After getting to know each other, they all sat down together.
Maids brought tea and pastries, and also placed fresh fruits beside them. Once everything was tidied up, Zhao Jiaqi spoke.
This was considered a direct answer to Baili Kaien's earlier question.
She said, "Crown Prince Helian, Crown Prince Baili, and my eldest daughter, Princess Yumeng, fell off a cliff at the border between Zongsheng Kingdom and the inner city. If we are to assign blame to any one party, it would be quite far-fetched."
"Secondly..."
Before Zhao Jiaqi could finish speaking, Baili Kaien immediately interrupted, his bull-like eyes wide. "Your Highness Consort, is that so? But how is it that the Crown Prince's personal guard told me you were attacked by assassins, and Crown Prince Baili fell off the cliff while saving the Princess? Why is your account different?"
Zhao Jiaqi cast a cold glance at Emperor Xuanyuan and asked coldly, "Emperor Xuanyuan, I merely stated where they fell, not anything else. Do you not understand?"
Seeing Emperor Xuanyuan's face turn as red as a pig's liver, Zhao Jiaqi didn't intend to let him off. She continued, "To put it bluntly, Crown Prince Baili went to save someone willingly; it wasn't something I forced upon him. Him falling off the cliff is his own affair and has nothing to do with the inner city."
As Zhao Jiaqi said this, Helian Zhicheng's expression immediately changed.
However, she said this precisely to convey to the two of them that the inner city had not begged them to save their people. First and foremost, this stance had to be clarified.
This was a matter of responsibility, not a trivial issue.
"However, speaking of which, I am very grateful to Crown Prince Helian and Crown Prince Baili for their efforts in saving Yumeng. Therefore, I did not abandon the two princes. Instead, my Lord led people to search extensively."
Zhao Jiaqi looked at the faces of the two emperors, which changed faster than Sichuan opera masks. She said, "My Lord and I are grateful people. Driven by our conscience, we will certainly find the two princes. If the two emperors insist it is our fault, then our inner city has nothing more to say."
Hearing this, Emperor Xuanyuan felt a little better, and his expression was no longer as foul.
He asked, "Your Highness, has there been any progress in the search over the past few days?"
"There are some promising leads. At least, for now, both princes are safe, and my Lord is actively working on their rescue!"
Zhao Jiaqi told them truthfully, so as not to worry them.
For a moment, the front hall fell silent.
Seeing that no one was speaking, and feeling that Emperor Xuanyuan was not an easy person to get along with, Duan Yao decided not to further cultivate their relationship.
She turned to Zhao Jiaqi with a smile and asked, "My son tells me Princess Yumeng is very capable in leading troops in battle, a woman who is second to none. I truly wish to witness it."
Speaking of her daughter, Zhao Jiaqi's face also showed a smile. She replied, "She is nowhere near as good as Crown Prince Helian says. She merely enjoys wielding weapons and has achieved minor success."
Everyone understood this was modesty, but it was indeed rare for a delicate young woman to lead troops in battle.
Emperor Xuanyuan sneered, "A woman must eventually marry and raise children. While Your Highness Consort may dote on the Princess, you shouldn't spoil her too much, or she'll have difficulty marrying. Even if she does marry, she will bring shame to her husband's family."
Zhao Jiaqi pursed her red lips tightly. His words implied she was marrying into their Baili family.
She retorted equally strongly, "Emperor Xuanyuan need not worry about that. My daughter will marry anyone but Crown Prince Baili, so you can set your mind at ease."
"However, speaking of which, anyone who becomes an daughter-in-law of your Baili family must be a woman with tiny feet, bound tightly and for a long time. To put it nicely, she's intelligent and virtuous, gentle and skilled. To put it bluntly, she's a timid woman with no opinions, unsure of herself in anything. What else can she do but be a dependent?"
Duan Yao chimed in with a smile, "Women like that want to secure their position with children and engage in petty squabbles with concubines in the inner court. They might even try to harm others, possibly concubines, or even their offspring. Unlike in this royal mansion, where everyone knows the Prince dotes only on the Consort, so such messy affairs truly don't happen."
"Living like this is much more carefree."
Helian Zhicheng chuckled as the Empress spoke at length, "My harem has only you as Empress. Don't always envy others."
Duan Yao's face lit up with happiness at this. She smiled shyly at Zhao Jiaqi, "In this regard, the Consort and I are quite similar; we don't worry about such things."
Baili Kaien, on the other hand, was troubled by this.
He often saw the Empress and the Noble Consort bickering and felt helpless. He didn't want one faction to dominate the harem, so he used both sides to check each other.
But this led to both sides secretly vying for the dragon throne. Even though he had now appointed his legitimate son as Crown Prince, the Noble Consort's son remained restless.
Emperor Xuanyuan felt bitter, but he didn't express it. Instead, he put on a brave face and said, "Such rivalry is normal. Procreating children is the true way. It's better than having only one child to inherit the throne.
"What if something happens to this child? There's another one to inherit. So, having many children is a blessing, and having them around to entertain you is lively."
Zhao Jiaqi and Duan Yao's gazes swept towards him. He was truly speaking from a position of privilege, as if children were merely tools for succession.
They might as well marry a sow, which could give birth to over ten piglets.
Zhao Jiaqi raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke the truth, "There has never been family affection in royal families. 'Entertaining you' is merely an illusion. On the surface, it appears so, but in private, they wish death upon each other."
To say that royal families had family affection would be to claim it was nonexistent, as it was so rare, comparable to phoenix feathers and dragon horns.
With that remark, Emperor Xuanyuan was again rendered speechless, his backside shifting uncomfortably on his chair.
Zhao Jiaqi felt she had spoken too much today. After all, he was an emperor, and she should still show some respect.
If it weren't for her poor first impression of him, she wouldn't have acted so offensively.
However, the words were out, and there was no point in taking them back. She simply changed the subject.
"I greatly admire the young Crown Prince Helian and Crown Prince Baili. They are brave and resourceful, with sharp insight and decisive actions. Their majesties have truly guided them well."
Hearing his son praised, Helian Zhicheng was also delighted. "It's not that I guided him well; he learned it himself. But his intelligence truly comes from me."
He wasn't bragging. The child's appearance resembled his mother, but his intelligence was truly inherited from him.
Because of this, Helian Zhicheng doted on his son immensely, and as a father, he always found ways to get whatever his son desired.
However, since the child was sensible, he didn't have to worry much about him. Thus, having an obedient child was a truly fortunate thing.