He was utterly ungrateful to the Empress, and towards Consort Li, he only showed favoritism, not love.

"Furthermore, the Crown Prince is His Majesty's eldest son, and should be highly valued. However, when the Crown Prince threatens his position, he can disregard the bond between father and son in the slightest."

A hint of sarcasm crept onto Shen Tangning's lips. "Even though Yun An was so favored, His Majesty was still forced by circumstances to order her death."

Even if they are his own children, he can still turn on them without mercy.

She looked up at Chi Yan, her tone blunt, "Do you think the Third Prince would be the exception in the eyes of such a heartless person?"

Chi Yan was startled and quickly got up to go to the door. He looked around and quickly closed the door. He turned to her helplessly and said, "Even though we're in our own home, we should still be careful what we say. Be careful that the walls don't have ears."

He sometimes felt that she was bolder than him in openly discussing the emperor!

Shen Tangning readily covered her lips, her bright eyes fixed on him, waiting for his reply.

Chi Yan nodded, a hint of seriousness in his eyes: "Hearing you say that, doesn't His Majesty have another purpose?"

"It seems that His Majesty is still not at ease with the Crown Prince. If the Third Prince dies and the Sixth Prince is still young, there will certainly be no one who can compete with the Crown Prince in the short term."

After the poisoning incident, Emperor Chongde's paranoia intensified. Even though the Crown Prince did not show any disrespect, he still couldn't put his mind at ease.

He kept the Third Prince around most likely to counterbalance the Crown Prince and kill him by surprise.

"At the same time, now that the Third Prince has lost his princely status, who can he rely on?"

Chi Yan's breath hitched, and he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine: "Your Majesty."

Everyone in the world thought the Third Prince was dead, but only His Majesty knew that he was still alive.

Without the aura of being a prince, the third prince could not even show his face easily, and his actions were restricted at every turn, so he could only rely on him wholeheartedly.

This was exactly the effect Emperor Chongde wanted. In this way, he could use his son as a most convenient weapon, let him fight the Crown Prince to the death, and then reap the benefits...

Whether it's the Crown Prince or the Third Prince, they are merely pawns on his chessboard.

Chi Yan felt a chill in his heart: "Could this be something a father would do?"

Indeed, the imperial family is the most ruthless.

It was all cold, calculating from beginning to end.

Shen Tangning's voice was very soft: "I'm afraid the Third Prince is still grateful to His Majesty."

However, Emperor Chongde overlooked one problem: everything in the world can be calculated, but the human heart is far too complex.

He's so cunning, but who knows if he'll suffer a backlash?

——

Emperor Chongde got up upon hearing the noise: "Awake?"

Yan Xingzhou was taken aback when he saw him standing before the bed, his crown adorned with pearls, his expression unreadable. He murmured, "...Father?"

A sharp pain in his chest reminded him what had happened, and he couldn't help but groan.

"Father, what exactly is going on?"

Emperor Chongde's face suddenly darkened, his voice filled with anger: "I went to great lengths to protect you, so that you could bide your time and conceal your abilities, and what despicable things have you done!"

Knowing that his scheme had been exposed, Yan Xingzhou felt ashamed and his eyes gradually reddened: "Your subject has failed Your Majesty."