Chapter 88

The Third Prince's determination to kill his brother was so earnest that even though Xue Jin'an wasn't very sensitive to human emotions, he readily accepted his resolve.

Unfortunately, Xue Jin'an was as firm as iron and never acted on impulse. The living First and Second Princes were more valuable than the dead ones, and he had no need to kill them. He once again refused the Third Prince and pointed out the most likely way to realize his idea: "You can cooperate with the Eldest Princess."

"The eldest sister and the second brother are biological siblings from the same mother." The third prince thought this idea was a bit bad.

Xue Jin'an, however, thought it was very reliable: "They are siblings, and also competitors."

No matter how gentle and graceful the eldest princess appeared, she was actually very proud at heart. She disdained to assist anyone inferior to herself, even if that person was her own younger brother.

Before actually interacting with the Second Prince and constructing his character model, Xue Jin'an had analyzed the Eldest Princess. Undoubtedly, the Eldest Princess appears to be on the Second Prince's side; they share the same bloodline and are natural allies. It seems her actions are paving the way for the Second Prince's victory. However, in the original story, the Second Prince's rebellion failed, he was killed, and the Eighth Prince ascended the throne. In the epilogue, the Eldest Princess eliminated the new emperor and became regent.

In the original story, the Second Prince's defeat implicated Consort Min and the Jiang family, with the only two escaping unscathed being Grand Secretary Jiang Wen and the Eldest Princess.

Jiang Wen was a staunch royalist. As the struggle for the throne intensified, he even severed ties with the Jiang family to demonstrate his loyalty to the emperor. He then worked diligently and conscientiously, which allowed him to escape unscathed after the incident. So what about the Eldest Princess?

The elderly emperor was sensitive and suspicious. When his interests were threatened, he was ruthless in dealing with both his concubines and his sons. There was no reason for him to let a daughter go. This can only mean that the eldest princess was indeed not involved in this incident and was completely innocent.

This is incredible. After all, even if we disregard the sibling relationship between the eldest princess and the second prince, there must have been some conflict of interest between them. This indicates that before the second prince's rebellion, the eldest princess and he had an irreconcilable conflict and completely broke off their relationship.

Xue Jin'an had considered the conflict between the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince. After a long talk with the Eldest Princess, he assumed that she had sensed the Second Prince's incompetence and gradually developed her own ambition to seize power, thus leading to their separation. However, after observing the Second Prince and witnessing his impetuousness, Xue Jin'an realized that the Eldest Princess had always wanted power, and the Second Prince was merely a cover and a stepping stone.

When the time was right to untie him, the eldest princess would not hesitate and would kick the second prince out.

—It may sound ruthless, but in fact, according to Xue Jin'an's observation, the relationship between the eldest princess and the second prince is unlikely to be good. Given the second prince's personality, the first thing he would do upon taking power would be to discard the princess after she has served her purpose and take down her position.

It could be described as a superficial sibling relationship, a mere facade of brotherly affection.

However, just as Xue Jin'an felt that now was not the time to kill the two princes, now was also not the best time for the eldest princess to kick the second prince out.

“If you seek her cooperation, she may not necessarily kill the Second Prince, but the First Prince will definitely be in trouble.” The Third Prince is very easy to deceive. Qian Dezhong has a special status as the leader of thousands of military households and has done a good job in the Weihu Camp. As long as you mess with the First Prince, you can successfully win over this force. There is no reason for the Eldest Princess not to do it.

Of course, if the eldest princess were to make a move against the eldest prince, she would inevitably have to face a backlash from the eldest prince's camp. Xue Jin'an's suggestion that the third prince go to her was not only to point out a "clear path" for the third prince, but also to give the eldest princess something to do, and it could also be seen as a response to the other party's previous schemes.

This is a blatant conspiracy, obvious at a glance. However, the power of a conspiracy lies in the fact that even knowing it's a trap, people will still jump in, simply because the benefits it will bring are too great. Money is a powerful motivator.

After Xue Jin'an finished speaking truthfully, he saw that the Third Prince was still not satisfied, so he frowned slightly and thought that the Third Prince was really stupid.

To prevent him from bothering her again with the rejected proposal, she added, unusually, "If you're still determined to get rid of the Second Prince, you can find someone else to cooperate with."

The Third Prince stared at him for a long time, his brows and eyes dark and gloomy. He had lost a lot of weight these days, and the contours of his face were even more sharp, making his already unfriendly aura even more terrifying.

"Seventh Brother," the Third Prince stared intently at his face, his entire being enveloped in a volatile aura that gave his voice a sinister quality, "You don't want to help me, is it because you despise me because of my lame leg?"

A question that could cost you your life.

Xue Jin'an told the truth, "It has nothing to do with your leg."

He disliked the Third Prince because he thought the Third Prince's brain was just a pretty decoration, never used at all.

Sure enough, the Third Prince didn't realize the unspoken meaning in Xue Jin'an's words. Upon hearing this, his brows and eyes relaxed, and once he was in a better mood, he became more receptive to advice, feeling that cooperating with the Eldest Princess was not a bad thing.

"Go ahead," Xue Jin'an told him to leave.

Before leaving, the Third Prince held Xue Jin'an's hand and said, "Seventh Brother, you are the only brother I have ever acknowledged. Don't betray me."

"Let's go." Xue Jin'an didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore, and deliberately kicked his injured leg, showing no regard for him as a patient and not holding back the force.

The third prince stumbled forward and almost fell to the ground. The eunuch he brought hurriedly helped him up, looking at Xue Jin'an with considerable dissatisfaction.

The eunuch thought the Third Prince would also be angry, and he had already planned how to break up the fight. But to his surprise, the Third Prince was kicked in the leg, and it was that crippled leg. Not only was he not angry, but he couldn't help but grin and laugh.

"Seventh brother, I'm leaving." The Third Prince happily departed with Xue Jin'an's suggestion.

So, at the birthday banquet not long after, the eldest princess found that those who should have come did not, while those who should not have come did, which really put her in a difficult position for a while. However, just as Xue Jin'an had guessed, the eldest princess had already discovered the conspiracy behind the eldest prince's cooperation. Knowing that there was a pit below, she still jumped in.

Fortunately, the Princess sent him an invitation and thoughtfully handled the aftermath for Xue Jin'an, allowing him to leave the palace smoothly. It wasn't that Xue Jin'an couldn't leave the palace on his own, but it was always better to be able to leave openly and legitimately.

Xue Jin'an left the palace smoothly with Fuling and Fulu. Speaking of which, when Fulu heard that Xue Jin'an was going to go out of the palace for a trip and was only taking two people with him, his first thought was that he should take Lingzhi and Fuling, the two strongest combatants of Zhaoyang Palace, with him. This would be safer and would also reassure them, his subordinates.

However, both Xue Jin'an and Lingzhi refused.

Xue Jin'an's idea was simple: he felt it was unnecessary. His own combat strength was enough to move around, not to mention that he had Cui Zui to guide him. He brought Fu Ling along just to put the others at ease, and he brought Fu Lu along because they were going to Jiu Tian Yi. Fu Lu planned to turn Jiu Tian Yi into an intelligence center, so naturally he wanted to come and take a look.

Lingzhi had many ideas, the most important of which was that she felt Fuling was on duty at Zhaoyang Palace all day and had too little contact with her master. In the future, as her master had more and more capable people under his command, Fuling would probably have no chance to stand out. She regarded Fuling as her own sister, or even her own daughter, and naturally wanted her to save face in front of her master.

The choice was made.

The three of them, master and servants, came out under the guise of attending the Princess's birthday banquet. They met up with Cui Zui at the palace gate and then, led by Cui Zui, headed towards the Jiu Tian Yi chess and card room, showing no intention of going to the Princess's residence.

The capital city is bustling and prosperous now. The New Year has just passed and the Emperor's birthday is approaching. Envoys from various countries are flocking to the capital, and there are 30% more street vendors than in previous months.

Xue Jin'an wasn't in a hurry. He strolled along at a slow and leisurely pace, while Cui Zui excitedly introduced the items along the way. Whenever Xue Jin'an glanced at something, he would buy it. When talking to the vendors, he would intentionally or unintentionally guide them to mention their opinions about Jiu Tian Yi. His expression didn't change, but he was actually overjoyed inside.

It's like a kid who got a perfect score on a test and is secretly trying to show off.

However, Cui Zui did not expect that when they arrived at the place where Jiu Tianyi was located, they could not get in at all because there were too many people inside.

It turned out that Cui Zui had already instructed his dough figurine masters to produce a whole set of board game character cards when he learned that Xue Jin'an was going to leave the palace. The exquisite and beautiful figurines were displayed in a row on the counter, and even people who had never played board games and were not interested in them couldn't help but frequently glance at them.

Cui Zui made this in order to get Xue Jin'an to give him a heart transplant, but he didn't expect that before they even arrived, this set of figurines would attract a lot of people, including some with foreign faces.

Despite the shopkeeper's repeated emphasis that the figurines were not for sale and were only for display, the spoiled rich kids in Beijing were still acting recklessly and arbitrarily, completely disregarding the voices of ordinary people. And there was more than one such spoiled rich kid in the room; they all wanted the figurines and started bidding against each other. Many uninformed people also joined in, and the crowd of onlookers caused traffic congestion.

Speaking of which, although the street where Jiu Tianyi is located used to be quite prosperous, the flow of people was far less than it is now. It was Jiu Tianyi who brought it to life.

After all, Jiutianyi is a high-end card and chess room. The high membership fee is enough to deter ordinary people. Most of the people who come here are rich. Unconsciously, it has also boosted the economy of the surrounding shops, and it seems to be poised to become the most prosperous place in the capital.

There were just too many people at the entrance of Jiu Tian Yi, and the auction was causing quite a commotion. Even Cui Zui, the boss, couldn't squeeze in. In the end, he could only give up sheepishly, feeling guilty and aggrieved as he touched his nose.

At the same time, he gritted his teeth and held a grudge in his heart: Those spoiled brats, you just wait.

Xue Jin'an didn't think much of it. He even calculated the auction price and the cost of the figurine, and concluded that it was a very profitable deal that would also boost his reputation, so there was no need to stop it.

However, seeing that Cui Zui really wanted to show off, Xue Jin'an let him lead the way to the outskirts to see the buildings for real-life PUBG.

The Ministry of Works acted quickly; in just a few months, not only was the foundation laid, but some of the finished product was also visible.

"It's noon, Master, time for lunch," Fulu reminded him, glancing at the sky.

Fuling rubbed her stomach; she was hungry too. The two of them looked at Cui Zui together.

"..." Cui Zui fell silent; an awkward situation had occurred.

He had only been in the capital for a short time, and his main activities were in Jiutianyi. The buildings in the suburbs were not yet completed, mainly because the Ministry of Works was in charge. So he came here less often. He only knew one route back, and the nearest place to have a meal was a half-hour walk away.

In the end, Xue Jin'an led the way, making several turns and leading them into a small alley where they found a refined restaurant frequented by many literati.

Cui Zui was completely shocked: "Master, how did you know about such a remote place?!"

Fuling and Fulu remained quite calm; in their minds, this was just basic stuff, and their master was omnipotent.

The four walked in, only to hear someone shout, "What perfect young master? He's nothing but a greedy scoundrel!"