Chapter 280 If Each of Us Has Its Own Difficulties

Although there have been countless instances of nine princes vying for the throne throughout history, Sheng Sheng always thought it would never happen to them.

If one wants to serve the people and the country, one can do so anywhere, regardless of whether one is the crown prince or whether one can become emperor in the future.

Besides, their brotherly relationship has always been very good, so it's impossible for them to go so far as to kill each other.

They could easily unite as brothers and work together for a better Yu Kingdom.

But has this sudden change alerted Xie Yunyang?

Xie Yunwen once told her that some people, after sitting in positions of power for a long time, forget their original intentions.

Although Sheng Sheng was unwilling to admit it, he had to admit that this statement was true.

Especially when one has a specific purpose in mind, it makes them even more eager to possess power.

For example, after Sheng Sheng regained her lost memories, she actually wanted to rush into the Duke of Jingguo's mansion and give those people there a good beating.

But Sheng Sheng has not taken any action.

It wasn't because Sheng Sheng was a person who repaid evil with kindness, but because she hadn't yet figured out what to do.

She could easily throw a little tantrum and use her status as a princess to cause some minor trouble for the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

But she wanted to find evidence to make the Duke of Jingguo's mansion pay the price.

Xie Yun-yang was the same; his goal was perhaps to protect the Zheng family.

But is the Crown Prince really that kind of person?

Whether it's brothers breaking ties for power or each going their own way for the family they're protecting, neither is what Zhou Sheng wants to see.

As the weather warms up, Shitou has grown quite a bit, probably because he's started eating meat recently. Shengsheng can hardly carry him anymore.

He sighed repeatedly, put the stone down, and let him walk on his own.

Seeing that she was feeling down, Yan Hu quickly tried to say something to cheer her up.

"Sheng Sheng, have you ever considered that the Crown Prince doesn't actually want to be the Crown Prince?"

"ah?"

Sheng Sheng seemed a little dazed and stopped in her tracks.

Yan Hu stared into Sheng Sheng's eyes and said slowly, "When you went to Shanglin Hunting Ground, I went to Jingyue Pavilion every day just to hear news."

"Huh?" Sheng Sheng was stunned again.

"Xiao Jiuzhu is so capable, he must have been gathering information everywhere he went in Yu Kingdom, so I took the opportunity to hear a lot of useful information."

Yan Hu said seriously, "Do you remember when Xiao Bai mentioned that there was a small Buddhist shrine in Kunning Palace?"

"Oh, I remember, Xiaobai said he used to always see the Empress chanting sutras and reciting Buddhist scriptures in the Buddhist hall."

"Yes, Empress Zheng was praying for the deceased Third Prince. One night, Xiao Jiuzhu went to Kunning Palace to investigate and saw Empress Zheng burning paper money for the Third Prince." Yan Hu paused. "Besides, that night, Xiao Jiuzhu heard Empress Zheng say to the Third Prince's memorial tablet—"

Unlike other Buddhist halls, the Buddhist hall in Kunning Palace is completely dark, with no candles lit. Only two long candles stand beside the memorial tablets in front of the Buddha statues, their flames illuminating the inscriptions on the tablets.

Empress Zheng knelt on the prayer mat, turning the prayer beads in her hand.

After silently reciting a Buddhist scripture, a palace maid brought in a silver basin and paper money, and threw a tinder into the silver basin.

As Empress Zheng spoke to the memorial tablet, she placed the tablet into the silver basin.

What they were talking about was nothing more than their longing for their deceased son. Xiao Jiuzhu listened on the rooftop for a while but then lost interest. Just as he was about to leave to visit Cining Palace, he suddenly heard Empress Zheng's words, which were somewhat gloomy and obsessive.

"Yang'er, don't worry, your mother will definitely have your brother protect the position of Crown Prince for you."

——

Sheng Sheng was somewhat shocked.

The "illness" that Empress Zheng mentioned was naturally her deceased third brother, Xie Yunyang.

What shocked Sheng Sheng was Empress Zheng's words—"To protect Xie Yunyang's position as Crown Prince?"

This sentence contains so much information that Sheng Sheng was a little taken aback.

“What do you mean by guarding the position of Crown Prince for my Third Brother? Does that mean that my Third Brother was originally the Crown Prince?” Sheng Sheng paced back and forth under the tree, thinking that something was wrong. “But that doesn’t make sense either. I heard that my Third Brother has been in poor health since childhood. Father would never let my Third Brother become the Crown Prince.”

Regardless of who he prefers, Xie Yuxiao would never allow someone who is incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities of the Eastern Palace to become the Crown Prince.

Therefore, Xie Yun-yang should have been the crown prince from the beginning.

What did Empress Zheng mean by that?

Could it be that in Empress Zheng's heart, Xie Yunyang is the one who should be the crown prince?

In other words, Empress Zheng's favorite son was the one who was frail and sickly.

Because Empress Zheng felt indebted to her sickly youngest son, and because Xie Yun-yang himself didn't actually like power that much, Empress Zheng kept putting pressure on Xie Yun-yang to make him remember his identity as the crown prince, and even forbade him from doing things that Empress Zheng thought the crown prince shouldn't do.

Sheng Sheng felt as if she had finally understood.

She knew that Xie Yun-yang had been suppressing her feelings. If it were Sheng-sheng who was constantly being demanded and controlled by Empress Zheng, she would also feel helpless and in pain.

However, she did not know what Xie Yun-yang thought of Empress Zheng. Ever since Xie Yun-yang learned that Empress Zheng was the one who sent people to assassinate her, Xie Yun-yang never went to see Empress Zheng again.

Sheng Sheng thought that although Empress Zheng was extremely harsh on Xie Yun, she must have been very unwilling to face the fact that her mother was such a vicious person who wanted to harm others.

Xie Yun-yang herself is a gentle person. Sheng Sheng still remembers that they went to Yunshan Farm together before the New Year. Xie Yun-yang liked it very much and longed for that kind of relaxed and comfortable life.

Therefore, given his own personality and the constant suppression he suffered under Empress Zheng, could it be that Xie Yun-yang actually didn't want to be the Crown Prince that Empress Zheng spoke of?

Xie Yun-yang suppressed her feelings while understanding Empress Zheng's pain at losing her youngest son, and at the same time, she was unwilling to let down the Zheng family's expectations, which is why she has been struggling to hold on to this position.

But if that's the case, then what about the big argument between Xie Yun and Xie Yunchuan in the Wenhua Hall a while ago?

He seemed to understand, yet not quite, and his mind became increasingly confused. He immediately ran towards the East Palace.

"No, we have to find out what happened!"

If both sides are facing difficulties, then Sheng Sheng will act as the mediator.

In short, Sheng Sheng really doesn't want to see his brothers become political enemies.

The little dumpling led the two little ones to the East Palace. Unexpectedly, the East Palace was peaceful and quiet, without any of the tension that Sheng Sheng had expected.

With all the arguing and secret investigations, Sheng Sheng thought the Eastern Palace should be very solemn, with palace servants not daring to breathe too loudly.

But when they came in, the palace maids were chatting and laughing while watering the flowers, and the eunuchs were doing the same thing as usual, with nothing different.