"Could it be … that he wants to play the fool and take advantage of everyone's fight, causing both sides to suffer, and then reap the benefits?"
Based on Hua Yuan's past behavior, this guess was not without reason.
By doing so, he could easily exhaust the siblings to death, and he could borrow the hands of others to eradicate the bloodline in the Empress Concubine's womb. In the end, he could stand out at the crucial moment and use the crime of "harming the deceased lord's child" to get rid of the ambitious competitor.
After all these twists and turns, Hua Yuan would still be the winner.
"If that's the case, then Hua Yuan's schemes are too terrifying. He's included almost everyone." The Empress Concubine's guess was not without reason. Even the Xichang Prince was convinced by her, but there was one thing he did not understand. "But, what benefits does he gain by doing this?"
The Empress Concubine was stunned. She could not understand this question either.
If Hua Yuan wanted to seize power, he had other ways to get rid of An Cui and preserve his troops. He would not let Jiang Pengji take advantage of him.
In the end?
Hua Yuan did not use the best of both worlds method and chose a method that harmed others without benefiting himself. The death of Hua Yuan would also cause the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The rear had rations, but not enough troops. How could they defend against the enemy? The enemy they were about to face was not an ordinary small fry. She was a veteran who had dominated the chaotic world for more than a decade. How was Hua Yuan so confident that he could defeat Jiang Pengji with his current forces?
After thinking for a long time, the Empress Concubine lowered her eyes and said sarcastically, "Forget it.
How can normal people like us figure out the thoughts of a madman? "
This topic was temporarily put aside. The most important thing now was to protect themselves and not to explore Hua Yuan's thoughts.
In reality, the siblings were afraid of being tricked by Hua Yuan. They had subconsciously turned Hua Yuan into an omnipotent figure.
How could Hua Yuan not be able to divine something that they all understood?
There was a saying that went, "Man proposes, but God disposes." Who could truly predict everything?
Hua Yuan's calculations were very thorough, but there were too many variables, the enemy was too strong, An Cui was too smart, and An Cui had misjudged him.
All sorts of variables converged together, resulting in this quantitative change that no one could have predicted.
The Empress Concubine stroked her round belly and sighed.
"Even if we know we've been tricked by Hua Yuan, what can we do? In the end … we still have to rely on him … "
This was the most ironic part. On one hand, they hated Hua Yuan, but on the other hand, they had no choice but to attach themselves to him for some security.
The Empress Concubine lowered her head, and naturally didn't see the prince's complicated expression and the humiliation he was bitterly suppressing.
The atmosphere between the brother and sister was strangely stagnant. They looked at each other and tacitly avoided the common wound in their hearts.
The prince said, "We were counting on him, but he wanted to abandon us."
The Empress Concubine wasn't discouraged. "Convince him, and we still have a chance to live. Everything has to be tried to know the result."
None of the old officials An Cui had left behind were reliable!
When the Empress Concubine thought of this, she gnashed her teeth in hatred. An Cui had died not long ago. His corpse hadn't even gotten cold, yet these old officials were already impatiently fighting for power. Not only that, but they also wanted to harm their lord's posthumous child. Such a despicable act was simply unheard of.
"I can't see him either. These few days …" The Xichang Prince shook his head. He suddenly thought of something and said unwillingly, "These two days, Hua Yuan's whereabouts are a mystery. He's pretending to be crazy again, and no one is keeping a close eye on him. Who knows where Hua Yuan ran off to. Sometimes he's crazy, and sometimes he's sober. He doesn't even recognize the old servant that has served him for many years. I've tried to visit him several times, but he's been blocked outside … "
The Xichang Prince who lived in Hua Yuan's manor hadn't even seen him, much less the Xichang Empress Concubine.
The Empress Concubine's face was deathly pale.
"Is Hua Yuan sincerely avoiding us and refusing to see us?"
If Hua Yuan really did close the door and refuse to see them, didn't that mean he was determined to abandon them and watch them die?
The prince was hesitant. The Empress Concubine said, "Imperial Brother, if you have something to say, just say it. At this time, there's no need to avoid it."
"We can't rely on Hua Yuan, but there's one person … who might be able to help us. At the very least, he can protect you and your mother's lives."
When the Empress Concubine heard this, her amorous eyes lit up. She hastily asked who it was.
The prince spoke of a person the Empress Concubine didn't expect. He said, "Lu Zheng, Lu Shaoyin. This person was originally An Cui's most valued strategist in the early days. Later, Hua Yuan fought with him, and he lost. That's why he lost favor with An Cui. Even so, Lu Zheng still has some prestige in An Cui's camp. If he's willing to protect the late master An Cui's' posthumous son, 'you and your mother will most likely be able to survive this calamity. "
The Empress Concubine didn't know much about Lu Zheng. She only knew that he existed, but she hadn't had much contact with him.
"Will that work?"
The Empress Concubine hesitated. She was afraid of jumping out of Hua Yuan's pit and into another pit.
The prince said, "I've asked around in private. Lu Zheng was of humble birth, but his character is respectable. He doesn't have the disdainful flaws of those poor scholars. An Cui treated him so well, yet he never changed his mind and submitted to anyone else. He's clearly a loyal and devoted person. An Cui is already dead. No matter how he disheartened Lu Zheng when he was alive, he's already dead. How could Lu Zheng vent his anger on an innocent posthumous son? If you ask him for help, there's at least a 70% chance that he'll protect you and your mother, if not 100%. "
The Empress Concubine was tempted by his words.
However, the Xichang royal siblings would never have guessed that Lu Zheng had already disappeared from their investigations.
An Cui's army had been defeated and killed. There had indeed been a small group of defeated soldiers who'd escaped by relying on tree bark and wild vegetables. They'd been starving along the way.
Lu Zheng wasn't among this group of people.
The Xichang Empress Concubine didn't give up. She sent people to inquire again and finally found news of Lu Zheng.
One or two days before An Cui's death, Lu Zheng had fallen seriously ill and was sent to a nearby village to recuperate. He'd most likely either died of illness or starvation by now.
Her last hope was shattered. In her despair, the Xichang Empress Concubine moved the fetus. The doctor diagnosed that there were signs of a miscarriage.
In order to protect the only trump card in her belly, she didn't dare to make any more trouble. She lay in bed for several days to recuperate. The Xichang siblings were no longer causing trouble. Hua Yuan was crazy and didn't care about anything. The other old officials fought for power and negotiated at the same time. Everything was a mess.
When An Cui's power was at its peak, he wasn't Jiang Pengji's match. Now that he was half dead, he obviously didn't have the ability to resist.
Seeing that the war was going smoothly, she handed over the responsibility of the various battlefields to the other generals. She sat in the middle of the army and her days were leisurely.
When the days were leisurely, she naturally had more time to do more things.
For example, torturing the noobs.
It wasn't that she was complaining, but Lu Zheng's chess skills were really bad.
Lu Zheng was speechless.
First, Wei Ci held his hand to "discuss a game," then he was pressed down by Jiang Pengji in front of the chessboard for a "friendly exchange."
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