Thinking of her son, Consort Jiang felt a sharp pain in her heart.

She held onto a sliver of hope. “Your Majesty, my son was unaware of this from the beginning to the end. He has always regarded you as his true father. For the sake of his devotion and admiration for you, please spare his life.”

“Even if… even if he is expelled from the palace to live as a commoner, that would be enough.” Her eyes were filled with pleading.

[You cheated on the emperor and still expect him to raise your son? What a bold calculation. Besides, who said the Second Prince didn’t know?]

The emperor’s gaze fell on Jiang Yuanxi.

[Ten miles south of the city, the Second Prince has an army in waiting, ready to overthrow the throne and seize the Yufeng dynasty.]

[The emperor’s crown is completely green now.]

Although the Second Prince had once felt a father-son bond with the emperor, upon learning that the emperor was not his biological father, any lingering affection had long vanished.

The emperor’s hands trembled with rage, and his heart ached from Jiang Yuanxi’s betrayal.

His wife was not truly his, his son was not truly his, and now even the illegitimate child was attempting to usurp the throne, tainting the royal bloodline and threatening the century-old foundation of Yufeng.

He had almost—almost—become the greatest sinner of his empire.

The Crown Prince, seeing the emperor’s instability, had Eunuch Cao take custody of Jiang Yuanxi while he stepped forward to support his father.

The emperor’s strength suddenly left him.

After a long silence, he finally calmed himself.

“Consort Jiang has been immoral—she is sentenced to death by hanging. Qian Yingcai attempted regicide—he is sentenced to death. As for the Second Prince…” The emperor hesitated, his expression pained. “For raising a private army and rebelling against the throne—he is sentenced to drink poisoned wine.”

In the end, the emperor still showed mercy.

As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back, his expression once again cold and imperial.

“In the past, I did not know the truth. If I had, I would have bestowed marriage upon you both.”

A few short words left Qian Yingcai and Consort Jiang in tears, overwhelmed with regret.

Had they been braver back then, things would not have ended this way.

But mistakes had been made—again and again.

Now, there was no turning back.

More lives were lost needlessly.

Perhaps, when the Second Prince first learned he was not truly of royal blood, he had felt the same fury—that was why he had raised an army for rebellion.

But one had to admit, the emperor was still a just ruler.

Had he been a tyrant, not only these two but their entire families would have been exterminated.

Instead, the emperor only executed a few individuals and stripped the Jiang and Qian families of their noble titles and government positions.

That, in itself, was an immense mercy.

Returning to the imperial study, the emperor glanced at the Crown Prince, who immediately understood his father’s unspoken command.

Though the Second Prince was dead, his private army still remained outside the city.

They had to be dealt with.

“Father, what about Yuanxi?” the Crown Prince asked.

The emperor waved his hand weakly. “Take her away.”

Just seeing her made his head pound.

One trip to the palace, and she had nearly destroyed his entire household.

The emperor pondered whether or not to grant Yuanxi the title of a princess.

Marrying her into the royal family was an option, but there were no suitable princes of age.

The Fourth Prince was a possibility, but considering his condition…

The emperor sighed deeply. He would decide later.

The Crown Prince had Jiang Yuanxi carried away while he and Jiang Fengyuan walked ahead.

“The matter with the Second Prince… we owe the Jiang family an apology.”

“Not at all,” Jiang Fengyuan quickly responded. “It is simply a minister’s duty.”

Jiang Fengyuan, knowing he had narrowly escaped with his life, felt nothing but relief.

The Crown Prince hesitated before studying Jiang Fengyuan with a curious gaze.

“Minister Jiang, did you hear Yuanxi’s thoughts earlier?”

“Of course, I—” Jiang Fengyuan suddenly realized something and quickly changed his response.

“Ah, what?” His eyes were full of innocence.

But his poor acting skills made it obvious.

The Crown Prince merely smiled without exposing him and continued walking.

“In any case, Minister Jiang, you need not worry. My father and I will do our best to protect Yuanxi.”

Jiang Fengyuan continued to feign ignorance. “Your Highness, I don’t understand what you mean.”

Yet his heart was shaken.

If the Crown Prince could hear her thoughts, then surely the emperor could as well…

No wonder the emperor had acted so decisively—so that was the reason.

The Crown Prince chuckled but said nothing more.

Everyone understood the truth; there was no need to say it out loud.

As they were leaving, Jiang Yuanxi sneakily took some pastries from the emperor’s table.

..

Madam Chen paced anxiously, her sons waiting alongside her.

Spring Zhi rushed inside. “Madam, the master and young lady have returned!”

“Mother!” Jiang Yuanxi ran straight into her mother’s arms.

Madam Chen tapped her on the nose. “Caused trouble again?”

Jiang Yuanxi shook her head frantically. “No!”

Don’t falsely accuse me.

[I just watched the emperor catch an affair. That’s all.] She lowered her head, her eyes darting.

[Then I saw Consort Jiang and that Qian Yingcai caught in bed, too shocked to even dress properly. The emperor was furious and executed them all.]

The people at the table were stunned.

They had just stumbled upon royal gossip.

Knowing royal secrets… would they be executed?

“Father, will our family be raided and executed tomorrow?” Jiang Yuanfan asked in a trembling voice.

Jiang Fengyuan glared at him. “What nonsense.”

If anyone was getting executed, it was the Duke of An’s household—it had nothing to do with them.

Jiang Yuansheng smirked. “Third Brother, don’t worry. Since Father is back, everything is fine.”

Only then did Jiang Yuanyuan finally relax.

“In a few days, it will be the imperial exams. You two must prepare well,” Jiang Fengyuan instructed.

“If you don’t pass, don’t worry. I’ll buy some land, and we’ll become farmers.”

Madam Chen shot him a fierce glare. “My sons are talented scholars! If anyone’s farming, it’ll be you!”

“Yes, yes,” Jiang Fengyuan relented, trying to placate her. “My dear wife, I misspoke. Please don’t be angry.”

As the exams approached, Madam Chen became even more anxious than her sons.

She prayed three times a day, so much so that Jiang Yuanxi had memorized the prayers.

The incense in the family’s small Buddhist hall never stopped burning.

She only wished for her sons to pass.

Even Jiang Yuanxi found herself temporarily out of favor.

“Hei Zi, do you think Mother’s prayers will work?” She squatted outside, speaking to her black snake companion. The two of them watched the Buddhist hall.

Inside, Madam Chen was kneeling before the altar, where three enormous incense sticks as thick as buckets burned intensely, filling the air with smoke.

The black snake tilted its head in confusion.

“Zhi Zhi,” Jiang Yuanxi called, looking up. “Why doesn’t Mother pray to the God of Literature instead?”

Back in heaven, she had been on good terms with the God of Literature.

He governed the realm of scholars, including the imperial examinations.

Spring Zhi smacked her forehead and rushed inside.

“Madam, you’re praying to the wrong god! You should be worshiping the God of Literature!”

Madam Chen froze. The wrong god?

She threw aside her Buddhist scriptures and immediately stood up, giving orders.

“Quick, quick! Take down this statue and bring in the God of Literature!”

Meanwhile, Jiang Fengyuan had finally uncovered the truth.

Just as Yuanxi had said that day, the case involving the Minister of Personnel, Li Wenbo, was connected to the Chen family.

That was because Minister Li’s wife, Madam Li, had a younger brother.

This man was a troublemaker and had committed many misdeeds in his youth.

During the time when the Chen family was framed, he had coincidentally been assigned certain tasks.

But to cover up the matter, the Duke of An had eliminated all the witnesses.

How had Madam Li’s brother, Li Ping, managed to escape?