"Mother also said that when she was attending to the forr Emperor, about half a month before he passed away, she inadvertently witnessed him drafting an edict to depose the Crown Prince. In her opinion, the new Crown Prince the forr Emperor intended to establish was you."
After Rong Shuo finished speaking, Gu Lan and Rong Heng were stunned.
His words were like a thread, connecting the various small pieces of information Gu Lan had known previously.
In an instant, Gu Lan thought of many dramatic possibilities.
The fine drizzle soaked Rong Heng’s shoulders and also weighed down his heart.
Rong Heng rembered the kindness that Consort Jia had shown him before; it turned out that she saw him as a valuable asset because she had witnessed the forr Emperor’s favoritism towards him.
"The Consort thought too simplistically. At that ti, I was just a child. Even if Rong Jing were deposed, he would have made the Third Imperial Brother the new Crown Prince."
A mont later, Rong Heng let out a slight laugh and spoke indifferently, but his eyes showed a trace of confusion.
Because, if what Consort Jia and Rong Shuo said was true, then everything the forr Emperor did for the Xiao Family lost its rational explanation... The complex feelings he had towards the forr Emperor over the years had no place to belong.
What Gu Lan cared about was: "Why did the forr Emperor want to depose the Crown Prince?"
She was not surprised that the forr Emperor wanted to make Rong Heng the Crown Prince.
Because... Rong Heng is the protagonist! He was originally exceptionally talented, with a prominent maternal family, and Xiao Ning was the true love of the forr Emperor. It was normal for him to have the aura of a protagonist. Without experiencing ups and downs, how could he beco the main character in a male-dominated story?
But as far as she knew, the Crown Prince Rong Jing’s position was not exactly rock solid, but it was not precarious either.
It’s said that Crown Prince Rong Jing was talented and diligent from a young age, well-regarded by the forr Emperor, supported by the officials, and being the son of the Empress, he married Su Zhixue, the number one talented woman of the Capital City at that ti. So under normal circumstances, he could ascend to the throne smoothly.
In contrast, Rong Shuo had been in the military, and the Third Prince Rong Jue’s maternal family was ordinary, possessing his own literary accomplishnts, and he appeared to maintain a cordial relationship with Rong Jing, not posing a significant threat to him.
Most importantly, Rong Jing had never made any mistakes.
A perfect Crown Prince who never made mistakes, why would the forr Emperor want to depose him?
Could it be that the forr Emperor truly favored Rong Heng to such an extent that he was willing to destroy Rong Jing, whom he had painstakingly cultivated, just to pave the way for him?
An Emperor who was actually a love-struck fool, blinded by having a son in middle age? Does this make sense?
Rong Shuo, however, looked at Rong Heng with an incomparably complex expression and said:
"Wu, you underestimate your importance in the forr Emperor’s heart. The affection he had for you, we’ve all seen it. If the Crown Prince were deposed, then the new Crown Prince would definitely be you, and only you."
Gu Lan looked at Rong Shuo’s expression, knowing he wasn’t lying.
So the forr Emperor really was a love-struck fool, blinded by having a son in middle age!
Rong Heng, however, slowly raised his head and stared directly at Rong Shuo.
Strands of rain fell onto his thick, long lashes, looking like teardrops.
His eyes were red, his expression gloomy and indifferent, like a puppet with no emotions, yet his voice was hoarse, almost like a low growl:
"He loves , so he wants to destroy everything I have!? It’s ridiculous."
Gu Lan’s fingers, placed at her side, curled slightly as she looked at Rong Heng, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
In her impression, it was rare for Rong Heng to be in such a state; the reluctance and resentnt in his eyes almost turned tangible.
All because Rong Shuo ntioned one person—the forr Emperor.
The person who had once bestowed him with infinite glory, yet dragged everything around him into hell before dying, was the unhealable wound in his heart.
Rong Shuo looked at Rong Heng’s appearance, feeling a dull ache inside.
He gritted his teeth and t Rong Heng’s eagle-sharp, dark eyes straight on, but even as he maintained his elder brother composure, he was already a ss inside:
"Wu, calm down a bit. I won’t deceive you. The love the forr Emperor held for you and Princess Consort Xiao was indeed unparalleled, but at the ti... the Crown Prince’s status was stable and did not directly conflict with you. No matter how favored you were, you were ultimately just a child and posed less of a threat to the Crown Prince than the Third Prince. So, when the decree to confiscate the Xiao Family’s assets appeared, we only thought the Xiao Family had truly done sothing against Dayan. At worst, it was anger at the forr Emperor’s ruthlessness, but we never considered... that this matter was related to the Crown Prince."
Rong Shuo paused, speaking each word clearly: "But what if, what Mother just said is true?"
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