Chapter 978: The Heart of a Man, the Depth of the Sea

"I heard there was an incident with the prisoners in Tianlaomiao?"

At the dead of night, when all was quiet and sleep was deep, Wang Hai the Eunuch suddenly appeared.

Chen Guanlou got up, eyeing the man with clear disdain. "Are you a dog? Got such a sharp nose? Up at this hour, sneaking around—what do you want?"

"I’m sneaking around? It’s you who’s sneaking around. I saw you carry a corpse into Tianlaomiao—I came to take a look."

"A prisoner escaped; I went out to catch him. Do I need to report to you, Brother Wang?"

"Are you certain it was an escape, or just a case of Li replacing Tao?"

"None of your damn business!"

Chen Guanlou lost his sleepiness and simply boiled water to brew tea, setting out snacks and dried fruits to invite the man to partake.

"You come here at this hour—surely not just to care about Tianlaomiao’s operations? When did you take on duties for the Ministry of Justice? I had no idea."

Wang Hai didn’t flinch and stated his purpose outright: "The Emperor has spent the past half-month sleeping in Consort Xiao’s quarters. Someone in the palace is whispering that he may choose Consort Xiao’s son as Crown Prince."

"Is it confirmed?"

"Not yet."

"As long as no Crown Prince is named, every Imperial Prince still has a chance. Even if one is named, he can still be deposed. Isn’t that right? Besides, I don’t think Consort Xiao’s son has a better chance. You know better than I do what the Xiao clan is like. Compared to the Empress’s family, they’re nothing. What can the Xiao family possibly use to compete?"

"With the Emperor’s support, it outweighs any clan!" Wang Hai said.

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Only if you have the same control as the late Emperor. Do you think the current Emperor rivals the late one? Can he truly decide alone to name a Crown Prince? To bypass the legitimate heir and name a concubine-born son as Crown Prince—I tell you, Xie Changling will be the first to refuse!"

This group of civil and military officials, led by Xie Changling, are staunch supporters of primogeniture. This is the moral order—it is the Dao itself!

They will never allow the Emperor to act on his own whim and destroy the principles, beliefs, and moral order they have long upheld. It’s like when the late Emperor deposed the Crown Prince—it was a violation of the moral order, a breach of societal norms.

Even now, many still say that the countless rebellions, rising one after another, came about because the late Emperor set a terrible, terrible example by breaking the moral order, plunging the hearts of the people into chaos.

When everyone ignores the rules and acts as they please, fear of the authorities naturally vanishes.

Without fear, all kinds of evil flourish—especially rebellion!

This view has enormous traction among the common people; many believe it wholeheartedly. Even the citizens of Jingcheng, who received much favor from the late Emperor, whisper the same thing in private.

Clearly, the world holds moral order and ethics in the highest regard.

Primogeniture stands as its clearest symbol.

The simplest example: when the Su family divided their estate, the eldest son received the ancestral home; the second son got only a little silver—nowhere near enough to buy a house.

Yet, from start to finish, no one ever objected to this division. What is this? This is the influence of primogeniture on the people.

This is the simplest moral order!

The eldest legitimate son inherits the family estate—that is the rule!

The imperial family must uphold this rule even more strictly!

Wang Hai frowned. "So according to you, I should side with the Empress?"

"You can side with anyone—but don’t rush to decide. Until someone actually sits on the throne, everything remains possible. Of course, the Empress’s son has the greatest chance—his status naturally wins the support of court officials. No matter how favored Consort Xiao is, her son cannot surpass the Empress’s son. The Emperor can decide whom he favors; the officials can’t interfere. But when it comes to the heir, when it comes to the throne, the officials will never let the Emperor decide alone!"

Wang Hai frowned again, then nodded, deeply convinced.

He saw more clearly than anyone how great Xie Changling’s power was, and how deeply he influenced the Emperor.

Xie Changling’s support for primogeniture was unquestionable.

"Why, every time someone in court proposes naming a Crown Prince, does Xie Changling always avoid the topic?"

"Because it’s not the right time!" Chen Guanlou said, gesturing for him to drink tea. "The Imperial Princes haven’t married yet. Once they do, their wives’ families will enter the struggle for succession—that’s when the real battle begins. Right now, it’s just petty squabbles."

The Emperor practices good health preservation; barring accident, he’ll live another ten or twenty years. There’s no need to rush out now—it’s pointless. You might work yourself to exhaustion only to make someone else’s coat. Better to wait and watch. If you can’t decide whom to support, Brother Wang, learn from Xie Changling—wait and see!"

Wang Hai frowned slightly. "But adding flowers to brocade is nothing compared to giving charcoal in the snow! Xie Changling is Left Chancellor—his support is what every prince craves, begging to lick his boots. I’m just an insignificant eunuch—no one cares about flowers on brocade!"

This was his dilemma.

He had to place his bet early—not wait until the situation became clear.

Too late!

Everyone in the palace is mercenary!

Aside from the few senior eunuchs near the Emperor, the princes don’t care about eunuch support. They’re tools! Kill one, find another. Kill a dozen, find another dozen. Disposable. No one cares.

Even though Wang Hai is a ninth-rank martial cultivator, the struggle for succession is about total strength—not martial prowess. His advantage is not obvious.

Besides, Wang Hai has little power in the palace; he has only a handful of people he can truly rely on. With such a status, no one cares!

Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue. "Brother Wang, you’re not doing well. All this time, you’ve made zero progress in the palace? Haven’t you tried approaching the Imperial Princes, getting to know their character, talent, and ability firsthand?"

Wang Hai snorted. "There are rules in the palace. How dare you act recklessly! I may be ninth-rank, but above me are Grand Masters—and even Grand Grand Masters!"

His meaning: even as a servant in the palace, he must always remember the rules, never step out of line.

Chen Guanlou smiled. "Why not just pledge yourself to the Empress?"

"The Empress isn’t favored!" Wang Hai said, his face dark with frustration. He drank his tea like wine, growing more gloomy with each sip.

He said: "The Emperor respects the Empress, but feels no affection for her. Besides, her health is poor—if she were to pass away one day… if she died, and the Emperor then made Consort Xiao Empress, the situation would instantly grow complicated."

"Same as before—wait and see!"

Chen Guanlou had no better solution.

A man’s heart is as deep as the ocean.

Especially the Emperor’s heart—utterly unfathomable.

What if, just maybe, Wang Hai’s prediction came true? The scene that would follow—too terrible to imagine.

Now, everyone in the palace is fawning over Consort Xiao, probably because they’re thinking the same thing: what if the Empress dies before the Emperor? Oh, it’s too terrible to imagine…