Half an hour later, Wu Lanshan left Chunfeng Tower.

The long conversation with Cui Renshi still lingered in his mind. Wu Lanshan subconsciously ignored everything else and only remembered one thing Cui Renshi had said: to help him rise to power.

Wu Lanshan did not give the other party a definite answer, nor did he confirm whether he would participate.

He led his servants and rushed to the Prince's Mansion in the suburbs overnight, only leaving for about an hour. Wu Lanshan thought there shouldn't be any problems.

But as he and his servants returned to their small courtyard through the back gate of the Prince's mansion, and were about to open the door to enter their room, they suddenly saw a figure standing under the eaves.

Wu Lanshan's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but call out, "Father..."

"Come with me."

Prince Huaiqing spoke in a deep voice, uttering only three words.

Wu Lanshan suddenly looked much more tired. He followed behind Prince Huaiqing. The servants behind him glanced at Wu Lanshan silently and could only retreat in silence.

Inside the study, the father and son sat facing each other.

Prince Huaiqing was not very old, only in his early forties, and his face showed no signs of aging, with few wrinkles.

At this moment, however, the Prince Huaiqing's face was gloomy, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

On the contrary, Wu Lanshan gradually calmed down after the initial unease.

After meeting Cui Renshi today, Wu Lanshan reaffirmed his decision; he was no longer willing to live a mediocre life.

"What did you go to do?"

"I'll meet with them," Wu Lanshan replied frankly.

"Whom are you going to see?"

"Master Cui Ren".

"You're going to see Cui Renshi at this time? Are you out of your mind?" Prince Huaiqing said angrily. "Don't you know about the matter of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review?"

Wu Lanshan also lost his temper, "What could I possibly know if I stayed in this remote mansion all day long?"

Perhaps feeling guilty towards his son, Prince Huaiqing sighed and said, "Don't go see Cui Renshi again, it will bring you danger."

After saying that, he added, "If you find it boring to stay in the mansion, I will not stop you from leaving, as long as you behave yourself and do not cause trouble."

Wu Lanshan gave a helpless, bitter smile and looked at his father opposite him:

"Since Wu Lanxi has already ascended the throne, you are not worried that I will affect her, right?"

He shook his head. "But do you really think she's secure on the throne?"

"Do you still want to fight for the throne?" Prince Huaiqing glared angrily at his son.

"What if I insist on arguing?" Wu Lanshan countered.

"Why do you think I don't want you to compete for that position? Is it just because it's not legitimate? No, anyone in the royal family can rightfully ascend to that position. As long as you're powerful enough, no one can stop you."

Wu Lanshan was in a daze.

Prince Huaiqing snorted coldly, "Do you think I insisted on supporting Wu Lanxi's ascension to the throne because of my old-fashioned thinking? But don't you see, after all these years, has the Great Qing Dynasty changed at all under her leadership?"

"She did destroy the Great Qin and gained a lot of prestige, but what happened after that? Now the Northern Region is bullying her to her face, and she has to rely on a county magistrate to do things."

"Has Cui Renshi been watching with his wolfish ambitions all these years? Everyone knows that this old man is up to no good. As long as he lives, the person sitting on the throne will never have a peaceful day."

The expression on Prince Huaiqing's face was more serious than ever before, and he looked at his son with utmost solemnity.

“I understand you’re not convinced, but Daqing is a mess right now. This is not something we can solve. It’s better to let Wu Lanxi deal with it. A few years ago, you were young and capable, but you were also young and impetuous, and you were too prone to making mistakes.”

“Even now, it’s easy to run into problems when facing Cui Renshi. Do you think he came to you to help you? He just needs a tool to deal with Wu Lanxi. To him, he can just throw it away after he’s done using it.”

Wu Lanshan pressed further, "Can't we make use of Cui Renshi?"

Prince Huaiqing sneered, "Of course you can, but you can only use it to a limited extent. It's easy to get yourself into trouble. Cui Renshi has too much power. Even the current Empress is helpless against him. Unless Cui Renshi is out of his mind, it's too troublesome to deal with him."

"Why is this? He's just a prime minister, yet he dares to put pressure on our royal family!"

"I have to thank my good older brother. He's not very capable, and he's a nepotist, which is why he raised such a troublemaker!"

“I understand!” Wu Lanshan said in a deep voice.

Prince Huaiqing shook his head, looking at his son with eyes full of relief, "If you insist on contacting Cui Renshi, it's not impossible, but remember to protect yourself and absolutely not put yourself in danger."

"I know."

After a long talk, the conflict between the father and son seemed to have been resolved somewhat.

When Wu Lanshan looked at the Prince of Taiping again, he no longer felt that the other party was too harsh and cold; instead, he felt a touch of kindness.

"By the way, Father, were you the one who assassinated Tang Huan?"

“No,” the Prince of Taiping affirmed. “Tang Huan’s incident will not benefit us at all. With the current political situation unstable, the Empress’s loss of popular support will only allow Cui Renshi to gain more power.”

"It was Cui Renshi and..."

Just as Wu Lanshan was about to speak, he was interrupted by the Prince of Taiping, who gestured for him not to continue.

Neither the father nor the son is stupid. If it's not them, not from the royal family, and excluding Cui Renshi who has already been assassinated once, it's almost impossible to guess who else is left.

Others might not think of it, but the father and son would never overlook it.

Prince Huaiqing said in a deep voice, "It seems that they have been making some moves over there recently, which makes it even more necessary for you to act cautiously and be careful in everything you do."

When Wu Lanshan thought about who was behind the second assassination attempt, he suddenly realized that there was too much information hidden behind what seemed like a simple matter.

In this light, the father's choice back then was not wrong; once that position was involved, everything became complicated.

Prince Huaiqing patted Wu Lanshan on the shoulder, "Alright, it's getting late, go and get some rest. Get up early tomorrow so you can go to the palace to see His Majesty."

The following day, shortly after the morning court session ended, an unexpected person arrived outside the Imperial Study.

The chief eunuch, Li Lianying, sized the man up and down, then suddenly exclaimed with a complicated expression, "Is this the Prince of Lanshan?"

Wu Lanshan stepped forward with a smile, "Eunuch Li, it's been a long time. So many years have passed, and you're still serving everyone in the palace."

Li Lianying smiled and said, "Serving the royal family is my honor. I will inform His Majesty on your behalf."

"I'll do it myself. I don't think Lanxi will mind if I come uninvited."

Wu Lanshan stopped Li Lianying and walked to the front of the Imperial Study, raising his hand to knock on the door.

He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Wu Lanshan requests an audience."

Inside the imperial study, both Wu Lanxi and Lin Wan'er were taken aback, exchanging a surprised glance.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Wan'er ran quickly to the door and opened it.

At the same time, Wu Lanxi also stood up and looked at the opposite side, and couldn't help but say, "Brother..."