Spring Drunk Chang'an

"The eldest legitimate son was replaced by a child born out of wedlock, and born to the daughter of a traitor?"

"It's simply, simply unreasonable."

"He personally broke the eldest son's legs, ruining his future, and then he made the second son useless? The whole family depends on this illegitimate child?"

"why?"

"Could it be that Qu Qiutong is some kind of demon in disguise? Did she cast a curse on Liu Xiu?"

As a man, Yin Ziyang could not understand Liu Xiu's behavior.

If a son born out of wedlock inherits the title, then he'll be demoted. Furthermore, he replaced the Song family's child and treated Liu Yu like that. That's the legitimate grandson of Duke Cheng'en, so Song Bin is no pushover. How could he let this go?

“They, that’s love!”

Xiao Chuo sneered, her tone inexplicable.

Yin Ziyang's eyes widened. "Your Highness? You, you..."

love?

What love?

Is this what their lonely, cold, and moody Crown Prince should say?

"Why do you say that?"

How disgusting!

"Isn't this the same kind of love between my father and Concubine Qu?"

When Xiao Chuo's biological mother, Da Song, was sixteen years old, the late emperor arranged for her to be married to Emperor Wuying, who was then Prince Qing. The two had a very loving relationship until the late emperor passed away and Prince Qing ascended the throne, at which point Da Song successfully became the empress.

Three years after he ascended the throne, the couple gave birth to their eldest son, Xiao Chuo.

Xiao Chuo was named Crown Prince at the age of four.

And his younger brother, Xiao Xun, the son of Concubine Qu, was also born.

Concubine Qu was the daughter of the Minister of Rites, and was also Qu Qiutong's aunt. Her younger brother Qu Zheng was accused of corruption by Cheng'en Gong Song Bin, and his property was confiscated and he was exiled. However, this did not hinder Concubine Qu's path to the harem.

She was the first person under Empress Song. Her son was named Prince of Yan at birth. Emperor Wuying loved this son very much and also loved Concubine Qu very much. He scolded the Empress many times because of her.

Twelve years ago in the autumn, Empress Song, who was seven months pregnant, was struck by a nightmare and fell into a coma. Xiao Chuo also suddenly contracted smallpox, and it was discovered that her food and drink were poisonous. Her illness was so serious that her life was in danger. Duke Cheng'en Song Bin knelt down and begged Emperor Wuying to take his grandson out of the palace to take care of him.

Emperor Wuying had never done anything fancy before, and even though Xiao Chuo was the crown prince, she could not be disrespected by him. Besides, there were still the young Prince of Yan and the Empress Dowager in the palace. After weighing the matter for two days, Emperor Wuying agreed.

Xiao Chuo was taken to the villa of Duke Cheng'en's mansion, where the old lady of Duke Cheng'en and Mrs. Song took care of him personally.

It was also at that time that he met the little girl with a round face, bright and cheerful, lively and funny, but in the end, she died to save him.

Xiao Chuo's brows twitched slightly, her smoky eyes filled with complex emotions and deep disgust.

The hatred was directed at Emperor Wuying and Concubine Qu.

Smallpox did not take his life, but when he returned to the palace, he found that Queen Song had given birth to a stillborn baby due to the nightmare technique, and his little sister left them forever without ever seeing the light of day.

Queen Song shed tears, Xiao Chuo and Duke Cheng'en secretly investigated to find out who was the mastermind behind the incident.

The final clue points to Concubine Qu.

However, when they wanted to continue the investigation, Emperor Wuying stopped them and swiftly put the blame on the old concubine Qianzhi, saying that it was because Empress Song was harsh on her, which made her dissatisfied, so she used the opportunity to intimidate the empress and assassinate the prince, and also used this opportunity to purge a large number of palace maids and eunuchs.

The clues found by Xiao Chuo and Duke Cheng'en came to an end.

Concubine Qu was safe and sound and was still the most favored concubine in the harem. On the contrary, Empress Song was physically damaged and had minor facial flaws due to giving birth to a stillborn baby. Emperor Wuying rarely entered her palace except on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

A year ago, when Prince Yan got married and entered the court to attend to government affairs, Emperor Yingwu used the royal sacrificial ceremony - the rule that the emperor does not see the emperor - to move Xiao Chuo out of the East Palace and make him avoid the "honor".

"In great love, there is always a man who is carried away by the temptation!"

Xiao Chuo was sarcastic.

Yin Ziyang lowered his head tightly, not daring to listen to those royal secrets.

He is just an ordinary confidant of the prince, and there are some things that he is not supposed to know.

Fortunately, Xiao Chuo also understood this truth and did not expect his confidants to join him in satirizing the emperor and the concubine. He only lost his composure for a moment and then recovered.

Leng Jun's face was indifferent. He said, "The fact that Liu Xiu swapped Liu Yu and Liu Wenbai is probably about 80% true. You should find a way to send someone to check the mole on Liu Wenbai's body."

"I was still young when I first met you, so I might have remembered it wrongly."

"You check it out. Once you have the results, this matter..."

It's time to tell my aunt and grandparents.

"Wei Chen obeys your orders."

It was somewhat difficult to see the secret birthmark on the body of the Duke's son, but Yin Ziyang did not hesitate and accepted the order respectfully. Seeing that the prince had no more instructions, he said goodbye and left.

Xiao Chuo watched him leave, rubbed his forehead, and pondered for a moment.

"Ah!"

He sneered~~

Then go to see the folding paper.

-

Ningguo Mansion, main courtyard.

Duke Liu walked into the room with great strides, his face beaming with joy, and said with a loud laugh, "Lady Lan, Lady Lan, such great news!"

"Come out soon~"

"Master, you're back so early today?" Song came out from the inner chambers, her face filled with astonishment. "What good news is that? Why are you so happy?"

Duke Liu is an introverted person and rarely shows his emotions like this.

"Hahaha, Master Li from the Imperial College came to see me today and said that Wen Bo is extremely talented and can try to take the exam this year!"

"If I can pass, I will be a Jinshi who has not yet reached the age of twenty. Then, I will serve in the same court with him and his son. It will be a wonderful story!"

Duke Liu stroked his beard, his face full of smiles.

Liu Wenbai was the son of a noble family and had the opportunity to study at the Imperial Academy.

The students of the Imperial College were disciples of the emperor. They were ordered by the emperor to enter the autumn examination and take the Jinshi examination directly without having to take the Xiucai and Juren examinations.

Song Xuezhen from the Imperial College was once the top scholar in the imperial examination. He said that Liu Wenbai was ready and guaranteed that he would at least get the title of second-class Jinshi.

"Song Xuezheng clearly said that Wenbo is an outstanding student. If he performs well, he will have the potential to be ranked first."

"Maybe our family will also produce a top or third place scholar!" Duke Liu was very excited.

When Mrs. Song heard this, she was surprised but also overjoyed. As a mother, what mother wouldn't want her son to be outstanding? "Great! That's great!"

"If Wenbo can get the third place in the imperial examination this year, just like his uncle, a nephew and uncle both getting the third place, that would be quite a feat!"

"It's no wonder his uncle has worked so hard to teach him for more than ten years." She said with satisfaction.

Liu Wenbai's childhood teacher was his uncle, Song Chengji, the prince of Cheng'en. Later, Song Chengji also taught him for more than ten years.

Liu Wenbai has such literary talent thanks to his uncle who won the third place in the imperial examination!

Duke Liu's smile froze, and a look of displeasure surfaced deep in his eyes.

What does Wen Bo's excellence have to do with the Song family? That is his and Qiu Tong's son, the child's uncle, and Qiu Tong's brothers.

Speaking of which...

Qiu Tong's eldest brother was also the runner-up in the imperial examination. I guess Wen Bo's talent for studying was inherited from the Qu family, right?

"Lan Niang, you're right. Wen Bo has such talent thanks to his uncle!"

Duke Liu smiled meaningfully.