"Mother, Shu Xianwei's parents are now settled in my estate outside the capital."
Suddenly hearing Yin Ning say this, Empress Xu's eyes flew wide with surprise, and she spoke to Yin Ning with a voice full of delight:
"So that means, Ning'er, you know who Emperor Jingwu really is?"
Empress Xu thought Yin Ning had helped shelter Shu Xianwei's parents on Emperor Jingwu's behalf. The mere thought that Yin Ning might be on good terms with Emperor Jingwu filled her with joy.
So, before Yin Ning could answer her question, she couldn't help excitedly guessing:
"Ning'er, tell me, who is Emperor Jingwu? Could it be Yin Mu?"
The Yin Mu Empress Xu referred to was Emperor Jingming's fourth son, who usually had a decent relationship with Yin Ning.
The more Empress Xu thought about it, the more convinced she became that it must be Yin Mu. Her voice full of emotion, she said to Yin Ning and Shi Qingyuan:
"I never would have guessed! Yin Mu usually seems so lazy, but it turns out he was playing the fool! Indeed, there's no one in the rear palace you can underestimate!"
Yin Ning never expected her mother to have such a train of thought. She looked up and exchanged a glance with Shi Qingyuan, and the two of them couldn't help but chuckle helplessly.
Empress Xu was naturally puzzled by their wordless but默契 reaction. She looked at Yin Ning in confusion and said, "What's wrong? Did I guess wrong?"
Empress Xu felt it was strange, because aside from the Fourth Prince Yin Mu, she couldn't think of any other prince who was close enough to Yin Ning to make her lend a hand.
Because of Empress Xu's misunderstanding, Yin Ning's originally somewhat excited emotions calmed down again. She smiled at Empress Xu and said, "Mother, it has nothing to do with Fifth Brother. Shu Xianwei's parents were rescued by my subordinates outside the palace!"
A few days ago, Yin Ning had already tracked down the existence of Shu Xianwei's parents through her information channels outside the palace. She had intended to use the old couple as a lead to see if she could find out who was behind their confinement.
But yesterday afternoon, her surveillance team suddenly discovered several masked men attempting to kill the old couple and the two guards in the courtyard.
The masked men quickly dealt with the two unsuspecting guards, but when they tried to attack the old couple, they met with fierce resistance. Thanks to the old couple's persistence, Yin Ning's subordinates arrived in time to engage the masked men in battle.
Later, sensing the arrival of the patrol, the masked men had to retreat hastily. Yin Ning's subordinates also didn't want to deal with the authorities, so they took the old couple and quickly moved elsewhere.
Since there were only Yin Ning, Empress Xu, and Shi Qingyuan in Kunning Palace at the moment, Yin Ning recounted yesterday's events in detail to Empress Xu.
Although Empress Xu had known that Yin Ning was up to some things outside the palace, she had always thought it was just minor activities, not something significant, because Yin Ning never went into detail. But now, listening to Yin Ning's words, waves of shock rippled through her heart.
"Mother, you don't know how ruthless those assassins Yin Wen sent were. Every strike was aimed at vital points. Two of my subordinates are now lying in bed recovering!"
Yin Ning's face showed annoyance as she said this.
But Empress Xu was bewildered, feeling that Yin Ning had missed the point. Was now the time to care about those two being injured?
Empress Xu hadn't forgotten what Liu Sanqi had said on the Sky Canopy earlier. Liu Sanqi clearly stated that Shu Xianwei's parents were rescued by Emperor Jingwu's people. And now Yin Ning said she had rescued Emperor Jingwu's parents. Didn't that mean Emperor Jingwu was likely Yin Ning?!
Empress Xu was stunned by the conclusion she had deduced. She stood frozen in place.
Seeing Empress Xu so shocked, Yin Ning didn't disturb her, letting her slowly absorb and process this matter.
Yin Ning herself was of course quite surprised at the possibility that she might be Emperor Jingwu. But then she thought about it and felt she didn't need to be that surprised. After all, she was no worse than her half-brothers—in fact, she might even be better than them. So why should they be qualified to be emperor while she was not?
Yin Ning hadn't previously entertained the idea of competing for the throne, because she felt she could protect herself, and the Crown Prince was her full brother. As long as she didn't rebel, he wouldn't mistreat her. But if she truly could become emperor in the future, she certainly wouldn't hand over the throne to anyone else. Moreover, she couldn't afford to, because anyone ambitious for the throne would see her as a thorn in their side that had to be removed.
Outside the Golden Throne Hall, Emperor Jingming naturally caught the clue about Emperor Jingwu that Liu Sanqi had revealed. He immediately fixed a cold gaze on Yin Wen and asked, "Is that concubine named Shu Xianwei still alive?"
Yin Wen shrank his neck and dared not make a sound. Seeing his turtle-like reaction, Emperor Jingming understood immediately.
"And her parents? Have they been taken away as well?"
Yin Wen, pale as death, knelt before Emperor Jingming. Hearing the question, his voice trembling, he tried to ingratiate himself:
"F-Father, you are wise. Your son..."
"Useless!" Emperor Jingming cut him off with a sharp shout. He had no interest in what Yin Wen was about to say, and couldn't even be bothered to look at him again. He turned his scrutinizing gaze to his other three sons.
He hadn't paid much attention to the rumor circulating outside the palace in recent days, but now he felt that Emperor Jingwu might indeed be a prince rather than a grandson. Yin Rui's four sons were still young, with the eldest, Yin Chen, only fifteen—far too young to have such power. But if it were one of his other three sons, things would make much more sense.
With all the civil and military officials present, Emperor Jingming didn't plan to question the Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Princes immediately. He believed that after this broadcast, the one who was Emperor Jingwu would come forward and reveal their identity.
He had to admit, when he realized Emperor Jingwu might be his son, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. He couldn't be sure if he would only have three or four years left to live, as the Sky Canopy had implied. So in his view, if Emperor Jingwu were a bit older, it would certainly help stabilize the court in the future. Even the youngest of the princes, the Seventh, was already nineteen, married, and had children—a grown man.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi leaned back casually in her gaming chair and said to the camera:
"After talking about Yin Wen poisoning his Crown Prince brother, let's now dig into his rebellion."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to say, Yin Wen is a complete and utter scoundrel!"
"The reason I say that is not only because he poisoned his brother, but also because he tricked Lu Shaoheng into getting on his pirate ship. He ruined the reputation of Lu Shaoheng, an upright and noble prime minister from a humble background who devoted his life to the country and the people. In the end, he lost his integrity and was ordered by Emperor Jingming to hang himself for participating in the rebellion!"
Under the Sky Canopy, when Emperor Jingming and the officials heard that Lu Shaoheng was involved in Yin Wen's rebellion, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief. The reason for their shock was exactly as Liu Sanqi had said: Lu Shaoheng didn't seem like the type of ambitious minister who would join a rebellion.
Everyone in the court knew that among the five prime ministers, Lu Shaoheng was the only one truly born into a poor farming family. He had risen to his high position and become prime minister entirely through his extraordinary talent and outstanding achievements over the years. What made everyone admire him even more was that even at the pinnacle of power, he still understood the hardships of the common people and maintained an extremely clean and honest style.
They couldn't understand how such a man could be so foolish as to get involved in something as deadly as rebellion!