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

"Later, when Empress Xiaowen was hanging herself, Shen Hu drew his sword and struck the three-year-old Crown Prince Shen Chengji, leaving the prince critically injured and on the verge of death!"

"W-what...?"

Zhou Jin had never heard of such a thing before. He was so shocked that his body couldn't support him, and the dagger in his hand fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

Before Zhang Qian could finish speaking, he swept his gaze across the officials and attendants who had rushed over with questions, and loudly proclaimed in a scathing critique: "Thanks to the protection of Emperor Jing and Empress Xiaowen, and the blessings of the ancestors of the Great Yue royal family, a few loyal servants risked their lives and racked their brains to escort the three-year-old crown prince out of the palace and far away to a distant land. They took good care of him, and finally, when the crown prince turned fifteen, he went down the mountain to learn martial arts and join the army. After all this time, do you still not know who this person is?"

"This man is none other than Lord Wei, the current Director of the Eastern Depot! He is Shen Chengji, the eldest son of the late Emperor Jing and Empress Xiaowen, a legitimate member of the imperial family, the true heir apparent of royal blood!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhang Qian shouted excitedly, then, seeing the surrounding crowd fall into a strange silence in shock, he bowed to Wei Wujiu and said, "Your Highness, please forgive my overstepping of bounds!"

Having said that, Zhang Qian pulled a yellow brocade-wrapped cloth bag from his robes, and as he unwrapped it, he shouted, "Every word I have said today is true! Your Highness's identity is proven by the imperial genealogy and the Imperial Seal!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Qian took the jade seal out of the brocade and held it high, revealing it to everyone.

Just as dawn was fading, a ray of light broke through the darkness and swept across the land, illuminating the bloodbath and carnage surrounding the Vermilion Bird Bridge. The stalemate between the two armies was fierce, and the faces of the officials, utterly astonished, gleamed as they looked at the imperial seal.

Wei Wujiu wore a black robe with both civil and military sleeves, his dark hair was tied up high and secured with a jade hair crown, and a few strands of hair on his forehead were blown by the cold wind, making his face look even more cold and frosty.

He slowly closed his eyes; the long-suppressed hatred of bloodshed had finally come to an end.

Wei Wujiu opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and exuded a suffocatingly sinister aura. He slowly spoke, "What Zhang Qian said is all true. I am Shen Chengji."

Everyone was so shocked that they fell silent.

Shen Huai'an broke the silence with a cold sneer. He first glanced down at Lin Wantang, who was still in shock, and pinched her chin: "You think this is real? Are you stupid?!"

Without time for further words, Shen Huai'an shook her off and looked at the crowd: "You all believe their nonsense! Your brains are good enough to feed to dogs! The former crown prince? That's ancient history! I don't know where Wei Wujiu heard that from, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Huai'an noticed Zhou Jin stumble towards Zhang Qian, reaching for the Imperial Seal of the State, mumbling, "Let me see... let me see..."

Zhang Qian glanced at Wei Wujiu subconsciously, and after being instructed, he bent down to help the old tutor up while handing him the imperial seal.

Zhou Jin carefully held it in both hands, examined it closely, and stared in astonishment, shaking his head repeatedly as he exclaimed, "It's...it's really real!"

Back then, when Shen Hu usurped the throne and rebelled, Empress Xiaowen had just learned of Emperor Jing's death. Before she could even grieve, in her panic, she did not seek to protect herself, but only to protect Emperor Jing's bloodline and offspring. She hurriedly ordered someone to make a replica of the imperial seal and gave the real imperial seal to Shen Zhaohua, instructing her to take the seal and protect her younger siblings as they fled the palace.

However, Shen Zhaohua remained calm in the face of danger, and her integrity was even more unyielding. She insisted on wrapping the imperial seal inside her younger brother Shen Chengji's robe, saying, "Mother, my daughter and my two younger sisters are women, and we may still have a chance to survive. Let's put our two younger brothers first."

Before Emperor Jing died, he had five children: one son and one daughter born to Empress Xiaowen, two illegitimate daughters and one illegitimate son. But no one expected that before they could escape along the tunnel, Shen Hu would lead his men to intercept and kill them.

The poor illegitimate son was still in swaddling clothes, not even a month old. He was held tightly in Shen Chengji's arms, but he still couldn't escape the thief's clutches.

After being thrown to his death, he then coerced Shen Chengji into pressuring Empress Xiaowen...

The wet nurse risked her life to hide the Imperial Seal of the State, and secretly protected Shen Chengji as he fled the palace. She was willing to risk being killed by the guards rather than reveal any trace of the Imperial Seal of the State or Shen Chengji's whereabouts.

After Shen Hu ascended the throne, he secretly searched for the real imperial seal, but to no avail. He then reluctantly continued to use the fake one. However, the truth could not be hidden forever, and all the old ministers of the previous dynasty were well aware that they had doubts about the imperial seal.

Now that Zhou Jin had personally verified the true Imperial Seal of the State, he looked at Wei Wujiu with a mixture of fear and caution, and said to Zhang Qian, "But Wei... he... wasn't he castrated?"

I didn't dare mention his name, and I asked very cautiously.

Zhang Qian laughed heartily and said frankly, "Does the Grand Tutor believe me? A true member of the royal family, a son of the dragon, has endured humiliation and hardship for many years, and bowing to the traitors is already a great disgrace. How could he possibly disgrace the true nature of a man?"

Zhou Jin was stunned for a moment, then repeatedly asked to confirm, "No, really not? No?"

Upon seeing Zhang Qian's confirming gaze, Zhou Jin's taut nerves snapped. He turned, lifted his robe, and solemnly knelt in a deep bow, his voice booming with emotion, "Your humble servant Zhou Jin greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

As Zhou Jin kowtowed, the officials who had rushed over, some of whom still had doubts, but some who were originally Wei Wujiu's faction, immediately made their stance clear and hurriedly kowtowed as well.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness live a thousand years!"

Amidst the scattered sounds of homage, Wei Wujiu waved for everyone to rise. He then glanced at the senior princes and relatives at the head of the officials and said, "Whether my identity is true or false will be discussed and verified with the senior princes later. I will not deceive you with a falsehood, but for now, we must prioritize the important matters!"

"Shen Huai'an!" Wei Wujiu's tone shifted, his sword once again pointing at the rebel leader: "No matter who I am, you have already been dismissed from your post by the Emperor for bewitching the harem and for your immoral and unfilial conduct! Dissatisfied with your punishment and harboring resentment, you took advantage of the Emperor's critical illness to raise an army in rebellion, your wolfish ambitions are blatantly obvious!"

"If you still don't surrender, don't blame the sword for being merciless! All generals, listen to my command—"

Just as Wei Wujiu was about to give the order to take the city by force, Shen Huai'an on the opposite bridge was filled with anger and chuckled coldly, wanting to order the Imperial Guards to fight to the death. But before he could finish speaking, he was hit by a powerful elbow strike from his chest!

Caught off guard, Lin Wantang's movement aggravated his abdominal wound, causing him to gasp in pain and stagger backward. Lin Wantang seized the opportunity, disregarding her own need to circulate her energy to break free from the pressure point restraints, and attempted to snatch the longsword from Shen Huai'an's hand to stab him—