After being divorced, she overturned the capital and seized the empress's position!

Song Yue scoffed. The mere fact that he was the former crown prince was enough to make people tremble with fear. Only the Emperor of Northern Chu was magnanimous enough not to care.

Otherwise, he would have been assassinated long ago.

She vaguely remembered that after the death of the Northern Chu Emperor in her previous life, the Prince of Guangjia also fell seriously ill and died the following year. Counting the days, this Prince of Guangjia had four years left to live.

Zhao Zhiyan sized up Song Yue: "The Emperor won't kill him easily."

"But they are separated by the blood feud of their fathers' murder."

Zhao Zhiyan shook his head, hesitated, and then changed his words: "Even without the Prince of Guangjia, someone else will soon want to marry you, and you may even be forced into a political marriage."

"Why?" Song Yue asked, puzzled. What had she done to deserve this?

Zhao Zhiyan sighed softly, offering no reply. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. Song Yue smiled coldly: "Marrying me means you've got the Emperor under your thumb?"

After these past few days of trouble, everyone knows that Song Yue is Princess Jia Hua's Achilles' heel, and Princess Jia Hua is, in turn, the Northern Chu Emperor's Achilles' heel.

Marrying Song Yue would be tantamount to having the Northern Chu Emperor under his control.

"The Prefect of the Capital discovered that the guard who died at the Duke of Jingguo's mansion that day had other knife marks on his body, and found new evidence. Princess Qing has also confessed. The Emperor was furious and demoted Princess Qing to a commoner and gave her fifty strokes of the cane. If someone hadn't pleaded for her, the Emperor would have had her beaten to death."

After this action, everyone became even more convinced that the Emperor was supporting Princess Jia Hua.

"The Emperor also decreed that weddings within the next three months should not be celebrated in a grand manner."

The marriage between the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion and the Prince of Qing's Mansion is set for two months from now. This is also a warning to the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion. Today, the Prince of Zhennan's face was extremely ugly when he was in court.

Song Yue raised her eyes: "What if I don't marry him?"

"If you can't marry this one, you'll marry another one eventually. The Emperor can protect you for a while, but not forever, unless you're already married." Zhao Zhiyan's eyes flickered slightly.

Song Huan, who was listening nearby, became anxious: "How can that be? Third Sister can't just marry anyone she wants."

Song Yue took a deep breath: "If I don't marry, these people won't give up. They will try every means to ruin my reputation. They will send people to assassinate me or kidnap me. I will become my mother's weakness. If I drive my mother crazy, it will be the same as driving the emperor crazy."

Zhao Zhiyan sighed softly, which could be considered an admission.

Song Yue bit her lip tightly, closed her eyes to adjust her breathing, and asked again, "What about the Hidden Pearl? What does Eighth Prince plan to do with it?"

“I will send someone to the Duke of Jingguo’s residence to pick him up.”

"Alright."

Cangzhu is a deep and shrewd woman, not to be underestimated. Just as she was about to offer some advice, Zhao Zhiyan said, "Don't worry, she won't live past noon tonight."

Song Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"As for your brother's matter, there are no leads yet. I will send someone to inform you if I find anything," Zhao Zhiyan said.

Song Yue cupped her hands in thanks: "Thank you, Eighth Imperial Uncle."

Seeing that it was almost time, she left with Song Huan. Before leaving, Zhao Zhiyan had someone bring her many rare spices.

She didn't refuse; she accepted with a smile.

Once inside the carriage, Song Huan became anxious: "Third sister, let's not leave the manor anymore. If we stay here, no one will scheme against you."

Trapped in the Duke of Jingguo's mansion for life?

How can that work.

Song Yue said, "I will discuss it with my mother."

"That's right. Aunt is so smart and capable, she'll definitely come up with a solution."

When she returned to Yuehua Pavilion, the Duke of Jingguo had already left. When she went to pay her respects, she saw Princess Jiahua sitting by the window, looking lost and dejected.

Song Yue hesitated whether to step forward, but Xiu Shu pulled her back: "Miss, let the princess have some peace and quiet."

Upon hearing this, Song Yue took two steps back and went out the door, asking softly, "What did the Duke of Jingguo say to Mother?"

Xiu Shu said, "It's all because of the eldest son's antidote. The Duke of Jingguo lost his temper, and later there was an argument in the room, which resulted in a lot of things being smashed."

She now suspects that the Duke of Jingguo must have known about Song Hengchuan being switched.

"Xiushu, before Mother passed away, did Consort Yuan only give birth to Song Yao?"

Xiu Shu nodded: "Of course, the princess is of noble status, how dare anyone give birth to the eldest son of the legitimate wife before the princess."

Song Yue fell into deep thought. What if someone was pregnant before their mother married into the family?

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She quickly went back to her room and called over Zhang Mama: "Mama, tell me about the concubines in the mansion. Before Mother entered the mansion, all the women who served the Duke of Jingguo must be mentioned."

Zhang Mama nodded and began to recall: "Before the Duke married the princess, he only had two concubines, Qin and Fang, who were both maids in the Grand Madam's courtyard. Later, Qin made a mistake and was sent to the estate by Concubine Yuan. She died of illness not long after. Fang collapsed in the mansion, but she fell into the pond and drowned a few years ago. Now she is mentally unstable."

"When the princess entered the manor and became pregnant with the eldest son, she did favor two concubines, Concubine Yuan and the one who had died."

Suddenly, Granny Zhang said, "There's one more!"

"Who?"

"She is the Grand Madam's niece, Miss Fan. She almost married the Duke as his principal wife. Later, the imperial decree granted the marriage, but Miss Fan refused to become a concubine and was sent back to her parents' home by the Grand Madam. I haven't heard anything about Miss Fan all these years."

"How close are you and the Duke, Miss?" Song Yue pressed.

Zhang Mama nodded: "Back then, I was the head maid in the Duke's courtyard. The Duke treated Miss Cousin a hundred times better than he treated Concubine Yuan. In fact, Concubine Yuan was favored because of Miss Cousin."

Song Yue was puzzled.

“Aunt Yuan’s eyebrows and eyes look just like Miss Yuan’s.”

Upon hearing this, Song Yue understood what was going on.

“Miss, very few people know anything about my cousin. So many years have passed, even this old servant has almost forgotten. My cousin is gentle and kind, but also strong-willed. She almost became the Duchess of the State. I heard that she was ridiculed when she returned to the Fan family. Later, the Fan family moved to Lingcheng and we haven’t heard from them since.”

Song Yue touched her chin, increasingly finding this Miss Fan suspicious.

"Ling Yi!"

Ling Yi's figure flashed by.

Song Yue whispered a few words of advice, and Ling Yi nodded in surprise before setting off immediately. As soon as Ling Yi left, Song Yue gently patted Zhang Mama: "From today onwards, Mama, do not leave Yuehua Pavilion, and do not go to see anyone who summons you."

Granny Zhang was puzzled.

"Granny, I'm doing this for your own good."

"Young lady, this old servant will obey your wishes."

Once inside, she picked up a brush and sketched Song Hengchuan's appearance. She sat down in front of the chair and examined the drawing carefully. After thinking it over, she took the portrait to find Madam Tao.

Now that Ms. Tao is in charge of the household, perhaps there are some things she can handle.

The second branch of the household was peaceful. Tao was not at home. She stayed with Song Huan for a while before Tao returned from her parents' home, bringing the two of them some food with a smile.

Song Yue accepted the gift and thanked her, saying, "Second Aunt, I have something I'd like to say to you privately."

Seeing that Song Yue was absent-minded, Tao Shi put away her smile and said to her, "The sun is shining brightly outside right now, let's go outside and sit for a while."

After dismissing her attendants, Madam Tao sat down in the pavilion. Song Yue didn't mince words and directly unfurled the scroll. Upon seeing who it was, Madam Tao asked, "Has Chuan-ge'er done something outrageous again to offend you?"

"I would like to ask my second aunt to draw what Song Hengchuan looked like one year after my mother passed away and one year before."

Tao nodded: "That's not difficult either."

She had someone bring her paintbrush, and after a moment's thought, Tao quickly drew a person on the paper. The young man was spirited and had bright eyes, and his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Song Yue's.

The next picture shows a completely different person, with a fierce and selfish expression.

"Second Aunt, don't you think these are two different people?" Song Yue became more and more certain that Song Hengchuan had been switched. She pointed to the second portrait: "A person's clothes and appearance can change, but their bone structure cannot be changed. The current Song Hengchuan does not resemble his mother at all."

Tao was taken aback: "You, who are you? Isn't the current Song Hengchuan your elder brother?"

Song Yue nodded.

"This...how is this possible?" Tao was shocked.

"My mother was ordered by the Emperor to be sent away to pray for blessings. The Duke of Jingguo's mansion wouldn't even spare a three-month-old baby, insisting on sending him away, but kept Song Hengchuan on the grounds that he was the eldest son. Unfortunately, Song Hengchuan was sick for more than a year. When he returned, his personality had changed drastically, and all the people who served my mother were sent away by the Duke of Jingguo's mansion." Song Yue took a deep breath: "From the first time I saw Song Hengchuan, I felt that he was cold and didn't even have the demeanor of an elder brother. Now I know that he was just a bastard child who had taken over the family!"

Tao's gaze remained fixed on the portrait, unable to snap out of her reverie. How could two people possibly look so alike within a year?

“I do remember that after Song Hengchuan fell ill, he was sent to the estate to recuperate for a year. After he came back, he became quiet and didn’t like to talk. For a while, he hid in Tingyuxuan and refused to come out. I just thought he couldn’t bear your mother leaving. Now that I think about it carefully, it is indeed suspicious.”

Tao stood up abruptly: "No wonder your father insisted on transferring your second uncle away from the capital back then, saying he was afraid of implicating the second branch of the family, and that the second branch would be allowed to return after the arrangements were settled. If the Tao family hadn't encountered some trouble, I would have definitely come back. I happened to run into Song Hengchuan and wondered how he had changed so much in just one year. Your grandmother only said that she was unwell, had taken medicine, and couldn't stop eating, which caused her to gain a lot of weight."

Tao didn't think much of it, after all, he wasn't her son.

But now it seems that the old lady was clearly in the know as well!