As soon as the Crown Prince returned to his study, his personal eunuch entered and said, "Your Highness, the Lady Lin in the inner courtyard is pregnant."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but smile: "Are you serious?"

Since the Crown Princess's accident, there has been no happy event in the inner palace. Lin had given birth to a daughter for him, and he still had some affection for her. When he learned that she was pregnant, he was naturally very happy.

"It's true, of course. The imperial physician just left, and Consort Lin is already two months pregnant."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince said, "Let's go to the Lin family."

When Lin saw the Crown Prince arrive, she wasn't surprised. She was just quite nervous. She had been thinking for a long time about what she was going to say, but she was still nervous.

After the Crown Prince entered, he first asked the people who were bowing to stand up, and then personally helped Lin Shi up.

"You're pregnant, no need for such formalities."

Madam Lin said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Your Highness."

After the Crown Prince helped Lady Lin sit down, he talked with her for a long time.

After discussing the children for a while, Madam Lin felt that was enough, so she dismissed everyone in the room and said, "My lord, I have something to tell you."

Crown Prince: "You speak."

Madam Lin rose and knelt on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes: "This concubine begs for forgiveness from you, sir."

The crown prince was somewhat confused: "You're pregnant, get up and speak."

Lin was crying with tears streaming down her face, but she refused to get up: "My lord, please let me finish speaking, otherwise I will not get up."

The Crown Prince was displeased to see her like this. He said, "If I tell you to get up, then get up. If you kneel and lose the baby in your belly, that would be a big problem."

"Get up quickly, I command you to get up and speak."

Only then did Mrs. Lin get up.

Crown Prince: "Speak, what exactly has caused you to act this way?"

Lin began to sob and slowly recount her story: "I just learned that my brother from my maternal family made a mistake in a moment of impulse. Now I know he was wrong, and I beg you, sir, to give him a chance to make amends."

The crown prince was taken aback when he heard this; it concerned her family.

"Tell me in detail what it is."

After all, he was raised by Emperor Kangxi, so he knew that such things should not be agreed to casually.

Madam Lin said with a sorrowful expression, "My younger brother is unruly and has done something wrong. When we asked someone to punish him, someone died. My parents felt sorry for him, so they asked someone to let him off lightly. Now the victim's children have gone to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor."

The Crown Prince was startled upon hearing this. He had also heard about the matter of someone coming to the capital to file a complaint with the Emperor, but it was not under his jurisdiction. In addition, he had many other matters to attend to for the Emperor Kangxi. After hearing the news, he could only sigh and wonder who would suffer the consequences.

Now he finally knows who's going to suffer—it's him!

The crown prince's expression instantly turned cold.

This matter has blown up so much that it's too late for him to stop it now!

"Is there conclusive evidence that your brother did this?"

Lin wasn't sure either, but she figured it was about right.

"I don't know much either, my lord. I know that my sister is in the wrong. Could you please ask Prince Yong to intervene?"

Lin knew that this was under the jurisdiction of Prince Yong. She thought that the Crown Prince and Prince Yong were, after all, brothers, and the Crown Prince was the heir apparent, so Prince Yong should give the heir apparent face.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince thought of Yinzhen, then shook his head, indicating that it was impossible for Yinzhen to make an exception.

"Asking my fourth brother about this won't help either."

Madam Lin looked bewildered: "How could that be? You are the Crown Prince, and Prince Yong is just Prince Ha. How dare he disobey you?"

Hearing her say this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He was indeed the heir apparent, but his father, the Emperor, was in his prime, and Prince Yinzhen was more useful to Emperor Kangxi than he was.

Of course, Yinzhen dared not disobey him.

"There's no way to plead for leniency in this matter."

After thinking for a moment, Madam Lin said, "My lord, I didn't know that my brother had done something so wrong. Could you please only punish my brother and not implicate the family?"

She knows her brother is her biological brother, but he's just a brother. The family definitely knows what he's done, and he might even be an accomplice. But she can't let her family fall.

She can still have her younger brother, but she has no family to rely on. Even if she were to give birth in the palace, becoming a concubine would be nothing but a pipe dream.

So now all she wants is to protect her family.

When the Crown Prince heard her say that, he thought it was not a bad idea.

"I'll give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was worth a try; it was better than ignoring it completely.

Lady Lin had served the Crown Prince for a long time and knew some of his temperament. She knew he valued relationships, and she had given birth to his daughter and was currently pregnant. With such affection, there was hope that her family could be saved.

The Crown Prince went to the Ministry of Justice to find Yinzhen the next day.

When the Crown Prince arrived, Yinzhen was reviewing the testimony given by Tian Wenjing.

The testimony was reasonable and well-founded. Yinzhen was now just waiting for the people he sent to investigate to return before he could make a judgment.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince approach, Yinzhen couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"Greetings, Second Brother Crown Prince."

"Fourth brother, there's no need for such formalities."

After the two sat down, the Crown Prince explained his purpose: "Fourth Brother has been busy with the Tian Wenjing case recently."

Yinzhen thought to himself that this was a rhetorical question he already knew the answer to.

"Yes, is it the Crown Prince's second brother who's here today?"

The Crown Prince said directly, "I won't say anything else to you. Can you please let the Lin family go?"

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen looked at the Crown Prince with surprise: "What are you saying, Second Brother Crown Prince? The case is still under investigation, and the Lin family has not yet been convicted."

The Crown Prince frowned: "You and I both know the truth of this matter. The culprit from the Lin family can be dealt with casually, and the Lin family can be given a minor punishment. What do you think, Fourth Brother?"

Yinzhen understood the Crown Prince's meaning.

There is only one culprit, and the Crown Prince must protect the Lin family.

Yinzhen really couldn't agree to it. According to the evidence provided by Tian Wenjing, the Lin family had a lot of lives on their hands. When the younger generation caused trouble, the elders used their power to suppress them.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!