Upon hearing Emperor Chu's words, Tantai Yueming realized that she had not yet told her elder brother that she had already begun cultivating with his grandson and would soon be taking him back to the cultivation world.
"Brother, I think you should choose another successor."
Tantai Yueming sounded a little weak as she spoke.
He knew better than anyone how much his elder brother wanted to shirk this responsibility, but now he had deposed one of his heirs and directly abducted another.
He was afraid his elder brother would vomit blood if he found out.
Tantai Yueming ultimately chose to remain silent and did not reveal the matter.
Some of them were thinking of giving up, since their elder brother would find out eventually anyway, and besides, they might as well provoke her now.
As the imperial carriage entered the palace, the emperor's expression improved considerably.
Before the sedan chair had even stopped, the Imperial Noble Consort hurried over, leading a small child.
Tantai Yueming's expression turned very strange as soon as she saw the child.
For no other reason than that this child looks almost exactly like Tantai Haoze.
If Tantai Yueming hadn't already verified through other methods that the child appearing at the Lin family was the real Crown Prince, she might have been deceived by the child in front of her.
Not for any other reason than that they look so alike, not only in appearance but also in demeanor.
"Grandpa, I pay my respects to you."
Just as Tantai Yueming was in a daze, the child spoke first.
That voice, that intonation—Tantai Yueming wouldn't believe it wasn't a deliberate imitation of Haoze.
What kind of motive would someone have to deliberately train a child to this extent?
As Tantai Yueming sized up this 'Crown Prince,' he also stared at Tantai Yueming with a pair of innocent, large eyes.
The Imperial Noble Consort spoke up at just the right moment.
"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects."
The Emperor still held this imperial concubine in some respect; seeing her greet him, he extended his hand in a gesture of support.
"My beloved concubine, there's no need for such formalities."
Then he looked at Tantai Haoze and said.
"Weren't you supposed to be taking classes with the Grand Tutor? How did you end up here?"
The Crown Prince looked at the Emperor of Chu, then glanced timidly at Tantai Yueming, as if he were afraid of this stranger.
Tantai Yueming's lips twitched, but she ultimately decided not to argue with the little child.
It was the Imperial Noble Consort who explained on behalf of her grandson.
“Ze’er has finished all his homework today and even received praise from the Grand Tutor. He heard from the palace servants that His Majesty had left the palace, so he came here out of curiosity.”
Upon hearing the Imperial Concubine's words, the Emperor Chu's originally stern face softened somewhat.
"This child has never left the palace?"
Tantai Yueming's seemingly unintentional exit.
The Imperial Noble Consort spoke on behalf of Emperor Chu.
"Your Majesty may not know this, but there were unusual signs at the time of this child's birth. Your Majesty felt that he might be as gifted as Your Majesty, so you ordered him to be brought into the palace for education and upbringing until now. He has never left the palace even once."
The Imperial Noble Consort smiled gently, her eyes filled with unwavering doting affection for her grandson.
When he looked up at the Chu Emperor again, he could not hide his loneliness.
The Chu Emperor looked much younger, though she was well-maintained, her age was still evident.
Although the two had been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and even if she couldn't become his empress, she knew that she still held a place in the Emperor's heart.
But now that the two are standing together, they look more like mother and son than husband and wife.
The man she had cherished since childhood now looked even younger than their son.
How could the Imperial Noble Consort not feel a pang of jealousy?
Although everyone knew that Tantai Yueming had brought back some good stuff from the cultivation world again.
But she couldn't help feeling that the gap between the two of them was widening.
Tantai Yueming looked at her, a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
I wonder how the Imperial Noble Consort will react when she finds out that the child she has been pausing to love is not her own grandson.
Thinking this to herself, Tantai Yueming spoke up.
"Is that so? But I just saw him in Jing County not long ago."
The Imperial Noble Consort didn't think much of what Tantai Yueming said, assuming he had misread it, but the Emperor Chu's expression changed drastically.
How could someone who sits on the throne be so stupid?
The emperor quickly realized that Tantai Yueming couldn't possibly be talking nonsense, so he immediately focused all his attention on the crown prince.
Sure enough, after Tantai Yueming said those words, a barely perceptible hint of panic flashed across his face.
But they quickly covered it up, and even so, it was still seen clearly by those with ulterior motives.
This included the Chu Emperor.
However, he wisely did not expose them. Instead, he first sent away the Imperial Noble Consort and the Crown Prince before calling the man into the Imperial Study for a detailed inquiry.
"You just said you saw the Crown Prince? When? Where?"
When Tantai Yueming heard the emperor ask this question, she took the opportunity to tell him about her encounter with Tantai Haoze and Ning Yi.
He simply concealed the Lin family's affairs, saying only that he had encountered them by chance and was now raising them at his villa.
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression became somewhat subtle.
"Since you, my brother, had already confirmed the identity of the Crown Prince, why didn't you say so before?"
The Chu Emperor had obviously also considered that Tantai Yueming might not trust him.
I felt somewhat sad.
Tantai Yueming touched his nose; he didn't want to create any rift with his elder brother over this matter.
After thinking about it, I finally found a good excuse.
"Wasn't that to win a longevity pill for my imperial brother?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Chu's expression indeed softened considerably.
So she stopped caring about him hiding things from her.
But we still need to find out the truth after the incident.
"You're saying that the child in the palace is a fake?"
According to Tantai Yueming, if the one outside the palace is real, then this one must be fake.
But even if a child tries their best to learn, there will always be shortcomings.
Besides, Haoze was a child he raised himself. If he had been switched with someone else, how could he not know?
Knowing that her words were hard to believe, Tantai Yueming simply took out a recording stone from her storage ring.
After activating it with spiritual power, let him see it for himself.
That was recorded beforehand by Lin Jiujiu at the hot spring resort that day, so that the Chu Emperor could see it with his own eyes.
It's not that it's impossible to bring Tantai Haoze directly into the palace.
This is the safest course of action until it can be fully proven that he is indeed the crown prince.
The Chu Emperor looked at the child in the memory stone who called him "Grandpa Emperor," and then watched him recount his experiences and the little secrets that only the two of them knew, his words filled with tears and blood.
The Chu Emperor was already more or less convinced.
But he still asked, "Has he been with that Ning family kid the whole time?"
Tantai Yueming nodded, but then thought of something and couldn't help but ask.
"Wasn't it you who protected the Ning family?"
Judging from this, his elder brother believed that the Ning family would not betray the country, so why would he ask this question now?
When the Chu Emperor heard his words, he was not surprised that the man had guessed it.
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