Chapter 978: A man's heart is as deep as the sea

"I heard there was a mistake with a prisoner in the Heavenly Prison?"

In the middle of the night, just when it was deep and quiet and good for sleeping, Eunuch Wang Hai suddenly popped out.

Chen Guanlou got up and looked at him with great disgust. "Are you a dog? Is your dog nose that sharp? Not sleeping in the middle of the night, what are you doing sneaking around?"

"Me sneaking around? Clearly, it's you who is sneaking around. I saw you carrying a corpse into the Heavenly Prison, so I came over to take a look."

"A prisoner escaped, and I went out to catch the prisoner; do I need to report it to you, Brother Wang?"

"Are you sure it was a prisoner escape, and not a case of swapping the prisoner to save their own skin?"

"None of your damn business!"

Chen Guanlou lost his sleepiness, so he simply boiled water to make tea, took out snacks and dried fruits, and greeted the other man.

"Coming over at this time, surely it's not just to care about the work of the Heavenly Prison? Since when did Eunuch Wang take on a job at the Ministry of Justice? I actually didn't know."

Wang Hai wasn't intimidated in the slightest and stated his purpose directly. "For half a month, the Emperor has been resting at Imperial Consort Xiao's place. There is talk in the palace that the Emperor might choose Imperial Consort Xiao's son as the Crown Prince."

"Is it confirmed?"

"Not yet."

"As long as the Crown Prince candidate isn't confirmed, every Imperial Prince has a chance. Even if a Crown Prince is truly established, he can still be deposed. Don't you think so! Moreover, I don't believe Imperial Consort Xiao's son has a greater chance. You know the situation of the Xiao clan better than I do. Compared to the Empress's maternal family, they aren't worth mentioning. What does the Xiao family have to compete with them?"

"As long as there is the Emperor's support, it outweighs any family!" Wang Hai said so.

Chen Guanlou laughed. "That's on the premise of having the same control as the late Emperor. Do you think the current Emperor compares to the late Emperor? Can the Emperor's control over the court really allow him to decide the Crown Prince alone? To bypass the legitimate son and establish a concubine's son as Crown Prince—I tell you, Xie Gechen would be the first to disagree!"

This group of civil and military officials led by Xie Gechen were firm supporters of the legitimate succession system. This was the moral code, and even more, it was the Dao of Heaven!

They would never allow the Emperor to act arbitrarily and destroy the concepts, beliefs, and moral codes they had always maintained. This was just like when the late Emperor deposed the Crown Prince; it was equivalent to disrupting the moral code and the rules of the secular world.

Even now, many people still say that the reason there have been so many rebellions, one after another, is because the late Emperor took the lead in breaking the moral code and ethics, setting a very, very bad example, to the point of disrupting the hearts of the people under Heaven.

When everyone stops following the rules and acts wantonly, naturally, there is no fear of the government.

Without fear, various evils will be bred, especially rebellion!

This kind of narrative has a huge market among the common people, and many are deeply convinced. Even the commoners in the capital, having received much grace from the late Emperor, discuss it this way in private.

It can be seen how important people in the world consider ethics and moral codes.

Among them, the legitimate succession system is the representative.

The simplest example: when the Su family divided their property, the eldest son received the ancestral home, while the second son only received a little silver, not enough to buy a house.

Yet, from beginning to end, no one raised an objection to this division plan! What is this? This is the influence of the legitimate succession system on the world.

This is the simplest moral code!

The legitimate eldest son inherits the family business—this is the rule!

The Imperial family must follow this rule even more!

Wang Hai frowned. "According to your meaning, should I stand on the Empress's side?"

"Standing on anyone's side is fine, but you cannot draw a conclusion too early. Until the moment one sits on the throne, everything is possible. Of course, the Empress's son has the greatest chance; after all, his status naturally gains the support of court officials. No matter how favored Imperial Consort Xiao is, her son cannot bypass the Empress's son. The Emperor can decide who to favor, and the court officials cannot manage that. However, when it concerns the heir apparent and the throne, the court officials will never allow the Emperor to decide alone!"

Wang Hai frowned and nodded again, feeling it made sense.

He could see more clearly in the palace how great Xie Gechen's power was and how deep his influence on the Emperor was.

Xie Gechen was a supporter of the legitimate succession system; there was no doubt about that.

"Why is it that every time someone in the court proposes establishing a Crown Prince, Xie Gechen always avoids talking about it?"

"Because the time hasn't come yet!" Chen Guanlou said, inviting the other man to drink tea. "The Imperial Princes haven't married yet. After they marry, the power of their wives' families will join this struggle for the throne, and only then will the true struggle begin. Now, it's just small scuffles.

The Emperor has his ways of maintaining health; barring accidents, he will certainly live for another ten or twenty years. There is no need to rush to come out now! It's even possible that after all the busy work, you'll just be making wedding clothes for someone else. It's better to wait and see. If Brother Wang can't make up his mind about who to support, why not learn from Xie Gechen and wait and see!"

Wang Hai frowned slightly. "However, adding flowers to brocade is never as good as sending charcoal in snow! Xie Gechen is the Left Minister; the Imperial Princes flock to his support, wishing they could kneel and lick his boots. I am just an inconspicuous eunuch; no one cares for adding flowers to brocade!"

This was his difficulty.

He had to place his bets in advance, rather than waiting until the situation was clear.

It would be too late!

People in the palace are all very mercenary!

Except for the few great eunuchs by the Emperor's side, the Imperial Princes don't care for the support of eunuchs. They are all tools! If one dies, find another. If a string dies, find another string. They are consumables and don't hurt to lose.

Even though Wang Hai is a Ninth Rank martial artist, the struggle for the throne is a battle of all-around strength, not martial prowess. The advantage is not obvious.

Furthermore, Wang Hai doesn't have much power in the palace, and the people he can truly use are only a few. With such an identity, truly, no one cares!

Chen Guanlou tsked twice. "Brother Wang, you're not doing well. After so much time, have you made no progress in the palace? Have you not tried to contact the various Imperial Princes and understand their character, learning, and strength yourself?"

Wang Hai snorted coldly. "The palace has its own rules. How can one act wantonly! Although I am Ninth Rank, there are Grandmasters above me! There are even Great Grandmasters!"

The implication was that while he worked in the palace, he had to keep the rules in mind at all times and could not make a single mistake!

Chen Guanlou smiled. "Why don't you just defect to the Empress?"

"The Empress is not favored!" Wang Hai said, looking frustrated, drinking his tea as if it were wine, feeling more stifled the more he drank.

He said: "The Emperor only has respect left for the Empress, with no emotion to speak of. Moreover, the Empress's health is not good. If one day... if she were gone, and the Emperor were to confer the title of Empress on Imperial Consort Xiao, the situation would instantly become complicated."

"Still the same sentence: wait and see!"

Chen Guanlou didn't have a better way either.

A man's heart is as deep as the sea!

Especially the heart of an Emperor, which is even more unfathomable.

If, truly, Wang Hai's prediction came true, that scene... he didn't dare to think about it!

Nowadays, everyone in the palace is going to burn incense at Imperial Consort Xiao's hot stove, presumably harboring this thought as well. If one day, the Empress dies before the Emperor, tsk tsk, he didn't dare to think about it, didn't dare to think about it... ===== CHAPTER 979 =====