579 Completely Lost
Oh my god! The Prince Consort actually had such a big son! Was he Prince Yan?
Really?! Really?! Really?! Really?!
Eunuch Wang’s heart was churning, but his face was calm.
They originally wanted Yan Jiuchao to confront the Prince Consort, but even though the two parties involved did not say a word, everyone had an idea.
It was not that there were no similar people in the world, but there was news of the heir of the Prince Yan Manor and Prince Yan appearing in the Capital one after another. As the saying goes, there must be a reason for the groundless rumors. If they were not father and son, why did they say that the father and son were here?
“Is he your father?” The Emperor asked Yan Jiuchao.
“Yes,” Yan Jiuchao said.
The Emperor thought for a while and frowned. “You came to the Great Zhou to find your father?”
Yan Jiuchao was silent.
This silence became a tacit agreement in the eyes of the Emperor. Thinking about it, it was quite pitiful. His father had faked his death and left for fifteen years. In the end, he became someone else’s father. No one could take this lying down and had to come and ask him about it.
If he was really here to look for his father, then although the laws did not allow it, it was reasonable. As for how he became the young master of the Helian family, the Emperor decided to ask Helian Beiming later. The most important thing now was to figure out the identity of the Prince Consort.
The Emperor no longer had any doubts that these two were father and son, but whether they were Prince Yan and his son still needed to be investigated.
“Send the State Preceptor to see me,” the Emperor said coldly.
“Yes!” Eunuch Wang invited the State Preceptor over.
Of course, the State Preceptor understood what had happened. He had reported Yan Jiuchao just now, and the Prince Consort had also been reported.
The Emperor must have summoned him to identify Yan Jiuchao. If he identified him, it would be equivalent to verifying that the Prince Consort was Prince Yan. However, if he did not identify him, he would not be able to expel Yan Jiuchao from Nanzhao.
He was in a dilemma! No matter what choice they made, the unlucky one would be the Queen Manor! Why did such an action that made people unable to turn around look so similar to the Prince Consort’s?
“Your Majesty, the State Preceptor has arrived,” Eunuch Wang reported from outside the door.
The Emperor waved at the guard. The guard understood and carried the unconscious Prince Consort to the side hall. Then, the Emperor said angrily, “In.”
Eunuch Wang shouted at the top of his lungs, “State Preceptor has an audience—”
The State Preceptor entered the throne room without looking sideways and bowed respectfully to the Emperor. “Your Majesty.” Then he turned around and bowed to the Queen. “Your Highness.”
The Emperor looked at Yan Jiuchao and said to the State Preceptor, “This is the eldest young master of the Helian family. You told me that he’s the heir of the Prince Yan Manor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I summoned you here to let you double-check if he’s the heir of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”
The State Preceptor wanted to say no.
The Emperor said, “Think carefully before answering me. There are also three Grand Ministers who went with you to the Great Zhou. I will also invite them to meet the eldest young master of the Helian family later.”
The State Preceptor’s heart sank to the bottom.
Actually, the three Grand Ministers had also been his trump card. He had thought that Yan Jiuchao might not admit his identity. At that time, he would call everyone who had seen Yan Jiuchao over and let them identify him back then.
Now, this trump card had become a guillotine that cut off his path of retreat. He was forced to tell the truth. And the truth would consign the Queen Manor to eternal damnation.
“…Yes,” the State Preceptor said. “He’s the heir of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Yan Jiuchao.”
The Queen’s fingers dug into her flesh.
“Are you sure?” The Emperor asked.
The State Preceptor took a deep breath and said helplessly, “I’m sure. I’ve seen Princely Heir Yan several times in the Capital. It’s only been a few months, I won’t remember wrongly.”
“I also don’t think you’ll remember wrongly. After all, you were the one who reported Princely Heir Yan to me.” The Emperor patted the State Preceptor’s stiff arm and turned to look at Eunuch Wang. “It’s better to call the Grand Ministers over and let them acknowledge Princely Heir Yan.”
“Yes!” Eunuch Wang looked at the Queen sympathetically. Woman, you’re finished!
The three Grand Ministers were all working in the cabinet. They were not far from the throne room and rushed over after a while. The Emperor did not say anything else and only asked them if they knew the young man in front of them.
“Do you know him?” The Emperor pointed at Yan Jiuchao and asked.
The three of them were shocked and said in unison, “Princely Heir Yan?”
“Hmph.” Yan Jiuchao turned his face away arrogantly.
The corners of their mouths twitched.
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” The Emperor asked.
With this appearance and bad temper, who else could it be but the little princely heir who showed off his children so much that they wanted to die?
In that case, the rumors they heard early in the morning were true? The heir of Yan City had really disguised himself as the young master of the Helian family and infiltrated the Capital?
This was really shocking!
“You guys can leave first.” The Emperor let the State Preceptor and the three Grand Ministers leave.
Yan Jiuchao’s identity was set in stone, and the identity of the Prince Consort could not escape.
The regret in the Queen’s heart was like the water of the Yellow River, flowing endlessly. If she had known that such a thing would happen, she might as well have not reported Yan Jiuchao. That way, the secret of the Prince Consort could be preserved.
What should she do now?
If it was someone she did not care about at all, she could push the blame to the other party. She had been deceived by the other party when she complained to the Emperor. As long as she insisted that she was the victim, then on account of her mother, the Emperor would definitely show her mercy.
However, she could not bear to push the Prince Consort out to die.
The Emperor wanted Yan Jiuchao to avoid it. However, this was not only a family matter of the Nangong family, but also Yan Jiuchao’s family matter. He had the right to know the entire truth.
The Emperor’s aura suddenly turned cold. He looked at his daughter, who he was once proud of, and said, “What else do you have to say?”
It was impossible to quibble anymore, and it was even more useless to exonerate herself.
The Helian family had hidden the royal family of Yan City for only a few days, but the Queen Manor had hidden them for an entire fifteen years. They even gave birth to children for the other party. It was simply an additional crime!
Not to mention that from Nangong Li’s age, when the Queen and the Prince Consort were secretly pregnant, the Prince Consort was still alive. He was Prince Yan of the Great Zhou, and he had a wife and son!
The dignified Princess of the Nanzhao Nation actually went so low as to snatch someone else’s husband! She had really embarrassed the royal family of Nanzhao!
The Queen felt the Emperor’s anger. She tried to explain herself, but she did not know where to start.
She wanted to say that she and the Prince Consort fell in love and that the Prince Consort was willing to be with her. However, she understood that her father would not agree to this marriage, so she made up a fake identity for him.
However, these words could not clear her and the Prince Consort of the crime of deceiving the Emperor. It might even cause the Prince Consort to be killed.
However, other than this, she really could not think of anything else to say.
Just as she was in a terrible fix, she glanced at Yan Jiuchao from the corner of her eye and suddenly had an idea!
She squeezed out two drops of tears and looked at the Emperor. “Father, it’s all my fault back then. It has nothing to do with the Prince Consort. You can punish me however you want. Don’t vent your anger on the Prince Consort! The Prince Consort is the father of your two grandsons and also the prince of the Great Zhou…”
The Emperor interrupted her without thinking. “Do I not dare to kill the prince of the Great Zhou?!”
The Queen immediately choked.
Prince Yan was the Great Zhou Emperor’s most beloved younger brother. Wouldn’t killing him be equivalent to declaring war on the Great Zhou? After such a thing happened, they should send him back to the Great Zhou and let the Great Zhou Emperor punish him well. They could not kill him in Nanzhao.
Father was really angry…
He didn’t even care about the country…
The War God of Nanzhao had fallen, but Xiao Zhenting of the Great Zhou had not! Didn’t Father consider the consequences of the war between the two countries? Alright, if you want to kill, then kill this little slut too!
The Queen shook her finger at Yan Jiuchao. “Father, he also infiltrated Nanzhao. Father, you only punish the Prince Consort. Can’t you punish him?”
“If you’re here to look for your father…” The Emperor looked at Yan Jiuchao.
“I’m not,” Yan Jiuchao said expressionlessly.
The Emperor frowned. Was this child stupid? Didn’t he see that he was giving him a way out just now? If he admitted that he was here to look for his father, he could just pardon him from the death penalty.
However, Young Master Yan never needed anyone’s pardon. He was the law, and the law was him!
“I came to Nanzhao for another reason. My wife is the legitimate daughter of the Helian family. My father-in-law is Helian Beiyu. Back then, he accidentally fell off a cliff and was saved by a kind person. He was raised in the Great Zhou.
“Old Madam’s mind is unstable. She mistook me for her little obedient grandson. I wasn’t on the Helian family’s genealogy, and the Helian family has never announced it to the public. Strictly speaking, this isn’t a crime of deceiving the Emperor. My in-laws are in Nanzhao. Why? Does accompanying my wife back hinder you?”
The Emperor, who was speechless: “…”
The Queen, who did not expect the truth to be like this. “…!!”
