Chapter 274: Overt and Covert Conspiracies

Li Mushu stood up from his seat and spoke with a slightly trembling voice, filled with a touch of excitement and worry.

“Your Highness… If you guessed wrong, then…”

Hearing this, the Head of the Chu family, the counselor beside him, and the last person all got goosebumps all over their bodies. Even Prince Jin had sweat running down his back, and his scalp was numb, but he grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

“I know! This is a big gamble. Just bet on your luck and stand by my, Yang Hao’s, side!”

“Boom…”

The thunder sounded, illuminating the slightly pale face of Prince Jin.

“Crash…”

The sound of intense rain came from outside. The heavy rain that had been brewing since the thunder last night had finally arrived. The flowers and plants in the auspicious garden were all bent under the force of the torrential rain.

As the saying went, autumn rain brought a chill. Not long after the rain fell, the people of the Capital Prefecture experienced a significant drop in temperature.

The one who knew you best was always your opponent. This sentence was also applicable in the competition for crown prince. Prince Wu never underestimated Prince Jin. Even after the old emperor’s health deteriorated, Prince Jin remained obedient and quiet. However, Prince Wu was always very wary of his third brother.

In the same way, Prince Jin also placed greater importance on his eldest brother. Unlike Prince Wu, who sought to oversee the entire government, Prince Jin had been focusing almost all of his attention on his eldest brother ever since the old emperor’s decline, knowing that he was no match for his elder brother in terms of influence in the court.

Prince Jin had made no significant moves for a long time, and almost no moves in general at all, but that did not mean he had truly given up.

Opportunities were always reserved for those who were prepared for them. Even if there were no concrete evidence to prove the problems faced by Prince Wu’s faction, Prince Jin relied solely on the analysis of his own people and decisively determined his opponent’s current state.

Immediately after making his decision, Prince Jin secretly issued a series of orders. Several agile experts, set out in disguise under the cover of the heavy rain.

The key to this step was not only to instigate Prince Wu’s men who were hesitant, regardless of whether this rebellion was true or false, but also to find ways to stay out of it. To put it bluntly, the goal was to create the impression that Prince Wu was truly desperate and was ready to kill.

The best possible situation for Prince Jin would be if Prince Wu had truly intended to go through with it from the beginning. However, if he could hold his composure, then Prince Jin would need to give him a nudge.

. . .

As night fell, the pouring rain continued. At the gate of Prince Jin’s palace, Prince Jin Yang Hao and his Imperial Tutor Li Mushu, escorted by servants carrying umbrellas, walked out the gate and boarded the carriage together.

“Let’s go to the palace.”

Prince Jin said to the driver after he helped Li Mushu into the carriage. The carriage slowly set off, escorted by guards to the front and rear.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, in the imperial study of the imperial palace, Emperor Yuan De was still reading a book. It was a tale of Immortals.

But although he was reading the Immortal story, the old emperor’s thoughts remained on matters of state. Prince Wu’s previous actions had disappointed Emperor Yuan De, and his original plan to announce the edict of succession after the Yang Festival had been put on hold.

At this time, an old eunuch walked into the imperial study and announced in a low voice.

“Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Jin has come to the palace and requested an audience with you.”

“Huh? It’s so late, what is he doing here?”

“Uh… He said it is to pay his respects to you, Your Majesty.”

The old emperor frowned and put down the book. Eunuch Li hurried forward a few steps and helped him to his feet, while a palace maid quickly tucked a cushion behind the couch.

“Let him in.”

“Yes!”

The old eunuch withdrew and soon returned, ushering Prince Jin Yang Hao into the imperial study.

“Your Second Son has come to pay respects to Father Emperor!”

As usual, Prince Jin knelt down respectfully and bowed.

“Rise.”

Prince Jin, kneeling on the ground, raised his head and smiled, then he stood up.

“What a novelty today! Why did you suddenly find the desire to pay your respects in the palace? Take a seat.”

The old emperor teased. After several princes had left the imperial palace and established their own residences, almost no one came to visit him in the evenings. Of course, this was also due to the old emperor’s bad temper and easy annoyance.

“Thank you, Father!”

Prince Jin stood up. A eunuch brought a chair over from the side, and he sat down directly.

“I used to be afraid you, Father Emperor, and didn’t dare to come. Now that I thought about it, I should come visit more often.”

Prince Jin spoke in a slightly lower voice, laden with emotion.

“Where’s Li Mushu? He is practically inseparable from you. Did you not come together?”

“Your Majesty, I cannot hide it from you: the teacher is still waiting in the carriage. He said that he did not dare come into the Imperial Study to face the Emperor.”

“Hah…”

The old emperor smiled, took a piece of preserved fruit on the low table in front of him, and then waved his hand towards Prince Jin and a nearby palace maid immediately approached him with a tray.

Prince Jin did not stand on ceremony. He simply took a handful of candied fruit slices, stuffed on in his mouth, and held the others in his hands.

“What? There’s nothing to eat in Prince Jin’s Palace?”

The old emperor joked again, somewhat amused.

“Father Emperor, you jest. This is a gift from the Imperial Study, and it is a gift from His Majesty, so it’s different. I will give some to Teacher as well.”

The old emperor looked up and down at Prince Jin.

“You said that you should come visit me more often. Did you think that I don’t have much time left, and are afraid that you won’t have another chance in the future?”

An ordinary minister at this moment would have been so frightened that his face would have turned pale and he would have begun to defend himself, but Prince Jin did not speak immediately.

“Your Majesty, what you say is exactly how I feel. People say that familial affection is rare in imperial families, but I still remember the feeling. When I we little, Your Majesty would lift me up and make me ‘fly’ in your arms…”

Even an old cow would still love its calf; as a dying, man, how could Emperor Yuan De not be moved when he heard Prince Jin’s emotional words? He did not interrupt Prince Jin’s chattered reminiscing.

“I’ve grown up, and have become even more afraid. It has been ages since I have spoken so much with Father Emperor…”

Prince Jin’s chats with the emperor had come to a halt after he had left the palace and established his own residence.

The old emperor remained silent throughout the whole conversation, but now, looking at his son, he was overwhelmed with emotion, and patted the soft couch beside him.

“Come and sit.”

Prince Jin opened his mouth, stood up halfway, but didn’t move.

“What? Are you scared? Didn’t you sit here all the time when you were a kid?”

Since the old emperor had said to, Prince Jin no longer hesitated. He put away the candied fruit in his hand, stood up, and walked slowly over to the soft couch and sat down. The soft cushion underneath him was as familiar as he remembered. It was both a memory and a kind of yearning.

He didn’t talk too much about irrelevant topics with his Father Emperor. They simply chatted about family matters and about his childhood. In the middle, the old emperor even called Concubine Ren over to join them.

Unknowingly, a long time passed. From beginning to end, the struggle for the throne was never mentioned, and there was not even a hint of state affairs.

“Father, it’s getting late. You should head to bed. I will come pay my respects tomorrow!”

Prince Jin stood up to say goodbye.

“Hao’er, you come to chat for so long every day, your father must be exhausted!”

Concubine Ren frowned and scolded her son.

“Haha, it’s okay, he can come whenever he wants!”

Prince Jin smiled and bowed to his mother and father.

“Don’t worry, mother. I am just visiting, while I still have the chance…”

“Hao’er! What did you say!?”

Concubine Ren’s expression darkened and she cursed angrily, then immediately apologized to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, Hao’er didn’t mean it, he…”

“Okay, it’s alright, it’s alright.”

The old emperor waved his hand. He was in a good mood tonight, and these words were facts, so he didn’t mind that much.

Concubine Ren breathed a sigh of relief and frowned at her son.

“Hao’er, why don’t you thank your father?”

Prince Jin seemed to have just come to his senses, and bowed once more in thanks.

“Thank you, Father, for forgiving me. Actually, what I just said…”

Prince Jin glanced at Concubine Ren, sighed dejectedly, and did not continue. He bowed again.

“Your son will take his leave!”

After Prince Jin left, Concubine Ren’s face grew worried. Her son’s dejected and slightly sad expression before he left made her uneasy.

“Your Majesty, Hao’er…”

The old emperor slowly exhaled and patted his beloved concubine on the back.

“It’s okay, I won’t let anything happen to him…”

The old emperor now understood the situation a little bit. Prince Jin had always been intelligent. Unlike Prince Wu, who continuously struck gold,

1

he had been silent for a while. He probably already knew that he had no hope.

But with such a capable younger brother, would Prince Wu really let him go after ascending the throne?

. . .

That night, some unusual news reached Prince Wu’s residence. Already unable to sleep, the Prince threw on his clothes and headed straight for the main hall.

“The third prince entered the palace late at night?”

A man in a dark blue stealth clothes bowed and replied.

“Reporting to His Highness, that is indeed the case. The carriage arrived around the Xu hour,

2

and only left around the Zi hour

3

!”

Prince Wu’s brows were furrowed as deeply as a river.

“Is there any news from the palace worth sharing?”

Despite discussed it with his ministers in the daytime, Prince Wu instinctively asked this question.

“Well… According to His Highness’s instructions, the people around the Emperor are no longer delivering news…”

Prince Wu clapped his hands and anxiously paced back and forth around the hall.

“Then forget it!”

“Yes!”

The man withdrew, and the Prince sat in the hall for a long time, without returning to his room to rest.

The next day, the day after… Prince Jin visited the palace several days in a row, and then one day, his carriage drove openly to the front of the Capital Prefecture’s inn.

Yin Zhaoxian had never expected that Prince Jin would dare visit him in person, but since a prince’s visit required a welcome, he invited him in. However, he left the main door wide open, and had the innkeeper serve the tea.

4

These two details could not be concealed from the emperor or Prince Wu, though their reactions differed.

The old emperor learned the exact details that very same day, realizing that Prince Jin hoped that Yin Zhaoxian would be able to protect a few loyal ministers, particularly Li Mushu, in the future.

Of course, the old emperor did not truly believe this was his sole purpose, but he still couldn’t deny the possibility. He couldn’t help but sigh. As far as his son was concerned, this was truly “the end of the line” in all respects.

However, after Prince Jin’s visit to Yin Zhaoxian, Prince Wu could not bear it any longer, and once again secretly summoned all his confidants to Prince Wu’s palace for a meeting.

Prince Jin’s actions made Prince Wu extremely anxious, and he couldn’t help but contact his inner palace spies again. He learned that Concubine Ren had accompanied them in the imperial study several times, causing even the officials in the palace to grow wary.

No one knew Prince Jin’s capabilities better than they did. Some military officials even came to see Prince Wu several times on their own to request audiences with him.

In the early morning of the 17th day of the 9th lunar month, in a secluded area outside the gates of the Capital Prefecture’s capital city, the Royal Tutor Li Mushu and his family members were all arranged on a large number of carriages. The family had been secretly brought out here many times, and were surrounded by some of Prince Jin’s most trusted and most skilled advisors.

The aged Li Mushu bowed with cupped hands to Prince Jin, his expression filled with sorrow and reluctance.

“Your Highness, this old man should stay!”

Prince Jin shook his head.

“Teacher, you should return to Yan Province. Even if my eldest brother does succeed the throne, you are so old, and will be so far away in Yan Province. With Yin Zhaoxian there, you will be safe.”

“What about you, Your Highness?”

“Me? Of course I shall wait for the outcome. Do I have any other place left that I can run to?”

Prince Jin smiled and bowed to Li Mushu.

“Teacher, take care!”

Li Mushu’s old eyes clouded, and he bowed with a slight tremor.

“Your Highness, take care!”

Prince Jin personally stepped forward, helped Li Mushu into the carriage, and watched the convoy slowly leave. Then he turned and left, quietly returning to the city in the same way he had come.

左右逢源 (zuǒyòuféngyuán): lit. “to strike water right and left,” means to have everything go your way

7-9pm, we can assume 7pm because it’s the start of the hour

11pm-1am. We can assume 11pm

To show that there are no secret discussions happening, and to not show any indication of servitude or loyalty by pouring tea himself.