Yinzhi was not at all surprised by Mingzhu's arrival.

In fact, during the years when Mingzhu was dismissed from office, Yinzhi often sent people to the Nalan family to check on Mingzhu and his descendants to prevent them from being bullied.

But it turned out that his worries were unnecessary.

Although it is said that "a plucked phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken", Mingzhu's ability to deal with people in the court and his willingness to never offend others personally have helped him accumulate many connections.

So much so that after he was dismissed from office and his property was confiscated, basically no one dared to bully him.

Facts have proved that being good at dancing with long sleeves is still very useful.

Yinzhi welcomed Mingzhu into the study.

After the servants had all left, Mingzhu bowed and said with a happy face,

"Congratulations, Big Brother."

Yinzhi also looked happy, but he still helped the man up with a little blame.

"What is Granduncle doing? Didn't Grandpa say that we don't need to go through all this formalities in private?"

“Etiquette cannot be abolished.”

Mingzhu stood up and the smile on his face became even brighter. He was very happy with Yinzhi's closeness to him.

"sit."

Yinzhi pointed to a chair beside him, sat down first, and asked,

"Uncle, did you come here today to tell me something important?"

If you just want to congratulate him on having another legitimate son or daughter, just send someone to deliver a gift. There is no need to wait until you are off duty to run to his mansion.

Mingzhu didn't act pretentiously and reminded him directly,

"I have servants to help you in the court, so you don't have to worry. But in the palace... Master, you have to start winning over the prince."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhi's good mood instantly plummeted. He said nothing, but just picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

He carefully considered how to tell Mingzhu his thoughts.

After this disaster relief, he also saw clearly that Yinreng's ability was not comparable to his.

If Yinreng had not been unwilling to fight for it, he could have easily suppressed all the princes so that they could not even raise their heads.

Just like Zhu Biao of the previous dynasty.

But he knew that the Nalan family had invested a lot of effort in him. Once he announced his withdrawal from the fight for the throne, even if the Nalan family would not turn against him in the short term, over time, they would always be angry that their efforts and rewards were not equal, and would make things difficult for him and those around him.

As for the Nalan family, the result that Yinzhi least wanted to see was "turning against each other".

Seeing that Yinzhi didn't answer for a long time, Mingzhu's brows gradually furrowed even though she was good at cultivating her qi.

"Now that the Third and Fourth Princes have entered the court, I have observed that the two princes are extremely affectionate with the Crown Prince. This is not a good sign for you."

"If you don't put in some effort to win over the Fifth Prince and others to your side, it will be more than just a matter of losing the initiative."

Mingzhu advised in a deep voice.

Yinzhi wanted to ridicule Mingzhu, but when he realized that the person in front of him was not someone he could ridicule casually, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and asked,

"Uncle, what do you think will be the impact of recruiting the Fifth and Seventh Brothers?"

Mingzhu frowned even deeper.

"Although the Fifth and Seventh Princes can't provide much help, we can't let them be lured over by the Crown Prince. I recently learned that the Eighth Prince has a close relationship with the Ninth and Tenth Princes. If they all support you, it will be a significant help!"

Mingzhu said this with a gleam in her eyes.

"Especially the Tenth Prince. You should understand what his status means to the Crown Prince and the entire court."

The Eighth Prince was born to belong to the camp of the eldest prince. Even though there were rumors in the palace that he had a good relationship with the Crown Prince, he would never join the Crown Prince's army.

After all, Concubine Hui raised him. If he dared to defect to the Crown Prince, Mingzhu would be sure to cut off the Eighth Prince's path.

The Han people hate this kind of betrayal the most. Even if he did not take action, the Eighth Prince would be ostracized by the Han officials in the court and would not be able to cause any big trouble.

But the Tenth Prince could not give it up to others.

The prince was surrounded by the Hesheli family, whose power was deeply rooted in the court. Even before he was dismissed from office, he did not dare to confront Soetu head-on.

Although he and Suksaha have the same surname, they are from another branch of the clan. When they were fighting for the world in their early years, Suksaha's grandfather had a sharp vision and followed Taizu early on, abandoning Mingzhu's ancestors.

Therefore, there is constant friction between the two branches.

In the past few years, he occupied a seat in the court and was able to dominate over the descendants of Suksaha. With his mediation, the relationship between the two branches eased.

But once he encountered difficulties, the relationship between the two teams dropped to freezing point again.

That's why Mingzhu wanted to attack Niuhulu's family.

With the emperor's current preference for the crown prince, the tenth prince will never have a chance to succeed.

But if the Crown Prince gets the support of the Tenth Prince, it means that three-quarters of the forces in the court support the Crown Prince to take the throne, and the threat to the Emperor will be greatly increased.

The emperor will not allow this to happen.

But if the Tenth Prince supports the Eldest Prince, a situation of two forces confronting each other will be formed in the court.

The emperor will surely be pleased to hear this.

Mingzhu was calculating in her heart. If the eldest prince could win over the tenth prince, he would be sure to convince the group of old stubborn people in the Niuhulu family.

By then, the Niuhulu family will be the most powerful supporter of the eldest prince.

Seeing the expectation in Mingzhu's eyes, Yinzhi sighed.

"Uncle, it's not that I don't want to fight for it, it's that I have no chance of winning."

Mingzhu got anxious when she heard this.

"How can there be no chance of winning?! With servants..."

Before Mingzhu could finish her words, she was interrupted by Yinzhi.

"Yes, my ability is far inferior to Yinreng's."

He bluntly gave an answer that Nalan Mingzhu could not accept.

"Why would you think that?!"

"This isn't just my opinion, it's the truth. In Yaodi, I witnessed firsthand the entire process of Yinreng's disaster relief efforts. He was able to provide appropriate solutions to every detail, leaving Wei Zhang, Suo'etu, and others who went with him to provide disaster relief in awe."

"From high-ranking disaster relief officials like Suo Etu to lowly sixth-rank officials, all of them hold him in awe. Do you really think he doesn't know how to win over others? His absurd behavior over the years has been nothing but an act. Although I don't know why he does this, I understand that if he truly wanted to fight, even all the princes combined might not be able to match him."

Yinzhi was not wrong in saying this. In his previous life, the young Yinreng could get all his brothers to recognize his position as the crown prince. Now, Yinreng is the "Niuhulu" crown prince.

He just doesn't want to do business that is bound to lose money.