The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 164 Everyone's crazy, being a little crazy is good.

Fortunately, the system did not malfunction this time either.

[So it was Xu Zhen's doing. That's not surprising. After all, if I hadn't come, he would probably still be buried in his studies, preparing for the imperial examination.]

With such a great achievement, he'll probably get promoted again. However, he's too young; a rapid rise isn't a good thing. His father will likely send him to a remote post, won't he?

The emperor and his ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

Just explain the past; it still has to be the system.

Only Xu Ru, after the initial fear subsided, was filled with renewed doubt.

its not right……

His beloved grandson had just mentioned that he was preparing to be transferred to another post, so how come the system and the princess are so considerate, just putting all the credit on Xu Zhen's head?

She gave him this opportunity at the perfect time. He even suspected that the princess knew her true feelings would be revealed, so she deliberately paved the way for the emperor to promote Xu Zhen.

But thinking about it, that's impossible. How can a person control what they're thinking?

Moreover, if she knew her true feelings would be exposed, how could she always expose the ministers' shortcomings? Wasn't she afraid of being retaliated against and hated?

He shook his head, dismissing the absurd guess from his mind.

Forget it, he should worry about his precious grandson instead.

Sigh, although he's happy that his grandson is doing well, sending him out to work in another province is a problem...

The princess and the emperor would probably prefer to give him some good experience, so they certainly wouldn't send him to an easy place.

This assignment to a distant post is a rare opportunity. If the grandson's achievements are mediocre, the princess will no longer treat him with special regard; if the grandson makes no contributions, the princess will abandon him; unless he makes a name for himself, the princess and the emperor will continue to promote him.

That's the officialdom for you; he's the only one who managed to climb up the ranks by smoothing things over.

Hmm, thinking about it that way, it's actually quite something to be proud of.

However, he was well aware that his glory would not last long. The court did not tolerate idlers. Once his grandson returned from his post, it would be time for him to retire.

During this period, he must keep a low profile and work diligently, lest he be kicked out of the court prematurely, and then no one will pave the way for his beloved grandson.

Alas, I never imagined that at his age, he would still be working so hard.

It's all that damned Brown Country's fault; they'll overthrow them one day.

His thoughts drifted further and further away, and the atmosphere between the mother and son inside the light screen became increasingly tense.

Consort Duan's expression didn't change at all when the Fifth Prince pressed her for an explanation, and she showed no intention of explaining herself to him.

The Fifth Prince couldn't help but laugh bitterly: "Even at this point, you still won't give me the truth?"

Consort Duan raised her eyelids, her eyes cold and indifferent: "You're shameless too. I've been so cruel to you, and you still dare to shamelessly come to me."

She spoke the most heartless words in the calmest tone.

The Fifth Prince stared at her constantly opening and closing mouth, as if he were hallucinating a chilling icy spike being spat out of her mouth, piercing his heart, and then exploding violently.

A dull pain shot through my heart, gradually spreading to my limbs and bones.

Inside the main hall, even the ministers who knew what evil deeds the Fifth Prince would commit in the future couldn't help but gasp in shock.

When a person has a tragic past, it is easier for them to gain forgiveness from some people for the evil deeds they commit.

These people, being detached from the situation and projecting their own perspectives, inevitably feel a sense of empathy.

The Fifth Prince has not yet committed all the evil deeds, so it is not surprising that he receives this sympathy.

Because this sympathy is often accompanied by a sense of satisfaction that "he deserves it," it always evokes a lot of feelings among onlookers, making the gossip about the Fifth Prince exceptionally enjoyable.

Just as everyone was filled with mixed emotions, the Fifth Prince suddenly approached Consort Duan.

Zheng Xun, unusually losing his composure, suddenly let out a sharp scream.

She cried out, but neither she nor the other ministers noticed.

Because they were surprised too!

Their expressions were almost as if they had witnessed the collapse of the heavens and the earth.

The emperor jerked his head back, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.

Zheng Xun swallowed hard. The screen adjusted the view, and they realized that the Fifth Prince had only moved closer but hadn't actually kissed him.

[I was terrified! I thought it was another case of the gentle years passing by. The Fifth Prince... I'm so upset! His fist was clenched so tightly, but it didn't land on Consort Duan. It just hit the wall next to him.]

Other ministers: ...

I was terrified.

Fortunately, they weren't too old to handle any shocks. If the old Grand Tutor were here, he might have fainted on the spot.

but……

What is the gentleness of time? Let's discuss it in detail.

Zheng Xun couldn't go into details; her gaze was fixed on the light screen, waiting for what would happen next.

Compared to Zheng Xun and the other onlookers, Consort Duan was even more shocked.

She was always very cold towards the Fifth Prince, and even when she smiled, it was always meaningful and contained no goodwill whatsoever.

Even when she lost her temper at the emperor's birthday celebration, it was with madness and malice.

This was the first time she had ever been so flustered.

The Fifth Prince seemed to have discovered something interesting, and a naive smile appeared on his face.

He may call it naive, but anyone can see his perverse sense of humor.

Consort Duan forced herself to remain calm: "What do you want to do?"

The Fifth Prince pinched her face and suddenly kissed her.

【Ah ah ah ah ah! 】

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Zheng Xun's inner thoughts and the ministers' exclamations arose simultaneously.

They no longer cared whether Zheng Xun would notice anything amiss. This scene took place inside the light screen, but it exploded like a thunderbolt in their minds.

The ministers in the imperial court also produced melons, thinking they had seen it all, but as it turned out, they were too confident; they had never seen anything like this before.

Only Duan Yunfeng remained relatively calm.

Lord Jiang patted his heart, which was pounding wildly from the excitement, and asked admiringly, "I never expected that the crybaby Brother Duan could be so calm..."

Duan Yunfeng: ?

He asked with a forced smile, "What does 'crybaby' mean?"

Lord Jiang looked around awkwardly, pretending not to have heard anything, and continued to ask, "Why is Brother Duan so calm?"

Duan Yunfeng snorted coldly. It wasn't convenient to settle scores with him now, so he didn't press the matter: "You'll see more strange things when you work at Dali Temple for a few days. Once you've seen enough, you'll realize that this is really nothing."

Lord Chiang: !!!

He regrets so much.

Why didn't he get along well with Duan Yunfeng before?

Duan Yunfeng seemed to know what he was thinking and poured cold water on him without hesitation: "Don't even think about it. You won't have the chance to watch the show. We at Dali Temple can't reveal everything about our cases."

Lord Jiang was not disappointed: "It's alright. We won't say what we can't say. We'll hear as much as we can. I'm not picky."

Duan Yunfeng remained silent. They had already discussed the matter, and now was not the time to press for answers. Lord Jiang kept his eyes fixed on the screen and hastily said, "We'll talk about it after court."

In the light screen, Consort Duan's pupils constricted, and she pushed the Fifth Prince away, exclaiming, "Are you crazy?!"

The fifth prince did not resist and retreated with her force: "Yes, I've gone mad."

"Hasn't he gone mad? Even though Consort Duan isn't your biological mother, you still can't do something like this!"

The old fogies, whose heads were spinning from the Fifth Prince's earth-shattering move, finally calmed down a bit after hearing Zheng Xun's heartfelt words.

but……

All eyes turned to the emperor, as if wondering if he was being cuckolded.

emperor:……

In the past, when something like this happened, I would at least sneak a peek at him. Now, are we being so blatant about it?

Do they still remember that he was an emperor who could take their heads off at any time?

His gaze sharpened, and the ministers all lowered their heads.

After withdrawing his gaze, the second prince patted the third prince on the shoulder and asked, "Do you like guarding the mines?"

Third Prince:? ? ?

"Doesn't Second Brother really enjoy guarding the mines?"

The second prince thought to himself: Who likes guarding a mine? I just like gold.

He lamented regretfully, "But the mine doesn't have Yuanjia..."

The Third Prince nodded repeatedly. He understood; he loved watching the drama unfold.

So he refused without hesitation: "I don't like it."

The second prince, unwilling to give up, put his arm around his shoulder: "Third brother, look, your second brother has always been good to you, hasn't he..."

The third prince looked guilty, then reluctantly refused again: "I really don't like it."

The second prince withdrew his hand and sighed softly, "The child has grown up and is no longer easy to fool."

In the light screen, Consort Duan and the Fifth Prince are still facing off.

Consort Duan was so angry that her face turned red. She grabbed a candlestick from the side and smashed it on the Fifth Prince's head.

The Fifth Prince didn't dodge, and the candlestick smashed a gash on his forehead. Blood flowed down his brow and smeared on his eyelashes, making his calm expression seem somewhat manic: "You actually have a moment of such loss of composure."

Consort Duan cursed him without restraint, calling him a "beast," a "scoundrel," and a "bastard"...

She used every word she considered the most vicious and offensive.

But no matter what, she was a lady from a respectable family, and no one had ever taught her how to curse. The Fifth Prince had heard these words countless times, and they didn't bother him at all.

After scolding herself to exhaustion, Consort Duan gradually calmed down.

She took out a handkerchief and vigorously wiped her lips: "Are you curious about your background?"

The Fifth Prince said jokingly, "I'm not curious anymore."

He wanted to drive Consort Duan mad, to make her lose her composure.

She looks much better now than she did before.

[Oh, could it be that the Fifth Prince went mad because he knew he was doomed?]

He looks like a psychopath right now.

But Consort Duan actually understood him better than the Fifth Prince imagined: "Aren't you curious? This is clearly the answer you've been seeking all along. How about this..."

She grinned: "How about I tell you the answer if you cut off one of your arms?"

The Fifth Prince stared at her for a while, then suddenly stretched out his hand: "Knife."

Consort Duan didn't quite hear her: "What?"

"You wanted my hand? Give me the knife."

[Crazy, everyone's crazy, being a little crazy is good...]

Upon hearing the Fifth Prince's words, Consort Duan instantly perked up. Her usual calm and collected demeanor vanished, and she laughed heartily before nimbly running out to find a knife.

To be honest, this scene is a bit scary.

The eunuchs and palace maids who witnessed this scene were so frightened that they forgot to stop her.

Consort Duan ran a long way before finding the guard with the knife.

The guard must have been a newcomer, looking quite ambitious. Then, he was so startled by the disheveled Consort Duan who ran out that he took several steps back.