Chapter 50: Saving the Cold Crown Prince 01

Year 24 of Yongshun, deep autumn.

Imperial Palace, Heaven Qian Hall.

Emperor Yongshun sat high on the dragon throne, his brow furrowed into a deep ravine, his eyes revealing no emotion, calm and still, imposing without anger.

He glanced over the twenty dark guards kneeling in the hall, and after a long while, he spoke in a low voice.

"When the Crown Prince comes of age, I will use this opportunity to have the princes select you as his personal guards."

"I heard that among the dark guards volunteering for this selection, not all are from the Dark Moon Pavilion; there are also people from the Heaven Moon Pavilion."

Emperor Yongshun's gaze lingered on the left side, his tone flat yet hiding a sharp edge.

The imperial dark guards are all trained by the Dark Moon Pavilion; they can serve as the Crown Prince's personal guards or carry out ordinary assassinations.

The Dark Moon Pavilion is under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Palace.

The Heaven Moon Pavilion, however, is a force that Emperor Yongshun has subdued.

The dark guards trained by the Heaven Moon Pavilion are outstanding, almost all having severed the seven emotions and six desires, with martial arts surpassing the rest, and skilled in all kinds of weapons and concealed arms.

They are loyal only to the emperor, and the missions they undertake are even more dangerous.

One could say the Heaven Moon Pavilion is the emperor's eyes and ears to know all under heaven, and also an absolutely sharp blade.

Yet for this selection of the Crown Prince's personal guards, dark guards from the Heaven Moon Pavilion have signed up, which is undoubtedly a challenge to the Son of Heaven's authority.

Jin Chen knelt on the left side; hearing the emperor mention this, he helplessly pressed his lips together beneath his mask.

What could he do? If he didn't enter the selection, how could he get close to the Crown Prince, how could he save his wife?

Who let 0731 assign him this identity, a dark guard whose movements are restricted everywhere?

Yet his beloved wife's identity in this life is that of the noble Crown Prince, Your Highness.

After a moment's thought, Jin Chen was about to find an excuse when he heard Emperor Yongshun speak again.

"Ying Jiu, I heard that your strength in the Heaven Moon Pavilion is low, so you willingly withdrew?"

Jin Chen：？

Who said that?

His thoughts shifted; perhaps Emperor Yongshun had other ideas, wanting him to become a spy.

"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

Emperor Yongshun grunted, "Then serving as a personal guard for the Crown Prince is also fine."

He waved his hand, "You all retreat first; Ying Jiu, you come with me."

【Host, the emperor wants to poison you.】

So that's how it is.

Jin Chen followed without showing any emotion; when Emperor Yongshun stopped at the inner hall, he again clasped his fists and knelt.

Chief Eunuch Zhao De, having received Emperor Yongshun's signal, immediately walked to Jin Chen's side.

"The Heaven Moon Pavilion has been loyal generation after generation; although you have voluntarily withdrawn, the only one you can serve is Your Majesty."

He opened the porcelain bottle in his hand and poured out a poison pill.

"Take this poison, become the Crown Prince's personal guard; starting next month, on the middle of each month thereafter, you must come to the palace to collect the antidote; if you do not come, the poison will act and cause your intestines to rupture."

Emperor Yongshun stirred the tea foam in his bowl, glanced at Jin Chen who had taken the poison pill without hesitation, and satisfiedly sipped his tea.

"Go on, join the others at the drill field, wait for the Crown Prince's selection, and perform well."

Seeing that Emperor Yongshun had no further orders, Zhao De had Jin Chen retreat.

"Yes."

Jin Chen stepped back and left.

As it turned out, it was obtained without any effort.

{Host, exchange for 20 points of detox pills; you now have a total of 1700 points! }

{No need for now; we'll talk about it next month—if the emperor notices, it'll be more troublesome. }

Jin Chen returned to the outer hall, and together with the others, went to the training field to await the princes.

This world is a plot of transmigration and succession struggle.

The tragic villain is naturally the Crown Prince, Xiao Su.

He was born of the central palace; the Empress's maternal family is the Li family, a lineage of three generations of marshals, noble and prominent.

But the emperor, suspicious and heavy-hearted, thought the Li family's achievements overshadowed the ruler; ignoring the border enemies' invasion, he used a corruption case in the court as an excuse to arbitrarily condemn General Li Yan of the Vanguard Cavalry, and ordered the extermination of the Li family.

At that time, Xiao Su was only ten; the Empress knew of this, but though she bore myriad grievances, she had no way to speak—when the sovereign demands a minister's death, how can the minister survive?

That same deep winter, the Empress hanged herself, leaving only the Crown Prince, Xiao Su, alone.

And the story has only just begun.

The Eldest Prince, Xiao Yunye, is the male lead of this world; his birth mother was greatly favored, and when Emperor Yongshun first ascended the throne, she bore him a prince, but due to the dignity of the central palace, he could not be made Crown Prince.

The original Xiao Yunye, though favored, was devoid of learning, lacked any semblance of royalty, spent his days drinking and reveling, and died early.

Thus the modern Xiao Yunye entered his body.

Xiao Yunye held the original novel's script, considering himself the chosen son, knowing all the plot of this book, he therefore coveted the throne all the more, and naturally sneered at the frail Crown Prince.

The original story's protagonist was the Second Prince, Xiao Zhuoxian, and the Minister's legitimate daughter, Yun Ji Nan.

Xiao Yunye directly hooked up with the Minister's concubine daughter, Yun Yi He, and had her seize Yun Ji Nan's golden finger, the bracelet that holds a spirit spring space; the two then became entwined in wickedness.

They put all the silver and important contracts for buying horses and troops into the space, and openly kept blaming the Crown Prince for the misdeeds of the buckets and baskets.

Furthermore, they let the original story's male and female leads die on the road while treating the Jiangnan floods.

The Crown Prince was framed by Xiao Yunye, experiencing a series of plots: secretly hoarding dragon robes, raising private troops, liaising with powerful officials, and administering drugs to the emperor.

He, after all, is not someone to be provoked easily.

Unintentionally, Crown Prince Xiao Su discovered that Xiao Yunye had dealings with the border enemy state, and also grasped Yun Yi He's aberrant behavior, seeing her take something from the jade bracelet space.

He and Xiao Yunye thoroughly launched a power struggle.

But how could he contend with the world's male and female protagonists blessed by the Heavenly Dao?

Finally imprisoned by the emperor in the great jail, the Crown Prince, who was already frail and sickly, suffered endless torment and died in prison.

Meanwhile, the Eldest Prince Xiao Yunye, with modern thinking, made Emperor Yongshun look at him anew, and he ultimately inherited the throne.

The moment Jin Chen received all the memories, he had already planned his retreat.

Since the Way of Heaven does not allow him to kill the male and female leads, he might as well let the original male and female leads—namely Xiao Zhuoxian and Yun Jianan—once again become the protagonists of the Way of Heaven.

If Xiao Su wants to inherit the throne, he will wholeheartedly assist him.

If Xiao Su does not want to, then let Xiao Zhuoxian become emperor according to the original story.

The Heavenly Dao will have no objections either.

——

Imperial training ground.

In deep autumn, the wind always feels more desolate than all things.

The ground covered with withered yellow leaves, as the bleak wind blows, they swirl up in a dance.

Twenty dark guards all lined up, wearing identical black short uniforms, masks covering their faces, waiting for the arrival of the three princes.

In the current timeline, Xiao Yunye has been in this world for half a year, scheming to make Xiao Su lose his loyal personal guard.

That guard was left to Xiao Su by the Empress; although his martial arts are mediocre, he has extensive connections in the jianghu, and also mastered many of the Li family's former connections.

So Jin Chen, upon seeing Li You beside the Crown Prince's carriage, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

【0731, Li You, how is he still alive?】

【I'll check right away, really strange, the timeline isn't wrong.】

0731, unable to figure it out, turned around in the space, and re-sorted the plot.

All three princes got off their carriages.

Although he is two years older than Xiao Su, Xiao Zhuoxian has always been courteous, clasping his hands in greeting to Xiao Su.

"The wind is strong today, Third Prince, don't catch a chill."

Xiao Su curled his lips in a faint smile, "Thank you, Elder Brother, for your concern."

Xiao Zhuoxian's Consort Mother is in the Empress's palace, and before the incident, they also addressed each other as sisters.

So the atmosphere between them was fairly harmonious.

Xiao Yunye snorted, "As the Second Prince said, if you don't catch a wind-chill, you won't end up bedridden."

Xiao Su's lip curvature remained unchanged, as if he couldn't hear his veiled mockery.

"Thank you as well, Eldest Brother, for your concern."