Chapter 119: Once I Ascend The Throne, Who Would Dare To Say A Word?
“Your Highness!” Mo Ziyuan stood in the Crown Prince’s Mansion study room and saluted the Crown Prince.
“Enough, there’s no one else here, so let’s all relax a bit!” The Crown Prince tossed aside the document in his hand, crossed his arms under his chin, and looked at him with keen interest as he asked: “I heard your red luan star is moving, and you’re going to marry a daughter-in-law?”
“Where did Your Highness hear that?” Mo Ziyuan raised his head and asked in surprise.
“What? Didn’t your father tell you after you went back? The legitimate daughter of the Ding’an Marquis’s Mansion is renowned throughout the capital city, and many families want to ask to marry her! I heard the Duke’s Wife defeated several madams and secured a meeting opportunity for you. What do you think of the young lady?”
Mo Ziyuan smiled wryly. “Your Highness, please don’t tease your humble subject. Your humble subject hasn’t even seen the young lady of the Ding’an Marquis’s Mansion.”
Seeing his embarrassed expression, the Crown Prince finally decided to let him off, straightened his expression, and said to him: “The Ding’an Marquis is the Sixth Prince’s man. Releasing news of this matter at this time is clearly setting a trap for us. Regardless of whether you agree or not, there will be no result in the end.”
“Your humble subject understands.” Mo Ziyuan replied.
“Let me tell you some gossip,” the Crown Prince suddenly showed a mysterious smile on his face, waved to him, and after he leaned down, whispered in his ear: “I heard that the young lady already has someone she loves and has been making a fuss in the mansion for days, saying that if she’s forced to marry you, she’ll run away from home!”
Mo Ziyuan: “······” Is this still my wise and valiant Crown Prince? Why has he become so gossipy?
“Your humble subject already has a desired woman and will certainly not marry anyone else.”
“Oh? Desired woman? Who? Does she know me? Which family’s young lady is she?”
Looking at the Crown Prince’s gossipy gaze, Mo Ziyuan felt a headache. After thinking, he decided to answer honestly, so he cleared his throat and said: “It’s Miss Lin.”
“Miss Lin······” The Crown Prince nodded in understanding. “Miss Lin is indeed quite good, and she’s also a great benefactor to my son! You must cherish her well. She now has me as her backing. If you do anything to wrong her, I will stand up for her.”
“Your Highness, rest assured. Your humble subject is utterly devoted to Miss Lin and will absolutely not do anything to betray her.” Mo Ziyuan was just short of swearing to the heavens.
“That’s good.” The Crown Prince was satisfied and finally began to discuss serious matters. “Take a look at this. This is news I just received.”
Taking the scroll of document from the table that the Crown Prince had just been reading, Mo Ziyuan’s brows furrowed tightly. “This······ Is the news reliable?”
“Even if it’s not entirely accurate, it shouldn’t be far off.”
“Now the imperial harem is controlled by the Imperial Consort, and the Third Prince controls more than half of the imperial guards. If at this time Your Majesty has an accident, we’ll be at a disadvantage.” Mo Ziyuan said.
“Father Emperor’s body is already exhausted, but he can hold on for a while longer. What I mean is to ask you how the preparations outside are going?” When the Crown Prince spoke of the Emperor, his expression was extremely indifferent, not at all like he was talking about his own father.
“Your Highness, rest assured. Thirty thousand troops have already assembled. Gao Yong and Chu Yu are with them and can absolutely arrive at the palace within an hour to protect Your Majesty.”
“That’s good. Tomorrow night it will be my turn to attend to the sick. If the Third Prince can stay calm, we can delay a bit longer. If he can’t stay calm, then it’s time for us to go all out.”
“Your Majesty should also pay attention to his own safety.”
“They probably don’t have the guts yet to openly act against me in the palace, and their performance has been rehearsed for so long—it’s time to put it into practice.” The Crown Prince’s gaze darkened a bit.
“I’m afraid they might play dirty. Your Highness knows that for that position, they will stop at nothing.”
“Are you afraid they’ll poison me?”
Mo Ziyuan nodded and then shook his head. “Your humble subject is afraid it won’t just be poison, but possibly other drugs that make one lose one’s senses, causing Your Highness to unknowingly commit a grave mistake.”
“You mean······” The Crown Prince suddenly understood what Mo Ziyuan meant, and his face instantly darkened.
“Your Highness must be extra careful.”
“I understand. I won’t be careless.”
In the Imperial Consort’s Jade Xi Palace.
“Imperial Concubine, this time we must make it foolproof. Now more than half of the court officials have sided with the Crown Prince. Without a sufficient reason, we can’t depose the Crown Prince.” The Third Prince sat opposite Imperial Consort Feng and said viciously.
“My son, calm down. In the palace, I’ve arranged everything properly. My son only needs to bring the court officials to His Majesty’s bedchamber at the right time.” Imperial Consort Feng turned her fingers coated with dan over and over, looking for places that needed trimming, and said casually.
“Imperial Concubine, didn’t I tell you I can’t personally appear in this matter? I already have a plan for who will bring the court officials to Father Emperor’s bedchamber. You don’t need to worry about this.” The Third Prince waved his hand impatiently.
“Who did you find?” Imperial Consort Feng raised her head to look at her son.
“I’ve already sent word to the Sixth Prince. I believe on that day he will eagerly go to ‘catch them in the act.’ Then let my good eldest brother and good sixth brother perform a dog eat dog show!” The Third Prince seemed to already see the expected scene, his gaze flickering with greed and excitement.
Looking at such a son, Imperial Consort Feng felt a chill in her heart. Could he really succeed?
“Imperial Concubine, I forgot to ask—who did you arrange in the palace?” The Third Prince was immersed in the upcoming success and only after a while noticed Imperial Consort Feng’s unusual expression, so he asked with a stir in his heart.
“Since we need to pin down the Crown Prince, we naturally need someone with weight. I chose Consort Zhao.” Imperial Consort Feng gritted her teeth and answered. In any case, she had no way out now. The only plan was to go all out. She hoped their plan would succeed.
“Imperial Concubine!” The Third Prince slapped the table hard upon hearing Consort Zhao. “Didn’t I tell you not to touch Consort Zhao? Why did you have to choose her?”
“Why? You tell me why? My son, you are going to ascend the throne. When that day comes, what kind of woman won’t you have? Why insist on a broken flower and withered willow like that? If word leaks out, how will the world view you, the supreme ruler!”
“As long as I ascend the throne, who would dare to gossip? I don’t care. I want Consort Zhao safe and sound. If you can’t do it, then my plan will need someone else to implement it. At worst, it’s just a few more days—let that old man live a bit longer.”
“You, you······” Imperial Consort Feng’s eyes nearly spat fire, her face ashen, her chest heaving violently.
“Imperial Concubine, you’d better choose someone else! Just let someone tell me once you’ve selected.” The Third Prince didn’t care about Imperial Consort Feng who was nearly fainting from anger, stood up, brushed off his robe, and left.
