Shu Zhongjing's own maternal clan was not powerful enough, and his own background was not prestigious enough, but his wife's clan was powerful...

Tsk.

It's hard not to feel inferior after all.

Shu Chengfeng gently stroked her shoulder: "You seem to know everything."

"I don't know, I just find it funny. The former crown prince is so radiant and extremely favored that he certainly overshadows his other brothers," Yan Nangui said.

In particular, His Majesty rose to power through the help of his wife's family.

Furthermore, the death of the former crown prince is hard to say... but the deaths of the former crown prince's two children were probably caused by His Majesty.

That makes sense; someone like the former crown prince wouldn't be easily tricked into dying on the battlefield.

That's no easy feat, but what about his offspring...?

To put it bluntly, if his son hadn't died, his grandson might have had a greater advantage. It's not impossible that His Majesty would have bypassed his son and directly appointed his grandson as the Crown Prince.

The late emperor's death was probably due to a series of blows.

"Well, after saying all that, what were you originally going to say?" Shu Chengfeng asked.

"Huh? I'm getting confused. What I was trying to say was that His Majesty was born out of wedlock, and that his son rose to power. So now he's just as wary of his sons out of wedlock," Yan Nangui said.

They're both princes, but you're making them the same—the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Ping. How can that be the same?

Of course, someone like Shu Zhongjing only posthumously conferred the title of Prince of Qin upon his eldest son to appease the Ye family's anger.

Shu Chengfeng smiled, sighed softly, and remained silent.

He just thought, even the women in the inner quarters could see that, His Majesty really is...

Of course, he overlooked the fact that not every woman in the inner quarters has the time to ponder these things.

Yan Nangui yawned: "Is it going to rain?"

It's gloomy outside, like the bottom of a pot, and it's not even evening yet, and it's already like this.

"Well, you're not going out anyway, so let it rain," Shu Chengfeng said.

Yan Nangui sat up and fanned himself; it was hot.

With his arms empty, the Crown Prince was too lazy to move and just lounged there to kill time.

Inside the main courtyard, the Crown Princess was still unable to find anything and was extremely anxious.

However, now that Shu Chengfeng had an idea, she naturally asked Yun Ji to guide her to find the people in the kitchen.

However, a few days later, Chef Feng from the kitchen was found to have some abnormalities.

Although he didn't do this, he had done a lot of things by tipping people off, so he certainly knew about the existence of the prison.

They were alarmed; how could they not be afraid?

This alarm caused him to choose to commit suicide. After all, he had family members, and he dared not live.

Everyone was in the main courtyard.

The Crown Princess said, "I don't know who instructed Chef Feng, but I will continue to investigate. It's just that this person died far too easily."

Shu Chengfeng hummed in agreement: "There's no need to investigate what happened afterward. I already know everything. It has nothing to do with you."

He didn't hesitate to convey the message that someone outside was plotting against him.

The Crown Princess was taken aback: "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

“Now that we’ve found out, let’s whip this person’s corpse and expose it to the sun. There’s no need for a proper burial,” Shu Chengfeng said.

"Yes," the Crown Princess replied, somewhat frightened.

This practice of whipping and exposing the corpse to the sun after death is a very serious punishment.

Murong Liangyuan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up: "This concubine thanks Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess."

"No need, just take good care of yourself during your pregnancy. I will have someone keep a close eye on you. If you can't take good care of yourself..." The rest of the sentence was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

The Murong family was clever and had also thought of this.

Her heart skipped a beat. Did His Highness suspect something? But they had clearly caught another murderer...

She didn't dare say much, only promising to take good care of herself during her pregnancy.

However, with this tactic in hand, the Crown Princess dared not act rashly.

After everyone had left, the Crown Princess frowned: "It seems that His Highness will protect her well."

Mrs. He comforted her, saying, "Since that's the case, let's wait and see. Even if it's a boy, it might not be. And even if it is, babies don't grow up so easily."

The Crown Princess remained silent, which probably meant she acquiesced.

The Seventh Prince's residence now has a new plaque, and stone lions have been erected at the entrance.

In the backyard, a lively family feast was also set up.

Princess Ning was dressed in a festive manner; she rarely had such a moment since entering the palace.

Fortunately, the prince gave us face today.

However, looking at Madam Cheng sitting below, she felt incredibly resentful. But no matter how resentful she was, she had no choice but to take the initiative and say, "Your Highness, Sister Cheng has always served you best. Why not take this opportunity to promote her? There can only be one of these four ladies, so why not make Sister Cheng the second one?"

"I have done nothing wrong, how dare I say such a thing?" Cheng Yuluo quickly stood up and said.

"A'Luo is too modest. Since the Princess Consort says so, then it's settled. From today onwards, you will be the Lady of the House. I will request the official title for you. We'll hold a proper celebration another day. Princess Consort, I'll leave this matter to you." Shu Yufeng seemed quite pleased.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. This is your investiture ceremony first, and then mine. I'm afraid Sister Cheng's ceremony will have to come later. But don't worry, I will definitely handle it well," Ning said with a smile.

The Seventh Prince nodded in satisfaction: "Good."

No one knows what everyone is really thinking, but on the surface they all seem happy.

The people in the manor already knew how favored Cheng Yuluo was, and now they fawned over her even more.

Around the same time, a concubine in the Second Prince's residence suffered a miscarriage, causing quite a stir.

The second prince dotes on her; how could he allow her to suffer?

He dealt a harsh blow to a lady, demoting her to the rank of maid. He completely disregarded the fact that the lady had given birth to a son.

At the same time, Ru Ye was granted the title of Lady Mi.

Shu Chengfeng simply smiled when he received the two letters.

Same progress, different mindset.

Ru Ye naturally climbed up the ladder on her own merits; what a lady can do is different from what a maid can do.

But Aro...

"Keep in touch with A'Luo as usual, whatever she says is fine," Shu Chengfeng said.

"Yes, I understand," Yun Ji replied.

Yun Ji thought to himself, "People say that one should abandon darkness and embrace light, but this girl, A Luo, is abandoning light and embracing darkness."

With the granting of the title of prince, some undercurrents also emerged in the court.

After all, there are too many people who support the crown prince, so it's not surprising.

The second and third princes' relatives by marriage, or those who also had many supporters, were all ambitious ministers; who among them didn't harbor thoughts of gaining merit by supporting the emperor?

The main reason is that the Crown Prince is still labeled as someone whom His Majesty does not favor.

Someone like Yan Nangui, who stands on the Crown Prince's side, would understand why those words weren't very good.

However, those on their side naturally don't think that way.

For example, people interpreted "Qian" as His Majesty praising the Second Prince's character.

Ping, His Majesty must be wishing the Third Prince a safe journey.

Shun...

Oh well, he's disfigured anyway.

Therefore, after the prince was enfeoffed, the political climate in the court became intense. The sooner the crown prince was removed, the better for everyone to move forward.

Amidst the undercurrents, the Crown Prince was naturally in no hurry.

If he's not in a hurry, someone else is. Unless there's an obvious mistake, it's difficult for His Majesty to find any fault with him on the surface.

We can only wait.