Chapter 655

Palace Gate.

Several young eunuchs presented their waist plaques; they were responsible for the task of purchasing supplies outside the palace.

They flew out of the palace and entered various major merchant firms to trade, but during the handling process, several slips of paper disappeared unknowingly, subsequently entering different mansions.

Prince Tai's Mansion.

Prince Tai, Li Ruzhang, had a facial appearance similar to the Emperor's, both appearing extremely heroic.

At this moment, after reading the slip of paper, he laughed heartily: "To restrain oneself and return to propriety is benevolence; Father Emperor is saying the Crown Prince is not benevolent..."

Since ancient times, the world has been governed by loyalty and filial piety; beyond that, it is benevolence and righteousness.

This belongs to a very serious accusation.

"Such an intention of reprimand is almost explicitly stated; I fear that from now on, the imperial court will be full of trouble..."

A middle-aged man in a green shirt, dressed like a scholar, sighed: "However... this is a good thing for Your Highness."

"Mr. Wu, do you think we should send people to spread the word?"

Li Ruzhang rubbed the refined steel ring on his hand.

The Great Gan took the world through archery and horsemanship and would never neglect the education of the imperial princes.

Li Ruzhang could draw a strong bow, his archery skills were superior, and he was deeply favored by the Emperor.

Coupled with his appearance, which resembled his father's, unlike the Crown Prince who was somewhat weak and scholarly, he was the most favored by the Emperor.

"This is quite unnecessary..."

Mr. Wu, who was Prince Tai's chief strategist, shook his head at this moment, looked around, and lowered his voice: "His Majesty is the founding monarch, possessing great talent and bold vision, and is even more meticulous. It would be an exaggeration to say the Embroidered Uniform Guard controls the entire world, but they certainly can control the mere capital city. If it were to be investigated later, it would not be a good thing..."

Mentioning the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Prince Tai shivered: "Forget it, forget it; let my good younger brothers go and test the waters... We will not participate in this matter."

"Exactly so. Nowadays, the princes can fight, but it is tacitly permitted by His Majesty, yet it cannot go out of bounds..."

Mr. Wu thought again and sighed: "I see His Majesty's intention; he still has some expectations for the Crown Prince. I fear the intention of using him as a whetstone is the primary one..."

"A whetstone? Hmph... is he not afraid of grinding the person to waste?" Prince Tai sneered: "Furthermore, I cannot retreat, nor do I want to retreat... Once I retreat, I will be smashed to pieces."

Mr. Wu nodded. Although Prince Tai was brave, he was good at accepting advice, which gave him the feeling of having met a wise master: "This matter of seizing the throne cannot be rushed. His Majesty is in his prime; let us let the Crown Prince bear the brunt first, and take it slowly..."

"Not bad. I have also seen clearly over these years that this Crown Prince position is simply sitting on a fire pit... Yet, everyone wants to go and sit on it."

Prince Tai laughed and casually burned the slip of paper in his hand.

The Crown Prince closed his doors to study, and everything was quiet.

In the blink of an eye, three days later, at night.

"Tonight, the Ancestral Dragon dies..."

Inside the study, the whale oil candle was incomparably bright. Fang Xing held a scroll of books in his hand, his thoughts already drifting away.

Since he was the one who took action, he naturally knew when the Emperor would die of a sudden illness.

"Before the third watch tonight, there will definitely be a message from the palace..."

The vast majority of people are the silent majority, seeking no merit, only seeking no mistakes.

Therefore, once a sudden change occurs, what should be done?

Immediately pledging loyalty or rebelling are both in the extreme minority; most people act according to procedures and regulations! This way, everyone has no responsibility!

Therefore, the old Emperor dies, the Crown Prince is notified according to procedure, and the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne... it is just that simple!

This is the power of the so-called 'righteous name and status'; to put it bluntly, it is just such a matter.

Everyone does not want to toss and turn, and the world will be stable.

"If there is no message from the palace after the third watch, then there will be fun... it means the palace is isolated, news is blocked... there are eunuchs, imperial concubines, and outside officials colluding, preparing to depose me and push another prince to the throne... it is even possible that the Emperor long ago intended to depose the Crown Prince, and the imperial edict is already written and hidden."

"But I don't need to worry about these. If I don't receive a notification by the third watch, I will immediately go to the Duke of Wei and Duke of England's mansions, announce the news of the Emperor's passing, and then go to the Forbidden Army camp to raise troops in the name of the Crown Prince to clear the monarch's side!"

This is actually very dangerous; the Crown Prince rebelling, the evidence is sufficient!

If the Emperor were still alive, with one call from a high position, with the majesty of a founding monarch, the Forbidden Army would certainly immediately turn their spears, and then the Crown Prince would be executed...

But Fang Xing was certain the Emperor was already dead; this is the benefit of holding the open cards and having the heavenly eyes opened.

A winning bet, naturally, one must go all in!

'With such a benefit, even if there is some imperial edict to depose me, it is also a forged edict, and I will certainly not recognize it... and I can also take advantage of the situation to purge the inner palace and the imperial court.'

Just as Fang Xing was thinking, Eunuch Ma walked in and bowed: "Your Highness, there is an envoy from the palace."

"I will go right away."

Fang Xing put down the scroll and saw a trace of hidden unease on Eunuch Ma's face.

Clearly, someone coming from the palace in the middle of the night must mean something big has happened.

Perhaps... the Crown Prince is about to be deposed?

Fang Xing smiled and walked out of the study.

Not long after, everyone in the Crown Prince's mansion had arrived.

Besides the Crown Princess, there were also the palace guard captain Zhao Hu and others.

Especially Zhao Hu, who was recommended to the Crown Prince's mansion by the late Duke of England; he was loyal and devoted, and possessed courage and strength, counting as a die-hard loyalist of the Crown Prince.

If the Crown Prince wanted to rebel, this person would definitely follow.

After all, having the Crown Prince's name and status, and the support of the maternal relatives, raising a few death soldiers was not a big problem.

Fang Xing looked at the arriving captains, and seeing their armor was complete, he couldn't help but nod secretly.

Arriving at the main hall, he saw the envoy was actually Eunuch Su, who served by the Emperor's side.

"Eunuch Su, I wonder what the imperial edict is?"

Fang Xing frowned and asked.

"There is an edict, requesting the Crown Prince to enter the palace." Eunuch Su's attitude was much better than a few days ago, but Fang Xing's five senses were superior, and he saw a trace of panic and anxiety hidden deep within this person.

"Without head or tail... whose edict? What exactly happened?"

Fang Xing asked in 'shock and anger'.

Eunuch Su looked deeply at Fang Xing, feeling deeply that the mandate of heaven was still there, and thinking that the Crown Prince would eventually ascend the throne, even though there were instructions before, he still leaked some content: "The Empress Dowager's oral decree, His Majesty's holy body is unwell, requesting the Crown Prince to enter the palace to serve the sick..."

As for more, he would not say it even if beaten to death.

"This..."

Fang Xing seemed a bit frightened, then gritted his teeth: "Since Father Emperor is ill, I, as a subject, naturally must go... Where is the Donggong Guard?"

"Crown Prince, please give the order."

Zhao Hu immediately knelt down.

"Assemble the Donggong Guard, one team remains to guard the Crown Prince's mansion, the remaining four teams follow me!"

Fang Xing said, gritting his teeth.

!

To outsiders, this was purely taking a risk; if the Emperor found out afterwards, there would be plenty of suffering to endure, and he might even be deposed.

But Eunuch Su raised his head in astonishment, yet did not stop him, instead sighing in his heart: 'At a critical moment, the Crown Prince is actually so heroic, quite like the late Emperor's style... worthy of being the dragon's seed!'

Going to the imperial palace did not mean it would be smooth sailing.

Perhaps there would be a Xuanwu Gate incident, directly ambushing and killing at the palace gate.

Even if not, after entering the deep palace, a few eunuchs and palace maids could kill a person.

Han Xin and Ao Bai must be very sad...

Although Fang Xing was not very afraid, he did not want to reveal his extraordinary aspects; this was his biggest trump card and must be hidden.

Therefore, he chose to bring most of the Donggong Guard.

At least, he had to control a palace gate route; he couldn't have nowhere to run if something happened, right?

Although this possibility was not high, it could not be guarded against.

Not long after, under the worried gazes of Lady Sun and other women, the Crown Prince's honor guard set off and slowly headed towards the palace gate.

Prince Tai's Mansion.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Prince Tai, Li Ruzhang, was woken up in the middle of the night and had quite a bit of morning grumpiness; he almost wanted to kick the maid to death: "What happened?"

"Mr. Wu visited in the middle of the night, saying our people discovered unusual movements in the Crown Prince's mansion."

The maid knew Prince Tai's temper and hurriedly reported.

"Unusual movements in the Crown Prince's mansion? Go to the study immediately!"

Prince Tai hurriedly put on his clothes and came to the study, seeing Mr. Wu: "Mr. Wu, you have worked hard. I have already ordered the kitchen to prepare ginseng soup; have a bowl first..."

"Your Highness..."

Mr. Wu, who had always been elegant and composed, appeared hurried: "The Crown Prince's honor guard has gone to the palace gate... The imperial palace is locked at night, and something big must have happened!"

"What?"

The golden bowl in Prince Tai's hand overturned: "In the palace... what happened in the palace?"

The imperial palace curfew was strict, locked at night, and would not open until dawn.

Not to mention, although the princes' mansions tried hard to manage informants in the palace, after all, it had just been founded, and there was still a spirit of vitality, so it was not riddled with holes, and there was the Embroidered Uniform Guard watching; no matter if they were princes or ministers, they dared not go too far.

Especially those planted in key positions; if discovered, they would certainly lose their entire family.

At most, they would get some people in purchasing and other aspects, and they dared not pass on too secret news, just guessing a rough idea through the daily expenses in the palace.

"This... what should I do?"

Prince Tai's face was pale; under the candlelight, he looked like an ordinary young man, and he stayed up late with dark circles under his eyes, not showing any heroic or wise posture.

"The most urgent task now is to determine what happened in the palace... Judging by the current situation, it must be that the Empress Dowager or the Emperor has had an accident..."

Otherwise, even if some imperial concubine or prince died suddenly, it would not have reached the point of alarming the Crown Prince in the middle of the night.

"My Imperial Grandmother's health is still okay, and Father Emperor has always been healthy... how, how did it reach this point?"

Prince Tai's voice carried a crying tone, having a bad premonition.

"Yes... it's too sudden, too sudden."

Mr. Wu felt bitter in his heart; he calculated that the Emperor still had decades to live, so he set a strategy of slow seizure. Who could have thought the Emperor would suddenly be unable to continue?

'Could it be that this is the mandate of heaven?'

'No... the mandate of heaven still needs people to decide; I want to... defy the heavens and change fate!'

Mr. Wu paced quickly and then said: "Now, there are upper, middle, and lower strategies... The upper strategy is to enter the palace immediately. Your Highness's biological mother is an Imperial Consort; if you can persuade the Empress Dowager to change the imperial heir, then the big matter can be settled..."

Prince Tai's biological mother was of noble birth; in the situation where the Emperor had not set an Empress, she already controlled most of the palace power. If they were to fight to the death, there would still be a chance.

"My Father Emperor has heavenly protection; he might not have an accident. What about the middle strategy?"

Prince Tai shrank his neck.

If his Father Emperor was not dead, then doing this would be rebellion, and he would be imprisoned for life even if he didn't die.

"The middle strategy is to remain still and sit and watch the success or failure of the mandate of heaven."

"Your Highness and the Crown Prince are, after all, biological brothers. Although there were some conflicts before, it didn't reach the point of being incompatible. If it really reaches that point, as long as you respectfully plead guilty, you will still have the life of a wealthy idler in the future."

Mr. Wu said: "Even, if Your Highness has the mandate of heaven, and tonight is actually the Crown Prince's palace coup..."

(End of chapter)