Xie Jin Yan is not of Wei Jing Emperor's bloodline? Yu Qingwu's pupils shrank, utterly shocked.

But quickly, the shock in her eyes faded, replaced by mockery.

Although Xie Jin Yan looked more like Empress Zhou, he still bore a great resemblance to Wei Jing Emperor when they stood together.

Moreover, Wei Jing Emperor was able to reclaim the Great Wei Jiangshan from the rebels, so he was certainly not blind. If Xie Jin Yan was not of his bloodline, he would have lost his life in childhood.

However, what was Shen Yanhuan's purpose in telling her this?

Where did she hear this news?

Yu Qingwu's eyes darkened, looking at Shen Yanhuan with an interested expression.

Seeing Yu Qingwu's reaction, Shen Yanhuan felt a surge of joy.

A flash of malice crossed her eyes, and she immediately continued.

"Crown Princess, you may not know, but when His Majesty had not yet ascended the throne, Empress Zhou wandered among the common people for a period of time. It was during that time that she had an affair with a country peasant and gave birth to the Crown Prince."

"Later, when His Majesty successfully seized the throne, Empress Zhou did not hesitate to silence that man in order to return to His Majesty's side. Oh, yes, I also know that the adulterer's surname was Gao, and now his daughter is in the Crown Prince's residence."

"Presumably, the Crown Princess has also met that woman. I heard that she is rude and uncouth, completely lacking in manners, yet the Crown Prince spoils her. Have you never suspected why?"

Shen Yanhuan wore a profound expression, deliberately pausing at this point, only smiling as she looked at Yu Qingwu.

Seeing Yu Qingwu's brows furrowing deeper and deeper, she continued, "Crown Princess, the reason why the Crown Prince indulges that Gao woman is because she is his blood sister, his half-sister..."

Half-sister?

Shen Yanhuan's ability to slander is quite skillful; she fabricates lies with ease.

Remembering Empress Zhou's reaction when she saw Gao Minyue earlier, Yu Qingwu was certain that Empress Zhou might indeed have had something with Gao Minyue's father, but to say that Xie Jin Yan was Gao Minyue's own brother was simply a huge joke.

Yu Qingwu rested her cheek on her hand, her charming peach blossom eyes smiling but not smiling, gazing at Shen Yanhuan for a moment before sneering, "So, what is Shen Baolin telling me all this for? Want me to use this to threaten the Empress and Crown Prince to save my life?"

"Exactly." As soon as Yu Qingwu finished speaking, Shen Yanhuan immediately smiled, "Crown Princess, think about it, if you grasp such a big handle on the Empress and Crown Prince, would they dare disobey you? At that time, not to mention saving your life, even manipulating them would be a piece of cake."

Manipulating Xie Jin Yan and Empress Zhou?

If this secret was so powerful, why was she, Shen Baolin, still only a Baolin? Why not use it to force the Empress to give up her position?

Did she really take her for a fool?

Still talking about saving her life; if she really took these words to threaten Empress Zhou and Xie Jin Yan, she would probably be executed on the spot.

Casting a cold glance at Shen Yanhuan, Yu Qingwu did not reveal her emotions.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, feigning an interested look, frowning and asking, "Is what Shen Baolin said true?"

"Of course, it's true."

"You say it's true, but is it really? Why should I believe you? Who told you these things?"

Yu Qingwu spoke in a somewhat disbelieving tone, yet vaguely revealing a look of anticipation.

Seeing her like this, Shen Yanhuan was even more delighted. She glanced around, gloating, "These were all told to me by my mother. You young people don't know about the Empress's dirty deeds, but the veterans who fought alongside His Majesty to conquer the world know very well."

Shen Yanhuan became more and more smug, already somewhat impatient. As she spoke, she stepped forward and took Yu Qingwu's hand, smiling, "Crown Princess, instead of a lose-lose situation, let's have a win-win. Now that your mother is dead, it won't do you any good to keep clinging to this matter and making enemies with the Duke's Mansion. Why don't we reconcile, and the Duke's Mansion will be your backer in the future."

"With this handle, plus the connections and power of our Duke's Mansion, if you give birth to a legitimate son for the Crown Prince in the future, then this world will be ours. With your uncle here, wouldn't this world be controlled by you?"

"Who told you to say these words? Was it Uncle?" Shen Yanhuan was saying all this so enthusiastically, Yu Qingwu interrupted her in a deep voice, glancing slightly towards the curtain, then smiling at Shen Yanhuan, coaxing, "Shen Baolin, how can I believe that Uncle would stand on my side based on your words alone? How can I believe that Grandmother would help me?"

"After all, your Shen family wants me dead."

"I knew you would say that."

Hearing Yu Qingwu's question, Shen Yanhuan didn't seem surprised at all. She smiled, took out a letter from her sleeve, and handed it to Yu Qingwu, "This is my mother's autograph letter; Uncle always listens to my mother, as you know."

Hehe, this family is really going all out. To deceive her, they even wrote an autograph letter.

It seems that Xie Jin Yan's side has also put a lot of pressure on the Shen family.

So much so that they even used such a desperate method.

Unfortunately, she is not a fool and will not be easily deceived.

A coldness flashed across Yu Qingwu's eyes. She took the letter from Shen Yanhuan, carefully looked at it, and after confirming that it was Qiu Shi's handwriting, she raised her head and questioned Shen Yanhuan again very seriously, asking, "Are you sure that the Crown Prince is really not His Majesty's bloodline? Are you sure that Uncle and Grandmother will really help me control the world?"

Hehe, she thought this little vixen was so clever.

Sure enough, she's a descendant of a prostitute; she fell for it just like that.

Thinking that Yu Qingwu was about to be given death by the Empress, Shen Yanhuan could no longer hide the excitement in her eyes. She patted her hand and said, "Crown Princess, my mother's autograph letter is here; what are you still questioning?"

Questioning what?

Such an obvious conspiracy; only a fool wouldn't question it.

Yu Qingwu smiled faintly, heavily pulling back her hand, looking at the impatience in Shen Yanhuan's eyes, and shaking her head, saying, "Shen Baolin, I still can't believe you. After all, your Shen family wanted me dead before. I can't help but suspect that you and Grandmother are trying to trick me into slandering the Crown Prince and Empress."

"Crown Princess, you are already a dying person; what's the point of me tricking you into slandering?" Seeing that Yu Qingwu wasn't taking the bait, Shen Yanhuan was immediately displeased. Her face darkened, and she said, "If you don't believe it, then forget it. Anyway, even if you drag me down with you, the Shen family might not be exterminated because of it. As for you, you are the only bloodline of the Yu family."

"Moreover, if you insist on dragging me down with you, I'm not without ways to deal with you. I can go to the Empress right now and say that you threatened me to slander her together! Anyway, no one heard what you and I said at this time!"

Shen Yanhuan gritted her teeth, directly changing from seduction to threat.

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu didn't speak, her face still bearing a faint look of ridicule.

Snorting coldly, she looked towards the inner殿, and said softly, "Your Highness, you've heard everything Shen Baolin said, right?"