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

Chen Futu ignored the Crown Prince, who was engrossed in his own excitement, and quietly asked the Crown Princess, whose face was gloomy, "Are you alright?"

The Crown Princess shook her head and said bitterly, "Thank you, I'm fine..."

This time, she didn't refer to herself as "this Empress," and the light in her eyes was gone, leaving only numbness and emptiness.

"Chocolate! This treasure is temporarily entrusted to you. Do not let the news leak out, and you must take good care of it. If anything happens to it, I will exterminate your entire clan and send a large army to slaughter your Western Zhao!"

After laughing, the prince spoke with a threat.

"Your Highness need not worry. This treasure belongs to His Majesty. It is useless to ordinary people, and even our ruler cannot control it. Only a wise and sage ruler like yourself is worthy of possessing it."

"You're smart enough to leave, let's go!"

The Crown Prince was satisfied. He called out to the Crown Princess and left with the Imperial Guards, but he didn't forget to leave a group of people behind to keep an eye on Chen Futu and his men.

Before the Crown Princess left, Chen Futu took advantage of the Crown Prince's inattention and boldly grabbed her soft, smooth hand and squeezed it. "Crown Princess, please remember to take care of yourself. I will worry about you."

The Crown Princess trembled, hastily withdrew her hand, and quickly left, her graceful figure looking utterly disheveled.

At this point, the couple's relationship was practically over.

After everyone had left, Yan Qing approached him with a smile and teased, "Your Majesty, are the Crown Princess's little hands soft?"

"Soft, very soft, is also what I desire."

Chen Futu stood with his hands on his hips and laughed heartily. Liu Longyue glared at him and cursed him as shameless.

But then again, the Crown Princess was truly beautiful. A tyrant like Chen Futu would surely want to take such a beauty into his household.

Consort Ge muttered under her breath, "The Crown Prince is really something. He's too rude to the Crown Princess. He's nowhere near as gentle as His Majesty."

"Hmph, all men are the same, he's no better."

Liu Longyue seized the opportunity to be sarcastic, and Chen Futu picked at his ear, "Your butt's itchy again, isn't it?"

Liu Longyue trembled and looked away awkwardly, afraid that Chen Futu would scold her again.

Chen Futu's smile faded, and he summoned Dian Wei, "What's the situation with Prince Kang?"

"Your Majesty, King Kang heard that the Queen Consort was intercepted, so he has already led his men out of the city in disguise. He seems to be afraid that the Crown Prince will come after him."

"Hiding the Imperial Seal is a serious crime. If he stays, at the very least he will be stripped of his title and most likely demoted to a commoner. I will also have those treacherous officials write to me to impeach Prince Kang, saying that he has fled the capital because he hid the Imperial Seal and plans to return to his fiefdom to start a rebellion."

Things have almost reached this point. The next step is to release Prince Xin and help him escape the capital.

Within just a day or two, the news that Prince Kang had fled the capital with the Imperial Seal spread like wildfire. The old emperor was so angry that he almost died on the spot. However, when he heard that the Imperial Seal was still there, he was relieved and issued an edict to arrest Prince Kang and bring him back to the capital. Prince Kang's residence was also sealed off.

In addition, the Crown Prince arranged for his wife to come and see the Imperial Seal, fearing that Prince Kang might actually take it away.

Chen Futu observed the Crown Princess across from him in the quiet room. Her complexion was getting worse and worse, and she looked listless even with the Imperial Seal in her hand.

Chen Futu asked the female official named Shanyao, "What's wrong with Your Highness?"

Yam shook its head and refused to speak.

The Crown Prince's attitude towards the Crown Princess worsened. After returning to the palace that day, he didn't offer a single word of comfort. He then summoned the nobles who were part of the Crown Prince's faction, especially the noble relative who was about to send his daughter to the Eastern Palace, and promised him a promotion. This seemed to imply that he intended to replace the Crown Princess.

With Ake by his side, how could Chen Futu not have found out about this? Now all that's left is the final blow. It's estimated that Liang Huan will arrive in the capital in a few days.

Then we'll persuade the Crown Princess to rekindle her ambition to become Empress.

Dian Wei used the excuse of a martial arts duel to call away Shan Yao.

The Crown Princess said self-deprecatingly, "Now that the Crown Prince has released me, it means he doesn't care about me anymore. My dethronement is just around the corner. It's all your fault. Are you satisfied now?"

"Look at what you're saying. This is the result of a lack of trust between husband and wife. Even if he had a nanny examine you, he still wouldn't believe in your innocence. You're better off without a man like that."

"Hehe, this is all thanks to you. You had two women shouting next door for so long, it must have been tiring, right?"

The Crown Princess picked up the teacup, glanced at it, then poured it out and drank the wine in one gulp.

Chen Futu smiled awkwardly, "So, what are the Crown Princess's plans next?"

"What other plans could he have? Mr. Zhu has schemed and plotted, trying to sow discord between me and the Crown Prince..." The Crown Princess picked up the Imperial Seal and suddenly raised it, startling Chen Futu. "What are you doing! Don't be impulsive!"

The Crown Princess suddenly burst into laughter, with a hint of madness. "So you do have moments of fear after all. I am about to lose my throne. What use is the Imperial Seal of the State? I might as well smash it and end it all."

"No! If you smash it, you'll be a sinner for all time, a thief for eternity. Have you thought this through?"

"What does it matter if I, a weak woman, throw a tantrum and smash the imperial seal? How can I be afraid of my posthumous reputation?"

The Crown Princess seems to be serious.

Helpless, Chen Futu snapped his fingers, and the imperial seal was snatched away by Ake in the next second. When the Crown Princess reacted and turned around to look, she saw nothing.

"Where is the imperial seal? Where did my huge imperial seal go?" the Crown Princess asked in confusion.

"Your Highness, you must not act impulsively, or you will regret it. I am just telling you to calm down. Otherwise, if the Crown Prince finds out, he will surely kill you."

"Kill me? Heh, he'd love for me to die so he can make way for his new concubine."

As the Crown Princess spoke, she drank one cup of wine after another.

Chen Futu stayed by her side silently until she got drunk and was taken away by Shanyao.

Half a day later, Chen Futu heard the news brought back by Ake: "After the Crown Princess left, the Crown Prince had the nanny check her body to make sure she hadn't been touched. He also reprimanded her for this and ordered her to stay home for three months."

"Three months? That's too harsh. The New Year is just over a month away. What did the Crown Princess say?"

"I am overwhelmed with tears; words cannot express my feelings."

"Is there any other news from the imperial court?"

“All the princes were in danger. Prince Xin insulted the Crown Prince after getting drunk while serving time as Grand Master of Ceremonies and was punished with a beating.”

"Guben was previously considering whether to kill Prince Xin or let him wreak havoc on the Great Qian Dynasty. Now, why not give him a chance? You can stuff the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Robe into Prince Xin's mansion and then spread the news to see if he can survive. If he survives, that's his skill. If he doesn't survive, I'll skin him alive and send him back to his fiefdom so that the people can have some fun."

"Here."

Ake accepted the order and disappeared into the shadows.

Chen Futu stepped out of the room, looked up at the northern sky, and muttered, "I'll be leaving in a few days. I wonder how the contest between Qingyi and Wugensheng went, whether Qingyi won or lost. If I have time, after paying my respects to the old master, I can change my route and go to Zhongnan Mountain for a look."