Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Because Baozhu was imprisoned and had no contact with outsiders, how could he command Guiyao?

But I can't tell these things to my son.

The Empress then said, "Because Baozhu is your own sister. My child, your sister is the most affectionate and has sacrificed the most for you in this world. There is absolutely no way she would harm you."

His Majesty's letter has been sent to Nan Yao. Soon, the fake princess will die on her way back to the capital, and Princess Baozhu will be gone from this world.

This is a sacrifice made by the younger sister for her older brother.

For her son's sake, she restrained her daughter, which also pained her. So she instructed the crown prince, "Son, always remember the kindness of your sister."

From now on, you won't have a younger sister anymore; you'll have to truly grow up on your own.

Therefore, she asked, "How did you know that Guiyao is Baozhu's person?"

Who is stirring up trouble between her children?

Or is the other party trying to use her son to achieve some other goal?

The Crown Prince secretly did not want to fall out with his sister, but fearing he might misjudge the situation, he thought for a moment and then told the Empress everything the man in black had said.

"Your subject does not want to think badly of Zhuzhu, but if Guiyao is betrothed, it is Baozhu who will benefit."

"It was your father's obsession to bring the pearl back to court."

The Empress frowned slightly. "No matter which woman Xiao Huaijin gets engaged to in Dasheng, your father will take the opportunity to bring Baozhu back."

"You believe that Mother, Guiyao is not Baozhu's person, but she is indeed strange..."

As if struck by a sudden thought, she exclaimed, "Son, do you think that man in black robes might be Gui Yao's person?"

The crown prince was somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"

Gui Yao sent his people to speak ill of her to him?

Who's that stupid?

The Empress thought about it more and more and it seemed possible. "Perhaps she already knew that the husband of the deceased was your second uncle."

That's why she deliberately had the man in black say those things to provoke you into going to Xuanji Tower to find her, so that she could take the opportunity to use you against your second uncle.

Otherwise, how could a princess with no power and resources possibly cause your maternal grandfather and uncle such a great loss?

"Is that so?"

The crown prince followed her train of thought to sort out the whole matter.

"But how could she be so sure I would go to her? And how could she be so sure I would bring my second uncle?"

After the black-robed man stirred things up, he didn't go to find Gui Yao for two days. Asking his second uncle to suppress the evil spirit was also a spur-of-the-moment idea.

He had no idea that his second uncle would bring Bai Shi and his cousin along. Could it be that Gui Yao had the ability to foresee the future?

If she truly possessed that ability, she wouldn't need to exploit him.

But the Queen disagreed, saying, "If she knows you, it's not impossible for her to infer your actions from that."

"Besides you and Father, Zhuzhu understands me the most in this world."

The crown prince still believed the black-robed man's words to some extent.

"Furthermore, Zhuzhu has the Xuanji Bone, and Guiyao's residence happens to be called Xuanji Tower. Don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"

Furthermore, I always felt that Gui Yao seemed to harbor hostility towards me…”

After thinking about it, he felt that this description was not accurate enough, "It's more like wariness."

When the Empress heard him say this, she became suspicious, but she still firmly believed that Guiyao had nothing to do with Baozhu.

The person guarding Baozhu was her father's confidant. Her father, like her, longed for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne and would not give Baozhu any opportunity to cause trouble.

But she couldn't explain any of this to her son, and all she could hope for was that Nan Yao would release the people as soon as possible.

Once Baozhu dies, the Crown Prince will realize that he has misunderstood his sister.

However, they couldn't ignore Gui Yao's side either.

"You just focus on recovering. I'll have your maternal grandfather investigate Gui Yao's background more thoroughly."

The Crown Prince nodded, "Thank you for your help, Mother and Grandfather."

He was so exhausted today; even without Lady Cheng'an's attack, he would have collapsed from exhaustion.

Thinking of Lady Cheng'an, he felt like taking a bath, so he ordered someone to prepare hot water.

The son needed to bathe, and the Empress couldn't stay long, but she had other matters to attend to.

"My son, Baozhu has been away from the capital for three years. Your mother misses her dearly, and she must also miss her family. If Nanyao allows her to return, could you personally go to the border to fetch her?"

Before the black-robed figure appeared, the crown prince would have readily agreed, as he also longed for his sister.

But now, he hesitated.

The Empress comforted him, saying, "Your father most desires harmony between siblings. He will be happy if you go."

The emperor had more than one son, the crown prince. Previously, besides the crown prince being the eldest son of the legitimate wife, there was also a precious pearl who spoke up for the crown prince in everything and made great contributions to the crown prince.

What if the emperor's heart turns towards another prince after the pearl is gone...?

The Crown Prince understood the Empress's implied meaning and nodded, "I will speak to my father tomorrow."

The Empress left satisfied.

His Majesty wants the Duke of Ning to go and pick up the person, but the Duke of Ning is a cautious man, and with him around, the plan to fake his death might not be easy to execute.

If the Crown Prince were to go, things would be much easier.

The secret guard relayed the mother and son's conversation to the emperor word for word.

The emperor slammed the memorial shut, and after a long silence, he sneered, "It seems the empress also knows that her son is simple-minded and easily fooled."

And they rely on others for everything.

Thinking of what the mother and son had said, the emperor let out a heavy sigh.

"They really are mother and son."

They're all the same pig brains.

That man in black robes was clearly trying to sow discord between Zhuzhu and the Crown Prince's faction.

How did the Empress come to the conclusion that the man in black robes was one of Pearl's people?

"De Shun, do you think Zhu Zhu'er was born to the Empress?"

How could such a foolish mother give birth to a child as intelligent as Zhuzhu?

Li Deshun truthfully replied, "When the young master was born, you were waiting outside the Empress's Palace."

There should be no way anyone could switch the children.

He seized the opportunity to flatter the emperor, saying, "The young master is just like you; otherwise, how could he be so close to you?"

The emperor sighed, "The moment I saw her, I was inexplicably fond of her, as if she were my daughter in a past life."

Later, she excelled in everything, which made me both happy and worried. Emperor Gaozu suffered from the power of women, so he left a will that women should not hold power in the Great Sheng Dynasty, otherwise the eight kingdoms and ten marquises could vote to execute her...

Li Deshun listened to these words but dared not respond.

The emperor rose and strolled to a painting, a landscape painting of the country that Princess Baozhu had personally painted after her travels.

"It is not her fault that she was born extraordinary. I cannot go against the will of my great-grandfather, but as the Son of Heaven, I should have the right to let my daughter grow up happily."

The Empress asked her to replace the Crown Prince in the expedition. She was delighted, and I was delighted to see it. All her hard work and learning had finally found a place to be put to use.

The crown prince is of mediocre talent, but he is sincere to his sister and willing to listen to her. His sister has the world in her heart, but no ambition.

I thought to myself, this is good, from now on the siblings can protect the stability of my Feng family's empire by working together in the open and in the shadows.

But I never expected that a foolish empress would ruin all of this. I truly underestimated her ruthlessness…

That's where the conversation ended.

The emperor remained silent for a long time, so long that Li Deshun's legs went numb. Just when he thought the emperor would never speak again, he said, "Deshun, the crown prince will be ill when we receive the princess."

Unaware of the Emperor's thoughts, the Empress felt uneasy after speaking with the Crown Prince. Whether it was the mention of her daughter that made her feel guilty or the thought of her exiled second brother, she didn't sleep well all night.

The next day, after the morning court session, she summoned the Duke of Zhenguo to the Phoenix Palace. "Father, how is Baozhu?"

The Empress would ask this question every now and then, and the Duke of Zhenguo would answer fluently, "The princess is well, Your Majesty need not worry."

Normally, the Empress would have said something like, "If she's alright, then so be it." But today, she said, "Father has arranged for me to go see her myself."