HBBMAWH Chapter 125

No one knew when a rumor started spreading in the capital, claiming that the Emperor was extremely dissatisfied with several of his sons and had no intention of choosing a crown prince among them, intending to choose someone else instead.

Some people were even observing whether there were suitable candidates from other branches of the imperial family.

A precedent existed among the previous Emperor. Due to a lack of a suitable heir, and the sole heir being too young, just a few months old, the throne was passed down to a nephew after the Emperor fell seriously ill.

But the current situation was different. The Emperor had several sons, so it was highly unlikely that someone from another branch would be chosen as the crown prince.

Furthermore, there was no indication of the Emperor favoring anyone in particular.

Rumors tend to morph as they spread. After circulating for a few days, the rumor took on a new version. Some people, thinking of the favored Carefree Prince, began jokingly suggesting that if the Emperor were to choose someone from another branch as the crown prince, it might be the Carefree Prince, as he was widely known to be the most favored.

However, the Carefree Prince was of a different lineage, which was inappropriate both emotionally and logically. In order to make the rumor plausible, people began adding more fuel to the fire.

Thus, a ludicrous speculation emerged:

The Emperor favored the Carefree Prince so much that he made him a prince from a different lineage, which is unusual→ The Emperor treated the Carefree Prince like his own child→ Like father and son→ The Carefree Prince is actually the Emperor's illegitimate child found from the common people, and granting him the title of prince was to give him legitimacy→ Being the Emperor's biological child, he is eligible to be the crown prince→ The Emperor wants to make the Carefree Prince the crown prince.

With this complete chain of reasoning, a brand-new rumor emerged. When this rumor reached the Emperor's ears, he was furious, and Yan Cai felt extremely embarrassed.

The rumor was too absurd, and many people started looking at him with suspicion, as if he had spread the rumor himself.

Yan Cai was speechless. Why would he spread such a rumor for no reason? Even if he wanted to be the crown prince, after such a rumor spread, he probably wouldn't have a chance. Even the Third Prince, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, was now mocking him, seemingly believing that he was the source of the rumor.

"I never expected you to be so despicable."

Yan Cai gave the Third Prince a deadpan look, too apathetic to bother. Only someone sick would spread such rumors. However, the Third Prince seemed to believe that where there's smoke, there's fire, thinking there must be some basis for such rumors.

And in his mind, he clearly believed that Yan Cai was the Emperor's illegitimate child.

Otherwise, the Third Prince couldn't convince himself why the Emperor would trust a stranger with no relation to them rather than any of them.

The third prince would rather use his own imagined reasons to convince himself rather than admit they were the problem.

Facing the Third Prince's anger, Yan Cai rolled his eyes and replied coldly, "Boring. You're overthinking. What you want means nothing to me. Power and status are just your priorities, not mine."

Yan Cai was in a hurry to buy the biscuits his son had been craving for the past few days, so he paid little attention to the Third Prince.

However, despite his confrontational attitude towards the Third Prince, he was also worried when he got home. Putting down the vegetable biscuits he had bought for his son, he discussed the matter with Jiang Manyue.

"I didn't know who spread these rumors, but it's infuriating. It's really not good for these rumors to spread."

Although the Emperor was only angry with the people who spread the rumors today and had no issues or suspicions towards him, if more people began to suspect, the Emperor might eventually develop mistrust towards him over time.

When three people say there's a tiger, it must be so.

Jiang Manyue slapped his forehead, clearly hearing about these rumors for the first time today. Some people in the mansion had heard about it, but ordinary servants were too afraid to tell them about these things. However, because others intentionally avoided telling them, they also avoided hearing about the rumors.

They only found out about such rumors today, when things were already a bit tricky.

"The plan had changed. Let's go back earlier," Jiang Manyue calculated, setting aside the abacus and ledger. "These shops were still under negotiation for prices. Now, we'll have to lower the prices a bit and sell them cheaply. As for these..."

Jiang Manyue paused. Since there were no buyers coming forward at the moment, or the offers were too low, they might as well keep them for now.

"No rush. We can leave them to Manxing in the future. Perhaps he'll come to the capital to take the imperial exams or work as an official. These shops can be left to him then," Yan Cai decided.

So, the group decided to head back earlier than planned.

When Yan Cai went to bid farewell to the Emperor and request to return to Qingqu, the Emperor was stunned.

"Why leave suddenly? If you're not in the capital, then I won't have anyone to talk to," the Emperor lamented.

However, Yan Cai's mind was made up, and besides, the Emperor wasn't foolish. He had guessed something when Yan Cai suddenly came to bid farewell. Ultimately, he didn't stop him, probably knowing it would be awkward for Yan Cai to stay in the capital.

Trust is fragile; once a hint of doubt arises, it can't be repaired. Although the Emperor was only momentarily influenced by the rumors, there was a chance he might believe them in the future.

The Emperor sighed and rewarded Yan Cai generously, but when giving the rewards, he didn't mention any reasons. The courtiers were unaware of Yan Cai's family's plan to leave the capital.

Seeing the Emperor suddenly reward Yan Cai again, the courtiers were in an uproar. The reward seemed unreasonably extravagant, and the Emperor didn't explain the reason. This further fueled the rumors.

Why would the Emperor reward Yan Cai so generously if he wasn't his own son? Especially when Yan Cai hadn't done anything noteworthy recently.

With so many courtiers, why single out Yan Cai for reward, adding to the confusion of the rumors?

However, the Emperor's information was always slightly behind that of the common folk, so he remained unaware of the recent rampant rumors.

Yet, Yan Cai encountered many people discreetly inquiring and even sarcastically mocking him. Yan Cai was exasperated; these people were too idle, worrying about what rewards others received.

No one dared to ask him directly, but he received numerous letters of inquiry on the matter.

After reading one anonymous letter, Yan Cai's face darkened. Jiang Manyue swiftly collected all the letters and threw them into the brazier.

"Stop reading. It's all nonsense," Jiang Manyue said, as the papers turned to ashes.

Yan Cai grunted twice, thoroughly annoyed.

Many people in the letters had the audacity to ask directly whether the Emperor was his real father, if he was the Emperor's illegitimate child, and if the Emperor favored him.

These questions were outrageous and could result in execution if asked in front of the Emperor. However, since the letters were anonymous, these people weren't afraid of consequences

An angry Yan Cai slapped the table and stood up: "Hong Yu! Kill those pigeons. Today we will eat roasted pigeons, roasted pigeons, braised pigeons..."

Unable to find the culprit behind the letters, he redirected his anger towards the plump and delicious pigeons. In his frustration, he imagined them as the letter writers, fiercely biting into the pigeon meat and enjoying an extra two bowls of rice for dinner.

Delicious!

---

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Table of Contents