A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

The marriage of Prince Huai, Xie Xuanjin, was a taboo subject in the court.

Because his situation was too special.

He was the son of Empress Meng, a man of great military power, and outstanding in both literary and military arts. His appearance was also the best among the men in the capital.

However, not a single daughter of an official dared to reveal her admiration for the Prince of Huai.

Even Shen Wan'er from the Duke's Mansion and Xue San, the Empress Dowager's niece, could only hide their feelings for Prince Huai and dared not make them public.

It all stemmed from the death of the crown prince.

The plate of pastries that poisoned the crown prince and caused his death was brought by the Prince of Huai.

When the incident occurred, Emperor Yuan immediately imprisoned the Prince of Huai, pinning the crime of poisoning his elder brother on him. People condemned him for being ruthless and cruel, even capable of harming his own brother.

Emperor Yuan personally subjected him to torture, demanding that he pay for the Crown Prince's life.

It wasn't until after the Crown Prince's funeral that the matter was clarified: it was not the Prince of Huai who poisoned him; the poison was originally intended to kill both him and the Crown Prince at the same time.

He was released from prison, covered in wounds.

No one felt sorry for him, and no one even came forward to clarify things for him.

Emperor Yuan still regarded him as the murderer who poisoned the crown prince, and Empress Meng still resented him.

The attitude of Emperor Yuan towards the Prince of Huai was an open secret among the court officials and aristocratic families. They dared not let their daughters get involved with the Prince of Huai, for fear of being implicated and affecting their family's future.

"Xuan Jin, who have you taken a fancy to?" The emperor's voice rang out again.

He then asked Empress Meng, who was standing beside him, "Which family's daughter does the Empress wish to marry?"

Empress Meng tried her best to maintain her composure, but it felt as if a knife was tearing at her heart.

Their emperor wasn't actually going to bestow a marriage upon Xuan Jin; he was testing Xuan Jin, testing her, and even testing everyone present.

This is also a warning.

If she and Xuan Jinruo really fell for each other, the emperor would likely not grant them a marriage, but rather the destruction of their entire family.

Emperor Yuan was too ruthless!

"Your Majesty," Empress Meng said.

He spoke, but was interrupted by Xie Xuanjin, "Father!"

Xie Xuanjin stood up.

His upright posture and imposing presence caused Emperor Yuan's eyes to narrow, as if he saw a threat simply by looking at him.

He cannot tolerate threats!

"Have you made your choice?" Emperor Yuan looked back at him, trying to suppress his imposing aura.

Xie Xuanjin lowered his eyes.

The officials remained silent, fearing they might be chosen by the Prince of Huai.

After a long pause, Xie Xuanjin finally spoke, "Since there is no one with whom I share mutual affection, I will not discuss marriage."

His words seemed to bring a sigh of relief to all the officials.

Only Shen Wan'er and Miss Xue, who were seated at the table, showed slight fluctuations in their expressions.

"Mutual affection?" Emperor Yuan seemed quite satisfied with Xie Xuanjin's answer.

In a conflict between a ruler and his subject, or a father and son, the son would always be the one to concede defeat.

Emperor Yuan's gaze swept over the assembled noble officials, and he chuckled, "I didn't expect my son to be so sentimental. It's not easy for two people to fall in love and become husband and wife. If you want to marry a woman who loves you back, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

The officials present understood the meaning behind the words.

The Emperor is preventing their daughters from falling in love with Prince Huai.

Does he want to leave the Prince of Huai to grow old alone and lonely?

This is not an offer of marriage; it's clearly a warning.

"Four..." Xie Yunli looked at Xie Xuanjin with heartache.

He tried to get up, but was grabbed by the sleeve by the Princess Consort of Yu.

"It's my fault. I secretly wanted to arrange a marriage for Xuan Jin, but it brought trouble upon him."

Princess Consort Yu guessed that the Emperor must have known about her being chosen as a princess consort for Xuan Jin, which was why he gave her this reprimand today.

She felt very guilty.

Thinking back to the day she learned that Xuan Jin had a woman he liked, she excitedly went to tell Empress Meng.

Fortunately, it was just her and the Empress in the Empress's palace that day, so the Emperor probably didn't know about it.

Princess Consort Yu handed Xie Yunli a warning: "You must not speak carelessly about who your fourth brother likes, or you will bring trouble upon that girl and your fourth brother as well."

Xie Yunli glanced at Song Qingning, then quickly looked away, not daring to linger.

Fourth Brother understands their Emperor better than anyone else, which is why he wants to avoid suspicion with Fourth Sister-in-law.

Xie Xuanjin sat back down and, as usual at banquets, drank alone.

She exudes an aura of coldness that keeps strangers at bay, maintaining her distance from everyone.

Song Qingning looked at him as if she were seeing herself in a past life.

They were both suppressed and unloved.

She didn't resist in her previous life, but the Prince of Huai did.

She was turned into a human pig and locked in a nunnery. Song Qingyan often came to her to show off, talking about Prince Rui's rise to power, Prince Huai's rebellion, and Emperor Yuan's serious illness.

But before everything was resolved, she died.

It is unknown whether the Prince of Huai succeeded in his rebellion.

The banquet continued, with dancers and musicians entertaining everyone. Everyone was happy, as if nothing had happened.

Lady Liu looked at the veiled dancers in the main hall.

The letter said that an assassin had infiltrated the palace banquet among the dancers, and that the assassin was a descendant of Prince Su.

After failing to seize the throne, Prince Su was placed under house arrest in his residence.

Emperor Yuan had no intention of killing him, but one night, Prince Su set fire to his mansion and then committed suicide in the fire. More than a hundred people in the mansion died in the fire, except for his youngest daughter.

The youngest daughter has disappeared without a trace, hiding her identity and lying low, waiting for this day to assassinate Emperor Yuan.

Lady Liu knew this was a good opportunity to make a name for herself, and perhaps Yan'er could earn the title of county princess.

"Yan'er..." Madam Liu tugged at Song Qingyan's sleeve, signaling her to take action.

"Second Aunt," Song Qingyan said nervously.

It's because I was so excited.

She quickly calmed down and got up to walk down her own scenic avenue.

As everyone was enjoying the dance, a gasp suddenly rang out.

"There's an assassin among the dancers!"

"Protect the Emperor!" Eunuch Gao stepped in front of Emperor Yuan first.

Then the guards filed in and surrounded the dancers.

The female relatives of the officials present also looked apprehensive.

The situation was quickly brought under control. Emperor Yuan glanced at the dancer and asked, "An assassin? Who wants to kill me?"

"I'm innocent! I wouldn't dare! I'm not a slave!"

"She's not a slave; she's just a dancer."

The dancers were terrified and wanted to prove their innocence.

Assassinating the emperor is a capital offense; if there were truly assassins among the dancers, none of them would survive.

Song Qingyan's voice was clear and her expression was full of wisdom. "Your Majesty, assassins must be carrying weapons. We can find out if they are assassins by searching them."

"Search!" Emperor Yuan ordered.

As the guards searched them, Emperor Yuan looked at Song Qingyan and asked, "How did you know there was an assassin among them?"

Naturally, Madam Liu would not tell Song Qingyan that it was that person who gave her the message.

Knowing that people would ask, Madam Liu had prepared a reason for Song Qingyan in advance.

"Your Majesty, I have been having the same dream for several days in a row: a dancer assassinating a real dragon."

"I think that the gods and Buddhas are hinting at something to me. I am terrified that the true dragon may be harmed, so I have no choice but to boldly disturb Your Majesty and everyone's enjoyment."

Song Qingyan mimicked Liu's words.

Liu said that by asking the gods and Buddhas to appear in dreams, one could achieve two goals at once.

Firstly, it makes it impossible for others to investigate.

Secondly, the emperor believed in gods and Buddhas, so this could imbue her with divinity.

If the emperor were to bestow the title of county princess upon a woman chosen by a deity, he would consider it a way of returning the favor to the deity.

Song Qingyan's heart pounded wildly.

She was thinking about being granted the title of county princess.

She was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, so the title "Yongping" would be most fitting.

Just then, the commander of the guards, having searched all the dancers, reported to Emperor Yuan:

"Your Majesty, we have searched the entire area, and they have no weapons on them."