"You want me to seduce the Crown Prince? Why are you crying now that I've entered the pala

Chapter 183 The Crown Prince: A Man Who Kills People by Destroying Their Spirit
"Do you know what you're saying?" Emperor Wen's deep voice betrayed no emotion.

The Crown Prince remained kneeling: "I know. Even if this was not my intention, the fact remains the fact. I did indeed lay a hand on the Empress Dowager, and even if I failed, it was still a heinous crime. I could not control my own body, Your Majesty..."

The Crown Prince paused for a moment before speaking again, his voice tinged with suppressed helplessness and self-mockery: "I myself am not sure whether I will have made an even more serious mistake when I wake up next time."

What is more serious than assassinating the queen?
Eunuch Fu secretly observed His Majesty's reaction. The Crown Prince's excessive "frankness" left even him with indescribable complex feelings, let alone His Majesty's.

If it weren't for this illness, Crown Prince Junyan would have been the most outstanding and perfect heir apparent in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty. He was exceptional in appearance, personality, and ability, and no one could compare to him.

But rather...

"Keep your head up."

Chu Junyan raised his head. Although his handsome brows suppressed the anxiety and struggle of waiting for the verdict, his eyes remained firm and open, showing no sign of guilt.

It's clear he wasn't lying; if Emperor Wen really agreed to depose the crown prince, he would have accepted it without hesitation.

Emperor Wen saw this and for a moment couldn't tell whether he felt regret and relief, or joy and helplessness.

He sighed and waved his hand: "Get up. To be honest, it's not entirely your fault."

Grandpa Fu's anxiety finally subsided, and he personally helped the person up.
"Your Highness, please get up. His Majesty has always believed that your illness will heal sooner or later. Besides, this wasn't a real relapse; it was caused by poisoning by thieves. How can he blame you?"

Chu Junyan stood up and looked at Emperor Wen with deep affection and gratitude: "Your Majesty's trust is deeply appreciated by your son. I will work diligently and live up to Your Majesty's boundless grace."

The emperor was about to nod, but after listening, he frowned and said, "Look at you. I just reminded you to take care of your health. Your health is just as important. Why can't you remember? How much more diligent do you want to be?" The last sentence was filled with the helplessness and heartache of an old father.

Chu Junyan lowered his head: "Your subject knows his mistake."

Emperor Wen was about to say that since they knew, they should pay close attention, when he was interrupted by the Crown Prince's next words:

"Since Father Emperor will not depose the Crown Prince, then I will dare to ask for another request."

Emperor Wen asked, "What is it?"

Chu Junyan raised his head: "Your subject knows that Qin Sangsang played an indispensable role in the safe passage through the Fengyi Palace incident. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to grant her a marriage and appoint her as the Crown Prince's concubine."

After Chu Junyan finished speaking, the hall fell silent once again.

Emperor Wen and Eunuch Fu both recalled that the same person had said something similar in the same place yesterday.

The difference is that he sought the position of the Seventh Prince's consort, while the Crown Prince sought a concubine.

Emperor Wen thought about it more deeply. He recalled how the Crown Prince had firmly refused when he was first preparing to write the imperial edict to grant the marriage.

"Father?"

After waiting for a while without receiving a response from the emperor, Chu Junyan slightly raised his head.

Emperor Wen coughed lightly to bring himself to his senses: "It's not that I disagree, but have you discussed it with him? When he was around, he kept insisting that Qin Sangsang become the Seventh Prince's consort." (He meant he didn't want to share it with you.)

The emperor didn't dare say it outright; he also felt awkward about it.

Chu Junyan smiled upon hearing this, his elegant demeanor and refined bearing revealing the domineering and autocratic nature of a crown prince: "Does this kind of thing even belong to him?"

For him, someone's opinion is never considered an opinion.
-
His Highness the Crown Prince easily obtained the imperial decree that someone had been longing for.

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he did not immediately return to the East Palace, but instead went to the Phoenix Palace.

However, just like before, his request for an audience with Empress Xiao was denied. He waited outside the palace gates for a long time without being allowed inside. Seeing the look of disappointment and melancholy on the Crown Prince's refined and elegant face, even the guards at the gate couldn't help but feel indignant on his behalf.

He didn't seem to think the Empress was heartless. Instead, when the palace servants around him advised him to go back and rest, he blamed himself and said, "It must be because I haven't done well enough that the Empress doesn't want to see me. I only hope that one day, the Empress will allow me to be filial to her."

These words moved everyone who heard them. They felt sorry for the filial Crown Prince, and at the same time, they felt that the Empress was too cold and heartless.

Unexpectedly, this "filial" Crown Prince turned around and carried out a major purge of the palace servants in Fengyi Palace. Several palace servants who had served Empress Xiao for a long time and were used to her were also directly kidnapped. It was claimed that enemy spies had infiltrated the Empress's circle and that they had to be on guard.

Empress Xiao was so angry that she smashed all the porcelain in the palace again.

She personally selected and trained these people over several years. How could she not know if they were spies?
"He's clearly threatening me! Is he trying to eliminate a spy?" He clearly wants to cut off her informants, making her blind and deaf!
"I shouldn't have given birth to him in the first place! And I shouldn't have let him live! The wolf cub has grown up and started killing his mother. I think he poisoned me that day himself! He wants to kill me, he wants to kill me!"

The Empress, who had remained relatively calm in the face of the Seventh Prince's knife attack, was now in a state of frenzy and disarray, clearly enraged.

News of Empress Xiao's actions in the Phoenix Palace quickly reached the ears of the Crown Prince.

He indicated that he was aware of this.

Then they directly intercepted the letter that the Duke of Wei was sending to the Empress.

After learning from the letter that she was requesting new manpower and that the Duke of Wei's mansion had agreed, I understood.

Chu Junyan smiled, raised his hand and lit the letter. The thin paper turned into flames that spun and fell in the air before finally turning into ashes.

He then picked up his pen and wrote a new letter about Empress Xiao's recent actions, which he then sent out of the palace.

His words revealed his concern for his mother as a son, and his uncertainty about how to improve their relationship.

His Highness the Crown Prince used the subtle and indirect approach very well. When the Duke of Wei of this generation realized that his sister was unrepentant to the death and had kidnapped the future Crown Prince's concubine in an attempt to poison the Crown Prince, but almost accidentally injured the Seventh Prince who had entered the palace, he could no longer sit still and went to the old Duke of Wei's residence with the letter.

“Father, my sister has been imprisoned for too long, and her personality has become somewhat twisted.”

Xiao Yuan didn't want to believe that his bright and intelligent older sister had become like this, but the facts were undeniable, leaving him no choice but to accept it:
"If what the Crown Prince said in his letter is true, then it remains to be seen what my sister's purpose is in requesting a new messenger."

After reading the letter, the old Duke of Wei remained silent for a long time: "Then do you think it's true or false?"

Because of that incident, the Duke of Wei's mansion has not dared to contact the Empress privately for a long time, for fear of arousing the Emperor's suspicion again.

The reason they agreed to give the Empress a new list of spies this time was because they received her letter asking for help, fearing that something might really happen to her.

Xiao Yuan remained silent for a long time. His elder sister was proud and arrogant, but also intelligent, quick-witted, and courageous. Her scheming and strategy were no less than those of men. She was a woman with ambition etched into her bones.

When she volunteered to enter the palace as a concubine, her family had no doubt that her goal was to become empress.

Sure enough, she succeeded in the end.

To be honest, if it weren't for that accident that confined her to her quarters, no one would know what kind of person she would have turned the Crown Prince into.

“My son doesn’t know, but,” Xiao Yuan said in a somber tone, “it’s better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn’t.”

After a long while, an old sigh came from the room: "I am old. The Duke's mansion is now in your hands, young people. Since you have made your decision, then do as you wish. There is no need to worry about this old man."
-
Several more days passed, and Empress Xiao still hadn't received a message from her family.

The filial Crown Prince personally came to Fengyi Palace to convey a message on behalf of his uncle: "Tell the Empress Dowager that my maternal grandfather is unwell and has set off to his hometown to recuperate. He is accompanied by secret guards and several cousins. Please do not worry."

Chu Junyan understood very well what it meant to kill someone by destroying their spirit.

Compared to Chu Jiang's impulsiveness and irritability, who only resorted to force to solve everything, he was more adept at winning without bloodshed and eliminating the enemy's weaknesses.