Chapter 734 Gathering - Imprisoned

In an attempt to see the emperor, he even went on a hunger strike and fainted once, but the emperor never once came to see him.

To this day, he has been in this prison for more than half a month, and he asks the same question every day.

With a clang, the prison gates opened, and a man in a black cloak walked in.

Xu Yunzhi looked toward the source of the sound and immediately spotted the familiar figure.

"I knew it was you."

After a long period of imprisonment, Xu Yunzhi gradually figured out why he was in the Heavenly Prison.

The emperor only had one legitimate son, Xu Yunzhi, and doted on him to the extreme. How could he possibly imprison him for any crime of treason?

With the Empress pleading on his behalf, Xu Yunzhi refused to believe that things were still as calm as they were today.

Xu Yunzhi believed that only the cloaked man in the entire world could have accomplished what had led to this situation.

"Looks like all these years of training you haven't been in vain, you guessed it was me so quickly."

The cloaked man smiled upon hearing this, seemingly quite pleased that Xu Yunzhi had guessed it was him.

Why were I brought here?

Xu Yunzhi was well aware of the cloaked man's abilities. How could someone who could turn him into the Crown Prince of Jin possibly deceive the Emperor and Empress without extraordinary abilities?

Now that we are at their mercy, instead of pleading and begging, it's better to ask for a direct answer.

Looking at Xu Yunzhi, the cloaked man suddenly laughed and said, "As expected, you have betrayed me just like Yun Yichen."

His tone was absolutely certain. Before coming, he had still clung to a sliver of hope that his suspicions about Xu Yunzhi were unfounded. But as it turned out, his necessary intervention was by no means superfluous.

"Why waste time talking nonsense? Didn't you already have your suspicions? Otherwise, why would you have brought me here?"

Xu Yunzhi rolled his eyes at the cloaked man and asked again, "What exactly do you want to do by locking me up?"

"Look at you, you're still so impatient."

Seeing Xu Yunzhi's expression, the cloaked man casually scolded him, which immediately gave Xu Yunzhi goosebumps.

Seeing Xu Yunzhi tremble, the cloaked man didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, he straightened his voice and replied, "I know you've partnered with Yun Yichen to stop the Jin Kingdom from annexing the Great Zhou. To prevent you from ruining my plans, I have no choice but to let you stay in this prison for now."

Xu Yunzhi was not surprised that the cloaked man knew their plans, after all, Yun Yichen had said when he betrayed them that he would never let the old man have his way.

The princes of the Great Zhou Dynasty are currently engaged in a protracted tug-of-war, while Yun Yichen himself is gradually expanding his power, even forming a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Yi'an's family. Isn't this clearly a sign that he wants to ascend to that position?

If Yun Yichen were to actually ascend the throne, wouldn't all his efforts over the years have been in vain?

Therefore, how could the cloaked man allow Xu Yunzhi to control the Jin state and give Yun Yichen peace of mind?

"Since you know I betrayed you, why don't you just kill me? That way you can support a prince who's easy to manipulate to ascend the throne and realize your grand dream."

Xu Yunzhi's words successfully made the cloaked man laugh.

"Have you forgotten who taught you to see the big picture all these years? What, you want to use your own death to warn Yun Yichen so he can prepare in advance? You're still too young. Besides, what good would your death do me?"

"Stay in the prison and don't cause any trouble. Once I've dealt with those who threaten you, the position of Crown Prince will still be yours. I will make you the overlord of this world."

After finishing his sentence, the cloaked man turned and left the prison without waiting for Xu Yunzhi to say anything more.

After the man left, Xu Yunzhi's face instantly turned cold.

Just as he expected, the old man didn't want him to die at all.

But what exactly did you mean by the last sentence, "someone who poses a threat to you"?

Having been in prison for so long, Xu Yunzhi had never been so eager to leave. He worried that if he left too late, his elder brother and Renjie would be in danger.

In the Eastern Palace of Wei, Bai Moqin's situation was not much worse than Xu Yunzhi's.

He sat in the cold, empty bedchamber, watching the maids set the food on the table and then leave. A chill ran through him.

He knew that although he was imprisoned by his father, the emperor, his father's situation was no better than his own, and might even be worse.

Unfortunately, as the crown prince of a country, he was powerless to do anything about this situation.

"hateful."

Bai Moqin punched the table, breaking one of its legs instantly. But in the end, he could only sit down and finish all the food.

Inside the Wei Kingdom's palace, the eldest prince sat before the Wei emperor, with the empress, who presided over the central palace, beside him.

"Your Majesty, you've been holding on for so many days, shouldn't you write the edict of succession?"

The Empress served the Emperor dishes with a smile, while speaking threatening words in an extremely gentle voice.

The emperor glanced at the empress, then his gaze fell on the eldest prince. "I've already said, as long as Mo Qin is released, I will immediately write the edict of succession."

Since being threatened, the emperor has only had this one condition, but the eldest prince has finally managed to control Bai Moqin, so how could he possibly let him go?

He even planned to use the pretext of being imprisoned to kill Bai Moqin and release him, but wouldn't that be too easy on him?

The Empress and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance, and then the Empress continued, "Why is His Majesty so stubborn? As long as His Majesty writes the abdication edict, wouldn't we naturally release Mo Qin?"

The Empress's voice remained as gentle as ever, even deliberately carrying a hint of allure.

But the emperor snorted coldly after hearing this, "Write an edict? Does writing an edict mean I should fall seriously ill? Then you can send Mo Qin away. You and your son really have a good plan."

"I'll say it again: if you want the abdication edict, release Mo Qin."

The emperor waved his hand dismissively, not even glancing at the food in his bowl, and went to his bedchamber to rest with the interior decorator beside him.

Of course, behind the emperor were several trusted imperial guards from the empress's maternal family.

"Mother, why don't we just take action?"

The eldest prince could no longer bear it. They were both sons, and he was the eldest legitimate son. But just because that little beast was that vile woman's son, he was the crown prince and received so much favor from the emperor.

The Empress certainly wanted to take direct action, but public opinion was a powerful force, and a strong nation like Wei could not afford to disregard its reputation.

"There are many ministers in the court who speak up for that little beast. If we take action directly, it will inevitably arouse suspicion from many people."