After my whole family overheard my thoughts, they went berserk.

At this moment, Mu Xiuyan could no longer sit still in the East Palace.

The Tianqi Emperor suspected him and wanted him to go to the forensic hospital for a second examination the next day, indicating that they had doubts about the matter.

Most importantly, it aroused the suspicion of the Tianqi Emperor.

After much thought, Mu Xiuyan had lost his composure, especially since the Empress hadn't sent anyone to tell him what to do the next day.

He could no longer sit still and hurriedly rushed to Chang Le Palace.

"Empress Mother!" Mu Xiuyan was blocked outside Chang Le Palace by the palace maids. He kept calling for the Empress, but received no response.

At this moment, Mu Xiuyan became increasingly anxious.

If even the Empress doesn't care about him, what should he do tomorrow?

Has Mother really given up on him?!

"Mother!" Mu Xiuyan called out from outside the palace.

The palace maid said respectfully, "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has already retired for the night. Please come again tomorrow if you have any business to attend to!"

"I can't wait until tomorrow!" Mu Xiuyan said anxiously.

By tomorrow, he will be taken away by the forensic doctors, and by then, it will be too late!

He couldn't understand why his mother wouldn't see him.

At a time like this, shouldn't we offer him advice and help him resolve the impending crisis?

Why is she now refusing to see anyone?

Does she not even care about her own son?

"Mother!" Mu Xiuyan called out from outside the palace gate.

The palace maids came to report again and again: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is shouting outside the door, demanding to see you. If he keeps shouting like this, he will surely disturb others..."

The Empress did not want to pay him any attention.

The Emperor already suspected her; if she were to continue her close association with the Crown Prince, it would surely cause unnecessary trouble.

If the Emperor had his eye on her, even if she wanted to keep the matter a secret for the Crown Prince, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

She was both angry at the Crown Prince for being so brainless and worried that his noise would disturb the Emperor and the ladies of the palace.

"Let him in!" the Empress ordered the palace maid.

Soon, a palace maid hurried over, only to see Mu Xiuyan push down the palace maid who was blocking his way and stride into Chang Le Palace.

"Your Highness..." Before the palace maid could speak, Mu Xiuyan pushed her away.

When Mu Xiuyan arrived at the Empress's palace, he saw the Empress sitting half-on the couch and said angrily, "Your subject is about to face a great calamity, yet Mother still has the mind to sleep!"

"Isn't everything I've done for Mother Empress?" Mu Xiuyan said angrily, "Now that things have come to this, why does Mother Empress turn a blind eye to me!"

"Do we really have to wait until tomorrow for me to go to the forensic hospital and have the forensic doctor find out everything?" Mu Xiuyan's expression was full of disappointment.

The Empress was having a headache from the noise, and she was also worried that the task she had assigned to Jin Shu would not yield any results and would not be able to resolve tomorrow's crisis.

At this moment, she was still waiting for news from Jin Shu, so naturally she had no desire to sleep. She was far from seeing the situation the Crown Prince was in.

"Why is Your Majesty silent?" Mu Xiuyan pressed the Empress, "Could it be that I have truly guessed Your Majesty's thoughts?"

"Insolence!" The Empress was furious, and rebuked Mu Xiuyan, "Tomorrow hasn't even arrived yet, what are you panicking about?"

"It is precisely because tomorrow has not yet arrived that I am in a panic. If I do not devise a countermeasure in advance, I will be found out tomorrow. At that time, how will Mother help me?"

The Empress was truly disappointed to see Mu Xiuyan's exasperated appearance.

He made this mess himself, so why is he now so self-righteous and blaming her?

She did so much for the Crown Prince, did he really have no gratitude at all?

They take all of this for granted!

"Why isn't Mother Empress speaking?!" Mu Xiuyan was truly anxious. Seeing that the Empress remained silent, he became even more worried.

In a fit of anger, he smashed the teapot on the table.

"Even though I am your mother, I will not tolerate your insolence in Chang Le Palace!" The Empress stood up and slapped Mu Xiuyan hard across the face.

Mu Xiuyan covered his aching face and sneered in disappointment, "Is Mother really so heartless? Disregarding her own son..."

"Your Majesty, I thought you were my support, but now it seems I am nothing. How laughable..."

Mu Xiuyan gave a disappointed sneer, his eyes red as he looked at the Empress. Each sneer chilled the Empress to the bone.

Wasn't she disappointed in Mu Xiuyan?

As the crown prince, he doesn't know how to deal with problems, but only places his hopes on her and throws tantrums at her.

If one day she loses power and becomes useless to the Crown Prince, unable to help him in any way, what will his attitude be towards her?

"Since Mother Empress refuses to help me, I will now go to Father Emperor and explain everything clearly!" Mu Xiuyan turned to leave.

Perhaps, if he explained everything to Emperor Tianqi and took the initiative to admit his mistakes, Emperor Tianqi would forgive him.

Unable to rely on his mother, he placed his hopes on his father, the emperor.

After all, he understood the principle that blood is thicker than water. Could it be that his father would avenge a few Sangnan people and blame his own children?

"Stop!" the Empress shouted sternly at Mu Xiuyan.

Mu Xiuyan stood there, his eyes red, refusing to turn around, and said, "Mother, rest assured, your son will take full responsibility and will not implicate you in the slightest!"

When these words were spoken, it sounded like a declaration of war, causing the Empress great distress.

She walked up behind Mu Xiuyan, looked at him, and said, "The Empress Dowager has already sent Jinshu out to find a solution. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would make a mistake due to your recklessness..."

"Everything your mother has done for you is for your own good. Why don't you understand your mother's feelings..."

When the Empress walked up to Mu Xiuyan and looked at him, her eyes suddenly reddened.

In this harem, her only support was the Crown Prince, but only now did she realize that the Crown Prince was completely unreliable.

She is all alone and has to protect the crown prince, so she should be even more careful in her actions.

"What is the Empress Dowager sending Jin Shu out for?" Mu Xiuyan's tone softened, his eyes filled with hope for the Empress.

At times like this, he could only rely on the Empress.

He threw a tantrum simply because he was afraid the Empress wouldn't help him.

Once the Empress stopped helping him, he felt uncertain and lost his composure.

"Since the Emperor has come to ask, he must have become suspicious of you. The forensic doctor must have discovered something. Now that things have come to this, it's only natural that someone needs to take the blame."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiuyan realized that he had overlooked such a simple matter, and he immediately had an idea.

"Your Majesty, I will return to the Eastern Palace immediately and find someone to take the blame!"

The Empress shouted sternly, "Foolish!"

"Such a serious matter cannot be left to anyone else to take the blame," the Empress said. "What does Princess Sangnan's death have to do with anyone else?"

Even if you're looking for someone to take the blame, you need a reasonable explanation.

"Does the Empress Dowager have a suitable candidate in mind?" Mu Xiuyan asked in return.

The Empress lowered her eyes and sighed deeply, saying, "Once Jinshu returns, you should go back to the East Palace and wait patiently."