Chapter 621: Phoenix Trap (9)

It was as if Chu Lian’s initial worries had been dispelled the moment she saw He Changdi.

After everyone from House Jing’an got onto their carriages, Chu Lian sat beside He Changdi and finally had the chance to ask, “What happened? Did something happen in Wanmin Hall?”

He Changdi still had a stern expression on his handsome face, but a rare sense of tenderness emerged within his gaze when he looked at his wife.

He reached out one slender finger to help Chu Lian tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. After that, he gently caressed Chu Lian’s soft earlobe, lingering for a moment.

The area around Chu Lian’s ears was really sensitive, so she slightly hunkered down into her shoulders. She realised that she couldn’t avoid He Changdi’s annoying hand, so she could only let him continue. Her delicate earlobe quickly turned red due to the rubbing.

Her cheeks also instantly flushed red.

“The crown prince is in trouble,” He Changdi said, quiet and calm like he was discussing something as simple and ordinary as the day’s weather.

Chu Lian’s eyes widened after hearing his words, filling with shock.

“What?”

Wasn’t the Chengping Emperor satisfied with the current crown prince, Second Prince? She had read half of the original novel, which had mentioned that the crown prince’s position was stable as the crown prince’s birth mother, Consort Liang, wasn’t competitive nor scheming. Thus, not only was the emperor satisfied with her, but the empress dowager was as well.

Furthermore, Consort Liang was also Fourth Prince’s adoptive mother. Chu Lian had a good impression of Consort Liang and the crown prince. Why did the crown prince suddenly cause a problem?

Even the Thousand Blessings Festival had ended early. Thus, it was evident that this was a major incident.

Fourth Prince had a close relationship with the crown prince. Would Fourth Prince get implicated in this matter?

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He Changdi seemed to have noticed the worry in his wife’s gaze. He reached out and lightly pinched Chu Lian’s pert nose. His voice was still very composed when he spoke.

“Don’t worry. Fourth Prince won’t be affected by this.”

Chu Lian let out a faint sigh of relief. As long as Prince Jin wasn’t involved in this, then He Changdi wouldn’t get entangled by this matter, either. If that was the case, she could rest easy.

She wasn’t very familiar with Consort Liang or the crown prince, so this matter was none of her business.

The young couple sat inside the carriage. After listening to He Changdi’s detailed recount of the incident, Chu Lian finally found out what had happened at Wanmin Hall to cause the Emperor to fly into a rage.

During the Thousand Blessings Festival, all the government officials in attendance were required to present a gift, and the princes were no exception.

After the death of the eldest prince, the second prince had been appointed the title of Crown Prince for several years.

Second Prince had average skills and abilities, so the court officials had thought that Second Prince wouldn’t be able to maintain his position as the crown prince. However, the idiotic Second Prince had miraculously been able to secure his status as the crown prince for the past six years because of his relations with Consort Liang and Fourth Prince.

It actually wasn’t all that surprising; Consort Liang could influence the Emperor with her ‘posturing’ within the palace, while the fourth prince, Prince Jin, acted as a scapegoat for the crown prince in court. Moreover, with the support of a group of court officials backing him, it was no wonder that he had been able to keep his position as the crown prince.

However, Consort Liang hadn’t been present at the male side of the banquet today. Fourth Prince had also decided to stay out of today’s incident. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that the crown prince had to take responsibility after causing trouble today at the banquet.

The trouble had started when the crown prince had presented the emperor with a ‘phoenix.’ It was supposedly a mystic bird found in Lingnan, and a lot of money had been spent to transport it back.

The bird’s plumage was as beautiful as fire, and its tail resembled the magnificent spread of a peacock’s. It had a golden crown and a mauve-coloured beak. There was an orange line traced around its eyes. It looked undeniably noble and gorgeous.

Everyone had been stunned as they stared at this ‘mystic bird’ that had been brought into Wanmin Hall. They all admired the beauty of the ‘mystic bird.’ The Chengping Emperor had also been elated over the present. Although the crown prince had wasted a lot of money and manpower to bring this ‘mystic bird’ back to the capital, finding this ‘phoenix’ was an auspicious sign for the Great Wu Dynasty. It was even more of a good omen since it had been presented during the Thousand Blessings Festival.

People were especially superstitious during the ancient times, so they truly believed in the auspiciousness of this ‘mystic bird’. Even the emperor was no exception.

It was supposed to be a happy occasion for the emperor and his ministers to witness this propitious mystic bird, but no one would have expected for an accident to occur right in front of everyone’s eyes.

A palace maidservant in charge of serving drinks accidentally knocked over the teapot she was carrying on her tray. It landed right on the ‘mystic bird,’ and the floor was instantly covered in a pool of washed-off dye...

The Chengping Emperor’s expression immediately turned grim when he saw it. He ordered someone to examine the bird and found out that it wasn’t any sort of ‘mystic bird.’ It was just a peacock whose feathers had been plucked and dyed.

The crown prince had committed the grave crime of deceiving the emperor during the Thousand Blessings Festival. The emperor was infuriated, so he ordered for the crown prince to be taken away and locked up.

As Second Prince was being taken away, he still had a face full of disbelief. In a moment of desperation, he had even called for the fourth prince, Prince Jin, who was sitting near the emperor. However, there wasn’t even a single trace of emotion within Prince Jin’s blue eyes this time.

The crown prince had caused a scandal during the banquet, so there was no way for it to continue.

The emperor had been so enraged that he left the banquet in anger. The Thousand Blessings Banquet within Wanmin Hall had ended on a sour note.

Chu Lian had only witnessed whatever happened after that, which was that someone came over to the imperial gardens to report about the incident.

Chu Lian’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Wasn’t the crown prince too reckless?”

He had actually dared to disguise a peacock from Lingnan as a phoenix... Wasn’t that absurd?

He Changdi lowered his head to look at his wife and slightly shook his head. “Although the crown prince’s actions are absurd at times, this isn’t something that he would do.”

Chu Lian instantly understood He Sanlang’s meaning. “You’re saying that someone else was behind this?”

He Changdi hugged Chu Lian. His gaze deepened as he stared into the distance. After a long moment, he nodded.

He suddenly asked Chu Lian, “Can you guess who it was?”