"Why is he here?"
Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima couldn't help but exchange a glance.
In the blink of an eye, the emperor, taking the lead, arrived before everyone with a large contingent of royal guards.
"Salutations to Your Majesty!"
Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima hesitated briefly, then ultimately bowed respectfully.
"Salutations to Your Majesty!"
Within the Li Residence, all officers and soldiers simultaneously knelt on the ground, paying their respects to the emperor.
"All may rise," the emperor said indifferently.
"Salutations to Father Emperor!"
The Crown Prince hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.
"Humph!"
The emperor, his gaze filled with majesty, fixed it on the Crown Prince and emitted a cold snort, appearing extremely indifferent.
"Father Emperor..."
The Crown Prince was startled. He could tell the emperor was highly dissatisfied with him.
"Esteemed Xiao, Esteemed Sima, what matter has brought you here with your troops?" the emperor asked, shifting his gaze to Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we have come to apprehend the rebel Ye Yunfei!
That wretch Ye Yunfei possesses a vicious and cruel nature, scorning imperial authority, and has committed countless bloody crimes. His sins are monstrous.
If he is not captured and brought to justice, the people's righteous anger will not be quelled!" Chancellor Xiao took a step forward and declared loudly to the emperor.
"That is correct!
Your Majesty, that wretch Ye Yunfei murdered Commander Leng of our Capital Army, creating a shared hatred throughout our entire force. If the wretch Ye Yunfei is not apprehended, I fear military morale will become unstable!" Grand Marshal Sima also took a step forward and stated loudly.
"Salutations to Your Majesty!
Your Majesty, we beg you to grant justice to our Li Family!
That wretch Ye Yunfei trespassed into our Li Residence for no reason, committing violence and slaughtering many of our Li Family clansmen. We beseech Your Majesty to uphold justice for our Li Family!"
The moment Li Jianjun saw the emperor arrive, he struggled fiercely to approach His Majesty, knelt on the ground, and began wailing bitterly.
"We beg Your Majesty to grant justice to our Li Family!"
The other Li Family members also knelt down, shouting one after another.
"Rise first before speaking," the emperor waved his hand.
"We thank Your Majesty."
Li Jianjun and the other Li Family members then stood up one after another.
"The Ye Yunfei you speak of—could he be the Master Ye Yunfei whom We personally bestowed the title of National Scholar upon?
I suspect there may be some misunderstanding in this matter."
The emperor glanced at Ye Yunfei, offered him a friendly smile, and then spoke up.
Hearing this, everyone was stunned. The emperor's words were clearly an attempt to favor Ye Yunfei.
"This emperor fellow is rather interesting, asking what he already knows." Ye Yunfei thought to himself.
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not a misunderstanding!
The bloody crimes committed by the wretch Ye Yunfei are all supported by ironclad evidence, leaving no room for him to quibble," Chancellor Xiao said, momentarily stunned by the emperor's words, then raised his voice in a loud declaration.
"Your Majesty, please issue an order to capture the wretch Ye Yunfei immediately and subject him to extreme punishment!
Otherwise, I fear the morale of the entire Capital Army may become unstable!" Grand Marshal Sima stomped a foot forward, shouting loudly.
"It seems the words of this emperor don't carry much weight."
Ye Yunfei watched coldly from the sidelines, understanding the situation perfectly.
Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima were being somewhat aggressive in their confrontation with the emperor. This didn't resemble a normal relationship between ruler and subject.
"Humph!
You two are remarkably bold!"
Suddenly, a cold, sharp cry echoed.
Beside the emperor, a middle-aged beauty had appeared, her entire being radiating a noble aura.
"Master Ye Yunfei is our life-saving benefactor, yet you two incessantly vilify him as a wretch.
Do the two of you truly fail to place the imperial Qin Family in your eyes?!"
The middle-aged beauty reprimanded sternly.
"Greetings, royal mother."
The emperor, upon seeing this middle-aged beauty, took two steps closer to stand by her side.
"The Empress Dowager!"
Upon seeing this middle-aged beauty, Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima both changed expression drastically.
This Empress Dowager had once been extremely famous within the Great Qin Empire, a truly forceful figure.
In the past, she had possessed the strength of the Late Stage Profound Realm, ranking among the very top experts within the Great Qin Empire's borders.
However, she had later encountered powerful enemies, been severely wounded, and lost all her cultivation.
Despite this, the prestige the Empress Dowager had established in her day remained difficult to erase completely from the hearts of many long-serving imperial ministers.
Furthermore, just a few days prior, the incident of Ye Yunfei assisting the Empress Dowager with her treatment and restoring her strength had long since spread like wildfire throughout the imperial capital, becoming common knowledge.
Therefore, for a moment, Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima actually felt some trepidation toward the Empress Dowager.
"Alright now.
Chancellor Xiao, Grand Marshal Sima, I will order a swift investigation into the matter of Master Ye Yunfei.
Please take your men and return first.
If there are results, I will have someone inform you."
The emperor spoke lightly.
"Your Majesty..."
Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima, having no intention of giving up, both exclaimed loudly.
"Oh?
Do the words spoken by the Emperor as the ruler of the state now fail to carry any weight?"
The Empress Dowager's gaze suddenly turned sharp as she stared coldly at Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima.
Both Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima changed expression.
"Fine. We shall first take our leave!"
Finally, his face dark, Chancellor Xiao took a deep breath and spoke. Then, he turned and left.
Grand Marshal Sima didn't even bother with a perfunctory farewell; he simply waved his hand and led his soldiers away in a grand procession.
"It seems these years of being Emperor have been rather stifling for you."
The Empress Dowager gazed at the retreating backs of Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima, a veiled flicker of killing intent surfacing in her eyes as she sneered.
The emperor wore an awkward, apologetic smile.
"Your Majesty, we beg for justice for our Li Family!"
Seeing Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima actually leave, Li Jianjun couldn't help but become anxious. He abruptly knelt again before the emperor and shouted loudly.
"Li Jianjun, you even dared provoke Master Ye Yunfei. We cannot help you.
Besides, Master Ye Yunfei holds the status of National Scholar. In terms of official rank, he is not far below you.
We will not intervene in the conflicts between you. Resolve them yourselves."
The emperor swept a glance over Li Jianjun and spoke indifferently.
This Li Jianjun belonged to Chancellor Xiao's faction and had always paid lip service to the emperor while defying him in secret. Naturally, the emperor held no favorable opinion of him.
"Our Li Family... is finished..."
Upon hearing the emperor's words, Li Jianjun's face revealed true despair.
Chancellor Xiao and Grand Marshal Sima had already left. The Emperor fundamentally refused to involve himself in the Li Family's affairs. It could be said the Li Family now had no support whatsoever.
"Master Ye Yunfei, is there any assistance you require?"
The emperor walked over toward Ye Yunfei, appearing quite enthusiastic.
"Master Ye Yunfei, Yue Su has come late, allowing Master Ye Yunfei to suffer injustice.
Yue Su apologizes to Master Ye Yunfei here."
The Empress Dowager also came before Ye Yunfei and bowed gracefully, her demeanor dignified and proper, deeply embodying the essence of imperial etiquette.
"I am fine. Your concern is appreciated.
My affairs need not involve you," Ye Yunfei nodded and replied.
His favorable impression of the emperor and Empress Dowager increased substantially.
"Master Ye Yunfei, you are Yue Su's great benefactor. How could Yue Su not intervene when someone dares provoke you?"
The Empress Dowager said.