"Yuan, give him a name."

Ying Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's just call him... Ying Ze."

"Yingze..." Liu Ruyan whispered the name softly, with a happy smile on her face.

At this moment, there was a noisy sound of footsteps outside the palace. Ying Yuan's heart tightened, he knew that the Queen Mother's people were coming.

He handed Yingze to the wet nurse beside him, walked to the door, and looked coldly at the guards who rushed in.

"Ying Yuan, you disobeyed the order and kidnapped the prisoner, your crime is even more serious!" the leading guard shouted sternly.

Ying Yuan sneered, "What crime has this king committed by saving his own woman and child?"

"The Queen Mother has decreed that you be arrested!"

"Let's see who dares!" A cold light flashed in Ying Yuan's eyes, and a powerful aura emanated from him, shocking all the guards.

The two sides were on the verge of a fight and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

At this moment, a shrill voice came from outside the door, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone knelt down and saluted.

The emperor walked in slowly and looked at the scene in front of him with a frown on his face.

"Yuan'er, what's going on?"

Ying Yuan briefly explained the whole story. After hearing this, the emperor's face darkened and he turned to look at the empress dowager.

"Mother, I will investigate this matter myself. Please go back to the palace and rest first."

Although the empress dowager was unwilling, she did not dare to disobey the emperor's order and had to leave in anger.

The emperor walked to Liu Ruyan's bedside, looked at her weak figure, and a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.

“Ruyan, you’ve suffered.”

Liu Ruyan smiled weakly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

The emperor turned to look at Ying Yuan, "Yuan'er, I believe you would not do such a thing. I will give you justice in this matter."

Ying Yuan bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the emperor left, Ying Yuan walked up to Liu Ruyan and held her hand.

"Ruyan, don't worry, I will definitely investigate this matter and clear your name."

Liu Ruyan looked at Ying Yuan, her eyes full of trust and dependence.

……

In the next few days, Ying Yuan has been secretly investigating the matter. He found that although Xiao Tao's testimony seemed credible, there were some doubts.

First, Xiao Tao said that she saw Liu Ruyan poison the Queen Mother's medicine with her own eyes, but she didn't dare to say it until today when she came forward to testify. This is a bit too coincidental.

Secondly, Liu Ruyan was loyal to Ying Yuan and had no reason to harm the Queen Mother.

Ying Yuan suspected that Xiao Tao was bribed and deliberately framed Liu Ruyan.

He sent someone to secretly investigate Xiao Tao's background and found that she had been in close contact with a mysterious man recently. Who is this man? Why did he bribe Xiao Tao to frame Liu Ruyan?
Ying Yuan felt that there seemed to be a huge conspiracy behind this...

He decided to meet this mysterious man in person.

That night, Ying Yuan disguised himself and sneaked into Xiao Tao's residence. He saw Xiao Tao having a secret conversation with a man in black.

"How's the matter going?" asked the man in black.

"I have already testified against Liu Ruyan as you ordered." Xiao Tao replied. "Very good." The man in black nodded with satisfaction. "After the matter is done, I will give you a large sum of money and let you go far away."

"Thank you, sir."

Ying Yuan hid in the dark and heard the conversation between the two clearly. He sneered in his heart, it seems that the man in black is the mastermind behind the scenes.

Just as he was about to show up, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. Oh no, someone is coming!

He quickly hid in the secret compartment of the room and held his breath.

The door was pushed open and a familiar figure walked in.

It’s... Liu Ruyan!

Ying Yuan held his breath and hid in the secret compartment, his heart beating like a drum. He never expected that Liu Ruyan would appear here. Could it be...she was the real mastermind behind this?
Liu Ruyan looked around with a cold look in her eyes, completely different from her usual gentle and virtuous appearance. "Xiao Tao, did you bring the things?"

Xiao Tao took out a brocade box from her bosom and handed it to Liu Ruyan respectfully. "It's all here, Madam."

Ying Yuan's heart sank. Madam? Could it be that Liu Ruyan had some connection with the palace? He tried to suppress his inner shock and continued to observe the development of the situation.

Liu Ruyan opened the brocade box, and inside was some gold, silver, jewelry, and a letter. She took out the letter, quickly glanced through it, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "Very good, everything is going as planned."

Ying Yuan was even more confused. What on earth was going on? Liu Ruyan's behavior was completely unexpected to him. He stared at Liu Ruyan closely, trying to find clues from her every move.

"Empress, what should we do next?" Xiao Tao asked in a low voice.

Liu Ruyan put the letter away, a fierce look flashing in her eyes. "When the time is right, we will kill the Queen Mother..." She stopped suddenly here, and her eyes scanned every corner of the room vigilantly.

"What's wrong, my queen?" Xiao Tao noticed that Liu Ruyan was acting strange and became nervous too.

Liu Ruyan frowned slightly. She always felt that someone was secretly watching her. She walked to the secret compartment and knocked on it gently. "Come out. I know you are hiding in there."

Ying Yuan was shocked. He didn't expect that he was discovered. He took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the secret compartment.

Seeing Ying Yuan, Liu Ruyan and Xiao Tao were stunned. Xiao Tao was so frightened that her face turned pale and her whole body trembled.

Ying Yuan looked at Liu Ruyan with a complicated look in his eyes. "Ruyan, what's going on?"

Liu Ruyan did not answer, but sneered, "I didn't expect you to follow me."

Ying Yuan was furious. He had always loved Liu Ruyan, but he never expected that she would betray him and even collude with the Queen Mother. "Why did you do this?"

A trace of pain flashed across Liu Ruyan's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by indifference. "Ying Yuan, you don't understand me at all."

"I don't understand you? For the sake of fame and fortune, you are willing to sell your soul!" Ying Yuan roared angrily.

Liu Ruyan's face changed, "Shut up! What qualifications do you have to blame me? You are just an abandoned prince, and I am destined to become the queen of the country!"

Ying Yuan was deeply hurt by Liu Ruyan's words. He had always thought that Liu Ruyan loved him sincerely, but he didn't expect that she would be so ambitious. He smiled bitterly and said, "It turns out that all this was just my wishful thinking."

"Ying Yuan, you'd better not interfere with my plan, otherwise..." Liu Ruyan's eyes were full of threats.

Ying Yuan sneered, "Otherwise what? Are you going to kill me?"

Liu Ruyan didn't say anything, just looked at Ying Yuan coldly.

The atmosphere was extremely tense, like a taut string that could break at any time.

Just then, there was a sudden noise outside the door.

"What's going on?" Liu Ruyan and Xiao Tao both became alert.

A guard ran in in a panic, "Your Majesty, something bad has happened! The Queen Mother... The Queen Mother..."

"What happened to the Queen Mother?" Liu Ruyan felt an ominous premonition. (End of this chapter)