Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 594 - 591: How Dare You_1

""I... once suspected that King Liang and the Empress had already joined forces. After all, the Heavenly Master appointed by Father Emperor came from the residence of King Liang! And now, the favorite consort in the harem, Lady Qiu, also came from King Liang’s residence!" The Crown Prince’s eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth at the thought of King Liang. "Moreover, it was King Liang who falsely accused King of Zhen of treason for King Xin. I don’t believe King Liang is as weak and useless as he appeared to be. I suspect... all these actions were the result of King Liang and the Empress working together."

The Crown Prince rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned closer to Bai Qingyan. "But the Princess of Zhen said... it concerns the reputation of the Imperial Family. She also mentioned Fu Ruoxi. Could it be... all these actions were done by the Empress and Fu Ruoxi?"

"Dare not deceive the Crown Prince. When I was young, I vaguely heard my grandmother mention that the Empress had a marriage contract with General Fu before she married His Majesty and became the Crown Princess Consort. But this matter happened a long time ago and I no longer remember clearly. Later, when Your Highness mentioned having seen the Empress’s maid sending Fu Ruoxi out of the palace, I found it strange..."

"Later on, I worried that someone might forge an imperial decree to control Anping Camp, so I ordered Lu Ping to intercept any messages between the Capital and Anping Camp. We intercepted a letter Fu Ruoxi sent to the Capital. Then, Fu Ruoxi tried to assassinate Your Highness in front of all the soldiers of Anping Camp, disregarding the lives of the Fu Family. I felt very strange. Upon returning to the Capital, the first thing I did was to ask my grandmother about it. She said... she had indeed heard of it back then. However, after His Majesty married the Empress, Fu Ruoxi also took a wife. Madam Fu said they were engaged since childhood, so it was considered a baseless rumor."

The Crown Prince clenched his hands, already guessing what Bai Qingyan was about to say. He held his breath.

The Empress and Fu Ruoxi?!

How dare they!

Bai Qingyan saw the Crown Prince’s suddenly pale face and knew he understood.

The reason for mentioning her grandmother, the Eldest Princess, was because both the Emperor and the Crown Prince would somewhat trust Bai Qingyan’s grandmother, the Eldest Princess. Also... since Nanny Jiang had brought Wei Zhong to inform Bai Qingyan, her grandmother must already know.

From Lu Ninghuan encountering the secret meeting between the Empress and Fu Ruoxi, to Wei Zhong investigating their relationship, perhaps her grandmother only wanted to find out why the Empress would conspire with Fu Ruoxi. Or perhaps, with her grandmother’s wisdom, she already suspected whether the child in the Empress’s womb was truly the Emperor’s.

As the Eldest Princess and a member of the Bai family, entrusted by the Emperor to oversee the harem, she couldn’t rashly investigate the Empress. However, she would never allow any confusion regarding the Imperial Family’s bloodline.

Regardless of the truth of the matter, it was an Imperial scandal that could not be revealed by the Eldest Princess, lest it implicate her own granddaughters.

Even if the matter were to be exposed, it had to be done either by someone within the Emperor’s harem or by the Emperor’s son. This way, the Emperor wouldn’t kill to keep it secret. After all, for a man, this was the utmost disgrace.

"Now that King Xin has returned to the Capital, the identity of the child in the Empress’s womb is unclear. King Liang wants to stand aside and let Your Highness and the Empress fight. He hopes to benefit from it. Originally, I thought that as long as Your Highness maintained integrity and kept a clean slate, those who set up the situation would become anxious! However, if the child in the Empress’s womb is not His Majesty’s, Your Highness could secretly investigate and find out the truth, then inform His Majesty in private when he awakens. Preserving His Majesty’s dignity would be a great achievement!"

Upon hearing the words "great achievement," the Crown Prince lifted his spirits. "I am willing to listen to the Princess of Zhen."

"Your Highness, there are two urgent matters now. First, verify whether the Empress and General Fu had a marriage contract in the past. This should not be difficult to investigate. Your Highness can send someone to search for brokers in the Capital and check any changes in the household servants of the Empress’s family and the Fu family in the year His Majesty and the Empress got married. Find the old servants who were sold and inquire about it!"

The Crown Prince’s face tightened, and he nodded. "Investigate the marriage contract between General Fu and the Empress thoroughly. But the most urgent matter is to determine the exact month of the Empress’s pregnancy! If it coincides with the times Fu Ruoxi was journeying in and out of the palace, and during those times Father Emperor did not stay overnight in the Empress’s palace..."

The Crown Prince trailed off, recalling how ever since the Empress became pregnant, she had been attended to by Doctor Hu from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Furthermore, at the palace banquet, when the Empress’s stomach pains were severe, she specifically asked for Doctor Hu, claiming he was familiar with her body and pulse. This sounded reasonable, but if the child in the Empress’s womb wasn’t Father Emperor’s, then it was suspicious.

"If the child isn’t Father Emperor’s, and it is the Empress and Fu Ruoxi’s, then the words ’wait for the opportune moment’ sent to the Capital by Fu Ruoxi were meant for the Empress?" The Crown Prince gnawed his teeth. Despite his hatred, he felt a trace of delight.

The words "wait for the opportune moment" from Fu Ruoxi were kept by the Crown Prince to be used as evidence of his rebellion. Unfortunately, the carrier of the message had died and couldn’t provide any information.

If the child in the Empress’s womb was truly Fu Ruoxi’s, then King Xin and the Empress would have no chance of making a comeback. King Liang would be no match for him.

The Crown Prince raised his eyebrows, let out a long breath, and leaned back in his chair, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Without further delay, the Crown Prince considered and instructed, "Quan Yu, send for Old Man Fang, Mr. Qin, and Mr. Ren to come!"

"Your Highness... this matter concerns the reputation of the Royal Family. The fewer who know, the better. Otherwise, His Majesty might blame Your Highness," Bai Qingyan added.

The Crown Prince realized the reasoning and said, "I wanted to entrust this matter to you, but Father Emperor’s distrust towards you hasn’t dissipated. If you handle it, he might doubt even more. Let Old Man Fang handle it!"

Quan Yu, standing by the door, went to summon Old Man Fang upon hearing this.

Since Bai Qingyan was willing to work hard for him, the Crown Prince also had to show consideration for Bai Qingyan.

"I don’t fear the Emperor’s suspicion, only fear ruining Your Highness’s plans!" Bai Qingyan stood and respectfully bowed to the Crown Prince. "In that case, let Old Man Fang handle it. He is steady and reliable and will surely get it done. I won’t stay any longer."

Bai Qingyan could only act as someone who advised the Crown Prince, not as the one to complete the task. Otherwise, the Crown Prince would suspect her. Even if the Crown Prince didn’t say so, Bai Qingyan would have claimed there was no one in the Capital to investigate this matter thoroughly for the Crown Prince.

"By the way..." Bai Qingyan suddenly seemed to remember something and asked the Crown Prince, "On the way back to the Princess of Zhen’s residence, I saw what appeared to be a war report being sent to the office. It came from the east. Has something happened at Anping Camp?"