Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Tu Guoqiang always felt guilty towards Mo Meng, and when he learned that she had entered the palace, he was even more worried about her.

The palace is a place that devours people without spitting out their bones. If she were to gain the emperor's favor one day, she would surely become a thorn in the side of others.

A woman as naive as Mo Meng would be in a very dangerous situation in the palace.

Six months later, Mo Meng became pregnant and gave birth to the Third Prince. She was then conferred the title of Consort Yi and became the late emperor's most favored concubine.

In the same year, Tu Guoqiang passed the imperial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). With his father's recommendation, he successfully entered the Dali Temple as a literary editor.

Not long after giving birth to the third prince, Mo Meng's good fortune was short-lived. In less than a year, she contracted a strange illness.

Not only did her skin itch, but blisters appeared all over her body. Eventually, her face swelled up, becoming as round as a ball, and she changed drastically, becoming incredibly ugly.

At first, the late emperor was very nervous and summoned the imperial physicians to treat her. However, to his surprise, the imperial physicians were helpless with Consort Yi's condition. All the imperial physicians had been examined, and they all shook their heads helplessly.

Consort Yi's condition was truly bizarre; they had never encountered anything like it in their decades of medical practice.

Finally, the Empress summoned a sorcerer, who claimed that Consort Yi had been possessed by an evil spirit and performed a ritual on her. The sorcerer said that the Emperor should not approach her for a period of time, otherwise even the Emperor would be affected.

The emperor was terrified upon hearing this, saying that it's better to believe in ghosts and monsters than to dismiss them.

Since then, the emperor has rarely come over. In addition, with three thousand beauties in the harem, many of the young ladies who entered with Mo Meng have not yet been favored.

The Empress specifically instructed the Imperial Household Department to submit the nameplates of several of the candidates for the imperial concubine selection. That very evening, the Emperor selected one of the candidates.

The emperor was so engrossed in his new love affairs that he no longer cared about Consort Yi. Over time, he gradually forgot about her.

Under the pretext of improving Consort Yi's health, the Empress replaced everyone around her with her own people, who took care of all her needs, including food, clothing, and shelter.

Finally, Consort Yi's health deteriorated, and she passed away less than six months after her illness began.

No one expressed any doubt about Consort Yi's death.

In contrast to Mo Meng's miserable situation, Tu Guoqiang was doing very well.

In less than two years, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review retired to his hometown. Because of his extraordinary abilities, the emperor actually promoted Tu Guoqiang three ranks in a row and made him the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Tu Guoqiang has always been deeply saddened by Mo Meng's passing.

Seeing that the Third Prince had lost his mother at a young age, the Emperor also felt guilty towards Zhu Yuanzhang and sent several nannies and maids to take care of him.

Because his mother died early, Zhu Yuanzhang was sensitive and suspicious by nature from a young age, and dared not trust anyone.

In order to protect himself, Zhu Yuanzhang gradually developed a silent and reclusive personality, becoming invisible in the palace, and even the emperor once forgot about his existence.

"Your humble servant pays respects to the Third Prince. I was unaware of your arrival and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me."

Looking at the tall, aloof man before him, Tu Guoqiang bowed respectfully. In the Third Prince's features, Tu Guoqiang saw a resemblance to Mo Meng.

Zhu Yuanzhang joked, "Old Tu, you're too kind. Just treat me like an ordinary person."

"Your humble servant would not dare!"

Tu Guoqiang lowered his head even further.

After a while, Tu Guoqiang finally noticed Song Wenjie standing next to Zhu Yuanzhang and was immediately surprised: "I didn't expect that General Dingchao is here too."

Song Wenjie bowed solemnly, saying, "Lord Tu, I have come here today on important business, concerning my father."

Tu Guoqiang finally realized that his mind was getting more and more confused. General Song Wenjie was the son of Prefect Song.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at Tu Guoqiang: "Lord Tu, what's the matter with Prefect Song?"

Tu Guoqiang hesitated, "Third Prince, this matter is still under investigation, and there are some things I cannot disclose."

"Lord Tu, this matter is of great importance. I wish to see my father."

"This~"

Tu Guoqiang did not reply immediately.

"Lord Tu, this matter is of utmost importance, concerning the Hanjiang Dynasty. Please be sure to agree to let General Song and Prefect Song meet, as it may be helpful to the case."

"it is good!"

Hearing the Third Prince and General Song speak to this extent, Tu Guoqiang knew that they must have come prepared, and perhaps they knew something.

Thinking of what Lord Song had just said to him, a thought flashed through Tu Guoqiang's mind: if this matter were true, then the Hanjiang Dynasty would be in grave danger.

Not only is the current emperor not of royal blood, but the government is also controlled by a woman from another family.

The true royal bloodline lives like they're invisible. If the late emperor knew this in the afterlife, he would not rest in peace!

"You guys come with me!"

Having made up his mind, Tu Guoqiang turned and left.

The Third Prince and Song Wenjie exchanged glances. They had thought they would have to spend a lot of time and effort, but to their surprise, Lord Tu didn't say much.

Hearing footsteps approaching again outside, Prefect Song subconsciously looked out of the prison gate and saw a tall and sturdy figure. He was immediately stunned.

The man was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a knife hanging at his waist. He was tall and straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, which were now sparkling with surprise.

"Father~"

It's my son's voice!

That's right! Absolutely no mistake.

Upon hearing this, Prefect Song was shocked. His eyes widened in disbelief as he strode to the prison door and carefully examined the man before him.

"Wenjie, are you Wenjie?"

After several years apart, the once naive young boy had grown into a tall and strong man, which greatly comforted Prefect Song.

“Yes, Father, it is indeed me.”

Afraid that his son would see the tears in his eyes, Prefect Song turned his head to the side and said, "My child, I haven't seen you for five whole years. I never thought that we, father and son, would meet here!"

"Lord Song, you two can continue your conversation!"

"Thank you, Third Prince!"

To everyone's surprise, the Third Prince, who usually ignored state affairs, actually came to the Dali Temple prison with his son today. Prefect Song was somewhat astonished.

"Father, what's going on here? This looks like a natural disaster, so why are you saying it's man-made?"

One sentence brought Prefect Song back to reality.

"Listen to me, this is what happened..."

"..."

Upon hearing his father's words, Song Wenjie frowned even more deeply; this was indeed somewhat strange.

"Father, there's another matter, concerning the Empress Dowager and the Emperor."

Prefect Song's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that what his son was about to say was the same thing he was thinking?

Sure enough, Song Wenjie's next words confirmed his guess.

"Who told you that?" Prefect Song gripped the gate with both hands, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

"Zhao Lian told me this."

Prefect Song exclaimed in surprise: "You two have met before!"

"Yes."

Prefect Song said with a grim face, "Wenjie, if this is true, we mustn't alert them. The Empress Dowager's followers are everywhere; uprooting them won't be easy. You need to find a way to get Lord Tu's help."

Not far away, Tu Guoqiang saw the father and son deep in thought as they pondered.