Scum Father, Cannon Fodder Mother

In the interplay of light and shadow, the figure's outline gradually sharpened. Tall and elegant, silent as an abyss, with a face as handsome as a celestial being. She had traced and recalled his features countless times in her memory, reaching out a finger only to have them dissipate into the air, leaving behind a fleeting dream.

He was the Crown Prince of the Great Xi Dynasty.

No, they said he wasn't the real Crown Prince, that he was her own son.

They said she had meticulously planned to swap him with the true Crown Prince on the day of birth, all for that supreme imperial throne.

But that wasn't true—she had never done such a thing.

Liu Wanning wept uncontrollably, her heart feeling as though it were being torn apart. Ten months of pregnancy, that was her own flesh and blood; how could she bear to give him away to someone else?

But no one believed her words.

Everyone cursed her as sinister and cunning, ambitious, and immoral, deserving of a thousand cuts.

She was arrested and thrown into the Imperial Clan Court, only to learn that the son she had raised for twenty years was not her biological son, and her own son had become the Crown Prince in the palace.

And soon, he wouldn't be the Crown Prince anymore. Caught in her downfall, he was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, the son of a traitor, to be beheaded and executed at the appointed date.

Countless times, Liu Wanning prayed to heaven for a chance to see the 'Crown Prince'. She had seen the 'Crown Prince' in the palace before, not as mother and son, but as strangers passing by.

She wanted to see him, to touch him, to tell him she was his mother, and to say 'I'm sorry'—that she, as his mother, had failed to protect him.

But no matter how hard she banged her head until it bruised and swelled, until she knocked herself unconscious, she still couldn't see him.

Now, it felt like a dream.

"Crown Prince, is that you?" Liu Wanning gazed at him foolishly, extending her scarred hands, trembling as she tried to reach him. "Am I dying soon? Have you come to escort me to the underworld?"

Faintly, she recalled someone telling her that the traitor impersonating a prince was to be executed, and she had thought Xiao Qianyu had become a 'ghost'.

Xiao Qianyu unhesitatingly reached out and grasped her hand, saying gently, "Heir's Consort, you are mistaken. I am not dead. And I have good news for you," he said with a joyful expression. "A divine lightning strike, heaven bears witness, it turns out several foolish officials of the court were deceived and passed an unjust sentence. I am the legitimate son of the Father Emperor and Empress. You did not swap the princes; you are innocent. I have come on behalf of the Father Emperor to release you, who is guiltless, and to send you back to Prince Jiujiang's Estate."

Huh?

Liu Wanning's lifeless face was filled with uncontrollable bewilderment, her expression frozen for a moment. It was a mistake, an unjust sentence?

She struggled to move her tongue. "A mistake?"

Xiao Qianyu's gaze fell upon the Heir's Consort's face, examining her closely. He saw her genuine confusion and bewilderment, like a lost fawn, and murmured, "You are not my child, then where is my child? Where did my own flesh and blood go?"

Her lifelong understanding was overturned. The Heir's Consort of Prince Jiujiang's Estate was on the verge of mental collapse.

This was not a woman skilled in scheming, nor an ambitious schemer capable of ruthlessly swapping her newborn child with the Empress.

She was frail and delicate, with gentle eyes and brows. Even her questioning seemed weak and powerless.

So, the decision to swap the children was not made by her, or perhaps, she too was kept in the dark.

It didn't matter if it wasn't her. Xiao Qianyu firmly believed he was the 'False Crown Prince,' and the mother before him was the original body's mother. Villains and cannon fodder were all family.

Family should unite and help each other.

Xiao Qianyu crouched down and firmly gripped her hand, implying, "Heir's Consort, you don't need to worry. I will help you find the Grandson. He is definitely still alive." Wake up, he's far away but right in front of you. I am your biological son, it's true.

Liu Wanning clearly hadn't registered his words yet. She urgently grasped Xiao Qianyu's hand. "Is what the Crown Prince says true? My child, is my child still alive? Can I still find him?"

Xiao Qianyu sighed inwardly and encouraged her, "He is definitely alive. Therefore, Heir's Consort, you must take good care of yourself. The priority now is to send you back to Prince Jiujiang's Estate. You need a doctor to examine your body."

Upon hearing "return to the Estate," the Heir's Consort's body instinctively trembled. Her expression was filled with fear and hatred, along with a hint of resistance.

Xiao Qianyu's eyes darted, and he quickly understood. The matter of swapping children likely had ties to Prince Jiujiang's Estate, or perhaps they were the ones who orchestrated it, keeping it from the Heir's Consort and then pushing the innocent Heir's Consort forward as a scapegoat when things went wrong.

Thinking about it, his father's generation wasn't just villainous cannon fodder, but also scum.

His own mother, the cannon fodder of cannon fodder, was, in a word, tragic!

Fortunately, he had the foresight to obtain compensation from the Emperor for her.

Xiao Qianyu said gently, "Heir's Consort, because the royal family has caused you to suffer unjustly, the Father Emperor has specially decreed compensation. Uncle-Grandfather." He turned to look outside the door.

Prince Gong strode in with a stern face, his expression far from pleasant.

Even though he knew in his heart that the swap of princes might not have been Liu Shi's doing, she was still from Prince Jiujiang's Estate, so how could Prince Gong have a good expression?

He took out an imperial decree. "Liu Shi, receive the decree."