Chapter 687 Appearance 1

Furthermore, now that the emperor has delegated power to him, the fourth prince hasn't visited Consort Liu in the palace for some time.

"I heard that His Majesty has recently been very fond of the Fourth Prince, and has entrusted him with many tasks!"

The palace maid beside her told Consort Liu the news she had received, but Consort Liu did not feel particularly happy after hearing it.

Yes, she wanted Lu Changqing to become the new emperor.

But the thought of her son, who was like a cripple and even unable to have sex, made Liu Fei unable to feel happy at all.

"How long has it been since I last saw the Third Prince!"

Consort Liu hadn't asked in a long time. The palace maid was taken aback at first, but after thinking carefully, she replied, "Her Majesty sent New Year's gifts once before the Lunar New Year."

"Before the New Year!"

Consort Liu found it particularly ridiculous that she had only sent New Year's gifts to her own son's residence once.

"Give the order that I go to the Third Prince's residence."

Since the Third Prince's incident, Consort Liu has been granted special permission by the Emperor to leave the palace at any time to visit him, which is why she made this statement.

At this time, the Third Prince's residence was deserted and quiet. Apart from the people who always served Lu Youming, there wasn't even a maid.

Ever since Lu Youming saw Gu Rui that day, Lu Youming has become more prone to daydreaming than before.

Sometimes, he would even be startled awake by a dream in the middle of the night and would lie in bed in a daze for a long time.

When Consort Liu saw her son, whom she hadn't seen for two months, she didn't recognize him at first glance.

In the past, Liu Fei could always see hope in Lu Youming's eyes, but this time, she only saw death in them.

It was a deathly stillness that emanated from the very core of his being, as if death was something he longed for more than life.

"My son! You've suffered so much!"

After all, he was her own child. How could Consort Liu not be heartbroken to see Lu Youming like this!

But Lu Youming only glanced at him before turning his gaze back to the distance.

Lu Youming knew that the direction he was looking in was the direction of the Marquis of An's residence, where Gu Shuyan, the one who wanted to take the lives of his family, lived.

He knew he was powerless to change anything in his current state and could only quietly wait for his loved ones to die one by one due to the other's schemes.

And he himself, after everyone else has died, becomes the final link in that woman's revenge.

Consort Liu felt sorry for Lu Youming. After saying some comforting words to Lu Youming, she went to Minister Liu's residence again.

Compared to Consort Liu, Minister Liu, who had always helped Lu Changqing, was clearly in a good mood. Today, the emperor once again entrusted Lu Changqing with affairs, which was naturally a good thing for Minister Liu.

"Your Highness seems to be in a bad mood. Is it because you saw the Third Prince?"

Minister Liu and Consort Liu are siblings, so he naturally knew what his sister's expression meant.

"I just went to see Youming, and I felt there was something wrong with him, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Has anyone visited the Third Prince's residence recently?"

Consort Liu spoke in a casual tone, which initially puzzled Minister Liu. He explained to her that no one had visited the Third Prince's residence.

But then she thought that Consort Liu might be asking about Lu Changqing's attitude towards Lu Youming, so she quickly replied, "The Fourth Prince visited the Third Prince half a month ago, and his tone was full of concern for his brother, nothing more."

Liu Fei wondered if Lu Changqing had said something to Lu Youming that caused him to become so silent.

But if it wasn't Lu Changqing, why did Lu Youming become so gloomy?

Little did Consort Liu know that Lu Youming's behavior was entirely due to his encounter with the boy who was not only human but also a ghost, and the dream he had brought with him—his dream of becoming the crown prince.

"No matter what, Youming is my son. When you have free time, try to have two people keep him company."

Having found nothing suspicious, Consort Liu gave Minister Liu a few more instructions, then quietly inquired about the current situation in the court before returning to the palace.

After learning that the emperor wanted his two sons to fight, Consort Sun wrote a letter that very night and had it delivered to Lu Yuanbin and the Sun family.

Now that Minister Sun's household no longer has his strategist Sun Ruoyun, things have become somewhat incomplete in his thinking.

Knowing that the emperor intended for his two sons to compete for the throne, Minister Sun immediately declared that he should strike first to prevent the other side from realizing what was happening and causing them trouble.

Lu Yuanbin shared the same idea as Minister Sun, and since he had already secretly drugged the emperor, the sooner the struggle began, the better.

Therefore, starting in March, Lu Yuanbin's faction began to vigorously suppress Lu Changqing's people.

At first, Lu Changqing might not have understood why Lu Yuanbin was acting this way, but after a few days of confrontation, Lu Changqing quickly realized what was going on.

"It seems that my younger brother is already quite impatient."

Lu Changqing chuckled and addressed the guards beside him.

"Perhaps the Fifth Prince is getting impatient. His Majesty has arranged for people to secretly search for the Second Prince, and he has been delaying in establishing an heir apparent. His intention to support that person is so obvious. The Fifth Prince has been working hard for so many years to finally secure that position, so how could he possibly give it up so easily?"

The guard's words were exactly what Lu Changqing was thinking. The emperor was now seemingly testing his two sons, but in reality, he was stalling for time so that he could find the prince who should have died.

Lu Changqing was even certain that as soon as that person was found, the emperor would immediately wipe out the two brothers on his behalf.

"Inform Minister Liu that it's time for us to retaliate."

Lu Changqing believed he had guessed the emperor's thoughts and immediately decided to compete for the throne as well.

Little did he know that the emperor had deliberately instructed the commander of the Imperial Guards to send a small team to continue searching for the Second Prince and to secretly leak this information.

He knew his health was deteriorating, and since his two sons were both troublesome, he might as well let them both suffer heavy losses and then push Gu Renjie into that position.

The emperor believed that, given the status of the Gu and Ji families, and with Yun Yichen's support, Gu Renjie would surely be better able to govern the Great Zhou than his other sons.

As for the possibility of the Gu family becoming too powerful, the emperor had already considered this in advance. As long as he issued an edict before his death, ordering the execution of all male members of the Gu family ten years after the new emperor's ascension to the throne, he would not have to worry about the Gu family becoming arrogant and domineering in the Great Zhou Dynasty because they had raised the new emperor.

Gu Shuyan was naturally unaware of the power struggles among those in positions of authority, but even if she knew the emperor's plans, she would simply laugh it off.

It is said that the imperial family is the most ruthless. Gu Shuyan had no intention of letting this family go, so why would she care whether the emperor would scheme against the Gu family?

Outside the bustling capital of Wei, a woman dressed in a black cloak was riding towards the Great Zhou.

Meanwhile, another woman in disguise slowly drove her carriage toward the capital of Wei.