[System, you’re being contradictory. Did the Imperial Concubine also cheat on the Emperor? And the Emperor is raising another man’s son?]
[A few years ago, several princes went hunting together. The Third Prince argued with the Second Prince and went hunting alone. His horse got spooked, he fell and injured his leg. It started raining, so he found a stone temple to wait for his guards to find him. Inside, there was a beggar whose face was identical to the Third Prince’s.]
The Emperor was shocked. Could there really be two identical leaves in this world?
[An identical face? Could they be twins?]
[No, they just looked alike. Seeing the Third Prince seriously injured, the beggar had evil thoughts and decided to finish him off. He smashed the Third Prince to death with a stone, then changed into the Third Prince’s clothes. The guards happened to arrive later that night. Afraid the truth would be exposed, he later found excuses to kill everyone who had rescued him that year.]
[What a cruel heart, this fake Third Prince.]
“Enough!…” The Emperor roared in fury.
The Imperial Concubine had a premonition that if she let the Emperor finish speaking, nothing good would come of it. She reacted quickly: “I beg Your Majesty, as parents who dearly love their children, to spare our son this once.”
The Emperor’s gaze was icy cold: “Love your child dearly? Today, I want to see if this Third Prince is truly worthy of such love.”
The Imperial Concubine didn’t understand what the Emperor meant by this.
The Emperor sent people to search for remains in the stone temple while ordering Eunuch Rong to take men to the Third Prince’s palace.
Eunuch Rong had already quietly slipped out earlier.
The Third Prince suddenly felt inexplicably panicked. Could it be that His Majesty had found out…
Absolutely impossible. Everyone who knew about the incident back then had been killed. His heart gradually calmed down.
Moments later, several bloodied maids were brought to the center of the main hall.
Eunuch Rong: “Your Majesty, two other Palace Maidens were too severely injured to be brought here and have been sent to see the imperial physicians.”
The Imperial Concubine spoke disdainfully: “Your Majesty, why have you brought these filthy lowly slaves in here?”
[System, these must be those Palace Maidens. How despairing – they were just a few months away from being able to leave the palace.]
“Lowly slaves?” The Emperor was equally furious: “These are my subjects, daughters from good families. They were perfectly fine when they entered the palace – how did they end up like this? Third Prince… I think you should know the answer.”
“What is this all about, my son?” The Imperial Concubine asked anxiously, looking at the Third Prince.
“Replying to Your Majesty, these Palace Maidens are indeed from your son’s palace. They made some mistakes.” The Third Prince panicked when he saw the maids’ faces.
“What mistakes warranted you using the pipa punishment on them!”
“These shameless women attempted to climb into your son’s bed. I had no choice but to resort to such measures.”
Hearing that servants had tried to seduce her son, the Imperial Concubine was furious. How dare these people?!
“Still not a word of truth. Can you really hold onto something you’ve stolen?” said the Emperor.
“Mother!” The Third Prince pleaded with the Imperial Concubine for help.
The Imperial Concubine couldn’t bear to see her child suffer. They were just a few Palace Maidens – how could they compare to her precious son? Just as she was about to plead for mercy, the Emperor interrupted her and signaled for Eunuch Rong to step forward.
After receiving the Emperor’s instruction, Eunuch Rong quickly walked up to the Imperial Concubine, bowed respectfully and said: “Imperial Concubine, I must offend you.”
Before the Imperial Concubine could react, Eunuch Rong swiftly picked up a slender golden needle and, without hesitation, stabbed it into her finger.
Imperial Concubine felt a sharp pain in her finger, followed by a drop of crimson blood dripping from her fingertip into the bowl before her.
Next, the Third Prince was pressed down by guards, his face against the floor tiles and his rear pointing upward.
Eunuch Rong, holding a golden needle, once again unhesitatingly pierced the Third Prince.
With this prick, the Third Prince let out a piercing scream that echoed through the empty palace hall.
Imperial Concubine wanted to rush over to protect her child but was stopped by the guards.
“Imperial Concubine, look carefully at whether this person before you is still your son,” the Emperor’s voice was cold and detached.
The blood in the bowl simply refused to merge.
Imperial Concubine widened her eyes, staring fixedly.
“How could this be? How could this be! Your Majesty, this child was born from my ten months of pregnancy, he is absolutely your child.”
Her voice filled with disbelief, her body began to tremble.
“Enough, no one is suspecting you,” the Emperor calmed Imperial Concubine.
By now Imperial Concubine had come to her senses, staring intently at the Third Prince, yet that was indeed her child’s face.
“The Second Prince has arrived.” Following the announcement, the Second Prince slowly entered the hall.
The Second Prince felt somewhat puzzled – why had the Emperor suddenly summoned him? He hadn’t caused any trouble recently.
“Your son pays respects to Your Majesty,” the Second Prince performed a respectful bow.
“Rise,” the Emperor looked at the Second Prince. “Several years ago, you went hunting with the Third Prince, is that correct? Tell us about it.”
“Yes,” the Second Prince bowed slightly and repeated the events of that hunting trip, wondering if this was about reopening old accounts – it wasn’t his fault that Third Brother got injured back then.
After the Second Prince finished speaking, the Emperor suddenly turned to the Third Prince: “You said you found the Third Prince at the stone temple, and then the Third Prince underwent a personality change for some time due to his injury. Is this true?”
Hearing the Emperor’s question, the Third Prince fearfully lowered his head, not daring to meet the Emperor’s gaze.
“When a person’s personality changes drastically, their dietary habits cannot change overnight. Third Prince, how did you overcome your peanut allergy in a single day? You are not the real Third Prince at all.”
When the Emperor wants to investigate someone, nothing remains hidden, especially when the other party has already revealed their flaws.
Yes, Imperial Concubine remembered – not long after her son returned, he did consume peanuts. She could finally confirm that her child truly wasn’t her child.
“Speak! Who are you? Why are you impersonating my son? Where is my child?” Imperial Concubine wished she could personally kill this impostor.
The Second Prince was shocked – his Third Brother was an impostor? But he didn’t seem like one.
[System, the Emperor is truly remarkable, like Detective Di Renjie reincarnated. I thought only the two of us knew about this matter.]
Xiao Yaozu retreated to Eighth Prince’s side to watch the drama unfold, minimizing his presence.
Getting involved in royal scandals could cost one’s head – they had just caught her and were already making false accusations.
Eighth Prince trusted that his imperial brother wouldn’t do anything to Xiao Yaozu, so he remained silent.
Now facing Xiao Yaozu’s puppy-dog eyes, he felt somewhat puzzled by the inexplicable emotions welling up in his heart.
“Father, Mother Consort, I truly am your child. There must be some misunderstanding here.”
“Mother Consort, you once said you wanted me to become Crown Prince! Please save me!”
“……”
The Third Prince clearly remained unwilling to accept defeat. The real Third Prince had long been dead, and he looked so similar.
What did the blood test matter? As long as he refused to admit it, he would still be the Third Prince.
The Imperial Concubine glared at the impostor with disgust: “You impostor, how dare you claim to be my son, you lowly creature!!….XXX…..”
Somehow, these words struck a chord with the fake Third Prince, and he dropped his act: “Haha, do you think you people are any nobler? Your son will never return.”
“You know, when he was dying, he still dared to threaten me, saying the exact same words as you today, word for word! I made sure he would never see the light of day again. Everything he had is now mine.”
“Why do we have the same face, yet he gets endless blessings and inexhaustible wealth, while I have nothing? Wherever I sit, people look at me as if I’m filth. Why?!”
Just then, a guard rushed in to report: “Your Majesty, a skeleton has been discovered in the stone temple. After examination by the imperial physician, it has been confirmed to be the remains of the missing Third Prince from years ago.”
Upon hearing this news, the Imperial Concubine’s legs gave way, and she fainted.
The Emperor’s face darkened like stormy waters. He looked at the fake Third Prince, his eyes filled with even greater killing intent: “Throw him into the Heavenly Prison. Don’t let him die easily!”
As the fake Third Prince was dragged out of the hall by the guards, he continued to rant madly: “None of you will come to a good end!”
The hall fell into silence. Su Da Ren remained kneeling.
Xiao Yaozu wished she could become invisible. The boss was in a bad mood—who would dare to speak first?
She certainly wasn’t going to.
But the Emperor, after all, was the Emperor. He quickly composed himself: “Su Aiqing, you have rendered meritorious service by exposing the imperial examination fraud. What reward would you like?”
“Your Majesty, this humble official is filled with trepidation. I have erred and beg Your Majesty to allow this old official to retire and return to my hometown.”
The Emperor looked at the Eighth Prince: “What does the Eighth Prince think should be done?”
The Eighth Prince replied: “Your Majesty is a ruler who rewards the meritorious and punishes the guilty. Reward should follow merit, and punishment should follow offense.”
When the Emperor’s gaze swept over Xiao Yaozu, she immediately averted her eyes.
[Don’t see me, don’t see me, don’t see me…]
A few seconds later…
“Rise. The Prince is right. Su Aiqing, you have done well. I must commend you. With ministers like you, the court will thrive.”
In the end, the Emperor rewarded Su Da Ren with an inscribed plaque but also deducted six months of his salary.
As for Xiao Yaozu…
The Emperor asked: “Xiao Aiqing, what reward would you like?”
She got a share too!
Xiao Yaozu immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling.
[Rewards are great! Should I ask for gemstones, gold, handsome men, a promotion, or a pardon token? What should I choose? It’s so hard to decide…]
Just as she was struggling to suppress a grin, she heard the Emperor’s voice…
“How about I bestow a marriage upon you?”
[What? An assigned wife? No, I can’t! My… functions don’t work!]
The Emperor was even more shocked. Could it be that Xiao Yaozu’s… condition was the issue? He hadn’t considered that the Gu poison might have truly affected her.
Afraid that the Emperor would actually arrange a marriage, Xiao Yaozu hurriedly spoke up: “Your Majesty, I am still young. I would like to consider marriage in a few years. I am currently unwell and hope an imperial physician can help me recuperate.”
“Very well, I grant your request. Your health… I will arrange for Imperial Physician Hao to assist with your recovery.”
“Your Majesty, will I need to pay for it?” Xiao Yaozu tentatively asked.
[What if the prescription includes expensive herbs I can’t afford? I couldn’t even afford the last prescription. Besides, bosses always like to take advantage of their employees. Sigh, feels like this reward is just empty talk.]
The Emperor was truly amused by Xiao Yaozu’s antics—did he really think him so petty?
Just moments ago, when discussing marriage arrangements for him, he had been considering daughters of commandery princesses or families of fifth rank and above.
Gritting his teeth, he said, “Of course not. Your treatment will continue until the Imperial Hospital declares you fully recovered.”
“Thank—Your Majesty.” This time, Xiao Yaozu’s gratitude was genuine.
After expressing his thanks, Xiao Yaozu invited the Eighth Prince to accompany him to the Imperial Hospital.
“Your Highness, thank you for the silver bills. If not for your initial contribution, we might not have obtained the evidence.”
The Eighth Prince replied indifferently, “It was nothing.”
[System, the Eighth Prince may seem cold, but he has a kind heart. He lent such a thick stack of silver bills without hesitation—remarkable, isn’t it?]
[It is quite remarkable. But why did he help you?]
[It must be because of my charismatic personality.]
In truth, Xiao Yaozu was thinking that in this unfamiliar palace, if he encountered anyone unreasonable or unrecognizable, having the Eighth Prince by his side could serve as a shield.
Eunuch Rong relayed the imperial decree to the Imperial Hospital.
Upon arrival, Imperial Physician Hao carefully took Xiao Yaozu’s pulse, his brow slightly furrowed.
“Lord Xiao, after my last visit, I consulted medical texts. Your pulse indicates Gu poison, and your condition is rather complicated. However, by His Majesty’s decree, I will spare no effort.”
Xiao Yaozu asked nervously, “Imperial Physician Hao, is the treatment difficult? How long will it take to recover?”
Imperial Physician Hao pondered for a moment. “I have some expertise in obscure toxins, but removing the Gu insect from your body cannot be accomplished quickly.”
Xiao Yaozu felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. If the System were to disappear one day, she would truly be done for.
“Are there any other methods?”
“I’ve heard that the Holy Maiden of Miao Jiang can dissolve all types of Gu, but few have ever seen her face.”
[The Holy Maiden of Miao Jiang? She sounds like a protagonist—just her name evokes a martial world aura.]
The Eighth Prince stood quietly nearby listening, his gaze inexplicably lingering on Xiao Yaozu’s lips.
While waiting for Imperial Physician Hao to prepare the medicine, Xiao Yaozu turned to the Eighth Prince. The handsome man’s presence was overwhelming even in silence.
“Your Highness, do you have any favorite foods?”
“No.” The Eighth Prince habitually concealed his preferences—it was unwise for those in power to have their likes known.
Xiao Yaozu: “…”
[System, what do you think about giving the Prince a bucket of popcorn?]
[Host, where would you get popcorn?]
[System, don’t think I can’t see it hidden in your inventory panel.]
Xiao Yaozu smirked triumphantly.
[Host, the Eighth Prince is a man—he might not like it.] The System was reluctant to part with the popcorn earned from gossip—it was fragrant and delicious.
[How will we know if he likes it unless we give it to him? Even if he doesn’t, he can give it to his sisters or female relatives. Girls have no resistance against sweet, delicious popcorn.]
Xiao Yaozu thought it was a brilliant idea.
Due to the incident with the imposter Third Prince, the examination papers previously drafted by the Ministry of Rites were readjusted. The palace halls blazed with light as officials hurried about, and simultaneously, the fates of some began to shift…
Those implicated with the imposter Third Prince faced consequences—some were dismissed and investigated, while others were exiled to the borderlands.
The next day
In Bianjing City, the rapid clanging of a copper gong echoed through the streets and alleys, drawing crowds of curious onlookers toward the source of the sound.
“What happened? What happened?”
“Hurry, follow them!”
A squad of guards escorted a male prisoner, drenched in blood and dragged along as if all strength had left him.
A massive placard hung from his chest, bearing glaring red characters that stated his crimes: impersonating a royal prince, contempt of imperial authority, disrupting the imperial examination order, and leaking examination questions.
At the market square, five horses stood ready—each tethered in a different direction, their reins all tied to the male prisoner’s body.
This was clearly preparation for an execution by dismemberment!
“Who is this man? What crime could warrant being torn apart by five horses?” someone in the crowd wondered aloud.
Though the prisoner wore the placard, many in the crowd were illiterate and couldn’t read it.
“Didn’t you hear the officers’ proclamation earlier? They say he’s the one selling examination answers.”
“So it’s him! No wonder scholars have been acting so mysteriously in the alleys these past few days.”
“Such people deserve severe punishment!” someone declared indignantly.
“Spit!” others scornfully jeered.
“Who uncovered this?”
“I heard it was this year’s imperial inspector appointed by His Majesty: Lord Xiao. Remarkably young.”
Among the crowd stood Lu Haoran and Liang Zhizhu. “Brother Haoran,” Liang remarked, “I sense this year’s Spring Examination is different. We shouldn’t seek shortcuts—the imperial exam has no easy paths. We must rely on genuine ability.”
Lu Haoran awkwardly rubbed his nose and murmured agreement.
He had purchased answers too and had considered sharing them with Liang Zhizhu.
Now wasted—with this scandal, the questions would certainly be changed.
A burly man pushed through the crowd and hurried back to a private room in the Drunk Moon Tower.
Upon entering, the man swiftly closed the door behind him. Inside sat a man dressed in luxurious robes.
“Your Highness,” the burly man reported urgently, “I’ve just received news that this matter was dealt with by His Majesty’s personal decree, and the methods were extremely severe. In my opinion, we should return to Saibei immediately. Remaining here could be dangerous.”
The man addressed as “Prince” had deep-set eyes that now revealed distress.
“Don’t you think I wish to return at once?” he replied. “But I must deliver this item personally—otherwise, my father will never permit my return. We must wait a while longer.”