Chapter 486: The Thousand-Year-Old (7)

After the guards left, Wen Wan's expression was complicated. She looked at Gu Li and realized that he didn't seem like the kind of person who would kill someone. However, she had almost been killed when she arrived. It was clear that she had a biased view of him, the bias of someone who provided for her. This male lead was never a kind person. But that was a good thing, at least he could protect her in the future.

The matter concerning her aunt's family has been resolved. As for whether Gu Li did it, it's no longer important. In fact, Wen Wan secretly hopes that Gu Li did it, because that's what karma is all about.

Then there are two points: first, try not to meet the female lead; second, ... choose a prince other than the Third Prince as the next emperor. After all, the Third Prince is a vengeful person who hates every brother, including their mother, especially his mother, the Empress, and Consort Rong.

If he really became emperor, then his own demise would not be far off.

So Wen Wan had Xiao Cui compile information on the princes and princesses, and then she began to study them, using the system as a guide, to figure out who was more suitable to be emperor, and who, if he became emperor, would be a benevolent ruler.

Wen Wan doesn't understand these things, and the system certainly doesn't.

So Wen Wan quietly called Gu Li to her room, without even calling Xiao Cui, and then asked the system to make sure there were no eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall before she began to explain her purpose.

"Gu Li! There's something I want to discuss with you."

Gu Li looked at Wen Wan and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Wen Wan spoke frankly, "Gu Li, besides the Third Prince, which prince do you think is most suitable to be the Crown Prince?"

Gu Li was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the other party had summoned him to discuss such a groundbreaking matter.

Gu Li: "I think Your Highness is the most suitable person for that position."

Wen Wan: "Don't joke around, I can't do that. Besides, putting everything else aside, my maternal grandfather's family committed a crime, so I'm not suitable at all. You're very smart. Tell me who you think is good, and then I'll flatter him. Once he's on the throne, I'll ask for a fiefdom and then live my carefree life. I really don't want to stay in this palace anymore."

Gu Li: "Don't you want to be the emperor?"

Wen Wan shook her head. "I'm not suitable. I'm neither good at literature nor martial arts. If I were to become emperor, the world would be doomed."

Wen Wan began to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the princes, their personalities, and so on.

Those under eight years old should be eliminated first; they are too young and there's no point in arguing.

There are four princes who are over eight years old. Apart from the third prince Qi Jiao, there are three others. One of them is the fourth prince Qi Min. He is quite gentle and has a good personality, but he loves to eat too much. In fact, he seems to have no interest in anything except eating. The emperor once scolded him as a hopeless case, and he received similar treatment to the original owner of this body.

Then there is the eldest prince, Qi Wu. This prince is the emperor's first son, the eldest son. He is twenty-three years old this year. He is not particularly outstanding in either literary or martial arts. However, in the original work, this eldest prince is the third prince's biggest rival. He is good at hiding his talents. His birth mother is also the most low-key concubine, the Virtuous Consort. She eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist scriptures in the dining hall every day. She has no desire to compete for the emperor's favor. This is also the reason why she survived under the empress's rule, because she had no competitive advantage.

However, according to Wen Wan's guess, the more low-key a person is, the more ruthless they are. For example, Qi Jiao can even be kind and gentle to Consort Rong, the enemy who killed his mother, and is also exceptionally filial. Once such a person gains power, he will take back everything that belongs to him and is not suitable to be an emperor.

The last one is the Fifth Prince Qi Xu, who is fifteen years old. His birth mother is Consort Hui. He is not very favored, but he is very good at dealing with people. Even Consort Rong did not target him. The Fifth Prince Qi Xu is indeed smart, but he is too weak. He gets sick every three days and seriously ill every five days. With such a physique, he did not even last a few years in the original plot before dying of illness. It is unknown whether it was an accident or he was murdered.

Wen Wan frowned. "Each of them seems to have their own strengths and weaknesses. Father Emperor has it too hard. He has given birth to so many children, but none of them are of any use."

Gu Li: "..."

A slight smile played on his lips. "Your Highness is very good."

"Stop trying to fool me. Which one do you think is the most suitable? How about we choose the Fourth Prince?"

Gu Li: "Why?"

“His biggest weakness is food. I can feed him any kind of delicious food. He will definitely succeed to the throne and tolerate me. Besides, I am quite familiar with him. He has a good character and is not a bad person.”

"So, what does Your Highness intend to do?"

"Then I have to build a good relationship with him, and I have to persuade my mother to change her mind about supporting me, since I really can't become emperor."

Even if she were willing to become emperor, an emperor without offspring is unacceptable. She is a woman; how could she have children with another woman? It would be incredibly troublesome. Moreover, if her identity were accidentally exposed, hell or even a fate worse than death awaited her.

What are your thoughts?

"His Majesty is in good health, so there is no need to rush for the time being."

You don't understand.

Gu Li: "..."

According to the plot, the emperor's health was actually already compromised, but seeing his incompetent sons, he could only pretend to be healthy to prevent them from seizing the throne.

He needs time to assess these children and determine which one is best suited to succeed him.

The original owner of the body was part of the plan.

The crimes committed by her maternal grandfather's family were indeed true, but the emperor had known about them for a long time. The reason they erupted at this time was simply because he had abandoned the crown prince. After all, if the original owner of this body had been the crown prince, it would have been a disaster.

Moreover, after the crown prince was deposed, all the princes who were supposed to make a move and had their own schemes gradually began to take action, and the emperor was like a player holding a piece in a game of chess.

Afterwards, she decided to support the Fourth Prince. From then on, whenever the Fourth Prince came, Wen Wan would do her best to please him, and she would use all sorts of strange and wonderful modern delicacies to completely win over the Fourth Prince's stomach.

Their relationship progressed rapidly, and they even became friends, not brothers. In the royal family, friends are closer than brothers.

As for the other princes and princesses, Wen Wan could please them all. If she wanted to please someone, as long as that person wasn't a bad person or had bad intentions, she could do it. For example, Qi Mingzhu was now completely subservient to her, practically a little tagalong.

Who would have thought that this little tagalong would suddenly not come for several days?

Wen Wan asked Xiao Cui to inquire, and the final result was that Consort Rong had imprisoned her and sent someone to warn her not to lead Qi Mingzhu astray.

Wen Yan: "..."

Well, she couldn't fight against Consort Rong's powerful influence, so she had to give up.

Then she noticed that fewer and fewer people were coming. Wen Wan also realized that Consort Rong had made her move, and had obviously spoken to the mothers of these princes and princesses, so these little brats couldn't come.

In the end, only the fourth prince remained.

The Fourth Prince was not afraid of Consort Rong, and only he dared to come.

Wen Wan sighed, then told Gu Li to do less.

Qi Min: "Your Majesty, don't be sad. After all, the dishes you made are really delicious. It's their loss that they can't eat them."

Wen Wan nodded. "What do I have to be sad about?"

Just then, the emperor's eunuch arrived, and Wen Wan quickly stood up.

Eunuch: "Second Prince, His Majesty invites you to dine with him."

Wen Yan: "???"

What is this? Why do I suddenly want her to go eat?

"And His Majesty also wants to drink milk tea, so please bring him a serving."

Wen Yan: "..."

In the end, Wen Wan not only brought milk tea, but also cold noodles and other snacks before going with her father-in-law. Then she asked, "Does Father-in-law know why Father Emperor summoned me?"

"This humble servant dares not presume to guess His Majesty's intentions."

"Next time your father-in-law comes, I'll make you glutinous rice balls."

Eunuch: "His Majesty is in a good mood."

Wen Yan: "..."

As expected, glutinous rice balls are the most powerful.

Soon Wen Wan arrived at the place where the Emperor was dining. She thought it was just the Emperor alone, but there were quite a few people there.

Consort Rong was also there, as were the other concubines.

Wen Wan suddenly felt immense pressure and quickly bowed, "Greetings, Father Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"Get up."

Wen Wan stood up and looked for her seat. There was an empty seat to the emperor's right, and Consort Rong was to his left. The way Consort Rong looked at her made Wen Wan feel a chill run down her spine.

What does this emperor mean?

However, she still carefully sat down and then placed the things the emperor wanted on the table.

The Emperor nodded and then began to eat.

Everyone could see that, apart from the things brought by the Second Prince, the Emperor had not touched anything else sent by the Imperial Kitchen.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Wen Wan was even more complicated.

They originally thought that after the crown prince was deposed, the emperor must have abandoned him. Who would have thought that things would turn around so quickly? It seems that they will have to re-evaluate the deposed crown prince in the future.

Aside from the Emperor and the lazy Wen Wan, everyone present at the meal was lost in thought.

As expected of food prepared for the emperor by the imperial kitchen, each dish is truly top-notch and delicious. Wen Wan was a little worried at first, but after eating so much, she stopped caring about anything else and just wanted to eat.

"Have I mistreated you in daily life? As a prince, have you forgotten the proper dining etiquette? I taught you it bit by bit back then, and you've already forgotten it after just a few days at Lengyue Palace?"

Wen Yan: "..."

Suddenly confronted, Wen Wan promptly apologized, "Your subject was wrong. It's just that your subject hasn't eaten with Father Emperor for so long, and I was a little too excited and nervous. In my nervousness, I spoke and acted inappropriately. Please forgive me, Father Emperor."

Afterwards, Wen Wan tried her best to maintain proper etiquette. The meal was so unpleasant that she quickly put down her chopsticks.

After everyone had finished eating, the Emperor continued, "I've heard that you've been quite the character lately. Your younger siblings have been praising you highly and have been hinting that they want to come to your palace to eat and play every day."

Wen Wan: "Father?"

"I don't blame you. Although I don't know why you have so many interesting ideas, it's not a bad thing. If you need anything in the future, just go to the Imperial Kitchen. Otherwise, people will think that I have a habit of mistreating my children."

Wen Yan: "!!!"

"Thank you, Father."

Wen Wan left, flattered and surprised. From then on, Wen Wan's treatment improved instantly. Her palace allowance was also given out, ice was distributed, and the imperial kitchen staff were all friendly. When Xiao Cui went to get ingredients, everyone treated her very well, completely different from their previous condescending attitude.