Chapter 475: Prince 9 Is Not of Imperial Blood

Chapter 475: Chapter 475: Prince 9 Is Not of Imperial Blood

The report came from a personal servant who had served King Shu for nearly thirty years. He claimed that King Shu had threatened his family’s lives, and since he lacked concrete evidence, he hadn’t dared to expose the truth for all these years.

Before Princess Consort Qi entered the palace, she had met secretly with King Shu numerous times, even staying out overnight on several occasions. These facts were confirmed after the Emperor’s brutal interrogation of the Qi Family.

Some things, once you start following the clues, quickly lead to the truth.

The Emperor was enraged and immediately ordered the Ninth Prince to be brought back from Youzhou.

Fearing a rescue attempt, the Emperor dispatched Commander Lu and Xie Mingxu together. Clearly, he was determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

The most wounded party was undoubtedly Princess Shu. It was bad enough that her husband had never loved her, but now that he was dead, their past grievances should have been laid to rest.

But it was at this very moment she learned that her seemingly loving and considerate husband might have long had a child with another woman!

The old servant who had confessed the truth even revealed an extremely private matter.

For all these years, King Shu had been secretly drugging Princess Shu!

All because Qi Jingchun did not want Princess Shu to bear King Shu a child.

This revelation struck the Capital like a clap of thunder.

Everyone was abuzz with discussion, endlessly speculating about King Shu’s motives.

Qi Jingchun had already entered the palace as a concubine, so why would she prevent Princess Shu from having a child? Was a woman’s jealousy really so potent?

In the end, people could only arrive at one possible conclusion.

Namely, that the Ninth Prince was indeed the child of Qi Jingchun and King Shu. All of King Shu’s schemes over the years, including drugging the Crown Prince, had been to pave the way for the Ninth Prince’s ascension to the throne.

After the Ninth Prince was brought back, the Emperor held a meeting behind closed doors. Using some unknown secret method, the Divine Doctor determined the truth. Shen Ningning was present and learned the result.

As suspected, the Ninth Prince was not the Emperor’s biological son.

"Imperial Father!" The Ninth Prince’s eyes went wide right there in the hall, and he trembled in terror. "Someone is trying to harm me! This doctor is trying to frame me! Imperial Father, you mustn’t believe them! Mother Consort has already died for her crimes, and now they want my life too!"

The Emperor, unable to contain his fury, sent him tumbling with a single kick.

"I wish I could kill you this very instant!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and gave a cold, sharp command. "Relay my orders! The Ninth Prince committed treason, aided the criminal Mrs. Qi in her plot for power, and has for years shown no desire for self-improvement. He is no longer worthy to be my son. Effective immediately, he is stripped of his name and demoted to a commoner. In ten days, he will be publicly beheaded!"

The Ninth Prince went limp and collapsed to the floor.

To save face, the Emperor would never publicly admit that Princess Consort Qi had an affair with King Shu, much less that he had raised another man’s son for so many years.

But the rampant speculation in the Capital, combined with the severity of the Ninth Prince’s punishment, allowed everyone to guess at the truth.

However, the Emperor forbade any discussion of the matter. Anyone caught speculating wildly would be dragged away by the government and flogged.

Gradually, people no longer dared to discuss the affair. Nevertheless, whispers eventually reached the ears of Princess Shu.

Mo Zhirou, as if by accident, secretly told Princess Shu that the Ninth Prince was not of royal blood.

She furrowed her brow, feigning confusion. "I don’t know the specifics. I only managed to hear that the Emperor was furious. It seems the Ninth Prince really is the son of Princess Consort Qi and another man! Mother Consort, who do you think the Ninth Prince’s biological father could be?"

Princess Shu trembled all over, her face pale. Her fingertips slowly clenched into fists as a curse escaped her trembling lips: "Bastards! All of them, bastards!"

’So the Ninth Prince really is my husband’s spawn!’

Then she recalled all the times in the past when King Shu had subtly tried to protect the Ninth Prince, and she felt sick to her stomach.

Just as she tried to rise, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she swayed, on the verge of collapsing.

Mo Zhirou cried out in alarm, "Mother Consort!"

She rushed forward to support Princess Shu, shouting for the servants to fetch a doctor.

Princess Shu had fallen ill.

When Shen Ningning went to see her, it was as if all her vitality had been drained away. Her face was listless and sallow, her eyes devoid of light.

Mo Lingwei stood by the bedside, gazing at her with a slight frown.

"It’s not worth suffering for a man like that," he said.

The Emperor had also sent people to visit Princess Shu. To comfort her, he bestowed upon her the title of Lady Shu, effectively severing her connection to King Shu’s name.

Even so, Princess Shu remained despondent.

She leaned against the headboard and laughed bitterly. "Ling Wei, I just feel so foolish. I was completely blind. How could I have been deceived by a man for so long without ever realizing it?"

Qi Jingchun didn’t want her to have children, so King Shu drugged her.

When it was Qi Jingchun’s birthday, King Shu spent a fortune to buy her a Jade Token.

For the child he had with Qi Jingchun, King Shu was willing to risk charges of treason just to plot a future for him.

Now, Princess Shu felt as though her whole life had been a joke.

She finally realized the truth: King Shu had only married her because he couldn’t have Qi Jingchun. She was simply a last resort!

What King Shu had truly been after was her father, the governor of Shu State who commanded its army.

As Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei left the Prince Mansion, the young girl couldn’t help but sigh.

"Well, she’ll just have to find a way to get over it herself."

Mo Lingwei pursed his lips. "My Imperial Father has already done his utmost to console her. I hope she can move on from this soon."

As they were leaving, they ran into Mo Zhirou, who was carrying a tray of tea.

Seeing that Mo Lingwei was leaving, Mo Zhirou looked surprised. "Your Highnesses, the Crown Prince and Princess, are you not staying to speak with Mother a while longer?"

Mo Lingwei gave her a cold look. "We’re done talking. She needs to rest. Since you’ve been granted permission to stay by her side, you should be the one to say a few words to console her."

Mo Zhirou lowered her head, her voice soft. "I understand."

Shen Ningning shot her a glance before leaving with Mo Lingwei.

’Now that Princess Shu is ill, she definitely won’t be able to return to Shu State for a while.’

’At first, the young girl had wondered if it was Mo Zhirou who revealed the truth to the Emperor.’

’But on second thought, that seemed unlikely. If Mo Zhirou had known all along about the relationship between Princess Consort Qi and King Shu, why wouldn’t she have known about the Jade Token?’

’She had nearly caused their relationship to be exposed prematurely.’

’In any case, Mo Zhirou had probably gotten what she wanted now.’

One day, Shen Ningning brought the Black Wolf King to the Xie Mansion, carrying a basket of delicacies made by Grandma Qin.

Just as she stepped through the gate, her second brother, Xie Ming’an, rushed over.

"Ningning!" he said with a worried frown. "Did Father come looking for you?"

Shen Ningning paused. "No, why? What’s wrong?"

’Xie Suzhi was the Prime Minister; he should have gone to the palace today to attend court and handle his duties.’

But Xie Ming’an said in a grim voice, "Father hasn’t been home for two days."

"What?!" Shen Ningning was stunned.

The new year was approaching and the National Academy was on break. The young girl had been staying in Xiangyun Village, helping Grandma Qin stuff sausages and prepare other goods for the festivities.

And now, having just arrived with two strings of sausages, she was hit with this news.

’Xie Suzhi wouldn’t just disappear for no reason.’

Shen Ningning immediately patted the Black Wolf King’s head. "Langlang, take us to Father!"

The Black Wolf King sniffed the air, then suddenly bounded away.

Xie Ming’an couldn’t let Shen Ningning go alone, so he had the gatekeeper bring him a fast horse and galloped after her.

Their pursuit led them to a familiar, wild mountainous area.

It was nearing dusk, and the twilight glow spread across the land.

Seeing the familiar path, both Xie Ming’an and Shen Ningning froze.

"This is the path to Mother’s grave," the young girl realized.

They rushed toward Shen Siyi’s grave, only to find Xie Suzhi leaning against the headstone. He looked as if he had been sitting there for a long time, his clothes disheveled and caked with mud, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and bitter laughter.

Shen Ningning then glanced over and saw that the grave mound had been dug open!

Xie Ming’an was aghast. "Father!" he snapped. "Have you gone mad? Why did you open Mother’s coffin?!"

Just then, Shen Ningning, who had already run to the coffin to see for herself, let out a startled cry.

"Second Brother, hurry! Come look! There’s no one in the coffin!"

Xie Ming’an rushed over. Just as Shen Ningning had said, aside from a few burial objects, the coffin was empty. There were no remains!

’How is this possible!’

His pupils constricted.

’Where were his mother, Shen Siyi’s, remains?’