By this point, there was truly nothing left to avoid, and Prince Dongping sat in his chair with a relaxed, shallow smile still on his face. “If I were to leave with them, what would that make my mother and me? And how would my father handle himself? He is the dignified Crown Prince of this nation—how could he tolerate such slander?!”

The Crown Prince had treated him with the utmost benevolence and righteousness. Though he himself could hardly be called a good person, and he truly did want to compete with Zhou Weizhao and determine who was superior, even wanting to trample Zhou Weizhao underfoot—this was not the way to do it.

Never like this—not in a way that would bring ruin to the nation and its people, leaving behind an infamous legacy for ten thousand years.

Qian Ying had followed Prince Dongping the longest and their bond ran deepest. Hearing him speak this way, he guessed at some of his meaning and lowered his voice to ask, “Then what does Your Highness intend?”

Prince Dongping was brief and decisive: “I won’t go.”

Chen Dezhong breathed a sigh of relief—after all, he was the Crown Prince’s man, and if Prince Dongping could think this through, it wouldn’t be betraying the Crown Prince’s favoritism toward him.

Han Cheng was utterly dumbfounded, completely unable to understand why Prince Dongping was being so foolish. What time was it now? He had used every threat and inducement at his disposal—why was Prince Dongping’s stubborn head just not getting it?!

Growing anxious, he actually managed to spit out the cloth gag stuffed in his mouth through sheer persistence. “Your Highness the Prince, have you thought this through clearly? Even if you stay now, I’m afraid the court won’t tolerate you, and His Highness the Crown Prince certainly won’t acknowledge you as his son anymore!”

He paused, then steeled himself and simply opened his throat to shout, “Besides, the Marquis is your birth father after all! For you to be so defiant and unfilial is not the behavior of a proper son!”

Prince Dongping’s anger was not provoked by him. He turned to glance at Han Cheng and let out a cold laugh. “What father? My father currently holds the position in the Eastern Palace. I am an imperial grandson recorded in the jade registry!”

How could a treacherous subject like Han Zhengqing possibly be his father?!

Qian Ying grabbed hold of him. “Your Highness, now is not the time to act on emotion.” He paused. “Since Your Highness has made a decision, let’s discuss it thoroughly.”

Han Cheng wasn’t entirely wrong—if they stayed, the court probably wouldn’t tolerate them either. Han Zhengqing’s move had been too vicious. How could Cui Yingshu and the others possibly pass up such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Indeed, they needed to discuss this carefully. Prince Dongping maintained his excessively calm demeanor and glanced at all three of them. “Hand them all over to Minister Cui.”

This time it wasn’t just Han Cheng whose eyes nearly split with rage—even Chen Dezhong, Huang Yiqing, and Qian Ying were stunned speechless. Chen Dezhong in particular thought he must have misheard and couldn’t help crying out, “Your Highness!”

Prince Dongping had never felt so exhausted. He raised his hand to block Chen Dezhong. “There’s no need to say more. I’ve already decided.”

Setting aside the fact that he knew with absolute certainty he was the Crown Prince’s son, even if he truly were Han Zhengqing’s son, the education he had received all these years would never permit him to commit such a treasonous act.

He took a breath and organized his thoughts for a moment before addressing Qian Ying and Huang Yiqing. “Please invite Minister Cui here. Such traitorous subjects—everyone is entitled to execute them.”

—

His father had contended with Prince Gong for a lifetime—and now they wanted him to carry Prince Gong’s sedan chair and serve him?

Prince Dongping was someone who listened to advice, so this kind of firm stance was actually quite rare. Qian Ying asked him, “Isn’t Your Highness afraid of the consequences?”

They were still afraid. Those who got involved in such imperial secrets—where would they find a good ending? Even for the sake of the Crown Prince’s reputation, people like them probably couldn’t be allowed to remain.

Prince Dongping gave a bitter smile. “If I were to leave, what would the consequences be? At that time, not one of your wives, children, or elderly relatives would be spared. Though my current actions implicate you all, at least the others will be unharmed. It is I who has wronged you, but don’t be afraid—when the time comes, we’ll simply die together.”

Since the words had reached this point, there was nothing more to say. Qian Ying pressed his lips together, looked at Prince Dongping, and quietly acknowledged with a “yes” before personally going to the imperial commissioner’s residence to find Cui Yingshu.

Cui Yingshu arrived quite promptly. This deputy imperial commissioner Prince Dongping had always been someone he wanted to eliminate, and likewise, Prince Dongping felt the same way about him. Therefore, when he received intelligence that suspicious individuals had come to Prince Dongping’s location, and now their side had sent someone to invite him, he assumed they intended to harm him and made full preparations.

Who knew all his preparations would be completely unnecessary? Prince Dongping didn’t beat around the bush or sell any mysteries. He personally explained Han Cheng’s identity, stated Han Cheng’s purpose in coming, then looked at the uncomprehending Cui Yingshu and said, “He keeps insisting that Prince Gong intends to rebel, yet all we’ve received here is an official report that Prince Gong was killed by bandits. I’m not entirely clear on the truth. I’ll have to trouble Minister Cui to interrogate him.”

Of course Cui Yingshu would interrogate him, and this interrogation brought out cold sweat.

Actually, Prince Dongping’s true parentage was secondary. What mattered was Han Zhengqing’s purpose in having Han Cheng come expose this matter now to take Prince Dongping away—he had actually allied with Prince Gong to stage a rebellion!

Han Zhengqing was guarding the Datong fortress. Cui Yingshu immediately realized the gravity of the situation and didn’t bother asking about how Consort Fan came into it, taking Han Cheng directly for interrogation.

The results of the interrogation were indeed not far from what Prince Dongping had said, though actually Han Cheng didn’t know very much—only some superficial information. As for Han Zhengqing’s actual plans, Han Cheng’s account was completely unclear.

However, regarding the matter in Hubei, Han Cheng couldn’t withstand the torture and spilled everything clearly—he had been ordered to come not only to retrieve Prince Dongping but also to make contact with Jiang Tianping and join forces with him to throw the Hubei situation into chaos.

What a grand scheme this was! Cui Yingshu wrote a secret memorial overnight and dispatched a trusted aide to deliver it to the capital. After some consideration, he thought of another matter. He had come to Hubei in his capacity as imperial commissioner, and the disaster relief work had progressed quite smoothly. The refugees from before had all been properly settled by him. But this Jiang Tianping was simply like a stone in a latrine pit—hard and foul-smelling. From the very first day he arrived in Hubei, Jiang had opposed him at every turn. Moreover, he held the governor under house arrest and wielded real power, with multiple hideouts like a cunning rabbit—to this day, he remained a threat.

But now things were different—Han Zhengqing seemed able to contact him.

Han Cheng was like a gift from heaven. After thinking it over and consulting with his advisors through the night, he forced Han Cheng to write a letter. Using the unique communication channel between him and Jiang Tianping, he had someone else follow Han Cheng’s instructions to deliver the letter to Jiang Tianping.

Four days later, Cui Yingshu received two responses. First, from the capital—the Prince Consort Ye Jingkuan had come to Hubei. Second, the letter sent to Jiang Tianping had also received a reply. Ye Jingkuan’s arrival was too quick to be a response from the court after he sent his secret memorial, but Ye Jingkuan’s purpose in coming was also related to Prince Dongping. Cui Yingshu first had him go change his clothes. “What a coincidence—I have a matter related to the Prince to tell you.”