“She should! She should be punished!” Emperor Qiwen had been thoroughly frightened. In all his years as emperor, he had endured plenty of grievances, but he had rarely been this terrified.
No matter how unruly the Empress had been, at most she was simply domineering and arrogant, making decisions on his behalf, framing loyal and upright officials.
But when A’Jiu was unruly, he went straight to resorting to force!
Although Emperor Qiwen hadn’t been harmed at all up to this point, no one could say whether that might change in the very next moment!
What’s more, the hall, inside and out, was littered with debris from everything that had been destroyed; just now, dust had filled the air and fragments had flown everywhere — who could guarantee none of it had struck the Emperor himself?
The Emperor’s dragon robes were still stained with quite a bit of grimy dust…
Zhan Qingcheng showed not the slightest sign of relenting; he even took a step forward, his cold gaze fixed directly on the Emperor. “Punished how?”
“Punish… punish her…” Emperor Qiwen hadn’t even thought it through — just now, saying she should be punished had been pure fright talking. As for exactly how to punish her, he hadn’t given it a single thought!
The Ninth Prince gave him the answer directly: “Depose her!”
“A’Jiu!” Depose the Empress! How could that be possible? With so many people in the Nanmeng clan, they would never simply stand by and watch the Empress be deposed! This was utterly impossible!
For A’Jiu to push him this hard — wasn’t this practically pushing him toward his own death?
“A’Jiu…”
“This prince will say it once more — depose her!” Zhan Qingcheng’s expression remained utterly blank, his gaze, sharp as a blade, landing on the Chief Eunuch.
The Chief Eunuch’s spine snapped instantly straight; a chill ran through his entire body. Simply managing to stay standing was already a remarkable feat.
“N-Ninth… Ninth Prince, wh-what… are your orders?”
“Draft the edict!” Zhan Qingcheng’s words allowed for no argument.
The Chief Eunuch, thoroughly frightened, immediately answered and, from somewhere amid the wreckage, somehow managed to scrounge up the jade seal, a blank edict scroll, and writing implements.
He looked toward Emperor Qiwen, himself flustered through and through. “Y-Your Majesty…”
Deposing the Empress… a wave of panic seized Emperor Qiwen; over nothing more than those two words, he was so unsettled he could hardly even stand.
Watching their Emperor in such a state, the ministers, deep down, couldn’t help but feel a flicker of contempt.
Deposing the Empress — who didn’t want that? They were all the Emperor’s own trusted men, none of them belonging to the Nanmeng clan. Who among them wished to see Nanmeng Rong and the Nanmeng clan continue running rampant forever?
Whether in the formal court or running into them outside, whenever they encountered anyone from the Nanmeng clan, everyone had to show the utmost deference, not even daring to block their path.
They weren’t like the Ninth Prince, the Eighth Prince, or the Crown Prince — men who held military power of their own. They were merely ordinary officials.
Deposing the Empress — though many of them felt their hearts racing with anxiety, why did it also feel like something to look forward to?
The Chief Eunuch looked toward the Emperor, trembling himself as well. “Your Majesty, then this…”
“Chief Eunuch, does this prince need to draft the edict for you himself?” Zhan Qingcheng took a step forward.
He had only casually closed the distance by a single step, yet the Chief Eunuch felt as though a great wave had surged toward him; the overwhelming force finally made his legs give out, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Seeing that the Ninth Prince’s patience was already wearing thin, the Chief Eunuch, despite his trembling hands and legs, hastily scrambled back up off the ground.
“This old servant… this old servant will draft the edict right away, right away…”
No one said a word; everyone held their breath, waiting in silence.
Seeing that the situation had no room left for turning back, the Chief Eunuch could only steal a glance at Emperor Qiwen before going off to draft the edict himself.
Under the Ninth Prince’s overwhelming pressure, the edict was drafted in no time. The Chief Eunuch held it up with both hands — not just his hands but his legs too were trembling; his entire body shook.
But matters had already reached this point, and there was no way out now — unless His Majesty dared to face the Ninth Prince’s fury head-on.
The drafted edict, along with the jade seal, was brought before Emperor Qiwen; even the Chief Eunuch’s voice trembled. “Y-Your Majesty…”
“Fine. This edict — We… will issue it!” Emperor Qiwen squeezed his eyes shut hard, then suddenly snatched up the jade seal and pressed it down heavily onto the scroll.
Afterward, his entire body seemed to give out completely, and he slumped downward all at once.
“Your Majesty!” Several ministers rushed over at once, fumbling to help him back up.
Not daring to delay, the Chief Eunuch carried the edict in both hands over to Zhan Qingcheng. “N-Ninth Prince, the e-edict…”
“Then I’ll trouble the Chief Eunuch to make a trip to Xuanhua Hall and read the edict aloud.”
“R-right now?” The instant he accidentally met the Ninth Prince’s cold, indifferent gaze, the Chief Eunuch’s heart lurched, and he immediately answered, “Y-yes, yes, this old servant will go read the edict right away.”
That question he’d just asked had been utterly unnecessary — practically inviting death.
The Chief Eunuch immediately led a group of guards and young eunuchs, his thoughts in a panicked tangle, out of Yuxiao Hall.
The moment he stepped outside, he caught sight of the Seventh Princess and Feng Jiu’er hurrying toward the hall.
For some reason, the instant he laid eyes on Feng Jiu’er, the Chief Eunuch felt as though he’d spotted his savior.
“F-Feng… Miss Feng!” He hurried forward to greet her, sweating profusely with urgency.
Jiu’er recognized him well enough — this was the Chief Eunuch who always stayed by the Emperor’s side, whom she’d met before.
“Chief Eunuch, what’s got you so flustered?” In truth, she already had a vague sense of what it was — hadn’t she just heard that the Ninth Imperial Uncle was wreaking havoc in Yuxiao Hall?
Seeing the Chief Eunuch in such a state of panic now, it seemed her Ninth Imperial Uncle really was inside.
“Ninth Miss Feng, this old servant… this old servant…” The Chief Eunuch felt a sudden wave of grievance well up in his chest; he had truly been frightened half to death by the Ninth Prince.
But Feng Jiu’er was, after all, no relation of his; even if he felt wronged, it wasn’t fitting to pour his grievances out in front of her.
Still, he wanted so badly to pour it all out — desperately, badly.
“The Ninth Prince has forced His Majesty into issuing an edict — to depose the Empress!”
“Deposing the Empress?” Jiu’er raised an eyebrow, her expression complicated.
The Chief Eunuch had expected her, at the very least, to say something on his behalf, or to go right now and try to persuade the Ninth Prince to agree to cancel the edict.
Once this edict was read aloud, even the Chief Eunuch himself had no idea what unimaginable things might unfold within the palace, or even across the entire imperial capital.
But Jiu’er, after only a brief moment of surprise, suddenly smiled. “Sure. Then go ahead and read the edict, Chief Eunuch.”
“Wh-what? Ninth Miss Feng wants… wants this old servant to go read the edict?”
“No, no, no — Chief Eunuch, please don’t misspeak. It’s not Jiu’er telling you to go read the edict. Where would Jiu’er get that kind of authority?”
“B-but…” But hadn’t the Ninth Prince flown into such a towering rage this time precisely because the Emperor and Empress had wronged Feng Jiu’er?
Feng Jiu’er said she had no such authority, but the Chief Eunuch didn’t see it that way at all — in his eyes now, Feng Jiu’er’s influence was already unmatched by anyone.
“Chief Eunuch, since it’s His Majesty who’s ordered you to go read the edict, you’d best hurry along. If you’re too slow and His Majesty ends up holding it against you, none of us could bear the consequences — I’d hate for you to be punished as well.”
Jiu’er’s words genuinely jolted the Chief Eunuch into remembering himself.
But what he feared now wasn’t punishment from His Majesty — it was… the Ninth Prince.
Why would His Majesty punish him? If anything, His Majesty was desperately hoping this edict would never be read aloud at all.
But now, there was nothing anyone could do about it any longer.