Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Mother, I was somewhat surprised that His Majesty believed us so easily yesterday."

Lu Bing nodded slightly.

"Your son has been with you since childhood, and you could say that you grew up with Your Majesty. I know Your Majesty's temperament better than anyone else."

His Majesty has been very intelligent since childhood and is naturally suspicious. Although he trusts the Lu family very much, this matter involves the royal bloodline, and there is no reason to believe our testimony directly.

Our Lu family is directly involved in this matter, and His Majesty will not allow the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate.

My son originally thought that after we left the imperial carriage, His Majesty would first summon Mai Fu and have him send someone from the Eastern Depot to verify this.

In fact, His Majesty first summoned the eunuchs of the Directorate of Palace Attendants, instructing them to select several clever and capable eunuchs and palace maids to serve Lu Chen.

The second person summoned was a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department. He was ordered to immediately send someone back to the capital by fast horse to retrieve the new dragon robe, everyday clothes, and a complete set of princely attire before we arrived at Chengtian Prefecture.

Afterwards, His Majesty had lunch and personally selected several dishes of imperial pastries, ordering them to be sent to Lu Chen.

I quietly inquired and found out that those dishes of pastries were His Majesty's favorites.

What does this tell us?

His Majesty had absolutely no doubt that Lu Chen was of royal blood.

The Imperial Household Department was ordered to retrieve the prince's robes before arriving at Chengtian Prefecture, indicating an intention to directly bestow the title upon Lu Chen there!

The Emperor personally selected his favorite snacks to bestow upon Lu Chen, and ordered the Imperial Household Department to choose clever and capable eunuchs and palace maids for Lu Chen, which shows that the Emperor cares deeply for Lu Chen.

This is very unusual and completely inconsistent with His Majesty's usual suspicious nature.

If it was actually His Majesty himself who favored Lady Wang back then, then all of this would make sense.

After confirming with his mother that Wang was indeed the beautiful maid who always wore emerald green dresses, His Majesty was overjoyed.

The claim that His Highness Prince Xing favored Lady Wang back then is only our side of the story. Even if His Majesty thinks it's highly likely, he will still investigate.

But it was His Majesty himself who slept with Lady Wang, so what is there to verify?

Lu Chen's face and his voice were exactly like His Majesty in his youth.

In His Majesty's eyes, what else could he be but his dragon offspring?!

"If it had been the eleven-year-old Crown Prince Xing who had slept with that vixen Wang back then, could he have conceived a royal heir?"

The Fan family has recovered somewhat.

"There are indeed young men in the countryside who become fathers at the age of fourteen or fifteen, but I have never heard of one who becomes a father at the age of eleven."

"Your Majesty is so intelligent, how could you not know about this?"

"That's why we've never considered His Majesty before."

Lu Bing sighed softly.

"In fact, logically speaking, even if His Majesty had indeed favored Lady Wang back then, the possibility of her conceiving a royal child would have been extremely slim."

My son still believes our previous deduction more: His Highness Prince Xing also favored Lady Wang back then.

To prevent Wang from giving birth to a child who looked like him and bringing ruin to the Lu family, the father staged a play in front of the mother, using her to send Wang away.

But His Majesty wouldn't think that way!

Men in this world often overestimate their abilities in matters of love and sex.

Your Majesty has few children, so the sudden appearance of a grown prince must be a great joy.

If we hadn't made up a story that His Highness Prince Xing might have slept with Lady Wang, His Majesty might have already declared Lu Chen his eldest son.

It was only after hearing that the late Emperor Xian had also slept with Lady Wang that His Majesty became suspicious.

It wasn't a question of whether Lu Chen was of royal blood, but rather a question of whether Lu Chen was his own offspring or the offspring of Emperor Xian.

Emperor Xian had already passed away, and Lady Wang had already been buried, so this matter could no longer be verified.

"If Your Majesty wishes to know the truth, the only way is to seek the help of Tao Zhongwen and have him deduce the truth!"

"That old Taoist priest surnamed Tao was so exhausted that he almost vomited blood. He really put in a lot of effort."

Fan sighed,

"Does my son think he's figured anything out?"

"Whether the old Taoist priest could figure it out or not, even my son can't say for sure."

Lu Bing gently shook his head.

"But he must have told His Majesty the result."

As for whether this result was truly obtained through divination or was merely a fabrication to deceive His Majesty, I have no idea.

Whether the old Taoist priest was truly skilled or just a charlatan, the son never really figured it out.

He is a highly respected Taoist master whom His Majesty trusts, and I cannot use any means to interrogate him.

To call him a fraud, it seems he has also been prophetic on many occasions, accurately predicting certain things.

For example, this time, he predicted "fire," and sure enough, the palace caught fire.

If it were just a fire, it wouldn't be a big deal. Fires are common in dry weather, especially since the palace had already caught fire twice in the past few days.

To be frank, fire can be started intentionally, and it's not difficult to make this statement come true.

But to claim that one can use magic to protect the holy carriage is something no ordinary person can do.

This fire at the palace was not the minor incident of the previous two; it burned the entire palace to the ground, and dozens of palace staff members were burned to death because they could not escape in time.

His Majesty's sleeping quarters were located in the very center of the palace. When his son and Lu Chen arrived, the sleeping quarters were already surrounded by fire, and even the main gate was on fire.

The palace servants who attended His Majesty were either dead or scattered.

If we hadn't arrived in time, His Majesty would never have been able to escape the fire.

The old Taoist priest seemed to have done nothing; it was his son and Lu Chen who rescued His Majesty from the fire.

But his prediction came true; His Majesty was indeed unharmed in the fire.

Even I, his son, am now starting to believe that this old Taoist priest can truly see through the secrets of heaven.

His Majesty, a devout follower of Taoism, would certainly have complete faith in the results calculated by this person.

"What exactly will this old Taoist tell His Majesty?"

After thinking for a moment, Madam Fan asked in a low voice.

"If it weren't for the imperial decree allowing Lu Chen to rest for another day at the Kangcun Post Station Palace, I wouldn't have been so sure."

Lu Bing chuckled softly.

"Five years ago, after the death of Crown Prince Ai Chong, the old Taoist priest Tao Zhongwen told His Majesty a theory about two dragons never meeting."

According to him, the emperor is a true dragon and the crown prince is a hidden dragon. If they are too close, their dragon energies will clash, and each of them will shorten their lifespan.

His Majesty truly believed him.

From the time His Highness the Crown Prince was born, His Majesty avoided seeing him whenever possible, and the same applied to His Highness Prince Yu and His Highness Prince Jing, who were born later.

According to Taoism, although the term "hidden dragon" refers to the crown prince, the crown prince has not yet ascended the throne, and the other princes also possess the aura of a hidden dragon.

The situation was different for the princes of the collateral branches. His Majesty met with them along the way without ever showing any restraint.

If Tao Zhongwen tells His Majesty that Lu Chen is the son of Emperor Xian, and since His Majesty now has three princes, the throne would not possibly go to a collateral branch, there would be no need to avoid the topic.

Lu Chen clearly doesn't need to rest at all, so why would His Majesty issue such a strange decree?

There is only one reason: to deliberately keep a distance from Lu Chen and avoid clashing with his dragon energy!

Tao Zhongwen must have told His Majesty that Lu Chen was the offspring he left behind, the eldest son of the emperor!