Mo Lingxi held Sheng Lengshuang's hand and softly comforted her, "What my wife worries about could happen outside as well. Besides, it's not easy to make a move in the current imperial palace."
"This incident was most likely orchestrated by a palace consort."
As he said this, he cast a cold glance at Zi Cheng.
Zi Cheng flinched, looking utterly innocent. "Uncle, you can't blame me for this. I can't possibly know everything the consorts do."
"But Uncle, don't worry, I guarantee similar incidents won't happen again."
It was because his temper was too good that these people in the harem dared to do such things.
Mo Lingxi raised an eyelid. "I hope His Majesty can handle this. If His Majesty can't handle it well..."
"Uncle wants to help me handle it? That would be wonderful!" Zi Cheng was overjoyed and repeatedly made inviting gestures. "Uncle, please handle it quickly, I promise not to say a word."
Sheng Lengshuang: "..." As expected, this uncle and nephew pair were here to provide comic relief.
Mo Lingxi's handsome face darkened slightly, his tone heavy. "I will leave all matters to His Majesty. I won't share even a tiny bit of it with you."
Upon hearing this, Zi Cheng's face fell, and he whined tearfully, "Uncle, you can't treat me like this. I am your most beloved nephew."
Mo Lingxi chuckled twice. "My most beloved are only my wife and son. You are not among them."
Zi Cheng turned to Sheng Lengshuang, wanting to cling to his aunt's leg. "Aunt, you will help me, won't you?"
Sheng Lengshuang's mouth twitched. "I will not get involved in matters between you and your uncle. Also, Your Majesty, can you have a little imperial dignity?"
Zi Cheng shrugged carelessly. "What is imperial dignity compared to freedom? Aunt doesn't know, but sitting in this position, facing all sorts of schemes and messy affairs every day is truly exhausting."
Sheng Lengshuang had never experienced sitting on the dragon throne, so she couldn't truly understand Zi Cheng's feelings. "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'He who occupies the position bears its weight.'"
Zi Cheng wasn't ignorant of these things, but he genuinely disliked all the scheming, feeling suffocated.
He didn't dwell on the matter any longer. Instead, he glanced at Consort Ru.
At this moment, Consort Ru had scratched herself, leaving bloody marks all over her body. Her face was contorted in a mask of painful screams, a truly terrifying sight.
However, not a single person pitied her.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this concubine truly knows her mistake. I beg Your Majesty to spare my life." She pleaded hoarsely.
Zi Cheng showed no mercy, even wishing he could flay Consort Ru a thousand times. "You dared to inflict such vicious harm on Young Master Mo. This punishment is already extremely light."
"Consort Ru is wicked. Drag her to the Meridian Gate and have her dismembered. Her entire clan will be imprisoned in the death row, and executed in three days!"
Upon hearing this, Consort Ru's eyes rolled back, and she fainted. It was over, truly over. She and her family were finished.
Eunuchs dragged Consort Ru away.
Zi Cheng snorted heavily and issued several more decrees, all targeting the harem. He also declared that from tomorrow onwards, all consorts in the harem would observe a period of fasting and copy Buddhist scriptures for half a year.
His decrees included a statement about Sheng Lengshuang, clearly stating that Sheng Lengshuang could only be his imperial aunt and no other relationship. If anyone dared to do anything inappropriate again, their fate would be the same as Consort Ru's.
With these decrees issued one after another, the consorts in the harem were all trembling with fear. Especially those who had schemes or were already plotting, they were even more uneasy, fearing they would become the next Consort Ru.
His Majesty was truly enraged this time. If they had known it would come to this, they would never have done these things. They blamed Sheng Lengshuang for not making her stance clear.
Sheng Lengshuang, having guessed some of it, understood the mindset of the harem consorts as a woman herself. As consorts in the harem, none of them didn't wish to become Empress, nor did any of them not want to monopolize the Emperor's favor.
However, they should never have targeted her son with their schemes. Therefore, she didn't mind using His Majesty's hand to deal with these people and let them suffer a good lesson.
"Your Majesty, that eunuch has confessed," said the Commander of the Imperial Guards, walking in and bowing. "To avoid defiling the side hall, please, Your Majesty, Prince Ming Rui, and Miss Sheng, move outside the hall."
Sheng Lengshuang, Mo Lingxi, and Zi Cheng moved outside the hall and saw a eunuch covered in blood lying not far away, trembling uncontrollably.
Sheng Lengshuang raised an eyebrow, gaining a deeper understanding of the palace's punishments. One had to know that ancient tortures were endless, and few could endure them.
"Speak. Who truly instructed you, and why did you alter the arrows?" Zi Cheng asked with a cold face.
The eunuch truly dared not to speak. He had already experienced the methods of the Imperial Guards. If he didn't confess, he would experience an endless suffering worse than death.
"Consort Xiang instructed this servant. This servant's family's lives are all in Consort Xiang's hands, so I dared not disobey. However, Young Master Mo once helped this servant when he was bullied by other palace staff, so this servant removed the barbs from the arrow..."
For Young Master Mo, this was a trivial matter. But for him, it was a life-saving event.
If his family hadn't been controlled by Consort Xiang, he wouldn't have done such a thing.
Sheng Lengshuang knew of Consort Xiang. She had been the Crown Princess, and her family was the Minister of the Imperial Stables. Moreover, she was a concubine's daughter, and according to royal rules, she couldn't become Empress. Therefore, His Majesty had conferred upon her the title of Noble Consort, entrusting her with the management of the six palaces.
She hadn't expected this woman to try and kill her son. Truly commendable.
Upon hearing this, Zi Cheng ordered the Imperial Guards to bring Consort Xiang over and asked the eunuch, "Can you make bows and arrows?"
The eunuch replied, "This servant, this servant's family are carpenters. If there weren't too many children, it would have been impossible to raise them all, and this servant's parents wouldn't have sent this servant into the palace."
Originally, his parents had intended to send him to serve in a noble household, but he saw the higher pay for entering the palace and thought he might even achieve wealth and status, so he gritted his teeth and entered.
In any case, his brothers would carry on their family lineage.
Zi Cheng asked, "How did you hide and avoid being caught immediately?"
The eunuch replied, "This servant had planned a route in advance. After shooting the arrow, I immediately took this path to escape, pretending to be working for my master."
Zi Cheng asked a few more questions and then said to Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi, "I truly didn't expect Consort Xiang to have such audacity. It's a shame she always appears so gentle and kind."
Sheng Lengshuang remained silent. After all, she was Consort Xiang of the harem, and as a commoner, it was best for her not to speak.
Mo Lingxi said coldly, "Your Majesty knows human nature better than I do, especially the human nature of harem consorts."
Zi Cheng's eyes flashed with ferocity. "Yes, some women in the harem would do anything to gain high positions and benefits."
When the late Emperor was alive, the consorts in his harem, in order to make their sons become Crown Prince, had tried to assassinate him many times and constantly slandered the late Emperor, wishing he would die quickly.