Chu Xinian sharply felt the gaze beside him. Following it, he saw the Crown Prince staring at him. He raised an eyebrow slightly, smiled at the Crown Prince, and then slowly withdrew his hand and tucked it into his sleeve.
Seeing that he still dared to smile at him, the Crown Prince’s expression became a mixture of surprise and suspicion. He thought this white face was quite bold. He discreetly glanced at Xie Jingyuan and whispered, “Are you secretly keeping beauties behind Chu Xinian’s back, does he know?”
Xie Jingyuan frowned as he heard the question. It took him a moment to realize that the Crown Prince had misunderstood something. He looked somewhat unconcernedly at the nearby Chu Xinian, then smiled ambiguously, “And?”
The Crown Prince seemed to have grasped something to overpower Xie Jingyuan. He spoke with a little more confidence, “Xie Jingyuan, be a little more polite to me. Believe it or not, I could go tell Chu Xinian right now.”
Xie Jingyuan curved his lips into a playful smile and said deliberately, “So what? If I want to keep a few, I’m going to keep a few. Dare you to utter a word against it?”
Chu Xinian’s posture tensed momentarily, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
The Crown Prince had not expected Xie Jingyuan to have such preferences. He clicked his tongue and said, “I thought you were the devout and passionate type. I didn’t expect you to acquire such unconventional habits. But be careful; Chu Xinian has a dark heart. He might settle a score with you.”
Chu Xinian found himself momentarily unsure whether the Crown Prince was scolding or praising him. He tapped his fingertip lightly, unsure of how to react to Xie Jingyuan’s ‘shameless words’. After a while, he laughed softly.
Well, let’s settle this when we get back.
They had not knelt for long in the outer hall before the Emperor summoned them to the main hall. Since Chu Xinian could not enter, he quietly reminded Xie Jingyuan, “No matter what the Emperor says later, just accept.”
If everything went as expected, the Emperor probably wanted to make the Crown Prince regent, but he was also afraid that Xie Jingyuan would rebel and take this opportunity to seize military control.
Xie Jingyuan nodded and stood up, entering the hall next to the Crown Prince. The heavy doors slowly closed, sealing the scene inside.
Chu Xinian, disguised as a servant, waited in the outer hall, unconsciously tapping his fingertip as he began to plan the situation.
The Emperor’s health was weakening rapidly, and he probably planned to follow the ancestral rules and pass the throne to the Crown Prince before his passing.
The influence of Prince Chang and Prince Ping was weak and could be ignored.
The only thorny issue was Prince Jin. He was the only one of the princes with military connections. Although the curse and possession incident greatly diminished his chances of ascending to the throne, as long as he retained military power, he still had a chance to fight back.
The Capital’s army was divided into three battalions. The Wu and Ping battalions were under the command of Xie Jingyuan, and even if the Emperor ordered him to surrender military power, these two battalions would remain under his control.
The Xuan battalion, under the command of Chang Zongping, had the largest number of soldiers. He had a daughter who had recently married Prince Jin and had become one of his concubines. Both publicly and privately, the Chang Family was already firmly allied with Prince Jin.
If Prince Jin rebelled, Chang Zongping’s Xuan battalion would be his main support.
Chu Xinian continued to ponder the possible course of events, determined to leave no room for mistakes. After all, the first-hand experience was far more intricate than written stories; writing words was one thing, but the slightest slip-up in the present could lead to bloodshed.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Although Chu Xinian had only met the Emperor once, he could deduce from several signs that the Emperor distrusted Xie Jingyuan, or perhaps distrusted any ‘Xie’ who wielded military power.
Especially considering Xie Jingyuan’s naturally rebellious personality; he did not seem like someone who would obey without complaint.
Chu Xinian waited in the outer hall, not knowing how much time had passed. Only when it got dark did the group come out of the main hall, except for the Crown Prince. When Xie Jingyuan came out of the hall, he saw Chu Xinian standing by the railing. He walked straight towards him, with a thoughtful expression, and said, “As you anticipated, the Emperor used my health as an excuse to reclaim military power.”
Walking beside Xie Jingyuan as they walked out of the Palace, Chu Xinian replied, “It was expected; it’s no problem. What about the Crown Prince?”
Xie Jingyuan shook his head, “The Emperor is keeping the Crown Prince here to attend to his illness. It seems he has something to discuss with him.”
It was not a favorable situation, and no one knew what the Emperor was up to.
However, Chu Xinian pondered for a moment. Was it possible that the Emperor wanted the Crown Prince to inherit the throne? After all, Prince Jin was confined in his residence, and both Princes Chang and Ping were forbidden from entering the Palace. Only the Crown Prince enjoyed special treatment.
“General, escort me to a place.” Chu Xinian suddenly said.
Hearing these words from him, Xie Jingyuan’s brows tensed, “Where do you want to go now?”
Considering that Chu Xinian’s target, Xuan Yeping, was already imprisoned, who else could Chu Xinian scheme against?
Chu Xinian calmly said, “The Mansion of Marquis of Quyang.”
Night had fallen, and the round moon was slowly rising. The towering rooftops of Taiji Hall cast dark silhouettes against the sky. A celestial horseman looked eastward with his head held high, with the sprawling city streets in the distance.
A four-horse carriage rolled over the stone floor, creaking its wheels, and finally came to a halt in front of the Mansion of Marquis of Quyang. However, inside the carriage there was quite a commotion, as if people were fighting, sometimes accompanied by muffled sounds. No one got out for quite a while.
“This General has said he’s not going, so we’re not going.”
Xie Jingyuan thought about visiting the Mansion of Marquis of Quyang and wasn’t sure why, but he felt a strange feeling. He pulled aside the curtain, frowned towards Jiu Yong, who was riding a horse ahead, and instructed, “Let’s go back to this General’s residence!”
Hearing this, Jiu Yong pulled the reins, immediately ordering everyone to halt. He was about to turn back, but then he heard Chu Xinian’s calm voice from inside the carriage, “Stop here, don’t move.”
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, wondering what was going on.
After a moment’s thought, Jiu Yong decided to listen to Xie Jingyuan. However, Chu Xinian’s voice suddenly came from the carriage, persuading, “Since we are here, why not go inside for a while? It won’t hurt us to sit and chat. Why bother making a useless journey here?”
Yun Que wanted to come in. She had grown up in the Mansion of Marquis of Quyang and had missed her sisters for a long time.
Jiu Yong’s movement wavered upon hearing his words. He looked at Yun Que from above but saw only the top of her coal-black hair. He frowned and, for some unknown reason, unconsciously stopped.
Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Chu Xinian was gently coaxing Xie Jingyuan, “General, what are you afraid of? You dare to charge into enemy formations on a battlefield, but how can you fear a mere Marquis? A daughter-in-law must sooner or later meet her in-laws.”
Xie Jingyuan shot him a sidelong glance, “Who are you calling daughter-in-law?”
Suddenly, he was worried about his image.
Chu Xinian grabbed his hand and pulled him out, “If you don’t get down, I will think that you are afraid.”
Xie Jingyuan could not hit him, nor could he push him, so he was forcibly pulled out of the carriage. Holding onto his status, he did not want the servants to enjoy the spectacle, so he coughed loudly with a stern face, and everyone quickly turned away.
Chu Xinian tugged at Xie Jingyuan and whispered, “Let us go in.”
However, Xie Jingyuan’s feet seemed to be pinned in place, and he could not move. He unconsciously touched the mask on his face, and with his eyes lowered, he asked, “Why are you coming back for no reason? What are you planning?”
Chu Xinian did not hide anything from him, looking at the signboard of the Mansion of Marquis of Quyang, he said with deep meaning in his words, “Naturally, it is to meet with my elder brother.”
He needed help. This help not only needed to push Prince Jin to rebel but also to make sure that both Prince Jin and Zhou Wenchen would be defeated. And that person could only be Chu Jiaoping.
Hearing this, Xie Jingyuan fell into deep thought. In just a brief moment, Chu Xinian had dragged him inside.
The guard was dozing, slowly nodding his head. Suddenly, he woke up abruptly, only to find a group of people and horses outside the gate. He was startled and wanted to report the visitors.
Xie Jingyuan quickly stopped him, revealing no emotion as he asked, “Are the Marquis and Madam resting?”
The guard encountered the legendary ‘King Yama’ and could not help but tremble. He stammered back, “G-g-general… Marquis and Madam are resting.”
Xie Jingyuan thought it suited him just fine. Changing his previous posture of refusal, he headed straight in, “Then there’s no need to announce ourselves. We don’t want to disturb them.”
Chu Xinian looked at his retreating figure, smiled, and pretended to be unaware of Xie Jingyuan’s suspicions. He casually asked aloud, “What about Eldest Brother, is he resting too?”
The servant replied, “Second Young Master, First Young Master is still in his room. I believe he has not yet retired.”
Chu Xinian nodded, handing him some silver, “Understood. Remember, do not slack off during your watch in the future.”
Chu Jiaoping was used to staying up late. He had too many thoughts and too many things to consider. Especially with recent events; there had been so many events. The Crown Prince’s fundraising, the Emperor’s worsening health, Prince Jin’s confinement… It seemed that each incident had some kind of intricate connection.
He could not sleep at night, sitting at the table fiddling with a Go board. But he still could not find a way out of the labyrinth of his thoughts. A single lamp projected his figure onto the window, its outlines blurred and indistinct.
Outside the room, Chu Xinian knocked lightly on the door, “Big brother.”
Chu Jiaoping was jolted from his thoughts. He frowned slightly, rose from his seat, and went to the door. Opening it, he saw Chu Xinian standing on the steps, and for a moment, he was stunned, “Second Brother, when did you arrive?”
Chu Xinian said, “Just a moment ago. Long time no see, how about having a cup of tea together?”
Looking at his younger brother, whose temperament had changed drastically, Chu Jiaoping felt an indescribable sense of strangeness. He stepped back slowly and made way, saying, “The night dew is heavy. If you have something to say, come in.”
Chu Xinian nodded and entered, gently closing the intricately carved wooden door behind him.
Xie Jingyuan hid on the roof to eavesdrop on the conversation. He lifted a shingle and leaned his head lazily to listen, thinking that the martial skills of both Chu brothers were nothing to worry about. They would not be able to detect him.
Faint whispers of their conversation could be heard from below.
“Big brother, which of the princes do you think could bear the responsibility if the empire changes hands?”
Undoubtedly, it was Chu Xinian’s voice.
Chu Jiaoping, however, did not have an answer and lapsed into a prolonged silence. If he had been asked this question before, he would have confidently said it was Prince Jin. But now, he could not be sure.
He looked at Chu Xinian, his gaze was complex, “What do you think?”
Chu Xinian did not answer directly, “It doesn’t matter who ascends to the throne, whether he is foolish or wise. What matters to me is whether the new Emperor will be merciful.”
He took a teapot and poured a cup of tea for Chu Jiaoping. Before the tea could fill the cup, however, Chu Jiaoping suddenly asked, “Have you sided with the Crown Prince?”
The question struck like a thunderclap. Chu Xinian’s movements froze, and he unconsciously looked at Chu Jiaoping, only to find his brother’s gaze burning into him.
“…”
Chu Xinian slowly put down the teapot, remaining silent. After a moment, he smiled, “How did you guess, Big Brother?”
Chu Jiaoping’s chest rose and fell momentarily, “If you had not come today, I would not have known. But since you have come, if I still can’t find out, wouldn’t I be a fool?”
Something big is about to happen!
I hope the brothers join forces 💪💪