Though the Emperor occasionally seemed like a benign and lovable old man, he was, after all, the Emperor. Having sat on his lofty throne for decades, he had grown accustomed to wielding power and deciding matters of life and death.
Even if he cared for his children, he could not tolerate anyone threatening him.
He was profoundly disappointed by the incompetence of his previous Crown Prince.
Now, the current Crown Prince was exceedingly talented, making him feel a sense of impending crisis.
The more popular Crown Prince Li Hongyuan became, the more the Emperor resented him — and that resentment extend to Jiang Ning as well.
And now, she, on her own, had ordered the Prince of Wutong to arrest people.
While it's true that the Prince of Wutong commanded an army, his main duty was to protect the Imperial City—in other words, to protect the Emperor.
If a Princess Consort could simply command people around, how could the Emperor be pleased?
