“This Lu Ping is laughably foolish.”

Prince Rong gave a cold laugh, his words laden with contempt and indifference: “At a time like this, he actually thinks he can come here to claim old friendship with this Prince, hoping to pry out news about Prince Yan. What a blockhead who cannot read the situation!”

At a time like this, instead of keeping his distance from Prince Yan, he was still rushing forward to draw closer.

He would not be satisfied until he had staked the entire Lu family on this.

Princess Consort Rong asked, puzzled: “Why does Your Highness say this? Surely those letters alone cannot be enough to convict Prince Yan? Why does Your Highness declare so confidently at this moment that Prince Yan will be crushed?”

Prince Rong and his princess consort shared a deep and affectionate bond, and he spoke to her without much concealment. He said mildly: “The assassination attempt at the traveling palace happened half a year ago. Before now, nothing could be found out about it. After Crown Grandson captured Prince An alive and brought him back, the finger immediately pointed directly at Prince Yan, and with it came irrefutable evidence.”

“Think carefully about it — this matter is no ordinary affair.”

Princess Consort Rong suddenly understood: “Does Your Highness mean that behind all of this, Crown Grandson has been stirring things along?”

More than merely stirring things along.

It was more likely that Crown Grandson had single-handedly created this magnificent situation.

The Crown Prince had come within a hair’s breadth of death at the traveling palace. The Crown Prince’s residence and Prince Yan’s residence were now locked in a struggle where only one could survive. For Crown Grandson to take the initiative and strike was entirely to be expected.

And the stroke of using Prince An to testify against Prince Yan — truly brilliant.

Prince Rong smiled with a meaningful depth: “In any case, just wait and watch the show unfold. In this Prince’s estimation, Prince Yan will find it very difficult to escape responsibility this time.”

Crown Grandson had already made his move, so he certainly still had more to come. With Prince Yan trapped in the Court of the Imperial Clan and his faction left without a leader, how long could those so-called Prince Yan loyalists hold out?

Princess Consort Rong could not help but say: “In those days, Empress Xu was so overbearing and domineering — she forced us to send Fumin away to the frontier passes in a marriage. We could not resist, and could only endure the pain of sending Fumin out of the capital. Now, mother and son have finally received their retribution.”

At the mention of his beloved daughter, Prince Rong too felt deeply unsettled. He put his arm around the princess consort’s shoulder and said quietly: “Even without you saying it, I will not forget these things. Rest assured — as for what needs to be done, I know what I am about.”

He had no need to deliberately side with the Crown Prince. He only needed to keep a firm watch over Prince Yan, ensure Prince Yan could make no moves, and drop a few subtle hints in the Emperor’s presence — that would be more than enough to give Prince Yan a headache.

Just as they were speaking, the gatekeeper brought in several calling cards.

Those who had sent cards were mostly officials under Prince Yan’s command, with one or two who were close to the Crown Prince — all of them wanting to probe from his lips what news there might be of Prince Yan in the Court of the Imperial Clan.

Prince Rong remained unmoved and utterly indifferent, and refused to see any of them.

Everyone at court was watching closely for developments in Prince Yan’s case.

Several days later, Crown Grandson personally led guards into Prince Yan’s estate to conduct a thorough search.

Princess Consort Yan was so frightened that she fainted on the spot and was carried into a room. When she came around, she found that Prince Yan’s estate had been utterly turned upside down.

All the guards of Prince Yan’s estate had been detained and placed under watch. The managers of the estate were taken away one by one for questioning. She, as Princess Consort Yan, was also placed under house arrest in her room, not permitted to step outside by even half a pace.

At her side, only a single personal maid remained. Everyone else was gone without a trace.

“What is happening outside now?” Princess Consort Yan asked, her body trembling, her pretty face drained of color.

The maid was so frightened she too was out of her wits, and reported through tears: “This servant is not certain either. I only vaguely heard it said that Crown Grandson led men to search through every inch of the Prince’s study, and discovered some letters.”

What letters?

Princess Consort Yan’s mind was a fog of confusion, and she could not think through what it meant.

After a long while, a thought finally flashed through her mind.

Princess Consort Yan’s whole body trembled uncontrollably, and her voice trembled along with it: “What letters did you say? Could they be letters Prince An wrote to His Highness?”

The maid’s face was a picture of panic and helplessness. She stammered: “This servant only heard that one sentence. Afterward, I was driven back into the room and have not stepped out since. The specifics of what happened, this servant does not know.”

It must be! It must be the letters An Wang wrote to Prince Yan that have been found!

That is why Crown Grandson dared to seal off Prince Yan’s estate, and showed not the slightest mercy even toward her, his princess consort.

If Crown Grandson brought these letters before the Emperor, the evidence would be as solid as a mountain. And Prince Yan was still detained in the Court of the Imperial Clan — he could not even speak a single word in his own defense.

What was to be done? What could possibly be done now?

Princess Consort Yan stared with blank, unseeing eyes. Her mind was a complete void, and tears poured forth without stopping.

These letters were quickly sent into the palace and presented before the Emperor.

The letters had been found in a hidden chamber within Prince Yan’s study. They were identical to those discovered in Noble Consort Li’s chambers — not a single letter fewer, not a single word different.

In addition to these letters, Crown Grandson had also investigated and uncovered several of Prince Yan’s informants within the palace.

Among them, two had previously carried verbal messages between Noble Consort Li and Prince Yan.

With both physical and witness evidence complete, the Emperor, though he had already steeled himself for something like this, was still unable to contain his fury when he witnessed it firsthand. In his rage, he fell into a faint right there at the scene.

This time, the unconscious spell lasted a full five days.

Wei Yan and the others fought with all their might to save him, and the Emperor finally came around.

But after awakening this time, the Emperor could no longer move half his body.

This condition was commonly known as apoplexy.

For a common person stricken with such an ailment, death was all that awaited. The Emperor was the supreme ruler under heaven with power over all, yet suffering from this affliction, he was no different from any ordinary person.

No matter how fine the medicine, no matter how exquisite the medical skill, there was little that could be done.

Having gone without sleep for days, Wei Yan’s face was already lined with exhaustion.

Beside him, Imperial Physician Zhou and the others also wore grave expressions. The imperial physicians exchanged glances. Though they all understood clearly the Emperor’s present condition, not one of them dared speak it aloud.

The Crown Prince, his face etched with worry, asked urgently: “How is Imperial Father’s condition, exactly? Will he be able to walk normally in the future?”

Wei Yan gave a bitter smile and knelt: “I beg Your Highness to forgive this servant’s inadequacy. This servant and the other imperial physicians have done everything in our power, and have barely managed to pull the Emperor back from the threshold of death. But as for the Emperor being able to rise from his bed and walk again, I fear that is no longer possible.”

To rest in tranquility and recuperate — he might live a few more years. But if he fell into a rage again, the next time he collapsed unconscious, there might be no saving him.

The Crown Prince staggered back two steps as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

Crown Grandson caught the Crown Prince in time, and said with a choked voice of reassurance: “Imperial Grandfather has at least been pulled back from the brink of death. In misfortune, this is already the best we could hope for. At this moment, Father must hold himself together no matter what. You absolutely must not collapse. Otherwise, there will be no one who can hold up the Dazhou court.”

The Crown Prince closed his eyes, then let out a long, deep breath, forcing back the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes: “You are right. I cannot fall apart now. Come with me. Remember — do not reveal the true state of his illness before your Imperial Grandfather.”

If there is still a thread of hope to hold onto, he can hold on for more years. If the Emperor knew he would never be able to leave his bed again, the rage and grief could very well kill him within days.