Mu Shengze was escorted to the imperial prison and locked in the same cell where Mu Yefeng had been before.
He sat on the bed and cast a cold glance around the cell.
He let out a soft snort. He never thought that his father, the emperor, would be so heartless as to directly demote him to a commoner.
At this thought, he threw his head back and laughed wildly. "I am a prince, and I will always be!" Suddenly, his eyes flashed. "No, I don't want to be just a prince. I want to be the emperor! I want to be the emperor! Hahaha, I want to be the dragon among men, the most noble overlord of this world."
He laughed maniacally, and it was obvious that his emotions were getting out of control.
The queen had gone to great lengths and bribed many people before she finally managed to visit her son.
She never expected that from afar, she could hear his shouting and the rebellious words he was saying.
Supported by her maid, she stepped forward. Through the cell door, she called out pitifully, "Ze'er, come here. Mother has something to ask you."
Only then did he stop. He got up and walked up to the queen.
Before the queen could say anything, he grabbed her hand. "Mother, quickly find a way to save me out. I can't stay here. I'll die if I stay here! Mother, do you hear me?"
The queen looked at her son with disappointment in her eyes. She withdrew her hand and raised it to slap him. Since there was the cell door in between, the slap wasn't very hard.
But it still made Mu Shengze's eyes turn red. He took two steps back and snorted. "Mother, what does this mean?"
"What does it mean? Mother wants you to know that you are now..." As she spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks. "Your father has already demoted you to a commoner. This is already a great mercy to you. Don't you understand!"
"I don't care about all that. Mother, quickly find a way to take me out. Otherwise, I'll die here and let you experience what it means for white - haired parents to bury their children."
The queen collapsed to the ground. "It's Mother's fault. Mother shouldn't have called you two back. If you were still on the mountain now, one of you wouldn't be in prison and the other in bed. It's all Mother's fault. Mother didn't teach you well. But Mother never thought that you would send assassins to kill your father. You've really disappointed Mother!"
She got up, holding on to the cell door. "You'd better reflect on yourself here."
Saying that, she turned around and left the cell. Only then did Mu Shengze realize that he had spoken too harshly. He quickly grabbed the cell door and shouted loudly, "Mother, don't leave me. I know I was wrong. Please quickly find a way to save me out!"
The queen endured the pain in her heart and left the cell without looking back.
The next morning in the court session, the emperor said to Mu Yanming, "Regent, the crown prince is not very familiar with the affairs of the court. In the future, it will depend on you to give him more guidance."
Mu Yanming turned to look at Mu Yefeng, slightly curled his lips, and nodded.
Mu Yefeng turned to look at a minister in the other row. That person immediately understood his meaning, stepped out of the queue, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, since His Highness the Prince of Rui has been demoted to a commoner, should the Prince of Rui's Mansion be sealed up?"
The emperor seemed to glare at him and said, "Indeed. Crown Prince, you will handle this matter. And the regent will accompany you."
"If there is nothing else, the court is adjourned."
Mu Yefeng always followed behind Mu Yanming. "Brother Wang, what's your opinion on this matter?"
"It's just leading troops to seal up the mansion. You don't even need to show up, so there's no need to be nervous."
He looked at Mu Yanming and smiled faintly. "I'm not nervous. It's just that I think Sister - in - law is a bit innocent. She was implicated by the Prince of Rui for no reason."
Mu Yanming sneered. "You don't need to feel sorry for her. This is how it is between husband and wife. They rise and fall together. If a man marries a woman but can't give her a stable and peaceful life, it means this man is a failure."
Mu Yefeng bowed, indicating that he had learned.
After leaving the palace, Mu Yanming first returned to the Regent's Mansion. A Qi happened to be there, so he stepped forward.
"Your Highness, there is news about the painting 'Water and Sky Merging as One'. 270 li south of the capital of the Li Kingdom, there is a Su Mountain. 180 li east of Su Mountain, there is a mountain. The mountain is divided into two parts, which is quite similar to the 'Water and Sky Merging as One' in the painting. But your subordinate went there to look. Although there is a lake, there is no residence marked on the picture. So your subordinate had to come back first to report to you."
"It's just similar. It may not be the right place," Mo Qinghuan walked over.
Mu Yanming quickly supported her. A Qi continued, "At first, your subordinate also thought so. But your subordinate observed there for two days, and really made a discovery."
Mu Yanming helped her sit down at the stone table and then motioned for A Qi to continue.
A Qi nodded. "I observed there for two days and found that every night, when the moon rose to the middle of the mountain and the light shone on the lake, a mirage would be reflected. So your subordinate suspects that there may be a mechanism in the lake, and the residence in the picture should be at the bottom of the lake. But since your subordinate doesn't know much about mechanisms, I'm afraid of triggering some mechanism and destroying the clues."
Mo Qinghuan looked up at Mu Yanming. "Could it be that the key we got before was not used to unlock the mechanism in the study, but the mechanism in the 'Water and Sky Merging as One'?"
Mu Yanming nodded in agreement.
"If so, it seems that we really have to go there to confirm."
Hearing Mo Qinghuan say this, Mu Yanming suddenly hesitated.
He remembered what he had said to Mu Yefeng today. Once he got the evidence and launched a campaign against the emperor, could he still give her and the child a stable and peaceful life?
Seeing that he didn't say a word, Mo Qinghuan held his hand. "I'll go with you."
"No!" He quickly opened his mouth to stop her, and his expression became tense.
"Why?"
Mu Yanming just shook his head gently. "Let me think this over carefully."
He let go of Mo Qinghuan's hand. "You should rest well first. I still have some things to attend to."
Mo Qinghuan watched Mu Yanming's departing back and fell into deep thought.
She could probably guess what he was thinking, but she didn't know how to persuade him. After all, she couldn't ask him to let go of the hatred for his parents' murder.
She gently placed her hand on her lower abdomen and suddenly felt that this child had come at a bad time.
After leaving the mansion, Mu Yanming found Mu Yefeng.
The two of them led troops to the Prince of Rui's Mansion together.
When they arrived at the mansion, the gate was tightly closed, and there was not even a gatekeeper at the door.
The guards stepped forward and kicked open the gate. They saw Min Feiyan sitting in the middle of the yard, with a maid standing behind her.
The other maids and servants had either run away or fled, as if they were running for their lives.
Mu Yefeng stepped forward with a smile on his face and bowed, saying, "Sister - in - law, oh no! Lady Min, you must have heard about the matter of the Prince of Rui. You don't need this prince to drive you out. You'd better pack your things and leave obediently."
Min Feiyan sneered coldly. "You can't drive me out. I want to see the emperor."
"The emperor won't see you."
She stood up and walked up to Mu Yefeng. "Tell Father Emperor that your subject is pregnant with the heir of the dragon. I want to see the emperor."