Chapter 1260: Chapter 1260

"Everyone at home knows that Yushu is the elder minister’s most beloved younger generation, yet you cruelly dragged her into this, setting a trap to turn her against the elder minister. Your Majesty, do you not feel any pangs of conscience?"

Even the usually composed Emperor couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his lips.

The Protector Duke continued, "For you to act in this manner, surely it’s because you think I’m old and useless now. The land is peaceful, and you no longer need this bag of old bones. Ah, discarding the millstone once the grain is ground—are you just looking for an excuse to have me killed now that I serve no purpose?"

This time, he confronted the Emperor directly.

The Emperor, having spent years maneuvering among ministers, still had many loyal confidants who understood the difficulty of his position and naturally spoke in his defense.

Lin Xingyi said, "Protector Duke, your words are too heavy. The Emperor devotes his heart and soul to governance; how could he recklessly disturb the order of the court and frame the loyal and virtuous?"

"Indeed, the Emperor is a wise ruler, not a tyrant."

"Protector Duke, do not think you can act as you please just because the Ducal Residence holds great power!"

Everyone began to speak out against him, yet strangely, Minister Zhang, who had recently been at odds with him, did not utter a word, his brow deeply furrowed.

Someone who could rise to his position was no fool; how could he not see today’s feast as a trap set for the Protector Duke?

He merely thought to himself that if the Emperor wished to deal with the Ducal Residence now, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t deal with him in the future. What rose from his heart was nothing more than the sorrow of shared survival—"When the hare dies, the fox grieves."

Upon deeper reflection, however, he realized he had underestimated the Emperor.

It turned out that the Emperor wasn’t merely aiming for a balance of powers to maintain the peace as a pacific ruler.

From the moment he began stirring up discord between the Zhang Family and the Ducal Residence, the Emperor must have already been planning for today.

Of course, if the Ducal Residence had truly committed such an outrageous act, then there would be nothing for him to say.

Protector Duke, may fate be kind to you in your old age.

Jin Wei had already escorted Madam Zuo, her maidservant, and their son out of the city.

Along the way, there were supporters at every turn, each rendezvous flawlessly arranged. Clearly, this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision to take Madam Zuo away, but something he had secretly planned far in advance.

Inside a northern-style sleigh pulled by horses, Madam Zuo was both startled and delighted, her frail, sickly body making her appear as fragile as glass, arousing a pang of pity in those who looked at her.

And yet, she herself was bursting with joy.

She had never imagined that someone like her could experience something so thrilling. Whether they escaped or not, it was worth it.

Jin Wei sat beside her, holding their young son in his arms.

After playing with the child for a while, he turned to Madam Zuo and said, "You’ve been through so much. This journey ahead of us will likely take a long time. Your health isn’t good—try to get some rest."

"The ride will get bumpy when the horses start running. Lean on me."

Though they were in the midst of fleeing for their lives, they couldn’t suppress the smiles on their faces.

A kind of happiness that came from deep within their hearts.

Jin Wei had indeed been planning to escape with Madam Zuo for a long time, ever since he had been ordered to share a bed with different women from the Prince Jin Residence.

He felt as though they didn’t even see him as a person. He was human, a man with dignity, and every time he embraced a different woman, he felt nothing but disgust.

The pretense of a man could, at times, be even more unbearable than that of a woman.

He didn’t want to live that kind of life. To end it, he had made up his mind to escape.

The world was vast, and escaping on his own wouldn’t have been difficult for him. The challenge lay in escaping with Madam Zuo.

Because the longer he was apart from Madam Zuo, the more he missed her.