The mistress is reborn, no one who bullies me can escape

Ling Yan walked out slowly from the Empress Dowager's bedroom with a gloomy face. His brows were tightly furrowed, as if there was a thick, dark cloud hanging over his heart, making him look particularly heavy and depressed.

He walked aimlessly like this, and before he knew it, he arrived at the gate of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, where the emperor lived during his lifetime.

This palace once carried countless decisions and thoughts of the previous emperor, but now everything has changed.

Ling Yan stood there, staring at the tightly closed palace door, a complex emotion welling up in his heart, and for a moment hesitant to move forward.

At this moment, the Third Prince hurried over and said breathlessly, "Brother, I have found out who is behind Minister Zhang's conspiracy!"

When Ling Yan heard this, his originally dull eyes flashed a glimmer of light for a moment, but soon returned to calmness, and he just responded lightly: "Oh, really? Who is it?"

The Third Prince looked at Ling Yan's calm reaction and couldn't help but secretly admire his brother's composure, but at the same time he felt a little nervous about what he was going to say next.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down and said, "It's my fourth brother."

Hearing this answer, Ling Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was not surprised by this result, but the corners of his mouth still rose involuntarily, revealing an imperceptible sneer: "So it was him........."

"I thought he would behave himself after his mother left, but I didn't expect that he couldn't suppress his ambitions now that his father has just left."

At this point, Ling Yan's tone clearly carried a hint of sarcasm.

The Third Prince nodded in agreement, with an expression of disbelief on his face as well: "Yes, my Royal Brother, I did not expect that my Fourth Brother would be so bold as to set up a trap to frame you."

Ling Yan snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and asked thoughtfully: "Since the truth has been found out, where is he now?"

The third prince hurriedly replied: "My dear brother, after I learned about this, I detained my fourth brother in the clan house to prevent him from making any more unusual movements. I wonder if my dear brother would like to go and see him?" After saying that, the third prince carefully observed Ling Yan's expression, for fear of angering his angry brother.

"That's natural!"

As they were talking, the two of them walked towards the clan residence together.

This place seemed particularly quiet at the moment. The Fourth Prince was imprisoned here. He was originally quite calm, but after seeing the Third Prince and the Crown Prince appear, his face instantly turned as pale as paper, without any blood.

The fourth prince quickly said, "Brother Crown Prince, there must be some misunderstanding. Lord Zhang was definitely not sent by me!" His words were sincere, as if they were all from the bottom of his heart.

However, the Third Prince on the side could not hold back his anger and said sternly, "Fourth brother, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that I deliberately framed you? Humph! That Minister Zhang is a member of your mother's family. You two have been colluding with each other for a long time."

"This time, he took advantage of the absence of our father to stir up trouble and create chaos. In the final analysis, isn't he just trying to take advantage of this opportunity to ruin my brother's position as the crown prince? Isn't that the case?"

Faced with the questioning of the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince did not back down. He just glanced at him coldly with contempt in his eyes.

He snorted coldly and retorted, "This is simply nonsense! These are just your groundless speculations. What real evidence do you have to prove them? Don't make such irresponsible and reckless statements here!"

The Third Prince's face was filled with anxiety, and even a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He raised his voice and said, "These are the facts that this Prince has obtained after an in-depth investigation, and that Minister Zhang has already confessed all his crimes. If you don't believe me, take a look at this."

As he spoke, he took out a thick file from his pocket, as if he wanted to use it to prove that what he said was true.

When the Fourth Prince heard this, his face instantly turned livid. He stared at the Third Prince with wide eyes and said sternly, "Third brother, have you lost your mind? The Minister Zhang was ordered to be executed by the Crown Prince many days ago. How could he sign and confess his guilt now? Even if you want to find so-called evidence, shouldn't you find something that is reasonable? Why are you talking nonsense and making wild guesses?"

Facing the Fourth Prince's questioning and rebuke, the Third Prince frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed and said, "Haha, Fourth Brother is indeed very smart, and nothing can be hidden from you. Yes, what I just said about Minister Zhang's confession was a lie. The person who really confessed was not Minister Zhang, but..."

Having said that, the Third Prince deliberately paused and slowly turned his gaze to the Fourth Prince.

Then, the third prince clapped his hands gently, and the applause sounded particularly clear and loud in the silent hall.

Not long after, a slight sound of footsteps came from afar, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a man in blue eunuch clothes walking quickly into the hall with his head lowered.

When he came closer, everyone could see the person's face clearly. The Fourth Prince only took a glance and his face turned as pale as paper in an instant.

It turned out that this eunuch was one of the Fourth Prince's most trusted confidants. Who would have thought that he would appear here at this moment, and it seemed that he was standing on the side of the Third Prince.

The Fourth Prince looked at him in disbelief, his heart was as turbulent as a storm and he couldn't calm down.

The Third Prince looked at his face which had turned ugly in an instant with a smug look on his face. He could not help but feel pleased. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he said in a relaxed tone: "Fourth brother, how is it? Now you should admit that I, the Third Brother, did not wrong you, right?"

The third prince was in an extremely happy mood at this moment, as if he had already seen that he would have the upper hand in this fight.

On the other side, the Fourth Prince's face was as pale as paper, bloodless. He stared at the Third Prince with wide eyes, his lips trembling, but he still managed to refute: "So what if it's like this? Isn't what I said the truth?"

Then, as if he was enraged, he continued to shout excitedly: "Both my father and mother passed away, and my brother the Crown Prince came back and simply dismissed the matter with a single sentence, 'my father died suddenly'. How is this possible! Is it really that simple?" At this point, the Fourth Prince's voice became a little hoarse.

The fourth prince clenched his fists tightly, his face becoming increasingly tense. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and said slowly, "I always feel that this matter is very strange. My father and mother may not have died in an accident at all."

Ling Yan, who had been standing aside and watching coldly, finally spoke up at this moment. He had a blank expression on his face and asked coldly, "So, what exactly do you mean now, Fourth Prince? Why don't you just speak frankly?"

The Fourth Prince's chest rose and fell violently. He gritted his teeth and shouted desperately, "I suspect that the Emperor was murdered by you. How dare you, a traitor, kill the Emperor and seize the throne? This is simply unforgivable! A ruthless person like you is not worthy of being the Crown Prince!"

The Fourth Prince's eyes were wide open, his face was ashen, and his whole body exuded a resolute aura, as if he was determined to fight to the death.

The Third Prince had never expected that the Fourth Prince would say such shocking words. He was stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly scolded, "Fourth brother, shut up! Don't talk nonsense here!"

However, the Fourth Prince had already disregarded life and death at this time, so how could he easily listen to the Third Prince's dissuasion?

"Hmph! What's the matter? Are you scared, Third Brother? But I am not afraid! Even if you are scared to death, I will never retreat an inch!" The Fourth Prince looked at Ling Yan with disdain, his eyes full of provocation and ridicule.

“If the Crown Prince cannot prove his innocence and that the Emperor did not die at his hands, then he should take the initiative to abdicate and let others take over! Such an unkind and unjust person is not worthy of sitting in that high position, let alone being the Emperor!” The Fourth Prince became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice unconsciously rose eight octaves.

In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, Ling Yan has become the source of all evil.

It seemed that as long as Ling Yan remained alive, the entire court would never have peace.

Facing the Fourth Prince's aggressiveness, Ling Yan's face was as gloomy as water, and he did not get angry, but from his extremely cold words, one could still hear a hint of suppressed anger: "Oh? Then I wonder if Fourth Prince has any evidence to prove that my father was killed by me?"

Ling Yan suppressed his anger and tried his best to stay calm.

However, his clenched fists and slightly trembling body all showed his inner anger at the moment.

The Fourth Prince frowned upon hearing this, but on the surface he pretended to be calm and said, "If I had evidence, why would I go to all this trouble? If I really had irrefutable evidence, why would I wait until today to make it public? Why would I waste my time talking to you?"

The Fourth Prince was extremely furious at this point. If he had not considered the occasion, he would have started cursing.

He really couldn't understand why he had the upper hand but couldn't produce solid evidence to bring down the hateful Ling Yan in front of him.

The third prince's eyes widened, his face flushed red, his chest heaving violently, and he was obviously furious.

He stared at his fourth brother and gritted his teeth, "If that's the case, then all of this is just your baseless speculation! You can't produce any substantial evidence at all, right?"

The Fourth Prince heard this, but he did not look at his Third Brother directly. Instead, he turned his head away with disdain, glanced to the side, and replied nonchalantly: "So what?"

The third prince was so angry that he was shaking all over, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

After a long while, Ling Yan asked coldly, "Since there is no solid evidence to prove that my father and mother died at my hands, then it can only mean that I was wronged? But now that you have slandered me so wantonly, shouldn't you be punished?"

Hearing this, the Fourth Prince's face instantly turned livid, veins popped out on his forehead, he glared at the Crown Prince and shouted, "Crown Prince, this is clearly an abuse of private punishment! You treat me like this only because you harbor resentment in your heart! And..."

However, before the Fourth Prince could finish his words, the Crown Prince shook his head helplessly and sighed softly.

His deep and wise eyes stared quietly at the slightly childish brother in front of him, and he slowly said: "Alas, since your mother passed away, there is indeed no one who can teach you well. Could it be that those ministers around you instigated you to say such nonsense?"

The Third Prince, who had been silent all this time, seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly agreed, "Brother, you are absolutely right! In my opinion, there must be some ministers with ulterior motives who are secretly trying to sow discord between us brothers!"

The prince had already lost his last bit of patience. Facing this extremely foolish fourth brother, he even felt that if he took action against him, his noble hands would be dirty.

The prince frowned and said with disgust: "It doesn't matter who is behind this!" Then he ordered sternly: "Pass this order down. If anyone dares to discuss the affairs of the court, they will be killed without mercy. No leniency!"

Hearing this, the Fourth Prince's face turned pale as paper in an instant, but he still cursed fearlessly: "Brother Crown Prince, your behavior is just deceiving yourself and others, and your attempt to cover up your crime only makes it more obvious! You were so angry that you issued such an order, wasn't it because I exposed your secret? Why, are you angry because I told you your secret?"

Seeing this, the Third Prince at the side quickly advised, "Fourth brother, you better shut up and be quiet. The Emperor has not taken your life yet out of consideration for our brotherly love. This is already a great kindness and mercy. You should stop making such a fuss like this."

However, how could the Fourth Prince easily listen to the Third Prince's advice? He snorted coldly and responded with disdain: "Humph! Third brother actually willingly acted as an accomplice of the evil man, how despicable! I am not as spineless as you. Even if the Crown Prince really wants to put me to death today, I will never back down. At most, I will immediately go to the underworld to pay homage to my father. At least I have a clear conscience and am open and aboveboard. But you... are willing to help the tyrant, aren't you afraid of hurting my father's heart?"

Well, this person is clearly seeking death, and it is futile even if others try their best to stop him.

The third prince thought to himself that he had said everything he should say, and if the other party was still stubborn and turned a deaf ear to him, then it was not his fault.

The third prince said coldly with an expressionless face: "In that case, then it will be as you wish."

At this moment, the prince, who had already walked away, suddenly heard the third prince's cold words.

Instantly, the Crown Prince stopped walking, turned around quickly, stared at the Fourth Prince with a sharp gaze, and then shouted loudly: "Come here! Keep a close eye on the Fourth Prince for me. After my father is buried, send him to the Imperial Mausoleum to be buried with him!"

When the Fourth Prince heard this, it was as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue. He instantly collapsed to the ground, his face as pale as paper.

His eyes widened, his face full of fear and anger, and he yelled at the top of his voice: "Prince, oh prince, how dare you treat me like this? I am the biological son of my father after all. Since ancient times, it has always been the concubines who have fallen out of favor who were sent to be buried with the emperor. Who has ever heard of a prince being buried with the emperor? You... your behavior is simply a disregard for etiquette and morality, and it is treasonous! You... you will definitely be punished and will not have a good end!"