Duanmu Junyu's blunt question left Duanmu Shenghua speechless.

Duanmu Shenghua's face was gloomy. In the face of the aggressive Duanmu Junyu, she was actually very flustered.

She was genuinely worried that Duanmu Junyu would reveal Duanmu Qingxin's true identity in court, so she didn't dare to provoke Duanmu Junyu any further.

Duanmu Qingxin felt extremely wronged by Duanmu Junyu's question.

What exactly did the Queen Mother mean by that?

What exactly did she do wrong? Why can't the Empress Dowager make her the Crown Prince?

Duanmu Qingxin looked at Duanmu Shenghua with a wronged expression, hoping that she could say a few more words for her, but Duanmu Shenghua did not speak again.

The officials of the Huiwang faction, unaware of the inside story, bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, although the First Prince has been recognized by his ancestors, he is still born out of wedlock. The Second Prince is Your Majesty's direct descendant. Compared to the First Prince, the Second Prince is more qualified to be our Western Liang Crown Prince."

The official's words were instantly endorsed by all the officials present.

An official immediately followed up with a statement: "Your Majesty, the Second Prince was chosen by Your Majesty and the Phoenix Prince. He is of noble status and has been groomed as the Crown Prince. Compared to the First Prince, who has just returned to the palace, the Second Prince is clearly more suitable to be established as the Crown Prince."

"Since ancient times, the crown prince has always been chosen from among the legitimate heirs. I believe that the Second Prince should be the crown prince of our Western Liang!"

Among these officials, it wasn't just those from the Huiwang Party; even those who weren't from the Huiwang Party stood up to second the motion.

Although this Crown Prince does appear to be His Majesty's biological son, his father is unknown. In the hearts of these officials, Duanmu Qingxin, who has stood by His Majesty's side since childhood, is clearly more deserving to be made Crown Prince.

One by one, these people came forward to reiterate their opinions, but Duanmu Junyu remained unperturbed, coldly smiling: "What do you mean by legitimate or illegitimate? Who said the Crown Prince is illegitimate? I will reiterate once again, only those of my bloodline can be established as the Crown Prince!"

Duanmu Junyu's words left the officials somewhat bewildered.

What does Your Majesty mean by that?

Is the Crown Prince not born of a concubine? Or is he born of the principal wife?

Could it be that the Crown Prince's father is also a phoenix prince? But if he is, why doesn't His Majesty keep him by his side and instead sends him outside the palace? That makes no sense.

Moreover, if those two princes were of legitimate status, why would His Majesty bother to hide them like this? He should have kept them by his side long ago.

His Majesty's last sentence was also quite interesting.

Only someone of my bloodline can be made crown prince?

Shouldn't she have said that anyone of her bloodline could be made crown prince?

That's as if the Second Prince isn't His Majesty's bloodline.

Duanmu Qingxin also felt that Duanmu Junyu's words were ambiguous, and she also understood the implied meaning in her words.

In fact, when her mother's attitude towards her suddenly changed, she did have doubts about her origins.

But when the Empress gave birth to her, everyone knew that it was impossible for her not to be the Empress's child.

If she didn't look like the Empress at all, then perhaps she had been switched at birth. But even if she didn't look exactly like the Empress, her features were very similar to the Empress's.

She is clearly of the Empress's bloodline, so why would the Empress say such a thing?

Duanmu Qingxin's eyes reddened with grievance, and she looked up at Duanmu Junyu: "Mother, I don't know what I did wrong to deserve such disdain from you."

Duanmu Junyu narrowed her eyes and stared at Duanmu Qingxin: "You're not convinced?"

Duanmu Qingxin immediately showed an unconvinced expression: "Yes, Your Majesty, I am not convinced. Your Majesty clearly told me before that you would make me the Crown Prince. Over the years, I have been following Your Majesty to learn how to handle state affairs. I dare not say that I have been extremely diligent, but I dare say that I have been working hard to learn. Over the years, I have not disappointed Your Majesty's expectations and have helped Your Majesty handle a lot of state affairs. On the contrary, Duanmu Xuening has just returned to the palace. She has not even started to help Your Majesty handle state affairs yet. I do not know what she has done better than me, and I do not know what I did wrong to make Your Majesty change her mind like this."

Duanmu Junyu stared sharply at Duanmu Qingxin.

From the day she returned to Xiliang, the person she couldn't face the most wasn't Duanmu Shenghua or Xiao Jincheng, but Duanmu Qingxin.

Compared to Duanmu Shenghua and Xiao Jincheng, who understand everything, Duanmu Qingxin clearly knows nothing and still treats her as her biological mother.

Duanmu Junyu took a deep breath and said, "If there's anything you don't understand, go back and ask your father!"

She didn't know how else to explain these things to her.

Duanmu Junyu did not want to embarrass Duanmu Qingxin in the main hall, but Duanmu Qingxin interpreted these words as Duanmu Junyu having a conflict with Xiao Jincheng, which was why she was implicated.

Duanmu Qingxin felt even more aggrieved: "Your subject doesn't know what happened between Mother Empress and Father Emperor that has caused them to become so estranged. But no matter what happened between Mother Empress and Father Emperor, am I still Mother Empress's bloodline? Why is Mother Empress so unfair to your subject!"

She had noticed the discord between her mother and father before, but even so, that shouldn't be the reason for her mother's cold treatment of her!

She truly couldn't accept her mother's change in how she treated her!

Duanmu Qingxin's aggrieved appearance left the officials equally puzzled.

They didn't understand why His Majesty had suddenly changed these past few days.

Could it be that His Majesty had some kind of conflict with the Phoenix Prince? Is that why His Majesty treated the Second Prince coldly and even brought the First Prince and that young prince into the palace?

Feng Jun doesn't seem like the kind of person who doesn't understand reason, so how did the two of them end up like this?

Seeing Duanmu Qingxin so aggrieved, Duanmu Shenghua felt very sorry for her. She spoke again, "The Second Prince is right. The First Prince has never handled state affairs and may not necessarily be a talent for governing the country. The Second Prince has always helped His Majesty handle state affairs and is certainly capable of serving as the Crown Prince. I urge His Majesty to reconsider the Crown Prince candidate."

Duanmu Junyu was shocked that Duanmu Shenghua still had the nerve to say such things to her. She said coldly, "The imperial decree has been issued. A ruler's word is law. Say no more!"

Duanmu Junyu's angry words silenced the assembled officials instantly.

Duanmu Qingxin, however, refused to give up and spoke again, defiantly: "We are both of Mother Empress's bloodline, yet I refuse to accept that Mother Empress has passed the Crown Prince position to Duanmu Xuening so easily. I believe I am also capable of becoming the Crown Prince of Xiliang, and I want to compete fairly with Duanmu Xuening. In Xiliang, the most important thing is to gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast. I want to compete with Duanmu Xuening and see who is truly the Crown Prince recognized by the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast!"

Duanmu Shenghua suddenly looked at Duanmu Qingxin, who was sitting upright, and was surprised that she would make such a suggestion.