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

Prince Yao's Palace.

"It's really fun to be in the hall today! Come, let's drink this cup."

Sima Yao raised his glass, and Shu Huaiyuan, Gu Nianzhi, and Lin Heng raised their glasses and drank together.

"Huaiyuan, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea?" Sima Yao asked.

Shu Huaiyuan smiled slightly and looked at Gu Nianzhi.

"The prince had this intention long ago, and wanted to dampen the Bai family's arrogance. However, it all depended on Mr. Gu's foresight and making all kinds of preparations in advance."

"No, no, I just optimized a few small details in the plan of the Crown Prince and Brother Shu."

The two looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding.

Although Sima Yao was also smiling, his smile was a little stiff.

"It turns out that you two had already secretly discussed the plan, and I became an outsider and had no idea about it."

Gu Nianzhi hurried to explain.

"Third Prince, please don't misunderstand. This matter may not be successful in one go. If you are involved, if you alert the enemy, your situation in the court will become very difficult."

"Yes, Huaiyuan is just a small general. Even if there are omissions in the plan, or if I am not strong enough and the Bai family counterattacks, I will insist that I am deliberately framed in order to gain military power in the capital. At most, I will be sent back to the imperial mausoleum to guard it for the rest of my life. But you are different. You are a prince. Besides, there are not many trustworthy people around the prince. At this time, you can't make any mistakes."

Shu Huaiyuan looked sincere. Although he seemed calm and composed in the hall today, he knew in his heart that the Bai family had a strong foundation and the slightest mistake would lead to their downfall.

Sima Yao raised the wine jug and filled Gu Nianzhi's glass with wine.

"I'm not blaming you for keeping it from me, but I hope you can let me know in advance so that I can help when necessary. I won't be as confused and flustered as I am today."

"Lin Heng can be dispatched by General Shu from now on!"

Lin Heng is slightly older than Shu Huaiyuan, but after hearing about what happened in the court today, he was full of respect for Shu Huaiyuan.

"With your help, Big Brother will be able to keep his position as Crown Prince!"

Sima Yao raised his glass again.

Although this great victory will not cause any serious damage to the Bai family, the arrogance of the Bai family's followers in the court will no longer be as arrogant as before.

Although with my current strength, I can only prune small branches and leaves around the Bai family, but it is always good to start.

---

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Father, this is the list of Li Qinglai's property that was confiscated today."

The prince presented the list, which was densely written.

"An official who only received a few dozen taels of silver a month had tens of thousands of taels of silver and hundreds of gold ingots confiscated from his home..."

The emperor was very angry.

The prince added: "In addition to this, he has also bought several houses in Beijing. The houses on both sides of West Drum Tower Lane are almost all his properties. He has also invested in dozens of casinos and is the boss behind the scenes."

"Officials are not allowed to engage in business. He is really lawless!"

"Not only that, the treasures he hid in the stables at home are priceless. A crystal glass vase alone is worth a hundred taels. There are also authentic calligraphy and paintings by famous artists. Everything is exquisite... The several small leaders under him are also arrogant in the city..."

"It's really outrageous."

"Father, do you want to continue investigating further?" The prince looked at the emperor's expression, trying to see the answer from his face.

The emperor was silent.

The prince lowered his voice and leaned close to the emperor's ear.

"Father, the Imperial Guards have always been under the command of Bai Mo... Li Qinglai is so bold, it must be related to the Bai family."

It can be seen that the emperor is very conflicted at the moment.

"Hui'er, what do you think?"

The prince was stunned. He didn't expect that his father would kick the ball back to his feet.

He had no choice but to answer honestly.

"I, your son, hope more than anyone else to bring the lawbreakers to justice, but this matter involves a lot of people. The Bai family currently controls a quarter of Dasheng's military power, and the other generals are also inextricably linked to the Bai family. If we really suddenly dig up their roots, I'm afraid it will cause... cause..."

"But it doesn't matter."

"I'm afraid... I'm afraid that my attitude towards the Bai family will be too radical and will cause... a palace coup..."

The emperor said nothing.

The prince knelt immediately.

"Father..."

"Stand up, you are not wrong, why are you kneeling?" The emperor had no expression on his face. "The Bai family's power has reached this point, all because of my weakness and incompetence."

"Father, I think that we should adopt a conciliatory policy towards the Bai family on the surface. We should not be too radical. We should keep a low profile and have a long-term vision. This is the best strategy. After this battle, Huaiyuan became the commander of the imperial guards. We have won to a large extent. Even if the Bai family wants to force the emperor to abdicate in the future, it will not be so easy with Huaiyuan here."

"That's true. Huaiyuan is indeed a promising talent, and you are not as weak and incompetent as I thought."

The emperor looked very pleased.

----

White House.

Bai Feng had been coughing for several days and today he took sick leave and stayed at home and did not attend the court.

Princess Yun'an was holding a jar of loquat paste and had just walked to Bai Feng's door. Just as she was about to knock, she heard the voice of her father Bai Mo.

"In today's incident, Shu Huaiyuan was clearly killing a chicken to scare the monkeys."

"What can we do? The emperor is on his side now. Ahem... ahem..."

"Father, Li Qinglai is just a mere commander of the imperial guards. He actually bothered the emperor to personally check and confiscate his property. This is nothing more than announcing to the world that the commander of the imperial guards in the capital has been changed and Shu Huaiyuan has taken over. This situation is really unfavorable to our Bai family..."

When Yun An heard Shu Huaiyuan's name, he was stunned.

She had long known that the Shu and Bai families were not on good terms, but she always felt that it was a conflict left over from the previous generation's struggle for power and would not be an obstacle to her and Shu Huaiyuan. But now it sounded as if her grandfather and father were also quite dissatisfied with Shu Huaiyuan.

"Shu Huaiyuan is just a young and inexperienced person who thinks he can do whatever he wants with the emperor's support. He will soon realize that without our Bai family, it will not be so easy to settle down in the capital."

After saying that, Bai Feng motioned Bai Mo to come closer and whispered in his ear.

Yun An tried to get as close to the window as possible, but he couldn't hear what was said at all.

"Don't worry, father. I will make all the arrangements. But, Shu Huaiyuan..."

"Whoever stands in my way will die! If he is still so stubborn and cannot see the situation clearly, I will have no choice but to send him to meet his father and brother underground."

Yun An's eyes trembled.

The loquat paste in my hand almost fell.

Although she quickly hugged the jar, the lid and the jar still made a collision sound.

"Who's out there?"

"It's me, father." At this point, Yun An could no longer eavesdrop, so he simply opened the door.

"It's Yun An, what's the matter with you coming to see Grandpa?"

Yun An walked to Bai Feng's bed. Bai Feng's face was full of smiles, and he looked like a very kind old man.