The new year in Shuo capital was a double blessing for the Xiao family, but for some families, it was like adding fuel to the fire.
In the Crown Prince's residence, the Guang Yan sat in his study, his face full of anxiety.
After Xu Jingfu fell, although a portion of the Xu faction went to Chu Zhao, Emperor Wenxuan's revenge was fierce and had lost many of his men. All these years, he did not have much ability and relied on Empress Zhang's family and Prime Minister Xu's connections to stabilize his position as the Crown Prince. Although it was his own decision to abandon the rook to save the king, after making the decision, the Guang Yan regretted it.
In these days, the Guang Yan appeared in front of Emperor Wenxuan very frequently and started to interfere with the matters of the court. Empress Zhang told him not to act rashly at this time. He had been close to Xu Jingfu in the past, and Emperor Wenxuan probably did not like him. Before the limelight passed, it was best to stay in the residence and not do anything.
The Guang Yan agreed, but he was even more anxious inside. If his fourth son took advantage of his absence to say sweet words in front of Emperor Wenxuan … … Who knew what would happen in the future? Now that Xiao Huaijin's power was growing, how could he fall behind at this time?
Just as he was thinking, a servant came in and reported, "Your Highness, someone wants to see you."
The Guang Yan said, "Come in."
The person was wearing servant clothes and did not look very eye-catching, but when he raised his head, one could see that his appearance was slightly different from Wei Ren's.
This was a Uto.
"Your Highness, this servant is here on Lord Maningbu's orders to pass a message to Your Highness."
"Maningbu?" The Guang Yan narrowed his eyes and asked the others in the hall to leave. Then he looked at this person, "Your envoy is still alive?"
After the Heavenly Star Platform, Emperor Wenxuan had ordered people to put all the envoys from Uto under house arrest. Until now, he had not said what to do. The Guang Yan had tried to get someone to send a message to Maninbu, but it was too tightly guarded and they never found a chance. He did not expect Manimbu's men to come knocking on his door.
As if afraid that the Guang Yan would not believe him, the servant stepped forward and showed the Guang Yan the seal in his sleeve.
"If you want me to save your lord, then go back," the Guang Yan said impatiently. "Imperial Father is still angry, this consort doesn't want to add fuel to the fire."
"Your Highness, you haven't been to court recently, so I'm afraid you don't know. The Fourth Prince has been very favored by His Majesty recently, and the courtiers in the court also want to support him."
It would have been better if he hadn't said that. Once he said that, Guang Yan's expression turned ugly. He sneered and said, "How could I not know?"
"Concubine Lan attends to him every day," the servant said in a low voice, "Sir Manimbu asked me to ask His Highness if he's just going to sit and wait for death?"
The Crown Prince slammed the teacup in front of him against the wall with a bang. "Shut up!"
He was furious. Emperor Wenxuan favored the Concubine Lan more than just a day or two. The Guang Yan knew that if he was not the eldest son, if Emperor Wenxuan did not have to worry about public opinion, he would have already made the Guang Yan the Crown Prince. It was all because the Guang Yan was Concubine Lan's son, that b * tch!
"Indecisiveness will only lead to trouble, Your Highness."
The Guang Yan looked at the servant. "What do you mean?"
The servant lowered his head humbly. "Sir Manimbu asked me to tell Your Highness that His Majesty is old, and the Fourth Prince is ready to make a move. If this did not happen, the position of Emperor Da Wei would have already been in Your Highness's pocket. Now that Prime Minister Xu has fallen, and Xiao Huaijin's wings have grown, if Xiao Huaijin seeks refuge with the Fourth Prince … "
The Guang Yan's heart skipped a beat. This was what he was most worried about.
In the past, Xiao Zhongwu did not like him and often caused trouble for him. Now that Xiao Zhongwu was finally dead, his son appeared! But now, Xiao Huaijin was even more terrifying than Xiao Zhongwu. Xu Jingfu had not been able to eliminate Xiao Huaijin, and now he had nurtured such a disaster!
"Your Highness, why don't you … cut the Gordian knot?"
"Impudent!" The Guang Yan blurted out. He was both shocked and angry. "You dare to speak nonsense in front of me!"
"Your Highness, please spare my life." The servant bowed. "Those who achieve great things do not care about trifles. Being kind to others is being cruel to yourself. Otherwise, with Your Highness' benevolence, I'm afraid the Fourth Prince will take advantage of this loophole. But now, "the servant's voice seemed to be bewitching," if Your Majesty's imperial carriage arrives, you will be the rightful Son of Heaven! "
The rightful Son of Heaven!
The Guang Yan: "Shut up!"
It was as if a demon's box of bewitchment had been opened. Thoughts that had not been moved before were now uncontrollably floated to the surface of his mind.
He understood what Maninbu meant, but although he had secretly fought with the Guang shuo in the past, he had never thought of killing his father. Although Emperor Wenxuan favored the Guang shuo, he treated him well. Although in the previous dynasty, there were many cases of father and son killing each other, but the Guang Yan felt that he did not have to go to this extent.
Emperor Wenxuan did not have many children, and the Da Wei had always valued rules. When the time came, Emperor Wenxuan would naturally pass the throne to him. Empress Zhang and the Guang Yan both thought so. But year after year, day after day, this wait seemed to be endless. Emperor Wenxuan seemed to be deliberately avoiding something. After waiting for so long, not only did he not receive the imperial edict, but he also waited for the gradual rise of the Guang shuo.
In the past few years, wasn't he secretly communicating with the Uto because he was becoming less and less confident? If Emperor Wenxuan had done what he was supposed to do, he would not be in this situation. Until now, he had been restricted in many ways. In this battle for the throne, he had unknowingly fallen from being the victor to being at a disadvantage.
If he allowed the Guang shuo to continue like this …
His heart was fiercely stirred by evil thoughts. He might as well go all the way …
The servant kneeling on the ground saw the changes in the Crown Prince's expression. He kindly advised, "Your Highness, this servant has already conveyed His Excellency's message. Your Highness should consider it carefully. As long as you can sit in that position, everything you do now will be worth it. Since ancient times, which one of those who achieved great things did not shed blood on the road? "
"Your Highness, please reconsider!"
The Guang Yan was provoked by his words and became impatient. He reprimanded, "Alright, this prince knows! Get out! "
Just like when he came, the servant quietly left. The Guang Yan looked at the broken pieces of the teacup on the ground. A trace of haze gradually crept into his eyes.
After a while, he seemed to have been awakened and hurriedly left the hall.
After the Guang Yan left, the servants of the Crown Prince's residence came in to clean up the debris on the ground. A beautiful servant walked out from the back of the hall and smiled gently, "Let me do it."
"Miss Ying Xiang." The servant did not dare to fight with her. Everyone knew that the most favored servant in the Crown Prince's residence was this servant called Ying Xiang. The Crown Prince had once argued with the Crown Princess because of her. However, Ying Xiang had a gentle personality and never gave the servants any face. She got along well with the other servants.
Ying Xiang half-knelt and gently picked up the broken pieces on the ground. Her expression was as gentle as ever. Her long eyelashes drooped down to hide the strange emotions in her eyes.
Maningbu's people actually instigated the Crown Prince to kill the Emperor?
At this juncture … … it was not a good time.
The Chu Residence at night was excessively quiet.
Ever since Prime Minister Xu fell from power, the three legitimate sons of the Chu Family who were originally afraid of Chu Zhao gradually became arrogant. Chu Zhao did not have Xu Jingfu's support. Even though he was still an official in the court, who knew how long that would last? Perhaps one day Emperor Wen Xuan would blame Chu Zhao for his resentment towards Xu Jingfu. No one could say for sure.
Madame Chu would occasionally mock and ridicule Chu Zhao when she saw him. As for Chu Linfeng, he almost did not see Chu Zhao anymore. He was a completely different person from the warm concern he had for Chu Zhao before the incident.
Chu Zhao himself was not affected by these things. He continued to do what he was supposed to do every day. The wound on his chest had not fully healed yet. As he was recuperating in the residence, he rarely saw his colleagues. He very cleverly avoided this critical time.
His trusted aide walked in and took out a letter from his pocket. "Fourth Young Master, there is news from Miss Ying Xiang again."
Chu Zhao took the letter and opened it. He was fine at first, but after reading the letter, his expression changed slightly.
A moment later, he threw the letter into the burning stove. His fingers lightly pressed against his forehead as if he had a terrible headache.
"Fourth Young Master?" his trusted aide asked carefully.
Chu Zhao waved his hand and did not say a word.
He really did not expect the Guang Yan to be so anxious. He also did not expect Ma Ningbu to not forget to sow discord at this juncture. If the Guang Yan had a bit of intelligence, they would not be led by the nose by Uto. Unfortunately, in these years, just like how Emperor Wen Xuan relied on Xu Jingfu, the Guang Yan had long been used to letting Xu Jingfu take care of everything. Once Xu Jingfu fell, he had no idea what to do.
"Fourth Young Master," the trusted aide looked at his expression and thought for a long time. He finally could not help but say, "Fourth Young Master is very talented. Now that the Prime Minister is no longer here, the Crown Prince is impulsive and reckless. Fourth Prince knows how to conceal his strength and bide his time. The situation in the imperial court is different from the past. A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in. The Crown Prince is incompetent. Why not follow Fourth Prince …"
These words were disgraceful, but Chu Zhao had always treated his subordinates well. Therefore, his subordinates were always more daring than other trusted aides.
Hearing this, Chu Zhao released his hand and looked at the oil lamp on the table.
The flame in the oil lamp was slightly swayed by the cold wind that came in through the window. He said, "If Xiao Huaijin was not here, of course I could. But now, even if it was for Xiao Huaijin's sake, Fourth Prince would not use me."
Even if the remaining remnants of Xu Jingfu went to defect, it did not seem to be as important as Xiao Jue. At this juncture, the Guang Yan needed Xiao Huaijin's strength. Because Xiao Zhongwu and Xu Jingfu were mortal enemies, the Guang Yan would not give up on Xiao Huaijin and choose him.
"But if we continue on this path to the end …"
"It's not that I want to continue on this path to the end," Chu Zhao interrupted him. "It's that there has never been a second path for me to take."
Perhaps this was destined many years ago, when he first met Xu Jingfu and knelt under Xu Jingfu's tutelage.
"Then Fourth Young Master, what should we do now?"
"I need to go to the Crown Prince's residence." A trace of worry flashed through his brows.
Although it seemed that Maninbu's words might have caused the Crown Prince to have other thoughts, his words might not be of any use. But since they were already on the same boat, if something happened to the Crown Prince, he would not be safe either.
He could only do his best.
In Kunning Palace, Empress Zhang sat quietly on a soft couch, her eyes closed as she listened to the zither player play.
The sound of the zither was clear and peaceful, able to soothe the impatience in people's hearts. Ever since Xu Jingfu's accident, she often had insomnia at night, and the amount of time she could sleep each day was very little. Once she closed her eyes, her eyelids would often twitch violently, as if indicating that something was about to happen.
Emperor Wenxuan's health was getting worse and worse, and he did not attend court every few days. Lin Qingtan had checked on him several times, and only said that he would be fine after taking good care of his body. But in Empress Zhang's heart, she felt that this was not the case. She was also somewhat anxious.
Prime Minister Xu's fall was something that no one had expected. Although everyone knew that there would be a battle between Xu Jingfu and Xiao Jue. But no one expected that Xiao Jue would use troops on the border battlefield, and use magic in the court. Evidence after evidence nailed the opponent to death on the board.
Empress Zhang was not sure whether Xu Jingfu's incident would implicate the Guang Yan.
Sometimes, Empress Zhang felt that she could see through her husband, Emperor Wenxuan, but sometimes, she felt that she did not know him at all.
Back then, Emperor Wenxuan was still the Crown Prince, but he relied on the fact that he was the legitimate son who crawled out of the late Empress's womb to obtain the position of Crown Prince. As the daughter of the Prime Minister, Empress Zhang had many fantasies about her husband before she married him.
But when she became the Crown Prince's Consort, she realized that her husband was just an ordinary man who was obsessed with poetry and singing every day and indulged in pleasure. He had no ambition, no political talent, and no natural domineering aura of the royal family. If his identity was removed, he would be no different from the ordinary men on the street.
Empress Zhang was an ambitious woman, but her ambition had always been satisfied too smoothly. Because her husband, who was the Emperor, was too mediocre, she did not even have the interest to be jealous in the imperial harem later on.
Just like Emperor Wenxuan's ordinary and stable life, as long as her son, Guang Yan, ascended the throne in the future, she would be the Empress Dowager, falling from one supreme position to another.
Empress Zhang had always thought this way, until Concubine Lan appeared.
Emperor Wenxuan doted on Concubine Lan very much. Originally, Empress Zhang did not care about the Emperor's favor. There were countless new beauties entering the palace every year, so it was not worthwhile for her to fuss over each one. But Emperor Wenxuan's love for Concubine Lan actually contained a bit of sincerity.
This was very annoying, especially when Concubine Lan also gave birth to a son.
Over the years, Empress Zhang had tried to get rid of Concubine Lan and her son, but this seemingly docile and uncompetitive woman was exceptionally cunning, and she avoided disaster every time. Guang Yan unexpectedly grew to adulthood safely. If it was not for the tactful Guang Yan, who had been avoiding the Crown Prince, Empress Zhang would not have let it go.
As long as the Guang Yan's position was not shaken, it was fine to let the mother and son live a little longer. That was what she thought, but this delicate balance was instantly broken after Xu Jingfu's death.
Empress Zhang smelled a trace of danger.
The sound of the zither suddenly cut through a note, and a palace maid came in to report: "Empress, His Highness the Crown Prince is here."
Empress Zhang opened her eyes, and Guang Yan walked in from outside.
"You can all leave." She waved her hand, and the zither player and palace maid retreated. Empress Zhang looked at the approaching Guang Yan, and couldn't help but complain: "Didn't I tell you not to enter the palace during this time to avoid causing trouble? You're good, as if you're afraid that it's not chaotic enough, why did you come to this empress's place?"
"Imperial Mother," the Guang Yan looked at her somewhat anxiously, "If you don't let this son enter the palace, how would this son know that the palace is about to sink into the Guang Yan's world!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who told you? "Empress Zhang sat up slightly, looking nervous.
"You don't need to know who told me." The Guang Yan asked: "Is Imperial Father's health not good? Imperial Mother, did Imperial Father not reveal any information about the Crown Prince to you? This son heard that Guang Yan went to Imperial Father's bedside every day to talk to him, who knows what kind of clever words he uses! "He said hatefully:" If he coaxes Imperial Father until he's dizzy, then wouldn't my efforts be in vain? "
"Shut up!" Empress Zhang shouted harshly. Looking around and seeing that there were no servants around, she let out a sigh of relief and said angrily: "It's fine if you don't watch your mouth, but you don't know how many pairs of eyes in the palace are watching."
"Imperial Mother," the Guang Yan said disappointedly: "I think that bitch Concubine Lan can't wait to make her move, why do we still care so much!"
When the Concubine Lan was mentioned, Empress Zhang's expression became ugly. She had been conceited all her life, boasting that no one in the harem was her match. Even if Emperor Wen Xuan doted on the Concubine Lan, all these years, the Concubine Lan still had to behave in front of her with her tail between her legs. But the recent situation had broken her original thinking, that woman … … that woman wasn't just not fighting, she was scheming for something big! All these years, she had been cautious in front of her. Originally, she was just putting on an act, but when the time came, she showed her true colors. What was laughable was that she had been fooled by her!
Seeing the change in Empress Zhang's expression, the Guang Yan licked his lips impatiently and suddenly said: "Imperial Mother, I don't want to wait any longer."
Empress Zhang came back to her senses, looked at him and asked: "What do you want to do?"
"Now that Xu Jingfu is dead, Imperial Father must hate me, plus that bitch Concubine Lan said something in front of Imperial Father … … If this continues, Imperial Father will definitely make the Guang Yan the Crown Prince … … I can't let this happen!"
"You want to … …"
"As long as Imperial Father is gone now," the Guang Yan's eyes flashed with a trace of madness, "the throne should be mine!"
Empress Zhang subconsciously covered his mouth, "Do you know what you are saying?"
"Of course I know!" The Guang Yan said in a low voice: "Imperial Mother, think about it, if Guang Yan becomes the Emperor, what will happen to me? Imperial Mother, what will happen to you? If Imperial Father really cared about me, he would have passed the throne to me long ago. Since he is heartless to me, don't blame me for being heartless! At worst, when I become the Emperor in the future, I will burn a few more incense sticks for him every year! "
Empress Zhang was shocked and angry, but before she could say anything, the Guang Yan's legs went soft, and he knelt in front of her and begged: "Imperial Mother, please save this son, help this son to achieve great things!"
Her expression was uncertain, and she didn't say anything for a while. After a long time, she sighed and said: "Let me think about it."
But from her eyes, it was obvious that she had compromised.
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