Li Mushu stood up from his seat and spoke with a trembling voice, slightly excited and worried.
"Your Highness...if you guessed wrong, then..."
Hearing this, the head of the Chu family, the counselor beside him and another person all got goose bumps. Even Prince Jin felt sweat on his back and his scalp tingled, but he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"I know! This is a big gamble. Let's bet on our luck and stand on my side, Yang Hao!"
“Boom…”
Thunder roared, illuminating the slightly pale face of King Jin.
"Hua La La..."
The sound of rain falling outside was intensifying. The heavy rain that had been brewing since the thunder last night had finally arrived. The flowers and plants in the originally auspicious garden had their branches and leaves bent by the heavy rain.
As the saying goes, every autumn rain brings a chill. Not long after the rain fell, people in Gyeonggi Prefecture felt a significant drop in temperature.
The one who knows you best is always your opponent. This also applies to the competition for the crown prince. The King of Wu has never looked down on the King of Jin. Even after the old emperor's health deteriorated and the King of Jin behaved very well and quietly, the King of Wu was always very wary of his third brother.
Similarly, the Prince of Jin also values his elder brother more. Unlike the Prince of Wu who wants to take charge of the overall layout of the court and the country, the Prince of Jin has focused most of his energy on his elder brother since the old emperor fell ill, because he knows that he cannot compete with his elder brother who has obvious advantages in the competition for court officials.
For such a long time, the King of Jin has not made any major moves, or it can be said that he has almost not made any moves, but it does not mean that the King of Jin has really given up.
Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Even if there is no concrete evidence to prove the problems faced by the King of Wu, the King of Jin decisively concluded the state of his opponent based solely on the analysis within the King of Jin's mansion.
As soon as he made the decision, King Jin secretly issued a series of orders, and some agile masters took advantage of the cover of the heavy rain to disguise themselves and go out.
The key to this step is not only to instigate King Wu's people on the shore to take action, whether truly or falsely, but also to find ways to stay out of it. To put it bluntly, it is to create the fact that King Wu is really furious and wants to kill.
It would be best if the King of Wu really intended to do so, but if the other party could hold his composure, he would need a push from the King of Jin.
. . .
It was nightfall, and the heavy rain was still pouring. At the gate of Prince Jin's mansion, Prince Jin Yang Hao and Junior Tutor Li Mushu walked to the gate and got into the carriage together, escorted by servants holding umbrellas.
"Let's go to the palace."
After Prince Jin helped Li Mushu onto the carriage, he said this to the coachman, and the carriage started slowly under the escort of the guards in front and behind.
A quarter of an hour later, in the imperial study of the palace, Emperor Yuande was reading a miscellaneous book, which was still about a fairy tale.
But even though he was watching the fairy tale, the old emperor was still thinking about the affairs of the court and the country. King Wu's previous actions made Emperor Yuande quite disappointed, and the plan to announce the edict of succession after the Double Ninth Festival was temporarily put on hold.
At this time, an old eunuch walked into the imperial study and reported in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Jin has come to the palace to request an audience."
"Huh? What is he doing here so late?"
"Uh, he said he came to pay his respects to His Majesty."
The old emperor frowned and put down the book. Eunuch Li hurried forward a few steps and helped him to sit up, while the palace maid beside him immediately stuffed the cushion behind the couch.
"Let me in."
"yes!"
The old eunuch stepped back and soon led Prince Jin Yang Hao into the imperial study.
"Your son has come to pay his respects to the Emperor!"
The King of Jin behaved as usual and knelt down respectfully.
"Get up."
King Jin on the ground looked up and smiled, then stood up.
"Today is quite new. How come you are in the mood to pay respects to the emperor? Please take a seat."
The old emperor made a joke. After several princes left the palace and set up their own residences, almost no one came to pay their respects to them at night. Of course, this was also because the old emperor himself had a bad temper and was annoyed.
"Thank you, Father!"
Prince Jin stood up, and a eunuch brought a chair to him, and he sat down directly.
"I was afraid of you before, so I didn't dare to come. Now that I think about it, I should come and pay my respects more often."
With some emotion, King Jin spoke in a slightly lower voice.
"Where's Li Mushu? He's almost always with you. Why didn't he come with you?"
"I can't hide it from my father. The teacher is still waiting in the carriage. He said that the young master dare not come to the imperial study to see the emperor."
"Ah… "
The old emperor smiled, took a piece of preserved fruit from the low table in front of the soft couch, then waved his hand and pointed to Prince Jin. The palace maid beside him immediately walked up to Prince Jin with a plate.
The King of Jin was not polite and directly took a lot of slices of candied fruits, put one in his mouth and held the others in his hands.
"What? There's no food in Prince Jin's Mansion?"
The old emperor teased again with some amusement.
"Father, you are joking, but this is a gift from the Imperial Study. It was given by Father. It is different. By the way, give some to the teacher to try."
The old emperor looked Prince Jin up and down.
"You said I should come and pay my respects more often. Do you think I don't have much time left and you're afraid there won't be another chance in the future?"
An ordinary minister at this time would have been so frightened that his face would have changed drastically and he would have started to explain himself, but the King of Jin did not speak immediately. He was silent for a moment before he spoke, with a hint of sadness on his face.
"Father, what you said is also what I think in my heart. People say that there is no family affection in the royal family, but I still remember that there is. When I was a child, father held me up and 'flew' over..."
Even an old cow is fond of its calf. As a dying old man, how could Emperor Yuande not be touched when he heard the Prince of Jin's emotional words at this moment? It was rare for him not to interrupt the Prince of Jin's endless memories.
"I've grown up, and I'm more afraid. I haven't spoken so much to you in a long time..."
The Prince of Jin's words came to an end after he left the palace and set up his own government.
The old emperor did not say a word throughout the whole process. At this moment, when he looked at his son again, his heart was filled with emotion. He simply patted the side of his body that was afraid of collapse.
"Come and sit down."
Prince Jin opened his mouth, then half stood up but did not move.
"What? Are you scared? Didn't you sit here all the time when you were a kid?"
Since the old emperor said so, Prince Jin no longer hesitated. He put away the candied fruits in his hand, stood up and slowly walked to the soft couch and sat down. The soft touch under his butt was as familiar as he remembered. It was both a memory and a yearning.
He didn't talk too much about irrelevant topics with his father. He just chatted about family matters and his childhood. In the middle, the old emperor even called Concubine Ren over.
Before I knew it, a lot of time had passed, and from beginning to end, nothing was said about the fight for the throne, and not even a hint of state affairs was touched upon.
"Father, it's getting late. You should go to bed early. I will come to pay my respects tomorrow!"
King Jin stood up and said goodbye.
"Hao'er~ You come to chat for so long every day, your father must be so tired!"
Concubine Ren frowned and scolded her son.
"Haha, it's okay, he can come if he wants!"
Prince Jin smiled and bowed to his mother and father.
"Don't worry, mother. I am just here to pay my respects. While there is still a chance..."
"Hao'er! What did you say!?"
Concubine Ren's face changed, she cursed angrily, and then immediately apologized to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Hao'er didn't mean it, he..."
"Alright, alright, it's okay."
The old emperor waved his hand. He was in a good mood tonight. This was a fact and he didn't care that much.
Concubine Ren then breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her son with a frown.
"Hao'er, why don't you thank your father?"
The King of Jin seemed to suddenly react and bowed to express his gratitude again.
"Thank you, father, for forgiving me. Actually, what I just said..."
Prince Jin looked at Concubine Ren, sighed dejectedly, and said nothing more, then bowed down again.
"I'll take my leave!"
After Prince Jin left, Concubine Ren's face turned worried. The dejected and sad expression on her son's face before he left made her uneasy.
"Your Majesty, Hao'er..."
The old emperor exhaled slowly and patted his beloved concubine on the back.
"It's okay, I won't let anything happen to him..."
The old emperor now understood a little. The Prince of Jin had always been intelligent, unlike the Prince of Wu who was good at playing both sides. He had been silent during this period of time and probably knew that he had no hope.
But will King Wu let such a capable brother go after he comes to the throne
. . .
That night, some special news reached the Prince of Wu's mansion, causing the Prince of Wu, who was already unable to sleep late at night, to put on his clothes and go to the front hall.
"The third brother entered the palace late at night?"
A man in a dark blue nightgown answered with a bow.
"To reply to Your Highness, it is indeed true. The carriage set out at 10:00 p.m. and returned at nearly 12:00 p.m.!"
The King of Wu's brows were furrowed like the Chinese character "川".
"Is there any news worth telling in the palace?"
Although he had discussed this with his ministers during the day, the King of Wu still asked this question subconsciously for a moment.
"This... According to His Highness's order, the people around His Majesty have stopped delivering messages..."
The King of Wu clapped his hands and paced back and forth in the hall impatiently.
"Then forget it!"
"yes!"
The man took the order and left. The King of Wu sat in the hall for a long time without going back to his room to rest.
On the second day, the third day... Prince Jin went to the palace for several days in a row, and one day, his carriage drove openly to the outside of the Gyeonggi Prefecture Posthouse.
Yin Zhaoxian had never expected that Prince Jin would dare to visit him in person, but since the prince had to be welcomed, he could only invite Prince Jin into the inn, but he opened the main door and asked the postman to serve him tea.
These two things could not be hidden from the old emperor and the King of Wu, and their reactions were different.
The old emperor learned the exact content that day, and knew that Prince Jin hoped that Yin Zhaoxian would be able to protect the few ministers who were close to Prince Jin in the future, especially to look after the Junior Tutor Li Mushu.
Of course, the old emperor would not believe this, but he could not say that there was no such possibility. He could not help but feel a little sad. For his son, the end was indeed near in all aspects.
But after Prince of Jin Yin Zhaoxian, the Prince of Wu could no longer bear it and once again secretly summoned all his confidants to the Prince of Wu's palace to discuss the matter.
The actions of Prince Jin made Prince Wu extremely anxious, and he could not help but contact his spies in the palace again. He learned that Concubine Ren had accompanied him to the imperial study several times, which made the ministers in Prince Wu's mansion feel uneasy.
No one knew the King of Jin's ability better than them. Some military officials even came to see the King of Wu several times.
On the morning of September 17th, in a remote area outside the gate of Gyeonggi Prefecture, Junior Tutor Li Mushu and his family were arranged on a large number of horse-drawn carriages. The family members had been secretly brought here on several occasions, and they were surrounded by some of the King of Jin's trusted masters.
The elderly Li Mushu bowed to King Jin with a look of sadness and reluctance.
"Your Highness, I'd better stay here!"
King Jin shook his head.
"Teacher, you should go back to Yanzhou. Even if my eldest brother really succeeds me in the future, you are already very old and far away in Yanzhou. Besides, with Yin Zhaoxian here, you should be fine."
"What about you, Your Highness?"
"Me? Of course I'll wait for the outcome. Is there anywhere I can run to?"
Prince Jin smiled and bowed to Li Mushu.
"Take care, teacher!"
Li Mushu's old eyes became cloudy and he bowed with a slightly trembling hand.
"Take care, Your Highness!"
The King of Jin personally stepped forward, helped Li Mushu onto the carriage, and watched the convoy slowly leave. Then he turned around and left, quietly returning to the city as he had come.