The peerless and dark princess

It is estimated that even Zuo Ci himself did not know that the collusion between Queen Meng Yujiao and Sun Tao directly ignited the battle for the throne among several princes. Crown Prince Chen Yunjie, as the heir to the throne, certainly would not give in. Then there was the second prince Chen Yunfeng who represented the Queen's faction, and Chen Yunbin who secretly colluded with the Northern Rong and was eyeing them covetously, as well as those royal relatives who were dissatisfied with Emperor Chen Yan.

Shen Xinyue was in a very good mood at the moment. It all started with her going to the Second Prince's residence and successfully getting Muruohan to whisper in his ear. It also allowed Muruohan to show her daughter's abilities in front of the Queen. Not only was she the mother of the Emperor's eldest grandson, but she was also the "No. 1 Talented Woman" who was famous in Dali. She was a smart person, no worse than Guan Yilian, the Prince's Consort.

"this?"

Mu Wange was a little dumbfounded when she heard the news that Shen Xinyue and Mu Ruohan were granted marriage by the emperor. The most important thing was that it was Shen Xinyue. She couldn't accept it.

"However, I don't know what His Majesty was thinking this time. He actually did this. We are really dumbfounded."

"It was a bit unexpected. Uncle's move has put us in a better position. However, in order to prevent them from getting suspicious, you still have to show your extreme dissatisfaction. Let your cousin and the others perform for the outsiders to see. If the people in Prince Yan's Mansion don't make any move, that will arouse suspicion."

"Wangge, these aren't difficult, but are you really going to get married? Although Zuo Ci..."

"Second uncle, it's nothing more than marrying Zuo Ci. I'll divorce him after everything is over."

Chu Tianxiong and others felt a little distressed when they saw Wange's nonchalant look. Her aunt and concubine's sister framed her father for inaction, and they, the relatives, were being watched by the emperor. Even so, such a sensible girl was required to sacrifice her life's happiness. Which girl didn't want to marry the person she loved, but she didn't even have the choice of choosing a husband.

Mu Wange had no idea what these people were thinking. In her opinion, it was just a marriage, not a matter of life and death. The sky wouldn't fall. When her little boy Mu Haolin grew up, she could find a place to live a leisurely life.

-

"I thought it was just the Crown Prince, but it turns out the Third Prince is no less capable."

"You are wise, Madam. Haven't you caught the fox by the tail?"

"Let the Meng family investigate the Third Prince again. Although we've suppressed the Crown Prince, I don't want another one to come and investigate him thoroughly. Hmm, wait, let the Princess's family do more. Let the family teach Mu Heng a lesson in private..."

Meng Yujiao had originally wanted to let her family handle the matter, but then she thought, shouldn't the Guan family, as the prince's consort's family, be involved? Mu Heng's ability to play both sides made her somewhat unhappy. If it weren't for Mu Ruohan marrying into the Second Prince's residence, her son's consort would have been Mu Wange, the legitimate daughter. Why would she have to abruptly cut off ties with the Prince of Yan's Mansion just to get rid of Mu Wange? Had she originally chosen Mu Wange for the support she could bring to the Prince of Yan's Mansion? Chu Moxuan was even better, but the Emperor definitely wouldn't allow her to marry into the royal family...

"Where's Feng'er? Is he accompanying Muruohan and her son again?"

"Yes, Your Highness is accompanying them."

Meng Yujiao propped up her head tiredly and squinted her eyes. "Tell him to come over here. I have something for him to do."

-

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have been arguing fiercely lately. Should we add fuel to the fire?"

"No, we must quit while we are ahead. Right now, the Crown Prince and Second Brother are in the open, while we are in the dark. But we are no match for them. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent and has the support of ministers loyal to the late Queen, while Second Brother is the Queen's son and has the support of the Meng and Emperor families. We will not get involved. Going against either side right now is disadvantageous, so we need to slowly grow our power and sit back and watch the fight unfold. This is the best way."

Chen Yunfeng, observing the situation, was determined to let his brothers fight each other. Although he had first colluded with the Northern Rong to cause chaos in the southern border towns, forcing the Chu family to flee to southern Xinjiang, and then, as his father had long disliked the Chu family, he allowed Chu Lianyao to return to the capital in triumph and return the military command, and then used the Crown Prince to plant people in southern Xinjiang. Perhaps his brothers didn't understand that this "coward" also coveted the throne, and...

"Your Highness is wise. Let's just watch the Crown Prince and the Second Prince suffer losses, and then we'll reap the benefits."

Chen Yunbin's idea was a good one, but unfortunately he had forgotten the existence of Zuo Ci. Ever since the incident with Zuo Yunhan, he had never underestimated the obscure Third Prince. Although he was framed, his gloomy demeanor made people wary of him.

-

"Your Highness, do you really want to do this?"

"My father is just about to depose me as the crown prince. What else can I do? I haven't yet taken control of Southern Xinjiang. My second brother and I each have half of the guards in the capital, but my second brother still has the Queen's men..."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away."

Crown Prince Chen Yunjie believed Chen Yan was trying to connect Chen Yunfeng to the Prince of Yan's mansion while also getting rid of Mu Wange, the supposedly incompetent young lady. When he learned that the head of the Imperial Hospital was colluding with Empress Meng Yujiao, he was even more distraught. He didn't make a public announcement, but instead had his eunuchs close to Chen Yan administer a slow-acting poison using the same method, then framed Sun Tao. If he could be so cruel to himself, wouldn't it hurt if the same knife were stabbed into his own body? After all, it was Sun Tao who did it. Conspiring to murder the emperor—well, that was a good charge.

Chen Yunjie couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't expect that there were so many of his good brother's people hiding in his Eastern Palace. After knowing about Sun Tao's affairs, he secretly ordered people to purge the entire Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace was so useless. He really wanted to kill so many traitors, but it was not possible now. It didn't matter if one or two people disappeared, but so many people would probably attract attention. Now he could only control them.

Neither Mu Wange, Zuo Ci, nor the others at the Prince of Yan's Palace paid much attention to the undercurrents between the three princes. Zuo Ci, in particular, was selecting a date to propose marriage according to the Emperor's decree, and had to make extensive preparations. However, the Prince of Yan's Palace, following Mu Wange's instructions, had the Chu Lixiu brothers and the other two give Zuo Ci a lesson. Upon hearing this, Zuo Ci, feeling even more aggrieved, went to the palace to plead with Emperor Chen Yan not to marry Mu Wange, a goddess.

Chen Yan was delighted by Zuo Ci's reluctance and gave him a lecture, though he also tried to appease him. So Zuo Ci recovered at the palace with peace of mind and then went to the Shangshu Mu's residence to propose marriage.

Shen Xinyue was extremely happy about this. Mu Heng had not neglected her recently, while Mu Wange was despised but had to marry.