She secretly sent someone to investigate and learned that Honghua's master had once saved a little girl, but failed to save her. Seeing that the ring on Honghua's hand was a nice item, he took it off and later gave it to Yu Honghua.

This can be considered a sign of goodwill from heaven. Yu Honghua is her father's adopted daughter, a fact known only to a very few people, and these few people are among those with one foot in the grave.

This gave her the perfect opportunity to fabricate lies; after all, evidence is inanimate, but people are alive.

During the day, Qiao Qiu might worry about being exposed by Yu Honghua, but at night, Qiao Qiu trusted her completely, believing she was someone far more cunning than herself.

After explaining, Qiao Qiu also did Yu Honghua's makeup, making her look somewhat similar to Prince Yu.

After entering the palace, Yu Honghua kept her head down and followed Qiao Qiu into the imperial study.

The Emperor trusted the Empress more, so he brought her here to wait together.

The moment the emperor saw Yu Honghua's face, his breath caught in his throat, and he was already seven-tenths convinced.

Then he had the Empress examine the mark on the jade red flower, while he himself held the palace ring and looked at it from left to right.

After the Empress confirmed it was correct, the Emperor became heartbroken looking at the ring and reminisced about many past events.

The Empress also said a few kind words, after all, she had no children, so pleasing the Crown Prince was, in a sense, taking responsibility for the rest of her life.

Not to mention such a confidential matter, doing the Crown Prince a favor would also be beneficial.

It must be said that the fact that the Empress could achieve such a position without having any children is largely due to her keen insight.

Qiao Qiu naturally understood the Empress's meaning. She recalled the original plot, in which the Empress had always been prudent and kept herself from causing trouble.

Since that's the case, she can protect her, as long as she continues to maintain her undisturbed behavior.

If the Emperor and Empress want to cultivate a relationship with their daughter-in-law, they will naturally invite her to a meal.

So that evening, he ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare a large table of food, dismissed the servants, closed the door to the imperial study, and ate a home-cooked meal.

During this meal, the emperor abandoned royal etiquette and ate like an ordinary commoner.

Yu Honghua was also clever and knew how to speak, making the Emperor and Empress smile from ear to ear, and even giving Qiao Qiu some subtle conveniences without leaving a trace.

Qiao Qiu enjoyed her meal to the fullest; she was someone who was pampered by her husband!

After the meal, Yu Honghua was taken into the East Palace by Qiao Qiu.

Since everyone in the East Palace was Qiao Qiu's person, it was natural for Yu Honghua to change back into women's clothing in her bedchamber.

The following day, during the morning court session, the Emperor mentioned Prince Yu.

This left the Prime Minister, who hadn't yet gone to see the Fourth Prince, completely bewildered.

Prince Yu has been dead for many years, hasn't he? Why bring him up?

An ominous premonition suddenly rose from the bottom of my heart.

"Today I found Prince Yu's orphaned daughter. Due to some misunderstandings, she has become my daughter-in-law," the Emperor said, his voice filled with mixed emotions.

Daughter-in-law?

The Prime Minister's ominous premonition grew stronger; he seemed to have already guessed what it was.

"Your Majesty, who is she?" Lord Liu stepped forward and asked.

"She is Yu Honghua," the Emperor sighed.

"What? Your Majesty, isn't Yu Honghua the wife of Meng Yuanqing, the richest man in the Great Jin Dynasty?!" Lord Liu was extremely surprised, as he was the one who issued the imperial edict.

All the ministers looked at His Highness the Crown Prince, who had remained calm throughout and showed no sign of panic.

Sure enough, the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince. If you said he was Meng Yuanqing, everyone would believe it to be true.

Qiao Qiu stepped out, lifted her robe, and knelt before the Emperor.

"It is my fault for not informing Father Emperor beforehand, which led to this incident. But I have spent some time with Honghua and I truly love her."

"Your Majesty, what exactly is going on?" the general asked.

Many ministers were also in a state of confusion, unaware of the cause and effect of the matter.

The Prime Minister's heart sank. The handle he had finally managed to seize had slipped away again in the blink of an eye.

The Emperor glanced at the Crown Prince before saying, "When the Crown Prince went out to gain experience, his business unexpectedly grew bigger and bigger, reaching the whole country, but he didn't tell me. So when I was arranging the marriage, I had no idea that the person I was betrothing was actually the Crown Prince. It was a lucky coincidence that the Crown Prince found the daughter of Prince Yu, Princess Gu Ke."

"Please punish me, Father Emperor." Qiao Qiu knew that her death sentence could be waived, but she would definitely not escape punishment.

The Emperor looked at his ministers and asked, "What do you think I should do with the Crown Prince?"

"This..." The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Isn't the Emperor asking about this making things difficult for them?

Dispose of the crown prince? They dare to dispose of the crown prince, though.

At that point, you'll offend not only the Crown Prince, but also you.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor, but he did find Princess Gu Ke after all. Fortunately, he did not cause a major mistake. As long as Princess Gu Ke’s status is restored, she is still a worthy match for the Crown Prince.”

"His merits can offset some of his faults, but His Highness the Crown Prince still bears responsibility. As for how to deal with him, we dare not disobey Your Majesty and ask for your decision."

The princelings stepped forward; if they didn't say something at this point, things wouldn't go smoothly.

The prime minister lowered his head, his face gloomy. If he couldn't bring down the crown prince in one fell swoop, he absolutely couldn't act rashly, or he wouldn't even know how he died.

"What are your opinions, Prime Minister?" The Emperor was determined not to let him off the hook.

The Prime Minister stepped forward, bowed to the Emperor, and said, “Your Majesty, the analysis of the officials is correct. Since the Crown Prince entered the Eastern Palace, he has rarely made any mistakes. On the contrary, he has accumulated a great deal of merit. He has never asked for any rewards. Why not use his past merits to offset his current mistakes?”

The Emperor gave him a long, meaningful look. This old scoundrel usually opposes Che'er, but this time he actually spoke up for Che'er. There must be something fishy going on.

"Considering that this incident did not result in a major offense and even brought joy, I will treat you leniently. Your Highness, I will not punish you. From now on, thirty percent of your monthly earnings will go into the national treasury. Do you agree?"

Thirty percent? Qiao Qiu raised her eyebrows. She knew that this matter would not be resolved so easily once it was brought up, and she had long been prepared to have at least 50% of her income taken away.

Thirty percent was indeed beyond Qiao Qiu's expectations; it seemed that the Emperor's fondness for Dongfang Wuche exceeded her expectations.

This is definitely his biological son.

"Your subject agrees."

"Since you agree, then let's punish him as such."

"Your subject obeys the decree."

"Rise," the Emperor said, looking towards the gate. "Summon Princess Guke."

Eunuch Gui walked to the front of the hall and announced loudly, "Princess Gu Ke is hereby summoned to an audience!"

"Princess Guke is here to see you!" the eunuch at the entrance of the main hall announced.

A short while later, a woman dressed in a pink palace dress walked into the main hall. She had an elaborate hairstyle, with pearls and jade hanging from her hair and hairpins on both sides. She walked with a light sway, exuding the demeanor of a lady from a noble family.

Upon seeing Yu Honghua's appearance, many who had met Prince Yu couldn't help but marvel.