Rebirth of the Strongest Empress

Possibly because all their earlier schemes had failed, the Eldest Prince and Second Princess were much smarter this time. They did not act precipitously but followed Ye Qingtang’s instructions and allowed the courtiers and influence they had gathered to disperse. They began to effusively praise the Crown Prince, Ling Yan, when they were in court.

With the help of his three royal siblings, Ling Yan’s reputation grew daily until it almost reached its peak within half a month.

The Emperor was very pleased with this and often praised Ling Yan.

Although the Eldest Prince was agitated when he saw this, he knew it was part of the plan. As he saw Ling Yan’s power continue to grow, he could not help but worry inwardly. However, he continued to maintain a facade of brotherly affection and respect.

Every day, the Eldest Prince and Princess would tell Ye Qingtang what happened in the morning court session. Ye Qingtang was not at court, but she controlled the situation.

“Elder Ye, the war at the border is almost over. Although Wu Hu only recently took over the command of General Mo’s troops, he acted fast and won several successive victories. He will probably withdraw his troops and return to court before long. Once Wu Hu is back, based on the connection between him and Ling Yan that Elder Ye mentioned earlier, I’m afraid…” The Eldest Prince was worried. His greatest hope was for Ling Yan to raise troops and rebel, but to date, no such opportunity had arisen. The situation just dragged on, so he was feeling rather anxious.

Ye Qingtang could tell that the Eldest Prince and the others were growing anxious.

She said, “These are letters between Wu Hu and Ling Yan.”

As she spoke, Ye Qingtang placed a stack of letters in front of the Eldest Prince.

The Eldest Prince could not help but feel somewhat surprised. He did not know how Ye Qingtang had gotten hold of these letters, but he opened them one by one and read them.

The Eldest Prince was shocked by what he read.

“Ling Yan intends to raise troops and rebel when Wu Hu returns to the capital?”

The letters were full of how Ling Yan planned to form an alliance with General Wu Hu and how upon General Wu Hu’s triumphant return with his troops, Ling Yan would seize the opportunity to take over the capital and force the Emperor to abdicate.

“Eldest Royal Brother, have you looked carefully? Are these letters really in Ling Yan’s and General Wu Hu’s handwriting?” The Eldest Princess’s heart thumped as she asked carefully.

The Eldest Prince replied. “There can be no mistake. I clearly remember Ling Yan’s handwriting, and this was definitely written by him. I have also seen General Wu Hu’s writing when I was at his residence, and it does look the same.”

“Also, these letters have the Crown Prince’s golden seal and General Wu Hu’s seal.”

The Eldest Prince’s heart beat wildly. If these letters were presented to the Eternal Emperor, Ling Yan would be finished.

“I thought my Third Royal Brother was intelligent. I didn’t realize he was so stupid. He exposed his own ambitions before we could think of how to trap him,” the Eldest Princess said with a cold laugh.

“Elder Ye, how did you get hold of these letters?” The Eldest Prince was greatly agitated, but he was curious as to how such secret documents had fallen into Ye Qingtang’s hands.

One must know that Ling Yan was always careful, and such documents could not have been obtained easily.

Furthermore…

Ye Qingtang had not left her residence all this while.

“Of course, Elder Ye must have asked the others from the Temple of Shadows to obtain them. No matter how great our Third Royal Brother is, he is no match for the Temple of Shadows,” the Eldest Princess said matter-of-factly.

Lady Ghost’s gaze involuntarily fell on Ye Qingtang. She had not seen Ye Qingtang contact anyone else from the Temple of Shadows and had not heard Ye Qingtang mention anything about obtaining these letters.

Ye Qingtang slowly sipped her tea and said calmly, “Do all of you think these documents are real?”