Chapter 582: How Should I Tell Empress Changsun?

When Gao Yang returned home with a heavy heart, Chen Yan had already come back.

She casually pulled a servant over and asked, "Has the Wei Wang and the Wei Wang Consort returned?"

The servant replied, "Returning, Princess, it's strange. At noon the Wei Wang Consort usually delivers lunch to the Wei Wang, so she should have come back by now, but she hasn't returned today."

"Xin'er?" Gao Yang asked again.

"The little Prince should be napping now," the servant answered.

"……Then, has my husband returned?"

The servant hesitated this time, speaking softly, "Princess, the Duke just returned to the master bedroom, but he looks in a very bad mood. You… you shouldn't provoke him……"

"Get out!"

Gao Yang shouted angrily, her face darkened, and left.

Entering the master bedroom, she found Chen Yan lying in a rocking chair, eyes closed and silent, while Li Lizhi sat beside her holding Xiao Sui An, the atmosphere feeling very strange.

Seeing her return, Li Lizhi quickly got up, came to her side, and whispered, "Your husband seems to be in a very bad mood today; he hasn't said a word since he came back."

She meant to remind Gao Yang not to provoke Chen Yan today, lest she get beaten.

Gao Yang's face darkened further, but now was not the time to care about that; after a brief pause, she said, "Father Emperor has asked you to take us to Lizheng Hall."

Chen Yan sighed, "Li Lizhi, go freshen up, change clothes, and come with me into the Imperial Palace."

Li Lizhi was puzzled; she still hadn't figured out what had happened. After hesitating, she handed Xiao Sui An in her arms to Gao Yang to hold, and went to change clothes herself.

"What else did your Father Emperor say?" Chen Yan asked softly.

Gao Yang said, "Father Emperor was initially very angry, blaming Li Daozong and his group for being ineffective, saying even Zheng Guanyin is better. Later his mood seemed bad, so he had Li Daozong's men follow this lead and investigate, then he asked you to take us to Lizheng Hall."

"He didn't say much else."

After speaking, she paused, worried, and said, "Husband…… what should we do from now on?"

"Well, what else can we do!?" Chen Yan looked at the ceiling, also feeling a bit weary.

He wished dearly that the poisoner truly came from a noble family.

At worst, we could slowly take revenge later.

But the current poisoner is a former subordinate of Li Tai; whether Li Tai knows about this or not, he's already entangled with him.

I'm afraid both brothers will have a thorn in their hearts from now on……

Moreover, Li Shimin had me take my wife and daughter to Lizheng Hall, clearly to have us tell Empress Changsun about this matter.

But how could he bring it up?

How to say it?

Nothing has been clarified yet.

Could it be that your second son's men secretly harmed your first son?

As someone who personally experienced the Xuanwu Gate incident, this not only crosses Li Shimin's line, but also Empress Changsun's, doesn't it?

"Hey, go prepare, and later come with me into the palace."

"Alright."

Gao Yang pressed her lips together and gave a slight nod.

Half an hour later.

Chen Yan led the whole family, along with Sizi and Chengyang, in three carriages heading toward the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, Li Lizhi also learned the details from Gao Yang, but she truly didn't know what to say.

She also understood why Chen Yan and Gao Yang's expressions were so complicated.

After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but ask, "Have you decided how to tell Mother later?"

That question really hit the point.

Chen Yan and Gao Yang exchanged a glance, then both turned their gaze toward her.

Li Lizhi was startled, then quickly recovered, her beautiful peach‑blossom eyes widening, "You want me to say it?"

Chen Yan cleared his throat, "Li Lizhi, this matter is easier for you to speak, we aren't really suitable."

"I'm just a son‑in‑law, and Gao Yang isn't Empress Changsun's biological daughter; Sizi and Chengyang are still young, you can't expect them to handle it, can you?"

"I......"

Li Lizhi's face flushed, "I—I—I don't know how to say it either; you didn't even give me any mental preparation."

"I only just learned of this myself."

Having said that, the three fell silent together.

After a while, Chen Yan said gloomily, "We'll talk about it later."

Li Lizhi covered her face, "It can only be like this."

"......"

The harem, Lizheng Hall.

Empress Changsun was delighted by the sudden arrival of Chen Yan's family, laughing with an uncontainable grin.

"Zi An, quick, come in quickly."

She warmly invited Chen Yan's family to sit, and seeing her several daughters and grand‑niece, her mood instantly brightened.

"Your Majesty, we haven't seen you for many days; you seem a bit younger, huh," Chen Yan said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Empress Changsun's smile widened as she touched her face, "You child, I'm already quite old, mother of seven children, I'm old now."

"How could that be?" Li Lizhi echoed, "Mother is not old at all; Mother not only looks young, but in my heart she's even younger, forever the most beautiful mother in my heart."

Empress Changsun smiled, glanced at Li Lizhi and Gao Yang, then fixed her gaze on Chen Yan, "You all are rather sweet‑mouthed today."

"You came up just to flatter me."

"Speak up, did you cause trouble outside that you couldn't resolve yourself and came here to ask my help, or do you have a request?"

She said that, mostly as a joke with a slight hint of testing, because from the expressions of the few people she could vaguely sense something was off.

They have something on their minds.

Yet she hadn't expected that the moment her words fell, the few people fell silent, pushing and shoving each other, passing the blame, and not a single person stepped forward to speak up.

Empress Changsun said in surprise, "You little ones, do you really have something?"

Then Chen Yan and Gao Yang tacitly nudged Li Lizhi forward; Li Lizhi, helpless, wanted to speak, but stammered and couldn't get a single sentence out.

Empress Changsun's smile at this moment had completely faded, and a wave of unease rose in her heart.

Given Chen Yan and Gao Yang's outspoken nature, how many matters in the world could they possibly dare not speak of?

Moreover, there's Li Lizhi, who can even tell herself about her private little quirks, yet now hesitates so much.

Empress Changsun immediately sensed something wrong, became serious, "Lizhi, what exactly is the matter? Could it be that you still can't tell Mother?"

"Mother, I......"

"Ah!"

Sizi could no longer stand it, hands on hips, "Sister, can you finally speak up?"

"Isn't the murderer who poisoned Crown Prince brother just Fourth Imperial Brother? What's wrong with saying that?"

"When Sister Gao Yang told you, I heard it too."

Chen Yan and his family: "......"

Empress Changsun was stunned; after regaining her composure, she felt an overwhelming pressure in her chest, and the scene before her began to blur, the world spinning.

"Mother!!!"

"......"