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Chapter 119: Chapter 119: The Royal Child Confesses All!
Emperor Xuanwu’s gaze turned to Si Jun, and after a long pause, he slowly said, "Si Jun’s mother is actually Lady Yin Yi, who is now Noble Lady Lan."
Si Jun and Emperor Xuanwu looked into each other’s eyes, and the words spoken in their gazes seemed to be even more plentiful.
Si Jun immediately understood how much Emperor Xuanwu despised the identity of his mother.
Su Xiaoxiao was just a woman from a brothel; although her name was renowned throughout the land, she was ultimately a part of Emperor Xuanwu’s past he’d rather forget.
All the ministers in their hearts realized that perhaps Si Jun’s mother was someone else, maybe a maid, or another person with a status unworthy to be presented in public.
Otherwise, Emperor Xuanwu would not have used the identity of Lady Yin Yi to cover for her as Si Jun’s mother.
After all, the age difference between the two was only twelve years.
Taking this seriously, their identities as mother and son were somewhat discordant.
But if His Majesty says Si Jun is born of Noble Lady Lan, then she bore him, and no one could refute that.
Zhan Feng, like a quail, shrank his neck and looked towards Si Jun; Emperor Xuanwu had actually acknowledged this illegitimate son.
Si Jun was indeed lucky! He was a bit worried about his attitude towards Si Jun just now.
Zhan Feng’s heart was drumming, regretting his impulsiveness, hoping that Si Jun would not exacerbate his problems, or kick him when he was down.
Emperor Xuanwu then continued, "Years ago, when I was young and outside the palace, I had Si Jun with Lady Yin Yi. Because I was still the Crown Prince at that time, I had Si Jun raised in the household of my younger brother, Si Yuzhang."
"Later, Yuzhang was very reluctant to part with Si Jun, so I kept him in Marquis Lin Yuan’s Mansion all along, and it’s only today that I’m compelled to reveal this."
The three princes were shaken to their cores upon learning that Si Jun was the Eldest Prince, especially Prince Yu, who was completely dumbfounded.
He looked at Si Jun’s profile, then back at his father.
How had he never noticed before how similar their profiles were?
They were all from the Si Family, and it was not unusual that they looked alike.
To think, Si Jun turned out to be the biological son of his father.
This way, although Si Jun is not a legitimate son, he is, in fact, the Eldest Prince.
The other two princes, though they looked kindly upon Si Jun, it was all a façade.
They were fearful of Si Jun as a rival.
Because he is the son of Noble Lady Lan, His Majesty’s most favored consort!
Moreover, it turns out that Lady Yin Yi knew His Majesty since their youth, no wonder he favored Wanlan so much.
Si Jun, facing three seemingly benign gazes, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Emperor Xuanwu had acknowledged him, and he was initially thrilled, but now, his plans were completely disrupted.
None of the three princes were easy to deal with, though strategically, none of them were his match.
But it’s impossible to ignore that they are three, and if they allied against him, Si Jun felt his scalp tingle just thinking about it.
The course of events didn’t unfold as he had prepared.
This made him uneasy.
Zhan Lan outside the hall, upon hearing Emperor Xuanwu’s words, curved her lips into a smile. From the very beginning, in her letters, she deliberately emphasized the words "Prince."
Just to reveal Si Jun’s identity first.
This way, Si Jun formally becomes an overt prince, allowing Emperor Xuanwu to remember and pay attention to him.
At the same time, it also creates an enemy for Si Jun!
Those three princes, because of Si Jun’s sudden arrival as their competitor, would target him, getting a head start in their vigilance against Si Jun.
Zhan Lan internally said: Even if Si Jun isn’t brought down today, exposing him to the sunshine early on allows him to partake in the struggle for succession from the get-go.
Zhan Lan didn’t believe that Si Jun, having revealed his ambitions so early in his life, could still hide till the end and kill each prince one by one.
It was also good for the three princes to be cautious of this little Marquis they never took seriously, to have them fight each other instead, that was what Zhan Lan was happy to see.
However, today there was an unexpected joy, her ally Noble Lady Lan actually became the nominal "mother" of Si Jun.
This affair was becoming more and more interesting. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
After disclosing Si Jun’s origins, Emperor Xuanwu’s eyes darkened entirely, and he angrily said, "Si Jun, aren’t you going to confess honestly?"
Si Jun, as if struck by a huge shock, had red eyes, and his lips trembled as he said, "Your humble subject... your son confesses all!"
With a thud, Si Jun knelt to the ground.
Zhan Lan immediately felt that something was wrong; why had Si Jun completely changed after Emperor Xuanwu made his identity public.
He was indeed still Si Jun, always having a backup plan in his actions.
Perhaps, like her, he had thought through all the contingencies before he came today or had prepared ways to cope.
Si Jun raised three fingers to swear, his voice extraordinarily steady, "Your Majesty, had you not disclosed my birth to the lords today, I would have sworn never to reveal the following words until death!"
Before confessing, Si Jun first found himself a believable reason, proving he was a man of his word.
His voice trembling with emotion, he choked out, "Your Majesty, your son has no intention of rebelling. Previously, I was just a minor lord, what would I revolt for! Even if I harbored such treacherous thoughts, without a legitimate claim, who in the world would support me? Your son... only followed the orders of his imperial brother and took the risk to carry out this act."
The three princes stood there, almost scared to death by Si Jun’s words. What did he mean, following their orders.
They dared not breathe too heavily, listening to whom Si Jun was about to accuse.
If Si Jun dared to talk nonsense, they would not let him off the hook!
A tear fell from Si Jun’s eyes as Zhan Xinzhang’s gaze measured up the man who had just become the Eldest Prince.
In the court, he had hardly misjudged anyone over the years.
This Eldest Prince was definitely not as simple as he appeared.
Zhan Beicang stole a glance at Zhan Xinzhang, capturing some information from his father’s expression.
It seemed that today’s business was more complicated than expected.
"Cough cough..." Si Jun coughed a few times, as if making the final decision, he spoke out, "Your Majesty, your son was threatened by Prince Yu and was forced to write the treasonous letters, committing the gravest of crimes!"
Upon hearing Si Jun’s words, Prince Yu grasped Si Jun’s collar and said, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
He was shaking all over with anger, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
Because he had never commanded anyone to engage in such treacherous acts.
Furthermore, from a young age, Si Jun had been close to him.
It was only now that he realized Si Jun’s wolfish ambition!
It turned out Si Jun wanted to harm him, to take his place!
