“Yes, My Lady, I know,” Qing’er replied. That was all she could do for now. Prince Chen put her in charge of some people to protect Princess Chen. If she sent them all out to inquire about the news, they might not get what she wanted, and there would be fewer people around to ensure Princess Chen’s safety.

Recently, the capital was amidst turbulence. Qing’er had been responsible for Princess Chen’s safety, so she didn’t dare to be careless.

Qing’er felt a little uneasy, but she didn’t know the news that the Xu State’s princess would marry into the Kingdom of Dongcang had spread out…

“Will Princess Yutao of the Xu State marry Chu Liuchen?” Chu Liuyue dropped the note in his hand, waved it, and handed it to Mr. Liu, his assistant. “What do you think?”

Mr. Liu took it and looked at it carefully. Then he burst out laughing and said, “Your Highness, here comes an ideal opportunity!”

“What do you mean?” Chu Liuyue asked.

“Your Highness, look, Princess Yutao is going to marry Prince Chen, but he has already married a legal wife. However, Princess Yutao’s marriage is supposed to make peace between the two countries, so she can’t be a consort. There must be contradictions between the two women. Won’t it be the best time for us to stir up trouble between them?” Mr. Liu said with a bright smile.

There were too many meanings in his words. Chu Liuyue thought for a moment and asked tentatively, “Will my father let my third brother marry another legal wife?”

“I don’t think so. Unlike common people, princes can’t marry a secondary legal wife for it will cause confusion in the strictly-graded royal family.” Mr. Liu shook his head and said, “But Prince Chen’s situation is different. We can sound out His Majesty’s intention with this!”

“Sir, please enlighten me!” Chu Liuyue bowed and said.

Mr. Liu hurriedly stood up to show his respect for Chu Liuyue and his gratitude for the recognition. Then he sat down with Chu Liuyue and said, “If His Majesty agrees to the marriage between Prince Chen and Princess Yutao, you can rest assured in all respects and even start using Prince Chen.”

He didn’t put it very clearly, but Chu Liuyue understood what he meant. After carefully thinking about it, he pounded the table and exclaimed with admiration, “Great! Princess Yutao from the Xu State intends to marry my third brother. I’m going to report this to my father and let him decide!”

“Hold on. You shouldn’t do this.” Mr. Liu denied this idea.

“Why?” Chu Liuyue was confused. Since they needed to find out his father’s intention, why couldn’t he inform his father about it?

“Your Highness, do you know if His Majesty has received this news?” Mr. Liu asked with a smile.

Chu Liuyue shook his head and said, “I don’t know. The people I’ve placed around my father are not capable enough, so I have no specific information.”

He had bribed several people and arranged a few. However, these people only worked outside and couldn’t get close to the Emperor at all. So, Chu Liuyue had only a scanty knowledge of the affairs of the Emperor. Most of the time, he didn’t dare to act rashly.

“Your Highness, since you’re not sure if His Majesty has gotten the news, I believe you haven’t heard any other officials talk about it, right?” Mr. Liu asked again.

Chu Liuhyue thought for a moment and shook his head. When he went to court today, nothing unusual happened. The matter of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion ended, and their mansion had no objection. In addition, Marquis Xing’s son provoked Infanta Yuan’an because he accidentally crashed her. Both of them were injured. He heard the leg of Marquis Xing’s son was seriously injured. It was unknown whether he could walk in the future.

If Marquis Xing’s son was disabled, being the heir of a duke was useless for him.

How could the Marquis Xing’s Mansion choose a crippled heir of a duke over a healthy descendant?

Moreover, these words would disgrace the Ruiping Great Elder Princess and might even enrage the Empress and Prince Zhou.

There was much to consider. The day before yesterday, the position of the heir of a duke in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion fell on Shao Yuanhao, who was raised in the Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. Many people had expressed their dissatisfaction with the arrangement. However, the next day, no demur was heard. Those who protested fiercely stopped clamoring for various reasons.

The dispute about the position of the heir of a duke was settled without acrimony. Peace was restored in the imperial court.

“Since no one mentioned it, it means that none of them knew about it. How did you learn about it?” Mr. Liu said meaningfully.

Chu Liuyue went to tell the Emperor, proving he knew about this matter. If the Emperor had no idea about it, then there was a big problem: how could he receive the news before the Emperor? If the Emperor got the message but didn’t tell others about it, it would be even more improper for Chu Liuyue to bring up this. The Emperor might be displeased and think Chu Liuyue overstepped his authority.

In any case, Chu Liuyue could only pretend he was as much in the dark as everyone else.

“Yes… It was my negligence. I forgot about this.” Chu Liuyue finally came to see the truth and repeatedly nodded in agreement. He was wrong, indeed.

“Then what should we do now?” Chu Liuyue turned his head and asked. He was eager to publicize this matter. In any case, it couldn’t be a good thing for Chu Liuchen.

“Your Highness, you can pretend you don’t know it for now. If anyone mentions it in court, you can share with them a few things we’ve discussed, emphasizing that it is not easy to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries. Though the Xu State is a savage small country, it is not very obedient to the Kingdom of Dongcang. Moreover, some evil magics from the Xu State are said to be horrifyingly creepy. Therefore, it was best to maintain a good relationship with this small state by the border. The soured relations between the two countries would push the border into chaos. The Xu State is small, but it is difficult to suppress it because of its special terrain and some black magics. We should stay on good terms with them,” Mr. Liu explained.

Chu Liuyue nodded vigorously.

This perfectly justifiable reason could force Chu Liuchen to step out and make a choice.

If Chu Liuchen yielded to pressure from outside, he had to divorce the current Princess Chen or make her his consort. After all, she had to give up her position to Princess Yutao. Even Rui’an Great Elder Princess couldn’t oppose this because national affairs were much more important than personal emotions. As a princess, she should understand and accept it.

Thinking of Princess Chen, Chu Liuyue thought of Shao Wanru’s flower-like features and moonlike face. It was a great pity for such a beauty to be Chu Liuchen’s consort. The sickly man would hurt her a lot. What a bad guy!

Chu Liuyue didn’t think Shao Wanru would be driven out of Prince Chen’s Mansion but was sure that Princess Yutao would be superior to Shao Wanru. No matter how partial his father was, he would have to consider the special status of the Xu State!

With this in mind, Chu Liuyue was inflamed with passion.

“Becoming my consort will be much better than being the sickly man’s consort, right?”

After a low cough, Chu Liuyue asked, “Do you think my third brother will divorce Princess Chen and make Princess Yutao his legal wife?”

He knew it was unlikely to happen, but still, he couldn’t help asking.

Mr. Liu glanced at Chu Liuyue and read something from his face. He shook his head with a smile and advised, “Your Highness, when you achieve great success, you can have all kinds of women. Why do you have to think about the woman that doesn’t belong to you? You’d better think about what you can do if His Majesty doesn’t allow Prince Chen to marry Princess Yutao.”

Chu Liuyue was stunned by his words and immediately woke up from his unrealistic romantic dream. Yes, there was another possibility: the Emperor and the Empress Dowager didn’t approve of this marriage.

It was possible. At least, it was more likely to happen than making Chu Liuchen divorce Shao Wanru.

“Then… does it mean that Chu Liuchen is also a possible candidate?” Hearing this, Chu Liuyue abruptly stood up. After spinning around twice on the spot with his hands clasped behind his back, he pursed his thin lips tightly and suppressed the anger in his heart. “Father should clearly know who his biological sons are!”

Instead of his nephew, the Emperor’s sons should be the legal heirs to the imperial throne. No matter how stupid a person was, he wouldn’t pass on his fortune to his nephew, not to mention that his father was never a fool.

Sometimes, Chu Liuyue wanted his father to be muddle-headed, but his father kept a cool head. He couldn’t understand his father’s attitude toward Chu Liuchen.

There shouldn’t have been a chance for Chu Liuchen to grow up, but his father and Imperial Grandmother had protected him wholeheartedly and left Chu Liuyue aside. As the Emperor’s son, he had to give in to Chu Liuchen when they met. Whenever he thought of this, Chu Liuyue would feel upset and suffocated.

“Your Highness, have you ever thought… maybe…” Mr. Liu hesitated. What he was going to say would be highly offensive, but that was exactly what he thought.

“Please go ahead, Mr. Liu. There is no one else here. Just speak out what is on your mind!” Chu Liuyue said.

“Your Highness, do you think it is possible that Prince Chen… with His Majesty…” Mr. Liu said, unconsciously in a wobbly voice, and stopped. If it was true, then it would be a top royal secret. Those who knew it might not be able to survive.

Chu Liuyue didn’t understand what he referred to. After making it clear, he shook his hand with a wry smile and said, “You worry too much. It’s absolutely impossible!”

How could the eldest legitimate son of the deceased emperor have connections like that with his father?

“It might have something to do with Consort Lan… She is my father’s favorite consort who is said to be the younger sister of the deceased Empress, but I have never seen her,” Chu Liuyue said.

This was only a guess from his mother. In fact, people in the Palace had always been very curious about Consort Lan’s background. Some people said that she had always been the most favored consort of the Emperor. While some said that she used to be the favorite one, but not now. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been locked up and even not allowed to greet the Empress and the Empress Dowager.

Some people even suspected that Consort Lan was old and weak and wouldn’t live long.

There were many speculations about Consort Lan in the Palace. Chu Liuyue’s mother firmly believed that Consort Lan was the younger sister of the deceased Empress.

“Consort Lan? Why haven’t I heard of her before?” Mr. Liu asked in surprise. He really didn’t know that there was such a consort in the Palace and had never heard the Emperor had such a favored consort.

“Only some people in the Palace know about her. But she doesn’t seem to be favored at present because my father seldom goes to see her. No one will care about an imperial consort who is grounded and locked up. What’s more, it has been more than a decade. Who will remember such an imperial consort?”

Chu Liuyue didn’t take it seriously. If his mother hadn’t mentioned Consort Lan, he might not have known her.

For a period, he even had another speculation. To verify it, he deliberately asked Shao Yanru to investigate the past of Consort Lan…

Consort Lan’s life was also full of twists and turns…