“Father is the Dengzhou Prefecture Governor and holds command of the Dengzhou military. The best way for the Crown Prince to draw closer to Father would be through a marriage alliance. But Father has no legitimate daughters. I’m just a small concubine-born daughter – if I entered the Crown Prince’s household, at most I’d be a serving concubine, not even reaching the position of side consort. I don’t know if I’m being overly cautious, but looking at my maternal aunt, I truly don’t want to be someone’s concubine. Even if I married a farmer in the fields, I’d rather be a legitimate wife than a concubine.” Dong Tingyun’s eyes reddened as she spoke. “Moreover, anyone who holds military power must be most wary of forming factions too early. If I entered the Crown Prince’s household… even if Father doesn’t form a faction, others will think Father has!”

Both were concubine-born daughters, both could see through the Crown Prince’s desire for a Dong family daughter… it was for Uncle’s military power. One schemed desperately for personal gain, wanting to step on the Dong family to rise. The other, while also having personal desires, still considered the greater picture and avoided it at all costs.

No wonder Grandmother kept Dong Tingyun by her side.

Such a girl was intelligent, knew her place, and understood the bigger picture.

“Just pretend to be ill – why make yourself truly suffer?” Bai Qingyan pulled Dong Tingyun to sit beside her.

“I don’t want to make Father’s position difficult. Father is upright by nature, and he already has prejudices against concubine-born daughters… If I pretend to be ill and Father finds out, I’m afraid I’d face punishment again.” Dong Tingyun lowered her head at this point, her voice slightly choked.

Bai Qingyan knew how difficult it was to be a concubine-born daughter in the Dong family.

She patted Dong Tingyun’s hand and said: “Grandmother is your grandmother too – don’t be afraid… Grandmother will protect you.”

Dong Tingyun nodded.

“Go dry your hair properly and get a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry!” Bai Qingyan comforted Dong Tingyun.

Early the next morning, just as the Crown Prince was getting up, he heard that something had happened in the Dong household the previous day.

After rinsing his mouth with honey water, the Crown Prince picked up a cloth to wipe his mouth and asked Quan Yu: “What happened in the Dong household yesterday?”

Quan Yu shook his head: “This slave is incompetent and couldn’t find out.”

The Crown Prince casually tossed down the cloth and looked at Quan Yu with a light laugh: “The Dengzhou Dong household has always been tight as an iron barrel. Even Father Emperor can’t gather information there, let alone you. If you had managed to find out, I would suspect whether this was something Dong Qingyue wanted me to know. Set the table!”

“Your Highness sees past and future. This slave has followed Your Highness for so long yet hasn’t learned even half of it – truly shameful!” Quan Yu smiled and waved for people to set the table.

The Crown Prince was going to inspect the military camp, so Dong Qingyue and Bai Qingyan naturally accompanied him. On the way, the Crown Prince seemingly casually asked Dong Qingyue about Dong Tingzhi, unexpectedly causing Dong Qingyue’s complexion to change dramatically. Seeing Dong Qingyue’s lips moving as if finding it hard to speak, the Crown Prince became even more interested.

Having no choice, Dong Qingyue told the Crown Prince about Old Matriarch Dong discovering yesterday that Dong Tingzhi was not his biological child, sighing: “As a man, this is simply a tremendous humiliation. Fortunately, when concubine-born sons and daughters are born in the Dong family, no celebrations are held, so not many people know the Dong family has concubine-born daughters. Otherwise… this minister would become the greatest laughingstock.”

Seeing Dong Qingyue’s face turn purplish-green, clearly furious, the Crown Prince was stunned for a moment, then patted Dong Qingyue’s shoulder. Men best understood men – having a concubine put a green hat on him and raising another man’s child, let alone Dong Qingyue, even an ordinary family’s man probably couldn’t bear it.

Dong Qingyue was still merciful. If it were the Crown Prince… that bastard child and that concubine would never see today’s sun.

Just thinking this, the Crown Prince suddenly remembered the jade pendant he had Quan Yu deliver yesterday. He immediately felt embarrassed and planned to have Quan Yu and others keep this matter buried in their hearts and never mention it.

The Crown Prince had just arrived at the camp and hadn’t yet had time to reward the soldiers on the Emperor’s behalf when he received an urgent report from the capital: the Emperor and Concubine Qiu had fallen from their horses while riding, and the situation was dire. Before losing consciousness, the Emperor had requested the retired Imperial Teacher Tan to return to court and assist Prince Liang in governing alongside the Grand Princess, summoning the Crown Prince to return to the capital immediately.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince’s complexion changed dramatically. How could he have any mood to reward soldiers in Dengzhou?

The Emperor was severely injured and unconscious – wouldn’t the Empress and Prince Liang seize the opportunity to control the government? If he returned after the Emperor had died, who could guarantee that the Empress and Prince Liang wouldn’t risk everything to falsely transmit imperial edicts, deposing the Crown Prince and passing the throne to someone else? Then the Crown Prince, not being in the capital, would instead become a rebellious minister and traitor.

Upon hearing the news, Bai Qingyan was so shocked that her fists clenched.

What the Bai family needed now was a stable situation, absolutely not for the Emperor to have an accident at this time. However, the Emperor’s mind was still relatively clear, not letting the Empress govern but instead requesting the return of Old Imperial Teacher Tan and Grandmother, the Grand Princess, to assist Prince Liang. The situation in the capital should still be manageable.

After all, Grandmother was surnamed Lin, the Grand Princess of the Lin clan – the Emperor still trusted Grandmother.

The Emperor’s choice of Prince Liang was probably because there was no one else to choose from, and he felt Prince Liang was weak and easy to control, certain to listen to Old Imperial Teacher Tan and the Grand Princess.

But in reality, Prince Liang harbored wolfish ambitions and now had his father-in-law Prince Xian helping him, holding military power.

However, if the Empress had already joined forces with Prince Liang, she would certainly know Prince Liang’s true nature and would be on guard, maintaining mutual restraint with Prince Liang.

But Prince Liang held military forces – how long could such restraint last? If Prince Liang truly intended to rebel, would it endanger Grandmother’s safety?

Bai Qingyan couldn’t sit still, and the Crown Prince was even more restless.

“Your Highness! With chaos in the capital, there can be no delay. Your Highness must immediately return to the capital to stabilize the situation!” Bai Qingyan clasped her fists toward the Crown Prince. “We can discuss details on the road. Your Highness should depart immediately! I will accompany the Crown Prince back to the capital.”

“Yes! Princess Zhenguo is right!” The Crown Prince nodded with a pale face. “Quan Yu, immediately send someone back to have the carriage ready outside the city for departure. Inform Old Fang, Master Ren, and Master Qin of this news. When we depart shortly, have them board my carriage to discuss with me and Princess Zhenguo.”

“Your Highness, you cannot return like this! With His Majesty unconscious and chaos in the capital, if Your Highness returns this way and the capital undergoes changes, it would be like a sheep entering a tiger’s den! If we then need to rescue both His Majesty and Your Highness… no matter which side’s forces, they would lack proper justification!” After speaking, Bai Qingyan looked toward Dong Qingyue. “The Dengzhou army suffered heavy casualties this time. Why doesn’t Your Highness transfer the Anping Great Camp to return to the capital together? If there are changes, we won’t be able to reach them in time.”

The Crown Prince was not unaware of the importance of military power. He clenched his fists: “But… the Anping Great Camp cannot be moved without His Majesty’s edict. I…”

Seeing this, Dong Qingyue clasped his fists toward the Crown Prince: “Princess Zhenguo speaks truly! Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is the heir to the throne. With the Son of Heaven unconscious, the heir can issue commands in the Emperor’s name. General Fu is this minister’s subordinate… how could he not obey the Crown Prince’s edict!”

After brief hesitation, the Crown Prince nodded: “Good! The convoy will detour through the Anping Great Camp. I will personally meet General Fu and bring troops back to the capital to protect the Emperor!”

The Crown Prince was also afraid – after all, there was the legitimate son Prince Xin in the capital, and also Prince Liang.