Father, who is both a heir and a descendant, is still biased; the bound system has gone berserk.

Grand Tutor Hai glanced at Princess Mingluan with a blank expression and said, "Princess Anguo is His Highness the Crown Prince's fiancée. As the saying goes, husband and wife are one, so Princess Anguo can naturally listen to this as well."

"You!" Mingluan glared fiercely at Grand Tutor Hai, her eyes filled with anger and dissatisfaction.

"What about her? She's a princess, and I'm a princess too. Why don't you ask her to leave?" Princess Mingluan pointed at Minghuang, feeling wronged.

Hai Taifu glanced at her indifferently, without saying a word.

"You're speechless now, aren't you? You're clearly biased to the extreme! Today, let Father Emperor judge this properly. The late Empress was your daughter, and my mother is also your daughter. What gives you the right to be so biased?"

"Mingluan!" Cang Mingze called out immediately.

"Second brother, am I wrong?" Princess Mingluan retorted, her eyes filled with resentment.

The Second Prince remained silent. He was only pretending to dissuade Mingluan; in reality, he harbored resentment towards the Hai family for a long time.

Hai Taifu said, "Princess Mingluan, do you know why Princess Minghuang is the eldest princess, while you are just a princess?"

"The eldest sister is superior; is this how Her Majesty the Empress always taught you to disrespect your elder sister?"

Princess Mingluan's eyes widened. Minghuang had become an ugly monster, so why was she still going to oppose her?

What elder sister? She doesn't want to be overshadowed by Minghuang. She is the only princess of Beixuan.

"Father Emperor—" Mingluan said to Emperor Cangxuan in a coquettish tone, unwilling to give up.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Cangxuan glanced at her indifferently and said, "Alright, Mingluan, stop fooling around. Grand Tutor Hai has important matters to discuss with me."

"Mingze, take Mingluan out."

The majestic gaze of Emperor Cangxuan swept over.

Cang Mingze's heart skipped a beat. He knew Cang Xuan Emperor quite well, and his reaction showed that he was somewhat displeased.

Cang Mingze had no choice but to forcibly take Mingluan away.

"Second brother, how come even Father favors them?" Mingluan was still unconvinced.

Cang Mingze glanced at her. This younger sister, after going to Huangqi Academy, boasted of being knowledgeable and worldly-wise, but it turned out that she was still not mature enough.

He said, "Mingluan, the Emperor is the sovereign, the Crown Prince is also the sovereign, and we are the subjects."

"Why should they? They are the Emperor's children, and so are we. Besides, our mother was also an Empress, while their mother is dead!"

"Mingluan!" The Second Prince's expression changed. "Watch your words!"

Mingluan realized she had spoken out of turn, her face paled slightly, and she dared not say anything more.

Unbeknownst to them, their every word and action was being watched and heard by a dark figure.

With a flash of black shadow, it returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance and whispered in Emperor Cangxuan's ear, repeating the same thing word for word.

Emperor Cangxuan's expression gradually darkened.

He waved his hand, and the dark figure vanished in a flash.

Ying Yufu stretched her neck slightly, looking in the direction where the dark figure disappeared, as if it had vanished in a flash.

She couldn't help but prick up her ears, and then her extraordinary hearing revealed that someone was hiding in a rockery outside the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Wait, is he squatting inside the artificial rockery? What should I do if my legs go numb?

Being a bodyguard must be really tough!

[Xiao Dian, can you tell me if that bodyguard was crouching or sitting inside the artificial hill?]

She was so curious that she couldn't help but ask.

Little Madman: [Oh dear, host, I just can't do anything with you. Wait a moment, I'll go check it out.]

After a moment, Xiao Dian said, "[Host, there's a protrusion in that artificial hill, and that guard is riding on it.]"

Ying Yufu: [Doesn't it hurt my butt? And what about that other place? Doesn't it feel uncomfortable?]

Little Dian: [Host, where?]

Ying Yufu: [...] She can't corrupt Xiao Dian; Xiao Dian is still a baby.

Crown Prince: "..."

The crown prince's lips twitched violently, his face contorted. If it weren't for the serious atmosphere, he would have liked to climb the artificial hill himself to ask the guard if that spot hurt.

Emperor Cangxuan composed himself and looked at Grand Tutor Hai and Hai Qiongyan in the center of the hall.

"Grand Tutor, Haiqing, please sit down and talk."

Emperor Cangxuan asked He Bi to bring chairs for the two of them.

Hai Taifu and his companion immediately knelt down to express their gratitude.

Hai Taifu sat down, while Hai Qiongyan presented the old Duan family's petition to Emperor Cangxuan.

"Your Majesty, this is the confession of the Duan family. It is a matter of great importance. Please take a look."

Why bother accepting the summons? He opened it and presented it to Emperor Cangxuan. Emperor Cangxuan looked down at it, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"Hai Lingyao isn't actually the Grand Tutor's biological daughter? And who exactly is this Jin Lang?"

Emperor Cangxuan's face turned ashen; his empress's father was unknown.

Under normal circumstances, it would be tolerable if the empress's biological father was unknown.

But it's clear that Jin Lang has grand ambitions; he's an enemy, not a friend.

Emperor Cangxuan's head was buzzing.

Grand Tutor Hai could no longer sit still. He stood up from his seat and knelt down again: "Your Majesty, this matter is the fault of this old minister. This old minister was confused back then and failed to recognize the truth before accepting Duan into the family, which confused the bloodline of the Hai family and thus implicated Your Majesty..." and even hurt his deceased wife.

Seeing the shame and remorse on Grand Tutor Hai's face, Emperor Cangxuan said, "Hai Qing, help the Grand Tutor up. Although the Grand Tutor was negligent, his actions were understandable."

Hai Taifu was filled with shame.

Emperor Cangxuan lowered his head again, and when he saw the next line, his expression became slightly serious.

"What do you mean by 'the Duan family bloodline has not been severed'?" Emperor Cangxuan asked, looking up.

Hai Qiongyan looked ashamed and said, "Your Majesty, Princess Anguo told me before she left that the effects of the True Word Pill would only last for two hours."

I felt that Jinlang was a key figure, so I kept asking him for information.

So much so that when Duan finally claimed the Duan family bloodline hadn't been severed, I was alarmed. When I pressed further, the effects of the True Word Pill wore off, and Duan refused to speak further.

He looked at Ying Yufu and asked, "Princess Anguo, do you still have any of those True Word Pills?"

Ying Yufu quickly replied, "Yes."

After saying that, she quickly bought another one and handed it to Haiqiong Yan.

"Lord Hai, you can go back and feed her and continue asking questions," Ying Yufu said.

"Thank you, Princess Anguo."

Hai Qiongyan expressed her gratitude.

Duan was old and difficult to torture, and she remained silent, making her very difficult to interrogate.

A murderous glint appeared in Emperor Cangxuan's eyes. "After Duan Yuqing was beheaded, the entire Duan family was exiled. It's not wrong to say that their bloodline hasn't been completely severed."

However, what Duan said was clearly more than that.

Emperor Cangxuan glanced at Hai Qiongyan and said, "Keep that True Word Pill; it's a waste to give it to the Duan family."

"Your Majesty?" Hai Qiongyan exclaimed in surprise.

Emperor Cangxuan addressed the air, saying, "Go and see who in the Duan family is missing from the southwestern exile areas. Keep an eye on Duan Yuqing's son, Duan Pengju."

A slight breeze stirred in the air, then vanished in an instant.

"Your Majesty means that someone dares to rescue exiled criminals?"

Hai Qiongyan's expression changed, then she flew into a rage: "What do they regard the laws of Beixuan, and His Majesty as anything?"

Emperor Cangxuan sneered: "A simple investigation will reveal the answer."

"Jinlang..."

Emperor Cangxuan thought of this person again.

After a moment, he suddenly said, "The surname Jin is not very common in our Northern Xuan. Speaking of which, my mentor's surname was also Jin."

With the twelfth lunar month approaching, and knowing his frugality and simplicity, I have instructed the Imperial Household Department to bring some warming supplies and personally visit him.

The Crown Prince immediately said, "Father, I will go with you to pay my respects to him."

Emperor Cangxuan glanced at him and said speechlessly, "You're trying to anger him to death, aren't you?"

Crown Prince: Hmph!

He's really got a huge grudge against that old man!