The Crown Prince doesn't usually drink much, after all, he always presents himself as a benevolent ruler, and often uses the excuse that drinking will cause him to make mistakes to refuse the toasts offered by many people.

Except when he was playing with his male servants, Qin An never drank alcohol. After one pot of wine, the other party seemed to be drunk.

Seeing this, Wan Ge had the Crown Prince helped away, while she was summoned away by the Empress.

This was the first time Wan Ge had ever felt so pleased to be summoned by the Empress. She was just wondering what reason she could possibly have to leave temporarily when someone offered her that opportunity.

…

Wange knelt before the Empress. The Empress slammed her hand on the table beside her and looked at Wange: "Just now, the Minister intended to let her daughter enter the Eastern Palace. Why didn't you speak up?"

After hearing this, Wan Ge finally understood why the other person had called her over.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to... it's just that His Highness..."

Wan Ge seemed to want to tell the truth, but then suddenly realized something, lowered her head and shook her head helplessly: "It's all my fault, please punish me, Mother."

Seeing her stammering and guilty look, the Empress already suspected her of being a bad person, and now she was even more convinced that the other woman was behind Shu Jiqing's death. Her tone became even colder: "Did you do the murder of Jiqing? How can you, as the Crown Princess, be so jealous? She only wanted to be a concubine and posed no threat to your position as the Empress. Why can't you tolerate her?"

"Your Majesty, I did not. This matter has nothing to do with me. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."

The Empress snorted again: "Hmph, do you think I would still believe what you say? I almost believed that you had really changed your ways. I never expected that you were not only so jealous, but also so vicious. You are the one who killed her."

"I won't touch you now, but you wait, one day I won't let you get away with it."

The Empress said these words on purpose to make the person in front of her uneasy. She had killed her brother's only daughter, and she wanted to make her live in constant fear.

Although Qin An held the most important place in her heart, Shu Jiqing was, after all, her own niece, whom she had watched grow up, so of course she still cared about her.

…

The Empress was still scolding Wan Ge when someone rushed in, looking grim: "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince is in trouble!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress immediately stood up and slapped the palace maid who had come to report: "Shut up! Today is His Majesty's birthday. How dare you say such unlucky things?"

The palace maid immediately knelt on the ground, crying as she spoke, "Your Majesty, please calm down, but... but something has really happened to His Highness. His Majesty is furious and has sent me to summon Your Majesty and the Crown Princess."

"What happened?" The Empress felt uneasy, and this unease grew stronger and stronger.

The palace maid opened her mouth several times, as if she found it difficult to speak, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince... Your Highness the Crown Prince was having an affair with a man in the inner palace, and was caught by the Prime Minister's only son."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The Empress slapped the other person again, her face ashen and filled with disbelief.

Their gaze then fell upon Wan Ge, who had lowered her head, her every movement and reaction clearly evasive, yet she tacitly acknowledged the truth. Absurd! How could her son do such a thing? This must all be a misunderstanding!

"Quickly! Help me to see what has happened."

The empress's voice trembled when she spoke, and she walked with a shaky gait.

Wan Ge was also supported by another palace maid as she headed towards the palace where the Crown Prince was.

When they arrived, the emperor's face was ashen, and all the ministers knelt behind him. No one dared to raise their heads, while the prime minister's only son knelt on the other side.

On the bed were two naked men, their bodies covered in marks, making it clear at a glance what they had done.

The Crown Prince not only committed adultery in the palace, but he also did such things with men. Not long ago, it was said that the Crown Prince had a reputation for being a homosexual, but it turns out that this is true. Moreover, the Crown Prince is so bold as to dare to do such things in the harem.

"Guards, quickly splash them awake!" The emperor clenched his fist.

Upon seeing this, the Empress instantly lost her balance and collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing this scene, Wan Ge took two steps back and fainted in the arms of the palace maid who was supporting her.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a man walked in through the door behind the officials, fanning himself as he slowly spoke: "Why is the Emperor's birthday banquet being held here instead of in the main hall?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the bed. When she saw the two people on the sheets, she was surprised: "Isn't this my brother's most prized son? How come he's messing around with a man? Isn't it said that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are deeply in love? This man doesn't look like the Crown Princess at all!"

"Shut up." The emperor's expression darkened further after being told that, and he turned his gaze to Qin Ji.

Qin Ji calmly looked up at him, meeting his gaze without showing any sign of timidity.

"Qin Ji, as the regent and the crown prince's uncle, how could you say such a thing?"

"Brother, what you said is rather strange. Did I say something wrong? Wasn't I just stating the facts? Your Crown Prince did such a thing, why are you afraid of being criticized?"

Qin Ji smiled again after saying this, but he never looked away, still staring at the emperor.

At such a time, the officials dared not say anything, and given the atmosphere among them, it was not appropriate for them to speak.

They all knelt on the ground, trembling, terrified that the emperor would be so enraged that he might do something that could cause their heads to fall off.

While pretending to faint, Wan Ge thought to herself, "Is the villain really this tough? He directly confronts the emperor. Although he is the regent and has power and influence, and the emperor is somewhat wary of him, he is still so tough when the emperor is so angry!"

However, Wan Ge expressed that she liked and appreciated his attitude.

At the same time, a worker brought over a basin of water and splashed it directly on the two men.

When the crown prince first opened his eyes, he was still in a daze and felt extremely cold. He was about to shout angrily when he sensed something was wrong. He looked to the side and saw many people, including his father, the emperor, who was very angry.

"Father, why are you so angry?" When he felt a chill on his body again, Qin An lowered his head and realized that he was completely naked.

At the same time, a man lay beside him. The man was his bodyguard and also one of his lovers. Normally, Qin An wouldn't have found this strange, but at this moment...