After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

"What, it's the Crown Prince?"

Xin Chuli's eyes widened suddenly, and she exclaimed in disbelief.

"What does the Crown Prince need so much silver for? To recruit soldiers and start a rebellion?"

My father said that the Crown Prince is the Emperor's chosen heir apparent, and that he will definitely be the one to inherit the throne. Could it be that my father is wrong?

"His Majesty does indeed favor the Crown Prince, but His Majesty is still in his prime and cannot allow the Crown Prince to become too powerful. Therefore, in recent years, he has allowed the Second Prince to counterbalance the Crown Prince."

It's not impossible that they might secretly recruit soldiers and horses for a future rebellion.

Ye Li'an analyzed.

"But the Second Prince has health problems..."

Xin Chuli stopped speaking, thinking of taking precautions.

Qin Jingyu realized from the case of embezzlement of military funds that the Crown Prince did not seem to care about the outcome, but he still could not figure out what he was going to do.

However, Qin Jingyu was certain that the Crown Prince was plotting a grand conspiracy behind the scenes.

Ye Yaoyao shook her head and told them.

"Prince Jing said that the Crown Prince might not be solely after the throne."

"What's that for?"

"It's not clear yet."

The turbid aura emanating from the Crown Prince is a hidden danger. She also wants to figure out the Crown Prince's true intentions as soon as possible, but there are too few clues available, and everything is still shrouded in mystery.

"Brother, those people in Jiangdong are the Crown Prince's henchmen, they can't be allowed to live. You must be very careful when you're doing things over there, and you must protect yourselves well."

"Little sister, don't worry. With the King of Jing's men with us, your brother will be safe and sound and successfully complete the mission, bringing those corrupt officials to justice."

After discussing it, Ye Li'an and Xin Chuli each went to visit their parents.

That night, Ye Yaoyao had a dream in which she saw a young empress and a young, innocent prince.

As the Crown Prince began to babble, the Empress began to intentionally or unintentionally mention his intelligence to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, look at our son! He learns so quickly and is so intelligent, just like you!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor smiled faintly, reached out and patted the Crown Prince's head, nodding in approval.

"The prince is intelligent; it is a blessing for the royal family."

"Your Majesty, please take care of the affairs of state. I will look after the harem and the prince. I will do my best to manage the harem well."

"Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty."

The Emperor nodded slightly, his gaze slowly shifting from the Crown Prince to the Empress's face, a hint of satisfaction in his expression.

After the Emperor left, the Empress took the young Crown Prince in her arms and, regardless of whether he understood or not, began to speak to herself:

"My son, you must win your father's favor. The harem is full of beauties, and the princes cannot only have you. Only if you are outstanding will your father like you, and only then can our positions be secure. Do you understand?"

The young prince was still small, innocent and naive, and couldn't understand what the empress was saying at all. Seeing the empress's serious and happy expression, his clear eyes sparkled with excitement, and he smiled, revealing his little teeth.

"Mother...Mother..."

Even though the little prince was only two years old and still couldn't speak fluently, the empress was already eager to teach him to recite poems.

The little prince, who was only two years old and could not speak fluently, was already being taught to recite poems by the empress.

The child was playful and soon his attention was drawn to a colorful butterfly flying by outside the window. His eyes followed the butterfly as it fluttered between the window frames, and he refused to recite poems with the empress.

"How can you be so useless? You can't even do this simple thing right, how can you expect your father to value us!"

The empress's face instantly darkened, her eyes filled with anger. She slammed the book onto the table and shouted angrily.

Having said that, he took a rattan cane from the side and, without saying a word, struck the prince's tender little body.

The young prince was so frightened that he cried loudly, but the empress showed no sign of stopping.

As such incidents continued to occur, the young prince grew increasingly afraid of the empress.

Every time she saw the Empress pick up the cane, her small body would tremble uncontrollably. In order to avoid being punished again, she could only study hard and earn the Emperor's praise so that she could feel better.

After he grew a little older, the young prince witnessed the pure affection between Consort Mei and the Second Prince, and secretly envied it.

Passing by the garden, I saw Consort Mei personally leading the Second Prince to fly a kite.

Consort Mei wore a gentle smile as the Second Prince ran around happily, his laughter echoing in the garden. The young prince was so captivated by the sight that he unconsciously hid behind a pillar to peek.

The second prince turned around by chance and saw the young crown prince hiding behind a pillar, and warmly invited him in.

"Brother Crown Prince, would you like to play with me?"

"No, the Grand Tutor is waiting for me." The young prince hesitated for a moment before refusing.

"Here, take this kite. You can play with it after school."

As the second prince spoke, he handed the kite in his hand to the young crown prince.

The little prince's eyes lit up immediately. The empress was very strict with him, and he had never had any toys of his own.

He carefully took the kite, waiting to play with it secretly, but the matter was soon reported to the Empress.

"Playing with toys will ruin your ambition. Playing with toys will ruin your ambition. How many times has your mother said this? You are the crown prince. You cannot play with things that only lowly people play with."

Furthermore, Consort Mei is constantly opposing the Empress Dowager. You cannot play with the Second Prince; he will harm you. Do you understand?

The Empress took the kite and tore it to pieces. The young prince watched helplessly as the kite, which he hadn't even had a chance to play with, was destroyed. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he could only force himself to hold them back.

When he was ten years old, the young prince saw an injured kitten on the ground on his way back to his palace. He watched as the kitten struggled with its injured paw.

"Mimi...Mimi..."

A little girl's innocent voice called out from not far away; her voice was clear and melodious, like birdsong in the forest.

The young prince looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl dressed in a pale yellow dress looking around anxiously, calling the kitten's name as she walked.

"Are you looking for it?"

"It's my Mimi, Mimi is hurt."

The little girl squatted down and carefully took out a handkerchief to bandage the kitten.

"Whose daughter are you? Letting a kitten run around in the palace? You'll be beaten to death if something happens."

Upon hearing this, the little girl's face turned deathly pale. "Big brother, I...I didn't mean to."

The first time I entered the palace, Mimi was very well-behaved. Today, when I brought her into the palace, she ran away without me noticing.

I know there are many rules in the palace, but Mimi is really obedient and won't cause trouble. Please, please don't let anyone beat her to death.

"Who said I was going to kill it?" The little prince glared at the little girl and snorted before leaving.

"Jiaojiao, come here. This is your cousin, the Crown Prince."

The Empress pulled Chen Jiaojiao aside and introduced Qin Jinhuai to her niece.

The little girl looked at the prince in surprise; they had met once before.

"Jinhuai, she is your cousin Jiaojiao. She is in poor health and will stay in the palace for a few days so that the imperial physicians can take good care of her. During this time, please take good care of her, understand?"

The Crown Prince replied calmly, "Your subject understands."

The crown prince appeared gentle, but in reality, he was not close to anyone. From then on, besides his study companion, he had a little tail following him around.

"Brother Crown Prince, why are you always reading?"

"Brother Crown Prince, Aunt Empress is so fierce."

"Crown Prince, are you in pain?"

"Waaah... Crown Prince, Mimi is dead."

“Brother Crown Prince, Auntie is wrong. If Auntie doesn’t love you, I will love you.”

"Brother Crown Prince, don't be unhappy."