My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

In March of the first year of Zhenyuan, Prime Minister Mei was sent as an envoy to Nanyue. On the surface, he was there to persuade the rebellion to end, but in reality he was on the emperor's orders to find the imperial seal.

In July of that year, Shen went to live in Qingzhou on the border of Zhenyue alone, seeking peace and quiet, under the pretext of avoiding harassment from Li.

In February of the second year of Zhenyuan, the Zhen army captured the capital of Nanyue, and Nanyue was destroyed. Princess Anping died and her body was burned to ashes. It was unknown whether the child in her belly was dead or alive.

In May of the same year, Prime Minister Mei went to Qingzhou and brought back a two-month-old child, claiming that Shen was pregnant before she left the capital. However, no one in the capital had ever seen her pregnant.

Cui Hongjing found several suspicious points:

Qingzhou, located in the south of Zhen State, was adjacent to the then Nanyue State. As an important official of Zhen State, Prime Minister Mei could not have been unaware that Zhen State was about to use military force against Nanyue, and that the neighboring Qingzhou would inevitably be affected by the war. If Prime Minister Mei had long intended to make Shen his successor, he would definitely not have allowed Shen to go to Qingzhou to take care of her pregnancy.

Since Prime Minister Mei was eager to make Mei Xueer the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he must have valued this child very much, but he allowed her to be born in Qingzhou and only brought her back when she was two months old. Logically speaking, even if Mei Xueer was his and Shen's child, Prime Minister Mei should have brought the child back to the capital as soon as she was born, and even held a full-month banquet or something.

The coincidence in time, coupled with these doubts, led Cui Hongjing to a conclusion:

Shen was not Mei Xueer's biological mother at all. All of this was planned by Prime Minister Mei and Shen. The purpose was to bring Mei Xueer back and let her become the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

With these doubts, Cui Hongjing found Prime Minister Mei.

Prime Minister Mei neither admitted nor denied it, so Cui Hongjing understood.

Cui Hongjing only told Zhuang Xiang that Mei Xueer was the daughter of Princess Anping, and Prime Minister Mei took in this orphan because of his past friendship with Princess Anping. But he did not tell him that Prime Minister Mei was really Mei Xueer's biological father, and that he and Princess Anping had a child.

Because he was worried that this would tarnish Prime Minister Mei's reputation.

After the beginning of the year, the former South Vietnamese troops began to stir secretly. This was different from any previous rebellion, as this time they came with great force.

Cui Hongjing was worried that someone would use Mei Xueer's identity to deceive the royal family of Nanyue. He wanted to tell her everything so that she would be mentally prepared. But he finally chose to conceal it temporarily.

"First, she has selfish motives." Cui Hongjing took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Wouldn't it be better if she never knew? Otherwise, with the hatred of the country's demise, plus the death of her mother and grandfather, the hatred of the country and the family, do you think she will have a chance to return to this king?

In fact, I know that it is unlikely that I can keep it a secret from her forever. But think about it, if she knew all this, what would she do? She would try every possible means to find clues about her biological mother, even if it was just to find a tomb. Even worse, I am worried that she would gather the old tribes of South Vietnam to restore her motherland or avenge Princess Anping. This would bring very serious consequences..."

"Although we are at war with Changguo, the emperor has never ignored the old people of Nanyue." Zhuang Xiang understood immediately, "If the princess goes to find her biological mother or someone who knew about it, or even raises the flag in the name of the descendants of the Nanyue royal family as the prince said... the emperor will definitely not spare the lives of the princess and Prime Minister Mei."

Zhuang Xiang couldn't imagine that, with the emperor's suspicion, cold-bloodedness and iron-bloodedness, even if Mei Xueer had saved the emperor's life and the empress dowager's life, the emperor would definitely not show any mercy, and Prime Minister Mei and his entire mansion would not be able to escape the disaster.

Cui Hongjing nodded. "But if she has no idea about it, even if she was used by someone, she didn't take the initiative to do anything. We still have room for maneuver. If she refuses to admit it in front of the emperor, and denies it, it is still possible."

Cui Hongjing closed his eyes slightly and murmured, "If I had enough reputation in the court, or ascended the throne, I would be able to protect her. Therefore, I can only delay. I hope that the truth of this matter, even if it has to be revealed, can only be revealed when I am able to protect her."

"I have wronged the prince." Zhuang Xiang sniffed.

Cui Hongjing sighed, "There are so many former Nanyue people. I cannot eliminate them all for now, so I can only do this. Even if Xue'er will hate me for killing so many Nanyue people after she knows the truth, I will let her hate me."

"The princess is a reasonable person. Once she knows your painstaking efforts, she will definitely understand your Highness. But..." Zhuang Xiang still didn't understand one thing. "In that case, why did your Highness just have Liu Piaopiao and Gu Jia under house arrest? Why not just..." He made a "killing" gesture.

Cui Hongjing shook his head. "Prime Minister Mei doesn't know what happened to Princess Anping before her death. These two tried their best to get close to Xue'er. I suspect they were Princess Anping's close associates. I am hoping to get some information from them. In addition, Princess Anping is Xue'er's biological mother. If Xue'er knew her life story, she would want to know what happened to her mother. Therefore, I have to keep these two for Xue'er. This is a serious matter. After the matter of Changguo is settled, I will go to meet these two in person and make a decision."

Zhuang Xiang sighed: "The prince has thought a lot, but now the princess has found it out by herself. Alas, the princess is too smart..."

Cui Hongjing: "So I asked you to send someone to follow her. If anything goes wrong, you can just kidnap her if you have no other options. In any case, we can't let Father catch her with any evidence."

"Just tie him up?" Zhuang Xiang's mouth twitched. The princess' hatred for the prince would probably never be eliminated in her lifetime.

He suddenly seemed to remember something. "Since the prince wanted the princess to be a complete outsider, why didn't he stop her from looking for Wang Li? He is the last great witch doctor in Nanyue!"

Cui Hongjing took a deep breath, and said after a long while: "How can I stop her? With her temper, how can I stop her? Besides, I have only figured out the truth in the past few days. Moreover, the answers she wants, such as the eighth brother's illness, the poison Du Zheng was infected with, and Liu Piaopiao's strange illness, can only be given by Wangli. I can't help with this matter. Du Zheng and Liu Piaopiao's illness are fine, but if she finds a way to cure the eighth brother from Wangli, father will owe her another favor. The more father owes her, if her identity is revealed one day, her chances of survival will be greater... I don't want to use her to lure out the old people from South Vietnam."

At this point, Cui Hongjing's eyes flashed with guilt, "I never expected that a little medicine boy would suddenly appear beside Wang Li. And it seems that he is also a descendant of the Nanyue royal family..."

"Then isn't the princess in danger now?" Zhuang Xiang was anxious. "If that dwarf is really the descendant of Helian Qingfeng, and wants to use this identity to recover Nanyue, then the princess will be a thorn in his side. Because the princess is the direct descendant of the last king of Nanyue, and has more legitimate rights than that dwarf."

"Yes, this is what I am most worried about right now. When I first heard the news, I knew that if I didn't touch him for the time being, I could use him to lure out more old people from South Vietnam... but this would put Xue'er in danger." Cui Hongjing stood up and paced back and forth in the tent twice. "This is why I ordered you to kill the dwarf immediately."

Zhuang Xiang felt relieved, but felt even more guilty towards the prince.

The prince seems cold, but he actually always thinks about the princess.

I just hope that the princess can understand the prince’s painstaking efforts and return to his side as soon as possible.

Ever since the late emperor and Concubine Jing passed away, the prince has been like an orphan, with no one to love him.

It's really pitiful.

At this moment, a secret guard came quickly to report, "Your Highness, it's bad. We just got the news that Liu Piaopiao drugged the guards and escaped..."