Chapter 60: Scandal

A royal scandal, spreading like wildfire.

Su Zhenyue was slightly taken aback. “The Crown Prince?”

What could have happened to the Crown Prince? Didn’t his troubles only start after he ascended the throne? Had things changed again?

Shen Ji gave a slight nod. “Yes, the Crown Prince.”

“What happened to him?”

Shen Ji smiled faintly, deliberately keeping her in suspense. “You’ll know soon enough.”

Prince Yan had mentioned two things in his letter. First, Yuan Ye had snuck into the capital and sought refuge with the Crown Prince, who intended to smooth over the matter of him assassinating an official. Second, Zhaoyang Princess was pregnant, and the child was the Crown Prince’s.

—Originally, Shen Ji had found Yuan Ye taking refuge with the Crown Prince to be a bit troublesome. But after reading about the Crown Prince’s own affairs, he felt it was a marvelous turn of events.

Shen Ji had previously shared his suspicions with Prince Yan. At the time, Prince Yan had warned him that the matter was of great importance and not to be guessed at wildly, but he had still sent people to keep a secret watch.

Prince Yan had long harbored ambitions and was adept at placing his chess pieces. He had managed to plant an inconspicuous young palace maid in charge of washing and scrubbing in Zhaoyang Princess’s palace.

At first, nothing unusual was discovered, but the longer she was there, the more things seemed amiss.

The unmarried Zhaoyang Princess was suspected to be pregnant, by at least two months.

Within the depths of the palace, it was impossible for an ordinary man to enter. It wasn’t hard to guess who the child’s father was.

After discovering her pregnancy, Zhaoyang Princess became emotionally unstable. It was her first pregnancy, and though she knew the risks were immense, she was determined to give birth to this child.

The Crown Prince refused, his tone unusually stern. “Sister, this child cannot be kept.”

He was extremely vexed. It had been a long time since he had been intimate with her, and he had been very careful then. How on earth did she get pregnant?

“No, I want to keep it. It’s our child.” Zhaoyang Princess, as if her maternal instincts had been awakened, took the Crown Prince’s hand and gently caressed her own flat abdomen. “It’s in my belly now. In a few more months, it will grow. It will look like you and me.”

The Crown Prince flung her hand away. “But if it grows up and is discovered, it will be the death of us both.”

“Then we just have to make sure no one finds out, right? We can figure something out. For example, we could have it born outside and raised outside. When Father Emperor passes away in the future, we can bring it back.” The princess pleaded in a low voice, “Or we could find a prince consort and register the child under his name.”

The Crown Prince’s face was grim. He knew clearly that this child could not be kept. The slightest misstep, and he, his mother the Empress, his sister, and the entire Eastern Palace would be doomed beyond redemption.

Yet, he had been married for several years with no heir. The concubines in the Eastern Palace, whom he rarely touched, had not even one pregnancy among them.

This was his first child.

Gazing at Zhaoyang Princess’s tear-filled eyes, a thought suddenly flashed through the Crown Prince’s mind: perhaps he could save this child.

After much hesitation, the Crown Prince finally said, “Let me think of a way.”

Recruiting a prince consort was definitely not an option. A princess’s marriage followed a set protocol. From selecting the consort to the grand wedding, it would take at least several months. Zhaoyang’s belly could not wait. Besides, if it caused a stir, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t be traced back to him.

The only option was as Zhaoyang had said: to go outside the palace and lie low for a while.

Thus, Zhaoyang Princess found an excuse, claiming that she had been frequently dreaming of her grandmother, Empress Dowager Zheng, and wished to leave the palace to pray for her.

The Emperor pondered for a moment and agreed. He specially ordered a quiet courtyard to be set aside in the Royal Temple for the princess’s prayers.

On an auspicious day, Zhaoyang Princess left the palace for the Royal Temple.

But not long after, a small sedan chair quietly carried her to a residence the Crown Prince had arranged in advance.

The one who remained in the temple, praying day after day, was a body double who resembled her in seven or eight parts.

…

When Prince Yan learned of this, he was utterly shocked. At the same time, he keenly realized that this was an excellent, unmissable opportunity.

But he was a vassal prince, and it was not yet his turn to make a move.

However, he could add a little fuel to the fire.

The current Emperor did not have many children; only two sons remained in this world. Besides the Crown Prince, there was the Third Prince, born to a noble consort.

The Third Prince was eighteen and had not yet been enfeoffed. Due to his mother’s favor, he was deeply doted on by the Emperor and could be considered the Crown Prince’s formidable rival.

For years, the Third Prince had refused to be outdone and had been dedicated to finding fault with the Crown Prince.

Just as he was worrying about where to start, he suddenly received unexpected news: the Crown Prince was having an affair with his twin sister, and Zhaoyang Princess was already pregnant.

This was no different from a pie falling from the sky.

The first thing the Third Prince did after receiving the news was to carefully verify it.

When he learned that the one praying in the Royal Temple was just a body double, and that the Crown Prince had been frequenting a certain residence in the capital, the Third Prince was basically certain.

But he did not act immediately. Instead, he estimated the timing and laid out his plan ingeniously.

He had to seize the opportunity and strike in one blow, giving the pair absolutely no chance to recover.

—— —— —— ——

Su Zhenyue, far away in Anle County, was unaware of the situation in the imperial palace.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve.

This was their first New Year in Anle County, and she attached great importance to it.

Early on, Su Zhenyue directed everyone to paste spring couplets, cut paper window decorations, and give the County Yamen Back Residence a fresh look.

As the New Year approached, Shen Ji also temporarily suspended his official duties.

They offered sacrifices to their ancestors together and studied the return gifts together. In the evening, they stayed up together to see the new year in.

That night, Su Zhenyue deliberately lit two extra lamps, making the room as bright as day.

The New Year’s gifts from the Yan Prince Manor were very peculiar. Besides the usual gifts, there were actually several Strange Tales Novels.

—It turned out that Yan Wangfei had recently become obsessed with them and had bought a great many in one go. When the mood struck, she also distributed them to others as New Year’s gifts.

Su Zhenyue had never read such things before. Finding it novel, she read with concentration, yet she was also a little afraid, so she had Shen Ji stay by her side.

After about half an hour of reading, Shen Ji spoke up to remind her, “Mind your eyes.”

“But I want to read more,” Su Zhenyue said softly.

She was curious about what happened to the child born to the fox spirit.

Shen Ji was a little helpless. “I’ll read it to you.”

“Alright.” Su Zhenyue’s face lit up with anticipation as she handed the book to Shen Ji. Then she hesitated, “What about you? Aren’t you afraid of hurting your eyes?”

“I’ll be fine,” Shen Ji replied casually. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Then I’ll have to trouble my lady to trim the candle flowers for me.”

“Of course, of course,” Su Zhenyue readily agreed. She found a delicate little pair of silver scissors and carefully trimmed the candle flowers.

The room seemed to grow even brighter.

Shen Ji smiled, then lowered his head to read. His voice was clear and resonant, and when he read the Strange Tales Novel, it had a unique charm.

Putting down the silver scissors, Su Zhenyue propped her chin on her hand and gazed at Shen Ji, listening intently as he read.

Time ticked by, and the candles on the stand grew shorter and shorter.

Suddenly, someone outside shouted, “It’s snowing!”

Su Zhenyue’s eyes brightened. She opened the window to look, and sure enough, snowflakes were fluttering down. She reached out her hand to catch a few. The snowflakes quickly melted, leaving only a small puddle of water in her palm.

“Don’t stand by the window. Be careful you don’t catch a chill and complain about the cold again,” Shen Ji’s voice reminded her.

Su Zhenyue replied, “I know.”

But she didn’t obediently close the window. Instead, she waited until a little more water had collected in her hand, then carefully brought it behind her back and tiptoed towards Shen Ji.

Shen Ji was looking down at his book, but the corner of his eye had already noticed her little movements. He simply pretended not to see.

Su Zhenyue drew closer and closer. Catching him off guard, she suddenly flicked the water from the melted snow onto his hand.

Shen Ji cooperated perfectly, letting out a soft “hiss.” Then, with a long stretch of his arm, he pulled her directly onto his lap and asked by her ear, “Is it cold?”

His warm breath was right by her ear, ticklish and tingly. Su Zhenyue shook her head with a smile, but her face quickly reddened as she whispered, “We’re seeing the new year in, don’t fool around.”

“You started it,” Shen Ji said, his expression unchanged.

Su Zhenyue fell silent.

Alright, she had started it. Wasn’t it just because she was a little bored and had a sudden whim?

Feeling a little guilty, she leaned close to Shen Ji’s ear and blew a soft breath. “This is me fooling around with you.”

The next instant, she clearly felt Shen Ji’s body stiffen.

Su Zhenyue let out a light laugh.

…

Once the hour of zi arrived, the crackling of firecrackers sounded from outside.

It was another new year.

Su Zhenyue thought silently in her heart: I hope everything goes as wished in the new year, and that we have peace and good health.

She also wanted to spend many, many more New Years with Shen Ji.

—— —— —— ——

After the New Year, spring gradually arrived.

The Third Prince felt the time was about right, so he suggested to the Emperor: he wanted to go with his Father Emperor to visit Zhaoyang Princess.

“That is as it should be.” The Emperor’s own relationships with his brothers were mediocre, but he hoped his own children could be close and love one another.

He was getting on in years, and his fear of old age and death was growing daily. He began to fear that after his passing, his children would kill each other. If his children could live in harmony, that would be for the best.

Therefore, the Emperor was in an excellent mood. He went out of the palace in disguise with the Third Prince, heading for the Royal Temple.

However, when they arrived at their destination, there was no sign of Zhaoyang Princess.

The palace maids and eunuchs were trembling with fear, unable to utter a single word.

Someone claiming to be Zhaoyang Princess hid behind a curtain, saying she had caught a cold and it was inconvenient to have an audience with the Emperor.

But the Emperor immediately sensed something was wrong. The voice was wrong, and the tone was wrong too.

The Third Prince went even further and directly tore open the curtain, revealing an unfamiliar and terrified face behind it.

The woman was dressed in the princess’s magnificent robes, and her figure was somewhat similar to Zhaoyang Princess’s, but anyone familiar with her could tell at a glance that it wasn’t her.

“Where is the princess?” the Third Prince roared, playing the part of a good younger brother concerned for his older sister. “Did you hide the princess away?”

The group of palace attendants and eunuchs stammered, unable to speak.

The Emperor was a mixture of shock and fury, his temples throbbing.

At this moment, he had already realized that the Third Prince had deliberately engineered this scene. But he also wanted to know what had happened to his daughter.

Where was the princess who was supposed to be here praying?

Before the Emperor could speak, the Third Prince took the initiative and volunteered to adjudicate the matter. He then ordered the place to be sealed off to prevent anyone from sending word.

The Emperor’s face was grim. He gave a slight nod. “Granted.”

Before long, the Third Prince had “interrogated” out the truth. “Father Emperor, this is bad. These wicked servants were audacious enough to place the princess under house arrest! Fortunately, your son has already found the place where they are holding Imperial Sister. I don’t know what they’ve done to her.”

His face was filled with anxiety, but a glimmer of anticipation flashed in his eyes.

The Emperor, a mix of shock and fury, paradoxically calmed down. “Let’s go and see.”

“Yes.” The Third Prince smiled faintly, full of expectation.

The small courtyard where Zhaoyang Princess was living was not far from the Royal Temple.

The group arrived quickly.

The Third Prince did not allow anyone to announce their arrival and led the Emperor directly inside.

Kicking open the gate, the imperial bodyguards he had brought with him quickly subdued the gatekeeper, the young servants in the courtyard, and rushed straight towards the back.

Just as they entered the rear courtyard, they saw Zhaoyang Princess sitting in the courtyard, sunbathing.

The sunlight was perfect that day. Zhaoyang Princess, who was supposed to be praying at the Royal Temple, had a prominently bulging abdomen, looking at least five or six months pregnant. And the Crown Prince was leaning down, kissing her on the lips.

Their hands were still tightly clasped together.

Inseparable.

The Third Prince was overjoyed. He had thought he would only witness the two of them together, but he hadn’t expected such a stimulating scene.

The Emperor took only one look before his vision went dark. The blood rushed to his head, and he almost fainted.

“You, you…”

He had truly raised a fine pair of children.

No, not just this son and daughter. The third one was no good either, deliberately setting this up, leading him here just to make him witness this scene with his own eyes.

The Emperor felt a metallic taste in his throat. A mouthful of blood surged up, which he forcibly swallowed back down, but some still trickled from his mouth. His body swayed, and he could barely stand.

“Father Emperor!” Several people cried out in alarm.

Especially the Crown Prince. He hastily dropped Zhaoyang Princess’s hand and rushed to explain, “Father Emperor, Father Emperor, listen to your son’s explanation. I, I just suspected she had a fever, that’s why…”

“A fever?” The Emperor sneered, pointing at his daughter’s obviously pregnant belly. “Is her belly this big because of a fever too? What leaving the palace to pray? It turns out it was because you have a bastard child.”

In fact, on the way to this courtyard, the Emperor had wondered if his daughter was having an affair and had used the excuse of praying to leave the palace for a tryst. He had suspected the man was married, he had suspected a virtuous monk, but he had never imagined it would be his own son and daughter committing such a beastly act.

“Father Emperor…” Zhaoyang Princess scrambled to her feet, her face pale, her body swaying, on the verge of fainting.

“Speak! Is that bastard child yours?” The Emperor took a few steps forward, snatched a longsword from an accompanying guard, and pressed the Crown Prince.

Before the other could answer, the Emperor said, “No wonder she was always unwilling to marry. No wonder you two were so close. I only thought you had a good sibling relationship, I never thought… You monster, that’s your own sister! How could you lay a hand on her?”

As he spoke, the Emperor raised the sword to strike, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He dropped the sword, raised his hand, and slapped the Crown Prince viciously across the face.

He used all his strength in that slap. The Crown Prince’s cheek immediately swelled up, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The Crown Prince knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying, “Father Emperor, your son has been wronged.”

“I saw it with my own eyes. Do you take me for a blind man?” the Emperor raged.

If there was no affair, what kind of brother and sister would be kissing mouth-to-mouth like that?

The Crown Prince was filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he should have gotten rid of the child back then. He shouldn’t have been soft-hearted for a moment. If he wanted children, how many could he not have after ascending the throne? Why couldn’t he wait?

But now, it was too late to say anything.

“Father Emperor, yes, someone deliberately framed us.” The Crown Prince reacted extremely quickly, hastily defending himself. “Father Emperor must not fall for a villain’s treacherous plot.”

He quickly found an excuse, claiming that he and his sister had absolutely no affair and had been framed. And what was in his sister’s belly was not a fetus, but a strange illness.

—The Crown Prince knew very well that he absolutely could not admit it at this time. Once he admitted it, there would be no turning back.

Zhaoyang Princess, however, said nothing. With only a tragic smile, she picked up the longsword from the ground and was about to kill herself.

A quick-reacting guard rushed forward and knocked the sword from her hand.

With a “clang,” the longsword fell to the ground.

The Emperor’s expression changed again and again. He barely suppressed his surging emotions and ordered the two to be taken back and confined separately, and for the imperial physicians to prepare an abortion-inducing medicine.

All of Zhaoyang Princess’s personal attendants were imprisoned.

This kind of royal scandal had to be covered up completely; not a single word could be leaked.

But the news of the incestuous relationship between the Crown Prince and the princess still spread without a trace, becoming the talk of the town for days.

The Emperor was furious. The anger attacked his heart, and he fell gravely ill. Who would have known that while on his sickbed, he would learn another piece of news: the Crown Prince, Xiao Chengzhe, was a bastard child the Empress had brought back from outside and was not the Emperor’s biological son at all.