At the hour of Zi, the Qinghe Hall stopped the play. The Emperor led the way in offering three cups of wine to heaven and earth, praying for favorable weather, peace and prosperity in the new year. Qi Xiao then offered a toast, wishing the Emperor and Empress longevity and blessings for ten thousand years. The officials then raised their cups together, jointly celebrating the prosperity and longevity of the nation.

Qi Xiao, standing closest to the Emperor, smiled faintly at the Emperor's benevolent face. He had to admire the Emperor's mastery of keeping up appearances. Putting himself in the Emperor's shoes, Qi Xiao admitted he wouldn't be able to act as if nothing had happened if someone had cuckolded him, with such nonchalance.

Of course, it wasn't that Qi Xiao lacked self-cultivation. He turned his head and glanced at Empress Feng with a mocking smile. Compared to Empress Feng, he was much better.

Although Empress Feng had washed her face and reapplied heavy makeup, looking quite dignified and polite as she smiled, the anxiety and unease in her eyes could not be concealed. Qi Xiao's peripheral vision did not spot Qi Hua, who was probably still passed out drunk downstairs.

Qi Xiao laughed inwardly. Earlier, Empress Feng had been in such a panic that she hadn't asked the imperial physician to take Qi Hua's pulse. By now... he glanced at the hourglass, the night had passed and the drug's effects had worn off. Let alone asking the imperial physician, even if she asked the coroner to examine him, nothing could be found.

Qi Xiao took the wine cup handed to him by the palace servant, first offering it to the Emperor, then to Empress Feng. Seeing the Empress's tired eyes, Qi Xiao sneered in his heart, wondering if she was satisfied with his retribution for trying to teach Bairen a lesson.

After the sacrifices to heaven and earth, the year was considered over. The Emperor ordered more lively plays, and after watching the plays and fireworks, the crowd dispersed. Empress Feng, mustering her energy, arranged for the royal consorts, concubines and princesses to rest. Although Princess Dunsu disliked Empress Feng, for the sake of the royal family's reputation, she still helped handle some matters that the Empress couldn't attend to.

At the third quarter of the hour, with everything taken care of, the Emperor's personal eunuch Fu Hailu led the junior eunuchs to Empress Feng and bowed, saying, "Greetings to the Empress, the Emperor said that the Empress has worked hard today and should return to her bedchamber early to rest."

Empress Feng's face turned pale. She didn't believe the Emperor was truly concerned about her being tired. Urging her through Fu Hailu at this hour likely meant he already knew about Qi Hua and that palace maid's affair. Empress Feng had been holding out hope, but now she completely gave up and gritted her teeth as she followed Fu Hailu.

In the bedchamber of Chengqian Palace, the Emperor looked at Empress Feng coldly and said in a deep voice, "Hao'er got drunk early today... is he resting well in the side hall?"

Empress Feng forced a smile, "Being that drunk, what's the difference between resting well or not, he's just sleeping..."

"Just sleeping?" The Emperor gave a cold laugh. He had endured for a long time and was about to explode with anger. Seeing that Empress Feng still wasn't telling the truth, he grabbed a teacup and threw it at her, shouting furiously, "The good deed your son has done, and you still want to cover for him?!"

The hot tea splashed on Empress Feng's feet, splattering her with tea leaves and water stains. Empress Feng was shocked and frightened, and fell to her knees with a thud, crying, "Your Majesty... Hao'er is really innocent. It was all that lowly maid's scheme to seduce him. She knew Hao'er was drunk and confused, so she sought him out to flaunt her charms. Hao'er was so drunk, how could he tell who was who? He thought it was his own maid. This... this really can't be blamed on Hao'er."

The Emperor sneered, "Empress, you mean to say... that maid risked being beheaded to seduce Qi Hua? Haha... that's utterly ridiculous! She clearly knew that after the new year, I was going to grant her a title! Instead of becoming my concubine, she went out of her way to seduce the prince..."

Although the Emperor was not old, he was about to turn forty and in recent years increasingly felt his strength waning. He had a hidden fear in his heart, so as soon as he thought of the possibility that the maid disliked him for being old and thus went to seduce the prince, a raging fury burned in his heart.

He laughed repeatedly, "Well... well said, Empress. It seems I can't even subdue a palace maid now..."

"Your Majesty, please don't speak nonsense..." Empress Feng's heart was in a panic and she couldn't stop sobbing. Now that things had come to this, she knew it couldn't be hidden. With the Emperor's temperament, he would definitely get to the bottom of it.

Empress Feng's mind was in turmoil, afraid that she might inadvertently reveal her earlier intention to use those two maids to harm Bairen. The Emperor was very astute, and one wrong word from her could make him guess the truth. Empress Feng kept wiping her tears, afraid that saying too much would lead to mistakes, and only dared to say some innocuous words, "It was this concubine who was deceived by that lowly maid, failing to see her fox-like wily nature. Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please don't overthink..."

The Emperor laughed angrily, "Haha... I'm overthinking? The shameful deed your son has done, is that something I imagined too?! Does everyone think I'm old, blind and deaf?! Now he's stealing my woman, is his next step to steal this throne?!"

Empress Feng was greatly alarmed and cried out loudly, "Your Majesty! Hao'er is your own flesh and blood! You know his nature, in his eyes you are like the heavens! How would he dare?"

The Emperor sneered, "He wouldn't dare? I think he dares a lot right now!"

Empress Feng wept incessantly, "If Your Majesty says so, then this concubine can only die to apologize to the ancestors! Failing to virtuously guide the prince, leading to such misunderstanding from Your Majesty..."

Seeing Empress Feng's words becoming more and more incoherent, the Emperor had no patience to listen. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and carefully sorted through today's events from beginning to end. After a long while, he said coldly, "Empress... stop crying!"

Empress Feng's sobs abruptly stopped and she said in a low voice, "Yes..."

The Emperor's eyes were full of disgust. He shook his head and said softly, "I'll ask you one question and you answer. Empress... let's not mention what happened earlier. Now, I don't want to hear another false word."

Empress Feng looked hesitant, but still nodded. The Emperor asked in a deep voice, "That maid, was she really sent from the Feng family?"

Empress Feng quickly nodded. The Emperor then said, "Then... was she really meant to be presented to me?"

Hearing this, Empress Feng felt like she had fallen into an icy pit, breaking out in a cold sweat on this frigid day. She had only been worried about how the Emperor would deal with her and Qi Hua after finding out, and hadn't considered at all that she had already dragged her maiden family into this!

Seeing Empress Feng's expression change, the Emperor grew even more suspicious and said coldly, "Yes or no, what's there to hesitate about?!"

Tears streamed down Empress Feng's face as she broke into sobs, "Your Majesty... you suspect my maiden family? Are my father and brother crazy? To scheme against someone they presented themselves?"

The Emperor didn't really believe it either. It was hard to say for Empress Feng, but Lord Feng still had some brains and wouldn't go this far. However, the Emperor had always been a suspicious person and had to be careful with everything. He frowned and waved his hand: "I was just asking casually, why do you have to be so defensive? Forget it, let me ask you one last question..."

The Emperor looked at Empress Feng intently and said in a deep voice, "That girl, is she someone you know inside out?"

Empress Feng was stunned. To tell the truth, she certainly was. She had told her father and brother that she wanted two girls who had no scheming, good looks, and no family background. The Feng family wouldn't harm her, so the ones chosen naturally had to be people they knew thoroughly, without the slightest problem.

But... since the Emperor asked this way, it was obvious that he was suspecting someone was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between the Emperor and Prince Qi Hua's father-son relationship. If she could go with the flow and blame today's incident on someone else...

The Empress said in a low voice, "Your Majesty... I dare not speak recklessly. Although the two girls were sent in by the Feng Manor, if they were spies who had been lurking in the Feng Manor for many years with malicious intent, then my family would have no way of knowing..."

The Emperor looked at Empress Feng distrustfully, very clear about what she was thinking. She just wanted to push this matter onto someone else's head. But the Emperor didn't think the Feng family was so foolish as to casually pull in two people into the palace. Wouldn't they be afraid of something going wrong and having to take the blame for others?

The Emperor didn't know that Empress Feng had previously wanted to scheme against Bairen, so there were always a few things he couldn't understand. Today's matter seemed simple, but there were oddities everywhere. However, if the Emperor really had to point out what was wrong, he couldn't say clearly.

Was it really that Prince Qi Hua lost control after drinking? Or was it really as the Empress said, that the girl admired the young prince and took a misstep?

Both were too far-fetched.

After staying up all night and having this incident, the Emperor was mentally exhausted. He closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I will get to the bottom of today's matter sooner or later, Empress..."

Empress Feng's heart instantly seized up. The Emperor rubbed his temples and said softly, "There have been too many things happening this year, you should rest... The matters of the harem can be left to Concubine Xue, Concubine Shu and Concubine Xian, you can rest assured..."

Empress Feng's face instantly turned deathly pale. She never imagined that the Emperor would actually strip her of her authority to govern the six palaces.

"As for Qi Hua..." The Emperor took a deep breath, "After today, except for going to the Academy, he is not allowed to go anywhere else! Have him honestly stay in his own palace and wait for me to investigate everything clearly before making a decision. Also..."

The Emperor stared at Empress Feng and enunciated each word, "Watch these people's mouths... No matter what method you use, make sure anyone who knows about today's matter shuts their mouth forever. If this gets out, Empress... even if I want to give consideration to the father-son relationship, I will have no choice but to deal with Qi Hua."

Empress Feng shuddered at his words and quickly nodded, "Yes, yes... Your Majesty can rest assured."

The Emperor leaned on the dragon throne as if drained of energy, waving his hand and saying softly, "Escort the Empress back to her palace..."

The Emperor went to great lengths to cover up this matter, both to protect Qi Hua and to save his own face. On New Year's Eve, his future concubine was favored by his own son. The Emperor could not afford to lose face no matter what.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The next day, the news of Second Prince Qi Hua spending a passionate night with a harem concubine in Qinghe Hall spread like wildfire throughout the entire imperial city.