Upon learning of this, Prince Rui felt his composure slipping. One wave had barely subsided when another rose; the play at Fan Pavilion was still ongoing, and he had yet to fully placate the Princess Consort, so how could Li Tan cause more trouble now? It truly put him in an impossible position.
Based on how he had raised Li Tan, he naturally didn't worry about the boy saying anything detrimental to him. However, if that were to happen, the Princess Consort would inevitably break with him completely. He didn't even dare to imagine what a madwoman like Zhou Xin'er might do. If she were to come forward and confirm his illicit affair with Mei'er before Emperor Youning, he would have no way out. Neither Mei'er, Wuyang, nor Chengji would have a good end.
But if he were to go to the palace gate now to protect Li Tan and let the boy name his father as the mastermind, then the case of the ambush on the advance guard could no longer be concealed. He wouldn't just be signing his own death warrant; the entire Prince Rui's Estate would be razed and his kin executed.
Chapter 81