Chapter 14 What a terrifying dream!
"The second son's wife has been dead for more than ten years, how could such a grown son suddenly appear?"
The first reaction of the eldest prince, Duan Wang, was disbelief.
He was five years older than the Crown Prince and knew everything about the Crown Prince. Not to mention now, even more than ten years ago, he had never heard of the Crown Prince having affairs. Moreover, there had been previous cases of people claiming kinship, but they were all exposed and severely punished. He never expected that someone would dare to defy the law.
That's right, Prince Duan's first reaction was that it was fake.
The third prince, Prince Qi, was extremely anxious. At first, he didn't believe it either, but the people he sent out all came back saying that the prince looked exactly like the crown prince.
"Big brother, don't disbelieve me, fourth brother saw the person too."
King Qi pointed to the person sitting silently beside him. The fourth prince had a good relationship with the crown prince, and he was also shocked and a little flustered when he heard about this.
The fourth prince, Prince Zhao, went to wait at the entrance of the examination hall. When he saw the man in the distance, he took a sip of tea and said calmly, "My father and mother have both sent people to protect him, so it's probably true."
His words caused the other two men to feel a chill in their hearts.
If the fourth brother has said so, then it's pretty much true.
"Is it really that similar? One look and you know it's the second son without a doubt?"
Prince Duan didn't see it with his own eyes, so he doesn't know what it looks like, or whether it's something that would make people think the second prince's biological son after just one meeting.
The Third Prince had already believed it. He sighed and said, "Brother, let me be frank. Father has already sent his trusted confidants to Fourteenth Street to protect that top scholar from Qingyang. You know Physician Zhao, right? He was the Crown Prince's personal physician before, and he's the one who went this time."
Prince Duan: ...
"Then all these years of our lives have been wasted?"
Knowing they had lost the competition for the throne, they set their sights on their sons, striving to cultivate them and gain their favor in the competition for the crown prince position.
Now they're being told that all their efforts over the past decade have been in vain, and the position of Crown Prince is going to be handed to them out of nowhere. The sunk costs are just too high.
I really can't accept this.
What's even more disheartening is that this soon-to-be-appointed imperial grandson is only a provincial graduate (解元).
Being exceptionally talented yourself is what truly inspires despair.
King Qi thought so too: "Eldest brother, fourth brother, do you think second brother did it on purpose? He was hiding it all this time, and he was happy to see us break down, wasn't he? He was so desperate before, but it turns out he's already hiding a biological son."
Seeing that his third brother, the King of Qi, was speaking recklessly, the King of Zhao spoke up to stop him: "Third brother, watch your words. Second brother is not that kind of person. We don't know what happened."
Prince Duan had a fiery temper, and just hearing Prince Qi speak made him feel a surge of anger: "So that's why he went to be the chief examiner of the imperial examinations."
He's paving the way for his son.
That's a brilliant tactic, a clever scheme.
"Then could we start with the imperial examinations?"
King Qi's eyes lit up, sensing that things had taken a turn for the better.
Prince Duan looked up and met his gaze: "I will visit Chief Minister Cui when I have time."
"Waiting for good news from your elder brother."
King Qi felt as if he had come back to life.
The fourth prince, Prince Zhao, shook his head where they weren't looking, his thoughts differing from those of his two older brothers.
it's useless.
He had already received the secret letter and checked it, which is why he went to the entrance of the examination hall to wait and wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.
Ye Jianshan, the top scholar from Qingyang, was indeed quite talented, and had always lived in the Qingyang area without ever having any contact with the Crown Prince.
He kept a low profile upon arriving in the capital, remaining secluded and not venturing out. It's likely that he only realized something was amiss after meeting with the Crown Prince at the Imperial Examination Hall.
It seems this is fate.
His child is young, and he never intended to compete for the position of Crown Prince. It seems that his previous decision was correct.
He always felt that it was impossible for the crown prince to remain unmarried and childless forever.
Although he is not married, he already has a sixteen-year-old son who is very outstanding.
If Ye Jianshan achieves good results in this spring's imperial examination, then half of the court officials will surely support him to become the crown prince.
After all, Ye Jianshan passed the imperial examination on his own merit, and the court officials were selected from the imperial examinations. If Ye Jianshan were to become the Crown Prince, these people would probably support him wholeheartedly.
This top scholar from Qingyang had the same life experience as most people in the court, which was something that his elder brother's and third brother's children could not match.
The palace has been quiet and deserted before, but it will probably be lively soon.
The palace was already bustling with activity. Several concubines who were on good terms with the Empress came to her to inquire about news, but the Empress was tight-lipped about this matter. Not only did she not say anything, she also threatened all the people who came.
She went back and sent another group of people to protect her grandson.
No matter who gets into trouble, the young prince must not get into trouble.
She'd see who dared to lay a finger on Ye Jianshan.
But the Empress's reaction means it must be true.
No one expected that the Crown Prince had such a grown child who was living away from home.
That's really surprising.
Consort Shu, Consort De, and Consort Li are the mothers of the eldest prince, Prince Duan, the third prince, Prince Qi, and the fourth prince, Prince Zhao, respectively. They usually fight each other to the death for the position of Crown Prince, and now they are so angry that they almost vomit blood when they hear this news.
It was that vile woman, Li, who reaped the benefits again. When the Crown Prince was established, she rose to the position of Empress because of her son. However, because the Crown Prince was a romantic, he refused to remarry after the death of his Crown Princess and had no descendants for more than ten years. The three of them thought that at least half of the position of Empress Dowager could be given to them.
Then, out of nowhere, another person appeared who claimed to look exactly like the Crown Prince.
The news spread throughout the palace and beyond, that the Qingyang Jieyuan was the Crown Prince's biological son, and that the two looked exactly alike.
Everyone was overjoyed; the position of Crown Prince was finally going to be secured.
Consort De, Consort Shu, and Consort Li couldn't vent their anger, because if anything happened to the top scholar from Qingyang, it would eventually implicate them.
Lady Li is truly blessed; she must have received the news when she left the palace with the Emperor that day.
They kept it a secret for so many days. It must have been hilarious to watch them fight like clowns. They must have been grinning from ear to ear behind their backs.
The three of them were so angry they almost vomited blood. They had made a rare appointment to get together, but when they actually met, they couldn't say anything. It was too embarrassing.
"What exactly is the background of that top scholar from Qingyang?"
Consort De almost lost her composure, and gritted her teeth as she spoke of the top scholar from Qingyang.
"Who knows? Did it just suddenly appear, or was it only discovered after we entered the examination hall? This must have been prevented in advance."
Consort Shu felt that Lady Li and the Crown Prince were the most scheming, and the Crown Prince's son had also followed their example, being very cunning.
Which scholar doesn't participate in literary gatherings and poetry recitals? But this top scholar from Qingyang is so shameful; he's definitely hiding something big.
"What should we do now?"
Consort Li was quite open-minded. The main problem was that her son was useless, and she was the only one fighting in the palace. He had no intention of vying for the position of Crown Prince for her grandson.
Looking back now, her son was right to not fight back. He didn't fight back then, and now things have turned out this way. She's exhausted.
"What can we do? Investigate! Find out who this Qingyang Jieyuan is and how he got to the capital."
Consort De did not believe that he had simply come to the capital to take the imperial examination.
The Emperor has finished his investigation. It is likely that Ye Yun, the younger sister of the Ye family, is the Crown Princess who disappeared sixteen years ago.
That is, Ye Jianshan's mother.
"Ye Yun doesn't want Ye Jianshan to take the imperial examination. It seems he knows that he will be exposed sooner or later."
The Emperor put down the secret letter in his hand and sighed.
Do you hate them that much?
She would rather ruin her son's future than have him have any further connection with the royal family.
Fortunately, Ye Jianshan persisted.
No wonder he only joined the competition in the last three years; Ye Yun must have been the one stopping him from participating before.
The Empress was also filled with mixed feelings: "Da Shan's uncle said that he and Da Shan didn't keep their word. It seems we still need to see Ye Yun's attitude."
"Take it slow, as long as the little prince is in the capital."
Don't go back to Qingyang. With so many people watching, if something really happens, the Emperor will be worried to death.
"Yes, send some more people over. They basically know everything they need to know. Has the Crown Prince returned to the palace?"
As she spoke, the Empress asked the palace servants about the Crown Prince's whereabouts.
"The Crown Prince is still busy at the examination hall and hasn't come out yet."
The Crown Prince was the chief examiner, and even if he was in a hurry, he couldn't leave. As the person primarily responsible, he had to stay until the end.
"I understand."
The Empress's heart is now with Ye Jianshan outside the palace, and so is the Emperor's; they both want to see him: "I heard that Dashan had a fever when he came out, and Ye Lei carried him onto the carriage. This Imperial Physician Zhao didn't even send a message back."
"Let's go take a look."
The Empress was already worried about the child's health, and now she was even more anxious upon hearing this.
"Go later. There are too many people around now. With Physician Zhao here, you can rest assured."
Although the Emperor and Empress were anxious to see Ye Jianshan's condition, they waited until evening before leaving the palace.
Guo Yu originally planned to come to Fourteenth Street to check on Ye Jianshan's situation as soon as he finished dealing with matters at the Imperial Examination Hall, but he was caught and questioned by the Crown Prince.
"What exactly happened?"
The Crown Prince stared coldly at Guo Yu; he had been holding back for nine days.
He didn't believe Guo Yu was unaware of the situation.
Guo Yu knelt down without speaking, which was considered an admission, but he still defended himself by saying, "When my subordinates escorted the Crown Princess away, they did not know that she was already pregnant."
The crown prince kicked him to the ground: "So it really was you who did it..."
He trusted Guo Yu so much, but he never expected Guo Yu to treat him like this.
Guo Yu remained silent, which only fueled the Crown Prince's anger. He said resentfully, "Why didn't you tell me?"
The crown prince knew the answer without waiting for a reply.
If you survive the first death while around him, there will be a second wave of death crises.
Even if you leave, you can still have a chance to survive.
"Fine, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Go to Ye Jianshan's side and stay by his side."
The Crown Prince is currently unavailable; he can only make the trip in person after he finishes reviewing and grading the examination papers for the imperial examinations.
"Your subordinate obeys."
Guo Yu was surprised by the unexpected joy.
When Ye Jianshan woke up after sleeping for a few hours to use the restroom, he saw a group of people gathered around his bed, which startled him awake: "Who are you?"
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was dead and that they were keeping vigil for him here.
They were all dressed in black, it was quite frightening.
No one expected him to open his eyes so suddenly, and for a moment they were speechless.
The Emperor and Empress panicked, their mouths agape for a long time, unsure what to say. Finally, they said, "Go and relieve yourself."
The crowd made way for him, practically escorting Ye Jianshan to the outhouse.
Ye Jianshan, who was so frightened he lost all feeling: ...
Grandpa, grandma, big brother, old man, you haven't said who you are yet, and who is his third uncle?
Ye Jianshan felt like he was still dreaming.
It's a bit scary to dream about needing to use the toilet.
He said urgently, "I'm not going, I'm not going, I don't want to go."
He doesn't want to wet the bed!
This dream was terrifying!
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