"Zhiyu," the emperor called out to stop Jiang Zhiyu who was trying to slip away, "How do you feel about letting Yan Ting regain his identity now?"
"No," Jiang Zhiyu sighed regretfully after failing to sneak away. "The situation is turbulent right now, and the ministers are all in a state of panic. If the Crown Prince's identity is revealed now, it will probably cause unnecessary controversy."
"What's more, if we tell everyone the truth now, there's no guarantee that someone won't associate it with the emperor's identity. If someone deliberately tries to make a fuss, I'm afraid..."
The emperor nodded in agreement: "Then we'll talk about it later."
Frankly speaking, he didn't want to reveal He Yanting's identity right now.
Firstly, it was as Jiang Zhiyu said, and secondly, he always had a doubt in his heart.
Is He Yanting his crown prince?
When the government was in turmoil, he entrusted the prince to General He, who had no wife and no children.
He originally thought this man was absolutely trustworthy, but it wasn't until a few years ago that he found some letters from General He...
Thinking of this, the emperor's face darkened a little.
He pricked up his ears, hoping to get some clues from Jiang Zhiyu's thoughts, but Jiang Zhiyu obviously didn't care about it and was crying out in hunger.
Glancing at He Yanting and his companions emerging from the Imperial Prison, the Emperor's gaze shifted. "It's a rare day I have some free time. Let's all have dinner together in the Yangxin Palace."
The emperor spoke, and everyone responded in a deep voice.
…
After breakfast, Jiang Zhaorong went straight to the Sixth Prince's Mansion without stopping.
Xiao Yanli seemed to have anticipated his coming, and directly asked his servant to take him into the study.
"Don't be anxious, my Lord. I know why you're here. Don't worry, I will definitely save Shi Wei."
Jiang Zhaorong was stunned.
I've been demoted for such a long time, but the Sixth Prince still calls me Prime Minister. It's really...
"I have been demoted. I am truly ashamed to be addressed as such by the Sixth Prince."
Although he said this, Xiao Yanli clearly caught the slight smile on his lips.
A hint of mockery flashed across Xiao Yanli's eyes, but he remained calm and said, "Prime Minister, there's no need to be so modest. In Yanli's heart, you will always be the Prime Minister."
These words made Jiang Zhaorong feel very happy.
Xiao Yanli had him sit across from him at the right moment and calmly introduced himself, "Early this morning, my father sent someone to the Imperial Prison. Last night's incident has wide-ranging implications, and the charge of treason is a foregone conclusion. Now, it all depends on how your father will handle it."
Although Jiang Zhaorong was anxious, he could also hear that Xiao Yanli said this on purpose in order to extract information from him.
After all, the emperor did not hide his whereabouts. He used something that everyone knew to fool him. Did he really think he was a fool?
Jiang Zhaorong licked his lips, looking anxious: "Yes, although I don't know about others, but Sixth Prince, you know Shi Wei. Although Shi Wei serves the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother will not say anything. Tell her everything, right?"
Xiao Yanli seemed lost in thought, his white fingertips tapping the tabletop. "Prime Minister, you and I know this, but my father doesn't. Because of my grandmother, Shi Wei wasn't imprisoned. So, it seems my father has some affection for her."
"If the emperor can forgive the grandmother, then we won't need to protect him and nothing will happen."
Jiang Zhaorong frowned.
He finally understood that Xiao Yanli's focus was not on Song Shiwei, but on the empress dowager.
"Your Highness is wrong. Although the Queen Mother is not His Majesty's biological mother, she has raised Him for a long time. Because of this kindness, His Majesty will never do anything to the Queen Mother. On the contrary, if His Majesty does not touch the Queen Mother, someone else will have to take the blame."
Xiao Yanli glanced at him with a hint of surprise.
Everyone said that the prime minister was brainless and was only able to hold the position thanks to Xu Yanli. Now it seems that is not entirely true.
Xiao Yanli chuckled softly, "Your Excellency is right. It's Yanli who's overthinking things. Does Your Excellency have any other opinions on this matter?"
Jiang Zhaorong shook his head, his face looking somewhat ugly.
If there was, he wouldn't have come to the Sixth Prince's Mansion.
Xiao Yanli's eyes moved slightly.
A little brain but not much.
He said calmly, "Could the Prime Minister have sent someone to contact Shi Wei? If so, please pass on a message for me."
Jiang Zhaorong looked at him suspiciously for a long time before nodding.
…
Song Shiwei, who had not slept a wink in the palace all night, was sitting there in a daze, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She only knew that the Queen Mother and Prince Yu were conspiring, but she didn't know they were so brainless that they chose to act at the palace banquet, and that they were under the control of the Emperor from beginning to end.
Seeing that he had finally gained the Queen Mother's trust, and that the addictiveness of the angelica was enough for the Queen Mother to rely on him, he would be able to step on Jiang Zhiyu's head soon!
Now, all of this has become a bubble.
Putting aside other things for now, if the emperor were to be implicated in this matter...
Song Shiwei gritted her teeth and burst into tears.
This situation reminded her of her time in the Dali Temple prison.
At that time, she was full of hope, but no one came to save her...
Suddenly, there was a sound outside the door. Song Shiwei raised his eyes and looked. The person outside said something. Then, there was the sound of rustling footsteps and the door opened.
"Miss Song, I'm here to bring you some food."
A palace maid whom Song Shiwei had never seen before came over with a food box. One of the Jinyiwei who was responsible for guarding Song Shiwei leaned against the door frame and looked at them.
The palace maid arranged the dishes one by one. The Jinyiwei came forward to check and confirmed that there was no problem. Without waiting for the palace maid to say anything, he drove the person out again.
The door was closed again.
Song Shiwei wiped the tears from her face, opened the teapot, put her fingers on the body of the pot and pressed lightly, then took out the note from the pot.
"The Emperor wants to kill the Queen Mother. If you tell me all her secrets, you might be able to save your life."
Song Shiwei: “!!!”
Song Shiwei's hand holding the note trembled slightly. These few short words made her feel like she was falling into an icy cave and she broke out in a cold sweat.
She stayed in that position for a long time until she heard the cries of the raccoon slave outside, and then she suddenly came to her senses.
She lit the fire with trembling hands, watched the note being completely devoured by the flames, and then slowly exhaled.
If the emperor killed the empress dowager, the support he had finally found would collapse.
Although he thought so in his heart, Song Shiwei was not as desperate as before.
The Sixth Prince...
He still has his own heart.
This is a crime of treason, yet the Sixth Prince was able to send a message to me...
Could it be that I really misunderstood before?
…
In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the emperor sat in the first seat, followed by He Yanting and Jiang Zhiyu, then Jiang Kangan and Xiao Lingyu, and finally Xiao Mingye.
Because of Jiang Zhiyu's previous thoughts, the emperor couldn't help but pay more attention to Xiao Mingye.
Xiao Mingye was afraid of hunger when he was young, so when he grew up, he didn't care about the etiquette when eating, but just ate as quickly as possible.
At first glance, it looks like someone is eating voraciously.
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