Chapter 335 Recognizing Relatives
The Crown Prince gripped his belt, looking helplessly at the two pillars of the Great Zhou: "Do you two really have to tell me this at this time?"
Su Junyao coughed lightly, "Please forgive me, Your Highness, I was being presumptuous." After saying that, he grabbed Lu Wenzheng and left, not forgetting to considerately close the door for the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince naturally wouldn't keep the two of them waiting long. When they returned to the council hall, the two of them were actually dozing off with their chins propped up on their hands.
Fine, fine, so you won't let me sleep if I can't sleep well, huh?
"Cough cough cough!" The crown prince coughed loudly a few times at the door, which woke the two of them up.
Both men looked bewildered. The Crown Prince walked past them and sat down in the hall. "Are you two ministers now lucid?"
Su Junyao was somewhat embarrassed. "As Your Highness knows, my wife was unconscious for a day, and I was exhausted from taking care of her."
Lu Wenzheng's eyes were deep and unfathomable: "Do I need to explain my reasons?"
He's been sleeping in the yard for five days now!
They understood Lu Wenzheng's situation, but there was nothing they could do but sympathize with her. Women can be as fierce as tigers when they're jealous, it's terrifying!
The Crown Prince said, “Yan Jiamu is the holy son of the Turks. Although he is young, my father is still angry and may punish him. Even if I plead for him, it will probably be to no avail.”
The Third Prince's origins are now an unsolved mystery. His father, the Emperor, is so humiliated by being cuckolded that he's practically ready to devour anyone, and no one dares to provoke him.
"Why should my two ministers offend the Emperor for the sake of a Turkic child?"
"Your Highness, that's no ordinary child!"
What do you mean by that?
Su Junyao approached the Crown Prince and whispered in his ear. The Crown Prince's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "Is this true? He really is..."
"Your Highness!" Lu Wenzheng interrupted the Crown Prince, "Your Majesty, please give the princess some face."
The crown prince sighed, acknowledging that it was his fault.
Now that he has obtained the military power left by Princess Fufeng, he will naturally take good care of her son.
"Don't worry, I will protect Yan Jiamu's life. It's just that I need to consider Father..."
Lu Wenzheng answered first, "Your Highness can rest assured that everything is under the care of Marquis Wenyang!"
Su Junyao clicked his tongue lightly, thinking that the old man really knew how to get him work.
Crown Prince: "Is Marquis Wenyang facing any difficulties?"
It's going to be very difficult!
Su Junyao: "I believe this matter requires further consideration. If I may be so bold as to ask, what is the current status of the Third Prince's situation?"
The Crown Prince's face darkened further when this was mentioned; he simply couldn't understand how the Third Prince, with whom he had grown up, had become a bastard.
I originally thought he just wanted to usurp the throne, but I never expected he wanted to overthrow the Great Zhou!
"The Queyu clan insists that the Third Prince is Najia Canglan's son, and that he is hiding in the palace so that one day they can work together to wipe out the Great Zhou royal family. They also say that the Third Prince has a wolf totem on his body, but we have not found any mark on him."
Emperor Jingming felt that none of this was unfounded and that a thorough investigation was necessary.
This investigation revealed that Naga Canglan had indeed visited the capital sixteen years ago, and had died there. His body was even transported back to the Turkic Khaganate by the Queyu clan.
The timing coincides perfectly with the birth time of the third prince.
The Crown Prince asked the two men, "What do you think I should do to begin the investigation?"
Su Junyao hesitated: "You forgot, there is another person who was born at the same time as the Third Prince."
The crown prince did not understand.
Su Junyao said, "Consort Zhao!"
"But Consort Zhao gave birth to a stillborn child."
"The Empress, who was carefully cared for, gave birth to a stillborn child, while the young palace maid who gave birth alone in the Cold Palace gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Doesn't Your Highness find anything amiss?"
The crown prince wasn't stupid; he immediately understood. "What a clever scheme to switch the crown prince!"
This Consort Zhao is truly a master of disguise!
Consort Zhao had no children and posed no threat to the other concubines. Naturally, the Empress wouldn't pay him much attention. By spoiling the Zhao family's only son and neglecting him, the Emperor wouldn't fear the Zhao family. This gave them the opportunity to secretly develop their power and collude with the Turks.
However, there is still one problem...
"Did you already know about this, Lord Marquis?"
Su Junyao shrugged: "Ask Qiuqiu!"
Lu Wenzheng was shocked. How could Su Junyao be so despicable! He dared to pin this on Qiuqiu? If he dared to let the little one take the blame, he was afraid he would never be able to go back to this family.
What shocked him even more was that... one of them dared to say it and the other dared to believe it!
"Your Highness, why are you nodding?" Lu Wenzheng's expression gradually twisted. Between investigating the truth and framing the Third Prince, they actually chose to let Qiuqiu take the blame.
"Are you planning to go before His Majesty and say that the evidence that the Third Prince is Naga Canglan's son was provided by Qiuqiu?"
Is he insane, or are the Crown Prince and Su Junyao insane?
Crown Prince: "It's not impossible."
You should be able to listen to what the little monster says, right?
Lu Wenzheng: "?"
Just as Lu Wenzheng was wondering if the world had really gone terribly insane, Liang Shi came to report that Gongsun Zhi and Songbai had arrived.
The Crown Prince was puzzled; why were these two here at this hour?
But he still ordered someone to bring him in.
Songbai's steps were unsteady, his face was as pale as a ghost, and he walked while trembling as if he had epilepsy.
Gongsun Zhi walked steadily, without any sign of anything amiss.
But the fact that this engaged couple went out together was already the biggest oddity.
Before the Crown Prince could speak, Songbai had already slid down to his knees and pleaded for mercy, grabbing the Crown Prince's leg. His practiced movements were heartbreaking.
"Your Highness, please save me!" Songbai cried out in a shrill voice, making the Crown Prince's ears hurt. "It was Qiuqiu who sent me. She said only you can save us!"
The Crown Prince glanced at Su Junyao, who immediately waved his hand to indicate that he knew nothing about it.
Chiu Chiu has friends everywhere; who knows when she'll sneak out to meet someone new? Even her father can't control her!
As Songbai cried, she became genuinely emotional, and the more she thought about it, the more unlucky she felt. She was the great traitor that Qiuqiu had mentioned!
"Why am I so miserable?!"
Gongsun Zhi frowned, raising her hand to pull up the pine and cypress branches, not caring about the embarrassment. But... she really was unlucky, which was understandable.
Crown Prince: "Songbai, I have saved you. Now, I ask you, what wrong have you committed?"
He glanced at Gongsun Zhi: "If it's about taking Jingning out of the palace, then there's no need to mention it. The Empress Dowager has already told me about it. This matter is not your fault."
Songbai choked, then gestured slightly with his thumb and forefinger: "Even more serious."
"How serious?" Gongsun Zhi asked first, what trouble could Songbai possibly cause?
Songbai said, "You're deceiving the emperor!"
"Deceiving the Emperor?!" The Crown Prince couldn't help but raise his voice, "The two of you?"
Songbai and Gongsun Zhi nodded in unison: "Yes, it's us, along with the Song family and the Gongsun family. But Your Highness, you must believe us; we were forced into this situation."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Junyao said to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, didn't you want evidence? The evidence has been delivered to your door!"
He shoved the pine and cypress branches in front of the Crown Prince, saying, "This is the best proof that the Third Prince is not of royal blood!"
The Crown Prince's eye twitched: "You don't mean to say that Songbai is the child born in the Cold Palace, do you?"
Su Junyao: "Your Highness is wise!"
"Your Highness, this is your own sister!"
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