Lanqin was stunned. She knew that the emperor wanted to make Hongli the crown prince, but she did not expect that the emperor would let Hongli hold a wedding in the palace so soon. This was a privilege that only the crown prince could enjoy!
Lanqin said in surprise, "Your Majesty, by doing this you are telling the entire court that you want Hongli to..."
Lanqin didn't continue speaking. She looked at the Emperor, hoping to glean his meaning from his expression.
The Emperor smiled and said, "I just want all the officials to know that I intend to make Hongli the Crown Prince, so that those with ulterior motives will behave themselves and follow me."
Lanqin knew that the person the Emperor was referring to as "having ulterior motives" was most likely the Eighth Prince.
After receiving Linlang's report that a woman named Ruan Meiying had recently captivated Hongshi, the Eighth Prince immediately sent men to investigate Ruan Meiying's background. He feared that Ruan Meiying, like Linlang, was a spy planted by someone else to infiltrate Hongshi's inner circle. If that were the case, his affair with Hongshi would be discovered, and if the Emperor found out, all his previous plans and schemes would be in vain.
At that moment, he was in his study listening to the spies recount the information they had gathered. After listening, he waved his hand and said, "I understand. You may leave now." The spies then disappeared. The spies around the Eighth Prince were surprisingly skilled, in no way inferior to the members of the Shadow Chaser Group.
After the scout left, the Eighth Prince stood up and paced around the room. This Ruan Meiying didn't have a complicated background; she was simply from a poor family, and her parents, favoring sons over daughters, had sold her to a brothel. But the strange thing was that Ruan Meiying was from Geshan Village. He remembered that Hongshi and Guan Bin had chosen Geshan Village as their target location before. Could it be…?
The Eighth Prince summoned his steward, Wang Li, who was his confidant. He asked, "Was Guan Bin's report to the Kaifeng Prefecture completely accurate?"
Wang Li replied, "Your Highness, Lord Guan wrote that the matter was handled perfectly, no one noticed anything amiss, and the local people all regard Your Highness as their savior."
The Eighth Prince breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, but you never know what might happen."
Wang Li asked, "Your Highness, has something happened?"
The Eighth Prince did not answer but instead instructed him, "Quickly send someone to find out what Hongshi's concubine Ruan Meiying's family has been doing lately."
Wang Li responded and went downstairs. Although he had doubts, he didn't dare to ask. He could only mutter to himself, "How could the Eighth Prince have designs on the Prince's concubines?"
Meanwhile, Lanqin knew what the Emperor was thinking. She also wanted those with "ulterior motives" to behave themselves. However, as a mother, she had to think of her child first. She didn't want Hongli to be seen as a thorn in someone's side so early. If others knew that the Emperor wanted to make Hongli the Crown Prince, then Hongli would never have a peaceful life again.
As a mother, she absolutely could not allow it. She didn't want her child to be caught up in the bloody struggle for the throne right after his marriage. As a mother, the most important thing to her was her child's safety. So Lanqin knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, of course I know you mean well for Hongli, but Lanqin begs you, please don't hold the wedding for Hongli in the palace. Please, I'm begging you!"
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