The Emperor's Wrath

The crown prince, disregarding everyone present, had already knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

"Father, I was really careless. Please forgive me."

The emperor kicked the crown prince to the ground, and when he turned around, he saw that Prince Cheng and Prince Ming were also there.

"What are you two doing here?"

King Cheng explained.

"Father, we heard that our eldest brother had come to the Marquis of Anshun's residence, so we thought we'd come and see him together. But Father, Zhaoyang's fall really has nothing to do with us."

The emperor was too lazy to listen to his second son's explanation and turned to check on An'an's injuries.

Several imperial physicians quickly took advantage of the emperor's outburst at the crown prince to examine An'an thoroughly. Like Doctor Zhao, they were fine with other parts of her body, but when they touched her waist, An'an, who was lying on the ground, burst into tears.

Did he hurt his back?

If it's just an arm or leg injury, that's fine, but if such a small child falls and hurts their back, the problem could be serious or minor.

"How is Princess Zhaoyang doing?"

The emperor couldn't wait for the imperial physicians to finish their examination.

I fell and hurt my back, it hurts so much.

Anyone who could hear An An's heartfelt words could hear her aggrieved voice, which angered the emperor so much that he turned around and kicked the crown prince, who had just gotten up, back to the ground.

"Don't be afraid, An'an. I will definitely have someone heal you."

"Um."

An'an responded with a reluctant voice.

"You lot, hurry up and take a good look at Princess Zhaoyang's back injury."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Finally, the imperial physicians put a wooden board around An'an's waist to stabilize it, and several physicians carefully lifted An'an onto the board.

They dared not entrust the task to others, and the two imperial physicians personally carried the person back to the house.

After all that fuss, An'an was exhausted and fell asleep soon after lying down on the bed.

The Empress sat by the bed, her eyes red as she looked at An'an lying on the bed. The poor thing must have suffered a lot.

The Emperor spoke.

"Everyone, get out of here, don't disturb An'an's sleep."

After the Emperor finished speaking, he was the first to turn around and leave the room. Once most of the others had left, the Empress got up, intending to leave as well.

An'an, lying on the bed, turned over with incredibly smooth movements, showing no signs of a back injury whatsoever.

Chunhua, who was standing to the side, was very anxious. "My little darling, if you want to turn over, wait a little longer."

The Empress smiled, showing no sign of blaming An'an.

When no one was looking, I straightened An'an's little body, covered her with the blanket, and then left the room.

"Tell me what happened, Your Highness. Why did you come to the Marquis's residence today?"

The crown prince dared not speak the truth.

"Father, I just wanted to come and see Zhaoyang."

The emperor slammed his hand on the table, and the crown prince was so frightened that he fell to his knees again with a thud.

At this moment, besides the royal family members, only Ji Yueru was in the hall; there were no servants at all.

Two of the imperial physicians who treated An'an's injuries stayed at the Marquis's residence, while the others returned to the palace ahead of time.

The Empress sat there without saying anything, and Consort De also looked on as if watching a show. Only Consort Ru looked at the Crown Prince with worry in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, let me speak instead."

The Crown Prince looked at Ji Yueru with a hint of threat in his eyes, but Ji Yueru was not afraid of him at all and did not even glance at the Crown Prince.

"The Crown Prince has come to my residence today to take my wife as a concubine."

The Emperor was shocked, but the Empress understood. No wonder An'an wanted to harm the Crown Prince; it turned out to be because of this.

Consort De also looked incredulous. Taking Lady Ji as a concubine—it's truly amazing that the Crown Prince could come up with such a thing.

No, the Crown Prince couldn't have come up with that idea.

Consort De looked at Consort Ru, then quickly lowered her head to hide the smugness on her face; she was genuinely afraid she would burst out laughing.

Consort Ru has truly shot herself in the foot this time.

"No, Father, please let me explain. I did not intend to take Ji Shi as a concubine, but rather to marry her into the palace as a secondary consort."

Everyone present understood that a concubine was, in the end, just a mistress.

The emperor's voice was unusually calm.

"You want Zhaoyang to be a concubine's daughter?"

"without."

The crown prince hurriedly waved his hand.

"Father, I have thought it over. After marrying Lady Ji as a concubine, I will register Zhaoyang under the name of the Crown Princess."

How could Zhaoyang be a concubine's daughter? She is a legitimate legitimate daughter.

The Crown Prince inwardly applauded his own cleverness. By then, Zhao Yang would be a legitimate member of the royal family, and his father would surely approve of his actions.

Just as I was thinking this, I received another hard slap across the face.

The crown prince's face was full of shock.

"Father, you hit me again."

"I really want to crack your head open and see how your brain is structured!"

The emperor is now starting to doubt whether he made a mistake in making this fool the crown prince.

"Guards, take the Crown Prince back to his residence and confine him there. He is not to be allowed to leave the residence without my order."

Consort Ru, disregarding the Emperor's punishment, hurriedly knelt beside the Crown Prince to plead for mercy.

"Your Majesty, please spare the Crown Prince. He was only doing it for Zhaoyang's own good."

"Don't think I don't know what you and your son are thinking. Take Consort Ru back to the palace and confine her there. She is not to be released without my order."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Several imperial guards stepped forward and led the Crown Prince and Consort Ru out of the main hall.

The two dared not ask for anything more and obediently followed the Imperial Guards away.

They knew that if they didn't leave now, the emperor could really have the Imperial Guards drag them away, and then they would lose both face and dignity.

The two were taken away, and the emperor looked at Prince Cheng and Prince Ming.

"Do you share the same thoughts as the Crown Prince?"

The two shook their heads vigorously.

"Father, you have misunderstood us. Our thoughts are absolutely different from the Crown Prince's."

"That was for the best. Get out of here, and don't let me see you again for the next few days."

The two of them didn't dare to breathe and quickly left.

After everyone left, the emperor assured Ji Yueru.

"Don't worry, those three will never bother you again."

The three of them only had some doubts about who Zhaoyang's father was, but the emperor and empress knew all too well who Zhaoyang's father was.

If the Crown Prince and his group really had any connection with the Ji family, given the Fourth Prince's bad temper, he would surely skin them alive.

Even if Lady Ji didn't follow the fourth prince, the emperor didn't want her to have any involvement with the crown prince or the other two princes.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Only after seeing everyone off did the entire manor finally quiet down. Ji Yueru hurried back to her room to check on An'an.

The little guy was lying on his side with one leg propped up on the blanket, showing no signs of a back injury whatsoever.

She was exhausted after all that fussing, so she simply lay down next to An'an.

Outside the city, in a mountain cave, Xiao Ce had just survived a wave of cold poison and got up. After changing into clean clothes, he came out to find Qinglong already guarding the cave entrance.

"My lord, a letter has arrived from the capital. Yesterday, the Crown Prince went to the Marquis of Anshun's residence intending to take the Marquis's wife as a concubine, and he also injured Princess Zhaoyang."

As soon as Qinglong finished speaking, he felt the temperature around him drop suddenly, and he quickly lowered his head even further.

What a prince! He just doesn't believe that after the old lady of the Marquis of Anshun's mansion filed a complaint with the emperor at the palace gate, the prince can't figure out who Zhaoyang really is.

Having guessed his intentions, he still went to the Marquis's residence intending to take Ji Yueru as a concubine, showing that he didn't take him seriously at all.

Okay, that's really great.

"Go back to Beijing."

"Master, the city gates are now closed."

"I am saying we should return to the capital."