The Empress stopped writing and looked towards the palace gate. "The Crown Prince has arrived?"
Yan Chaoxi felt a little worried. The Empress was one of the few people who knew of Yan Wu's existence; would she see through their deception?
A tall figure walked in from outside the door, his steps steady. Yan Wu, dressed in a blue court robe, walked to the center of the hall and bowed to the Empress.
Perhaps because of Yan Chaoxi's words, the Empress was momentarily lost in thought. When she came to her senses, she smiled and said, "The Crown Prince rushed over as soon as court was over. What, is he afraid that I will bully Consort Yan?"
"Your Majesty is too kind. Your son has come to take Consort Yan back."
"I intend to keep Consort Yan in the palace to keep me company and relieve my boredom, and then let her go back in a few days. You have so many concubines in your harem, why keep such a close eye on Consort Yan?"
The Empress was subtly reminding the Crown Prince not to neglect the other women in the courtyard because of one woman.
"The concubine has only recently arrived in Daliang and is not familiar with the place. I am worried about leaving her in the palace. If Your Majesty is bored, you can let the Crown Princess come to the palace to keep you company," Yan Wu said calmly.
The Empress met those calm, unwavering eyes, her gaze unfathomable, and the strange feeling in her heart grew stronger.
The Crown Prince had grown up by her side since childhood, and the Empress knew him at least nine-tenths of what he was thinking, if not ten-tenths. To put it bluntly, she could tell whether he was about to fart or poop just by the way he turned his backside. But today's Crown Prince... she couldn't discern his thoughts at all.
The Empress's heart sank slightly.
"Since you insist on taking her back, I can't force you to stay. Since you're already here, why don't you have a meal with me before you leave? You ate cherry pastries here last time and even asked for them again. I'll have someone make some for you right now."
Yan Wu smiled and gestured to Yan Chaoxi with one hand. Yan Chaoxi quickly ran to his side. Yan Wu held her hand tightly and shielded her slightly behind him.
Then, with a pair of eyes that were completely expressionless, she lazily lifted them and asked, "Is Mother testing me?"
He smiled, but his eyes were indifferent, as if the elegant woman opposite him was not his mother, but a stranger.
Yan Chaoxi couldn't help but tighten her grip on him, holding him tightly.
The Empress's expression changed instantly, and the pen in her hand fell onto the table, smearing a large area of the newly copied scriptures. Her gaze was no longer as kind as before.
At this moment, what else could she not understand? The person standing in front of her was not her eldest son at all!
“Yan…” She opened her mouth, only to find that she didn’t even know his name. “How dare you impersonate the Crown Prince! Where is the Crown Prince?”
"What are you saying, Mother? I'm standing right in front of you, aren't I?" Yan Wucong took off a jade pendant and showed it to the Empress by the tassel on it. "That substitute was poisoned and needs an antidote once a month to alleviate the symptoms. Didn't you know that, Mother?"
That jade was personally placed on the crown prince's head by the empress when he was young. How could she not recognize it?
Yan Wu's words had a hidden meaning, and the Empress knew it. He was telling her that the real Crown Prince had been poisoned by him and that they had switched identities.
The Empress glanced at the maid behind her and told her to leave. After she left, only three people remained in the entire hall.
She spoke in a low voice, her tone laced with threat, "What do you want? He is the rightful crown prince, your own brother. You impersonated him; have you considered the possibility of being discovered, which would be a capital offense?"
"Aren't you afraid I'll expose you?"
Yan Wu raised an eyebrow, dropping the pretense. "It doesn't matter if we're discovered. At worst, I'll die, and you can announce it to the world. However, if I die, he won't live either. Do you have any other sons?"
"Mother, lunch is unnecessary. Your son will take his leave. Princess, let's go."
Yan Wu, holding Yan Chaoxi's hand, ignored the Empress at the head of the table and left directly.
On the way back, Yan Wu remained calm, but Yan Chaoxi felt a pang of heartache.
"The little princess looks so worried. Did she get scolded at Yikun Palace just now?" Yan Wu pinched her cheek.
Yan Chaoxi glanced at him, then nestled into his arms and hugged him tightly, "She's clearly your mother too..."
Yan Wu smiled and said, "I stopped caring a long time ago. The only person I care about now is you."
For the past twenty-five years, he has been unfamiliar with the concept of family affection, having never experienced it, and therefore will not be disappointed.
"Won't she expose you?"
The Crown Prince was raised by the Empress, and the bond between them was genuine. It was inevitable that she would do something like risking her younger son's life to protect her older son.
“No.” Yan Wu said with certainty, “She only has two sons. I just hinted to her that if I die, Yan Huainan will also die. At that time, she will have no children, the throne will fall into the hands of someone else, and all her plans in the first half of her life will be in vain.”
"At that time, the new emperor will most likely be the fifth prince. The fifth prince's birth mother, Consort Lin, is still alive. If he ascends the throne, Consort Lin will definitely not tolerate the empress, and the empress's maternal family will also be feared by the new emperor, who will try every means to eliminate them. She will understand the stakes involved."
Just as Yan Wusi had imagined, the Empress was indeed wary.
She never imagined things would turn out this way. Back then, when she gave birth to twins who looked exactly alike, she discussed with the emperor sending her younger son away. How could she not feel pain in her heart? During that time, she cried every day thinking of her children, but as time went by, that longing was gradually replaced by her feelings for the crown prince.
Five years later, she saw the child again. His childish voice respectfully addressed her as "Your Majesty the Empress," and the Empress felt a complex mix of emotions. To this day, mother and son are like strangers, their relationship maintained only by self-interest.
If the truth were revealed, the Crown Prince would die from the poison without the antidote, and she would lose both of her sons. The Empress did not want such a thing to happen.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com