The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

She rubbed her thumb, looking at Granny Yan with a complicated expression. "Granny, tell me, in His Majesty's heart, is our Prince truly his own son?"

An unprecedented solemnity appeared on Granny Yan's face. "Whether the prince is His Majesty's biological son or not is no longer important."

"The heart of an emperor is the most unfathomable. Once the seed of doubt is planted, regaining trust is as difficult as climbing to heaven."

"The prince and master's plans are probably going to be even more difficult."

Hua Sirong rubbed her temples. "My thoughts are the same as yours, Granny."

"The Shui family's move was truly brilliant."

"However, what I don't understand is, what exactly is she trying to do?"

Granny Yan was also puzzled, "Wasn't everything that Madam Shui did for the Fourth Prince?"

Hua Sirong thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No."

"They're all intelligent people. Her actions seem rather deliberate. At least in my opinion, her motives are very suspicious."

Granny Yan said with some regret, "If the Princess Consort were here to listen, she might be able to guess Shui's true purpose."

Hua Sirong pursed her lips, "That's not necessary. The Shui family's purpose is both easy and difficult to guess."

"Of course she wants the fourth prince to succeed to the throne, but to get her wish, His Majesty's other sons would have to all die."

"Clearly, the Leng clan doesn't dare to be so arrogant." Of course, after being suppressed by two emperors, they may not still have such terrifying strength.

Granny Yan said with a worried expression, "Could it be that the Shui family is the type to destroy everything they can't have?"

Even after the emperor finally decided on his successor, he still harbored regrets.

But it was a terrible blow to her prince. He had been hoping for a relationship, but now that he was accused of having an unusual background, there was absolutely no hope left.

Hua Sirong cut through the layers of mystery and finally focused her gaze on the First Prince and the Third Prince. "Is there anyone from the Leng family who has any connection with the First Prince and the Third Prince's residence?"

Granny Yan asked, "What does Your Highness mean by this? Does she suspect that Lady Shui has secretly sided with one of the two households?"

Hua Sirong nodded, "That's right."

The Fourth Prince is impossible, the Second Prince is impossible, and our lord is impossible too. That leaves only the First Prince and the Third Prince.

"I just don't know whether she values ​​the 'ordinary' eldest prince or the lustful third prince!"

"Whom do you think Madam Shui favors more, Granny?"

Granny Yan shook her head; she didn't understand why Lady Shui would secretly support other princes.

She is just a woman. Even if she has made the right bet, who will benefit from her merit in following the emperor in the future?

The daughter, who could be used for marriage alliances, is already married. The son, nearing twenty, has yet to shake off his reputation as a spoiled brat.

Could it really be to restore the former glory of the Leng clan?

Given the blatant suppression of the Leng clan by two generations of emperors, how dare the newly enthroned emperor defy public opinion and legitimize the Leng clan?

Granny Yan didn't think that Lady Leng would make such a basic mistake. "In this old servant's opinion, it would be more in the Shui family's interest for the Fourth Prince to succeed to the throne."

After all, they all came from the Leng family and had shared interests, which is why they were aligned in their goals.

"As for the eldest prince and the third prince, even their inner quarters are inhabited by members of the Leng clan."

But who can guarantee that the successor decades later will be of the same lineage as the Leng family? If it were that easy, the Shui family wouldn't have stumbled with the Fourth Prince.

Although Hua Sirong felt that Granny Yan's words made sense, she still couldn't see through the complexity and vicissitudes of human nature in a short time. "Since we can't figure out the Shui family's true purpose, let's stir up this water even more."

Granny Yan: "What the Princess Consort means is..."

Hua Sirong tapped her fingers rhythmically. "The news of His Majesty's visits to several princes' residences will quietly leak out. We'll then add fuel to the fire and say that the position of Crown Prince has already been decided."

Granny Yan asked, "Who was chosen?"

Hua Sirong smiled faintly, "It doesn't matter who it is. As long as they know it's not me, but the person they hate the most, the person who is least worthy of them, that's enough."

Granny Yan instantly understood Hua Sirong's purpose.

Two dogs fight, play off.

However, "If we do that, won't our prince also become the target of everyone's criticism?"

Hua Sirong laughed and said, "It's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone. The prince's brothers have all joined in, so it doesn't make sense for him to stay out of it all."

"By the way, there's no need for the Prince to know about this."

Entering into a performance without being aware of the situation makes it easier to gain people's trust.

Granny Yan nodded in agreement.

----

As calls for establishing a crown prince intensified in the imperial court, the year-end quietly approached.

It happened to be the eve of the Lunar New Year's Eve banquet. Because it was still the mourning period for the Empress Dowager, only a few princes and their families, as well as a few relatives, attended the banquet.

Hua Sirong had settled the children in early on and was waiting for today's show.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" A short, handsome eunuch rolled into the main hall.

Eunuch Wang immediately rebuked, "What commotion is this? You've disturbed His Majesty's peace. How many heads do you have to lose?"

The young eunuch hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "This servant knows he deserves to die, but His Highness the Second Prince... something happened to him in the side hall. Your Majesty, please go and see him quickly."

The emperor had no time to deal with the eunuch and hurried to the side hall.

Upon hearing that the Second Prince had gotten into trouble, everyone present stood up and followed behind the Emperor, ostensibly out of concern for their own brother.

When the emperor arrived, the imperial physicians were already treating him.

However, the condition of the side hall was somewhat shocking.

The Emperor said, "Why are there so many curtains between us? Hurry up and tie them up."

Eunuch Wang personally stepped forward to clear the way for the emperor, but unexpectedly, a voice rang out from inside, "Wait."

The voice wasn't that of a eunuch, nor a royal physician, nor even the second prince. The emperor frowned. "Who's speaking?"

Eunuch Wang immediately stood in front of the emperor, and the third prince, encouraged by Qu Yingyue, took over from Eunuch Wang and quickly tied up the layers of curtains.

Then, everyone witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Two grown men, except for their private parts being covered, were practically naked in front of everyone.

Hua Sirong quickly turned to the side, leaning her back against Pei Huaiji.

The other women all looked the same, but the curiosity in their eyes made them wish they had eyes in the back of their heads too.

The emperor's face was ashen as he watched the imperial physicians treating the second prince, who was clearly unconscious. He suppressed the urge to speak and asked, "What happened?"

Eunuch Wang quickly helped the emperor to a seat nearby and then served him tea to help him catch his breath.

After the imperial physician swiftly and accurately administered the acupuncture, he knelt before the emperor and reported, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is... has a stroke."

Although the imperial physician's voice was extremely restrained, everyone listened intently and heard every detail.

The Third Prince blurted out, "What? My Second Brother actually dared to commit adultery in the harem on New Year's Eve?"

If the emperor hadn't been too busy to do anything else, he would have loved to slap his son.

His frightening gaze made the Third Prince shut his mouth immediately, and he turned to the imperial physician to confirm, "Is the Second Prince's life in danger?"