“This eldest son of mine, I told him to return to the capital and compete with the Crown Prince for the throne. Instead, he’d rather stay in that godforsaken place than come back. If he wants to stay, let him stay there forever and never return!”
Gan Yongfu gently advised, “Your Majesty, the Eldest Prince is only staying to protect the border and spare you the worry. It’s an act of filial piety. Why be angry?”
Emperor Changde snorted. “Why am I angry? I’m disappointed in his lack of ambition. If he won the throne from the Crown Prince, the entire kingdom would be his. He’d have plenty of people to guard the border for him. Why endure such hardship himself?”
“This… doesn’t it show that the Eldest Prince has no desire to compete with his brother? Brotherly harmony is a beautiful thing. Your Majesty should be pleased.”
Emperor Changde was far from pleased. The throne was only valuable if people fought over it. But now, the Second Prince was dead, the Fourth Prince was missing and possibly dead, the Fifth Prince was as silent as a log, and the Sixth Prince was a sickly weakling who might drop dead any day.
The younger princes were even less promising. Despite having so many sons, not one was willing to compete with the Crown Prince for the throne. Emperor Changde was deeply dissatisfied. He even wondered if they thought he had mismanaged the kingdom, leaving behind a mess no one wanted to inherit.
Of course, the main reason he wanted the Eldest Prince back was to counterbalance the old officials who had all sided with the Crown Prince. This wasn’t the outcome he wanted, so the Eldest Prince had to return.
Emperor Changde narrowed his eyes and ordered, “Gan Yongfu, draft an edict. Command the Eldest Prince to return to the capital immediately. If he dares to delay or refuse, I won’t spare him!”
“Understood,” Gan Yongfu replied respectfully.
As soon as the edict was written and sent out, the Crown Prince received the news and hurried to Changning Palace to see the Empress.
The Empress, as if she had anticipated this, said, “I told you he wouldn’t stay at the border forever. He’s not as obedient as he seems. I told you to eliminate him, but you wouldn’t listen.”
The Empress continued, “I’ve never been wrong about people. Don’t learn your uncle’s unnecessary kindness. Remember, you’re the Crown Prince, the future emperor. You must be decisive and leave no room for error. Otherwise, you’re only creating trouble for yourself.”
For example, the Wei family. The Empress had always regretted not dealing with them sooner.
This time, the Crown Prince heeded his mother’s words. “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll make arrangements to ensure the Eldest Prince never sets foot in Shengjing.”
“Oh, by the way, Mother, have you heard about the incident at this morning’s court? Yin Ji is demanding a thorough investigation into that daytime murder case. Who do you think would dare to target Su Qiao, a weak woman, in broad daylight?”
The Empress replied indifferently, “Think about it. How many people in the world can kill in broad daylight in Shengjing? You will know who’s behind it. Stay out of this matter.”
“How could it be?” The Crown Prince was genuinely surprised. His mother might as well have directly said it was his father’s doing.
The Empress sneered. “Nothing is impossible. Just stay out of it and pretend you know nothing.”
The Crown Prince truly knew nothing, but he added, “Mother, I supported Yin Ji’s proposal in court today and asked Father to order an investigation.”
The Empress was momentarily displeased, feeling that the Crown Prince was too dense to understand such a simple matter. But she quickly shook her head. “It’s fine, as long as it doesn’t implicate you.”
The Empress frowned. “Yin Ji is truly blind. I initially thought he had great potential, but he’s proven to be so tactless. My son, start looking for another concubine. The Yin family is no longer reliable.”
The Crown Prince was also dissatisfied with Yin Ji’s attitude. He felt that as the Crown Prince, his interest in Yin Feifei was a great honor for the Yin family. Yet, both father and daughter were unwilling, showing no respect.
The Crown Prince said, “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll find two women who are willing to be concubines. As for Yin Feifei, even if she enters the Eastern Palace in the future, she’ll be nothing more than a decoration. I won’t even bother looking at her.”
If it weren’t for the imperial decree, he would have already forced Yin Ji to cancel the engagement with that ungrateful woman.
The Empress smiled approvingly and praised the Crown Prince.
Before leaving Changning Palace, the Crown Prince asked the Empress what Yue Heng had been up to recently. The Crown Prince still wanted to eliminate him as soon as possible. Seeing his concern, the Empress reassured him, “Don’t worry. Everything is under my control. He won’t cause any trouble. Besides, getting rid of him is no challenge. Every bowl of medicine he’s drunk over the years has contained poison. I just need to increase the dosage, and it’ll take his life. You should focus on eliminating the Eldest Prince first. He is the real threat to your claim to the throne.”
Coincidentally, as soon as the Crown Prince left Changning Palace, he ran into Yue Heng, who was wrapped in a fox fur cloak and holding a hand warmer. It was already April, and the weather had turned warm, yet Yue Heng was still dressed like this. Truly, he didn’t appear to be long for this world. Yue Heng had been ill for many years and rarely seen outside. His face paler than a woman’s, although his sickly pallor made him far from attractive, or so the Crown Prince thought.
Yue Heng also noticed him and began to approach to pay his respects. But for some reason, the Crown Prince felt that this sickly prince posed a threat. He couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge him and walked away before Yue Heng could reach him.
Yue Heng seemed to call out “Your Highness” from behind, but the Crown Prince pretended not to hear.
However, after walking for a while, the Crown Prince inexplicably turned back. Yue Heng was still standing there, watching him. When their eyes met, the Crown Prince felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t quite describe Yue Heng’s gaze, but it instinctively filled him with fear.
The Crown Prince first looked away, then felt something was off. When he glanced back at Yue Heng, he only saw him waving and smiling, completely different from the earlier impression.
The Crown Prince snorted coldly, ignored Yue Heng, and quickly walked away.
Still, he couldn’t shake his unease about Yue Heng. As soon as he returned to the Eastern Palace, he ordered people to monitor him. “Keep a close eye on him. Report every move he makes to me. Do you understand?”
His subordinates naturally obeyed.
Yue Heng soon learned that two more spies had been planted around his residence. He smiled nonchalantly. “He seems slightly better than his arrogant and brainless mother.”
Though not by much.
Within the vast imperial palace, everyone had their own schemes.
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