The young emperor turned his face away directly, leaving no room for changing his mind.
"Do you mean that the Empress Dowager and this girl framed you together?"
The Prince of Li would never speak ill of the Empress Dowager. Now he could only shift the blame to someone else.
"Actually, it was my wife who, in an attempt to help me have an heir, did such a foolish thing. I'm willing to compensate the girl. I hope Your Majesty can pardon me."
After all, they had been husband and wife for so many years. She didn't know how many blame she had taken for him. She whole - heartedly considered the interests of the prince's mansion. But today, he suddenly betrayed her. How could the Princess of Li let it go?
She clawed her hands and, before anyone could react, directly grabbed the Prince of Li by the neck.
"I must have been blind back then to be with you. I thought you were someone I could rely on, but I never thought you were so unreliable. For all your mess over the years, I've taken so many blames outside. Now, at this critical moment, you still choose to push me out. You ungrateful wretch!"
No one had expected the sudden outburst of the Princess of Li. But just as the emperor was about to send someone to stop her, Shi Muyuan stopped him.
"Your Majesty, you should take a good look at the warmth and coldness of the world. Since the dogs are willing to fight, let them fight first. Maybe we can discover something extraordinary from it."
Since she said so, the emperor stopped in his tracks.
Just like that, a group of people watched coldly.
The Prince of Li didn't miss the movements of the Empress Dowager and the emperor. Now he only felt regret in his heart.
He should have known better than to provoke the Empress Dowager. Now that so many things had happened, he might not even be able to save his own life in the future.
He wanted to quickly shake off the person who was clinging to him and try to make up for his mistakes. But no matter what he did, the Princess of Li just wouldn't let go. She even scratched many wounds on his body.
"Anyway, I don't have much time left. You forced civilian girls back then, embezzled loans, and all the other things you've done. I have evidence of everything. Let's all die together today. I've long since stopped caring about this position. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing you die."
The Princess of Li blurted out everything. It was too late for the Prince of Li to atone for his crimes.
His face turned ashen. He lost his patience with the woman who had accompanied him for so many years. After all, he was a man. When fighting with a woman without restraint, he usually had the upper hand.
So, with a sudden force, the Princess of Li fell straight backward. Her head hit the corner of the table.
Blood gushed out quickly. Under the horrified gaze of the Princess of Li, he grabbed the emperor's shoes and knelt on the ground like a dog, begging.
"Your Majesty, I know a lot of things. The father of my wife has done even more outrageous things than I have. I have evidence of all the things General Li has done in my study."
Hearing this, the Princess of Li no longer cared about the pain on her forehead. She rushed over in a hurry, trying to stop this cruel man, but it was too late. He had confessed everything.
"I was blind to marry you back then. I should have listened to my father. A man like you is simply a wolf that harms others."
The Prince of Li thought that after saying so much and providing evidence, the emperor would surely not hold him accountable anymore. At this moment, his face was full of pride.
"Humph, you slut. I've long since disliked you. You even tried to betray me. Don't blame me then. After today, you'll go and die with your father. Without him, I can have whoever I want in this prince's mansion in the future."
The Princess of Li was full of hatred, but due to the wound on her head, she couldn't do anything.
Seeing that the situation was almost over, the young emperor ordered the guards beside him.
"Find all the evidence they mentioned. In addition, confiscate all the belongings of the Prince of Li's mansion. Don't involve the innocent. Check who didn't participate and let them go."
"Yes."
After things were almost over here, Shi Muyuan took the young emperor's hand. "Just send a few people to follow. Heng'er, you were frightened today. I'll take you to eat something delicious to calm your nerves."
Ji Heng helplessly twitched the corner of his mouth. Since his mother woke up, she seemed to be only interested in eating. But he didn't refuse.
The two came to the biggest restaurant. The people following behind them naturally caught the attention of others. Some people didn't dare to stay long and left in a hurry after finishing their meals.
Seeing this, the owner of the restaurant wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and stepped forward bravely.
"Gentlemen, would you like to go to the private rooms upstairs? The place downstairs may not be suitable for your status."
Although the owner's words were euphemistic enough, the group still noticed something wrong. But they didn't mind.
"Then let's go upstairs. The food in this restaurant was quite good last time. Heng'er, you should eat more later. We don't know when we can eat like this next time."
As she said this, she cast a glance in the direction of the kitchen.
Even if Ji Heng didn't want to pay attention, he still noticed something strange.
As soon as the owner left, he asked curiously, "Does this restaurant have any special meaning to you, Mother?"
Shi Muyuan was a very cautious person. She should know in her heart that people of their status should never eat casually outside.
But she still brought him here today. There must be a reason.
She didn't expect that her thoughts could never escape the emperor's eyes. It seemed that the saying that all emperors since ancient times were smart and vigilant was really well - founded.
But it wasn't a big deal, so she didn't hide it.
"Heng'er, do you really think the food in the palace is delicious?"
Hearing this, Ji Heng fell completely silent. Of course, it wasn't delicious. After eating the food his mother cooked, he could only barely eat a little of what the imperial chefs served and then asked the servants to take it away. The obvious weight loss recently was also because of this.
"It seems that you already have an idea in mind, Mother. Why don't you tell me about it?"
Smelling the aroma of the food wafting up from downstairs from time to time, Shi Muyuan swallowed her saliva involuntarily.
"Then I'll just say it straight. I think it's necessary for the imperial chefs in the palace to communicate with the capable chefs in these restaurants. Maybe we can eat delicious food in the palace in the future."
Ji Heng raised his eyebrows and had no objections.
"Your suggestion is excellent, Mother. But there's a natural disaster in the south of the Yangtze River recently. The national treasury is in short supply for the time being, so it's not good to be extravagant. How about arranging this after the situation in the south of the Yangtze River is over?"
Shi Muyuan pursed her lips. She might be the person who lacked money the least in this place. Not to mention the rich family background of the Shi family, even her private treasury in the palace and the things just sent by her two elder brothers were more than others could compare with.