Chapter 286

"Win? With what will he win?" Lu Mingchuan's counter-question made Chen Guanlou close his mouth.

"I even hope the Crown Prince can be a bit more sensible, surrender and confess his crimes cleanly and neatly to save his life, and end this chaos as soon as possible. Instead of both sides fighting to the death.

Do you know how many people will die because of the Crown Prince's desperate resistance? Not to mention anything else, just the three thousand Donggong guards will all have to be buried with him. Plus the Donggong officials, some court officials, and their families—in this chaos, even if it can be quelled in the shortest time, the number of people who die will be in the tens of thousands. Even tens of thousands of people.

Tens of thousands of heads—all of them are the pillars of the court, the elites of the world, talents accumulated over many years; how cruel. Little Brother Chen, can you bear to see this scene?

After this chaos, not to mention destroying the foundation, at least it will be a severe injury. If it were a prosperous age, spending a few decades slowly licking the wounds, it would eventually recover.

But at the moment, there are treacherous officials and thieves outside, and ambitious people inside waiting for an opportunity. I already dare not imagine how cruel the world will become afterwards. You look down on me and despise me for clinging to life. But I will never regret it. I want to preserve a useful body and preserve talents for the court and the world."

What a righteous Mr. Lu; his words were full of the power to bewitch people's hearts. No wonder Zhao Mingqiao followed him firmly even after seeing through everything.

This was a combination of a hypocrite and a true villain. When to be a villain and when to be a gentleman—it all depended on the need.

"Listening to the Master's meaning, it seems you have the ability to turn the tide?" Chen Guanlou asked for advice seriously, without any intention of mockery or teasing. These great Confucian scholars all had immeasurable power behind them. Perhaps they really had the ability to settle the world. One must not underestimate the people of the world, especially great Confucian scholars who had been famous for a long time.

"Even if I have to risk my life, I will stop His Majesty from starting a massacre; I will save one person if I can. Therefore, I am clinging to life now, just waiting for the chaos outside to subside; I will never be willing to fall behind others. At that time, Little Brother Chen, you will understand my painstaking efforts."

Chen Guanlou:...

In an instant, he became a clown, internally extremely ugly, ungrateful, and ignorant of the demeanor of a great Confucian scholar. Using the heart of a villain to measure the belly of a gentleman—disgusting!

He was extremely depressed.

People who could make him depressed were definitely not good people. After all, someone like him, with normal values, no great ambitions, no antisocial tendencies, and who was easily satisfied, felt extremely uncomfortable. Lu Mingchuan was definitely a great villain, which was why he caused such physiological discomfort.

"Then why don't you go out and stop His Majesty now? The palace gates are wide open; you can enter the palace at any time to persuade His Majesty, and ask His Majesty to order the troops to withdraw and end this chaos early."

"Sigh! His Majesty is currently in extreme anger; no one's persuasion will work. If I go at this time, not only will it be of no help, but it will even be counterproductive, causing more deaths."

"If you're afraid of death, just say so; why find so many excuses." Chen Guanlou retorted.

Lu Mingchuan's face twisted; no one had ever dared to humiliate him like this, even the old Emperor and the Crown Prince were polite when they saw him.

He suppressed the anger in his heart, "Little Brother Chen, you don't understand us scholars; I forgive you and won't argue with you. However, please show some restraint in your words."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly, "You say the old Emperor used a military coup to depose the Crown Prince—do you have evidence? What if it was the Crown Prince who used a military coup to force the palace..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. The only person who can mobilize the Divine Artifact Battalion is His Majesty. Listen to the movement outside; the Divine Artifact Battalion is wantonly wreaking havoc in the capital, wreaking havoc on officials and wealthy families. Such cruel things would definitely not be the Crown Prince's doing. If it were the Crown Prince, he would definitely find a way to restrain the officers and soldiers."

Chen Guanlou agreed with this statement; he also felt that the Crown Prince shouldn't have the ability to mobilize the Divine Artifact Battalion.

However, he asked one more question, "May I ask Master, is His Majesty still in the Taiji Palace?"

"What do you mean?"

Chen Guanlou pointed in the direction of the Imperial Palace, "Grandmasters have entered the Imperial Palace, and the palace is in chaos. To ensure His Majesty's safety, do you think His Majesty is still in the Taiji Palace? Or rather, is His Majesty really in the Imperial Palace?"

"I don't know, I don't know anything. Since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, I haven't entered the palace, nor have I heard any news of His Majesty leaving the palace."

"Could it be that His Majesty wants to start a massacre in the Imperial Palace?"

"Why not." Lu Mingchuan said sharply, "It's just the death of a few eunuchs and palace maids, the death of a few guards and concubines. Don't worry, the chaos in the palace will subside soon. With Grandmasters sitting in command, no one dares to act recklessly."

"How many Grandmasters are there in the palace?"

"This is a secret of the inner palace; aside from His Majesty, no one knows."

"Logically speaking, with Grandmasters present, the Crown Prince should have no power to resist. The chaos should be over by now. However, listening to the movement outside, the situation is getting worse and more chaotic. Can the Master teach me?" Chen Guanlou asked for advice very sincerely.

Lu Mingchuan snorted coldly, "These officers and soldiers, once released from the cage, won't stop until they've looted a wave. However, I believe that after dawn, there will definitely be movement in the palace. I believe we will be out soon."

"I hope so!"

Chen Guanlou cursed the old fox secretly; the other didn't say a few truthful words, not as honest as Zhao Mingqiao. The so-called sincerity was all faked.

There was a restless atmosphere spreading among the prison guards, and everyone was on edge. Only one day had passed, but it felt like a year.

The calmest person among them was none other than the Medical Official Mu, who still had the heart to make a late-night snack.

"I was half-full at dinner, and I felt hungry as soon as I lay down. Want to eat?" Medical Official Mu greeted Chen Guanlou very enthusiastically.

In the empty canteen, the two sat face to face.

Medical Official Mu cooked himself—two bowls of noodles, one bowl each.

"Those cooks are extremely cunning; they locked up all the food. I only found a little flour, just enough for the two of us, one bowl each."

"It was I who ordered the cooks to count the supplies and provide them according to the number of people." Chen Guanlou said so.

"Do you think the chaos will last for a long time?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure. One must always make the worst plans; if it happens, at least there will still be food."

Medical Official Mu nodded, agreeing with his view, "Did Mr. Lu reveal the truth?"

"His mouth is like a clam shell; he talks about this and that, but there isn't a single truthful word. On the surface, he stands on the Crown Prince's side, worrying and anxious for the Crown Prince. But I always feel that he hopes the Crown Prince will collapse, and even hopes the Crown Prince will die."

"No way." Medical Official Mu was clearly shocked, "Lu Mingchuan is a great Confucian scholar who once publicly supported the Crown Prince and supported the Crown Prince's orthodox status. If he goes back on his word, does he still want his reputation?"

"That's why I say this person is hypocritical and full of bad intentions."

"Could it be that you think of people too badly?"

"It's not that I'm bragging, but so far I haven't misjudged a person. My feeling is that this is a trap aimed at the Crown Prince, a vicious trap. This trap started from the moment the Grand Tutor was kidnapped."