The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

The emperor's face was ashen, followed by a group of eunuchs and palace maids with varying expressions.

As he entered, he immediately saw the messy bed in the sleeping quarters and the disheveled, drunken prince.

"The traitor——!"

Emperor Zhaode was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at the Crown Prince, his anger so intense that his lips twitched, and he could no longer speak.

Upon seeing this, Pei Yan hurriedly stepped forward and stood in front of the emperor, thus blocking the unsightly scene.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your health is of utmost importance!"

He turned and sternly rebuked Wang An, the chief eunuch behind him, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly help His Highness the Crown Prince change his clothes!"

Wang An suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly led several eunuchs to rush forward and put clothes on the crown prince.

Behind the curtain, Consort Yu trembled all over.

Now, she has no way out.

If she admits to having an affair, she will die.

If she cannot explain the reason clearly, she will also die.

Consort Yu dug her fingertips into her palm, then suddenly raised her head, her voice extremely shrill.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please see the truth!"

"It was His Highness the Crown Prince who forced me! He drugged me and forced me—"

After being fussed over by Wang An and a few eunuchs, the crown prince hastily put on his undergarments.

He was still hungover and his mind was still a bit muddled.

Until Consort Yu said, "It was His Highness the Crown Prince who forced me," it was like a bucket of ice water being poured over my head.

The prince suddenly regained consciousness.

"You slut!"

He kicked over the round stool beside him, the stool legs scraping against the floor tiles with a screeching sound.

"How dare you distort the truth before Father Emperor!"

Consort Yu huddled behind the curtain, her hair disheveled, with lingering red marks still visible on her shoulders.

She was trembling with fear, but when she heard the Crown Prince scolding her, she felt as if she had been driven to a dead end, and her cries became even more mournful.

"Your Majesty, please understand! I did not!"

"Your Majesty, I have only been in the palace for a short time and have received Your Majesty's favor. How could I have done such a sordid thing?"

"Shut up!"

The crown prince's temples throbbed with rage as he pointed at the curtains and shouted, "Father, she seduced me first!"

"Not long after she entered the palace, she secretly sent a maid to deliver a message to me. She said that as long as I could obtain elixirs for her so that she could compete for the Emperor's favor, she would agree to anything!"

Emperor Zhaode was so angry that his chest felt tight. He raised his hand, grabbed a jade bottle from the multi-treasure pavilion, and smashed it hard.

"The traitor!!"

The jade bottle smashed at the prince's feet, shattering into pieces.

Pei Yan stood to the side with his hands behind his back, watching the farce unfold, and then took over the conversation at the opportune moment.

"Your Highness's words are somewhat perplexing to me."

The crown prince gritted his teeth and looked at him.

Pei Yan said, "What precious medicinal materials are not available in the Imperial Hospital and Imperial Pharmacy? If Consort Yu wishes to improve her health and please His Majesty, she will be treated by the imperial physicians."

"Why would she risk her head by secretly asking the Crown Prince for medicine?"

This sentence is neither too light nor too heavy.

But it was like a blunt knife, slowly pressing against the prince's throat.

Provoked by Pei Yan's words, and driven by his desire to clear his name of the death penalty for forcing his father's concubine, the Crown Prince blurted out in a moment of anger:

"That's no ordinary medicine! It's a secret Taoist elixir, made specifically for men!"

"It was only after I painstakingly searched for rare medicinal herbs from the Western Regions and the Southern Frontier that it was refined!"

"That vile woman, in order to please Father Emperor, secretly asked me for it so she could use it to curry favor!"

Western Regions?

Pei Yan's hands, which were hanging in his sleeves, tightened slightly.

Shun Shun guessed correctly.

The Eastern Palace's interception of the Western Regions caravan was clearly not just to silence witnesses.

The prince realized his mistake as soon as he spoke.

But at this point he had no way out and could only grit his teeth and continue speaking.

"If Father doesn't believe me, he can send someone to the Eastern Palace to obtain evidence!"

"The short note Consort Yu wrote to me requesting medicine is hidden in a secret compartment behind the antique shelf on the west side of the study!"

The emperor stared at him, his face still grim.

Pei Yan suppressed the mockery in his eyes and revealed just the right amount of doubt.

"There is one thing I do not understand."

"Since Your Highness is refining elixirs for His Majesty, this is a virtuous act of filial piety. Why not present the prescription openly to the Imperial Medical Academy for verification, instead of secretly sending it into the inner palace through Consort Yu?"

The crown prince choked, opening his mouth to speak: "I...I originally wanted to give Father a surprise."

Surprise? The emperor stared at him, remaining silent for a long time.

Taking medicine without the Imperial Medical Academy's inspection was a major taboo for emperors throughout history!

What exactly is this unfilial son up to?

The emperor turned and sternly ordered Wang An:

"Issue an imperial decree: Seal off the Eastern Palace! Find all the elixirs, dregs, prescriptions, and letters! Summon the Imperial Physician and the head of the Imperial Pharmacy to the palace immediately!"

Wang An went there with a group of Imperial Guards.

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Palace, the Crown Princess was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

The eunuch brought back news that the Emperor had led his men to the Mianguang Palace and had now ordered the Eastern Palace to be sealed off and searched.

The Crown Princess's face turned pale, and her long nails, painted with bright red henna, dug into her flesh.

"Quickly! Go and burn down that alchemy room in the side hall!" In her panic, she turned and growled at the old woman and the eunuch.

"Those old Taoist priests who practice alchemy, knock them all unconscious, stuff them into charcoal carts, and transport them out of the palace through the alley!"

Soon after, thick smoke rose into the sky from the side hall of the East Palace.

In the alley, several carts carrying night soil and charcoal creaked and groaned as they were pushed out.

In the darkness, Xiao Shi followed lightly, like a night owl.

The master instructed us to keep a close watch on any unusual movements in the Eastern Palace.

The sound of the living person breathing inside the cart could not escape his ears.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Study had plummeted to freezing point.

Wang An rushed in, panting, and knelt down, stammering, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty, the East Palace...the side hall of the East Palace is on fire!"

The emperor paused for a moment, then grabbed the paperweight from his desk and slammed it down on the crown prince.

"Great! Excellent!"

"I was just about to search when the Eastern Palace caught fire. Crown Prince, tell me, how could such a coincidence happen?!"

The crown prince was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, completely bewildered, and cold sweat poured down his back.

"Father, I am innocent! The fire must have been an accident!"

His mind raced as he tried to deflect the emperor's anger.

"Father, I sent Physician Xu and Eunuch Liu to the Prime Minister's residence to treat her because I knew that the Grand Secretary's favorite concubine had tinea capitis!"

He tried his best to wink at the emperor.

This news was originally told to him by a young eunuch serving the emperor. Weren't you one of those who were interested in Jiang Guo'er?

Now that something has gone wrong, how can I be the only one to take the blame?

"How did it become that they wanted to harm the Prime Minister's family? This is clearly Pei Yan framing me, trying to smear me, Father!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhaode's face darkened even further.

He knew that his eldest son was stupid, but he didn't expect him to be this stupid!

Pei Yan stared intently at the Crown Prince, his expression indifferent.

"Your Highness says I framed you? The Imperial Physician is right outside the palace. Whether the poisoned needles found in Xu Taiyi's medicine chest are poisoned can be determined with a single test."

Emperor Zhaode immediately ordered the Imperial Physician and Physician Xu to be summoned.

The imperial physician placed the silver needles seized from the Pei residence into a specially prepared medicinal solution, which immediately turned black.

"Your Majesty, this needle is indeed poisoned. If it were inserted into an acupuncture point, it would cause death from heart failure..."

The prince's mind went blank.

How could Physician Xu have brought poisoned needles to the Pei residence?

He didn't arrange this!

Could it be that the Crown Princess, that foolish woman, acted on her own initiative and caused such a terrible disaster?

The Crown Prince desperately tried to signal to Physician Xu with his eyes, and asked through gritted teeth:

"Imperial Physician Xu, who exactly instructed you? Confess to the Emperor at once!"

When Physician Xu met the Crown Prince's gaze, his heart sank. He was being made to take the blame alone.

But isn't his life also a life?

Pei Yan took two steps closer and stopped in front of Physician Xu.

"Imperial Physician Xu has committed the crime of murdering the family members of a high-ranking official of the court. According to the laws of the Great Zhao Dynasty, this is a capital offense."

Pei Yan said earnestly, "But if you are willing to reveal the mastermind behind it all and tell the truth, His Majesty, in his magnanimity, may still spare your life."

"If you insist on covering for others and deceiving the Emperor, that would be a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family!"

Execute their entire family!

Physician Xu trembled.

He kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the blue brick, and blood immediately appeared.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Grand Secretary, spare me! It's...it's the Crown Princess!"

"She gave me this box of poisoned needles, ordering me to kill Jiang Guo'er under the guise of taking her pulse! I was forced into this situation!"

The Imperial Study was deathly silent.

The crown prince closed his eyes. It was over.

The Crown Princess is doomed.

He immediately bowed and kowtowed, saying urgently, "Father! Your son truly knew nothing about it!"

"It was all that wicked Crown Princess's doing! If I had known about this earlier, I certainly wouldn't have allowed her to act so recklessly!"

Pei Yan frowned slightly, utterly puzzled.

"But I don't understand, Her Highness the Crown Princess, with such a noble status, why would she plot against one of my concubines?"

The crown prince's face was a mixture of pale and flushed, and he stammered for a long time, unable to speak.

The emperor's expression was also somewhat unpleasant.

The scandals that occurred in the Mianguang Palace were already embarrassing enough.

He and the Crown Prince heard that Jiang Guo'er's eyes were somewhat similar to those of Consort Yu, so they sent people to investigate the matter, which must not be spread.

This matter must end here.

After a long pause, the emperor cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice:

"The Crown Princess is naturally jealous, and she must have heard some rumors and mistakenly thought... mistakenly thought that the Crown Prince had feelings for that Lady Jiang, which is why she made such a foolish mistake."

Fortunately, Lady Jiang was not killed.

"By imperial decree, the Crown Princess has committed a moral failing; she is hereby confined to the Eastern Palace for immediate reflection!"

Did they just brush it off so lightly?

This is indeed in line with the emperor's consistent style of treating his relatives and friends.

Pei Yan gritted his teeth and retreated to his original position.

The Crown Princess is certainly hateful, but she is not his main target this time; the real show is yet to come.