When Prince Jin saw this chaotic scene and the pale-faced Prince Bai kneeling on the ground, he instantly understood everything.
He gave Bai Shizi a deep look, then said in a low voice, "Royal Sister, what's the situation?"
Princess Rui'an hesitated, then continued, "His Majesty's emotions are extremely unstable. The imperial physicians are currently treating him. As for Qingzhou..."
The voice paused, as if struggling repeatedly, "He... seems to be hallucinating because of poisoning."
Prince Jin nodded, his voice calm as if nothing had happened, “The poison of the Northern Liao people can stimulate the mind and cause hallucinations, which is understandable. In that case, I will inform Eunuch Ji, and we will send Prince Bai back to the Marquis of Anning’s residence together.”
Princess Ryan gradually calmed down and said, "I'll listen to you."
...
One hour later.
The Marquis of Anning's residence.
Inside the main hall, the doors and windows were tightly closed.
Besides Princess Ruian and Prince Jin, there was also Marquis Anning, who had just returned, his wife, Granny Li, Prince Bai, and Shen Mianmian.
There was no one else.
Princess Ruian did not want Ding to stay, but Ding insisted on staying as if she had gone mad. Helpless, she could only leave Li Mama behind to take care of Ding at all times.
As for Chen Mianmian, Princess Ruian did not expect that Prince Bai would ask Chen Mianmian to be present. Later, she thought that this commoner was indeed capable and that she was of great significance to Prince Bai, so she agreed to let her stay.
In this way, everyone is considered to have arrived.
Princess Ryan asked, "Ah Xuan, Qing Zhou, are you two sure your health is alright?"
Ding nodded, her face pale. "I'm fine."
Compared to Ding, Bai Qingzhou seemed to calmly accept his fate, saying, "I'm fine as a commoner."
Princess Ryan slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Prince Jin, you may speak."
The room was deathly silent.
After struggling for a long time without saying a word, Prince Jin slowly said with a sigh, "You should all have heard about my story. My mother passed away not long after I was born, and my father entrusted me to the Empress... who is now the Empress Dowager, to raise. It can be said that I grew up with the Emperor."
From a young age, the Emperor treated me exceptionally well. At the time, I was too young to think much of it, assuming it was out of pity for me having lost my mother at a young age. Later… once, after drinking, I spoke the truth, and the Emperor… said…
Everyone listened with bated breath, their hearts pounding and a cold sweat running down their faces, as they heard the royal secrets.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the Crown Prince was involved, no one would be curious about these scandals, nor would anyone dare to be.
Shen Mianmian was also shocked—so, this is the reason why Prince Jin rebelled!?
She had been very puzzled: Prince Jin didn't seem like an ambitious person, and the princess even said that the emperor treated Prince Jin well and that the two had a close relationship. She couldn't find any motive for Prince Jin to rebel.
But if the emperor were to seize or take possession of Prince Jin by force, then he would have a motive!
Prince Jin continued, “After His Majesty expressed his feelings, I was terrified but dared not speak out. After all, there were many princes vying for the position of Crown Prince at that time, the Empress Dowager treated me like her own mother, and His Majesty granted my every request. I could not harm His Majesty.”
In order to appease the emperor, he analyzed the pros and cons for him and persuaded him to keep his thoughts to himself and prioritize the country.
Afterwards, the Emperor ascended the throne, established an Empress, and appointed a Crown Prince. I requested the Emperor to grant me a fiefdom far from the capital, and the Emperor granted me the fiefdom of Beixia. I then left the capital.
This departure lasted for four years.
I thought His Majesty's initial infatuation stemmed from their close daily interactions; I believed that once we separated and he resumed a normal marital life, he would gradually change his mind. However, upon his return to the capital, I discovered that His Majesty's temperament had drastically changed.
At this point, Prince Jin paused, and thinking of the terrible situation, he was too choked to speak.
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
After a short while, Princess Ruian sighed and said, "No wonder! No wonder when the Emperor first ascended the throne, everything was fine, but after two years, his temperament suddenly changed and he began to favor treacherous officials."
During that time, I even thought His Majesty had been cursed, but now I realize... it was probably just that His Majesty gave up on himself.
Marquis Anning hesitated, then sighed heavily—what kind of mess is this? How could the Emperor, a perfectly good man, have homosexual tendencies? Of all people, why would he have homosexual tendencies… And how come Qingzhou looks like Prince Jin?
Bai Qingzhou didn't want to hear any more about these royal secrets. Instead, she looked up and asked earnestly, "Your Highness, if I were disfigured now, would His Majesty give up on me?"
Everyone was shocked—disfigured?
Shen Mianmian's heart was also breaking—she didn't care whether Fengchu was ugly or beautiful, she just... didn't want him to be hurt again.
What kind of bizarre novel is this?
Why can't we use a different cannon fodder? Why do we have to fleece someone else?
The cannon fodder has already worked so hard, yet they want to find another way to continue harming this cannon fodder?
Why can't we just let him go?
Bai Qingzhou added, "Pretending to be stupid is fine too, I can pretend to be a fool for the rest of my life."
Prince Jin looked at Princess Ruian, and at the same time, Princess Ruian also looked at Prince Jin. Both of them had helplessness and despair in their eyes.
Suddenly realizing something, Ding, disregarding her heavily pregnant belly, rose and knelt before the princess with a thud. "Your Highness! Even if others don't help Qingzhou, you can't just ignore her! You watched Qingzhou grow up, I beg you!"
As he spoke, he was about to kowtow.
Shen Mianmian hurriedly ran to pull the madam back, afraid that she would hurt herself, and whispered, "Madam, please don't get agitated. Since the princess and the prince brought the young master back, they will definitely take care of him! If they didn't take care of him, they wouldn't have brought him back in the first place. Let's not make things worse. Let the princess and the prince figure out a solution. The royal family has its own methods."
Ding looked at Chen Mianmian with surprise, then cautiously looked at Princess Ruian and Prince Jin.
Princess Ryan sneered, "Nothing can be hidden from you, you clever little devil. You've only grown older but not smarter. I'm too lazy to even talk to you. If you keep making such a fuss, then you can leave. Otherwise, you'll be scared to death, and I will be scared to death too."
Ding blushed deeply, "...Your Highness, please calm down."
Granny Li also stepped forward and, together with Shen Mianmian, helped Ding Shi up.
Prince Jin gave Ding's swollen belly a deep look. "My lord, what do you think?"
Following the gaze of the Prince of Jin, Marquis Anning roughly guessed what the prince was thinking. Overwhelmed with sorrow, he pursed his lips tightly, unable to utter a word.
Looking at the Marquis's pained expression, the Prince of Jin's questioning look, and then at her son's relieved expression, Madam Ding asked in a low voice, "Mianmian, what riddle are they playing? Can you figure it out?"
Chen Mianmian looked around and then whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, what they mean is... to make the Crown Prince give up his identity, slip away unnoticed, and then let your unborn child inherit the position of Crown Prince. After all, the Crown Prince knows the Emperor's secret, and even if he pretends to be crazy, the Emperor will not let him go."
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