Ball Ball Cultivation

"Gather all the forces you have, hide them close to you and protect yourself. The rest of your exposed men should withdraw from the capital, as chaos is likely to break out."

Gu Zhao's political sensitivity was far superior to Han Chou's, who lived in modern times. He asked, "What news did you get?"

"The Emperor's health is deteriorating day by day, and the princes are fighting fiercely. Compared to the aristocratic families that have existed for hundreds of years, your limited forces can easily become cannon fodder. Retreat."

Gu Zhao was still hesitating, and Han Chou said anxiously: "Things deep inside cannot be found out, but everyone knows about the things on the surface. If the emperor didn't take back the power he gave you before, let them avoid it in advance.

It would be best to leave the capital and find a job abroad, as saving your life is more important."

Gu Zhao's brows were furrowed more and more. Han Chou loved Xiaoxue as much as anyone in the Han family. He spoke so seriously, and it seemed that his brothers could not sit still and might force the emperor to abdicate.

Anyone implicated in this kind of coup will die.

However, he arranged the secret guards that Emperor Yong gave to Gu Zhao to be with Xiaoxue, his son and himself.

After Gu Zhao was sent to guard the imperial mausoleum, most of the court ministers he had won over defected to other wise masters.

The Imperial Guards were still firmly in the hands of Emperor Yong. Although Gu Zhao had secretly planted a few of them, they could not play a big role.

His own power and the mother's clan that cannot be torn apart still have some support for Gu Zhao. They are pure intellectuals, so he can notify them to leave Beijing as soon as possible.

Gu Zhao and his mother's estate needed to be properly consolidated to dispel the suspicions of his younger brothers.

It just so happened that Gu Zhao was going to the south to purchase a batch of food and fodder, and Han Xue had given birth safely. The caravan would set off in the next few days, and the overt power would move to the south.

Gu Zhao was named Crown Prince at the age of fifteen and lived in the Eastern Palace. After he came of age, he married Han Xue, the legitimate daughter of General Zhenbei, as his Crown Princess. Due to the witchcraft incident, he was demoted to Queen An and was sent to the imperial mausoleum for imprisonment.

The emperor still had a fatherly heart for Gu Zhao, and left all his assets and confidants to Gu Zhao, so that he could protect his wife and children and survive in Huangling.

Gu Zhao's mother's clan lived in Jiangnan, and there were only one or two officials in the capital. After careful consideration, he really had no allies who needed to be relocated.

The queen has controlled the harem for many years and cultivated a powerful force, so he really needs to make some arrangements.

As for the throne, he doesn't think about it at all now, but he must avenge his mother.

A case of witchcraft with irrefutable evidence left him and his mother with no way to defend themselves, leading to their complete defeat.

Being able to lurk beside the mother and son for twenty years and deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment, this is no simple force.

Gu Zhao was trained as a crown prince since childhood and was a very capable politician.

He was good at overall management, business operation, and handling of government affairs. However, after the witchcraft incident, his murderous aura increased. Gu Zhao lost his last bit of innocence and became more suitable to sit on the throne of the crown prince.

Gu Zhao was trained as the heir since he was a child. Compared with other princes, his father loved him more and he had always lived under the supervision of Emperor Yong, so he did not develop his own power.

He was walking on thin ice in the position of Crown Prince. As he grew up, if he took even the slightest wrong step, he would be criticized by his brothers. He had to do his duty carefully and did not want to arouse his father's suspicion.

The emperor dotes on him because the power behind him is not obvious. If he builds up power under his father's nose, he will not only lose the emperor's love, but also the opportunity to inherit the throne.

Eighteen years of fatherly love and filial piety, and twenty years of sincere companionship from the Queen Mother, were no match for a planned witchcraft calamity. There is no true love in the royal family!

Gu Zhao was exiled to the imperial mausoleum, feeling decadent and unwilling inside. If it weren't for his childhood sweetheart and unborn child, he might have risked everything and ended up in pieces.

The next morning, Han Chou left the imperial mausoleum and stayed at an inn in the suburbs of Beijing that night.

Han Chou returned to the imperial mausoleum in stealth and took away Han Xue and the little grandson. The little nephew's nickname was still Ku Ku. He was usually very well-behaved, but as long as Gu Zhao hugged him, he would cry heart-wrenchingly. No one knew what hatred there was between the father and son.

Han Chou first woke up Han Xue who was pretending to be asleep, and took out a puppet. After Han Xue dripped blood, the puppet changed into Han Xue's appearance and lay back on the bed to play the role of Han Xue.

Next was the little crybaby, using the highest level puppet. A child would probably cry when his blood was taken, and Han Xue felt a little reluctant.

Qiuqiu had no choice but to give a paper man and asked Han Xue to write down Kuku’s birth date and time. What was dripped into the paper man was Han Xue’s blood. With Qiuqiu’s help, a “Kuku” was conjured up.

Seeing "Han Xue" and "Ku Ku" both unconscious, Qiu Qiu grabbed the soul of a wandering black cat and stuffed it into the paper man of "Ku Ku" so that he would look more like a normal child.

With Qiuqiu's protection, Han Xue followed Han Chou out of the imperial mausoleum while holding Kuku. Gu Zhao, who was deploying his forces, seemed to have sensed something and looked at the yard where Han Xue was for a long time.

The next day, Han Xue did not get up normally. The doctor left by Han Chou diagnosed that Han Xue was poisoned by the Hundred Days Drunk and would sleep for a hundred days and then slowly die.

However, Princess An was taught by the famous Poison Lady in the martial arts world, and had taken antidotes for this type of poison since childhood, so she will wake up within a hundred days and only needs the careful care of those around her.

Gu Zhao asked the doctor to check his son again and found that he also showed signs of poisoning. However, the doctor was not sure what the poison was and his pulse was not like that of a normal fetus, so further observation and research were needed.

After getting this result, Gu Zhao fell into deep silence and stayed by his wife and children until Han Chou sent a reply letter that could detoxify Han Xue and Ku Ku, and then he regained his fighting spirit.

All his good brothers wished him dead, but he didn't expect that he would even kill his wife and children.

Just when they were about to make a desperate move, Qiuqiu felt that the hero was going to turn evil, so she quickly asked Han Chou to send a message to Gu Zhao, asking him to preserve his power and protect his wife and children.

He knew that if he didn't stand in that position, the little power under his command might not even make a splash in the face of the competition from the big families.

The two most important women in Gu Zhao's life, his mother, resolutely died in order to clear his grievances, and his wife gave birth to his children and shared his joys and sorrows. Now she is lying in bed, and her life or death is unknown.

He transferred all the subdued guards back to the imperial mausoleum, and those who ran businesses dispersed from Kyoto in the name of finding an antidote for the princess.

Gu Zhao's desperate and crazy behavior made his brothers a little afraid.

After all, no one wants to drive the deposed prince crazy. He still has his wife and children, and he has constraints. If he is pushed into a desperate situation, I don’t know how many desperate things he will do.

Han Chou brought Han Xue and her son back to Kyoto, and first took his third brother Han Yuan away from Kyoto to stay away from trouble.

Han Yuan stayed behind at the Han family in the capital. As twins, he and Han Xue were weak and sickly since birth, so he was the only exception in the family who completely gave up martial arts and turned to literature.