"Are we truly different?"
Zhuo Jin looked at his dispirited appearance, wondering what she was thinking.
Then she heard Bai Li Chong Yan mutter to himself, "Yes, we are different. You are a god, you are powerful, you saved me. But, but..."
But precisely because she was a god, the lifetime she promised him became very short.
After living a lifetime with him, what then?
She would go and love someone else, promising them a lifetime.
Bai Li Chong Yan felt an infinite sense of unwillingness in his heart.
But he was powerless.
He had already received enough; wanting more would make him seem greedy.
He lowered his head, no longer speaking.
Zhuo Jin asked a few more times, but he kept his head down and remained silent. In the end, Zhuo Jin had to give up.
However, on this trip to the capital, Bai Li Chong Yan never smiled again.
---
Three days later, they disguised themselves and entered the capital.
There were still people loyal to Bai Li Chong Yan in the capital. Those people came to meet them and settled them in a detached courtyard.
The leading shadow guard said, "The Emperor's illness has worsened. The palace has been under martial law these past few days, and entry and exit are not easy. The Prince may have to wait some time."
Bai Li Chong Yan's expression was indifferent, showing no emotion.
"I understand. You may leave."
The shadow guards retreated silently.
Then, two visible individuals entered and informed him about the situation in the capital.
"Besides the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince, the Fourth Prince is now also involved in the struggle for the throne."
"Didn't his leg break? Isn't he unable to inherit the throne?"
"More than a month ago, the Fourth Prince's consort gave birth to a son. Now the Fourth Prince is fighting for power for him."
Bai Li Chong Yan scoffed, "Fighting for power for him? More like using him to seize power, right?"
He would stoop to any means to achieve his goals, even using a baby a few months old as a bargaining chip.
The royal family was truly heartless.
And yet, half the blood flowing in his body was from the imperial family.
Bai Li Chong Yan felt a sense of disgust.
Zhuo Jin, who had been silent, suddenly asked, "What about the Crown Prince?"
The guard was startled. He glanced at Bai Li Chong Yan, and seeing that he did not object, replied, "The Crown Prince has been disfavored by the Empress. He is now nothing more than a废人 (fei ren - discarded person)."
Both of them were somewhat surprised.
The Crown Prince was the Empress's own son. Was he completely disfavored just because he lost an arm?
The guard said, "It's strange to say, but the matter of the Crown Prince losing his arm seems unrelated to the Third Prince. However, our men were not present at the time, so we don't know how the Crown Prince's arm was actually broken."
The rumors spread that the Crown Prince had lost an arm in a struggle with the Third Prince, but the specifics were unknown.
"It is indeed strange. I recall the Crown Prince's estate having an imperial grandson, and an imperial grandson of the legitimate line, right?"
Among the many princes, many had already married. After all, they were all ranked before Bai Li Chong Yan and were no longer young, so it was normal for them to have offspring.
What was abnormal was that even the disfavored Fourth Prince had meticulously arranged for an imperial grandson to join the ranks of those vying for the throne.
The Crown Prince's estate also had a legitimate imperial grandson. How could he be so easily disfavored by the Empress?
"Indeed, he is a legitimate imperial grandson."
This made the situation even more bizarre.
"Curiosity is better than seeing for oneself. Since we are not entering the palace for the time being, it's not like we have anything to do."
Entering the Crown Prince's estate now was much easier than entering the imperial palace.
The Crown Prince had already been deposed; no one cared about him anymore.
Therefore, the two easily met the Crown Prince, who had lost an arm, looked haggard, and was in a sorry state.
The Crown Prince's estate was overgrown with weeds. He was drowning his sorrows in wine, a far cry from the ambitious and two-faced Crown Prince he once was.
One of Bai Li Chong Yan's subordinates snatched the wine jug from his arms and poured it directly over his head.
The Crown Prince, groggy, opened his eyes. Smelling the alcohol, he quickly closed them again and jumped up, shouting, "Who is it! How dare you!"
He yelled and made a fuss, but no one who glanced in came to see him, which showed his current predicament.
He wiped the wine from his face haphazardly with his sleeve, then opened his eyes. Upon seeing the people in front of him, he collapsed onto the ground.
"Bai Li Chong Yan! You've recovered!"
Bai Li Chong Yan did not respond.
The Crown Prince sat on the ground, trembling, "You've come to get revenge on me, haven't you? I should have killed you back then! You bastard, how dare you be admired by thousands! How dare you..."
"Of course, it is because he has extraordinary abilities and distinguished himself in battle."
Zhuo Jin's voice was cold as she uttered an unrelated sentence: "I want to smash his teeth and tear out his tongue."