After Master Meng left, Meng Xi slowly walked to Crown Prince Yun, took his cold hand, and put it on her chest. She didn’t know what to say or how to comfort him, but she still asked, “Are you all right?”

Crown Prince Yun didn’t reply. He still looked somewhat in a daze. Feeling even more sorry for him, Meng Xi walked in front of him. She held Crown Prince Yun’s face with her delicate, smooth hands and turned it to her.

Meng Xi looked into Crown Prince Yun’s eyes seriously, saying word by word, “My husband.” This was the first time that Meng Xi called Crown Prince Yun this way. She meant to give herself to him and make it a commitment. “Even if your mother, father, or the whole world has abandoned you, I won’t. I’m your wife and always will be. Remember, you still have me, so no matter what you want to do, I will always accompany you and support you.”

Meng Xi’s words cheered up Crown Prince Yun a lot. He knew she cared about him, but he was still overwhelmed. Meng Xi knew it, so she didn’t care about her lover’s mute response too much. Holding hands like this, they stood without saying a word. Time flew by, yet they didn’t even have the appetite for dinner.

As the sun fell, the afterglow faded, and the sky was getting dark. In the darkness, tears slipped down Crown Prince Yun’s face. He thought a lot but just couldn’t figure out what happened. The most unacceptable thing was that his own father wanted to kill him. In the end, he made up his mind to go back to the royal palace and ask for the truth himself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have a good sleep for the rest of his life.

“Xier, I want to go back to the royal palace.”

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

“Xier, aren’t you opposed to it?”

“No matter what decision you make, I will support you.”

“Xier, you are the best.”

Meng Xi didn’t say anything, just hugged him hard and then went to get prepared.

Being with him for so long, Meng Xi knew how he felt. She loved him, so she was willing to trust him and make the sacrifice. With the help of Meng Xi, Crown Prince Yun slipped out of the mansion of the Mengs and returned to the royal palace. After all, as Miss Meng, Meng Xi had got her own way out.

That night, Meng Xi took Crown Prince Yun to climb over the wall and escaped from the mansion secretly. At the gate of the royal palace, they overheard a group of soldiers talking. Before it, Crown Prince Yun still had some hope. However, he was painfully shocked when he heard the soldiers saying that they could get promoted and rewarded if they killed the Crown Prince. Meng Xi held his hand tightly. Fixing the clothes for Crown Prince Yun, who had dressed up as a palace maid, she hugged him again.

“Always be careful, right?”

“I will.”

“I’m here waiting for you.”

“Okay.”

“Remember, even if the world has abandoned you, you still have me.”

“I know.”

Looking at the girl who treated him so well, Crown Prince Yun kissed her lips. The kiss was deep, with more attachment and less desire, making it a lot more genuine. He glanced at her for the last time, then turned around and walked into the royal palace with other palace maids. Crown Prince Yun was gone. The next time they met, everything had changed.

Secretly following behind the palace maids, Crown Prince Yun went back into his palace. Walking towards old King Yun’s bedroom, he did not want to be noticed by anyone. But compared with meeting his mother, he was more afraid to be found by his father, who meant to kill him.

Finally, Crown Prince Yun sneaked into old King Yun’s bedroom. The resting place of the ruler of the Kingdom of Yun now seemed a lot less solemn and magnificent. On the bed lay a weak man who looked like he was dying.

The man was in his 40s, but he appeared to be more than ten years older. His face was extremely pale without a trace of redness. Two dark circles were under his eyes, and his lips were also slightly ashy. The once confident King Yun was now a completely different person.

“Father,” Crown Prince Yun, still in the palace maid dress, called him. He felt so bad seeing the weak old man in front of him and quickly grabbed the king’s hand. He couldn’t believe this was his father!

But to his surprise, hearing his voice, old King Yun opened his eyes and immediately threw away his hand as if his son was a plague. Although with no strength, he forced some words out of his throat, “You should have been killed!”

“Father, I’m your son! Don’t you recognize me? It must be my weird outfit.”

“Why are you back?”

“Father, I’m back to see you.”

“You don’t deserve to call me father, you bastard. God, why haven’t you let him die? Why?”

“Father, why? Why do you want me dead so bad? Even though my mother has made some mistakes, I’m still your son!”

“My son? You bastard. You are not the descendant of the Yuns.”

“Father, what are you talking about?” Crown Prince Yun desperately held old King Yun’s shoulders and shook him, almost breaking the dying king’s bones.

But old King Yun still shouted with the last of his strength, “Why are you not dead? Why are you not dead? Why are you not dead...” He repeated that as if it was the only thing he could say.

Crown Prince Yun stopped shaking him. Even more stunned, he just looked at old King Yun with no response. He really didn’t understand what was going on and why everything had changed in his life.

At this time, the door was suddenly pushed open. The Prime Minister and the Noble Consort walked in. Seeing her son back, the Noble Consort hurried up and touched his face affectionately, but Crown Prince Yun avoided her hand. He felt his mother was like a stranger. But the Noble Consort was not annoyed, of course.

“My son, why don’t you tell me that you’ve come back? Let me take a look at you. Have you had any difficulties during the trip?”

“Mother, why do you rebel with uncle?”

The Prime Minister immediately knew Crown Prince Yun was back when he sneaked into the palace. That was why he came here with the Noble Consort. It was no coincidence that everyone was here at this moment.

Looking at Crown Prince Yun, the Prime Minister burst into tears. He could finally let his only son know that he was his father. But since he was too excited to speak, he just gazed at Crown Prince Yun.

The Noble Consort took a look at the Prime Minister, then back at her son. Slowly, she opened her mouth, “I didn’t want to rebel, but your father wanted to kill you!”

“It must be your rebellion that forced Father to do that.”

“Silly boy! Long before you left Huaiyang City, your father has assassinated you many times. Your uncle and I are the ones who have protected you from being killed.”

“You’re lying. I don’t believe it.”

“My son, if you don’t believe me, just ask your father. Today is the day to make everything clear.”

Hearing that, Crown Prince Yun didn’t know what to do. He dared not ask his father for fear that he would be hurt even deeper.

The Noble Consort didn’t force him. She continued, “You were sent out of Huaiyang City because your father didn’t want you to come back, and he could use this chance to deal with us.” Then the Noble Consort looked at old King Yun on the bed, “Your Majesty, how ungrateful you are! Back then, no one was willing to escort you back to the capital and help you ascend the throne. If it weren’t for my brother, I’m afraid you would still be a hostage prince somewhere. Where do you think your throne comes from?”

“Your brother? Bitch, do you even know what shame is? I would rather be a hostage for the rest of my life than be used by two adulterers.” Finishing this sentence with his last strength, old King Yun fell on the bed, unable to move anymore.

“So what? How do you feel about raising my son for so many years? If you were willing to give the throne to my son, you would still enjoy all the privilege as the old king, but you forced me to take action,” said the Prime Minister. He was too thrilled to speak to his son, but he didn’t feel a thing towards old King Yun.

But what he said destroyed the last straw for Crown Prince Yun. Suddenly, he blacked out and fell straight on old King Yun, almost killing the dying man. If he could, Crown Prince Yun hoped that he would never wake up.

However, no matter how unwilling he was, he would still have to face reality. As the sun shone on his bed, he woke up and saw the familiar decorations in his room. It felt like nothing had happened.

But besides his bed stood the Prime Minister and the Noble Consort. Obviously, they were worried about him all night that they had dark circles under their eyes, but they were still waiting for him to wake up. The appearance of them reminded Crown Prince Yun that what he had been through was real. He couldn’t pretend it never happened.

“My son, you’re finally awake. That’s a relief.”

“My son, are you okay? You scared me.”

Looking at the worried couple in front of him, Crown Prince Yun screamed frantically, “Get out, get out of here! Both of you!”

Hurriedly, the Noble Consort told the Prime Minister to leave first while she stayed to talk to Crown Prince Yun. Although the Prime Minister was reluctant, he had to go. “My child, take a good rest. I’ll come to see you later,” said he just before he left.

“Get out.”

Since Crown Prince Yun still couldn’t accept it, the Noble Consort closed the door and windows, sitting next to him. She reached his head, but he still resisted her touch. She let out a deep sigh and began to talk,

“My son, I had no choice.” Glancing at her son, she knew that he still didn’t want to talk to her. “Now, I’m telling you the truth. Listen carefully.”

Finally, Crown Prince Yun raised his head. The Noble Consort put a pillow behind his back to make him sit more comfortably. Opening her heart to her son, the Noble Consort no longer addressed herself as a royal member but talked to Crown Prince Yun like an ordinary mother.

“My son, back at that time, I was just a singer from the Kingdom of Wu. It was known that I was pitied by the Prime Minister and adopted as his sister. But in fact, I was just a gift that the Prime Minister prepared for King Yun. After I was married to His Majesty, he never took me seriously. I wouldn’t be able to see him even once a month. Do you know what my life was like? In this cruel royal palace, without the king’s favor, I was even laughed at and despised by the servants. Even worse, I had to put up with getting bullied by those favored concubines.”

“That’s why you betrayed my father? Do you think it’s fair for me to watch you rebel and be with your nominal brother? How can I accept the fact that my real father is the Prime Minister? How can you ask me to inherit the Kingdom of Yun when I’m not even the descendant of the Yuns.”