Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

"I am well aware of what you are saying, but given my current situation, having another eldest son would be a great help in my bid for the throne. I'm sure you are aware of this as well."

That child must be kept.

Upon hearing Chu Jinsheng's last few words, Xiao Wu felt his eyelids twitch. What was the Crown Prince thinking?

Keeping that child around is just a disaster!

If His Majesty is truly angered, and the eldest prince is demoted to a commoner, then he will have no chance to even compete for the throne, let alone ascend it!

"Your Highness, please reconsider! If His Majesty finds out about keeping this child, what will happen to you..."

Your subordinate knows it's difficult for the Crown Prince to give up his own child, but for the sake of your great cause, keeping this child would only become an obstacle!

He's already said so much, his eldest prince should understand what he means, right?

No matter what, this child absolutely cannot be kept.

Xiao Wu felt that if this child were to stay and become known to the world and the Emperor, the eldest prince would be finished.

He had barely finished speaking when Chu Jinsheng said leisurely:

"Do you think that I'm not giving up on this child because I can't bear to part with him? You've been by my side for so many years, don't you understand me?"

Born into an imperial family, there is no room for kinship; this is something I, the prince, am well aware of.

"Let alone an unborn child, even a child I've already raised, if they block my way, I can be ruthless enough to kill them."

"Why is the eldest prince...?"

"Why do you insist on keeping this child?" Chu Jinsheng's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Tell me why I kept this child! I know you're worried that if this child is exposed and Father finds out, he'll be even more dissatisfied with me."

But Xiao Wu, have you ever thought about it? My current situation is already bad enough. How much worse can it get?

My father favors my second brother, giving him military power on the border and bringing him to the northwest to compete with me. How can I possibly win against him?

He has military power; if he really tries to find a way to send people over from the border...

Do you think I have any chance of winning against him? Even if I manage to seize the Northwest, I'm afraid I still won't be able to ascend the throne!

This was the first time Chu Jinsheng had said these things to Xiao Wu, things he had previously been unwilling to admit and had always avoided.

But now the facts are staring him in the face, forcing him to admit it.

In the past, he only felt that he had not done well and did not please his father. Later, he slowly realized that it was his father who disliked his mother and therefore did not like him either.

No matter how well he does, his father will never like him.

There was a hint of bitterness in Xiao Wu's eyes. The eldest prince had a hard life, disliked by the emperor, and could only rely on himself to earn his own living.

"Your Highness, things may not have come to that... His Majesty... he's only temporarily favoring the Second Prince, but given enough time..."

"Xiao Wu, don't you understand? We have no way out now."

After all these years, haven't you seen it clearly enough? Now, we and Chu Jingrui are irreconcilable enemies. He and I are destined to have only one of us ascend the throne.

I no longer want to place my hopes on my father's meager favoritism. If he refuses to change his opinion of me, then Chu Jingrui will be the one to ascend the throne.

"Chu Jingrui and I are irreconcilable enemies. It's either him or me; if he ascends the throne, neither of us will survive!"

Conversely, if he were to ascend the throne, he would never allow Chu Jingrui to live!

"With this child by my side, my Dongling Kingdom will have a successor. I believe that many ministers in the court will support me in ascending the throne."

"Then do as I say, spread rumors that the Second Prince is impotent, or even find a way to depose him. Then the throne will surely be mine alone, and no one can take it away!"

Chu Jinsheng looked out the window at the street outside, where pedestrians were chatting and laughing, and his eyes were filled with determination!

Xiao Wu opened his lips, but finally sighed softly and didn't say anything more. Most of what the eldest prince said was true.

Only one of them, the Second Prince, could live, and the Emperor had always favored the Second Prince.

Over the years, the Emperor's heart has never been on the eldest prince. If you think the Emperor will discover the eldest prince's good qualities, it will probably be too late.

Keeping that child is indeed a viable path forward.

"Alright, now that you've made your decision, what should we do next? Miss Ji is pregnant with your child."

Even if you, Your Highness, have already decided to keep the child, now is not the right time to announce it.

"Of course I know that this child will be a bombshell in the future, but Ji Yunyao cannot stay by my side now, after all, she is a prisoner."

It hasn't come to a point of no return yet. This child will only be born when I'm vying for the throne!

After thinking for a moment, Chu Jinsheng continued,

"For now, we must keep this matter quiet. Since she is pregnant with my child, let her rest well outside the city, serve her with good food and drink, and make sure that your men do not neglect her."

"If anything happens to my child, everyone involved will be executed!"

He didn't care whose child it was, and he had no feelings for the child.

He just wanted his subordinates to know that he cared a lot about the child, and to make sure they took good care of Ji Yunyao.

If he does give birth to a son, his plan can proceed smoothly.

Conversely, without this child, he would have a very difficult time, and the wavering ministers in the court would not easily support him.

Xiao Wu listened attentively to Chu Jinsheng's words, memorized them, and then got up to leave the room. Just before leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned back, saying:

"By the way, Your Highness, Miss Ji also mentioned something in her letter: her parents in Anjia Village, which is also the place of exile."

In her letter, she mentioned a few things, the gist of which was that she wanted to ask the First Prince to be lenient and bribe the officials in Anjia Village so that her parents could have a slightly better life there.

He originally intended to ignore this matter and pretend he hadn't seen it, but now, the eldest prince wants to keep Ji Yunyao and the child in her womb.

If Ji Yunyao were to give birth to a son, the eldest prince, and her status were to rise accordingly,

Ji Yunyao is a very deep and calculating person, and he didn't want to be resented by her for such a small matter.

Whether or not to help is the Crown Prince's business; his only responsibility is to inform the Crown Prince of this matter.

When Minister Ji and Consort Zhu were mentioned, Chu Jinsheng's eyes revealed undisguised disgust.

He was about to say that it didn't matter whether the two people lived or died, when Xiao Wu preemptively reminded him:

"Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness, but since you intend to keep the child, at this time, you should at least consider the health of Miss Ji."

The journey into exile had taken a toll on her health; if she knew that Minister Ji and his wife were suffering, the shock and damage to her maternal body would be significant.

She herself is fine, but it would be bad if the prince were harmed.