After sending away Chu Shaoling, the Empress Dowager kept only the Emperor behind. The Emperor advised the Empress Dowager to rest early, but the Empress Dowager coldly said, "No need! Too much has happened today. I won't be able to sleep until this matter is clarified. Summon the manager of the temporary palace and bring everyone related to the two eunuchs who died today. I want to see who has the audacity to plot against the prince right under my nose!"

The Empress Dowager had not unleashed her wrath for a long time. When she truly became angry, even the Emperor was powerless. He could only say, "If Mother wants to personally interrogate, that's fine. I will accompany you."

"Very well," the Empress Dowager said coldly, "Otherwise, what if I had accidentally framed Ruan'er?"

The Emperor's face fell, and he could only smile bitterly, "I was just afraid that Mother would be too tired."

The Empress Dowager didn't bother listening to the Emperor's explanation. After bringing in the relevant palace servants and interrogating them several times, they spilled the truth even before torture was used.

It turned out that Li Qiao was originally a eunuch from Consort Shu's palace. Because he had offended Consort Shu, he was punished and sent to the labor department. Consort Shu and Consort Li had long been at odds. When Consort Li learned of this, she used money to redeem Li Qiao, originally intending to keep Li Qiao by her side to do her bidding. However, Consort Shu was keeping a close eye at that time, so Consort Li simply sent Li Qiao to the temporary palace. One reason was to avoid suspicion, and the other was in case he could be of use in the temporary palace. By a twist of fate, unexpectedly, he was greatly useful today.

The palace servant who died with him was Li Qiao's disciple, Li Lin. When their rooms were searched, a lot of jewelry and silver were found, providing conclusive evidence. The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor, slapped the table, and laughed, "Haha, Consort Li went to great lengths for this. She laid the groundwork many years ago. What a brilliant scheme!"

The Emperor was furious with Consort Li in his heart, but could only smile apologetically, "Mother, don't be angry, lest you harm your health."

The Empress Dowager also clarified who had helped Li Qiao and who had pulled the strings. She rounded up a string of palace servants who had been involved and imprisoned them. She then said, "Now that the servants have been interrogated, it's time to interrogate their master. Bring Chu Shaoruan to me."

The Emperor knew that the Empress Dowager's anger would not subside until it was fully unleashed today. He could only follow along and say, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry and bring that wretched child here!"

The Empress Dowager at least gave Chu Shaoruan some face. She dismissed the crowd and personally interrogated him with the Emperor.

Chu Shaoruan's entire body was limp as he was dragged in. The Empress Dowager threw the testimonies of the palace servants just now beside Chu Shaoruan for him to read himself. Seeing that the Empress Dowager had even investigated Consort Shu's past matter, Chu Shaoruan knew it was over. He now realized that he had been schemed against by Chu Shaoling again.

Chu Shaoruan originally wanted to simply lay out his entire plan and expose Chu Shaoling and Wei Ji's matter, going down in mutual destruction. But now that Li Qiao and Li Lin were dead, his confession was worthless. If he implicated Chu Shaoling further, it would only anger the Empress Dowager.

After much thought, even though Chu Shaoruan was extremely hateful and furious, he could only swallow it down. He just kowtowed repeatedly, "Your unfilial grandson deserves to die. It was your grandson who was misled by the instigation of those people. Your grandson deserves to die, your grandson deserves to die."

With the accomplices executed and the culprit confessing, the Empress Dowager didn't listen to Chu Shaoruan's nonsense and directly had him sent back.

It was already midnight. The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea and after a long silence, said, "How does the Emperor plan to handle today's matter?"

The Emperor's mind was in turmoil. Chu Shaoruan and Consort Li had greatly embarrassed him today. The Emperor was angry and wanted to severely punish them. But when he thought of his feelings for Consort Li over the years and his expectations for Chu Shaoruan, the Emperor hesitated again.

Now, the matter of establishing the crown prince was frequently being brought up in court. The two princes with the strongest support were Chu Shaoling and Chu Shaoruan. If he punished Chu Shaoruan at this time, then the position of crown prince would undoubtedly go to Chu Shaoling. Thinking of this, the Emperor couldn't help but feel like he had swallowed a fly.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor coldly. A mother knows her son best. She knew what the Emperor was thinking in his heart. She slowly said, "Could it be that the Emperor wants to shield Chu Shaoruan and Consort Li?"

"Mother, where did you get that idea," the Emperor hurriedly said. "I just haven't decided how to deal with them yet."

The Empress Dowager's emotions had gone through ups and downs this night. At this point, she was too lazy to continue playing the game of insinuations with the Emperor. She directly said, "I understand your thoughts, Emperor. As a parent, it's inevitable to have favoritism. I also have favoritism. Among my many children, to be honest, I only dote on you."

The Emperor lowered his eyes and said, "Mother is loving. I understand."

"I'm not saying this for that reason," the Empress Dowager said with a hint of mockery in her eyes. She coldly continued, "I dote on you because among the many children, only you are my own. The previous Emperor had more than a dozen princes. You were not the eldest, yet you held the position of the legitimate heir. When the many old ministers supported you to become the Emperor, there was less strife. It all came down to the four words 'righteous and legitimate.' Has the Emperor been sitting on the throne for so long that you've forgotten about those days?"

These words hit where it hurt. The Emperor couldn't sit still anymore. He hurriedly stood up and said, "I dare not, Mother. Back then, several royal uncles were eyeing the throne covetously. How Mother protected me, I will never dare forget."

The Emperor and Empress Dowager had not been very close in recent years. But back when the Emperor was still a prince and the Empress Dowager was still the Empress, the mother and son had relied on each other. They had also gone through difficulties together with trepidation.

Speaking of past events, both the mother and son's hearts softened. After a long silence, the Empress Dowager sighed, "It's hard to believe the Emperor still remembers. I thought the Emperor had forgotten everything."

The Emperor looked at the Empress Dowager's head full of white hair and felt distressed. He lowered his head and said, "I don't dare forget for a single moment."

The Empress Dowager raised her hand to hold the Emperor's hand and had him sit beside her. She slowly said, "Back then, why did Prince Ni, Prince Jie, and Prince Li dare to disregard your imperial father and you? Wasn't it because Emperor Renzong doted on these few princes born of concubines too much? He indulged them to be lawless. After your imperial father passed away, they even wanted to seize your position! The situation back then is right before our eyes. I thought the Emperor should have a clear understanding in his heart. That's why I didn't want to bring these matters out in the open. Now it seems I still need to speak plainly. Does the Emperor want to establish Ruan'er as the crown prince?"

The Emperor paused for a moment, then slowly said, "In my heart, I have never really made a decision. In terms of background, Ling'er should be first. In terms of literary talent, Ruan'er is excellent. In terms of martial arts, Mo'er is strong. The few adult princes each have their own strengths. It's really hard to decide."

"Those words are disingenuous," the Empress Dowager looked straight into the Emperor's eyes. "I have never heard of choosing the crown prince based on evaluating the princes' martial arts and literary talent. I have laid out everything today, yet the Emperor still wants to brush me off?!"

The Emperor paused for a moment and said, "In terms of the art of managing people and being thoughtful and meticulous, Ling'er is the best among these princes. Ruan'er and the others can't compare to him. But no matter what Ruan'er is like, I can see through him at a glance. Ling'er, I won't hide it from the Empress Dowager, I have never been able to see through him. I don't feel at ease handing over the crown prince position to him just like that."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and said lightly, "Ling'er is not close to you, and you should know the reason better than I do. Forget it, tomorrow I will call Ling'er to come before you. You can ask him whatever you are not at ease with. The nature between father and son, I don't believe there is anything that can't be seen through. Even if it still can't be seen through, after speaking openly, you won't need to guard against him like guarding against a thief."

The Emperor's face was embarrassed, and he said, "Mother's words are too heavy."

The Empress Dowager shook her head, "I have already interrogated this case clearly in front of you. How to deal with it, the Emperor should discuss with Chu Shaoling, the victim, tomorrow. I am tired, you may go."

After the Emperor helped the Empress Dowager lie down, he returned to his own bedchamber full of worries.

The next day, the Empress Dowager indeed called Chu Shaoling early and instructed him for half a day before letting Chu Shaoling go to pay respects to the Emperor.

Chu Shaoling came prepared, and the Emperor had already made arrangements early. There was not a single palace servant in the main hall. Chu Shaoling sneered in his heart. Now, for the father and son to say a few words, the Empress Dowager had to arrange it first. Was it necessary to make such a fuss?

The Emperor pondered for a night and first said, "Last night, the matter was interrogated clearly by me and the Empress Dowager. It was indeed Ruan'er's doing."

Chu Shaoling's face was calm, "The Emperor is wise."

The Emperor felt like punching into cotton. He silently looked at Chu Shaoling for a long time, almost only to see a change in Chu Shaoling's expression. He deliberately said, "Ruan'er has committed a crime because of this matter, and you are one step closer to the crown prince position. You should be happy in your heart, right?"

Chu Shaoling lowered his eyes, "This subject is not."

This was not a lie. The crown prince position was originally his, so what was there to be happy or unhappy about?

Seeing that Chu Shaoling's face did not change, the Emperor continued, "Putting aside other things, among the princes, you should be the one to be established as the crown prince. However, you have a eccentric temperament and your actions are ruthless and biased. If one day you ascend to the throne, I'm afraid the first thing you will do is to eliminate these half-brothers one by one, relying on your noble status as the eldest legitimate son. Every time I think about future matters, I can't help but hesitate."

Chu Shaoling sneered in his heart and said in a deep voice, "The Emperor also sat on the throne with the position of the eldest legitimate son, but this subject still has more than ten healthy uncles. It can be seen that sitting on the throne does not necessarily mean having to kill all the brothers."

The Emperor sneered coldly, "I didn't have your good skills when it came to my brothers. When I was still a prince, my hands were very clean, unlike you, who have already stained your hands with blood at a young age."

Chu Shaoling lowered his eyes and replied in a low voice, "This is natural. The Emperor is better than this subject in all aspects. The previous emperor was so loving to the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager protected the Emperor so much. Naturally, the Emperor did not need to personally get involved in those dirty matters."

"Bastard!" The Emperor was furious when he heard this. "Are you criticizing me for not treating you well enough?!"

Chu Shaoling was still calm, "I dare not. How the Emperor treats this subject and how he treats the Empress, the Emperor and this subject are both very clear."

The Emperor was stumped by Chu Shaoling's words and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

The matter of Empress Ling was a sore spot for the Emperor.

Back then, the Emperor had ascended the throne smoothly with great help from the Zijun Marquis Manor. The Emperor had also promised the Zijun Marquis that he would respect the Empress for life. However, a few years after ascending the throne, the Emperor began to favor Consort Li. The Empress' position became nominal, and the Emperor himself was also aware of the various humiliations Empress Ling had suffered back then.

It was precisely because the Emperor himself knew that he had wronged Empress Ling that he disliked others mentioning it. Chu Shaoyang was still fine, but Chu Shaoling almost constantly reminded the Emperor of this debt of conscience. Chu Shaoling's appearance was very similar to Empress Ling, and his every move, every smile and frown were personally taught by Empress Ling. As long as he saw Chu Shaoling, the Emperor would think of Empress Ling, as well as his own guilt towards Empress Ling that he had always avoided.

The Emperor sighed dejectedly and said, "Have you always resented me for not treating your mother well?"

Chu Shaoling bowed his head, "This subject does not dare."

It was like this, his words and actions never allowed others to find any fault. The Emperor even felt that he himself, sitting on the dragon throne, was not as steady and dignified as Chu Shaoling standing below. The Emperor became more and more frustrated, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, you may go. This matter, I will naturally give you justice."

Chu Shaoling bowed, "The Emperor is wise."

Chu Shaoling turned and left the main hall. He knew that the Emperor would give justice, but not to him, but to the forces behind him. Being schemed against and humiliated by Chu Shaoruan for no reason, even if he didn't pursue it, there would be people pursuing it on his behalf.

Before leaving the main hall, Chu Shaoling turned his head and glanced inside, a hint of mockery and pity flashing in his eyes. Would he also feel uneasy? His mother, the noble mother of the country, had lived a humiliating life in her last years. This debt would have to be repaid sooner or later.

Inside the hall, the Emperor leaned on the golden dragon chair, rubbing his temples. The entire main hall was empty, depressing and decadent. Chu Shaoling stepped out of the main hall, the bright sunlight outside shining on his body. At the bottom of the nine-layered coiled dragon stone steps, Wei Ji was looking at him with a slightly anxious gaze. Wei Ji's clear gaze, like the brilliant sunlight, shone into Chu Shaoling's suppressed and frenzied heart, instantly sweeping away the endless darkness in his heart.