Eunuch Yuan coughed lightly, pretending that he hadn't said anything.

He came not only to deliver the deeds to the Yan family mansion that Xie Jingyan had requested, but also to inquire about Xie Jingyan's claim that the Prince of Cheng's fiefdom contained an iron mine and that it had been mined for two years.

This matter couldn't be discussed in the courtyard, so the two went to the study.

Shen Wan didn't go with them. She thought Xie Jingyan and Eunuch Yuan were going to talk for a while, but after a short while, Xie Jingyan saw Eunuch Yuan out.

Steward Zhou brought Eunuch Yuan here, and naturally, he was also the one who escorted Eunuch Yuan out of the mansion. Xie Jingyan instructed Steward Zhou, "Arrange for people to repair the Yan mansion."

Eunuch Yuan wanted to say that no one in the Yan family was still alive, so there was no need to repair the mansion. However, since the Emperor had already given the house and land deeds to Xie Jingyan, Eunuch Yuan kept these words to himself and did not say them aloud.

Shen Wan didn't ask Xie Jingyan why he wanted the Yan family mansion. Even an outsider couldn't stand seeing the once magnificent Yan family mansion dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, yet Xie Jingyan, his own grandson, did nothing about it. It was unreasonable.

However, why did the Emperor, after refusing Xie Jingyan's request for the Yan family mansion, send over the house and land deeds through Eunuch Yuan?

What made the emperor change his mind?

When Xie Jingyan asked earlier, Eunuch Yuan didn't answer, which made Shen Wan even more curious.

Xie Jingyan also wanted to know, but his intuition told him it wasn't because of what he said about the iron mines in the Prince of Cheng's fiefdom—that matter still needed to be verified—but rather because of some other reason.

The news that the Emperor had bestowed the Yan family mansion upon Xie Jingyan spread like wildfire, first reaching the palace.

Phoenix Palace.

Empress Song sat on the phoenix throne, inspecting the palace rules copied by Princess Shouchun.

Empress Song flipped through several pages, her expression turning very unpleasant.

Because Princess Shouchun copied the palace rules too carelessly.

The errors and omissions in copying were so severe that she left only half of a thick book of palace rules.

The one who punished her was not her mother, the Empress Dowager, but the Emperor.

Normally, if you try to fool her, she'll just turn a blind eye. But trying to fool the Emperor with such palace rules will only make him angrier.

How could she have given birth to such a good-for-nothing daughter?!

The thought of her daughter sneaking out of the palace, being arrested and taken to the city patrol office, and being rescued only by the Emperor himself, filled Empress Song with rage.

Empress Song tossed the palace rules to the maids and told them to "make sure the princess rewrites them."

"If you copy like this again, I will hold you accountable."

The palace maid felt extremely wronged. The Empress knew Princess Shouchun's temper better than anyone. If she were to keep an eye on the princess like this, the princess would probably give her twenty lashes before the Empress could even punish her.

If she could imitate the princess's handwriting, she would have copied it for the princess.

The palace maids withdrew with the palace rules in hand. Empress Song picked up her teacup with a headache. Outside, Granny Du hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has bestowed the Yan family mansion upon Prince Ling."

Clang.

Empress Song had just picked up her teacup when she heard these words. Her hand slipped, and the teacup fell from her grasp and shattered.

The teacup fell but didn't break, though the tea dripped down the small table.

Granny Du was startled and quickly asked, "Your Highness..."

Empress Song, however, disregarded the consequences and raised her voice, "How could His Majesty bestow the Yan family mansion upon Prince Ling?!"

Du Mama replied, "It was Prince Ling who asked the Emperor for it. The Emperor initially refused, but later, for some reason, he agreed and even had Eunuch Yuan personally deliver it to Prince Ling..."

The Yan family was the maternal family of Prince Ling, so it was understandable that Prince Ling wanted the Yan family mansion.

But what's puzzling is why the Emperor would give it to Prince Ling.

Consort Chen's incident occurred at the Yan residence.

The Emperor sealed off the gates of Changchun Palace, where Consort Chen lived before her death, forbidding anyone from stepping into it, let alone the Yan residence where Consort Chen committed her crime.

What's even stranger is that the emperor initially refused, but later agreed.

Empress Song sat on the phoenix chair, tea still dripping, her eyes cold, yet unable to conceal a hint of unease in them.

The Emperor has been acting increasingly unpredictably lately.

He stopped interrupting the civil and military officials' discussions on choosing an heir, and even asked whether the eldest prince of Cheng or the prince of Jin was more suitable to be the crown prince.

When Prince Cheng replied that Prince Ling was the most suitable, the Emperor was furious and stormed off, refusing to attend the morning court session.

Empress Song thought that the Emperor refrained from reprimanding Prince Cheng in front of all the civil and military officials because of his brotherly affection for Prince Cheng. She believed that the Emperor would definitely summon Prince Cheng to the Imperial Study and scold him after court, but the Emperor did not do so.

The Emperor was angry at Prince Cheng's statement that Prince Ling was the most suitable to be the Crown Prince, but he didn't seem that angry.

Today, His Majesty bestowed the Yan family mansion upon Prince Ling once again…

The title "Consort Chen" is clearly a taboo word that the Emperor cannot utter, but if it is mentioned, it is not a big deal, and the Emperor even takes the initiative to do so.

Does the Emperor not know that his act of bestowing the Yan family mansion upon Prince Ling will cause a huge uproar in the court?!

Empress Song clenched her teeth in anger.

Shou Kang Palace.

The Empress Dowager was eating lotus seed soup when the young eunuch quickly stepped forward and informed her that the Emperor had bestowed the Yan family mansion upon Prince Ling.

The Empress Dowager paused in her eating of lotus seed soup, and immediately lost her appetite.

Although the Empress Dowager did not react as strongly as Empress Song, her expression was still quite unpleasant.

Zhao Mama looked at the Empress Dowager and whispered, "Has His Majesty released Consort Chen?"

The Empress Dowager sighed, "How could I possibly let it go?"

Consort Chen has been in the palace for thirteen years, and the Emperor has favored her for all thirteen years. He has spoiled her so much that he has no eyes for anyone else but Consort Chen and Prince Ling.

The deeper the love, the more intense the hate.

In his fury, the Emperor took his anger out on Prince Ling and demoted him to guard the imperial mausoleum. He feared that seeing Prince Ling every day would remind him of the pain of Consort Chen's betrayal. However, the Emperor never imagined that Prince Ling would almost die of illness in the imperial mausoleum, so he allowed him to return to the palace.

Later, Prince Ling fell from his horse and broke his leg. Everyone thought he would never be able to stand up again. At that time, the Emperor would no longer blame Prince Ling for Consort Chen's mistake.

Of all the emperor's sons, the one he loved most was always Prince Ling.

Others might not know, but how could she, the Empress Dowager, not know?

The Emperor is a piece of her flesh.

The Emperor has been supporting Prince Ling so obviously lately, how could the Empress Dowager not notice?

The Empress Dowager also knew that among the Emperor's many sons, including the eldest prince, no one could compare to Prince Ling, whether in appearance, talent, courage, or strategy.

but--

The position of crown prince can only belong to the eldest prince.

"We must get the Emperor to appoint the eldest prince as crown prince as soon as possible."

Granny Zhao's lips moved, but she didn't dare to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

The Empress Dowager has been asking the Emperor to make the eldest prince the crown prince for more than ten years. If the Emperor wanted to make the eldest prince the crown prince, he would have agreed long ago and wouldn't have waited until today.

The same applies to the Prince of Jin.

The news that the Emperor had bestowed the Yan family mansion upon Xie Jingyan spread throughout the palace and then to the ears of civil and military officials, causing a great uproar, just as Empress Song had feared.

The civil and military officials spread the news, all speculating about the emperor's intentions.

Everyone is speculating whether there are hidden details in Consort Chen's case from back then.

Is it possible that Consort Chen and the Yan family will have their cases overturned?

Once Consort Chen's case is overturned, Prince Ling will have the right to vie for the throne.

Given the power behind Prince Ling, no, given the Emperor's favor towards Prince Ling back then, establishing him as the heir apparent is a foregone conclusion.