"How did she die? And why did my mother raise me as the crown prince?"

Xiao Ye paused for a moment, then asked, trying his best to remain calm.

Seeing him like this, the Empress sighed and said, "You did not impersonate the Crown Prince. Even if you are not my son, you are still the Emperor's biological son."

Xiao Ye then looked up at the Empress, waiting for her to continue.

Su Liluo, who was standing to the side, also frowned and looked at the Empress. She didn't understand why the Empress would hide the fact that he was the Emperor's son when she could have adopted him openly.

Sure enough, the next moment the Empress's face was filled with sorrow.

She was even a little afraid to look Xiao Ye in the eye, avoiding his gaze and turning her head away, saying, "I am sorry for your mother. She is my half-sister and looks very much like me."

She was originally engaged, but one time when she came to the palace to see me, the drunken emperor mistook her for me and favored her. Afterwards, the emperor wanted to make her a concubine, but she refused.

She has a fiancé she loves, and we originally planned to keep it a secret, but unexpectedly, she became pregnant a month later. My half-sister is already in poor health, and the doctor said that if she miscarries, she will be unable to conceive in the future.

Therefore, we decided to let her secretly give birth to the child for me to raise, while I simultaneously announced my pregnancy to the public. Everything seemed fine, but her health was too weak, and she died during childbirth.

Half-sister?

So the story is actually this melodramatic?

Su Lilu couldn't help but complain. This Emperor Wenjian was really drunk and doing nothing. Didn't he hear the woman struggling when he was having sex with her?

He tore apart a perfectly happy couple like this?

It's just that childbirth is a matter of life and death...

Is Xiao Ye's biological mother really that weak?

Su Liluo was still curious. Although many women died during childbirth, the Empress's family was not poor, and she would certainly arrange for the best doctors. How could she let people die?

After listening to the Empress's words, Xiao Ye remained silent for a moment before asking, "Why has your maternal grandfather's family never mentioned this half-sister of yours before?"

"this......"

The empress's brows, which had relaxed, furrowed again.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Family scandals should not be aired in public. Since her death, no one in the family has mentioned her again."

"Where is Mother buried? May I go and pay my respects to her?"

"She was buried at the foot of Taihu Mountain outside the city. If you want to go, I will have someone take you there."

The Empress did not refuse.

So Xiao Ye and Su Liluo followed the Empress's people to the outside of the city.

The Empress watched Xiao Ye and the others' retreating figures with a hint of guilt in her eyes. Only after their figures gradually disappeared did she murmur softly to herself.

"sorry."

She still couldn't tell him the whole truth: her half-sister wasn't forced by the emperor while he was drunk, but rather while he was sober.

When the emperor was still the crown prince, he took a liking to her half-sister, and her half-sister did not look like her at all.

My half-sister is a stunning beauty. Her beloved was supposed to be a brilliant scholar, but the emperor separated them.

Her half-sister even attempted suicide after learning she was pregnant, but her beloved endured the pain to let her give birth for her own life.

To evade the emperor, who was then the crown prince, they hid themselves, and thus dared not hire a good doctor when she gave birth, which led to her frail half-sister dying in childbirth.

Her beloved buried her at the foot of the mountain by Taihu Lake, and then he himself drowned in the lake.

She couldn't tell him the truth because she didn't want him to hate his father.

*

"Husband, do you believe what Mother said?"

After getting into the carriage.

Su Liluo then looked at Xiao Ye seriously and asked softly.

"Dubious."

Xiao Ye frowned slightly and said calmly.

"I will send someone to investigate this matter again."

He wasn't one to live in ignorance, and even if the final truth might be hard for him to accept, he still wanted to know.

"Yes, I'll go with you."

Su Liluo reached out and grasped his hand, giving him a touch of warmth.

She knew that Xiao Ye's background might be even less honorable than the Empress had described.

After arriving at the foot of Taihu Mountain, the two were led to a tombstone without any inscription. The tomb was covered with flowers and grass, lush and vibrant.

This shows that this is a tomb that has been maintained by someone for many years.

However, they also discovered a cenotaph next to the tomb, which they guessed belonged to his mother's beloved.

*

On the other side.

King Xiao was busy searching everywhere for evidence that the Crown Prince was not the Empress's son. He was extremely excited because he felt that as long as he found it, he would win completely.

After sharing this good news with Consort Zhang, he naturally told Chu Yun as well.

Chu Yun was naturally overjoyed upon hearing this. Now that there was no Princess Consort Xiao, if Prince Xiao successfully ascended the throne, then she would be the Empress.

She felt as if the queen was beckoning to her, and she felt extremely proud and elated these past few days.

On this day, in a good mood, she took several maids out to go shopping.

As luck would have it, while browsing a clothing store, she bumped into Chu Yan, who had just finished trying on clothes.

Chu Yan was wearing a pale yellow, belted, front-opening long dress with an exquisite and intricate lotus pattern embroidered on the collar, along with clusters of slightly blooming velvet.

She smiled radiantly, her hair half-down, looking charming and lively, even more radiant than a fifteen-year-old girl who had just come of age.

Chu Yun's pupils dilated in surprise, and a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes.

How come Chu Yan is getting more and more beautiful even though she was divorced by the prince?

She's a woman the prince doesn't want now, she should be living a decadent life, getting haggard and ugly, so why does she look more beautiful than before?

Looking at myself, although my appearance has been cured, my skin is no longer as supple and smooth as before, and it's no longer as radiant.

"Che Yi, what do you think of my outfit?"

Chu Yan smiled and twirled in front of Gao Yuanbin, showing him her clothes.

The woman was slender and had a face like a lotus flower; her movement made everything around her pale in comparison.

"Young lady, you are beautiful and have a great figure. This outfit perfectly brings out your stunning beauty!"

At this moment, Gao Yuanbin was stunned and didn't react for a long time, while the proprietress next to him was smiling and praising him.

"Hey! Sister, what brings you here to buy clothes?"

Chu Yun couldn't stand others praising Chu Yan's beauty, so he couldn't help but interrupt.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Chu Yan's smile vanished instantly.

She looked at Chu Yun with displeasure, "I am not your sister now, so please don't pretend to be her."

"Oh! How could I forget? You are no longer Princess Xiao. According to the rules, I am Prince Xiao's concubine. Shouldn't you bow to me?"