The two men stared wide - eyed at the dagger in the Empress Dowager's hand. They were on the verge of crying.
"The Empress Dowager should be more cautious. This kind of thing is no joke."
Seeing them almost huddled together in fear, Shi Muyuan found it ridiculous. This matter was not going to end so easily.
"If you two don't agree to my terms, I have no choice but to put you in a difficult position."
After she finished speaking, the dagger "accidentally" slipped from her hand and landed on the carpet. Before the two men could even see how the dagger had sliced through the carpet, they saw that the carpet had been cut in two.
"Oh dear, how careless of me. It would be bad if I accidentally hurt you two gentlemen later."
Hearing this, the two officials quickly stepped back and at the same time echoed her words, "Yes, Empress Dowager. Such an important item should be properly kept. We must not accidentally hurt anyone and soil this dagger."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan pursed her lips and picked up the dagger from the ground.
"You two gentlemen are right. But once my emotions get out of control, I can't control some things either. If I accidentally hurt you two later, don't blame me."
Hearing this, the two officials quickly retreated. If it weren't for the palace servants blocking the door, they might have fled the Shoukang Palace.
Seeing their flustered expressions, Shi Muyuan pretended to be innocent.
"Why are you two gentlemen so panicked? Are you afraid that I'll miss my mark?"
Hearing this, the two officials looked a bit embarrassed.
However, it was only for a moment, and they quickly regained their composure.
"The Empress Dowager is joking. How could we be afraid of you? It's just that this dagger was bestowed by the late Emperor. If anything were to happen to it, we wouldn't even have ten lives to atone for it."
"Heh, if you're really not afraid, why are you standing so far away from me?"
There was nothing they could do. The two officials had to brace themselves and walk back. Looking at the Empress Dowager not far away, they felt a bit guilty.
"It's not that we don't want to agree to the Empress Dowager's request. It's just that we really can't do it. Isn't the Empress Dowager just putting us in a difficult position by saying this?"
"Then I have no choice. When the late Emperor bestowed this dagger, he once said that this dagger was specifically for dealing with those who defied their superiors."
The officials knelt on the ground and didn't dare to get up. They swallowed hard and finally made a decision under Shi Muyuan's coercion.
Although the Prince was also terrifying, as long as they could leave the palace, they could figure out other ways to deal with the Prince. But if they couldn't even leave the palace, how could they deal with the Prince?
After careful consideration, the two quickly made a decision.
"Since the Empress Dowager has said so, it's not appropriate for us to refuse any longer. Don't worry. We will spare no effort to investigate this matter."
"You two are not unreasonable people. Since that's the case, this matter is settled."
After Shi Muyuan finished speaking, she put away the dagger.
The two officials were finally relieved and quickly left the palace. But just as they were about to return to their mansions, they suddenly encountered a roadblock at the gate.
Looking at the person blocking their way, both of them felt a bit guilty. But they had been in the officialdom for a long time, and this situation was a piece of cake for them.
"The Prince is still here at this hour. Are you waiting for us?"
"Otherwise, do you think I'm here for any other reason?"
The two officials forced out an embarrassed smile. "Today's matter was not our intention. But we didn't expose the Prince in the end, which is enough to prove our determination to follow the Prince. Does the Prince not trust us?"
"Heh, I'm afraid there's no one in this world who can trust you two. Once bitten by a snake, you're scared of a rope for ten years. Who here doesn't understand this truth? If you can abandon your previous promises today, you can sell me out tomorrow."
At this, the two officials' faces looked a bit ugly. "The Emperor and Master Shi were both there at that time. We couldn't lie even if we wanted to. Your Highness should be able to understand our situation. After all, we initially followed your instructions and forced the Emperor in the Imperial Study."
What they said was true, but the Prince Lian's anger was not so easily appeased.
"You two should think carefully about how to resolve today's matter with me. Do you think I'm like the Emperor? Just say a few words and the matter will be over?"
The two officials didn't quite understand what he meant. "We won't ask for the rewards promised before tonight. Isn't this a way to resolve this matter?"
Prince Lian seemed to have heard a joke and didn't hesitate to mock them.
"Do you think I care about those rewards? Moreover, you've messed up the matter, and you still have the nerve to ask me for rewards. It seems I've been too kind to you."
His words made the two officials' faces gradually turn ugly, and they gradually understood his intention.
"So, Your Highness not only won't give us the rewards but also wants us to compensate you. Is that right?"
"Then what do you think I've been waiting here so laboriously for?"
The two officials finally saw his true colors clearly. They never thought that he was such a person who would turn against them at the drop of a hat. It was likely that he never intended to give them any of the promised rewards.
One of the officials knew that it was useless not to confront him at this point, so he simply laid all the cards on the table.
"If it weren't for Your Highness, we wouldn't have almost lost our official positions. Now that the person is gone and the tea has gone cold, we've truly seen things clearly."
Prince Lian originally just wanted to ask them for some compensation, but he didn't expect them to fight back desperately.
"What? You two have ruined my previous plan, and I can't even ask you for some compensation?"
The other official saw that his companion had already fought back, so he naturally wouldn't lag behind. Anyway, they didn't need the Prince Lian's charity.
"Yes, Your Highness almost caused us to lose our official positions, and now you're still asking us for compensation here. It's already quite generous of us not to ask you for anything. If everyone is like this, then we might as well not interact with each other in the future. We'll just consider this as being bitten by a dog."
Both the official and Prince Lian twitched their lips in surprise upon hearing this.
The official secretly gave his companion a thumbs - up. Although he dared to refute the Prince, he didn't dare to say just anything. He still knew his limits. He never thought that his companion would be so brave.
However, seeing Prince Lian's angry face, he felt really relieved.