As the crown prince, no one except his father, the emperor, had ever dared to say no to him in his entire life.

The Crown Prince slammed his wine cup on the table, his tone laced with threat: "Royal sister, don't think that just because you have Father's favor, you can act with impunity!"

Bai Yan raised one side of her lips and smiled at the Crown Prince: "Why do I feel that it is you, my brother, who is lawless?"

"Due to the floods in Jiangnan, your father gave you a large sum of money and trusted officials to use to buy grain for disaster relief."

To put it simply, the emperor was giving the crown prince special treatment so he could gain prestige.

Bai Yan clapped his hands and laughed: "Your Majesty is a man of extraordinary talent, how come you failed to provide disaster relief and even had someone extort a sum of money from the court?"

The crown prince, having just reached adulthood, was filled with joy and eager to make a name for himself, and he took on the task of disaster relief.

Upon arriving in Jiangnan, he discovered the banditry that followed the floods. In order to gain merit, he led 20,000 elite soldiers assigned to him by the emperor and forcibly recruited 30,000 local laborers to attack the bandits who occupied a mountain stronghold.

As a result, they lost the battle and were captured, which terrified the local officials.

This was the only son of the Southern Dynasty emperor. The disaster relief money was not used to buy grain, but was instead handed over to the mountain stronghold to bring back the crown prince.

Instead of providing disaster relief, the prince was accused of extortion. After being rescued and sent to the palace, he was severely reprimanded by his father in front of all the civil and military officials.

"Brother, if Father had another son, do you think you would still be here saying such things to me?"

The crown prince's expression changed repeatedly, and in a fit of anger, he pushed all the wine cups and teacups on the table to the ground.

Pointing a finger at Bai Yan, he said, "Who do you think you are?"

"I am the Crown Prince! How dare you, a princess born to a demoted concubine, speak to me like that?"

Bai Yan looked up at the Crown Prince: "Yes, my birth mother was a concubine who surrendered. But didn't you, Your Highness, also surrender to the bandits in the mountains? Otherwise, how could the court have received your plea for help?"

This matter was already the most embarrassing thing for the Crown Prince, and now he had been repeatedly targeted in his most vulnerable spot.

The crown prince suddenly moved closer to Bai Yan, grabbing her collar. "Do you think I can't hit a woman?"

Bai Yan's lips curled up, and just as she was about to say something, she raised her eyes slightly and saw a black figure not far away in the corridor ahead. She paused in her steps... Bai Yan's red lips curved slightly.

When she looked at the Crown Prince again, her tone was much gentler than before: "Brother, I misspoke just now. I apologize to you. Please don't be angry."

This is the palace; even if the crown prince is arrogant and domineering, he wouldn't dare to really do anything to her.

Now that Bai Yan has admitted his mistake, he was about to flaunt his status as Crown Prince again when he heard Bai Yan say, "I misspoke. How can my brother be a deposed Crown Prince? My brother is a good-for-nothing. If there were any other princes, you would be the 'deposed Crown Prince'!"

"You!" The crown prince was furious and shoved Bai Yan violently.

Yuhua Pavilion was originally located on the artificial hill, but the prince's push sent Bai Yan falling directly out of the artificial hill.

She closed her eyes, and as expected, she didn't fall to the ground, but instead fell into a warm embrace.

Nestled in his arms again, her nose stung with tears. To hide the tears welling in her eyes, she buried her head in his chest: she knew that even if he forgot everything, he would still instinctively protect her.

When he realized she was about to fall from the artificial hill, Meng Huaiyi rushed over without thinking... Now that she was in his arms, he was even more at a loss.

At this moment, the princess in his arms looked up and said, "General Meng... General Meng? Tianfu only had a quarrel with my brother the Crown Prince, who knew that he would push Tianfu down."

Her eyes were red and she looked aggrieved and pitiful.

On the artificial hill, the prince was about to breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing that Bai Yan was unharmed, but then he saw her twisting the truth and became furious: "You wretch! It was clearly you who insulted me first!"

Bai Yan feigned fear and hid in Meng Huaiyi's arms. The Crown Prince was about to get angry when someone came to deliver a message: "Your Highness, His Majesty summons you."

The crown prince glared angrily at Bai Yan, then turned and left.

Bai Yan looked utterly heartbroken. "How could my brother do this? Father was already angry with him lately, and now things are really messed up..."

Seeing her pitiful expression, Meng Huaiyi pursed his lips and said nothing more.

...

"You wretched child!" The emperor smashed the cup in his hand straight at the crown prince's face.

He knew that this wretched boy had come to Tianfu because of the textile factory, but he never expected that he would actually push his sister off the artificial hill.

"Father!" The Crown Prince covered his cheek, filled with resentment. "It was Tianfu who spoke disrespectfully first; I was just momentarily blinded by folly!"

Bai Qing sneered: "Do I know that you invited Tianfu today? You had no dealings with her before, so why did you invite her today? Why don't you tell me?"

How could the Crown Prince possibly admit that he had come to her to ask for the textile factory? He just mumbled and stammered...

Bai Qing's head was getting more and more throbbing: What a stupid and wicked bastard! If he didn't only have this one son, he would have crippled him long ago!

A son who only knows how to lose money hurts a daughter who knows how to earn money!

"From today onwards, you shall kneel in the Eastern Palace for one hour every day as punishment. You shall not stop until I give the order to do so, understand?"

The crown prince looked embarrassed. The punishment wasn't severe, but it was a real slap in the face.

After being scolded, the prince's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Bai Yan was still waiting outside the palace. The Crown Prince coldly twitched his lips: "You haven't left yet?"

"My father knew I was frightened and said he would open the storeroom to find me some calming medicine," Bai Yan smiled.

What does she have to be proud of?

The crown prince was initially furious, but then he restrained himself and laughed fiercely: "What do you think you are? I am the crown prince! This world will belong to me sooner or later... Just wait and see if I can skin you alive!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and left. Bai Yan did not take such harsh words that could not come true to heart and quickly entered the inner hall.

Not far away, Meng Huaiyi, who was holding a knife and had excellent hearing, coldly watched in the direction of the Crown Prince, and soon turned and left.

...

Meng Ruoyun had already been banished to the cold palace, and in theory, she should not only be unable to leave, but should have even died of illness in half a month.

But she was pregnant, more than three months pregnant.

When she first entered the Cold Palace, Meng Ruoyun was still able to maintain the most basic dignity. She also had two maids brought from the Meng family who could serve her.

However, it was against palace rules for women in the harem to offer sacrifices to men outside the palace. On the seventh day after Jin Chang'an's death, Meng Ruoyun sent palace maids to offer sacrifices, and one of her maids was beaten to death.

Another palace maid was also injured and it took her half a month to get up. Not only could she not do any of the heavy work she used to do, but she also needed to take medicine.

Meng Ruoyun endured half a month of hardship. One day, she was doing laundry in a miserable state when she unexpectedly fainted from exhaustion. When she woke up, the imperial physician told her that she was pregnant.

She was quickly taken back to her original palace by the Grand Eunuch, but the Emperor never came to see her... even though she was more than three months pregnant.

Meng Ruoyun looked down at her protruding belly, and then at Rouyi, who had become much less attractive after working hard in the Cold Palace for half a month. Her gaze lowered slightly: she could no longer afford the emperor's love. Now that she was pregnant, she would try her best to survive in the harem for her child.

We must also avenge the wrongfully killed Young Master Jin and his maid!