"The Fifth Prince in the book always sought to pit the highly popular Second Prince and Third Prince against each other," trying to weaken their forces, much like the affair with the Shu family this time.
However, once, the protagonists of the book were deep in crisis and hurriedly hid in a secret passage, only to discover it was the meeting place of the Noble Princess Consort and a certain external official. They were greatly shocked and were unfortunately discovered.
They had no escape and were forced to fight their way out, and the scandal broke.
The Emperor learned of the incident swiftly and, shocked, he knocked over his most cherished inkstone. Then, before the situation could escalate, he locked down the news to control the rumors. Such a royal scandal absolutely could not be leaked.
Following that, he summoned all related personnel to the great hall for interrogation and uncovered a shocking revelation—the Second Prince was actually the son of that external official.