Chapter 446 Dream

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say he'd taken Prince Nanxiao's place.

But throughout the dynasties, the struggles among princes for the throne had always been fraught with danger and bloodshed, with brothers turning on each other being a common occurrence.

One general's glory is built on ten thousand bones. Prince Nanxiao's failure to defeat Emperor Jingyang and claim the throne only showed that he was outmatched—he had no one to blame but himself.

Now resorting to such filthy tricks as swapping the crown prince to grab power is truly contemptible.

These matters of the royal family were both secrets and scandals.

How was Consort Li and Prince Nanxiao's scheme any different from the former Empress and her lover's?

Luo Jingshen was deeply disgusted by Consort Li and Prince Nanxiao's actions, but what disgusted him even more was that the two of them were using him for their own selfish ends.

He'd thought he had everything under control, only to realize his life had been completely controlled by others.

If he hadn't run into Consort Li today and stumbled on her secret, he might have stayed in the dark for a long time.

At that thought, anger involuntarily flashed across Luo Jingshen's face. He gritted his teeth and said, "A neglected consort in the harem and a lazy Fourth Imperial Uncle—the two of you scheming right under Father's nose to usurp the throne. Quite impressive, really."

"If you want me to be your pawn for revenge and power, you can forget that right now, because I'll never be anyone's pawn, and I won't let anyone use me."

He then pointed at the door and roared, "Get out! I never want to see you again!"

Consort Li had imagined many ways their mother-son reunion might go, but never like this.

She'd thought that as long as she was good to Luo Jingshen, he'd gradually accept her. But reality had slapped her right in the face.

Consort Li was heartbroken. Tears streaming down her face, she choked out, "Shen'er, we—Consort Li and Prince Nanxiao—have never wanted you to be our pawn. From start to finish, we only wanted you to replace Luo Chengyuan, put you on the throne, and take back the Dongchen Kingdom."

An impatient flash crossed Luo Jingshen's eyes. He sneered, "I'm the Empress's legitimate eldest son. After Father dies, the throne is rightfully mine. Do I need your support!?"

Consort Li's heart ached. She hated hearing those words—"legitimate eldest son of the Empress"—come out of Luo Jingshen's mouth.

He was the son she'd carried and given birth to through so much pain, yet he could only be raised under that bitch's name, calling her Mother Empress.

This meant she'd never surpass Su Xiangwan, forever overshadowed by her.

Resentment welled up inside Consort Li. She clenched her fists and said, "Shen'er, think about it—since you became Crown Prince, has the Empress ever really been good to you? Has she ever once stepped up to help you?"

"When Ji Qingqing tricked you into marriage and you were short on silver, did she offer you a single word of comfort? Did she give you even one tael of silver?"

Luo Jingshen stayed silent, and Consort Li went on, "Shen'er, what she can't give you, I can. Your father's already trained a batch of soldiers, just waiting to help you fight for the throne!"

"I know this is a lot to take in at once, and I'm willing to give you time to think it over. When you've made up your mind, send someone to find me. Your father and I will always be behind you."

With that, Consort Li clutched her chest and limped away.

Luo Jingshen, furious, smashed a few more teacups. He clutched his head and screamed in rage.

Until his qi and blood surged and he collapsed to the ground.

When he woke up, it was already noon. Linchuan was watching over him.

"Your Highness, you're finally awake."

"This morning you suddenly collapsed, and it scared your subordinate half to death. Luckily, the imperial physician said it was nothing serious."

Luo Jingshen stayed quiet. He'd just had a dream, and when he woke up, he realized he was drenched in sweat!

In the dream, the Empress had learned he was the bastard child of Consort Li and Prince Nanxiao, and that Consort Li had swapped him with Luo Junhe to pass him off as the crown prince.

The Empress flew into a rage, demanding to know why they'd done this, why they'd harmed her son and torn mother and child apart.

She demanded Emperor Jingyang strip him of his title as Crown Prince and sentence him to death by dismemberment, making him taste the same suffering Consort Li had put Luo Junhe through over the years.

In the dream, Luo Jingshen's limbs were tied to four horses, each pulling in a different direction. He screamed for his mother to save him, but the pain hit, and his body was ripped apart piece by piece.

The scene shifted—Consort Li and Prince Nanxiao staged a coup, only to be rounded up by Luo Junhe's troops. Their bodies were hung from the city gates, cursed by the people, pecked at by crows, dumped into latrines, and reviled for generations.

Everyone connected to them was executed, and their families were wiped out.

In the dream, blood flowed like a river and countless lives were lost. The bright red blood and the pain cut deep into Luo Jingshen, and he woke up in terror.

This dream felt too real.

Once the fear subsided, Luo Jingshen swallowed hard. He started to think—if the Empress found out, would she do the same?

Over the years, how had he bullied Luo Junhe, and how had Consort Li tormented him? If those sufferings were turned on him, could he bear them?

The answer was no—he couldn't take it.

He couldn't stand going blind and disfigured like Luo Junhe, bedridden for three years.

He couldn't stand being the most nobly born Crown Prince, only to be swapped out and reduced to a prince anyone could trample on.

Either possibility was torture for Luo Jingshen.

Before, he'd thought Ji Qingqing deserved what she got for taking Ji Yuntang's place.

Now that the same thing was happening to him, Luo Jingshen found it hard to accept.

He had never imagined that he too was a fake, and like Ji Qingqing, he had no direct blood relation to his father at all.

If this were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But fortunately, very few people knew about this, and he still had enough time to think of a countermeasure.

Luo Jingshen thought it over and decided to have someone obtain some of Emperor Jingyang's blood to verify, so as not to be fooled by Consort Li again.

"Linchuan, tonight you will take men into the palace and find a way to get some of Father's blood for me. It must be done quickly."

Although Linchuan didn't know why he wanted this, he agreed anyway.

"Yes, Your Highness."

That night, Emperor Jingyang was in a consort's palace, preparing to retire for the night.

Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed, and a sword struck directly at his chest. Emperor Jingyang was so frightened he rolled off the bed, while the consort fainted on the spot!

"Guards! An assassin..."

Before Emperor Jingyang could finish his sentence, the assassin knocked him unconscious with a blow to the neck. Linchuan quickly made a cut on Emperor Jingyang's hand and collected some blood into a bottle.

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