Chapter 33 This old iron tree has finally blossomed...

Long Zhaoming's heart skipped a beat, and he guessed the meaning behind Mingyue's words. He couldn't help but feel a little alarmed: "If that's really the case... then the Empress Dowager's scheme is a bit too far-reaching."

"She doesn't represent herself, but the entire Zhou family behind her."

Mingyue lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time: "I might know who the other group of people is."

"Hmm?" Long Zhaoming frowned, realizing what he meant: "You mean..."

"Well, we hadn't been able to find any trace of the other group, so we hadn't considered this possibility. They were originally one entity."

Mingyue looked at the dark and gloomy Cage Moon. This sword had been with him for many years, from prince to emperor, and would continue to accompany him on his long journey ahead.

"You mean... after the former crown prince died, they split into two groups. One group wanted to win me over and put me on the throne, while the other group broke with them for some reason and has been hiding in the shadows ever since."

"Yes, they may have the Empress Dowager's own child in their hands."

After a long silence, Long Zhaoming posed another question: "So, is this child the child of Consort Ling and Father Emperor, or the child of her lover?"

"I guess it should be Father's. The Zhou family wouldn't be so stupid as to use someone of questionable blood as their bargaining chip, and the Empress Dowager wouldn't be so foolish as to actually give birth to a child of an outsider."

If that's the case, then many things become clear.

"Does the host... know something?"

Long Zhaoming immediately suspected the abbot. Even he and his elder brother were unaware of this matter, so how did the abbot find out? Could it really have been calculated?

Mingyue had the same doubts. He didn't believe in these illusory things, and his annual prayers were just a way to comfort himself.

"I don't know, but it seems he doesn't have any ill intentions towards us."

Long Zhaoming nodded: "Then let's leave the presiding officer aside for now and interrogate Zhou Xinren tomorrow to see if we can find out anything."

"Hmm." After saying that, he got up, picked up the cage moon and walked back. Long Zhaoming looked at it for a while and suddenly said, "Brother, Seventeen is still young."

Mingyue frowned and turned to look at him, her impatience almost overflowing: "I told you not to talk nonsense, or I'll throw you off here."

"Okay, okay."

Long Zhaoming watched as Mingyue entered the next room and closed the door, making rustling noises as if she had gone to bed. He felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

His elder brother, that old iron tree, has finally blossomed!

Whether this flower will bloom successfully is another matter.

......

Seventeen was fast asleep when he heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes abruptly and saw Mingyue standing by the bed, fully dressed, looking at him.

For some reason, it seems that his sleep quality has improved dramatically since he started sleeping with Yue Ge. He never dared to sleep so soundly before.

"woke up?"

Seventeen rubbed his eyes and asked, "Brother Yue, why so early?"

Mingyue reached out and tucked Seventeen's loose hair behind her ear, smiling as she said, "It's already noon, it's getting late. We're getting ready to interrogate Zhou Xinren, do you want to come along?"

Upon hearing this, Seventeen's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Go!"

By the time the two had finished getting ready, Long Zhaoming had been waiting outside for a long time. He dared not unfold the fan and wave it anymore, but just gently shook the fan ribs. When he saw Seventeen following Mingyue out, he smiled like a fox that had stolen some cream.

"What makes Your Highness so happy?"

Seventeen looked at Long Zhaoming with a blank and questioning expression, which made the other party feel embarrassed.

"Ahem, it's nothing, let's go."

On the way to the yamen, Seventeen also heard Mingyue and His Highness recount how the matter from yesterday was handled.

Zhou Xinren was detained, as was the master. The cave outside the town was indeed where a Bodhisattva statue was being made, but the craftsmen were not recruited as Zhou Xinren claimed; they were kidnapped.

That makes sense, considering his Buddha statue is no ordinary one; it's filled with gold and stone, something he doesn't want others to know.

And Mingyue's words confirmed the suspicions of that day: all those so-called elopements and get-rich-quick schemes were nothing more than Zhou Xinren's doing.

As for Yuan Man, since the child couldn't speak and although he could write, he didn't recognize many characters, they couldn't get any information out of him and had to give up with regret.

The good news is that Yuan Man was not seriously injured, only his voice was hoarse from the poison. Perhaps Zhou Xinren wanted him to do something, but he didn't have time to.

In the morning, Mingyue and Long Zhaoming were also busy. Zero Five, whom they had sent out, returned with news that matched their previous guesses.

When Consort Ling gave birth to a son, the task of preparing clothes for newborns in the palace fell to Li Yan's mother, who was then a seamstress.

After Li Yan's mother finished making the clothes, she sent them to the palace where Consort Ling lived. However, she unexpectedly saw an old woman sneaking out carrying a baby. Having been in the palace for many years, she knew that there were some things that a mere embroiderer like herself could not inquire about. So she pretended not to have noticed anything and handed over the clothes.

Just as everyone was celebrating the birth of the late emperor's first prince, Li Yan's mother was visited by Consort Ling.

Lingwu couldn't find out exactly what happened in between, only that after that meeting, Li Yan's mother claimed to be ill and rested for a long time, and when she reappeared, it was to prepare to leave the palace.

It wasn't easy for a young embroiderer to leave the palace, but perhaps due to the machinations of the Dowager Consort, she managed to leave smoothly, marry her lover outside the palace, and become pregnant with their child.

Just when Li Yan's mother thought that life would continue peacefully, her husband was killed by vicious mountain bandits while taking their child, who was staying in a remote area, home.

When he was killed, he didn't have a single coin in his pocket, but he still protected the child with all his might.

Li Yan's mother was devastated and gave birth to Li Yan prematurely, leaving the mother and daughter to depend on each other for survival.

She has a skill, so she doesn't have to worry about food and drink. She gave all the money in the house to her husband for the sake of those poor children, and she didn't complain at all.

Now that they no longer need to hand them over, they can save some for Li Yan.

Just as the mother and daughter were happily celebrating the New Year, Li Yan's mother suddenly fell ill.

It was later discovered that her mother suddenly fell ill after meeting Zhou Xinren once, leading to reasonable suspicion that Zhou Xinren was behind it.

What happened after that was just as Li Yan had described.

As Seventeen listened, she felt indignant: "Li Yan's mother knows nothing, so why did Zhou Xinren do this?"

Long Zhaoming glanced at him, sighed softly, and told him about his speculations from his secret conversation with Mingyue last night, which earned him a shocked look from Seventeen.

Seventeen-year-old Qi Xiao's mind was completely unaware that there were so many dark things in the world, and he was momentarily stunned.

"ah?"

He remained stunned for a long time before slowly uttering a single word.

Mingyue was amused by his bewildered look, and reached out to pinch his chubby cheek, laughing, "What's wrong? Can't accept it? Then I can't tell you these things in the future."

"No, no, it's not that I can't accept it, it's just that I'm a little... shocked."

Seventeen's mind was almost completely tangled up by these complicated relationships.

"So it was Consort Ling who swapped the children, and then the biological child was raised by the Zhou family. But after the fake crown prince died, the Zhou family had other ideas."

Seventeen thought for a moment and then organized his thoughts in his own words.

Mingyue nodded: "Yes, I heard you say before that there are two groups of people who covet the throne. They are actually branches of the Zhou family, so we have not been able to find out anything about them."

"Sigh, I don't understand why people live such tiring lives."

Seventeen sighed, shook his head with an air of maturity, and Long Zhaoming asked him with a smile, "Then what does little Seventeen think life should be like?"

These words made Seventeen struggle with himself. He thought that living should mean having a home, food to eat, and a bed to sleep in.

But his parents have passed away, and he has no home. So what does living mean to him?

A figure appeared in Seventeen's mind, the other person's broad arms like a mountain, shielding him and Da Jing from all storms.

"Living is perhaps just about having food to eat and a place to sleep."

Seventeen smiled, but her eyes were downcast and she seemed a little dejected.

Long Zhaoming keenly sensed that Seventeen had just been thinking about someone, which was why he suddenly became depressed. He turned his gaze to Mingyue, who had obviously noticed him as well, and her expression was not good either.

Mingyue's expression was not good, so Long Zhaoming laughed.

The three of them walked slowly, chatting as they went, before finally arriving at the yamen (government office).

They had already spoken to the county magistrate in the morning, and the three of them drove straight in without any hindrance.

When they arrived at the dungeon, the magistrate was late.

"This humble official greets Your Highness."

The fact that the magistrate bowed to Long Zhaoming in front of Zhou Xinren made his identity self-evident.

"You...you're not!"

Zhou Xinren stared intently at Long Zhaoming with bloodshot eyes, as if he wanted to pierce through his face.

"What do you mean? Do you think I should have left with the caravan yesterday?"

To be fair, although Long Zhaoming appears somewhat carefree and spoiled in front of Seventeen and Mingyue, when it comes to serious matters, his princely aura emerges, which might be intimidating.

Seventeen watched quietly from behind him, and for a moment he felt that the prince's aura was somewhat similar to His Majesty's.

"You...you've been lying to me all along?"

Zhou Xinren couldn't understand where he had slipped up and why the Prince of Huainan had discovered him.

"Now, I will ask, and you will answer, understand?"

Long Zhaoming looked down at Zhou Xinren as if he were looking at a dead man.

Zhou Xinren gritted his teeth, constantly plotting his escape, but in the end, his body went limp and he completely lost his strength.

It seems... everything is over.

Why did you instruct this master to swindle and deceive people?

Zhou Xinren was silent for a while, then said in a low, hoarse voice, "I want to use this swindler to create momentum and make the people trust him more. Then, when I spread some rumors about the current emperor, the credibility will be even higher."

"So your goal is the throne? Let me think... you want to sit on that throne yourself..."

Long Zhaoming paused for a long time, carefully observing Zhou Xinren's expression, while Seventeen and Mingyue also observed silently.

Zhou Xinren's expression clearly turned sour when he heard the first part of Long Zhaoming's words, but he seemed to relax a bit when he heard the latter part.

Long Zhaoming smiled slightly, still sentencing Zhou Xinren to death: "Is it all so that the Empress Dowager's child can sit in this position?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xinren jerked like a fish out of water and almost fainted.

"You! How did you know?!"