The Crown Prince instinctively shook his head. Although he hadn’t yet become emperor and had no children, he knew he would never want to see his own children turn against each other.
"Under the vast sky, there is no land that is not the king’s. Do you truly believe that His Majesty is unaware of what you have been doing? Have you considered the consequences if your actions are exposed?"
[普天之下莫非王土 pǔ tiān zhī xià mò fēi wáng tǔ: lit. Under the vast sky, there is no land that is not the king’s; fig. A phrase emphasizing the absolute authority of the ruler over the entire realm]
Minister Cao patiently reasoned, "Aside from the eldest prince, there are other princes below him. Does Your Highness intend to kill all your siblings? Even if you eventually ascend the throne, the history books will record your actions."
The Crown Prince was visibly shaken, but the Empress suddenly snapped, "Enough! I did not invite you here today to obstruct my plans with the Crown Prince. If Minister Cao is unwilling to help His Highness, then please leave. I will no longer trouble the Cao family in the future."
"But no one can stop whoever I want to get rid of. Otherwise, I won't mind taking one or two more insignificant lives."
The Empress’s words were extremely harsh, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Minister Cao felt that his sister was beyond saving. He turned and left without another word.
The Crown Prince never expected things to end so unpleasantly. He quickly followed to catch up with Minister Cao but failed to reach him. Returning in a hurry, he tried to console the Empress, "Mother, Uncle is only thinking about the future of Dayue. Why must you be so angry with him?"
"The future of Dayue? In my opinion, he just can't forget that vixen from the Wei family. That woman is so capable, even after so many years of death, she still stirs trouble, making your uncle repeatedly defend the Wei family."
"A vixen?" The Crown Prince was puzzled. He didn’t recall the Wei family having any other daughters besides those young, immature girls.
"She’s just a dead woman, not worth your attention," the Empress said, unwilling to elaborate. She turned the topic back to eliminating Wei Yunzhao and the eldest prince.
The Crown Prince felt that his uncle had a point and discussed with the Empress to focus on the Wei family first. "Mother, since the eldest brother won’t return to the capital for now and poses no threat to us, let’s deal with Wei Yunzhao first and consider the rest later."
"Father’s health isn’t what it used to be. Perhaps before the eldest brother returns to the capital…"
The Crown Prince didn’t finish his words, but the Empress understood his meaning. She reluctantly accepted his reasoning. "Then we’ll wait a little longer. However, Wei Yunzhao must not be spared."
At the mention of Wei Yunzhao, the Empress’s entire demeanor became sharp and fierce.
The Crown Prince said, "That's exactly what I meant." The mother and son exchanged a glance and saw the ruthlessness in each other’s eyes.
Jiang Lin and the others were also waiting for the Empress and her son to make their move. However, the first person they targeted was actually Old Lady Wei, who was imprisoned in the government jail. This truly caught Jiang Lin by surprise.
He asked Wei Yunzhao, "So what kind of irreconcilable hatred does the Empress have with the Wei family that makes her want to kill all the Wei family members?"
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