“If the prince has something to do, please go busy yourself,” Shu Lan, eager for Luo Zhan to leave Sheng Xue Yuan quickly and not see Yi Yao’s true appearance, walked to the door and saw Luo Zhan had already hurried away. She thought Yi Yao had no intention of seducing Luo Zhan, and Luo Zhan was truly not interested in Yi Yao, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, Yi Yu came out again, returning to her original plain and unremarkable appearance, with clothes and hairstyle changed back to the male style. Shu Lan’s smile became more natural.
Although Yi Yu refused, Shu Lan insisted on leaving the dresses and accessories in Sheng Xue Yuan. How could she take back what the prince’s wife had decided to give?
Shu Lan sat in Sheng Xue Yuan for a while before leaving, becoming curious about Yi Yao’s identity. Who was this woman? Shu Lan thought and thought, then went to find Yu Wen Xin, asking about Yi Yao’s background. Yu Wen Xin recalled Luo Zhan’s hint from the previous day, seemingly intending to marry Yi Yao, but this was still uncertain. He simply said Yi Yao was Yi Ya’s daughter, who had broken with the Second Prince Luo Ye and now served the Third Prince.
With her previous wariness gone, Shu Lan developed a good feeling towards Yi Yu.
In the following days, she would often visit Sheng Xue Yuan, chatting and laughing with Yi Yu, seemingly becoming close sisters.
—
Luo Ye had ordered his subordinates to search the city on the night Yi Yao kidnapped him but found only the drugged horse with weak legs. Asking the soldiers guarding the city gates that night, no one had left the city after midnight. Although there was no direct evidence, Luo Zhan’s behavior that night almost convinced Luo Ye that Yi Yao had hidden in Luo Zhan’s residence.
Luo Ye’s greatest worry was that Luo Zhan might expose his attempt to drug and assault Yi Yao, damaging his reputation. However, after waiting several days, no such rumors spread in the capital, and Luo Ye gradually relaxed. The next troubling thing was that Yi Ya might assist Luo Zhan.
Luo Ye desperately wanted something to happen to Yi Yao. If he couldn’t have her, he didn’t want anyone else to. However, Yi Yao remained deep in Luo Zhan’s residence, giving Luo Ye no opportunity. He wasn’t rash like Luo Sui and didn’t want to leave any evidence against himself.
As Luo Ding’s injuries gradually healed, his “righteous act” of risking his life to save his brother spread through the capital, earning him a reputation for benevolence and filial piety. Support for the Fifth Prince’s succession among court officials increased, which greatly troubled Luo Ye.
He originally had the protective armor from Yi Yao, and Luo Ding wouldn’t have been injured if he hadn’t rescued him. This incident had increased Luo Ding’s supporters.
A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and this country had been without one for nearly a month. During this time, officials still attended court daily, with Chancellor Cao presiding over meetings. Besides major state affairs, they continuously discussed which prince should succeed to the throne.
Because the late emperor and crown prince had suddenly passed away without designating a successor, and women were forbidden from political interference (the former empress, now empress dowager, had no say in succession), no prince was significantly more powerful than the others, each having numerous supporters. The succession remained undecided and was repeatedly postponed.
However, it could no longer be delayed. During this month, one prince had been poisoned and nearly died, another had been assassinated, and one prince had entered the Grand Rectification Court for orchestrating poisoning and attempting to murder his brother. If the successor was not decided soon, the conflicts among the princes would escalate, potentially continuing until only one remained to take the throne.
The military, led by General Liu, largely supported the Second Prince Luo Ye, known for territorial expansion.
Minister Bao, highly respected in the court, and the scholarly officials supported the Third Prince Luo Zhan for his wisdom and stability. However, with Minister Bao’s death and some political maneuvering, some scholars had shifted to supporting Luo Ye. The Fifth Prince Luo Ding’s heroic act of taking a knife for Luo Ye had also won many hearts.
On this day’s court meeting, the officials debated endlessly about these three princes.
The Minister of Criminal Affairs suddenly proposed that after the investigation of the Second Prince’s assassination by the Capital Prefecture, evidence suggests that the Fifth Prince’s self-sacrificing rescue of the Second Prince was likely a deliberate scheme, which could even suggest something suspicious about the death of Minister Bao. As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials were in an uproar.
Shortly after the morning court session that day, Luo Ye learned of this news and hurriedly discussed it with Pan Xian.
The Ministry of Criminal Affairs was originally supportive of Luo Zhan’s faction. His raising this matter at such a sensitive time was intriguing. Pan Xian pondered, “Although it is justified for the Minister of Criminal Affairs to expose this matter, everyone knows this was approved by the Third Prince. In any case, this is better than the Second Prince revealing it himself, and this will also render the Fifth Prince unable to compete for the throne.
In other words, the heir would be between Luo Ye and Luo Zhan.
Luo Ye asked, “Sir, what should we do now?”
“Be cautious and wait for the opponent to make a mistake,” Pan Xian said.
Luo Ye frowned, “Luo Zhan is not someone who would easily make a mistake.”
Pan Xian said, “Among the late Emperor’s many princes, why are only you and the Third Prince left to compete for the throne? Have you ever thought about that?”
Luo Ye pondered, “Because the others used underhanded tricks and were exposed?”
Pan Xian said, “Exactly.”
Luo Ye anxiously said, “But now many court officials support Luo Zhan, especially the civil officials.” Moreover, Luo Zhan held two major leverage points against him: one was that he knew Luo Zhan would be poisoned but did not warn him, which could ruin his reputation if revealed; the other was his desire to forcibly occupy Yi Yao, which, while not a serious crime, violated personal ethics and would not sound good if spoken about.
Pan Xian said, “Your Highness has no leverage against the Third Prince. Now, it’s about who can remain more composed.”
Pan Xian had actually been thinking about what Luo Zhan said when he came to find Yi Yao that day. Luo Zhan seemed interested in recruiting him. If Pan Xian wanted to follow a monarch who could achieve great things, it had to be Luo Ye. But serving such a monarch was like serving a tiger, and he could be sacrificed at any time.
He had already seen this in the matter with Yi Yao.
Luo Zhan was more gentle and loyal, not a monarch who would ruthlessly sacrifice his subordinates. Even if he offended him, he might not necessarily die. But he lacked Luo Ye’s ambition. If he became emperor, he would probably be a conservative ruler content with maintaining the status quo.
Pan Xian was wavering, and his advice to Luo Ye to remain calm also had a personal agenda.
Meng Qing retorted, “Going to the gambling house without gambling, are you saying it’s for composing poetry?”
At this moment, a servant brought in the meal. Meng Qing glanced at Yu Wenxin’s expression and smiled, “Sir, you probably haven’t eaten yet, right? Sit down and join me.” He then instructed the servant to set an additional place setting.
