Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

The Duke of Zhenguo understood.

The emperor has come prepared today, and the Duke of Yue will likely not have a good ending.

The Duke of Yue was his man, and with his second son and daughter having gotten into trouble one after another, the Duke of Zhenguo suspected that the emperor was going to deal with him.

No wonder Marquis Weilie was cowardly for more than ten years, but suddenly became bold today. No wonder a simpleton dared to talk nonsense in the court; it turns out he has the emperor backing him up.

No, he can't let things get out of hand.

He held the highest position in the court, standing in the first row, with jade steps in front of him; a fall from those steps would cause serious injury.

But behind him were countless officials, and the distance between them wouldn't actually cause him to fall.

Before he could break ties with the emperor, the emperor would make him rest as long as he showed signs of illness.

There were eunuchs in the Hall of State Affairs who were his men. As long as he went to the side hall, he could contact his own people and have them send messages outside the palace.

He understood the Duke of Yue and learned from Yang's womanly mind. He knew that many people had benefited from that incident, and he would definitely record it in the real account book and hide it away as a bargaining chip to save his life or as leverage to blackmail his accomplices.

In the past, he had indulged the Duke of Yue in order to win people's hearts, but now he had to destroy the account book in time.

He had a good plan, but just as he was about to fall backward, a force seemed to push him forward.

The Duke of Zhenguo quickly steadied himself, but this time he really staggered two steps before falling headfirst onto the jade steps.

"Father!"

"My lord!"

Zhang's eldest son and a group of officials exclaimed in surprise.

The emperor was startled and stood up. "Minister Zhang, what's wrong? Someone, summon the imperial physician."

As everyone rushed forward to check on the situation, Da Shan silently withdrew his hand.

Before he left, his sister channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into his palm and told him that if any old man ahead pretended to be sick or dead, he should use this spiritual energy to enhance his internal strength and deal with him.

He had been watching closely out of the corner of his eye, and sure enough, his sister guessed right again.

The Duke of Ningguo also stepped forward to check on the Duke of Zhenguo's condition, but he glanced at Dashan out of the corner of his eye.

Standing beside the Duke of Zhenguo, he sensed a very powerful internal force. He hadn't expected that Gui Yao was so powerful, and her younger brother was just as formidable.

Looking at Da Shan's physique, he was clearly born to be a military general, and the Duke of Ningguo, who was also a military general, couldn't help but show a hint of admiration in his eyes.

At the same time, I couldn't help but think of my granddaughter, Little Yaksha. After the pain was sealed, the child seemed to have awakened some kind of power, and she became very clever and hardworking in her studies and martial arts.

If you persevere, you will surely achieve great things.

A strong youth makes a strong nation. If all the children of Dasheng are ambitious, how can the country not prosper?

Da Shan, unaware of the beautiful misunderstanding the Duke of Ningguo had, asked Marquis Weilie curiously, "Father, why did that old man suddenly fall down?"

His thick eyelashes were still wet, and he asked with a sincere expression, "Is he too old? Does he doze off after standing for a long time? The old men in our village often do that too."

Marquis Weilie shook his head. "Father doesn't know either. Perhaps he's just getting old."

When you get old, you should retire from the court.

The Duke of Zhenguo had a large, swollen bump on his forehead from the fall, and was already in excruciating pain. Upon hearing the words of the father and son, he was so angry that he almost lost his composure.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

He quickly knelt down, saying, "This old minister is ashamed of failing to properly educate his son and has let down Your Majesty's trust. I had a sleepless night last night, which is why I was distracted and disturbed Your Majesty."

The emperor was very lenient. "Since Minister Zhang is not feeling well, please go and rest in the side hall."

Having been ruler and subject, father-in-law and son-in-law for decades, how could he not see through the Duke of Zhenguo's intentions? But now is not the time to deal with him.

The Duke of Zhenguo thanked him profusely and, supported by two eunuchs, retreated to a side hall.

Despite being injured, he managed to find an opportunity to leave the council hall.

Unexpectedly, the emperor added, "If the Crown Prince is worried, he may go and take care of him."

The Crown Prince bowed and followed the Duke of Zhenguo to retreat.

Although he now has grievances against the Duke of Zhenguo, he is still his maternal grandfather, and as the crown prince, he still has to maintain the appearance of filial piety.

The Duke of Zhenguo was dissatisfied, but thinking that the Crown Prince was easy to fool, he had no choice but to let it go.

As Da Shan watched the group leave one after another, he blurted out, "Father, we were talking about how the armor was fake, causing the deaths of countless soldiers, and that scoundrel who dared to steal from the Emperor."

Such a momentous event, everyone takes it very seriously, how could the old man be so distracted? Is he like the other old men in the village, physically present but mentally absent...?

After his son finished speaking, Marquis Weilie covered his mouth and apologized, "Please forgive me, Duke Zhenguo. My son witnessed the tragic deaths of his family members and was traumatized. He is still a child at heart."

But what children say is often the truth.

Would the Duke of Zhenguo hold a grudge against a simpleton like that?

How should one approach this—acknowledging that they're getting old, or denying that they've lost their focus?

The people sent to the Shen family had already left, so how could he have time to care?

As the emperor watched the Duke of Zhenguo hastily depart, a slight smile curved his lips, and his gaze fell upon Dashan with a hint of fondness.

In Da Shan, he seemed to see the shadow of his daughter when she was young and mischievous, and he also seemed to see that person...

Thinking of the person who had long since passed away and was deeply buried in his heart, the emperor quickly composed himself and looked at the Duke of Ningguo, "Minister Du, together with the Minister of War, bring me the relevant archives from thirteen years ago so I can take a look."

The Duke of Ningguo and the Minister of War bowed and left hastily, while the rest remained in the Hall of State Affairs, not daring to make a move.

The Duke of Zhenguo, clutching his head, went to the side hall and said to the Crown Prince with difficulty, "Your Highness, please forgive me, this old minister would like to go change my clothes."

The Crown Prince nodded, signaling the two eunuchs to help the Duke of Zhenguo go with him. He was a clean freak and would never accompany the Duke of Zhenguo to the latrine.

However, he no longer trusts the Duke of Zhenguo as much as before. Once a person loses trust, they become much more objective in their view of things.

The Duke of Zhenguo always paid attention to health, so why would he faint for no reason? He gave a wink to the Yilong Guard behind him.

Not long after, the Imperial Guard returned and reported, "A eunuch followed her to Ruyi's room, and that eunuch has already headed towards the palace gate."

It was all an act, as expected.

A hint of coldness appeared in the Crown Prince's eyes.

The council hall is currently impeaching the Duke of Yue, but my maternal grandfather has managed to contact people outside the palace, indicating that he was also involved in the matter.

Seeing his expression, the Imperial Guard tentatively asked, "Your Highness, should we intercept them?"

The crown prince racked his brains for a moment, then shook his head.

Even he could tell that the Duke of Zhenguo deliberately left the Hall of State Affairs, and his father must have seen it too, but he did not stop him, which shows that his father had his own plans.

As the two were talking, the imperial physician arrived, and not long after, the Duke of Zhenguo also returned.

The crown prince regained his usual concerned expression, "Quickly, deal with it for your maternal grandfather."

Seeing that he still cared about him, the Duke of Zhenguo waited for the imperial physician to leave before tentatively saying, "Your Highness has suffered. It is all my fault for failing to properly educate my daughter. I have no face to see Your Highness."

His tone was full of guilt and heartache.

"Grandfather, there's no need for that. Mother was just confused for a moment."

The Crown Prince sighed, "I also can't understand why she's pressuring me like this. I hope Father Emperor will calm down soon, and then I'll plead for Mother Empress's life."

The Duke of Zhenguo discreetly observed the Crown Prince. Did his words imply that the Empress had indeed drugged the Crown Prince?

But what was her purpose in drugging him?

"I wonder which woman Her Majesty has chosen for His Highness?"

"The palace maids of Fengyi Palace have been dealt with by the Emperor."

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes, his face showing just the right amount of annoyance. "It's also my fault. I shouldn't have told Mother that Father said he would select sons for the imperial concubine selection if I couldn't give birth to a son."

After saying that, he recounted everything he could from his conversation with the emperor that day.

"Since then, my mother has been like a demon, forcing me to get close to women. I refused, so she resorted to this tactic. In the end, it was I who truly harmed my mother."

She did indeed drug him; if the case is reviewed, I fear she won't even have a chance to live.

So that's how it is.

The Duke of Zhenguo did not doubt the Crown Prince's words. The Empress had always disliked the introduction of new concubines into the harem, so setting her sights on her son was in line with her personality.

In his eyes, the Crown Prince was not a smart man, just as easy to fool as the Empress, and he had successfully fooled him for many years.

Upon learning that the Empress had indeed made a mistake, the Duke of Zhenguo did not pursue the matter further, but instead comforted the Crown Prince from his perspective.

The prince appeared moved, but his heart was ice-cold.

My grandfather believed him so easily, not because he trusted him so much, but because he thought he was stupid and would never lie to him.

His father and sister never looked down on him for being stupid, but under the influence of his maternal grandfather and mother, he was wary of his sister and distrustful of his father.

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince felt even more guilty towards his sister. He wanted to test the Duke of Zhenguo and ask about his sister's whereabouts, but he was afraid that he was not clever enough and that the Duke of Zhenguo would see through his scheme. He could only hope that his father would be able to properly rectify the Duke of Zhenguo's faction this time.

Therefore, she rolled her eyes and said, "Grandfather, Mother has already met with an accident. You are the only one I can rely on. Your health is the most important thing. I will send you out of the palace first."

Without a leader, the father can slaughter the sheep.

The Duke of Zhenguo wanted to refuse, but the Crown Prince was very worried and insisted. In addition, the Duke of Zhenguo was in a daze after the fall, and he was also worried that something might happen to him, so he agreed to leave the palace.

Once the Crown Prince had delivered the person, he went to the Duke of Yue's residence.

Shen Feiwan had already taken the lychee tree into the palace, but Gui Yao was still there, and a good show was also being staged at the Duke of Yue's mansion.