To divorce his wife, the top scholar preferred being cuckolded to wearing a red hat.

On the anniversary of the death of the fourth prince's mother, the emperor, unusually, thought of Consort Mei.

Consort Mei came from Hezhou. She was gentle and beautiful. When she first entered the palace, she would blush shyly when she saw him.

“Eunuch Gao, do you think the Fourth Prince really came back this time because of his mother’s death anniversary? Could there be something else going on? Ever since Consort Mei died, he has become estranged from me. He was even more outrageous before, daring to point his finger at me and curse me, saying that I harmed his mother. That’s why I sent him to the border in a fit of anger to wake him up.”

The emperor's heart is unfathomable. Even after serving the emperor for many years, Eunuch Gao dared not give a careless answer to such a question: "Your Majesty, it is understandable that the Fourth Prince misses his mother. As for whether he has other intentions, this old servant dares not say."

"Between the Fourth Prince and Zhan, who do you think has more courage to recuperate at the border? The Fourth Prince is my son, and I can understand his desire to compete for the position. But Zhan, although we are as close as brothers, he is not of legitimate royal blood. If he is tempted by the position, he may well have such thoughts."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Eunuch Gao immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, this old servant dares not speak presumptuously."

"Alright, look how scared you are. Zhan has always been loyal to me, how could he have such thoughts? If he had such thoughts, he wouldn't have handed over the Tiger Tally to me. It's just that his prestige is too great now, and he's going to marry the divine physician Su Mingyue. With their combined prestige, it would be incredibly easy for them to do something. Don't you think so?"

Grandpa Gao still dared not utter a word.

Who would dare to take on such a topic? It's not like they don't want to live.

The Emperor muttered to himself for a while, then said to Eunuch Gao, "It's admirable that the fourth prince is so filial, remembering even the anniversary of his mother's death. His mother was a kind and loving woman, but it's a pity that she was always in poor health and sickly."

He also favored Consort Mei for a period of time.

However, Consort Mei's health was rather poor. She often caught colds and was frequently unwell. It was one thing if he couldn't enjoy himself once or twice, but after a while, he forgot about Consort Mei altogether.

Although she was not in good health, she thankfully gave birth to her fourth child safely.

The fourth son was introverted and had a scholarly air about him, which made him particularly fond of when he was young. After Consort Mei died, he became even more unruly, so they had no choice but to send him away.

After being sent to the border for a year, he became much more sensible, so it seems his method was effective.

"After Consort Mei miscarried, her health deteriorated further, and she often suffered from headaches and fevers."

"She's a pitiful person, really. Let's go visit the Fourth Prince's palace; it's kind of him to be so filial." The Emperor felt a pang of guilt thinking of Consort Mei and wanted to go see the Fourth Prince.

As they approached the Fourth Prince's palace, the Emperor saw many people going in and out of the Fourth Prince's residence. He wondered if the Fourth Prince was going to perform a ritual for Consort Mei. He said to Eunuch Gao, "Let's go from the back and see what the Fourth Prince is up to."

The fourth prince did indeed invite some Taoist priests to the palace to perform rituals for his mother, so that the emperor could see his filial piety.

At this moment, he was sitting in the main seat, listening to the monk talk to him.

The fourth prince listened attentively.

A person hurriedly came up to him, said something to him, and he frowned, got up and went to the back.

The person who came to his courtyard was none other than Zhou Wenjun.

Seeing her approach, the Fourth Prince said irritably, "Princess, today is the anniversary of my mother's death. What are you doing here? Are you trying to kill me?"

Zhou Wenjun is wearing a palace maid's outfit today, which is no different from the palace maids in the palace.

She chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm just borrowing this place for a bit. It won't be exposed, and it won't cause you any trouble."

"Leave now, this is not a place for you to come today."

Zhou Wenjun looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips: "This princess just received news that the Fourth Prince is not the current emperor's son. This news is too big for this princess to digest, so I had to come to the Fourth Prince to confirm it."

"Bullshit, who's spouting nonsense? The Princess wouldn't believe such a ridiculous story, would she? You actually believe this?"

"This princess does not believe it. But upon closer inspection, the Fourth Prince does not resemble the current emperor at all. Therefore, this news is not entirely unfounded."

"I don't understand what you're saying. This is impossible. Leave now. This is not a place for you."

"What's the Fourth Prince so anxious about? Is he feeling guilty? Don't worry, even if this news is true, it won't change our cooperative relationship. I'm here to remind you that after the anniversary of your death, you have no reason to stay in the capital. As for Su Mingyue, do you have any ideas?"

"Judging by the time, her illness is about to flare up in the next couple of days. Once it does, our chance will come."

"Alright, this princess will wait for you." After saying this, Zhou Wenjun disappeared among the palace servants and left.

The emperor, hidden in the shadows, had a face so dark it seemed to drip ink.

If the fourth child wasn't his own flesh and blood, then whose flesh and blood was he?

Consort Mei is truly audacious, daring to have affairs behind his back and even giving birth to his illegitimate child for him to raise.

Okay, that's really great.

Seeing that Zhou Wenjun had left, the Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to the front hall.

He really didn't know what kind of crazy woman Zhou Wenjun was capable of.

"Your Majesty, it seems the Fourth Prince and the Princess of Western Qi know each other?"

"That unfilial son." The Emperor clenched his fists. "Let's go back."

"Aren't you going to the front to watch the Fourth Prince's Buddhist ceremony for Consort Mei?" Eunuch Gao reminded him.

"I have more important things to do now. Go and summon Xiao Zhan; I need to ask him about this matter properly."

Xiao Zhan received the imperial decree and quickly entered the palace.

"Ah Zhan, I ask you, what is your opinion on the Fourth Prince's return to the capital?" The Emperor went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, as you asked before, it was the Fourth Prince's filial piety that led him to decide. Since it is out of filial piety, there is no need to recall him to the capital. It is up to Your Majesty to make the final decision."

"I've heard that Consort Mei had a sweetheart before she entered the palace. Her sweetheart traveled a long way to the capital for him. Have you heard about this?"

Xiao Zhan shook his head: "I've never heard of it. Why did Your Majesty suddenly bring this up?"

"The Fourth Prince's filial piety has reminded me of Consort Mei. Ever since the Fourth Prince was born, her health has been poor. She later suffered a miscarriage, which made her even worse."

"Consort Mei is from Hezhou. If Consort Mei truly has a sweetheart who comes to the capital, that person will only have one chance to see her, and that person might be from the same place as Consort Mei." The Emperor wanted to investigate the truth, and Xiao Zhan subtly presented the truth to him.

"Several high-ranking officials of the third rank or above in the imperial court came from Hezhou."

Xiao Zhan immediately ordered the Ministry of History to send over a register of officials' place of origin.

“Your Majesty, there are two in total. One is Qiao Silang, who was the second-place scholar three years ago, and the other is our Prime Minister, Lord Su.”