After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

The Crown Prince chuckled softly and scratched his head: "How did A-Yuan know that Xu Youyan coveted the position of Princess Ning? Lord Xie didn't mention this in his letter."

“Crown Prince, you’re so naive again.” Lu Zhiyuan stood up and beckoned to the Crown Prince. When he came closer, she wrapped her arms around his neck and their eyes met. “Who is Prince Ning? He’s someone who covets the throne! He may not be unrelated to Grand Tutor Xu’s rebellion, but he wasn’t implicated when Grand Tutor Xu fell from power.”

Crown Prince: Is that how it is?

Lu Zhiyuan let go, took the Crown Prince's arm, and lightly jumped to the ground. The Crown Prince, fearing she would fall, hurriedly reached out to catch her. Lu Zhiyuan only felt a few stars flash before her eyes, and when she looked again, she was already sitting in the Crown Prince's lap, clinging to his arm.

The crown prince hadn't expected such a benefit, and his ears turned so red they looked like they could be pinched until they bled.

"Sorry, I'm feeling a little dizzy because I'm not feeling well."

"It's understandable that you're weak after such a serious injury. Why don't you sit on my lap for a while longer, A-Yuan?" After saying that, she quickly explained, "What I mean is that the wood and stone benches in this pavilion are too cold. They're not suitable for injured or sick people to sit on. I'm sorry to trouble you, A-Yuan, to use my legs as a bench."

To avoid an awkward situation, the Crown Prince quickly changed the subject.

"Where were we? Grand Tutor Xu's fall from his horse did not implicate Prince Ning. What does this fall from his horse mean? As far as I know, Grand Tutor Xu was a civil official who was not good at riding or archery. When he was young, he was ridiculed by his own family members for this. It was because of this that Grand Tutor Xu worked hard and rose to the position of Grand Tutor of the first rank through his literary skills."

"Does Your Highness really not know what 'falling off a horse' means?" Lu Zhiyuan suddenly leaned closer, her breath brushing against the Crown Prince's face: "Falling off a horse means falling off a horse, implying that Grand Tutor Xu is finished."

The Crown Prince was bewildered; he could only see Lu Zhiyuan's lips moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Lu Zhiyuan continued, "Grand Tutor Xu entrusted his son to him not only because Prince Ning was his student, but also because Prince Ning was in the same boat as him. He died to cover up for Prince Ning. In other words, it wasn't Grand Tutor Xu who plotted the rebellion, but Prince Ning. Grand Tutor Xu and the entire Xu family died because of him. Grand Tutor Xu plotted the rebellion, Prince Ning plotted the rebellion, does Crown Prince really think Xu Youyan didn't know?"

The crown prince shook his head.

“Noble ladies from prominent families, especially those who are pampered by their families, are rarely simple people. Xu Youyan only looks innocent and harmless. The Xu family died because of Prince Ning, and as the only descendant of the Xu family, how could Xu Youyan be willing to marry a mediocre man? She wants to inherit her grandfather's will and assist Prince Ning in ascending the throne. In exchange, she also wants to become the one second only to the emperor, above all others.”

Prince Ning has a Princess Ning. As long as the Princess Ning lives, the position beside Prince Ning will never belong to her.

Princess Ning has her entire maternal clan to rely on, and that clan is currently at the height of its power. What does Xu Youyan have? The daughter of a disgraced official, raised by Prince Ning in a separate residence, a mysterious woman whose real name cannot even be revealed, living under someone else's roof. If she wants to bring down Princess Ning, she can only rely on herself and the debt Prince Ning owes the Xu family.

Men can conquer the world through wisdom and force, while women can conquer the world by seizing men.

Xu Youyan, taking advantage of the Xu family's relationship with Prince Ning and her own tragic status as a concubine, captivated Prince Ning's heart and bore him a child. Unlike Prince Ning's wife and her child, whose child, though sharing both glory and hardship with Prince Ning, could potentially sever ties with him in times of trouble with the help of Princess Ning's maternal family.

Don't forget that Princess Ning's maternal family did not participate in the power struggles within the royal family until Prince Ning's incident. This is also a very important reason why the step-princess, that illegitimate daughter, was able to request to be divorced and sever ties with Prince Ning and the Prince Ning's mansion.

Xu Youyan was different; she had no maternal clan to rely on, and she and her child could only depend on Prince Ning. In Prince Ning's heart, Princess Ning would be astute and shrewd, while Xu Youyan would stand by him through thick and thin, sharing life and death.

As they spoke, the Crown Prince leaned in and lightly pecked Lu Zhiyuan on the lips. Lu Zhiyuan's eyes widened, and the Crown Prince quickly said, "I was a little sleepy and accidentally touched her. Please don't be offended, A-Yuan. A-Yuan just said that Xu Youyan was not good at judging the situation and would stick with Prince Ning. If that's the case, why did she die in despair?"

The Crown Prince didn't know Xu Youyan, but he knew the women in the harem. They wanted to rise in rank through their children, but they wouldn't gamble everything on a single child. Especially those with ambition, who wouldn't place their hopes on a single child. Like his mother, the Empress, who was second only to the Emperor.

His mother's childbirth was extremely difficult, even damaging her body and rendering her unable to bear children again. She valued him highly, wanting him to become the crown prince and the future king of Northern Liang. She was extremely strict with him, but she didn't place all her bets on him. Besides the Prince of Yue's birth mother, his maternal grandfather sent several other women. Their only task was to gain the emperor's favor and bear him a prince. If he proved useless as crown prince, his mother would immediately adopt other children, allowing him to replace him as the empress's legitimate son and reside in the eastern palace.

The Empress Dowager's silence doesn't mean he doesn't know. His silence doesn't mean he isn't suffering. The position of Crown Prince is even harder to hold than the throne; heaven knows how difficult these past years have been for him, like walking on thin ice.

When his gaze fell on Lu Zhiyuan's face, the thin layer of ice shattered.

"If Xu Youyan were an ambitious person, she would not have died so heartbroken over a child. Could there be something else going on with her death?"

"Yes!" Lu Zhiyuan unfolded the letter her second uncle had given her: "Xu Youyan has been poisoned, and the poison is exactly the same as that used on Princess Ning. She must have been involved in poisoning Princess Ning by Prince Ning, and she knows the symptoms of Princess Ning's poisoning very well. When she confirmed that the poison she had been given was the same as that used on Princess Ning, she knew she had lost. Princess Ning could send her child away without anyone noticing, and she could make her die quietly as well."

Lu Zhiyuan affirmed, "Xu Youyan did not die of depression, but of panic and fear."

The Crown Prince said, "She can inform Prince Ning about this."

Lu Zhiyuan shrugged: "There's no evidence! Although Prince Ning dislikes Princess Ning, they are truly his first wife. Princess Ning and Prince Ning have been deeply in love since she entered the palace. Even knowing they were plotting against her, she remained calm and methodical. Her shrewdness alone is something she can't contend with. She's lost her child and Princess Ning has leverage over her. If she's not careful, she'll be doomed. Either way, she's going to die, so she might as well die with dignity and at least be buried in peace."

"I never imagined Xu Youyan was this kind of person."

“His mother was Xu Youyan, and his father was Prince Ning. Even if Duke Rui hadn’t been abducted by human traffickers, his life would have been much the same. He would have enjoyed ten or twenty years of wealth and honor, then been imprisoned and committed suicide in despair.” He cupped the Crown Prince’s face in his hands: “Whether you or I were involved, he would have died.”

The crown prince was relieved.

Not far away, Zuo Yi and the others stared wide-eyed.

They kissed... The Crown Princess actually took the initiative to kiss His Highness the Crown Prince.

Heaven has mercy on His Highness the Crown Prince; he has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel!