The noblewoman's face turned pale with panic and she quickly denied it. She couldn't bear such a serious charge.
"Your Majesty, please see clearly. I would never dare to do such a thing. I heard that I could appeal for justice here, so I came. If I've caused trouble for Your Majesty, I'll take my daughter and leave immediately."
Ji Heng caught the key point in the noblewoman's words. His small face fell. "You mean someone led you here?"
"Yes."
As soon as the noblewoman finished speaking, the crowd suddenly got restless. An old man rushed forward, filled with righteous indignation. "Your Majesty, please seek justice for those missing court officials. Even if it's just to find their bodies."
The young emperor felt a bit of a headache but forced himself to look calm. Facing the uproar of the common people, he noticed several sneaky figures among them.
"Everyone, rest assured. The court officials are also part of our Great Liang. They've contributed so much to our country. We'll never forget that."
With his words, the common people gradually calmed down.
Seeing that the situation was under control, Ji Heng said, "Everyone except those people can leave first. I still have some matters to deal with."
The people who were pointed out didn't even have time to lift their feet before the guards captured them. They could only watch the others leave with their eyes wide open and didn't react for a long time.
Finally, one of the noblewomen came to her senses and said with resentment on her face, "Your Majesty, I've done nothing wrong. I was just temporarily confused. Does Your Majesty still want to punish me? My husband is also missing."
As the noblewoman spoke, tears were about to fall from her eyes. However, the young emperor had no intention of showing any pity for her. Instead, he turned his head away, with impatience written all over his face.
"If he's missing, report it to the Minister of the Supreme Court and the Prefect of the Capital. Why spread rumors and stir up so many common people? Do you want so many people to be buried with you? What's your intention?"
Hearing the matter becoming more and more serious, the noblewoman seemed to realize what she had just done. Her expression was dull and desperate.
"Your Majesty, I... I didn't mean to oppose Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
Seeing her attitude, the young emperor knew very well that she might have been used by someone. However, so many people had witnessed today's incident. If he did nothing, it would definitely have a bad influence.
Maybe in the future, anyone could force their way to the palace gate.
So, in order to have a good influence, he said with a straight face, "Come here! Find out the identities of these women. Moreover, since she has deceived the emperor, punish her by slapping her in the face according to the palace rules as a warning. Come and see me only after it's over."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left. The noblewoman with Qingqing thought for a long time and finally decided to follow him.
She looked at the young emperor who had never gotten angry with her in the distance and suddenly felt a bit lucky that she hadn't embarrassed the young emperor in public just now. Otherwise, she would be the one getting slapped in the face outside now.
Qingqing had been shrinking in her mother's arms. In fact, she wasn't afraid of this young emperor at all. She always felt that he was a very kind person and would surely be a wise emperor.
Sensing the gaze from behind, the young emperor slowly turned around and suddenly hooked his lips.
"What? Haven't you ever been in the palace before?"
His sudden question caught both the noblewoman and Qingqing off guard. "Your Majesty, Qingqing really hasn't been in the palace before. My husband and I both thought she should learn more about music, chess, calligraphy and painting at home."
Hearing this, the young emperor thought for a while. This little girl didn't seem like the type who could learn quietly.
While thinking, a group of people had already arrived at the imperial study.
The noblewoman and Qingqing were arranged to sit on one side. Then, Fu Lu poured them tea and the young emperor finally spoke.
"Tell me, whose family members are you exactly?"
The noblewoman tried hard not to let her tears fall.
"I'm the family member of Li Ping, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War. He disappeared for no reason at home this time. We really had no other way. At first, the Prefect of the Capital told us to wait for news at home. Later, we found there was hope here, so we thought of coming to have a look. We didn't expect that we were instigated by someone with ill intentions. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Saying that, Lady Li had already knelt down straight.
It had to be said that it made sense for the two to be husband and wife. Their behaviors were almost the same. In the eyes of outsiders, there was hardly any difference.
The young emperor was a bit helpless. "You two are really alike. I haven't said anything yet, and you've already started kneeling."
Hearing this, Lady Li was overjoyed. "Does Your Majesty mean not to blame me?"
"You didn't do it on purpose. Alright, tell me. What were the signs when Minister Li disappeared?"
Lady Li carefully recalled what happened that night. When they were about to rest, the butler suddenly knocked on the door from outside. "Master, there's a guest. He said he has something about the Western Regions to talk to you."
Minister Li frowned, with excitement on his face. He always thought there must be something unusual about the Western Regions, but he never had real evidence. Now this person came just in time.
"Lady, I'll go and have a look first. Maybe I can make some important discoveries."
Lady Li was very reluctant. "It's already so late. How could there be a guest? Maybe he just came to ask for a reward. Just let the butler dismiss him. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"No, Lady. Anyway, this is a very important matter to me. Don't worry, I'll never easily believe others' words. You go to sleep first."
After saying that, without waiting for his wife to say more, he left directly.
Lady Li had no choice but to sit in the room restlessly, not knowing where her thoughts had drifted.
She unconsciously twirled the Buddhist bead bracelet on her hand. Just then, the bracelet unexpectedly fell to the ground and rolled everywhere. It was impossible to find all of them.
As soon as she saw this scene, Lady Li felt scared. She couldn't wait any longer and wanted to go there herself. But just as she took a step out of the door, she saw the butler rushing over.
"Lady, something's wrong. Go and have a look quickly."
Cold sweat broke out on Lady Li's palms, but she still maintained her noblewoman's image. "What are you panicking about? If the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up. Calm down. I'm still standing here safely."
The butler wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Lady, the master is missing. He was clearly beside me just now, but suddenly he disappeared. What should we do now? Should we inform the government?"
"Are you stupid? How could the master disappear out of thin air? You must have been hallucinating. Don't scare people here."