Song Xibai opened her beautiful eyes slightly, looking at Lord Fang with surprise and astonishment.
"My lord..."
Mr. Fang smiled slightly.
"Although I am at odds with the Left Censor-in-Chief, I am still able to distinguish right from wrong when it comes to matters of principle."
When Lord Fang was in the Censorate, he had a bad relationship with Censor Zhou. He was arrogant and looked down on everyone. He also had a fiery temper and often confronted and argued with Censor Zhou in the court.
This is also why the emperor chose him to accompany the crown prince out of the capital.
It's true that Lord Fang looks down on eunuchs, but even so, the Crown Prince was assassinated and disappeared, and the Crown Prince's personal eunuch was repeatedly targeted for assassination. How could Lord Fang not guess what was going on?
Lord Fang was stubborn. He believed that if the Crown Prince was truly incompetent, had flaws, and had made a serious mistake, then it would be right to depose him. However, since the Crown Prince had not done anything wrong, the Emperor repeatedly wanted to depose the eldest son and establish the younger one in his place, which was not right.
Furthermore, the fact that the Crown Prince was actually attacked and murdered was something that even the upright Lord Fang couldn't stand, which is why he agreed to Eunuch Feng's request.
After saying that, Lord Fang took out a small purse from his sleeve.
Song Xibai took the purse, stroked the bamboo leaf pattern on it, her eyes reddened, and she almost shed tears.
This was the first and only time she embroidered a purse for the Crown Prince.
"Thank you, sir."
Song Xibai bowed solemnly to Lord Fang, deeply moved.
Fearing that Song Xibai might not understand the purpose of the precious seal, Lord Fang carefully explained it to her.
"His Highness the Crown Prince's seal has considerable authority. For example, it can mobilize a team of imperial guards for protection. Furthermore, if any official below the fourth rank offends him, he can be executed first and reported later."
Lord Fang didn't finish his sentence, but Song Xibai understood.
This is equivalent to an imperial edict.
If the emperor is absent, then the crown prince, as the heir apparent, can oversee the country in his father's stead and thus exercise some of the emperor's powers. What Lord Fang said is a minor matter; the most important thing is that with this seal of authority, Song Xibai can contact officials outside the capital and even win over court officials.
Currently, Song Xibai can only command the Crown Prince's secret guards and some personnel from the Eastern Palace. He is not qualified to interact with outsiders, such as advisors or officials from prominent families who follow the Crown Prince.
During this time, Song Xibai has been living a secluded life, staying at the estate and not going anywhere. Apart from writing letters to the two princesses, she has not had contact with anyone else.
Meanwhile, the Zhou and Guo families, along with other forces affiliated with the Crown Prince, only kept a close watch on the estate without taking the initiative to contact it.
But now, things are different.
Song Xibai held the small seal in her purse and let out a long breath.
After completing his task, Lord Fang dared not linger for long and left immediately.
To avoid attracting attention, he didn't even take a carriage when he came to the estate; he rode a horse quietly.
Fang Dawen, who came from a civil service background, originally did not know how to ride a horse, but he learned to ride one in order to escape on the way back to the capital.
After seeing Lord Fang off, Song Xibai couldn't sleep anymore and kept looking at the precious seal in her hand.
"He even handed this over to someone else in advance, so it seems he had anticipated that something bad would happen."
Song Xibai muttered to himself.
"Then why hasn't he come back yet? What's going on in Changde Prefecture that's keeping him here for so long? He can't even care about the changing situation in the capital?"
Song Xibai considered several possibilities, but could not be certain about any of them.
She sighed, patted her cheeks, and quickly cheered herself up.
In any case, before the Crown Prince returns to the capital, we must find a way to make the situation in the capital more favorable.
Song Xibai wasn't worried about the civil officials, since the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather was there!
As for the military commanders...
Song Xibai's eyes flickered, and suddenly an idea came to her.
The rumors about the Crown Prince subsided after a few days, and were replaced by rumors about the Eighth Prince.
They said that auspicious clouds appeared in the sky when the Eighth Prince was born, that he was exceptionally intelligent, and that he was extremely filial—they piled up every good word they could think of.
Within two days, the streets and alleys, even the beggars outside the city, all knew that the Eighth Prince had saved a bird with a broken wing when he was a child.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the emperor, having returned from the morning court session, looked at the tall stack of memorials on his desk with a somber expression.
Chen Dafu led the group in.
"Your Majesty, would you like some tea and snacks? Today, the Imperial Kitchen used the freshest lotus seeds to make lotus seed paste pastries. I'll also have someone brew a pot of Lao Jun Mei tea, how about that?"
The emperor seemed to snap out of his reverie, glanced at Chen Dafu, and hummed in acknowledgment.
Chen Dafu immediately bowed and withdrew. Not long after, he returned with snacks and tea.
He had just put down his teacup when he suddenly heard the emperor's faint voice.
"Chen Dafu, tell me, is the Eighth Prince really as gifted as the rumors say, a chosen one?"
These words startled Chen Dafu so much that he almost knocked over his teacup.
He forced a smile, not daring to look up, and could only reply.
“Well, His Highness the Eighth Prince is Your Majesty’s son, so naturally he is exceptionally intelligent.”
The emperor scoffed.
"I have always favored the Eighth Prince, and everyone in and outside the palace knows this, but I never knew that rumors were circulating outside the palace that the Eighth Prince had the appearance of a benevolent and virtuous ruler! What virtue or ability could a child of ten years old possibly possess? Humph!"
In the end, his temper flared, and the emperor slammed his fist on the table.
Chen Dafu's heart skipped a beat, just like the things on the table.
"These are just rumors, Your Majesty. Why should you care? His Highness is still young and certainly doesn't know about these things."
The emperor's expression was stern.
"He doesn't know, but some people are already getting anxious."
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