"Mmm! Yan Wu, you're so nice!" Yan Chaoxi affectionately nuzzled his neck.
The little princess's emotions came and went quickly. One moment she was worried and crying, and the next she was playfully acting cute towards him, which made Yan Wu unable to help but smile.
How good is it?
The little princess thought for a moment, then sweetly said, "In my heart, it's the second best in the world!"
"Only second? Shouldn't he be first?"
"My dearest is my mother, but sadly she has passed away. In my memory, she loved me very much and was the best person to me." Yan Chaoxi's voice gradually lowered.
Seeing this, Yan Wu was afraid that she would become sad again, so he quickly changed the subject. He knew that Yan Chaoxi was a person with her own ideas, so he asked her in a low voice, "Your Highness, what do you plan to do?"
Yan Chaoxi's attention was successfully diverted, and she clenched her fist.
"I think we can keep this secret for now and secretly send a message to the people in the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, so that the Prince of Zhenbei can discuss this matter with you. Now that you have leverage over the Crown Princess, the Prince of Zhenbei might be able to lend you a hand at a crucial moment."
Since Yan Wu's identity was not recognized by the Emperor and Empress, he only had two paths if he wanted to appear openly in front of everyone: one was to change his name and leave the capital, living a resentful life; the other was to let someone else sit on the dragon throne.
The latter was utterly rebellious, and if he were to be exposed carelessly, his life would be in danger. Yan Wu was afraid she would worry, so he never told her about his plans. But Yan Chaoxi wasn't stupid; she could guess his thoughts from the things he was busy with every day.
To rebel, one must have military power.
The two of them tacitly understood each other when faced with this topic.
...
The group returned home at noon the next day.
The Crown Princess had already been sent down the mountain and back to the Crown Prince's residence overnight, where she was confined to her quarters.
When Yan Wu went down the mountain, he sent someone to deliver a message to the people of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. When they returned to the mansion, the Crown Princess's mother, the Zhenbei Prince's Consort, had been waiting for them for a long time.
Yan Wuxian escorted Yan Chaoxi back to Qingfeng Garden, and then met with the Princess of Zhenbei in the front courtyard.
When the Princess Consort of Zhenbei asked him how he planned to deal with the Crown Princess, Yan Wu wrote a letter and asked her to send it to the Prince of Zhenbei, who was far away in the northern frontier.
"Please convey to Your Highness that whether the Crown Princess lives or dies, and whether she can remain in this position, depends entirely on the decision of the Prince of Zhenbei."
Princess Zhenbei didn't know what was written in the letter, but according to Yan Wu, if her family didn't cooperate, her daughter would most likely be divorced! Her family had finally produced a Crown Princess, and Princess Zhenbei was unwilling to let her hopes of so many years be dashed.
She accepted the letter and promised to deliver it back.
"May I see the Crown Princess?"
Yan Wu refused, saying, "The Crown Princess has committed a grave error. I have ordered her to be kept under strict guard, and no one is allowed to visit her."
Knowing that they were in the wrong, Princess Zhenbei did not insist further.
She had previously given the Crown Princess advice on how to punish those seductive concubines, and even for those pregnant concubines, she and the Crown Princess had tried to abort their children.
Unexpectedly, he has now suffered a major setback because of a concubine from Dongqi.
...
Wei Xinran was sent back to the Li family by guards from the Crown Prince's residence. Upon arriving at the Li family, the guards explained the whole story to the Li family, omitting the part about the Crown Princess.
Li Taiwei was furious and bluntly stated that Wei Xinran had disgraced the Li family. The second young master of the Li family, who was constantly being controlled by Wei Xinran and had to defer to her when taking a concubine, had long disliked her and immediately wanted to divorce her and send her back to the Wei family.
Feeling betrayed, he flew into a rage and led a group to General Weiwu's mansion to cause a scene. After being kicked out, he shouted at the gate that Fan Yuanxin had forcibly taken another man's wife and was a lecherous man with no real reputation.
Fan Yuanxin was not about to take the blame, so he immediately confronted the Second Young Master Li, claiming that Wei Xinran had seduced him and deliberately drunk the drugged tea before coming to him. He dared not mention the Crown Princess, but he showed no mercy to the Li family.
Li Er Gongzi was furious and rushed up to fight with Fan Yuanxin.
Fan Yuanxin was a military general, while Li Er Gongzi was just a weak scholar. He was easily beaten to the ground by Fan Yuanxin. If Li Taiwei and his wife had not arrived in time, Li Er Gongzi might have been crippled.
A large crowd of onlookers had gathered, many of whom were initially unaware of the matter. Now, everyone in the streets and alleys was gossiping that Fan Yuanxin, an old man, had been caught having an affair with the wife of the Second Young Master Li at the temple by the Crown Prince and sent back home.
Thus, the feud between the Fan and Li families was completely sealed.
The matter was quickly written into a memorial by the Imperial Censor and presented to the Emperor. The Imperial Censor was eloquent and described the whole incident vividly, adding his own opinions and vilifying Fan Yuanxin as utterly worthless, making him appear as a shameless scoundrel.
The emperor was furious: "Where is Fan Yuanxin?!"
Fan Yuanxin stepped forward shakily, "Your subject is here."
"You can't even handle your own private affairs properly, yet you've done such a shameful thing with the Li family's daughter-in-law. I think you can't handle official business in this position either."
"Starting tomorrow, your position in the court will be taken over by someone else, and you will also hand over your military power. From now on, you should stay at home and reflect on your actions!"
Fan Yuanxin's face paled, but he dared not refute. If the emperor knew that he had slept with the Crown Princess, he would only punish him more severely.
"Your subject obeys the decree."
The emperor's gaze swept across the room and landed on the fifth prince. "Fifth Prince, who do you think should succeed Fan Yuanxin in his position in the capital?"
Fan Yuanxin held one-third of the military power in the Great Liang Dynasty and also served as the commander of the Imperial Guards in the capital. This was a powerful position, which is why Yan Huainan and the Fifth Prince had been trying to win Fan Yuanxin over.
The Fifth Prince was secretly pleased and recommended someone from his side.
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