CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 9: DANCING PRINCESS (9)

The Empress Dowager glanced at the ministers below and sneered, "Do you still intend for Jing Yi to abdicate? Do you still want Prince Yu to ascend the throne?"

The few ministers of the Ministry of War looked at each other and then all knelt down.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor, "Emperor, I’ll leave this to you to handle. As for Prince Yu, keep him detained in the palace. There must be someone advising him from behind the scenes; otherwise, how would he know about the events of those years? I’ll return to the palace first."

"Farewell, Mother."

"Farewell, Empress Dowager."

This time, the Emperor dealt harshly with them. Those ministers surely had interests tied with Prince Yu; otherwise, why would they support him?

As for Prince Yu, he was imprisoned in the Secret Prison of the palace.

Over at the Gu Family, they also received an imperial edict. Back then, after Prince Yu and Gu Youran’s engagement, Minister Gu had used his position to give the imperial examination papers to Prince Yu. Prince Yu arranged for many people to take those exams, and with the answers, they naturally did well and became officials.

Prince Yu even sold the examination papers, accumulating considerable wealth.

When he wanted to continue with the next session, a cheating scandal broke out in the imperial examinations, which put an end to his schemes.

Even though Minister Gu didn’t participate in this palace coup because he was dissatisfied with Prince Yu and held back, he was still dismissed from his position and imprisoned.

The Gu Family was confiscated, and cheating in the imperial examinations was a grave crime.

The imperial edict was addressed to Gu Youran, offering her two choices: one was to marry Prince Yu and then be detained, the other was to annul the engagement, but then Gu Youran would be exiled with the other female members of the Gu Family.

Gu Youran resolutely chose to marry. Marriage still gave her hope, but exile would make her future life miserable.

Meanwhile, Li Shuning was restored to her rightful identity, titled Princess An Ping.

Li Shuning told Prince Yu about these matters when she visited the Secret Prison.

Prince Yu was indifferent; he didn’t care about Gu Youran at all.

Prince Yu just looked at Li Shuning and asked, "That day, did anything happen between you and the Emperor?"

Li Shuning shook her head, "No, I was prepared."

Prince Yu laughed, "That’s good then."

Li Shuning, however, asked, "By the way, you were born a few hours earlier than me, so in terms of seniority, you’re considered my brother. Can I ask, how did you know that I was the child swapped with you back then? Mother said those who knew back then are long gone; how did you know?"

These questions had been asked before, but Prince Yu held firm and didn’t say anything.

Looking at Li Shuning, Prince Yu inexplicably felt a desire to confide.

He always felt that his coming into this world meant he was the protagonist, but he didn’t expect that everything he gained was at the cost of this girl’s suffering.

Perhaps out of guilt, or maybe because he realized there was no longer any hope.

"Perhaps this might seem strange to you all. Even when I was in my mother’s womb, I could feel the outside world. Mother often talked to herself, saying she wouldn’t live long."

"The moment I was born, I saw a large number of guards taking me away and my mother crying in despair. Later, I became the Empress’s son."

"I thought I was undoubtedly the Crown Prince, but then a few years later, the Empress had another son, who directly became the Crown Prince."

"As I grew older, I searched for the woman who gave birth to me, only to find she had already died."

"The events that followed, you can probably imagine. I believed everything was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager, wanting a son, so a Princess was swapped for the Crown Prince. Initially, I was happy because I was the protagonist of this world, but with the birth of her biological son, I became redundant."

"Such a contrast made me more and more extreme. I used to be a law-abiding person; now thinking back, losing oneself is truly frightening."

Li Shuning was somewhat speechless; according to Prince Yu’s account, he should be from the modern world, right? And directly reincarnated into a fetus? Li Shuning speculated, thinking it was likely correct.

No wonder there were those anomalies.

Li Shuning glanced at Prince Yu and said, "Gu Youran chose to marry you. Mother means that starting today, after your marriage, you and Gu Youran will be sent to the Southern Wilderness. Whether you survive or not is up to you."

Prince Yu sighed. The Empress Dowager was already very lenient this way.

Although the Southern Wilderness was harsh, at least they could still survive. If he had succeeded with the coup, neither the Emperor nor the Empress Dowager would have met a good end.

That night, Gu Youran and Prince Yu were taken away. As for their belongings, they had nothing but coarse cloth clothes and some buns.

The officials who participated in the coup were all dismissed, and the Minister of War was directly executed, as he had embezzled a considerable amount of military funds and harmed many people.

"Xiao Ning, Mother has often woken up in the middle of the night all these years. It’s wonderful that you’ve returned to Mother’s side. Now that you’re grown up, let Mother find you a good match. Do you have any requirements?"

Li Shuning shook her head, "Mother, isn’t it fine as it is? Shuning doesn’t want to get married."

The Empress Dowager was about to speak, but Li Shuning stopped her, "Mother, don’t rush. Listen to what I have to say. Even though I have the title of Princess now, it’s an undeniable fact that I was once a Dancing Girl. In the Great Ning Dynasty, a woman’s chastity is very important. I don’t know how others think of me, but if one day their hearts develop a scar, I’m afraid every future day will be filled with suspicion, yet they’ll have to be wary of my identity, making happiness difficult to attain."

"Right now, with Mother’s love, I live freely. Even when Mother grows old, His Majesty the Emperor is my own younger brother, and he’ll certainly take good care of me. Why must I marry and have children, inviting unnecessary trouble?"

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment, although she still believed Li Shuning would be better off married, she didn’t press too insistently.

After all, as Li Shuning said, she was already older, and while some might fear the Royal Family’s power and have no way of marrying her, what then after marriage? She had been kidnapped as a child, changed hands several times, and later became a Dancing Girl. Who would believe she was innocent?

The thought of the daughter she had worked so hard to find being bullied and gossiped about was something the Empress Dowager couldn’t accept, so she decided to let it be for now and reconsider later.

Li Shuning originally thought she had completed her task in this world, as she could now live freely, but unexpectedly, Prince Duan and Prince Rui rebelled.

When the news arrived, Li Shuning was stunned; this event wasn’t part of the plot she knew, let alone the original story.

After many years of peace in the Great Ning Dynasty, this rebellion caused great unrest in the Capital City.