(Sorry, I will be writing less these days. I'm really sorry. I have some mental issues and I always feel palpitations for some unknown reason. It should be a mental problem, not a physical one. I wish you all a happy weekend.)

...

...

A fire broke out in the palace. Although it was raining heavily that day, the fire seemed a little inexplicable. However, under intentional or unintentional arrangements, the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor and others saw the Crown Prince, who was frightened and didn't seem to want to talk.

So in the days that followed, the Crown Prince had an excellent reason not to attend lectures in the Imperial Study, and not many people suspected what *Niao Ni* was hidden within.

The Imperial Villa was where Lin Wan'er prepared to live after moving out of the palace for her marriage. It was also the place where Fan Xian had climbed the wall countless times. But now, if he wanted to climb it twice more, he would definitely be shot into a hedgehog by countless crossbow bolts.

The defenses around the villa were extremely strict. The four streets along the villa had long been sealed off, like a large 回 (hui) character. The villa was the small circle inside, and the outer circle was the strict blockade of the Overwatch Council.

In name, the Eldest Princess was recuperating in that small circle, but the ministers in the court naturally knew that this Princess was being held under house arrest by His Majesty, and the Overwatch Council was guarding her extremely strictly, fearing that even a mosquito couldn't fly in, let alone news.

How long would she be under house arrest?

Accompanied by guards, a carriage slowly drove from the east. The owner of this carriage had previously entered the palace but received no news, so at this time, at great risk, she came to the Royal Villa in the west of the city.

The driver was Teng Zijing, but this carriage, bearing the Fan family's circular emblem, was coldly stopped half a street away from the villa.

The curtain of the carriage was slightly lifted, revealing Lin Wan'er's face, tired and slightly sad. She had seen the Empress Dowager in the palace but not the Empress. Although the Empress Dowager didn't say anything, the atmosphere in the palace and certain subtle differences had confirmed her suspicions.

Whether from Fan Xian's perspective or from the perspective of the royal family, she shouldn't have come to the villa today, even though her mother was imprisoned inside.

But she couldn't help but come. She had a very ominous feeling that if she didn't see that woman again, she might never have the chance in this lifetime.

House arrest, for how many years?

...

...

"Madam, the decree is clear, strictly prohibit anyone from disturbing the Princess's rest," an official from the Overwatch Council said calmly. "Or you can ask for an imperial decree."

After several rounds of negotiation, the Fan Manor's carriage still couldn't advance any further. Lin Wan'er sighed, returned to the carriage, knowing that she shouldn't have come in the first place, but... She shook her head and said, "Understood."

The official from the Overwatch Council breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed to express his gratitude. If an ordinary minister or noble wanted to visit the Eldest Princess at the villa, the people from the Overwatch Council would have driven them away with sticks long ago. However, the woman in the carriage was the Eldest Princess's biological daughter, and most importantly, she was the wife of Fan Xian, the chief of the Overwatch Council.

This latter identity made everyone in the Overwatch Council dare not be even slightly disrespectful.

Lin Wan'er seemed not to hear what he was saying, staring blankly at the familiar garden in the distance, slowly lowered her head, and tears flowed uncontrollably, silently praying for her mother in her heart.

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The fact that the Eldest Princess was under house arrest naturally caused a great shock in the court and among the people.

Because no one would underestimate the woman's influence on the politics of *Qing Yu Nian* over the past decade, and the control of the court and the people by her and those around her.

Since the Eldest Princess was not dead, no one knew what would happen in the future. Fortunately, His Majesty had swept away the Eldest Princess's faction so swiftly and thoroughly, perfectly demonstrating the terrifying control and lethality of an emperor. Not many people worried that there would be major changes in the court.

Some factions were happy from the bottom of their hearts, such as the Overwatch Council, the Department of Ministries, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Many people were afraid, wondering when they would be invited to the Overwatch Council for tea. Many people were excited, feeling that seeing such a big drama of a brother and sister emperor and princess turning against each other in their lifetime was truly worthwhile.

Some people also felt sad and heartbroken. The reasons for sadness and heartbreak were different. For example, Lin Wan'er was because of the mother-daughter relationship, while others were because they had lost many opportunities to climb up the ladder.

But everyone had a common understanding: among all the forces, the Second Prince should be the most panicked and distressed.

Fan Xian had spent two years exposing the connection between the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince, driving the Second Prince's faction into a state of utter chaos. Everyone knew that the Second Prince's real backer was the Eldest Princess. Now that the Eldest Princess had lost power and was under house arrest, what would the Second Prince do?

Few people knew the relationship between the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince.

Including the Second Prince.

So in the palace, the Second Prince, as everyone had guessed, was shocked, sad, disappointed, heartbroken, and panicked. He squatted on the chair, unconsciously holding a piece of pastry in his hand, but didn't put it in his mouth. He squeezed the pastry a little loose with his fingers, and his eyes unconsciously looked at the gate of the palace—as if at any moment, the eunuchs from the palace and the officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices would break into the palace and arrest him for imprisonment.

The Second Prince couldn't understand why his father suddenly took action against his aunt, and he was even more shocked by his father's silent attack, the power of the thunderous strike. Only at this moment did he realize that His Majesty had not been moving all along, but that didn't mean he didn't have the ability to move. It was just that he had been too lazy to move before.

When the Emperor moved, the world changed. Silently, after a thunderstorm, the situation in the capital changed.

The Second Prince didn't know what he was about to face. The Emperor knew everything about the relationship between him and the Eldest Princess. Perhaps... he would never have a chance to rise again in this life.

He sighed, put the pastry on the side dish, smiled bitterly, took the hand towel and wiped his hands, and said to Princess Consort Ye Ling'er beside him, "If there is any problem, presumably His Majesty will not make things difficult for you because of your granduncle."

Ye Ling'er's bright eyes were covered with a faint layer of worry. Of course, she knew why her husband had been staying in the palace these days, honestly, preparing to be arrested at any time.

But she couldn't comfort him, nor could she do anything to help him.

The power that the Second Prince could rely on now was the Ye family, but in the days after the Eldest Princess was imprisoned, he didn't dare to have any explicit or implicit communication with the Ye family, because he knew that his every move was under the surveillance of the palace.

He was not prepared. To be precise, after his aunt was suddenly knocked down from grace, he didn't have the courage to do anything. He worried that his abnormal behavior would make his father even more furious.

For the sake of his own life, it was better to be quiet. House arrest, at least, was not death.

...

...

The Second Prince honestly waited for the arrival of the end in the palace. The people in the court and among the people in the capital were also waiting for the day when the Second Prince would be finished. However, after waiting for a long time, there was still no decree from the palace. This fact made everyone feel suspicious and speculate secretly.

At this moment, an imperial decree was issued from the palace.

Everyone was so shocked that they couldn't speak. The news reached the palace, and the Second Prince was so shocked by the decree that he fell directly from the chair. Infinite unexpected joy and infinite doubt turned into infinite shock in his mind—why was this?

The decree was very clear: The ruler of Nan Zhao had recently passed away. His Majesty specially ordered Crown Prince Li Chengqian to inspect Nan Zhao on behalf of the Emperor!

Nan Zhao? This was a vassal state that had been forcibly conquered by the *Qing Yu Nian* army seven years ago. It was located in a remote area, with many poisonous miasmas, and the roads were difficult and dangerous... Thousands of miles away, it would take at least four months to go back and forth.

Although Nan Zhao had been peaceful all these years, regarding *Qing Yu Nian* as its master, and the relationship between the two countries was extremely close, the death of the ruler of Nan Zhao naturally required *Qing Yu Nian* to send someone of considerable status to offer condolences and attend the ceremony, but... why the Crown Prince? This was completely inconsistent with customary etiquette.

Why not the First Prince?

Why not Grand Scholar Hu?

Why not Fan Xian?

At such a sensitive moment, the Crown Prince was suddenly sent to Nan Zhao, thousands of miles away. What did this mean? Was it a disguised form of exile?

The Eldest Princess was under house arrest. Everyone thought that the second unlucky person would definitely be the Second Prince. No one would have thought that it would be the Crown Prince!

Did His Majesty finally have the idea of ​​abolishing the Crown Prince?

Although the details of the current situation were not enough to support this judgment, those cunning officials in the court had sensed that the wind had changed, but they couldn't figure it out.

The Second Prince was of course the one who couldn't figure it out the most. He just felt a chill all over his body. His father always acted in such an unexpected and chilling manner. His methods were like flowing clouds in the sky, and it was impossible to figure out the traces.

So after being shocked, the Second Prince became even more honest and well-behaved.

Twenty days later, the pale-faced Crown Prince, under the triple protection of a team of imperial guards, a dozen Tiger Guards, and a department of the Overwatch Council, left the south gate of the capital and slowly headed towards the distant Nan Zhao, which seemed forever unreachable.