This news came so suddenly that the Crown Prince didn’t even have time to discuss it with his Eastern Palace officials before being summoned to Emperor Jianzhang’s study. When Emperor Jianzhang saw him, his expression was actually fairly good. Seeing the Crown Prince’s pale face with sweat beading on his forehead, he even indicated a seat for him and asked: “You’ve received the news? What do you think?”

The Crown Prince walked in such panic that he was gasping for breath. At this moment his speech was somewhat disconnected, and it took a full quarter hour of heavy breathing before the burning pain in his chest eased considerably. He looked seriously at Emperor Jianzhang and shook his head: “This son dares not speak.”

The Crown Prince’s health had declined somewhat over the past half year. Emperor Jianzhang’s gaze settled heavily on him for a long moment. Thinking how this son had come hard-won, then recalling how when King Tai had rebelled, the Crown Prince, still young at the time, had been so frightened he had nightmares for over a month, Emperor Jianzhang couldn’t help but sigh.

This sigh made the Crown Prince’s heart leap halfway to his throat again. He lowered his head to look at his boots, his heart clenching painfully—Huangjue Temple had later fallen into the hands of Liangdi Fan and Prince Dongping. If Huangjue Temple had gotten into trouble and become connected to the assassination of Zhou Weizhao, then he’d truly been too indulgent with the Fan clan all along. The Crown Prince closed his eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

Fortunately, Emperor Jianzhang soon stopped making him feel so dizzy. He instructed the Crown Prince: “Forget it. When it comes to this matter, you can’t really get involved anyway. Go check on your mother the Empress. She must be worried sick right now. Tell her Weizhao is fine and will arrive in the capital in a few days.”

The Crown Prince opened his eyes in disbelief. Immediately realizing his expression was too conspicuous, he quickly suppressed the shock and wild joy in his heart. He acknowledged the order, then coughed several times and asked his father Emperor breathlessly: “The injuries aren’t serious, are they? No one even sent word back—” Yet as soon as word came, it was earth-shattering.

Emperor Jianzhang, seeing that he knew to care about his son, softened his expression further: “Fortunately nothing happened. Speaking of it, the Imperial Guard was incompetent. Last time’s assassination they only caught Ma Yuantong, not knowing there were others behind it all. Forget it, it’s too complicated to explain in short order. Wait until Weizhao returns and question him in detail. You go tell your mother Empress first.”

The Crown Prince felt as if his feet were treading on cotton, stumbling with unsteady steps to Qingning Palace. Empress truly was anxious beyond measure. Seeing him, she hurriedly asked: “Weizhao is alright, isn’t he?”

The Crown Prince usually responded once for every ten things the Empress said, but this time, for the first time ever, he responded to her after just one question: “Father Emperor says there’s nothing serious. He’ll arrive in the capital in a few days.”

Empress joined her palms together with utmost devotion and recited a Buddhist invocation. Her gaze swept around the room. Nanny Qi led the palace maids in withdrawing completely, leaving only the Empress and Crown Prince, mother and son.

The tension the Crown Prince had just felt in Emperor Jianzhang’s study manifested again. He’d never been particularly close to his mother. Being alone in a room with her was enough to make him uncomfortable, let alone at a time like this. His eyes widened.

Unlike him, the Empress looked him up and down, lowered her head to sip some tea, then spoke softly to ask him: “Tell me honestly, is this incident also connected to the Fan clan?”

From childhood, what the Crown Prince feared most was talking with his mother. If he could avoid it, he would. When he couldn’t avoid it, only when truly forced with no alternative would he reply briefly. Even when his mother showed concern for him, he felt uncomfortable. Much less when she was questioning him like this. He immediately raised his guard to the highest degree: “What is Mother Empress saying? This son doesn’t quite understand.”

The Empress sighed and gazed at him with heavy eyes for a long moment: “Last time when your wife tied up a bunch of people and brought them to your place, I heard about it. When Weizhao was assassinated in Yangquan, I already suspected the Fan clan was causing trouble. But you refused to speak and wouldn’t have anyone investigate, dismissing all those people the Fan clan had planted beside the Crown Princess. I considered your dignity, considered that news of discord in the Eastern Palace would be undesirable, and didn’t press further.” She looked at her son and sighed, her tone inevitably growing colder: “But you should also open your eyes and take a good look at what kind of person is lying beside you on your pillow!”

The Crown Prince gave a sudden shiver. He always felt his mother wasn’t like his mother, and he wasn’t like his mother’s son. Perhaps they truly were born without that karmic connection. If someone else had said these words, he might have listened. But when the Empress said them, he couldn’t really take them in. He lowered his head without saying a word.

The Empress’s eyes were full of disappointment. She didn’t understand—it was just one mistake from her youth, why could her son hold a grudge to this day? She coughed several times and sighed: “Forget it, you won’t listen to my words anyway. Go back and carefully cover your tracks. Even if Weizhao is willing to help the Eastern Palace conceal things in the future, the Imperial Guard is not easy to fool. When you return, think carefully about whether the Fan clan is more important, or your future and your biological son are more important.”

The Crown Prince emerged from Qingning Palace in a daze. The blazing sun hung high in the sky. He instinctively raised his hand to block the glaring light, then led his people in hurrying back to the Eastern Palace.

He had just sat down when Sanbao announced that Fu Youde and the others had arrived. He busily had them shown in.

As soon as Fu Youde entered, he said: “Your Highness, a conflict has erupted at Huangjue Temple. Those monks are no simple matter—they actually had weapons hidden in the temple. Dozens of Imperial Guards went, and nearly five hundred Capital Guards were also deployed before they could finally suppress the situation.”

The Crown Prince’s eyelids jumped violently. He sat in a daze for a while, then impatiently rushed back to the rear palace.

At that moment, Liangdi Fan was also anxious as an ant on a hot griddle. Seeing the Crown Prince, she hurried to meet him. But just as she opened her mouth to call out, the Crown Prince slapped her so hard she fell to the ground.

The Crown Prince had walked rather too much today and was somewhat unsteady on his feet. Having used this burst of strength, he nearly fell himself, only managing to steady himself by grabbing the table beside him. He glared at Liangdi Fan, his eyes nearly splitting with rage: “What a fine thing you’ve done!”

Only at this moment did Liangdi Fan truly become frightened. She grabbed the Crown Prince’s hem and crawled several steps to clutch his legs, so shocked that her fingernails broke without her even noticing the pain. She cried: “Your Highness! The people at Huangjue Temple aren’t so foolish. They won’t implicate us—”

The disasters and misfortunes of Huangjue Temple were all connected with Prince Duan’s lineage. Speaking of it, the instigator was always the Song family, and it was all thanks to Zhou Weizhao’s instigation. If she hadn’t known they hated the Song family to the bone, Liangdi Fan would never have targeted them. Now knowing the Imperial Guard had gone to besiege Huangjue Temple, Liangdi Fan’s first thought was to tell the Crown Prince: “We never personally went to find Huangjue Temple. We left no seals, no words, gave no silver. This matter can’t be traced back to us.”