TL;DR of the last couple of chapters -
Crown Prince (ML)'s dad, the Emperor, is a power-hungry snake that refuses to share anything that he thinks "belongs to him" - be it with Ghost-Dude/Emperor's former BFF, or even giving his own son any chance at power (hence the changing of birthdates - apparently the 16th is supposed to be a powerful date or smth idk).
ML's step-mom, the Empress Dowager, is also a power-hungry snake, and she wants to instill her own son as the Crown Prince. She enacts a coup to eliminate all the other royals that aren't her allies, including the ML. The Emperor is also cray-cray at this point, as he doesn't care about anyone besides himself and his personal pleasure (drugs and getting laid, basically lmao).
From what I can tell, ML's bio mom, stuck between those two in their hunger for power (and who IIRC was already traumatized by her entire family being killed), becomes even more mentally unstable, and eventually dies of illness as a result.
ML is now on the run (perhaps with the bodyguard dude). During those travels he finds Lokheun praying to Buddha and maybe sees himself in her?
Hope that helps clear up some confusion over the past couple of chapters.