Chapter 353: with translation of chapter title

In the former residence of the previous dynasty's premier, several early-blooming wax plum trees were in full blossom.

Gu Yuan held a pair of small brass shears, leisurely trimming the stray branches that had grown out sideways.

The Second Prince, Yinzhen, sat on a stone bench not far away; the fine-grade maojian tea beside him had long lost its heat.

His eyes were bloodshot, the skin around them darkened from exhaustion, lacking the warm, moist demeanor he had shown a few days earlier when greeting Gu Yuan outside Zhengyang Gate.

Ziyuan, come judge this matter for me.

Yinzhen slapped the stone table with his palm, making the teacups clink,

"My mother consort, who usually eats vegetarian and chants Buddha, pretending to be unworldly. At this critical moment of life and death, she actually still favors the elder brother!"

Gu Yuan's scissors paused for a moment, he clipped off a dead twig, and did not reply.

Yinzhen rose to his feet, paced back and forth in the courtyard with vexation, his voice kept extremely low yet filled with gritted-teeth hatred: "Father Emperor is clearly on his last breath. The Imperial Hospital's bunch of wine sacks and rice bags dare not utter a definite word. Over the past few days, Elder Brother has been frequently shifting the suburban garrisons of the capital, even replacing the commander of the Imperial Guard of the inner court with someone from his mother's clan. Last night I went to Jinghua Palace, pleaded and begged, asking Mother Consort to hand over the Blood Droplet's talisman for emergency use—guess what happened?"

"The Noble Consort refused."

Gu Yuan set down the scissors, took the damp cloth from nearby, and wiped his hands.

"It's more than just a refusal!"

Yinzhen's chest heaved violently, the veins on his forehead bulging,

"She told me to get lost! She said holding your blade is playing with fire and self-immolation. She would rather see Elder Brother ascend the throne and have us mother and son thrown into a dead prison than hand over that little trump card she holds. I truly don't know whether she's addled by Buddhist sutras or genuinely believes Elder Brother will show great mercy and spare us."

Gu Yuan tossed the damp cloth into the bronze basin, sending a ripple across the water's surface.

The Virtuous Noble Consort held in her hand the Great Yin royal family's most secret assassination force, yet at this critical juncture she refused her own son.

This woman is certainly no fool who only knows how to chant sutras.

She could survive in that man-eating harem and even get the old emperor to entrust her with the Blood Droplet, relying on nothing as simple as vegetarianism and chanting.

She probably sensed that something was off about Yinzhen.

Or perhaps she saw the source of that gray-black energy behind Yinzhen, realizing her son had long become a puppet in someone else's hands.

"Your Highness, you surely didn't come to see me just to vent your grievances, did you?"

Gu Yuan walked to the stone table, sat down, poured himself a fresh cup of hot tea, and pushed it over.

Yinzhen stopped in his tracks, placed both hands on the edge of the stone table, stared fixedly at Gu Yuan's eyes, and lowered his voice to say:

"The Capital Garrison is in Elder Brother's hands, and Mother Consort's side has cut off all hope. Now the key to breaking the deadlock lies solely with the civil officials' faction."

"I need the Cui clan, I need the full strength of the Wen Yuan Pavilion."

Gu Yuan leaned back against the chair, crossing his hands over his abdomen.

Yinzhen is a smart person.

The thirteen great clans of Youzhou were exterminated, and Cui Yuandao was beheaded.

By rights, Cui Hong should be locked in a life-and-death struggle with Gu Yuan in the court.

Yet that morning at court, Cui Hong not only failed to fight to the death, he actually went with the flow, even standing in the welcoming procession with a downcast, obedient demeanor when Gu Yuan entered the capital.

This abnormal behavior cannot escape the notice of anyone who is paying attention.

"Your Highness, do you think I can persuade the Cui clan?" Gu Yuan countered.

"Ziyuan left a hand in Youzhou, and after entering the capital Cui Hong suddenly changed his ways. If you claim there was no tacit understanding between you, I simply don't believe it."

Yinzhen smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes, "I don't care what methods you used to subdue those old foxes. As long as they step forward and pledge allegiance to me in court, Elder Brother is nothing to fear."

"What do you want me to do, Your Highness?" Gu Yuan went along with the suggestion, his tone ordinary.

Yinzhen was overjoyed, thinking Gu Yuan had acquiesced. He quickly stepped to Gu Yuan's side and lowered his voice:

"I want you to step forward and have the Cui clan, along with the aristocratic houses behind them, completely turn to me at tomorrow's court assembly. As long as the civil officials' faction collectively pressures the palace, Elder Brother's Capital Garrison will lack legitimacy and become a rebel force!"

"Tell them that as long as the Cui clan and the aristocratic houses behind them are willing to take a stand now, assist me in taking over the capital's defenses, and after I ascend the throne I am prepared to share rule with the aristocracy, return the original amount of farmland in Youzhou, and even concede two‑tenths of the salt and iron profits of Jiangnan."

"As long as I sit in that position, Ziyuan, half of the Great Yin's realm, I will share it with you!"

For that dragon throne, this Second Prince has already begun to madly sell out the country.

Gu Yuan lightly tapped the tabletop, lifted his gaze, and looked at Yinzhen's face, slightly twisted from extreme excitement.

Such a farce of selling out the country for glory has been staged countless times across the myriad worlds.

Finally, he nodded.

This prince, parasitized by the extinguished source power, is step by step walking toward the pinnacle of power.

The higher he climbs, the faster that power awakens, and the deeper its corruption of the Great Yin's heavenly way becomes.

This is exactly what Gu Yuan wants.

"Good." Gu Yuan nodded, "I will go to the Cui residence."

Yinzhen was overjoyed, performing a full bow with hands to the ground: "With Ziyuan's aid, the great undertaking will surely succeed!"

After Yinzhen left, the courtyard returned to tranquility.

Gu Yuan leaned against the chairback, his fingertips tapping the stone table in a rhythm.

A ripple imperceptible to the naked eye spread through the void.

Three venerable figures appeared silently in the courtyard—none other than the two‑rank senior scholars of the Wen Yuan Pavilion: Kong Qianqiu, Meng Changhe, and Yan Daolin.

The three knelt in unison, foreheads pressed to the cold blue stone slabs, their demeanor utterly reverent.

"My lord."

Kong Qianqiu's voice sounded with fervent obedience.

"The Second Prince seeks your loyalty."

Gu Yuan did not lower his head to look at them; he merely gazed at the four‑cornered sky above.

"Tomorrow at the court assembly, you know what to do."

"Old servant understands."

Kong Qianqiu kowtowed repeatedly,

「Cui Hong's side has already been arranged. Tomorrow morning, all six ministries and nine senior officials of the Great Yin court will serve the Second Prince as the new ruler. The aristocratic clans have fully turned to the Second Prince, driving the Eldest Prince into a desperate situation. 」」

「Go ahead. Make the performance more genuine. 」Gu Yuan waved his hand, 「Hand over the capital's defense and control of the Nine Gates naturally to him. Let him feel that the world is already in his pocket. 」」

Three silhouettes once again vanished into the void.

Gu Yuan stood up and stretched.

The old emperor's fate, the golden dragon coiling above the Forbidden City, the Second Prince, the Eldest Prince, the Second Prince's birth mother, the Eldest Prince's birth mother……

Layer upon layer of cause and effect, as the myriad karmic lanterns of time revolve, Gu Yuan already understands what, helplessly shaking his head.

This Great Yin is not of a high level.

They sure play it fancy.

However, these have little to do with Gu Yuan.

He is simply watering the flowers calmly.

Waiting for the flowers to bloom and mature.

……

……

Overnight, the political landscape of the capital underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

The Eldest Prince, who had been securely seated at the Fishing Terrace, suffered a devastating blow at the morning court assembly.

The Minister of War suddenly defected, producing the so-called iron evidence of the Eldest Prince's private tampering with military funds and alleged intent to rebel.

Immediately afterward, the six ministries and nine senior officials, led by Cui Hong, jointly launched an attack, demanding severe punishment for the Eldest Prince's faction.

The commander responsible for guarding the capital's Nine Gates died suddenly of a sudden illness on his way off duty.

His successor was precisely a confidant promoted by the Second Prince, Yin Zhen.

The tiger tally for mobilizing troops from the suburban garrison was seized by several senior elders of the Wen Yuan Pavilion, who invoked ancestral law to confiscate it by force.

The Eldest Prince's proud military power, before the vast relational network accumulated over thousands of years by the aristocratic clans, was like a paper dam—ready to burst at the slightest touch.

In just three days, the Eldest Prince's faction was purged completely clean.

Apart from the Eldest Prince himself, under house arrest in the Eastern Palace, his close aides were either thrown into prison or demoted.

The Second Prince, Yin Zhen, became the sole sun of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty.