"You dog slave, why don't you kneel down!"
Zhan Feng kicked at Nanny Gong's knee bend, forcing her to plop down on her knees.
Then, Zhan Feng pulled out the cloth ball stuffed in Nanny Gong's mouth. As soon as her mouth regained freedom, Nanny Gong hurriedly crawled forward a few steps on her knees and cried out desperately in the direction of the Empress Dowager:
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, please save this old servant quickly! This old servant has done nothing. I don't even know how I offended the Prince of Xian. Before I could even open my mouth to call for help, someone stuffed a cloth ball in my mouth and tied me up!"
"This old servant serves beside you. For the Prince of Xian to do this is no different from not putting you in his eyes!"
Nanny Gong was in floods of tears, utterly terrified.
Just now, she was suddenly captured. Before she could even open her mouth to question the person, her hands and feet were tied up. Especially after she learned that the person was from the Prince of Xian, she thought she was going to be killed. Her legs were so weak that she could barely walk!
Looking at Nanny Gong being pushed in front of the stage, the Empress Dowager's pupils dilated. She slapped the table beside her with her palm and suddenly stood up from her seat.
Immediately, she shouted angrily at Qi Rong:
"Prince of Xian, what do you mean by this?"
Just now, the Empress Dowager was still wondering why Nanny Gong, who served beside her, had been gone for so long and still hadn't returned.
Worried that something unexpected might have happened to her, the Empress Dowager even sent maids to look for her.
However, none of the people she sent later could find any trace of her. She never expected that the woman had actually been kidnapped by Qi Rong's men!
For him to kidnap someone beside her so wantonly without even discussing it with her was simply audacious and completely disregarding her dignity!
Looking at the furious Empress Dowager, everyone looked at each other and whispered:
"Goodness! This Prince of Xian is so bold! He even dares to capture the Empress Dowager's nanny. Is there anything he doesn't dare to do?"
"The Prince of Xian is so lawless. Isn't he afraid that the Empress Dowager will be so angry that she'll chop off his head?"
"I'm afraid after this, the Prince of Xian won't have it easy anymore!"
Who could have a good ending after offending the Empress Dowager?!
Everyone was chattering away, and the surroundings were in an uproar.
Since this Nanny Gong often served beside the Empress Dowager, many people were familiar with her.
So, just seeing the situation in front of them, even the Emperor couldn't help but look surprised.
Although he was shocked, he didn't immediately scold Qi Rong like the Empress Dowager did because he knew in his heart that Qi Rong always had his own principles and reasons for doing things. He would never kidnap the Empress Dowager's nanny for no reason.
The Emperor quietly watched everything in front of him without saying a word. At this time, Qi Rong spoke up:
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, are you sure this is your nanny and not a spy lurking beside you?"
Qi Rong's eyes were sharp, and he looked calm and composed, showing not the slightest bit of fear on his face.
His arrogant tone made the Empress Dowager frown even more.
She had disliked Qi Rong's arrogant attitude when talking to her for a long time.
After all, she was his late father's concubine. Even when Qi Rong was a child, he showed no respect for her.
Now, she was the Empress Dowager who was the mother of the nation. According to etiquette, Qi Rong should respectfully call her "Mother Empress".
However, Qi Rong's attitude was still as arrogant as ever, and he had never addressed her in such a way.
This made her can't help but suspect that Qi Rong's rudeness to her was because he still hated her in his heart and had never recognized her current status!
"Prince of Xian, if you have something to say, just say it all at once. Don't beat around the bush!"
The Empress Dowager frowned and slowly sat back on her chair. Realizing that she had been too excited just now, she now spoke slowly and majestically:
"If you don't have sufficient reasons to prove that Nanny Gong is indeed guilty, just for you kidnapping someone beside this old woman so privately and completely disregarding this old woman's dignity, this old woman will surely not let you go easily!"
In everyone's impression, the Empress Dowager had always been devoted to Buddhism and rarely got angry. Therefore, seeing her cold expression and harsh tone at this moment, everyone couldn't help but secretly worry for Qi Rong.
Facing the Empress Dowager's cold threat, Qi Rong subconsciously pulled Yun Xi into his arms.
His deep and mysterious eyes stared fixedly at the angry Empress Dowager on the stage, and he said in a deep voice:
"If this king wasn't sure, he would never casually wrong an innocent person. However, the Empress Dowager may still be covering up for this old slave now, but in a little while, you might even wish to personally order her execution!"
Qi Rong's tone was determined, and his eyes were full of confidence.
His confident appearance made the Empress Dowager feel a tightness in her chest. She stared at Qi Rong with a gloomy look in her eyes, snorted, and said:
"Don't just be so sure with your words. The important thing is to produce real evidence!"
She really wanted to see what reason Qi Rong would give for her to spare his life!
Qi Rong slightly curled his thin lips, and a hint of coldness flashed across his eyes.
He lowered his head and glanced at Yun Xi, who looked worried. He quietly winked at her and gently squeezed her slender waist to comfort her.
Then, he turned to Zhan Feng and calmly ordered:
"Zhan Feng, take out the things we found on that old slave before."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Zhan Feng obeyed the order and immediately took out a sachet from his sleeve. The next moment, he held it high and showed it to everyone.
"Everyone, please take a look. This is the pollen of the cloud lantern silver flower that we found on this nanny. When this kind of pollen is placed in the air and gently scattered, it will float with the wind and quickly spread in the air, leaving a very peculiar and exotic fragrance."
"Just now, when we captured this old slave, she was hiding in the dark and secretly sprinkling this powder into the air. And following the direction of the wind, it was exactly blowing towards the arena! At this moment, there must still be traces of this pollen powder on this old slave's fingers and clothes. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can call the imperial physician to verify it in person!"
As soon as Zhan Feng said this, everyone looked blank.
They didn't know what the cloud lantern flower was. And why did Nanny Gong sprinkle the powder in the direction of the arena? And why did the Prince of Xian arrest people?!
A series of questions lingered in everyone's minds.
They all felt completely confused.
Hearing this, the Emperor pondered for a moment and then said:
"Imperial Physician Zhang, you go and investigate personally. Make sure to look carefully!"
After hearing the Emperor's order, Imperial Physician Zhang immediately got up from his seat. Due to the Emperor's exhortation, his expression became even more solemn:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Saying that, Imperial Physician Zhang hurriedly walked towards the center of the arena.
He took the sachet from Zhan Feng's hand, carefully smelled the scent at the tip of his nose, and then dipped his finger in the pollen in the sachet and tasted it.
He turned to face the Emperor, bowed, and said:
"Your Majesty, this pollen is indeed from the cloud lantern flower."
As for the rest, he didn't dare to say a single word more for fear of causing trouble for himself.
The Empress Dowager never expected that Nanny Gong's actions would be seen by Qi Rong's men and that they would be caught red - handed. Her face couldn't help but turn ugly.
However, she didn't show the slightest bit of panic. Instead, she coldly accused Qi Rong:
"It's just a kind of pollen. Is it really worth you making such a big fuss and arresting people? Could it be that this pollen is poisonous?"