Zhende could actually be considered someone who obeyed the Crown Prince’s every command, but the Crown Prince’s idea this time was truly rather frightening. He was different from Elder Wei—Elder Wei had managed to figure out some of the underlying situation, after all, Elder Wei’s son Wei Yansheng was Prince Dongping’s study companion and followed Prince Dongping around, so he could at least know some inside information. But he, like Fu Youde, had desperately urged the Crown Prince back then to grow closer to the Grand Prince. Now hearing the Crown Prince say this, he couldn’t help but shake his head: “Yuanhui and Yuankong are both evil monks who attempted to assassinate the Grand Prince. How can we believe the words of such ambitious monks of deficient virtue? Now the Empress herself has issued an edict reproaching those who spread such rumors. Your Highness really need not give up such a good marriage alliance because of these baseless rumors.”

He paused. Though he could see the Crown Prince’s expression was off, he still braced himself and continued: “After all, the Count Changning’s household has been meritorious nobility for generations, and Count Song is an important minister of the Inner Cabinet, cherished by the Emperor. Having the Song family as an ally would be greatly beneficial to both the Eastern Palace and the Grand Prince.” He at least had some awareness and could see the Crown Prince seemed to have reached the limits of his patience, so he didn’t say those words about how the Crown Prince was too ruthless. Actually, if he were to grumble inwardly, the Crown Prince was truly insane—taking ten thousand steps back, even if he didn’t want the Grand Prince to marry Sixth Miss Song, there were plenty of other methods available. Why did he have to be so vicious and directly target Sixth Miss Song? Judging by the Crown Prince’s manner of speaking, it was as if he had some irreconcilable blood feud with Sixth Miss Song. It was all too inexplicable.

Elder Wei shrank back his neck and pretended not to see Zhende’s expression, rather obsequiously echoing the Crown Prince’s words: “Actually, to say that Master Yuanhui and Master Yuankong are completely talking nonsense is somewhat far-fetched, isn’t it? After all, when they predicted fates for people before, we’ve never heard of them being inaccurate. How is it that when it comes to Sixth Miss Song specifically, they’re wrong every single time?”

Who cares whether their predictions are accurate or not?! Zhende instinctively wanted to rebuke Elder Wei for stirring up trouble, but before he could speak, the Crown Prince had already picked up the thread. The Crown Prince nodded, actually looking quite satisfied: “That’s exactly the reasoning. I only have this one legitimate son. Can I really let this ill-omened lone star drag him down to ruin? I naturally know how formidable the Count Changning’s household is, and I know the Cui family stands behind her as well. But the Song family doesn’t lack other daughters, and the Cui family still has Cui Hualuan, who’s renowned throughout Jinji, don’t they? Without her, if we just pull over any of these other people, wouldn’t it be the same?”

Zhende was rather speechless. By now he had finally understood clearly—the Crown Prince obviously just couldn’t stand Sixth Miss Song, and even more so couldn’t stand the Song and Cui families. Although what he said sounded nice, talking about other daughters being available, the Crown Prince wasn’t thinking about what kind of scheme he was plotting, what kind of order he was giving. If they really did this, would the Song and Cui families still dare to marry their daughters over?! Dream on! He finally understood why Fu Youde had been so disheartened lately. After thinking it over, he still gathered his spirits and lowered his voice to ask the Crown Prince: “Then what exactly does Your Highness intend to do?” Looking at Elder Wei who knew nothing, he suddenly felt like laughing—the Crown Prince clearly intended to use them as blades against the Song family and Sixth Miss Song, yet Elder Wei was still eagerly wanting to be that blade, not weighing whether he had the capability for it. After all, his son was still trapped in Xiangfan right now.

Speaking of this, the Crown Prince’s expression finally looked somewhat better. He glanced at Zhende and suddenly asked: “You’re quite familiar with Bai Dong, one of Elder Du’s disciples?”

Zhende knew the Crown Prince had come prepared and didn’t dare hide anything, honestly nodding: “We’re brothers-in-law. Bai Dong married my wife’s younger sister. Our two families interact quite frequently.” He became aware of something and looked up at the Crown Prince with some disbelief, then immediately averted his gaze again.

The Crown Prince made a sound of acknowledgment, pondered for a long while before asking him: “Since you’re brothers-in-law, do you know that recently when Prince Gong’s envoy entered the capital and went to pay respects to Elder Du, your brother-in-law Bai Dong was the one accompanying him?”

Having reached this point in the conversation, Zhende naturally had even less to hide. He nodded mechanically, feeling rather uneasy as he shook his head: “But…”

The Crown Prince raised his hand slightly, stopping his words. He looked at him and suddenly smiled: “No need to be nervous. Prince Gong’s envoy didn’t only visit Elder Du, and envoys from other princes also went to visit Elder Du. I’m not suspecting you. What I want to ask is, if Bai Dong were to pass a message to Elder Du, would Elder Du believe him?”

This time even Elder Wei heard something wrong in these words and couldn’t help but feel shocked. What was the Crown Prince trying to do?!

Zhende was even more frightened than Elder Wei. He was almost stuttering and instinctively took a step back: “My brother-in-law is Elder Du’s disciple and has always been highly valued by Elder Du. If he were to say something, Elder Du would probably believe it…”

The Crown Prince looked at him lightly again and slowly nodded: “In that case, why don’t you invite your brother-in-law for a meal? After all, as you said, you’re brothers-in-law and have always interacted very frequently. Since your relationship is so good, if you got drunk and said some complaining words to your brother-in-law, surely your brother-in-law would listen, wouldn’t he?”

At this point, Zhende finally understood the Crown Prince’s intention—it wasn’t that he found Sixth Miss Song displeasing to the eye, but rather that he found the Grand Prince displeasing. Once these things were done, Sixth Miss Song would certainly be ruined, but how much better off could the Grand Prince be? The six rites were nearly completed, and if such a matter broke out at this time, it would likewise affect the Grand Prince’s reputation.

He and Fu Youde and the others had wholeheartedly urged the Crown Prince to be closer to the Grand Prince, but now it seemed it was completely useless. They had thought that after Fan Liangdi’s death, the Crown Prince might change somewhat, but now it appeared that not only had he not changed, he had intensified.

He felt his head throbbing with pain and couldn’t help but voice a reminder to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness… the Grand Prince is your legitimate eldest son, and this marriage was personally selected by the Emperor and Empress… Would you reconsider…”

Meeting the Crown Prince’s gaze, he braced himself and said: “Moreover, according to Your Highness’s meaning, if Elder Du finds out about this matter, wouldn’t Prince Gong also find out? This is no different from inviting a wolf into the house. Please think thrice about this.”

Using one’s own enemy to deal with one’s own son—what kind of affair was this?! Zhende wanted to go to Longhu Mountain and invite Zhang Tianshi down to take a look at whether the Crown Prince had been given some kind of bewitching potion by Fan Liangdi.