Chapter 319 Fire

Zhu Lan listened attentively to Chu Xiuning's story.

It turned out that 20 years ago, a plague broke out in the palace and many people died. According to folk sayings, this was due to offending the plague god.

At that time, Concubine Lan was about to give birth. According to the palace's procedures, a baby who was born within twelve hours of the prince had to be found from the people, and the two babies had to be secretly swapped immediately after the prince was born.

The real prince would be sent out of the palace and taken care of by a special person in a secret place, while the child found among the people would take the identity of the prince and stay in the palace to attract the attention of the "Plague God".

"On the day when the queen was about to give birth, His Majesty ordered people to go out of the palace to look for a suitable baby. In a farm outside the capital, they found a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, who were born that morning.

When the news came from the palace that Concubine Lan had given birth to a prince, the baby boy was immediately brought into the palace in secret, to be exchanged for the real prince.

It was the first time that Zhu Lan heard of such a custom in the palace. He could not help but frown and asked:

"Did the child's parents agree to have their own flesh and blood taken away?"

You have to know that the medical level in ancient times was limited, and once you were infected with the plague, you would be in danger of death.

What parent in the world would be willing to let their children take such a risk?

"It is their honor to protect the prince from disaster and contribute to the country. Moreover, after the plague is over, this family will have a lifetime of wealth and splendor."

Chu Xiuning's tone seemed as if she was talking about something very normal.

Zhu Lan lowered his eyes, hiding the compassion and resistance in his eyes, and an inexplicable feeling of powerlessness rose in his heart.

Chu Xiuning did not notice her change in expression and continued to speak:

"I was busy helping the queen deliver the baby with the midwife in the palace. After the little prince was born, he was taken to a side hall, waiting for his identity to be changed.

Who would have thought that at this moment, the side hall caught fire for some unknown reason."

"Fire?" Zhu Lan was slightly startled.

Chu Xiuning nodded, and even her voice was a little nervous.

"Yes, I was originally taking care of the queen, and when I heard the noise, I rushed out to check. The fire was burning fast and fiercely, and the two children and several palace servants were inside, so there was no time to wait for others to fetch water to put out the fire.

The queen has been so kind to me, I could not let anything happen to the little prince, so I risked my life to rush in and carry the little prince out."

"Only one child was brought out?" Zhu Lan asked with a frown.

Chu Xiuning sighed lightly and said that she also wanted to rescue both children, but the fire was too big and blocked her way. In the end, she did not have time to save the other child. She watched helplessly as the child was buried under the collapsed fire column.

Still not right.

A sharp look flashed in Zhu Lan's eyes.

"The fire was so big, the scene must have been a mess. There were two babies of the same age, how did you recognize the prince at first sight?"

"As expected of the number one scholar, he is really thoughtful and hits the nail on the head with just one word."

Chu Xiuning stood up and poured more tea for the two of them, moistened his throat, and continued:

"You are right. Replacing the prince with a child from the common people in order to deceive the gods is an act of deceiving the gods. According to the saying, one must deceive oneself before one can deceive the gods.

Therefore, from the moment the prince emerged from his mother's womb, his face was covered with a breathable gauze, and even the midwife did not know the prince's true appearance.

Next, the prince will be taken to a side hall and exchange swaddling clothes with the common child to confuse the God of Plague. Only when the real prince is taken out of the palace can the veil on his face be removed.

According to her, not only Concubine Lan and Chu Xiuning, but everyone present at the time did not see the true appearance of the child. Moreover, the two children had to exchange swaddling clothes in the side hall. When Chu Xiuning discovered the fire and rushed into the side hall, she did not know whether the swaddling clothes had been exchanged, let alone identifying them.

So how did Chu Xiuning confirm that the child she rescued was the real prince, Yan Xiuyun?

Zhu Lan took a sip of tea, looked up at Chu Xiuning, and waited for her next words.

Unexpectedly, after Chu Xiuning was silent for a long time, he actually shook his head.

"I wasn't really sure at the time. Or rather, no one could tell who the real prince was in that situation.

Concubine Lan was extremely weak after giving birth, how could she bear such a blow? In that situation, I could only tell her that the little prince was fine.

After the fire was put out, His Majesty sent people to quickly find another baby boy born on the same day from the people, exchanged his identity with the little prince, and temporarily sent the little prince out of the palace to be raised, and only brought him back a few years later. "

It turned out that two children had exchanged identities with Yan Xiuyun.

Zhu Lan was thinking in his mind and asked Chu Xiuning where Prince would go after being sent out of the palace.

Chu Xiuning said that he didn't know, "It was a very secret place, only your majesty knew it. Even the guards who escorted the prince out of the palace committed suicide afterwards to prevent the secret from being leaked."

"Outside the palace, is there a possibility that the prince will be switched again?" Zhu Lan asked.

Chu Xiuning hesitated for a moment, "Since Your Majesty has made such an arrangement, there must be a foolproof plan. How could he let the heir to the throne be in danger?"

Zhu Lan nodded. This meant that the only time when Yan Xiuyun’s identity could have been mistaken was during the chaotic fire.

Chu Xiuning continued, "Later, I privately thought of many ways to verify it, but the several palace servants who were in the side hall at the time had all been burned to death.

So I tried to find the parents of the civilian child and asked them if their child had any characteristics, but I learned that they sent the child away, received 1,000 taels of compensation from the court, and left the capital directly.

They kept their identities secret and I was unable to track down their whereabouts.”

When Zhu Lan heard this, his brows furrowed tightly again.

Why are we back here again?

So, in the end, no one knew whether the surviving Yan Xiuyun was the real prince, and there was no way to verify it?

Yan Xiuyun was named the crown prince even though his identity was in doubt. This is simply illogical.

At this time, Chu Xiuning changed the subject -

“Empress Lan is extremely intelligent. After her body recovered a little, she naturally discovered the loophole and began to investigate.

Not long after, the Queen confirmed that the prince who was sent out of the palace, the current Crown Prince, was undoubtedly her biological son, and His Majesty also approved it. "

"Did you find out the truth?" Zhu Lan asked.

Chu Xiuning shook her head and said that there was more than one useful person around Concubine Lan. She sent others to investigate and the evidence was solid.

"I don't know what the Queen has found out, but I know that she has hidden the secret that proves the identity of the Crown Prince in a book."

"What book?" Zhu Lan asked immediately.

Chu Xiuning opened her mouth and was about to say something, but her face suddenly changed and her expression froze.

She suddenly widened her eyes and looked at the tea on the table, but her body softened little by little.

"Ning——" Zhu Lan was startled and hurried to help her, but suddenly he felt dizzy.

Everything went dark before his eyes and he fell down.

…

After an unknown amount of time, a pair of black brocade boots stopped in front of Zhu Lan.

The man squatted down and stretched out his finger to feel her breath.

Then he paused and moved his ears as if he heard some sound. He quickly pulled down the hood of his cloak with two fingers, climbed out of the window silently, and jumped lightly onto a banyan tree behind the courtyard.

The moon was hidden behind the treetops, vaguely illuminating the hidden figures on the trees.

Under the cloak, a pair of extremely beautiful fox eyes were dim and unclear, taking in everything that was happening in the courtyard.