The daughter of the first wife grew up in the countryside and was extremely powerful

His tone was neither hurried nor slow, but the coldness contained in it was as penetrating as frost.

Hearing this, Shi Jinyan's originally relaxed fingers instantly tightened and gripped the rim of the cup tightly.

But in just a moment, he recovered as before, his face still as calm as water, and just responded lightly:

"Everyone says that woman has gone insane. Could His Royal Highness believe her so easily?"

Although he was extremely curious about what happened back then, Shi Jinyan knew that he must not lose his composure at this moment.

At this moment, Pei Qiyu frowned slightly and said in a low voice:

"Zixi, Empress Xue has been increasing the dosage of medicine she's been giving me lately. Furthermore, she's even planning to choose a wife for me. I'm sure she's noticed something, sensed some changes in me, or discovered some clues."

It turned out that Queen Xue was worried that if Pei Qiyu knew some of the inside story, it would be difficult to completely control him in the future; on the other hand, as the power of the Fifth Prince grew and the situation became increasingly urgent, she really could not wait any longer.

After a moment's thought, Shi Jinyan sighed softly, "Judging from your Majesty's recent condition, he does appear quite frail. I guess Empress Xue is trying to kill two birds with one stone!"

The emperor is in his prime, and if a few more years pass, who can say that his love for the fifth prince Pei Bozhi will not grow day by day?

By then, it would be easy to depose the current crown prince with just one imperial edict.

For this reason, instead of sitting back and waiting for changes to occur, it is better to seize the opportunity now.

If Your Majesty passes away suddenly, then the heir to the throne will naturally be the current Crown Prince.

"Tonight, I will personally go to the Cold Palace to investigate... to find out the truth behind that incident."

In fact, deep down in his heart he had already vaguely guessed the general situation of the matter, but in the end he was still unwilling to give in and wanted to make a final effort and struggle.

Shi Jinyan remained silent at this moment, and his attitude clearly showed that he agreed with this plan.

Suddenly, an unfathomable smile appeared on Pei Qiyu's face. He turned to look at Shi Jinyan and said:

"By the way, don't you want to ask my mother which daughter of a prominent family she has found for me to be my Crown Princess?"

Faced with such a question, Shi Jinyan raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a hint of doubt, but did not give any response.

"Speaking of this young lady who's been adopted by the General's Mansion just over half a year ago, she's truly renowned! Although I've yet to see her in person, rumors about her abound. It's not long since this young lady returned to the General's Mansion, but she's already made remarkable contributions, so much so that even the current Emperor was so pleased that he personally conferred the title of Princess on her. I'm curious to see what kind of lively young lady she is."

Hearing the familiar face, Shi Jinyan's face, which was originally as calm as water, suddenly froze slightly, as if he was hit by something. But after just a moment, he frowned again and said in a firm tone:

"In my opinion, this woman is not suitable for you."

Hearing this, Pei Qiyu on the side couldn't help laughing out loud. With a playful look on his face, he retorted:

"Oh? Why do you think she's unsuitable? The Empress herself praised that girl, saying she's lively and cheerful, generous, and proficient in medicine! In my opinion, the two of us are simply a match made in heaven, and we can perfectly complement each other's strengths and weaknesses!"

Shi Jinyan fell silent, his thoughts drifting away.

Seeing that he was silent, Pei Qiyu stopped teasing him.

The two of them stayed together for a cup of tea and then went their separate ways.

The night is deep and everything is silent.

A cold moon hangs high in the sky, casting its silver light coldly and desolately.

Deep in the cold palace, two inky black figures flashed by like ghosts, and in the blink of an eye they disappeared into one of the abandoned rooms.

The house was filled with the smell of decay and dampness, the walls were mottled, and the floor was covered with dust and cobwebs.

In the corner of the room, a dirty woman with messy hair was curled up in a ball.

Her clothes were so tattered and stained that their original colors were almost unrecognizable.

Hearing the noise of someone entering the house, the woman showed no sign of panic. She slowly raised her head and stared at the person with wide eyes, revealing a creepy light in her eyes.

At the same time, a strange "cluck, cluck" sound came out of her mouth from time to time, as if she was telling some unknown fear or pain.

The man in black in front took the lighter slowly from the person next to him, then walked slowly towards the woman who was called a lunatic and squatted down in front of her.

Under the dim light of the fire, the face gradually became clear - this person was actually the current crown prince Pei Qiyu!

However, at this moment, his face no longer had the sickly, frail look of the past. Instead, it was filled with a pair of extremely sharp eyes, staring intently at the woman in front of him. The words he spoke were filled with gloom and coldness:

"Hmph, didn't you keep saying you had something important to tell me? If you still refuse to tell me the truth tonight, then I'm afraid you won't have such an opportunity again from now on."

When the crazy woman heard this, she seemed to be suddenly stimulated by something and finally stopped making the strange noises she had been making.

She slowly raised her head and looked straight at the handsome man in front of her. In a trance, she felt that she could vaguely see the shadow of another person in this man.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...You have finally come to see me. Do you know how long I have been waiting for you here? I have missed you so much..."

Before she finished her words, the crazy woman rushed forward like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. It looked as if she would throw herself into the man's warm arms in the next second.

However, Pei Qiyu reacted extremely quickly. The moment the crazy woman was about to touch him, he quickly stepped back. At the same time, his eyes revealed undisguised disgust and disdain, as if the person standing before him was not a living person, but a pile of disgusting garbage.

"If you don't tell me, I'll leave."

He said coldly, his eyes revealing a hint of disappointment and determination.

It was obvious that he had realized that he had been deceived, and the woman in front of him had done it on purpose.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

A burst of wild laughter suddenly rang out, and the woman was seen crawling on the cold ground like a wounded beast.

Her laughter was full of sarcasm and disdain: