Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

Just as the emperor said, the tenth prince was not a very obedient crown prince.

Even though he is still relatively young and studying at the Hongwen Academy, no court official can sway his mind.

At the emperor's behest, Yin Yin often took the crown prince to the Longteng camp.

Therefore, the Crown Prince's riding, archery, and martial arts lessons were not learned in the palace, but were trained in the Longteng Camp.

As a friend who was a few years older than the Crown Prince, Cheng Si also joined in and became a member of the training.

The emperor liked their close relationship, so he simply issued an imperial edict to officially appoint Chengsi as the Crown Prince's study companion.

From then on, unless he was going to the Dragon Soaring Camp, Cheng Si rarely left the palace, spending more time in the Eastern Palace than at home.

Liu Cheng had grumbled a few times about this, but Yin Yin could tell at a glance that the emperor was treating the crown prince and Chengsi as he and his father Qi had been before.

Of course, it's the happy version.

The emperor lived a comfortable life, with everything going smoothly, but there were always people who didn't want him to be happy.

When Yin Yin entered the palace, she found it strange that the Crown Prince and Cheng Si were standing outside the Xuan Shi Hall but did not enter.

"Who's inside?"

Cheng Si hesitated, while the Crown Prince sighed like a little adult: "There's no one inside, but Father is unhappy, so Cheng Si and I don't dare to go in."

Seeing the Crown Prince speak, she glanced at him with her eyes, her face clearly urging him to continue asking her questions.

Yinyin raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Seeing that she was not cooperating, the Crown Prince was not disappointed and continued in a low voice: "Didn't Fifth Brother pass away in his fiefdom a few days ago? Father was already somewhat saddened. Today, when he received a personal letter from Fifth Sister-in-law sent to the capital, he was so angry that he summoned several people from Mingjing Hall."

Upon hearing this, Yin Yin stopped going inside. Why would they suddenly summon people from Mingjing Hall? It must be because something happened to the Fifth Prince before his death.

It is said that when a person dies, it is like a lamp going out. The Fifth Prince is gone, so the Emperor is still so angry. It must be someone else's fault.

Seeing that Yin Yin had also joined them, the Crown Prince simply took her along, and the three of them moved to a corner.

"Sister, have you received any news?"

"No," Yin Yin said. Even if there were something, she wouldn't admit it.

The Crown Prince sighed again: "Oh no, my dear sister, you have no idea how important that matter is!"

As the three were talking, people from Mingjing Hall came out of the hall.

Eunuch Wu looked around for a moment, accurately located the three people, walked over and bowed: "Your Majesty, please summon His Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Shou Kang, and Marquis Shou Yang to enter."

The three of them should have started with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince patted his clothes and took Yin Yin's hand, saying, "Sister, let's go together."

Yinyin glanced at him.

"Alright then," the crown prince said, feigning a wronged expression, and let go of her hand, walking ahead.

When it was time to enter the Xuan Shi Hall, the Crown Prince straightened his expression.

The sound of several people bowing startled the emperor, who rubbed his temples and said, "They've arrived."

"Yinyin, I have already ordered Mingjing Hall to surround the eldest brother's mansion. You should go and help out later."

Boss?

Yin Yin blinked. Could it be that the deaths of the First Prince and the Fifth Prince were related?

That's unlikely. You can't just fleece one sheep at a time, can you?

“Father,” Yin Yin said directly, “If I go to help, will I be working as an assistant for the Mingjing Hall?”

Her question made the emperor realize that he hadn't explained himself clearly.

"The servants in the eldest son's mansion have all been taken away by Mingjingtang. Just make sure the eldest son and his family don't come out."

The emperor paused, then continued, "If the eldest son wants to break out, that's fine too. Just knock him out and throw him back. Don't show any mercy."

Yinyin nodded in agreement.

The Crown Prince then spoke up: "Father, what happened? Did my elder brother make you angry?"

The emperor was reluctant to speak, but the crown prince asked, and Yin Yin was a relevant person. Although he had brought an heir, he was not an outsider to the emperor.

"The fifth son's wife wrote back, saying that the eldest son had been sending letters to the fifth son all these years, urging him to contact people to start another uprising."

"The fifth prince refused. In order to win over some people's support from the fifth prince, he poisoned the letter he was sending to the fifth prince," the emperor said with a grim face. "Unfortunately, the letter was sent just as the fifth prince fell ill. The medicine, which should not have been fatal, took the fifth prince's life."

This... is truly a twist of fate.

But no father would want one of his sons to harm the other.

Seeing that the emperor's hands, which were resting on the dragon throne, were bulging with veins, Yinyin quickly stepped forward to help him catch his breath. She also gave the crown prince a wink, and the crown prince understood and stepped forward to comfort him. Chengsi also joined in to speak.

Yinyin brewed another cup of tea herself and offered a few more words of advice, which calmed the emperor down.

He waved his hand, his voice weak: "Yinyin, go ahead. Chengsi, stay in the palace with the Crown Prince for a few days."

Yinyin then left the palace and went to the First Prince's residence.

In fact, the emperor had already relaxed his control over the eldest prince a few years earlier and even granted him a title. However, after this incident, he probably lost that title.

Sure enough, when Yin Yin arrived at the First Prince's residence, she heard that the First Prince had once again been stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner.

Yinyin had previously attended banquets at the First Prince's residence, and each time she came, she would see a large retinue of servants. But this time, the servants, including the cleaning maids, had all been taken away by Mingjing Hall, making the place far more desolate than just quiet.

“Aunt Shou Kang has arrived,” the eldest daughter of the First Prince, Ping Ying, greeted her from afar by the lake.

Yinyin walked up to her and saw that she was dressed neatly and had no sadness or fear on her face, so she was slightly relieved: "Where is your father?"

“In the study,” Pingying said casually when she mentioned the eldest prince, as if she were talking about someone insignificant. “Ever since the news of Fifth Uncle’s death came, he has had a lot of wine sent into the mansion and has been drinking himself into a stupor every day.”

“My aunt knows that my mother doesn’t dare to interfere, nor can she control him. The concubine tried to persuade him a few times, but he hit her on the head with a wine jar. She almost died in the study, so she stopped going.”

“Someone from Mingjing Hall came earlier and spoke to him, but he didn’t say anything and just continued drinking.”

“Aunt Shou Kang,” Ping Ying’s eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion, and she hesitated for a moment, “Is my father related to Fifth Uncle’s death?”

Pingying understood immediately when Yinyin didn't say anything in denial.

She gave a wry smile: "Auntie, just go to the study. I'll go talk to my mother first, so she won't worry."

“Pingying,” Yinyin called out to her, “have all the people serving you been taken away by Mingjing Hall as well?”

“They were all taken away, but after a while, they sent two personal servants back to serve my mother and me,” Pingying added. “The same thing happened to the concubine and my brother.”

Yin Yin breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I should come here often these next few days. If there's anything I need but we don't have, remember to send someone to tell me."

"Thank you, Auntie," Pingying bowed again, stepped aside, and asked Yinyin to go first.

Yinyin nodded to her, brushed past her, and went to the First Prince's study.

If the outer palace of the First Prince was deserted, then the First Prince's study was completely surrounded by people.

Because the Crown Prince is here, Mingjing Hall has left enough people here to ensure that his every move is being watched.

Upon seeing that it was Yin Yin, the people from Mingjing Hall took the initiative to open the door, allowing Yin Yin to enter.

This study should be where the eldest prince stores important information. This is Yin Yin's first time entering, but as soon as she entered the courtyard, she felt that something was not quite right.

The layout of this courtyard is far too similar to the Fifth Prince's former study in the Eastern Palace.

The flowerpots under the eaves were placed in the exact same positions, and even the varieties of flowers inside were exactly the same.