The Prince of Dongping had doubted his mother, the elder Lady Fan’s chastity, but he had never once doubted his own identity—imperial bloodline could not possibly be confused. He was absolutely, without question, a legitimate imperial grandson.
These two matters were not contradictory in the Prince of Dongping’s mind.
Both Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing were so shocked by the people before them that two of their three souls had fled, and the remaining soul swayed unsteadily within their bodies, as if ready to burst forth at any moment.
They had previously suspected Han Zhengqing’s reasons for remaining loyal to the Eastern Palace even while the elder Lady Fan was killing his wife and children, but no matter how daring their imagination, they had never conceived of such a secret hidden within!
Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing exchanged glances, feeling their very livers and gallbladders split apart. What truly terrified them this time wasn’t just the fantastical secret these people mentioned—that the Prince of Dongping wasn’t of the Crown Prince’s bloodline but was actually Han Zhengqing’s biological son—but also the purpose lurking behind this revelation. Why hadn’t Han Zhengqing jumped out to declare this matter before, yet now rushed forward in such haste to announce it?!
Surely he couldn’t simply have had a sudden whim to acknowledge his son, could he? If that were truly the case, then he must be utterly tired of living! And it was also clear he didn’t want the Prince of Dongping to continue living either!
With perfect understanding, Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing both lunged forward to restrain the enraged Prince of Dongping. This matter absolutely could not spread! With such a commotion, if Cui Yingshu caught wind of it, they would all be unable to escape death!
But this matter absolutely had to be clarified. It concerned not only the Prince of Dongping’s parentage, but also the lives and futures of the Prince of Dongping and all those who depended on him.
The Prince of Dongping’s every move had always been under Cui Yingshu’s watch. Though Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing were capable, Cui Yingshu had studied under Master Qingfeng after all, with Grand Secretary Chang as his mentor. Though he wasn’t as skilled at stratagems as Cui Shaoting, he had never been a fool.
Qian Ying bit down hard and placated the Prince of Dongping: “Your Highness, beware of walls having ears!”
A thousand words were contained in that single sentence. This matter had come upon them completely unprepared.
Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing nearly coughed up blood on the spot and died then and there, but even if they didn’t die immediately, half their lives were already gone. Half-dead or not, regardless of whether this matter was true or false, it absolutely could not be made public now, or else—
The Prince of Dongping’s reason finally returned to its proper place. He threw a punch at the head of the leader, nearly beating him to death. Though he had lived a pampered life, these past few months following Cui Yingshu in Hubei, he truly hadn’t been spared any tempering. He had gritted his teeth through even the most difficult assignments, originally hoping that this time he would earn his imperial grandfather’s favor and advance further upon returning to the capital. But suddenly this group of people arrived saying he wasn’t the Crown Prince’s son but Han Zhengqing’s son—it was simply laughable.
The Prince of Dongping stared grimly at the dozen or so people kneeling on the ground, his gaze terrifyingly cold. He looked back at Huang Yiqing and Qian Ying, no longer needing their counsel: “These accomplices of Jiang Tianping dare to slander this prince—their crime deserves death!”
What Han Zhengqing’s son? Han Zhengqing’s son was Han Zhi, who had long since died by his hand!
Compared to the Prince of Dongping who was about to vomit blood, Han Cheng actually did vomit blood—beaten out by the Prince of Dongping, which showed the magnitude of the prince’s shock.
After all, having one’s father suddenly switched out of the blue—no one could accept it, especially since no one was a fool, the Prince of Dongping least of all. Whether it was better to have the Crown Prince as his father or Han Zhengqing—that went without saying.
But this was something that couldn’t be helped! Han Cheng spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. Not daring to touch his head with his hands, he swallowed his anger and prostrated himself, kowtowing loudly to the Prince of Dongping with resounding thumps.
He was Han Zhengqing’s illegitimate younger brother, raised under Han Zhengqing’s care since childhood. If not for Han Zhengqing taking him in, given his father who cared nothing for anything, who knew whether he would even be alive today.
Now his patron and elder brother wanted him to fetch their nephew. Even if it cost him his life, he had to succeed. Otherwise, he had experienced firsthand what methods his brother was capable of.
“We’re not speaking nonsense—we have evidence too,” Han Cheng said with difficulty under the Prince of Dongping’s murderous gaze, carefully extracting a letter from his robe and handing it to the Prince of Dongping. “Your Highness the Prince, once you read this you’ll understand—”
Qian Ying’s pupils constricted slightly. Even at this moment, he still felt his spirit unmoored, feeling that perhaps he was caught in some bizarre and fantastical dream.
But how could the scene before his eyes possibly be a dream? He bit his tongue hard, trying to clear his head. His heart rose and fell uncomfortably in tumultuous waves—he was the Prince of Dongping’s trusted retainer, having followed the prince to this point. From past to present, he had experienced the most difficult situations alongside the Prince of Dongping. To be honest, though he knew in his heart the prospects weren’t great, as long as the Prince of Dongping behaved himself in the future, his status and position would at least remain—Emperor Jianzhang having him accompany Cui Yingshu to Hubei for disaster relief was proof enough of that. Just relying on Emperor Jianzhang’s current favor and pity, following the Prince of Dongping, at the very worst he still had some future prospects.
But now, forget about prospects—if what Han Cheng said was true, whether they could even preserve their lives was questionable.
Though he had thought this much, in reality it was but a split second before he made his decision. Looking at the Prince of Dongping, he advised: “Your Highness—” He was a clever man. Grasping the Prince of Dongping who was nearly beside himself with fury, he steadied his dizzy feet after a pause: “How could imperial bloodline possibly be confused? Someone must be deliberately setting a trap to harm you. You absolutely must not fall for it!”
The Prince of Dongping thought so too. For him to believe his mother had some ambiguous relationship with Han Zhengqing—that he could believe. But for him to believe he wasn’t the Crown Prince’s biological son—he would never believe it no matter what. For no other reason than his mother simply wasn’t that stupid!
He snatched the paper from Han Cheng’s hand and tore it to shreds, grinding his teeth as he grabbed Han Cheng and hauled him up: “This prince will not look! You people simply want to harm me!”
As he spoke, he ordered Huang Yiqing: “Go! Go summon Chen Dezhong. This group of people has unknown origins and suspicious identities, yet they dare to slander me—”
Han Cheng was so anxious his face turned pale. In his panic and terror, he couldn’t help but crane his neck and shout: “Does Your Highness the Prince truly intend to hand us over?! Please think carefully—we are the Marquis’s people. The Marquis’s relationship with you and Liangdi—”
The Prince of Dongping kicked him into a face-plant, then stepped forward and planted his foot on Han Cheng’s chest, so furious his head spun in dizzy waves.