The mistress of the Hou family went crazy after doting on concubines and killing their wives.

Chapter 236 Xie Zhiyan Returns

"I thank the emperor for his grace." Concubine Lu stood up with tears in her eyes.

Emperor Heng regained his gentleness on the surface: "Imperial Physician, please take a quick look at the Imperial Concubine's arm. Don't leave any scars."

The imperial physician rushed forward to treat her wounds.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine's wound is fine. Just avoid contact with water or irritating things in the next few days. It will heal in ten days or so. Then use the Jade Cream every morning and evening, and you will be back to normal."

Concubine Lu was delighted to hear this, and she glanced at Emperor Heng. She found that although his face was still gentle, his eyes were cold and distant.

He felt uneasy in his heart and naturally did not dare to mention the matter of the deposed queen and the deposed prince again.

"Your Majesty, who made you angry? I see that you are not in good spirits, why don't you take a rest?" Concubine Lu approached, spoke gently and considerately, and reached out to hold Emperor Heng's hand.

Emperor Heng inadvertently avoided her hand and said, "Your Highness's arm is injured. You should go back and take good care of it, otherwise you will regret it if you get a scar."

Concubine Lu's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and she withdrew it awkwardly, feeling resentful.

No matter how hard the Lu family worked for Your Majesty, and no matter how many male members of the Feng family died, Your Majesty has never thought of deposing the Queen.

If the queen is not deposed, the crown prince will naturally not be deposed.

Is he so nostalgic?
Concubine Lu was indignant. She walked two steps and then stopped. She turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, should we let the Queen return to the palace early? The rumors in and out of the palace are too ugly and it hurts the emperor's reputation. If the Queen returns to the palace and is as loving and affectionate with Your Majesty as before, the rumors will be broken by themselves."

Emperor Heng's eyes darkened.

Everyone in the harem knew that the Queen and His Majesty had been at odds ever since the late Crown Prince died in battle. The two of them merely maintained a superficial peace between the Emperor and the Queen, and there was no love between them at all.

Concubine Lu's words were to remind the Queen that she had someone in her heart and she didn't even want to go back to the palace.

Concubine Lu sighed, "Even if the Queen sister liked someone before, it was just the first love of a teenager, which can't be counted. After all, sister has been with Your Majesty for decades, how can it compare to the brief love of a young girl, right?"

Emperor Heng's eyes were filled with sternness.

After more than ten years of companionship and the birth of two sons and a daughter, Feng Wenjun still only has that person in her heart!

Even if it meant disrespecting the emperor and empress, he still had to leave the palace.

Seeing that His Majesty's face had visibly darkened, Concubine Lu was secretly delighted and pretended to be panicked: "Your Majesty, I am the one who said too much. I will take my leave."

Emperor Heng looked at her back as she hurriedly left, his fists clenched tightly behind his back, veins bulging all over.

After everyone left, the eunuch took a look at Emperor Heng's face, quietly waved everyone away, and then walked out and closed the door.

"Come out."

A tall and slender figure walked out from behind the screen and saluted Emperor Heng.

"His Majesty."

Emperor Heng looked back at him and said, "Xie Zhiyan, do you know what all these things you brought mean?"

"I am only concerned with completing your Majesty's orders and cannot care about much else. The Imperial City Bureau and the Soft Armor Guards were originally your Majesty's trump cards, but now they have become knives in the hands of certain people. The most hateful thing is that these people used this knife and put the blame on your Majesty for everything. Their crime is simply unforgivable!" Xie Zhiyan said lightly.

"The Soft Armor Guards are hunting down the Crown Prince, creating a false impression. People will think that Your Majesty will not tolerate the Crown Prince or the old ministers. Even the last bit of blood of the meritorious officials who supported Your Majesty cannot be left alive. Their minds are too vicious."

Emperor Heng tapped his fingers on the thick stack of evidence of the Imperial City Bureau's crimes on the table.

Xie Zhiyan looked at Emperor Heng's expression and knew what he was thinking.

Since he was appointed by His Majesty, he has always been a close minister to His Majesty. Firstly, he is indeed smart and decisive, and secondly, he is young and can only climb up by relying on His Majesty.

Unlike the Sun and Lu families, they have their own way out.

Just as the previous emperor is no longer capable, they can also surrender to the new emperor.

While they were making the emperor happy, they were planning to replace him with their own closest relatives!
This is something Emperor Heng cannot tolerate.

"What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, this is a family affair. But the imperial power has no family affairs. For the safety of your Majesty's country, I have to make suggestions. I think that the prince should not return to the palace to report after returning to the capital, even if he was injured. The queen has been out of the palace for a long time and has not returned. The impact is huge. Someone will follow suit and despise the imperial power. Wouldn't it cause chaos in the world?"

Emperor Heng looked much better.

This is what he likes to hear the most.

"I think what the court officials have said is not without reason. The Queen and Your Majesty have a relationship as husband and wife, and Your Majesty is nostalgic, and because the eldest princess and the crown prince were injured, it is understandable. But the crown prince is not a member of the royal family, and he should have come to report first when he received the order to investigate the case. Therefore, the crown prince can be punished to serve as a warning to others."

Emperor Heng looked at him for a long while, then suddenly smiled and said, "I thought you were dead, and I even appointed you as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor. You did teach the Crown Prince, so how do you think the Crown Prince should be punished?"

Xie Zhiyan simply knelt down and said: "I think the crown prince should be deposed."

Emperor Heng was surprised: "Depose the crown prince?"

"Yes. Only by deposing the crown prince can we warn the Queen and the Crown Prince. At the same time, we can let someone who is capable of becoming the new crown prince stand out. Your Majesty can just sit back and watch and see who is the most suitable to be the crown prince. Then, we can appoint a new crown prince."

Emperor Heng was very happy.

"That's a good idea. First, it will stop those people from nagging me all day long. Second, it will let the queen know what's good for her. Third, it's even better! Killing three birds with one stone is great, great!"

"I think that we should also strictly investigate those who are corrupt and abuse their power. What they have embezzled is your Majesty's wealth."

Emperor Heng nodded: "That's right. While suppressing the Queen and the Crown Prince, we must also give the Sun and Lu families a lesson, otherwise, everyone can ride on my head!"

He looked at Xie Zhiyan: "Are you injured?"

"Your Majesty, I have been recuperating for several months and my injuries have healed. If I had not been unable to walk properly, I would have returned to the court long ago. I did not expect that everyone would have misunderstood me as dead and caused Miss Qin to become a widow."

Emperor Heng thought of Qin Wan.

"Qin Wan is a girl who doesn't know much. She was spoiled by Qin and is cruel to her blood relatives. I pitied her and granted her a ghost marriage. Now that you are back, I will decree that you two should divorce, so that you won't be harmed by her."

Xie Zhiyan's eyes were filled with coldness, but his tone remained calm: "I think it's okay. After all, Duke Qin has risen again recently, and it would be a good thing for Your Majesty to be able to control her."

"Oh?" Emperor Heng looked at him.

Xie Zhiyan is a civil official, so it is not a bad thing for him to control Qin Wan.

"Okay. Take care of your own affairs."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You can officially resume your duties. From today on, you will replace Yan Yunhe as the deputy commander of the Imperial City Division. Take my handwritten order to take over the Imperial City Division."

Xie Zhiyan bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. But I request that the recovery of the Imperial City Division be carried out in secret to prevent them from leaking the information. Your Majesty can first issue an order to depose the Crown Prince, so that some people will think that the plan has succeeded. Now that the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, Your Majesty can catch some people in one fell swoop during the Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet."

Emperor Heng thought about it and nodded: "Great. Dragon Boat Festival Palace Banquet, good, good. We'll hit them when they are defenseless!"

He immediately picked up the pen and wrote a handwritten note. Xie Zhiyan took it with both hands, his lowered eyelids hiding a smile in his eyes.