This period of time had been torment for Prince Wu, especially after learning that Li Mushu was missing, and even more so when he learned that a group of experts had also vanished. Prince Jin’s frequent actions had irritated some people within Prince Wu’s faction. Sometimes, when one could clearly see their opponent making continuous moves while their own side stayed silent, one would feel extremely vulnerable psychologically. Although several old officials tried to persuade Prince Wu to calm down, and Prince Wu himself knew that he should calm down, the timing was incredibly delicate. After careful inspection, it seemed that the changes had coincided with the execution of the old eunuch Han Baishan. Even some of Prince Wu’s trusted confidants had to admit that the previously quiet Prince Jin’s sudden series of actions likely indicated that he had learned from some source that the situation had shifted in his favor. Since Prince Wu could have eyes and ears in the imperial palace, there was no reason why Prince Jin couldn’t have some as well. Some unusual information wouldn’t be surprising. Furthermore, Prince Jin had a significant potential advantage: Concubine Ren. Prince Wu’s biological mother, Empress Zhang, had long since passed away. Concubine Ren might be an additional source of information for Prince Jin. In this situation, the timeliness of information had become paramount, more important than anything else. Prince Wu deployed a large number of people and devoted considerable effort to gathering information. Many of his trusted associates, including some capable civil and military officials, also dispatched their own people to closely monitor every individual’s movements in Prince Jin’s palace, while they only dared to remain on the periphery of news from within the Imperial Palace. During this period, one or two experts from Prince Jin’s palace were captured, but even under the covert interrogation by Prince Wu’s men, they refused to divulge any valuable information. Prince Wu sat in the main hall, wiping the blade of his sword with a white cloth. Near him were four trusted confidants, two civil officials and two military officials. They had come in a hurry, as if there were a fire burning under their rear. Tonight, a private banquet was being held in the imperial palace. A servant slowly entered the hall. “Your Royal Highness, that man has confessed that Prince Jin gave them a sum of money to settle down and live in the city disguised as ordinary citizens for a period of time. If they were not recalled before the New Year, they were to take the money and leave the capital…” Prince Wu raised his head and asked. “Why leave the capital?” The servant glanced at Prince Wu’s expression and said hesitantly. “They were to leave the capital, return to their hometown, start a family and a career, and no longer get involved in court affairs…” Prince Wu paused, glancing around. The other four men also frowned. “Does he know anything about Li Mushu?” “I asked, but Li Mushu disappeared after that, and that person didn’t know.” An old minister nearby pondered for a while before speaking cautiously. “Your Royal Highness, doesn’t it seem that Prince Jin has realized he has no chance of becoming emperor, and is thus dismissing his subordinates?” The old minister had barely finished speaking when a military official immediately retorted. “No! Didn’t you hear? He said they might be recalled before the New Year. Prince Jin must be preparing for a big move, or perhaps he knows something we don’t.” “That’s right. Why didn’t he act sooner, instead of only after the Yang Festival? If he were admitting defeat, why didn’t he move them before? Why did he even linger on the idea of a recall? Why didn’t he come petition His Royal Highness Prince Wu?” This statement left the old minister of the Department of State Affairs speechless, unable to refute. He frowned in silence. “Your Highness, I have checked the armory of the imperial guards within the city. Aside from some damage, there are no missing weapons.” Upon hearing this, the senior official from the Department of State Affairs stared intensely at the military official who had just spoken. “Who ordered you to do this?” Prince Wu answered before he could. “Don’t worry, Lord Zhang. Lord Zhou’s elder brother is the Chief Military Officer of the Imperial Guard of the Capital Prefecture. If he wants to check on the weapons, he can just casually inspect them. They can just go back home and have a drink and chat with their family in the evening, and no one will know.” The old minister opened his mouth, but said nothing more. “Your Royal Highness! Li Mushu has appeared!” Another servant hurried in from outside. Prince Wu stood up. Li Mushu was an old fox. With his talent and intelligence, he could have held a high-ranking position, but to aid Prince Jin, he had willingly remained by the latter’s side as the prince’s tutor. Lu Mushu’s movements could almost be interpreted as the movements of Prince Jin himself. Naturally, the visitor did not dare to conceal the information, and immediately reported the news. “About an hour ago, he appeared outside Prince Jin’s palace in an ordinary carriage, without anyone accompanying him. It only just entered the prince’s palace before Prince Jin and Li Mushu rode together to the imperial palace not too long after, as if they had been summoned.” Upon hearing the news, the two military officials at the back stood up. Prince Wu clenched his fists in his sleeve and asked again in a low voice. The servant looked at the situation in the hall and answered cautiously. Prince Wu took a deep breath and waved his hand. After the servants had left, Prince Wu turned to look at the four individuals in the room, said nothing, and returned to sit at the head of the hall. On the carriage entering the palace, Prince Jin looked at Li Mushu with a complicated expression. “Teacher, why are you back?” Li Mushu looked relaxed. “My family is already in safe hands, so I returned midway. I, Li Mushu, am old, and don’t have that much time left to live. What is there for me to be afraid of? I would be better to accompany His Royal Highness Prince Jin to see the final outcome.” Prince Jin simply gripped his teacher’s hand firmly and said nothing more. The carriage entered the palace. When they arrived in the Imperial Study to meet the emperor, Li Mushu and Prince Jin entered together as per the emperor’s request. Behind the dragon desk, the old emperor, looking unusually energetic, was in the midst of personally writing something. Prince Jin and Li Mushu glanced at each other after entering, then bowed and greeted him together. “…greets His Majesty! “… greets Father Emperor!” The old emperor raised his head and looked at them. For a while, he was expressionless. When the two of them began to feel a burning sensation on their backs, he chuckled, and continued to write on the table without a word. When he had finished writing, he looked at Eunuch Li beside him. At his signal, the latter took the imperial seal and pressed it to the yellow silk paper. “Hao’er, you’ve been working really hard these days!” Prince Jin maintained a subservient bowed posture, but upon hearing these words, his palms suddenly grew sweaty. Emperor Yuan De gestured to the old eunuch beside him, who took the yellow silk scroll from the table, then walked over to Prince Jin and handed it to him with both hands. Prince Jin looked at his father and then at the old eunuch, and carefully accepted the imperial decree. He couldn’t decide whether the contents of the edict disappointed or delighted him. “Your son wouldn’t dare… Your son.. I am very happy…” “Oh… that’s good. Go ahead, isn’t this what you have been worried about? Go out and smile more, alright?” The old emperor smiled and waved his hand. Prince Jin and Li Mushu exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and bowed again. “Your son will take his leave!” “This servant shall take his leave!” Seeing Prince Jin and Li Mushu retreat, Emperor Yuan De dropped his smile and tossed the wolf-hair brush to the ground. With a “crack,” the sound of the ivory tip hitting the ground was more like the sound of something striking the old eunuch’s heart, causing his heart to skip a beat. “Your servant is ready!” The old emperor turned his head to look at the old eunuch, and then looked at the brush he had discarded on the ground. “Hao’er is truly good to Li Mushu. The latter is also loyal to Hao’er and willing to die for him… Tell me, with Hao’er working so hard, aren’t I a little too heartless?” “This… this old servant wouldn’t dare to comment! Your Majesty must of course have his own boundaries to sever in his mind!”1 “Haha…hahaha…yes, the boundaries to sever. It was this severance that cut off my immortal fate. It seems that the habit of severing boundaries may not be the right one…” The old eunuch fell to his knees in terror. “Your Majesty! This old servant had no intention to imply such things, I had no such intention!” The old emperor looked at the old eunuch on the ground and spoke coldly. “Quietly spread the news that the imperial edict I just gave Prince Jin contains my decision on the matter of imperial succession. By the way, once those people have delivered the message, send them on their way.” The old eunuch gulped and obeyed the order to leave. At this moment, Prince Jin and Li Mushu were walking out of the imperial palace, clutching the imperial decree in their hands. Since his father had ordered him to smile, Prince Jin beamed with delight had a happy smile on his face on the return journey, perhaps even genuinely smiling in his heart. Although the content of the imperial decree stated that the throne would pass to Prince Wu and that Prince Jin’s life would be spared, his Father Emperor’s words as he left the Imperial Study felt a bit peculiar. Perhaps they could even help Prince Jin avoid some of his additional arrangements… In Prince Wu’s palace, Prince Yang Qing, although deeply concerned about Prince Jin’s entry into the palace, remained composed. In addition to the four ministers already present in the hall, a special guest was also currently on the way. In the main hall of the palace, there were a flurry of different opinions regarding Li Mushu and Prince Jin’s entry into the palace today. Prince Wu listened restlessly to the conversation and the arguments. “Your Highness! Your Highness!” A servant came running from outside with a loud voice that subconsciously startled everyone in the hall. “Your Highness, urgent news has arrived from several places in the palace!” In his current situation, Prince Wu had very little contact with his spies in the imperial palace, unless the matter was sufficiently important. Prince Wu immediately stood up and personally took the slips of paper to read the reports. The more he looked, the paler his face became. After reading it, he did not speak for a long time. After the notes were circulated around to everyone in the hall, the room fell silent. “Your Highness, Your Highness, it only said that it concerns the succession of the throne… but, it may not be…” “Lord Zhang… My third brother came out of the imperial study and left the imperial palace with a smile…” Follow current novᴇls on novelꜰire.net Prince Wu clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms. He stared at the garden outside the hall with unfocused eyes. Then he happened to see a servant lead an old man with a long beard and a sage-like appearance into the hall. The old man entered the hall and found that Prince Wu and the other ministers were silent. He inexplicably felt a little embarrassed, but he hurriedly saluted. “I am Du Changsheng, I greet His Royal Highness Prince Wu.”2 This man was one of the few Heavenly Masters remaining in the capital, a man whose ability was recognized by many princes and nobles. Now that the emperor was no longer obsessed with immortality techniques and elixirs, the Heavenly Masters had all been neglected. “Master Du, this prince heard that you possess the ability to see people’s Qi, read their auras, and discern their fortunes and misfortunes?” “Well… I can indeed see some things, but my limited skills are nothing compared to those of a true immortal master. Furthermore, a person’s Qi is ever-changing, and each person’s aura will change at different times…” Prince Wu, who had been gazing at the garden, turned to look at him. “Master Du, could you please take a look at my aura?” Du Changsheng instinctively looked at Prince Wu, channeling his subtle spiritual power. He saw a murky gray mist mingling with the purple aura, alternating between the dark hues and the brightness of lightning. “Your Royal Highness seems… to be in a state of anxiety at this moment, perhaps even causing your Purple Qi to grow confused…” “Yes, Purple Qi is the manifestation of the fate of the Emperor Star, and those who possess it are destined to be emperors!” “Then has Master Du met Prince Jin? What is his aura like?” Du Changsheng gazed into Prince Wu’s icy eyes and his heart froze. He opened his mouth. “His Royal Highness Prince Jin is also a prince, and he has had some fortune, so he also has Purple Qi, but it is far less prosperous that of than His Royal Highness Prince Wu!” Prince Wu smiled, turned around, and walked back into the hall. He picked up the sword on the table. This action caused Du Changsheng at the hall door to subconsciously take a step back. Fortunately, Du Changsheng simply saw Prince Wu wave a hand, and the servants next to him took him into the banquet hall. When Du Changsheng left, the old minister next to him said worriedly. Prince Wu turned to look at the sky outside the hall. He first closed his eyes, and then opened them again after two breaths. The chaotic and irritable thoughts in his heart had gathered together. He opened his mouth to speak, grit his teeth, and said: “Send the death squads from each department to intercept and assassinate Prince Jin on his way to the palace!” “At the same time, notify Zhang Jian’s camp, the Southern Army, and the Northern Black Batallion to mobilize the troops… and force the palace!” T/n: oh FUN. Here’s high-level overview of the schemes. Prince Jin spread misinformation in Prince Wu’s faction that he was preparing for something big to wrest the throne, putting Prince Wu on edge. His frequent visits to the imperial palace implied that he had the Emperor’s favor and that the emperor was teaching him secrets about governance and the state, when they were just reminiscing about their childhood and family. At the same time, Prince Jin also leaned heavily on an emotional persuasion as family to the emperor to let the form a more positive impression of him. Prince Wu, not knowing that YZX isn’t against him, and seeing all the big movements Prince Jin was making, was finally pushed into doing something drastic: plotting rebellion for a throne that he doesn’t know is already his. However, the Emperor’s perspective of all this is fascinating. He knows what Prince Jin is doing, he’s not stupid. However, the emotional angle still works: the emperor begins to feel bad for not naming Prince Jin heir. Did he knowingly let Prince Jin sway him, or was he already vulnerable? Who knows, the emperor is a very flawed character. Nonetheless, he sticks to his original plan of naming Prince Wu crown prince, and gives the edict to Prince Jin, telling him to smile. Prince Wu sees Prince Jin smiling with the edict and assumes the worst. Now, did the emperor know everything Prince Jin was planning? Probably not. He knew Prince Jin was aiming for the throne, he knew Prince Jin was messing with Prince Wu, and he definitely knew that Prince Jin wanted to safeguard his people against the possibility of Prince Wu’s ascension by sending them out of the capital… so he helped Prince Jin while keeping Prince Wu as heir, but he did so in a way that was ridiculously easy to misunderstand from the outside, so I HAVE to conclude that the Emperor is playing the exact same political games as the princes, except his meager quality time spent with Prince Jin managed to sway him juuust enough to hand Prince Jin a MAJOR psychological tool in his arsenal against Prince Wu. This all combined creates a powder keg situation with an emotionally unstable, anxious, paranoid Prince Wu, where the single spark that makes it all blow up is a completely uninvolved dude who can read auras saying that Prince Jin’s aura is sliiightly purple and has a faint chance of maybe-probably-who-knows becoming Emperor at some point. Whew, sorry for the ridiculously long T/n. Have a great weekend!