The prince loves me like his life, but I force him to rebel

After coming out of the East Palace, Gu Nianzhi always felt that someone was following him in the dark.

When she reached a corner, she deliberately stopped and stood still.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a young eunuch quickly ran a few steps to catch up and almost bumped into Gu Nianzhi.

When the young eunuch saw that it was Gu Nianzhi in front of him, he immediately turned around and tried to escape, but was grabbed by the collar by Gu Nianzhi.

"Who asked you to follow me?"

"I, I, I just took the wrong road..."

"You followed me for so long and didn't feel like you were going the wrong way, but as soon as you saw me you knew you were going the wrong way?"

"I really took the wrong road, Mr. Gu, please forgive me."

"You know my name, and you say you didn't follow me on purpose? Do you want me to take you to ask the prince how to deal with this situation?"

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch fell to his knees.

"Please, sir, please don't tell the prince..."

"Then tell me, why are you following me?"

The young eunuch looked around in embarrassment and explained in a very low voice.

"I am a cleaning eunuch in the prince's palace. Someone asked me to follow you, sir, and told me what Mr. Gu and the prince discussed on a daily basis. Also, who else have you met in the palace, and where have you been..."

"Someone asked you to ask? Who asked you to ask?" Gu Nianzhi looked down at the little eunuch with as fierce a look as possible.

"Yes... yes... it's the sword-carrying guard adjutant Min Lirong."

"Do you know what punishment you will receive if the prince knows that the people around him are so unreliable?"

"According to the palace rules, I will be caned thirty times, deduct... deduct three months' salary, and may even be sent to work in the Xinzheku..."

"You took such a big risk, how much benefit did Min Lirong give you?"

"No, no, not much good, nothing good."

"Could it be that Min Lirong is threatening you, saying that if you don't do this, he will tell you about your gambling in the casino?"

The young eunuch's expression suddenly changed, and he almost collapsed.

"Mr. Gu, please. I have been castrated. If I am driven out of the palace, I will not be able to continue my family line when I return home. I will be despised and laughed at by others. I will have no way out but death... I was dragged there by my fellow villagers. I just played a few games out of curiosity. I am not a wicked person..."

The young eunuch was shaking all over as if he were sieving chaff.

His biggest secret was revealed so easily by Gu Nianzhi that he felt like he was about to break into pieces.

"what's your name?"

"Looking back at what you said, sir, my real name is Jiang Xiaohai, and everyone in the palace calls me Xiaohaizi."

"Get up, Xiao Haizi." Gu Nianzhi reached out and helped Jiang Xiaohai up. "This is not a big deal. Just go back and tell Min Lirong's people that I only go between the palace gate and the East Palace. Apart from the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, I basically have no contact with anyone else."

"They also asked me to eavesdrop on what the prince and you discussed. I don't know how to respond..."

Given Jiang Xiaohai's position, it was indeed difficult to hear the conversation between the prince and Gu Nianzhi.

"Just say that the prince and I have been discussing the next trip to Qiangyi to pick up the princess, and have not mentioned anything else."

"Is this all right?" Jiang Xiaohai had already stood up, but his face was still as pale as death.

"Xiao Haizi." Gu Nianzhi patted Jiang Xiaohai and gently pinched his thin shoulders under the wide eunuch uniform: "I will help you explain to the prince, but if you see anyone else from the prince's palace in the gambling house, remember to tell me."

"Mr. Gu, Xiao Haizi will definitely not gamble again! Please don't make fun of me."

"Go, why not?" Gu Nianzhi asked, "How do you know who else is in there if you don't go?"

"Mr. Gu, I'm stupid. I don't know whether you are speaking in a positive or negative way. Just tell me what you want Xiao Haizi to do..." Before he could finish his words, Jiang Xiaohai knelt down again with a plop.

"What a fool." Gu Nianzhi muttered, and pulled him up from the ground with great effort. "Don't kneel down all the time. I'm not a royal noble. I don't like this."

Then Gu Nianzhi leaned close to Jiang Xiaohai's ear and whispered a few words.

Jiang Xiaohai looked embarrassed and asked timidly, "Mr. Gu, I...if I am discovered by Adjutant Min, it will be very miserable."

"Then think about it carefully. Is it worse to offend the crown prince or to offend a small guard adjutant?" Gu Nianzhi said, and left in a huff.

Jiang Xiaohai was left alone, leaning against the wall, trying hard to keep himself from falling.

"Mom told me long ago that gambling is harmful to people. Why didn't I listen to her?"

---

The third prince’s study.

"In other words, what happened to Xiao Haizi today just confirmed your guess that day?" Sima Yao sat behind the desk and looked up at Gu Nianzhi.

"I made some inquiries. Xiao Haizi has not been in the palace for too long. Logically, he should not have much savings. But those people deliberately tempted him with benefits and forced him to gamble. It is obvious that they were not doing it for money."

"They took advantage of Xiao Haizi's inconspicuous appearance in the East Palace... so it would be easier for them to act?"

"Not only that, the Crown Prince is kindhearted, and the old men who serve him in the East Palace have a good relationship with him. If Min Lirong blatantly coerces and bribes them, maybe one of them will not be able to withstand the threat and directly surrender to the Crown Prince, and their plan will be over."

"That's why they chose the simple-minded and timid Xiao Haizi."

"Now that Xiao Haizi has been discovered, I have also taught him how to respond. There won't be any major problems in the short term. However, this Min Lirong is the Queen's distant nephew. I'm afraid that the Queen must have been behind this gambling business to allow it to be so blatant, right?"

Sima Yao frowned.

A few days ago, the Crown Prince specifically reminded him that the Queen and the Second Prince's party currently have many followers in the court, and even the Emperor is very wary of this, so he asked him to keep calm and not show his dissatisfaction.

Whether among the people or in the palace, the second prince has an absolute advantage. It can be said that if the emperor had not been sitting in the position, he might have already stepped onto the throne.

Legitimacy seems so fragile in the face of absolute strength.

History is written by the victors.

"Third Prince, please forgive me for being reckless. The Queen and the Second Prince have been gaining power for a long time. Why didn't the Emperor stop them before? Why did they have to develop to this point..."

"Not only you, but I also have such doubts." Sima Yao stood up and looked at the bright moon outside the window. "My eldest brother was also dissatisfied with this issue and asked the Empress Dowager for advice..."

Before the current emperor ascended the throne, there was no rule in Da Sheng that the eldest son could become the crown prince.

It was only after the current emperor ascended the throne that the regulations that the eldest son would be the crown prince were written into law. Therefore, no matter what the eldest son's abilities or character are, he is the natural candidate for the crown prince and the future heir to the throne from the day he is born.

The reason why the current emperor made such regulations is because he experienced the brutal struggle for the throne.

Before this, the throne was held by the most capable person, and the war for the throne would only truly end when the emperor passed away.

The current emperor is not highly regarded and has no intention of competing for the throne. He is content to be an idle prince, living a carefree life in the suburbs of the capital.

But all the brothers were more or less involved in the struggle for the throne, and he was also caught up in it.

He witnessed the entire process of father killing son, son trying to kill father, and brothers killing each other, but he was unable to completely escape.

What is even more bizarre is that the two brothers who were most active in the fight for the throne all died unexpectedly. What is even more unexpected is that the late emperor actually handed over the throne of Da Sheng to the son who was least willing to fight when he was dying.

He didn't want his son to make the same mistake.

He had always thought that if the eldest son of the emperor succeeded to the throne, it would be natural, and the cases of concubines killing the emperor's fetus and the emperor's sons killing each other would be greatly reduced. After all, people have different abilities and can compete with each other, but their status is innate, and no one can change their origin.

However, he really underestimated people's ambition.