Sun Jian's power in the court and his prestige among the people have now reached an unassailable peak.

Without a legitimate reason, they would likely incur public wrath if they attacked Sun Jian.

By then, there would be no need for him to succeed to the throne, because he would have lost the hearts of the people and it would be of no use.

After the morning court session, Li Gancheng was like a completely different person, utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Only then did he realize just how difficult it was to be an emperor.

Not long after he returned to his room, the emperor arrived.

"How was your morning court session, young man?"

Upon seeing the emperor arrive, Li Gancheng immediately knelt down.

"Greetings, Father Emperor."

"Alright, alright, what are you pretending for? I bet that brat Sun Jian has already given you some advice."

The emperor said with a smile.

"I did say it, but I only gave a few reminders. I didn't expect the situation to be so complicated today. The memorials and official documents are giving me a real headache."

Li Gancheng handled the situation with extreme caution.

"You silly boy, is that what I meant?"

The emperor smiled but said nothing.

He left Li Gancheng with only a mysterious smile.

Only after the emperor had walked away did Li Gancheng understand the meaning of that smile.

His father must have already understood that Sun Jian had told him the method.

Otherwise, they wouldn't say they hadn't considered things thoroughly.

Meanwhile, in the Second Prince's residence, Lin Xuanfu sat opposite him.

"Your Highness, how do we break this deadlock?"

The second prince's face was ashen, and not a single word had been written on the chessboard in front of them.

He toyed with the flag in his hand, his face filled with indescribable anger.

Lin Xuanfu let out a long sigh.

Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to implement the final plan; otherwise, once the Crown Prince assumes the regency, his position will be even more secure.

By then, those of them who followed the Second Prince would have absolutely no chance left.

"Your Highness, I advised you back then that Sun Jian was uncontrollable and that it would be better to get rid of him as soon as possible, but..."

Before Lin Xuanfu could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by the Second Prince.

"What's the use of saying all this now? I, the prince, am not here to listen to your complaints!"

The second prince was already in a bad mood, and hearing Lin Xuanfu's words only fueled his anger.

Damn it, did I call you here to listen to your complaints about me?

Sun Jian was very strong back then, but he wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. If we recruited him, wouldn't we have a better chance of winning?

But who would have thought that Sun Jian's progress would be as fast as the speed of light?

In just a few months, it has grown to this extent.

It's no longer a matter of him trying to win them over or not.

If he cannot eliminate the threat posed by Sun Jian, he will likely never have the chance to ascend the throne.

Once the crown prince ascends the throne, his younger brother will definitely not have a good time.

"Your Highness, we can only use the old minister's method now. Even if we have to give our all, we must kill Sun Jian."

"With him here, we really have no chance, even if it costs us 10,000 men. We must kill Sun Jian. Once Sun Jian is dead, the Crown Prince will be no threat at all."

Upon hearing Lin Xuanfu's words, the Second Prince coldly snorted.

"You make it sound so easy. After what happened before, you know exactly how few people we have left to use."

"Moreover, those large-scale forces are simply impossible to mobilize; otherwise, we would have failed before we even got started."

The second prince spoke slowly.

He had his own men and troops in the army, but he would only use them when he was desperate.

If killing one person requires an army, then that's a waste of resources.

Upon hearing the Second Prince's words, Lin Xuanfu slowly spoke.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have a group of assassins in my residence, each one a first-rate expert, a full hundred of them."

"This time I will send out all one hundred men. I want to see if Sun Jian is a god or a mortal."

Upon hearing Lin Xuanfu's words, a barely perceptible glint flashed in the Second Prince's eyes.

He then slowly nodded.

"Since you have assassins kept in your manor, then send them out. However, we still need to find a good opportunity."

"The important thing is that we can't take action in the capital city; that would be too risky."

Upon hearing the Second Prince's words, Lin Xuanfu had a bold idea.

"Since Your Highness intends to kill Sun Jian, then perhaps we should..."

The prince instantly understood what Lin Xuanfu hadn't finished saying.

"How is this possible? You are truly outrageous."

"Even if he is currently acting as regent, he cannot possibly inherit His Majesty's position completely."

"By doing this, aren't you pushing us into a dead end?"

The second prince shook his head repeatedly.

What an indecisive prince! How can one achieve great things without some courage?

Lin Xuanfu sneered inwardly.

He now has nowhere left to retreat.

Regardless of the Second Prince's fate, it was something that had been predicted long ago.

That's why Lin Xuanfu was so eager to encourage it.

"Your Highness, if we can take this opportunity to eliminate Sun Jian and the Crown Prince in one fell swoop, then to whom will the old, frail, and ailing Emperor pass the throne?"

Upon hearing this, a fiery glint appeared in the Second Prince's eyes.

The other emperors were all relatively young, and princesses could not succeed to the throne. If something happened to the crown prince, then the only one who could pass on the throne was himself.

Regardless of the truth, he will have to do it, otherwise the country will be in great turmoil.

"Your Highness can consider this: even if Sun Jian is really killed, the position of Crown Prince will still be secure."

"What will become of us when the Crown Prince ascends the throne? Need I say more?"

Lin Xuanfu's words completely brought the Second Prince to his senses.

That's absolutely right.

No matter how powerful Sun Jian was, he was just an ordinary person from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), not a member of the royal family.

Even without Sun Jian, he still couldn't overshadow the Crown Prince.

If Sun Jian were to die, it would only cause some damage to the crown prince, but would not shake his foundation.

But if...

The second prince was also a decisive person; once he made a decision, he would not hesitate.

“In that case, let’s do as you say. Send out all your assassins and I’ll send out another twenty.”

"But we must find a reason to make them leave the Imperial Court, otherwise we won't be able to make a move."

"Once they're outside and have confirmed their success, then we'll stay here..."

A smile appeared on the second prince's face.

By then, the situation will be entirely under our control.

Lin Xuanfu nodded quickly upon hearing the Second Prince's words.