Yi Xin as a concubine

The situation in the palace could not be concealed from all parties, and pieces of news flew silently to all places from the huge imperial city.

Chu Xingchen looked at the information in front of him, and his expression became a little interesting for a moment.

It seems neither happy nor sad, there is relief but also reluctance.

For a moment he felt that his grandfather's wishful thinking might fail, and the young wife prepared for him was about to fly away.

However, as you continue to look down, the coldness in Mr. Wenrun's eyes, which is rarely shown in public, is growing stronger and stronger.

"You are so confident!"

After reading the entire intelligence, Chu Xingchen's emotions had calmed down again.

He was indeed involved in the last assassination, but he only added fuel to the fire and provided some half-true and half-false information.

But this time, it is time to show its claws to the world. The lion has been sleeping for too long, and it is inevitable that people will call the sick cat the king.

Everyone thought that he had no foundation, but in fact, Crown Prince Chu, his father whom he had not lived with for long, was not as mediocre and incompetent as the world knew. On the contrary, he had some ability to govern the country. He had seen his personal notes recording his daily life, and many of his ideas were very suitable for the Chu Dynasty at that time.

But old Emperor Chu was old and suspicious, and this seemed to be the inevitable fate of an emperor. He himself had done nothing for the country throughout his life, so how could he allow himself to have a prince who was extremely talented and was the best in everything? That would make him anxious and as if he was sitting unsteadily at any time.

Therefore, in order to consolidate his position, for long-term revenge, and for the little friendship between father and son, Crown Prince Chu chose to hide his edge and became the incompetent crown prince who was seen by the world as "a child who may not be a good person when he grows up".

But he did not give up his ambition, but turned all his plans from open to covert. The Xin family was a hidden chess piece he had arranged from the beginning. The Xin family was responsible for wealth, and the food and fodder had to be sent before the troops moved. Building roads and bridges, and improving people's livelihood all required money.

In addition to the Xin family, he also secretly prepared military arrangements. However, he did not expect that he had so little time left, and his good father, who was always on guard against him, would lose the country.

After thinking about all sorts of things for a while, he went over the forces he could mobilize in his mind, and had some plans in mind, but he still needed to think them over carefully.

After calling people in and arranging a few important matters, Chu Xingchen got up and left the study, strolling in the night to a pavilion located at the highest point of the entire mansion.

The pavilion was already somewhat dilapidated. The carvings on the beams and pillars had become dull due to long-term neglect. The paint on the wood had begun to fade, with the original color of the wood showing through in some places. The bamboo curtains that were originally used to block the sun and wind were half-fallen and half-hung down from all sides.

But the glazed tiles on the top of this pavilion are different from those in other places. There is only a thin layer of dust, which shows that this place is often visited.

This person is Chu Xingchen.

Chu Xingchen walked to the foot of the rockery, but instead of climbing up, he just jumped up, used his feet to gain momentum, and flew to sit on the tiles without making any sound.

Looking at the burnt ruins that had not yet been cleaned up, Chu Xingchen felt a little complicated.

After so many years of careful management and preparation, his gentle appearance had turned desolate and cold. He acted calmly and decisively without any personal feelings. Even when facing his brother's widow, he no longer had the initial bond of family affection.

He once thought that this would be how he would live his life. He would scheme and take back the country that once belonged to their Chu family, then train Xiaobao well, and when he grew up, he would hand over the country to him and help him govern the country so that the people who had suffered from hardships could live and work in peace.

Work diligently and live alone all your life.

But now he was wavering.

He had been hesitating whether to take the fragile woman to his side or let her go free and return to the Xin family.

He was surrounded by wolves, and there might be no future at all, so why bother involving an innocent woman like her?

Besides, he didn't like her that much, did he?

It would be better to send her back to the Xin family. Even if the Xin family cannot stay out of it in the future, if it is well planned, she, a woman in the harem, can live in peace.

As if he had finally made up his mind, he took another deep look at the charred black object that looked somewhat hideous and terrifying in the night, then flew down gracefully and flew out of the mansion after a few take-offs and landings.

In a dark room in General Duanmu's mansion, the Crown Princess' mother's home, unlike the silence outside, the lights were on. Eight or nine figures were sitting around a table. One of them was very young. It was none other than Ning Ye, the Crown Princess's grandson.

This group of people seemed to have just experienced an argument, and their faces were red. General Duanmu, who was sitting at the top, had an extremely unhappy expression, as if he was trying hard to suppress his anger.

Ning Ye looked at his grandfather, then at the other people sitting there, a gleam in his eyes that was totally inconsistent with his age.

"Aye, you should go back first. The situation is tense now. You princes and grandchildren of the emperor should keep a low profile, lest you be caught by someone with ulterior motives and cause unnecessary suspicion out of thin air."

"Yes, Grandfather, Ah Ye understands. I will go to the Emperor's side tomorrow to take care of him."

Ning Ye responded in a low voice, stood up, politely said goodbye to all the elders, then turned around and left the darkroom. As soon as he went out, he put on a large cloak hood, turned back with an obscure look in the direction of the darkroom, pulled the corners of his mouth, and the hood covered his young face, leaving a mocking smile.

As soon as Ning Ye left, a new round of quarrels started in the dark room. They were all the people who had followed Emperor Ning to build his empire and they were the most loyal to him, including General Duanmu.

But this assassination also made them realize a more serious problem, which they had been ignoring.

The emperor is old.

The wealth and honor they had for half of their lives were given by the old emperor. They were loyal and would do whatever the emperor told them to do. They could always keep up with the emperor's footsteps, but all this was limited to living and did not include death.

They are still in good health, with many children and grandchildren, and they have not enjoyed enough of the wealth in this world.

The emperor is old and the crown prince is deposed, and now they have to face the situation of choosing a new master to serve.

The prince is definitely dying now, and now there is the matter of finding the strange stone. But once the Wanshou Festival is over, the strange stone will not last long when it is presented as a gift.

The second prince and the third prince's mothers' families are not prominent, and they have not shown much talent. They have been running around for so many years, but have not achieved anything. It is obvious that they are not good people.

The fourth prince is ill and is not among the candidates.

The most likely one is the Fifth Prince. His mother is doting on the harem. Although his in-laws are civil officials whom they have always looked down upon, it must be said that Prime Minister Xie, the old fox, still has some power in the court. In a world where civil officials, scholars, and students are all being suppressed, he can still live a prosperous life, which shows his ability to scheme for personal gain.

But Prime Minister Xie is a civil official after all, and he has always been at odds with them, the military generals. If they support the Fifth Prince, they will inevitably be inferior to that old man. How can they be willing to accept that?

If he does not support the fifth prince, the only ones left who can support him are the two sons of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Among the two imperial grandsons, the legitimate Ning Ye obviously has more advantages, but the question is, will the old emperor bypass his son and pass the throne to his grandson?

You should know that the fifth prince is almost the same age as Ning Ye, and is more favored.

If they choose to stand with General Duanmu, they may face a confrontation with the master they have served loyally for many years, which is also the point of their argument tonight.

Ning Ye took advantage of the cover of night and sneaked back to the East Palace, but he didn't know that as soon as he came in, he was discovered by Ning Pei, who had just served Emperor Ning.

The young man raised the corner of his mouth, glanced sarcastically, and walked towards Xihuangyuan.

The Western Concubine had been released from confinement, and had just returned from the Crown Prince's bedroom. Both mother and child looked a little tired. After all, serving others is not an easy job.

"After today, the structure of the harem will probably change again. If we can dig out all those disgusting things, your eighth aunt will not be able to leave the palace, but she will have to experience less filth as a slave, which will give us more time to plan."

Concubine Xi rubbed her sore and numb cervical vertebrae and said with some sadness.