Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Su Qianrou really didn't know about this. "Since the late emperor passed the throne to you, it is yours. Your royal uncle would never have any disloyal intentions."

"The throne was not passed down to me by my father, but by my uncle."

Su Qianrou was somewhat shocked. So, Mu Jinchen had once been an emperor. Before she could recover, she heard Mu Zexuan say again, "Aunt, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing again? You haven't wronged me. Compared to the Empress, I would rather be the Regent's wife. Although the Empress is high above and holds great power, she also loses her freedom and is trapped in the palace for her whole life. For me, freedom is far more important than power."

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the children. I know that my uncle postponed having children because of me. He’s afraid that your children will become disloyal in the future. So, he wants to wait until I’m firmly established before having children. That way, we’re too far apart in age, and I’ll be able to handle your children when they grow up. But I don’t care. If my cousin wants it, I can give him the throne, really.”

"What nonsense are you talking about? You're getting more and more outrageous. Don't worry, I will never allow my child to have such thoughts. If he dares to think that way, you won't have to deal with him. I will definitely not let him off the hook. Also, you've misunderstood. It was my idea to postpone having children, not your uncle's. I'm only sixteen years old now. If I have children, there will be great dangers during childbirth. So, I discussed with your uncle that we should have children a few years later. It's not because of you."

"What you said is all true. It's not because of me that my uncle postponed having children," Mu Zexuan said, somewhat disbelieving.

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you? You're so young, what are you thinking about all day?" she said, gently poking his forehead.

Mu Zexuan awkwardly scratched his head.

"Alright, stop overthinking. Let's go have a meal," Su Qianrou said, pulling him up.

Then the two of them went outside.

Qingxin Pavilion

That night, Su Qianrou lay in Mu Jinchen's arms and said, "How long are you going to keep up this act? Xiaoxuan is breaking because of you. I really can't bear to keep it from him any longer."

"We still need to wait for an opportunity. I'm thinking about whether there's any way to also expose the people hiding behind this."

"The person behind the scenes."

“Prince Qing has an advisor who is highly trusted by him, but there is someone else behind that advisor. Also, the person who was planted in the Prince’s mansion to assassinate me has not yet been found out who he is.”

"You mean, besides the Prince Qing in the open, there are others secretly coveting the throne?"

"Ok".

Su Qianrou was silent for a moment, then said, "By the way, I heard that the late emperor originally intended to pass the throne to you, but you turned around and passed it on to Xiao Xuan."

"How did you know?"

“Xiao Xuan told me this. If I hadn’t gone to see him today, I wouldn’t have known that he was so thoughtful and sensitive. You know, he took all the blame on himself, thinking that you were poisoned because of him. Also, he thought that you didn’t want to have children so early because you were worried that our child would want to be emperor in the future, so you wanted to wait until he was on the throne before having children. What do you think he’s thinking about all day long?”

“These are all things he told you.”

"Ok".

After thinking for a moment, Mu Jinchen said, "Find an opportunity to have a good talk with him later and tell him not to overthink it. I have no interest in the throne."

"I know, I've already talked to him about it, but I don't know if he'll listen."

Mu Jinchen remained silent, lost in thought.

Su Qianrou didn't pay any attention and closed her eyes to sleep.

During the days that Mu Jinchen was feigning illness, Su Qianrou reviewed all the memorials. If they were unimportant, she would put them aside for the time being, and if they were urgent, she would go back and tell Mu Jinchen, and then handle them according to his wishes.

Today, Su Qianrou came to the Imperial Study as usual, but she ran into Xu Tao at the door.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

When Su Qianrou saw that he was holding many memorials, she knew his purpose. "Chief Steward Xu has come to deliver memorials."

"Yes, these are newly delivered from various places. I was afraid of delaying things, so I brought them here quickly."

"Thank you for your help, Steward Xu."

"Your Highness is too kind. This is what this old servant should do."

Just then, a voice called out: "Godfather!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qianrou and Xu Tao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a little eunuch limping up.

Xu Tao hurriedly explained, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. This is my godson. He had his leg broken when he was young, so he has difficulty walking. I took pity on him and adopted him."

Su Qianrou ignored his words and stared intently at the little eunuch's legs. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned and ran away.

Chunzhu realized what was happening and hurriedly chased after them.

Xu Tao was left standing there, bewildered and confused.

Qingxin Pavilion

Su Qianrou ran back quickly and headed straight for her bedroom.

Mu Jinchen was lying in bed reading when he saw her running back breathlessly. He asked, "What's wrong? Why are you running so fast? What happened?"

Su Qianrou walked over and sat down next to him, saying vaguely, "I understand."

Mu Jinchen asked in confusion, "What do you know?"

"The person behind that is very likely Prince Yu. His leg is not lame at all; he is faking it."

"How did you know?"

“That day I saw Prince Yu at Pinshixuan. I felt something was strange when he went up the stairs, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong until I saw Steward Xu’s godson just now. I asked you, what would it be like for a lame person to go up the stairs?”

"Walking with a limp."

“That’s right, but Prince Yu just stepped up directly. Think about it, if his leg was lame, how could he possibly stand steadily?”

"According to what you're saying, the person behind it is very likely him. He was once the Emperor's most beloved son. The Emperor even considered deposing my elder brother from his position as Crown Prince because of him. If it weren't for Consort Min's low status and lack of acceptance by the court officials, he might have actually ascended the throne. Consort Min rose from a singing girl to the position of Consort, so you can imagine her methods. Prince Yu grew up by her side since childhood, so his methods must be quite good as well. No wonder he came up with the idea of ​​faking his lameness. If it weren't for that, my elder brother would have dealt with him long ago and wouldn't have let him live until now."

"What are you planning to do next?"

Mu Jinchen beckoned to her, signaling her to come closer, and then whispered a few words in her ear.

Su Qianrou asked, "Are you confident?"

Mu Jinchen nodded.

"Then let's do it your way."

Then, Mu Jinchen lay down.

Su Qianrou covered him with the blanket, then called out, "Someone, summon the imperial physician."

Before long, not only the imperial physicians, but also the Empress Dowager and Chang Le arrived.

In addition, Su Qianrou summoned all the important ministers, including the Duke of Su, Su Jing'an, and Song Mingxian, to the palace, creating a tense and serious atmosphere, as if something major had happened.