Qinghua Hall.
The people from the Five City Defense Divisions and the True Dragon Hall had already surrounded this place. There were people everywhere. Not a fly could fly in or leave.
In the back hall.
The two waves of people faced each other, swords drawn. A murderous atmosphere spread. Their palms were on their sword hilts, ready to attack at any time.
The leader from Great Xia was called Pei Caihua, the Minister of Rites.
The news of Princess Fenghe's accident reached the Emperor immediately. The officials were shocked. Strangely, no one spoke this time, let alone the censor who jumped out to accuse the Crown Prince of being a woman.
With such a huge thing happening, the Imperial Court naturally had to appear.
After a round of games, this chore finally fell to him.
Although unwilling, he had no choice but to obey the Xia Emperor's orders.
Beside him stood an Azure Dragon Envoy called Lu Zhantang. He was in charge of protecting Princess Fenghe. Now that she had committed suicide, no matter what the reason was, it was irresponsible! He was very flustered and felt cold from head to toe.
This matter could not be resolved perfectly. He would definitely be punished. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince suffered, he would definitely be finished. Even his family would be implicated.
He was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
On the Nanman Kingdom's side.
With Crown Prince Fengyi and Feng Zhengyi in the lead, the anger in the former's eyes was not concealed at all, as if his nostrils were emitting air. An invisible exuberant flame burned as he glared at Pei Caihua, his teeth grinding.
The latter was the Prime Minister who had trained his mental fortitude for a long time. Although Princess Fenghe had committed suicide, anger did not show on his face. He stared with a dark expression.
Behind them stood the Qiong Qi Guards and the experts of the Nanman Kingdom.
"You have to give us an explanation for this!"
Pei Caihua had been in the bureaucracy for so many years and had seen all kinds of storms. He was tactful and ruthless. Seeing him pressurize, he felt disdain. How dare a prime minister of a small country question him? Under normal circumstances, even if he handed over a visiting card, it would depend on his mood if he wanted to see him.
The powerful national strength gave him great confidence. No matter what he faced, he could fight back.
Although they were the only ones here, there were countless spies hidden in the dark. If he did not deal with them properly and embarrassed Great Xia, who knew how those political enemies would participate in the court meeting the next day? They took the opportunity to take him down with a cold expression. "Her hands are on her body. Can you stop her if she wants to die?"
"This matter started because of the Crown Prince. My princess discovered that he was a woman. In order to protect her dignity, she died!"
Pei Caihua flicked his sleeve and berated sternly, "How dare you! My Crown Prince is an upright man. How can he be a woman? If you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish now!"
Swords were drawn and pointed at each other. A battle was about to break out.
Crown Prince Fengyi stepped forward and was not afraid of the sword of the True Dragon Hall at all. His expression was ferocious, like a crazy beast. He said fiercely, "Xia Shimin must verify his innocence and prove that he's a man. Give us an explanation! Before you came, I had already secretly sent the news back. Even if you send people to kill us now, it's too late! Even if we die here today, we have to seek an explanation for Fenghe. You can order us all to die, but I guarantee that my Nanman Kingdom will join the Shang Dynasty and become their province. With the Nanman Kingdom as a springboard, we will attack you and make Great Xia unable to live in peace forever!"
The atmosphere was stiff.
This time, Pei Caihua did not act rashly. This matter had already exceeded his authority. Just as he had said, if the Nanman King's head was damaged and he abandoned his authority to become a subject, it would definitely be bad news for Great Xia.
Although the possibility of this happening was very low and almost impossible, he did not dare take the risk!
His words were so intimidating that he did not dare to speak. Crown Prince Fengyi did not let him off. He pressed forward step by step. "You only have two choices. The first is to let Xia Shimin prove his innocence, and the second is to kill us. Then, my Nanman Kingdom will join the Shang Dynasty."
"I'll give you two choices. The first is to apologize to Minister Pei and beg his forgiveness. The second is that today is the day you die. I guarantee that before the army of the Shang Dynasty enters the Nanman Kingdom, no one in the Nanman Kingdom will be alive!"
The Crown Prince walked in from outside. Zhang Ronghua led the Flood Dragon Guards and guarded his left and right.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" Everyone bowed.
The Crown Prince nodded and stopped in front of Crown Prince Fengyi. He berated coldly, "Apologize!"
"You—"
"I'll count to three. If you haven't apologized…" The tone changed, murderous. "Everyone, listen up. Kill them all! I'll bear all the consequences."
Their eyes met.
Crown Prince Fengyi suppressed his anger in humiliation and clenched his fists tightly. Facing the Crown Prince's coercion, he did not dare to take the gamble! At least on the surface.
No matter how talented Pei Caihua was, he was only the Minister of Rites. He was different. What the former could not do did not mean that the Crown Prince could not do it.
Once Great Xia attacked, as long as an imperial edict reached the border, a province alone could destroy them.
"One!"
"Two!"
The Flood Dragon Guards had already drawn their swords. Zheng Fugui and Ma Ping'an were prepared to charge forward. Lu Zhantang gritted his teeth and went all out. With a gesture, all the people from the True Dragon Hall drew their swords.
As long as the word 'three' fell, they would all die!
Something strange happened. Other than being angry, Crown Prince Fengyi glared at the Crown Prince fiercely. His mouth was still pressed tightly together, but he did not open it.
Seeing that something was wrong, the Crown Prince had already opened his mouth. He could say the word 'three' at any time. Once that happened, they would all die and the Nanman Kingdom would be finished. Feng Zhengyi hurriedly said, "Your Highness, wait!"
"Speak!"
"His Highness is young and insensible. Coupled with the princess's death, he was so angry that he offended you. Please don't hold it against him. I'm willing to apologize to Lord Pei on behalf of His Highness. What do you think?"
"Yes!"
The tension disappeared as the swords returned to their sheaths.
Disappointment flashed across the Crown Prince's eyes and he thought to himself that it was a pity!
Feng Zhengyi lowered his stance and apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me."
Pei Caihua was very satisfied with the Crown Prince's performance. As the future Human Emperor, other than having extraordinary power and strategy, he also had to be responsible and have his own opinions. Only by withstanding the pressure could he lead Great Xia to the peak and destroy the Shang Dynasty, making Great Xia the supreme overlord, but he did not show it on his face.
The old fox was watertight!
"No one wants to see the death of Princess Fenghe. I can understand your feelings, but you have to remember to take your place at all times. Don't lose your rationality in anger, and don't take your lives lightly."
"You're right!"
The Crown Prince ordered, "Bring me to see Princess Fenghe."