"You're princes and princesses! Can't you be a little more mindful of your image when you're eating?" Feng Shao wailed, realizing he couldn't win the food. "Leave some for me!"

The eldest prince nimbly snatched a glistening lamb chopstick, while the second prince, not to be outdone, finished off the last chicken wing just as Feng Shao's chopsticks reached for it. Despite the third princess's refined and elegant appearance, she loved roasted venison and ate almost half of it. Meanwhile, the fourth princess and Song Lingling were happily enjoying a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Zhou Yuqing, on the other hand, had the smallest appetite among them and loved vegetarian food the most. The white jade tofu and blanched bok choy on the table were specially made for him by Song Xia.

Feng Shao, who had practiced martial arts for many years, was a complete carnivore. He wasn't interested in Zhou Yuqing's dishes and could only grab a few meat dishes whenever he could. Even though he ate quite slowly, there were still fewer bones piled up next to him than in the other group.

"Now that things have settled down, what do you think should be done with Si Hengnian?"

"Father wanted to kill him as soon as possible, after all, rebellion is no light crime, but I was persuaded by Mother to stop him." The eldest prince smiled lightly, "He has made great contributions to the dynasty, after all. If he is killed like this, it would make the royal family seem too heartless."

"Besides, sparing the life of someone as proud as him might be more painful for him than simply ordering his execution. Feng Shao, what do you think?"

"Huh? Me?" Feng Shaogang happily snatched a roast goose wing and was enjoying it when he was suddenly asked for his opinion, leaving him completely bewildered.

"What opinion could I possibly have? Of course, I'll do whatever His Majesty decides. What does Si Hengnian's fate have to do with me?" He suddenly remembered Zhou Yuqing's words about Xu Huixin wanting to see him, and his eyes changed. "You don't think I have any special feelings for Xu Huixin, do you? I solemnly declare that I knew everything between us when we broke off the engagement."

Seeing his evasive manner, everyone burst into laughter. Apart from him, everyone present knew that this kid had probably been severely persecuted by Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin in his past life, which was why they were asking him.

His Majesty is old and now obsessed with elixirs. Although the two princes, Song Luo and Shi Liuchuan, have no intention of inheriting the throne, the political winds of the court now revolve around them. Therefore, it is still not a problem for His Majesty to influence the fate of Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin.

In other words, if Feng Shao has an idea, it will most likely be done according to his wishes.

Then everyone realized that perhaps it was because of their presence that things progressed much more smoothly in this life. In this life, Feng Shao naturally had no further interaction with Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin, so he had no other hatred and did not want to get involved.

That's fine too. Isn't it happiness to live a simple and pure life?

“Then let’s not take their lives. Let’s find a courtyard and imprison them both. Isn’t it true love? Spending time together day and night, isn’t that wonderful? We’re doing a good deed.” Zhou Yuqing smiled gently, but Song Lingling felt a pang of jealousy. This was a wicked woman hiding her true nature.

She had heard and seen far too many claims of true love and irreplaceable love, but without exception, they were all based on abundant material conditions and a good social status. Otherwise, over time, they would become a resentful couple. She could almost see through the future of Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin at a glance.

Especially when Si Hengnian misunderstood Xu Huixin for betraying him and even tried to contact Feng Shao, people like Si Hengnian are very prone to extreme thoughts.

Ultimately, persuaded by the court and the imperial harem, the emperor, for the sake of his reputation, spared Si Hengnian from the death penalty, but imprisoned him in a two-courtyard house, never to be pardoned again, and his descendants for three generations were barred from holding office.

Despite this predicament, Si Hengnian still dares not die. If he were to commit suicide, Xu Huixin's unborn child might not be able to be born safely.

This departure was extremely painful for him, but outside, the people were saying that His Majesty was benevolent and that he was too ungrateful.

Because the two courtyards where he was imprisoned were not large, he could hear almost all the loud discussions of the neighbors. Every day, as he listened to these accusations against him, Si Hengnian's face became more and more gloomy.

What do these ignorant people know? What good things could the royal family possibly have? They're just torturing him in a different way. He wants to see if the capital can still remain peaceful when the two princes fight each other. Feng Shao thinks he can rest easy once he's captured? He's so naive!

However, things did not go as Si Hengnian had expected. The emperor was just as suspicious as he thought, especially towards the eldest and second princes. He was wary of them and usually looked at them more like enemies than sons.

Song Luo and Shi Liuchuan both found it tiresome. Did they really care so much about the throne? Their achievements in their previous lives were far greater than being an emperor.

So, finding it too troublesome, one of them pretended to be obsessed with seeking immortality and went to the mountains to cultivate asceticism, while the other simply went to sea, saying that he was going to search for elixirs overseas for the emperor. Two years passed, and not a single message was sent back.

This caused great distress to the ministers in the court. What wonderful princes they were! They had been forced into this state by His Majesty! So they quickly took protection of the last prince, the Fifth Prince.

Fortunately, with the guidance of the two princesses over the past two years, the fifth prince, though still young, has already shown to be of good character and excellent in learning, and his future abilities may not be inferior to those of the two princes.

Presumably because the fifth prince was still young, and this was the only prince left by his side, the emperor finally stopped causing trouble.

Three years later, the emperor's consuming of elixirs finally caused problems. With his death, the eldest prince, who had been focused on cultivation, and the second prince, who had been searching for elixirs overseas, both reappeared. This caused panic among the court officials who had already sided with the fifth prince, and the capital was filled with a sense of unease.

Even Si Hengnian, who was imprisoned in the courtyard, heard about this and immediately became extremely gloating: "Cause and effect are inescapable, and no one can escape the retribution of being affected by the struggle for the throne! The Li Kingdom should have perished long ago."

He even dreamed that as long as the capital fell into chaos, he would have a chance to escape, find his former subordinates, raise an army, and come back again; it was only a matter of time.

However, reality soon shattered their illusions. The eldest and second princes did indeed return, but they had no desire to vie for the throne and were wholeheartedly supporting the fifth prince's ascension.

It's impossible to say that this is feigned affection or a prelude to an attack. After all, His Majesty's death was sudden, and he left no imperial edict for succession. Logically, now is the best time. If they don't fight for it now, they will have even less hope and title later. Therefore, these two princes are genuinely uninterested in the throne.

Indeed, if he really wanted to succeed to the throne, why wouldn't he marry a princess or have a grandson?

The courtiers felt quite fortunate. If these two princes intended to succeed to the throne, they would probably have to worry about the affairs of the harem. It was good as it was. The eldest and second princes were intimidating the Jing Kingdom, and the fifth prince was diligently studying the art of being an emperor. Having experienced many intrigues throughout history, they were not used to this good life.