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.
