Being thin, Xue Yuanyu was the first to squeeze out through the dog hole.
Once he crawled out, he headed straight for the Xue Residence. After several months in prison, he was so dark and thin that the servants nearly failed to recognize him.
Although Xue Yuanyu alone had switched the imperial bloodline, the emperor had also demoted his uncle. When Xue Yuanyu returned home, his entire family rejected him.
His father said, "Yuanyu, you escaped from prison. We wouldn't dare shelter you! You'll drag the whole family down!"
One wrong move, and all nine degrees of kinship would be wiped out like tiles in a matching game.
After eating and drinking his fill, bathing, and changing his clothes, Xue Yuanyu said, "Father, don't worry. I'll take Yingxuan to the Eldest Princess's Residence right away."
His father: ??
"Yuanyu, did prison knock all the sense out of you?"
Not only are you going to the Eldest Princess's Residence, you're taking the son your mistress bore you?!
Can't wait to die, can you?!
"The Eldest Princess isn't the woman she used to be!"
Xue Yuanyu said, "Father, you don't understand. The Eldest Princess values affection. She raised Yingxuan with her own hands. She certainly won't abandon him!"
"If I bring Yingxuan along, she'll remember those warm moments we once shared. She'll definitely plead with the emperor on my behalf."
"Besides, I've spent so long in prison that I've already suffered nearly everything I should!"
Xue Yuanyu smiled confidently. "Father, relax. Once I stand before the Eldest Princess, she won't be able to tear herself away!"
His father: "..."
This son is a lost cause. Once he goes to the Eldest Princess's Residence, he probably won't be coming back.
Xue Yuanyu trimmed his beard into the style the Eldest Princess loved.