After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

“Your Highness, last night, unidentified thugs killed and wounded soldiers at the capital and took away Zhou Qingzhi’s body.” Sun Chengzong, the Prince of Kaiping, was the first to step forward.

The officials were in an uproar, but the scholar-officials smiled sullenly, enjoying watching the crown prince make a fool of himself.

The Zhou family was a prominent clan in Zhongshan, and they were all in the same boat. The emperor had exterminated ten clans of the Zhou family, and they were extremely dissatisfied, feeling a sense of shared fate. Now that someone had taken away Zhou Qingzhi's remains, it was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the royal family.

The Crown Prince said unhappily, "I am already aware of this matter and have sent the city guards to conduct a thorough investigation. However, the other party is extremely powerful and clearly came prepared."

As soon as the words were spoken, members of the Crown Prince's faction stepped forward to impeach Prince Xin for allowing his personal guards to wreak havoc in the capital.

Then someone brought up examples of the Prince Xin's tyrannical behavior in his fiefdom, one after another, too numerous to recount, which was chilling.

Even Sun Chengzong, a royalist, frowned.

With a stern face, the Crown Prince asked his ministers, "Gentlemen, what do you think should be done to punish Prince Xin?"

"I believe that, for the sake of the safety of the people in the fiefdom, Prince Xin's military power should be taken back, and he should be confined to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs for reflection!"

"I second the proposal!"

The Crown Prince's faction rallied, and a large number of officials knelt down in protest. Prince Xin was tyrannical and cruel, and almost no one in the court supported him.

The Crown Prince was satisfied, but to save face, he said, "First, hand over Prince Xin to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. As for the rest, I will discuss it with Father Emperor."

Inside the mansion, Chen Futu received a message from Liu Longyue, which detailed the Crown Prince's series of punishments of Prince Xin in the imperial court.

"It's a bit strange. Even if Prince Xin is guilty, according to etiquette, the decision to imprison a prince cannot be made by a mere crown prince; it must be made by the emperor himself. He even suggested stripping him of his military power..."

Chen Futu paced back and forth in the courtyard with a frown on his face.

Liu Longyue suddenly spoke up: "Is it possible that we have been exposed, and the Crown Prince knows that we want to use the princes to stir up trouble in the capital, and since he is about to ascend the throne and wants to reduce the power of the princes, he is going with the flow and waiting for us to hand him the knife."

"That is indeed a possibility."

Chen Futu wouldn't underestimate his opponent, because the previous schemes against the Crown Princess had been too deliberate.

The Crown Prince must have noticed something amiss. He's quite patient; he knows how to use enemies to eliminate competitors on the path to the throne.

So the two sides are currently in a very delicate relationship.

The Crown Prince wants to use the Northern Frontier to eliminate the Prince, while the Northern Frontier wants to use the Prince to disrupt the Great Qian Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Chen Futu smiled at Liu Longyue and said, "I will also test the Crown Princess; she should be able to see through the clues."

Liu Longyue glanced at him sideways and said, "Isn't Your Majesty afraid that the Crown Princess might suddenly attack and arrest you?"

"She can't do anything to me."

Chen Futu summoned Dian Wei and instructed him to inform Liang Qinian to arrange a meeting with the Crown Princess, saying that the new five-clawed golden dragon glass cup was ready and he wanted to have a chat with her.

Then Chen Futu quickly tidied up his makeup to make sure the disguise wouldn't come off.

After a while, Dian Wei returned to report that the Crown Princess had agreed to meet.

Chen Futu said to Liu Longyue jokingly, "As you expected, she saw through our origins. Otherwise, given her status, she would never have seen me a second time."

Liu Longyue muttered, "It's so dangerous, yet you still want to go. I really don't know if Your Majesty is too bold or too confident."

"Why would I be afraid of a mere woman like her?"

Chen Futu summoned Dian Wei as his guard to go there.

At noon, the master and servant arrived at a small villa belonging to the Liang family in the south of the city.

The courtyard was extremely tranquil, with shimmering ponds and stunning scenery. All those coming and going were female servants, and there were no guards in sight. Dian Wei didn't even sense the aura of any powerful figures; at least for now, the other party wasn't showing any hostility.

Guided by Liang Qinian, Chen Futu arrived at a pavilion.

The Crown Princess was playing the zither, and the music was so beautiful and elegant that it was quite captivating. Chen Futu called out to Dian Wei, who stopped to listen.

The Crown Princess is exceptionally talented, with stunning looks and an extraordinary temperament; she truly deserves to be the future Empress.

When the melody of "High Mountains and Flowing Water" ended, Chen Futu clapped his hands and stepped forward, praising, "A peerless beauty dwells in a secluded valley, how wonderful!"

The Crown Princess raised her phoenix eyes and said softly, "Mr. Zhu is too kind. I was just moved and played a tune on the zither."

She had tea and snacks brought over, and Chen Futu gave Dian Wei a look, and Dian Wei immediately retreated several feet away.

Only the two of them remained in the vast courtyard.

The Crown Princess personally poured tea, her smile as bright as a flower. "I apologize for frightening Mr. Zhu last night. It was truly the Crown Prince's neglect of his distinguished guest. Please forgive him."

"You're too kind, Your Highness. Let's not mention those petty scoundrels."

“The Prince of Xin is a descendant of the Emperor’s bloodline. To call him a petty scoundrel is far too arrogant.”

"Compared to the Crown Prince, these princes are truly unworthy of respect. To be honest, when we arrived, we happened to pass through the fiefdom of Prince Xin. He was skinning and dismembering women from the common people and distributing their flesh among them, threatening to execute their entire families if they did not eat it. Aren't such people despicable villains?"

Chen Futu countered with a question.

The Crown Princess paused for a moment, then said, "I apologize to Mr. Zhu. It is truly because the Crown Prince has failed to discipline his brothers properly. As a result, when the Crown Prince learned that Prince Xin had surrounded and killed the envoy, he was enraged and vowed to strip Prince Xin of his military power, reclaim his fiefdom, and imprison him under the Grand Master of Ceremonies."

"I am merely a minor official, Your Highness need not speak to me."

Chen Futu blew on the teacup and took a sip of tea.

The Crown Princess said with amusement, "Mr. Zhu is from the Western Regions, yet he speaks in a refined manner, unlike what people say about him being a barbarian from beyond the borders."

“The people of the Western Regions also have some knowledge of Central Plains culture. My family is well-off, and I learned some poetry and songs from a young age. I also often do business in the Central Plains, so my personality is slightly different from other people from the Western Regions.”

"Is that so? I thought Mr. Zhu was from the Northern Frontier."

Chen Futu's hand holding the teacup trembled. "Why do you say that?"

"The King of the Northern Frontier once disguised himself and went to Chuzhou, where he abducted tens of thousands of people. I know this man quite well; he likes to disguise himself and trick others."

After the Crown Princess finished speaking, she sat gracefully opposite, her pretty face raised and her eyes sparkling.

Chen Futu coughed lightly, "I've heard of the King of Northern Frontier before. That man is too shameless, so let's not talk about him."

"Tell me about it." The Crown Princess's smile deepened, almost insincere.

Chen Futu strongly suspected that she recognized the person in front of her as the King of the Northern Frontier in disguise, so he seriously scolded the King of the Northern Frontier, saying that he was lecherous and loved money more than life itself.

The Crown Princess chuckled, "Mr. Zhu, you are truly an interesting person. Aren't you afraid that these words will be overheard by outsiders and spread to the Northern Frontier, which would be detrimental to you?"

"If the Crown Princess doesn't speak, who will know? You wouldn't harm me, would you?"

"Of course not. Mr. Zhu is a distinguished guest of the Crown Prince, a guest of honor. Rest assured, our conversation today will not be known to any third party."

"In that case, I would like to say something from the bottom of my heart to the Crown Princess."

"Sir, please speak."

The Crown Princess became interested and leisurely took a small sip of the fragrant tea.