Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Commander, calm down and listen to me—"

Lin Wantang became more composed as he grew anxious, and said in a deep and earnest voice, "We cannot do anything in the name of the Sixth Prince now. We must make it seem like the situation is hopeless, leaving the imperial relatives and ministers with no other choice but to ultimately support the Sixth Prince's succession."

"First, we should try to force Shen Huai'an to stage a coup, take him down, and at the same time, infuriate the emperor. This would also logically strip Shen Huai'an of any chance of succeeding to the throne. Then, among the many princes, who else could shoulder this great responsibility?"

"The Second Prince has been punished and imprisoned for many years, and his temperament has changed drastically. The imperial relatives and ministers will not favor him. The Third Prince is reckless and good at fighting, and the Fourth Prince is weak and frail. Simply put, one of these two princes can be a good general, and the other can be a good civil official. Neither of them is fit to be emperor. Only the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince are left."

"But the Fifth Prince's mother is the daughter of a disgraced official. Although she deserves to die, the imperial relatives will definitely favor the Sixth Prince, who has the blood of the previous dynasty. All the ministers will think the same way. Wouldn't everything then fall into place?"

Wei Wujiu listened quietly, ultimately not revealing the truth, nor wanting to frighten her, so he carefully said, "The plan is good, but what you can think of, wouldn't the Emperor think of as well?"

"This is an open strategy; everything is laid out in the open, and it's just a matter of who strikes first."

After Lin Wantang finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and said, "Commander, I thought about this when I was in the side hall. The Empress is hypocritical and has committed many evils. It is time for her to pay the price."

As long as the Empress loses power again, once the news of her death reaches Shen Huai'an's ears, Lin Wantang can manipulate the situation to make Shen Huai'an mistakenly believe that the Emperor cruelly executed the Empress, disregarding their marital bond.

What concerns would Shen Huai'an have then? A rebellion and a coup were now inevitable.

"You want to deal with the Empress first?" Wei Wujiu narrowed his eyes. "What method will you use?"

"Little Consort Yu..." Lin Wantang blurted out subconsciously, but then regretted it and felt helpless: "She has no grudge against me, why did I harm her like this..."

Wei Wujiu got up and poured two cups of tea, then handed one to her: "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand, and besides, Consort Yu is not necessarily innocent."

After a short pause, he simply admitted, "Jiang Nianqi, I vaguely remember that name when you mentioned it."

"About a year ago, the Minnan region suffered a disaster. The emperor ordered me to allocate grain and funds for disaster relief. I was busy for a long time. Seeing that the situation was stabilizing, the emperor sent Shen Huai'an to supervise the troops and pacify the area, hoping to earn him a good reputation. However, he encountered bandits on the way and ran into trouble. As a result, Shen Huai'an disappeared for more than three months."

Lin Wantang was stunned. That happened before her rebirth, and her memory of it was somewhat faint, but based on her memories from her previous life…

Yes, at that time, the wedding was imminent, but Shen Huai'an was seriously injured and went missing. In her previous life, she was worried about this. Many people guessed that Shen Huai'an was probably in bad shape, and some people openly or secretly mocked Lin Wantang for being a jinx who would become a widow before even getting married.

Three months later, Shen Huai'an returned to the capital unharmed, only mentioning that he had been rescued by kind people, and never mentioned anything else.

Seeing that she remembered, Wei Wujiu continued unhurriedly, "I had someone investigate in detail what he went through during those three months of disappearance, but we didn't find out much. We only know that he was rescued by a country girl and taken back to the village. After recuperating and recovering from his injuries, he left and never revealed his real name or identity in the village."

"But the woman who saved him was named Jiang Nianqi."

"That village is adjacent to the county town and was also affected by the disaster. The emperor sent Tu Hongyuan, the father of Consort Xiaoyu, to inspect it."

Wei Wujiu also took a deep breath. He didn't know if Tu Hongyuan had taken his wife and daughter with him during that period of patrol, but if Lin Wantang's guess was somewhat credible, it was very likely...

During his recovery, Shen Huai'an developed feelings for Jiang Nianqi and they even had sex. While deceiving the naive young woman, he also flirted with or mistook Tu Yu, who had a similar appearance, for the current Consort Yu.

Otherwise, why would Consort Xiaoyu have recently taken the initiative to plead with the Emperor to exonerate Shen Huai'an?

Moreover, Hua Ershisan privately revealed that Xiao Yupin did not bleed during her first night with the emperor after entering the palace.

The emperor had some doubts and dissatisfaction because of this, but Consort Xiaoyu was too good at pleasing the emperor and soon became pregnant. The imperial physician who examined her pulse to protect the pregnancy had just bought a large mansion in the capital.

The shady dealings involved are self-evident.

Wei Wujiu didn't elaborate, but Lin Wantang was incredibly intelligent. After a moment's thought, everything became clear. She couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Then... the children in Jiang Nianqi's and Xiaoyu's wombs aren't both Shen Huai'an's?"

"It has little to do with Jiang Nianqi, but regarding Consort Yu's matter, can we say she is completely innocent?"

Wei Wujiu spoke calmly, but his revelation was merciless: "If she really didn't enter the palace as a virgin, then she must have known Shen Huai'an's true identity. Unable to get close to him, she tried every means to enter the palace to accompany him, and was able to contact Shen Huai'an in private to rekindle their past relationship."

"And we can also hope that after Shen Huai'an succeeds to the throne, he will give her and her father and family a great honor."

Lin Wantang frowned in thought, let out a heavy sigh, and fell silent.

The culprit behind everything is still Shen Huai'an, it's just a pity for Xiao Yu Pin, who wasted her sincere feelings on him.

But with the matter urgent, Lin Wantang couldn't afford to be sentimental. She clenched her fingers tightly: "Then let's leave it at that. Anyway, I've already said it tonight, and the Emperor will definitely be suspicious. But suspicion alone isn't enough; we need to add fuel to the fire!"

Wei Wujiu chuckled, glanced at the hourglass, hugged her, and kissed her forehead. "You haven't slept all night, get some sleep first, don't think about it."

Lin Wantang was really tired, and her mind was a little foggy. She wanted to pull Wei Wujiu to take a nap, but there was a royal sacrificial ceremony on the first day of the Lunar New Year. She could use her injury to stay out of sight, but he couldn't.

Wei Wujiu helped her lie down, tucked her in, and watched her slowly fall asleep before going out to change into his court robes. Before leaving, he instructed Qiuying and the other maids not to disturb her and to let her get some more sleep.

Lin Wantang slept until the sun was high in the sky. When she woke up, she not only felt very hungry, but also had a clear mind and was able to think of new ideas.

After washing up and having a meal, she inquired about Chunhen's injuries and found out that they were not serious. Then, without thinking, she came up with a plan.

The saying goes, "To catch a thief, you need to catch him red-handed." So, to catch an adulterer, wouldn't you need to catch them in the act?

Otherwise, how could the emperor have believed it so deeply and been so furious that he almost died of anger?

Lin Wantang smiled mischievously and beckoned Qiu Ying over: "We'll leave the palace and return to our residence on the third day of the month. Go and make all the necessary preparations, then take my name card and find a reliable person to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"Tell Shen Huai'an that I'll meet him at our usual spot on the fifth night of the Lunar New Year..."