throne. He waved his hand and rose to speak to His Highness' s officials.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, unable to understand why Eunuch Gao was acting on their behalf today.

"Yesterday, the emperor had a chills, his throat was dry, and the imperial doctors found it inconvenient to speak. Today, the imperial court may be in session, but it's inconvenient for them to speak, the lords have matters to attend to, and have no business leaving the court ~" Eunuch Gao explained.

"This subject has music to play." Vice Minister Liu, who was at the side, started the conversation.

"Your Majesty." She didn't say anything. She only lightly nodded her head, indicating for him to speak.

"When the Emperor ascended to the throne, he was still young and didn't know much about politics and needed the assistance of the Regent. But now, the Regent has left the Imperial Court many times in the morning and hasn't stepped into the Imperial Government. Moreover, the Emperor has already reached the age of thirty, so he should withdraw from the position of Regent and leave all matters of the Imperial Court to the Emperor's dictatorship."

However, there was a small portion of them who were gloating while looking at Vice Minister Liu who did not know his place. They clearly knew that the relationship between the Emperor and the Regent was currently not clear, but today, they were once again speaking of the Regent's authority, not to mention whether the Emperor would agree or not. Just based on the Regent's fame, he would not see the light of tomorrow.

Xiyue and Eunuch Gao's faces stiffened. They never thought that there would be a minister who would speak up to such an important matter at a time like this when the emperor wasn't around. This was a matter of great importance, and if the emperor wasn't around, then how were they supposed to handle it?

The 'emperor' beckoned to Eunuch Gao with his hand, and the latter leaned forward, mumbling something unknown to the 'emperor'.

Eunuch Gao stood up with a relaxed expression. He softly said to His Highness, "The emperor has decreed that it would be inconvenient for you to speak your mind today. Let's put an end to this matter first and discuss it in the future."

"Your majesty, this matter cannot be delayed. The Regent has authority beyond the heavens, and there's a chance that he'll replace your majesty." Vice Minister Liu knelt on the ground and insisted.

"Hiss ~ ~" Everyone present sucked in a breath of cold air. It was obvious that the Emperor didn't want to depose the Regent, but Vice Minister Liu was so reckless that he persisted in speaking. Although loyalty was good, he was still someone who wouldn't live long.

"Your Majesty" also frowned slightly. Since Vice Minister Liu insisted, she didn't know what to do either.

"Is someone attending Ben Wang?" A cold voice rang out, causing everyone to shiver. They originally thought that today's Regent would be the morning assembly, but they didn't expect that it would suddenly come at this hour.

Although Vice Minister Liu, who was kneeling on the ground, was proud and unyielding, his expression became slightly stiff when he heard such cold questioning.

"This old official only feels that the Emperor can take charge of his own affairs. The Regent has worked hard for so many years, it's about time for him to relax a bit." Vice Minister Liu said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"What Lord Liu said is reasonable." Yan Mo Chen was dressed in black and laughed coldly, making everyone look as cold as if they had fallen into an abyss, "I wonder how Your Majesty thinks of this?" He raised his brows and looked at the 'Your Majesty' above the great hall.

Xiyue and Eunuch Gao's faces were pale. They originally thought that the regent would not see any inklings from the fake emperor today, but today's matter was growing larger and bigger. Now that the emperor wasn't around, they really didn't know how it was going to end.

"Your Majesty!" She raised her head and saw that everyone's gaze was focused on her. She simply bit her lip and stomped her feet. Closing her eyes, she toppled over from her dragon throne.

"Oh no, the emperor fainted!" Of course, Xiyue saw the meaningful look in the eyes of the 'emperor' before he fell to the ground.

Now, this was the only way to end the situation.

"Someone, help the emperor return to the palace to rest, and tell Imperial Physician Baili to go to the palace as soon as possible." Xiyue instructed with an anxious look on her face.

In the end, the morning assembly ended in chaos. Vice Minister Liu had a worried expression. He was not afraid of the Regent's revenge, he was only afraid that Qiao Guo would be taken away by someone else.

"Sigh!" Vice Minister Liu sighed deeply, flicked his sleeve, and headed out of the throne room.

"Lord Liu, please wait a moment!" Yan Mu chased after Vice Minister Liu and said with a slight bow, "My Prince has something to discuss with Vice Minister Liu."

Although Yan Mu was very polite, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he had something to discuss. This was clearly a Hong Gate banquet.

Vice Minister Liu shook his head. He hadn't thought that the Regent would act so quickly. If something happened to him, all the blame would be placed on him. However, he didn't care. It seemed like he wasn't afraid of the Emperor's authority.

Sigh, the Regent King really had the power to cover the sky above this imperial court.

"Please!" Yan Mu stretched out his hand and said with a smile.

Vice Minister Liu nodded helplessly as he followed Yan Mu to the Mansion.