The prince tilted his head a little embarrassedly, "I forgot."

Yan Wenjing stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, speaking of my mother's family, I suddenly thought of something."

Xia Zhengqi nodded slightly to Yan Wenjing, indicating that he should continue.

"Your Majesty, I remember that the Queen Mother of Dai Viet, Zhu Ling, was chosen to enter the palace when Emperor Wu De was selecting concubines."

"Back when Zhu Ling was crowned as the heir, my Daxia spies tried to gather information about her. They said she was an orphan from a poor village. Her family suffered a sudden tragedy when she was a teenager, losing both her parents and having no siblings. She was then adopted by the village charity."

"This minister has come to realize that since Zhu Ling's son obtained the throne by murdering Emperor Wu De, it means that Zhu Ling is an extremely ambitious woman."

"But let me ask you, how could an orphan girl with no family behind her have such great ambitions?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhengqi twirled his beard and fell into deep thought. The queen also looked thoughtful.

After a moment's silence, the Queen spoke, "Now that I think about it, this Zhu Ling is truly ambitious. It's said that she's very skilled in seduction techniques. Within less than a year of entering the palace, she had already charmed Emperor Wu De to the point of bewilderment."

"So much so that less than half a year after the late Crown Prince passed away, Emperor Wu De appointed her three-year-old son as Crown Prince."

"From all indications, Zhu Ling doesn't look like an orphan from a poor family. If she were an ordinary orphan, how could she have learned the art of seduction in her teens?"

"Zhu Ling has strong traces of conspiracy."

Xia Zhengqi nodded in agreement towards the Queen, "The Queen's analysis is very reasonable. The women in the harem, if we talk about those girls from ordinary families, are all very green after entering the palace."

Having said that, Xia Zhengqi suddenly realized that it was inappropriate to say this in front of the Queen, and an embarrassed look immediately flashed in his eyes.

The Queen covered her mouth with her handkerchief and laughed secretly, "Your Majesty, it seems you are very experienced!"

Xia Zhengqi cleared his throat and said seriously, "That's how Zhou is."

Yan Wenjing and the Crown Prince felt a little embarrassed when they saw the Emperor and the Empress bickering.

Yan Wenjing's eyes flashed, and he quickly changed the subject, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. I share similar thoughts. So, Zhu Ling's identity is questionable!"

The prince slapped his head and said, "That is to say, Zhu Ling is most likely not an orphan. She is deliberately hiding her identity."

"She has a maternal clan, and before she entered the palace, she was likely deliberately trained in female charm techniques."

Xia Zhengqi nodded, "That's right."

The Crown Prince held his chin in his hand and frowned, "But, it has been four years since the young emperor ascended the throne. Zhu Ling and the young emperor have become the rulers of Dai Viet. Why hasn't Zhu Ling put his mother's clan on display yet?"

"Logically speaking, after the young emperor ascends the throne, she should vigorously support her mother's family."

After hearing what the prince said, everyone fell into deep thought for a moment.

After a moment of silence, Yan Wenjing suddenly said, "Could it be that the mother clan is very special and cannot be rashly displayed to the world until the right time."

The prince looked at Yan Wenjing in confusion, "Special? Can't just meet people casually? Could it be that he's from the family of a criminal?"

"The family of the criminal minister hopes to rely on the woman in the family to rise to power, overturn the verdict for the family, wash away the charges, and make the family rise again?"

Xia Zhengqi shook his head and said, "Not really."

"If it's the family of a criminal, there's no need to wait for Zhu Ling's son to take the throne. Zhu Ling can do it while Emperor Wu De is in power. Relying on Emperor Wu De's favor, she can definitely ask for mercy from the Emperor and clear the family's name."

"Why wait so long?"

Yan Wenjing looked at Xia Zhengqi in agreement and said, "I agree with your majesty's idea."

"In fact, besides the criminal's family, it is also possible that they are tribes that have been persecuted by the imperial court."

"For example, the Chi tribe of Dai Viet."

Speaking of the Chi tribe, Yan Wenjing's expression became serious.

When Xia Zhengqi and the Queen heard the word "Chibu", their expressions changed drastically.

"If Zhu Ling comes from the Chi tribe, wouldn't Chengnian, Miao'er and the others be in great danger?!" the queen couldn't help but sigh.

The Crown Prince was somewhat surprised by the Empress's reaction and asked hurriedly, "Why do you say that? Are the Chi tribes really that scary?"

Xia Zhengqi sighed and said, "Cheng Wan, you are young, so naturally you don't know much about this Chi tribe."

"The Chi tribe of Dai Viet is a very strange tribe. They live in caves all year round, far away from the bustling city."

"They believe in evil gods and worship witchcraft and sorcery. Their culture even worships insidiousness and cunning as truth."

"In the Chi tribe, there are countless ways to harm people."

"Many foreigners who had conflicts with them were killed by them. Some who were not killed were also imprisoned and tortured repeatedly."

"They also develop various harmful drugs and poisonous insects and sell them at the ghost market."

Upon hearing this, the prince's face darkened. "How could such a strange tribe exist?!"

If he hadn't heard about such a strange tribe from the emperor, he really wouldn't have believed it.

Xia Zhengqi continued, "It is precisely because they are so strange that Dai Viet has been trying to educate them with the civilization of the Central Plains since its founding."

"But they have always insisted on doing what they want and refused to accept education."

“The emperors of Dai Viet have all tried, but all have failed.”

"Later, after Emperor Wude ascended the throne, another vicious incident occurred among the Chi tribe. Emperor Wude was a warrior who liked to fight violence with violence. In a rage, he ordered the imperial guards to set fire to the mountain where the Chi tribe lived. In one blaze, the mountain where the Chi tribe lived was burned to a complete destruction."

"Since then, the Chi tribe seemed to have disappeared. No one knows whether any of them survived."

"For so many years, there have been two versions of the story among the people of Dai Viet. Some say the Chi tribe was completely wiped out and has disappeared from this world. But others say the Chi tribe has simply hidden deeper."

The Crown Prince nodded in sudden realization, "So, the Chi tribe has a deep hatred for the Dai Viet court. Therefore, you suspect that Zhu Ling might be a female spy specially trained by the Chi tribe."

Xia Zhengqi said, "That's right. I'm worried now. What if she's from the Chi tribe? And the one standing behind her is a Chi tribe member who's well-versed in witchcraft and sorcery? Wouldn't that put Chengnian and Miao'er in great danger?"

Yan Wenjing bowed to Xia Zhengqi and said, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point. Even if you withdraw the Second Prince and his men, it is already too late."

"For now, let's think about our next response plan."

Xia Zhengqi felt that what Yan Wenjing said made sense, and the few of them discussed it carefully again.

…

In the Dai Viet Royal Palace, inside Zhu Ling’s Yong’an Palace.

Han Lie was kneeling in the main hall, while Zhu Ling was sitting in the main seat with an ugly look on her face.

Han Lie's face was pale, his lips were chapped, his hair was withered, and he looked very weak.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and said, "Empress Dowager, every word I said is true!"

"The Emperor's tutor, Mr. Liang, is actually the fallen Crown Prince Liang Chaozong of the Former Liang Dynasty!"