Rebirth: Pampered by the Lord-Chapter 2103: Deception
The Empress remained silent, staring intently at the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince felt a chill in his heart; could it be that the Empress Mother had discovered something? After a moment’s thought, he believed it was impossible. If the Empress Mother had found out, she would have confronted him long ago instead of waiting until now. So, he asked, "Mother, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Xuanxuan, you haven’t told Mother the truth."
"Every word I speak is the truth, I wouldn’t dare to deceive Mother." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"Mother has heard over a hundred corpses were unearthed at the Prince’s Mansion."
"Yes, Mother."
"So many servants have gone missing in the mansion; didn’t you sense anything? Didn’t the steward report to you?"
"The steward reported to me, but I thought it was just a few missing servants, which is not unusual, so I paid no attention to it. I never expected it to be this serious. Alas! In hindsight, I regret not listening to the steward and reporting it to the authorities earlier, which would have prevented this widespread scandal."
Empress: "Is that really so?"
Fourth Prince: "Of course, you are my mother, how could I deceive you?"
No matter how the Empress questioned him, the Fourth Prince firmly insisted he didn’t know what was going on with those corpses, saying the government office was investigating and he would report any news to the Empress immediately.
Although the Empress was very angry, she was helpless against him since, after all, he was her own son: "Well then, the Emperor is very angry about this matter, so later on, go and explain it to your imperial father!"
"I understand!"
"The Emperor values reputation above all; this matter has become a scandal. When you meet the Emperor, be careful with your words, don’t anger him."
"Yes."
The Fourth Prince involuntarily raised his arm and touched his left eye. His eye was slowly recovering, and in some time, he could return to his former appearance. Arriving at the Imperial Palace, he was filled with mixed emotions. Ever since he lost this eye, he had suffered too much humiliation here.
Seeing the Fourth Prince reach for his eye, the Empress assumed he was uncomfortable and asked, "Xuanxuan, is your eye uncomfortable again? Shall I call an Imperial Physician to take a look?"
With that, she intended to ask the palace maid beside her to summon an Imperial Physician.
"Mother, no need, I’m fine." In his anxiety, the Fourth Prince hurried to stop the Empress from calling the Imperial Physician. In a panic, somehow, he accidentally loosened the eyepatch on his face.
"Xuanxuan, your eye, what happened to your eye?"
The Empress was terrified, staring at the Fourth Prince. She clearly remembered that the Fourth Prince’s left eye had been wholly removed by the Imperial Physician, but why was there an eyeball now?
"No, no, you are not my Xuanxuan; who are you?" The Empress was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
Several palace maids rushed forward to help her up: "Empress, Empress, what’s wrong?"
"Fourth Prince... Fourth Prince... No... He’s not the Fourth Prince." The Empress trembled as she pointed at the Fourth Prince, stuttering in confusion.
The sudden sight of the Fourth Prince’s intact eye nearly scared her to death, making her believe someone was impersonating the Fourth Prince.
Hearing her words, several palace maids looked up at the Fourth Prince, also scared half to death. The Fourth Prince was supposed to be disfigured, yet the face of this man looked perfectly intact.
"Mother, Mother, don’t be afraid; it’s me, I am Xuanxuan." The Fourth Prince realized he accidentally dislodged his eyepatch and tried to explain to his mother, but she seemed utterly terrified of him, refusing to let him near.
"You... you... step back, don’t come closer. Who are you? What are your intentions? Why are you pretending to be Xuanxuan? Where is my Xuanxuan?" The Empress retreated step by step, speaking incoherently with a tinge of hysteria.
