After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 626 Reconsidering the Choice of Successor

The emperor asked his son to say a few more words, but in reality, he only wanted to confirm his own suspicions.

"Chang'er, did you notice anything amiss before you were poisoned?"

The Empress was somewhat taken aback, knowing that this was His Majesty's probing question, but it would be inappropriate for her to say anything at this moment.

Let's see what Chang'er's plans are, lest we hold our son back.

When asked the question, the second prince pondered for a moment and then shook his head.

"Father, I did not notice anything amiss."

This morning, Chen Lin brought over some snacks as usual. I didn't finish them, so I asked Chen Lin to distribute them to the palace servants.

However, I became disoriented after drinking the tea, and I woke up now.

By the way, Father, Mother, have Chen Lin and the palace servants in my palace been poisoned?

His thinking was clear, his expression was precise, and there was absolutely no childish affectation!

This time, it was the emperor's turn to be stunned.

The Empress continued, "None of the people in your palace have been poisoned. Your poisoning wasn't caused by what you ate or drank, silly child. Look at the sword wounds on your body."

The second prince seemed to only then realize what was happening, and felt a sharp pain throughout his body.

"So, this was caused by a poisoned weapon? Why don't I remember it at all?"

At this moment, the emperor finally came to his senses and realized that there was nothing left to be uncertain about.

The Empress and Chang'er exchanged a few words. Didn't the Empress notice?

The emperor gently tugged at the empress's sleeve, gesturing for her to come to the side hall to speak.

The Empress was worried about the Second Prince, so she waited for Chen Lin and Jiang Xiaoqi to return, and only after standing by the Second Prince's bedside did she follow the Emperor to the side hall.

"His Majesty?"

"Empress, didn't you notice that something was wrong with my son?"

The Empress realized that her failure to show surprise had aroused His Majesty's suspicion.

“How could I not have noticed? After twenty years of mother and son, Chang’er has undergone some subtle changes that have not escaped my eyes as his mother.”

"Then why...?"

"Because of the fear of loss, I am afraid that Chang'er's condition is just a flash in the pan, a temporary reaction after being poisoned."

I fear that if I point it out on the spot, Chang'er will realize something and go back to his old ways.

Your Majesty, I dare not touch it, dare not take any risks, dare not do anything out of the ordinary that Chang'er might notice.

Your Majesty, just consider this as me deceiving myself. Having just experienced my child's brush with death, I have no other desires now.

Whether he is mentally challenged or a normal person, he is still my most beloved child.

Of course, it would be better if he could get back on track, but that might make his situation even more dangerous.

The emperor understood the empress's words, and his hand unconsciously touched the empress's shoulder.

"I understand, you're afraid."

After so many years of peaceful life, you're afraid of exhausting yourself, and you're also afraid of not being able to guard against everything.

"It is my fault. I failed to protect you and your child. If Chang'er recovers to his former self, I will surely return what belongs to you and your child!"

The Empress gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, pretending not to understand the Emperor's words.

"Your Majesty, as long as Chang'er is safe, I have no other desires. Let bygones be bygones. I'm already this old, and I'm truly exhausted."

The Empress's "non-competitive" attitude instantly boosted the Emperor's favorability.

He could hear the weariness in the Empress's voice. Alas, the woman who was so strong in her youth had now had her edges smoothed out and become weak.

Alas, only he, as the husband and father, can put in the effort and make some plans for them, mother and son.

Otherwise, the wolves and tigers in the imperial court and palace will one day tear his wife and son apart and devour them, leaving nothing behind.

The emperor was lost in his own imagination, unaware that sometimes "not fighting" is the real fighting, and "not grabbing" is the real grabbing.

At this moment, the emperor was shocked and even excited by the second prince's sudden clarity of mind, and could not think that deeply or that much.

All he could think about now was that he was indeed blessed by heaven and that heaven had not forsaken him.

At the crucial final moment, he returned his most favored and beloved son and heir to him.

The emperor's presumptuousness caused him to overlook many things that he could have easily seen through before.

Perhaps I'm tired, perhaps I'm getting old, or perhaps I just want to deceive myself.

After all, apart from his second son Zhao Hongchang, none of his other sons had passed his test.

From the imperial examination, we can see that each son has his own fatal flaw.

The fifth son lacks compassion and does things superficially.

The sixth and seventh brothers liked to delegate tasks to others, but they themselves failed to supervise properly, relying on their subordinates to deceive their superiors and cover up the truth.

Lao Ba has great martial arts skills, but he doesn't like to think things through. He's good as a general, but far from being a commander.

The ninth and tenth children haven't lost their childish nature yet; a few words of encouragement from others can easily lead them astray.

Sigh~ In the end, it's because I've neglected my sons' upbringing too much over the years, focusing only on academics and not on practical application.

What's the use of dogmatically learning the words of sages? If you haven't experienced or actually dealt with things, it's just empty talk.

Of the six, the fifth one stands out.

His once timid and submissive nature seems to have changed quite a bit, but recently the fifth brother has been making frequent moves and has become somewhat arrogant.

They even want to get involved with the Ouyang family and even the Empress Dowager. What are they trying to do?

Are they going to follow the example of the eldest and third princes and resort to underhanded tactics to force the emperor to abdicate and seize the throne?

Thinking of the Fifth Prince, the Emperor suddenly felt a pang of heartache. The Fifth Prince's birth mother was recently terminally ill, and medicine was ineffective; she could pass away at any moment.

At this time, Chang'er was poisoned and almost lost his life. Is there any direct or indirect connection between this?

Thinking of that possibility, the emperor couldn't help but re-examine his son, who had always been so low-key as to be almost invisible.

The fifth prince lost his mother, and the empress lost her son...

If Chang'er really can't be saved, wouldn't that just free up the position of the legitimate son?

After the fifth prince lost his mother, he would be the only prince without a living mother, so it would seem logical for him to be included under the empress's, who had no children.

Even the emperor, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, couldn't help but feel that the fifth prince was ruthless and terrifying.

Fifth brother, I never imagined that I would have kept such a venomous snake by my side and carefully taught him all this time.

Today, Chang'er was poisoned, and he, as the emperor, also bears some responsibility for this.

He had originally planned to choose the most suitable one among the six to inherit the throne, which led the fifth prince to take the risk.

But now, he's changed his mind!