If he weren't particularly stupid, he should already know what she was saying.

Shang Nanjue naturally understood what the Empress Dowager was saying.

However, Shang Nanjue resolutely stood up, knelt before the Empress Dowager, and loudly proclaimed, "Empress Dowager, your grandson has indeed chosen a wife, and that is Wan..."

"Nonsense!" Before Shang Nanjue could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Empress Dowager in a fit of rage: "Since ancient times, how many times have powerful relatives of the empress held sway! How many more rulers do you want to become who bring about the downfall of a country?!"

Shang Nanjue looked up in surprise, staring blankly at the Empress Dowager: "Empress Dowager..."

The Empress Dowager rubbed her forehead, feeling quite troubled by Shang Nanjue's lack of understanding of the times.

Before reaching a consensus with Shang Nanjue, she couldn't be too explicit, lest she give him a handle to use against her. So she had to back down and say cryptically, "I'll stop here for today. As for the rest, go back and think it over yourself. If you understand it, come back to see me; if you don't, there's no need to come back."

"Yes..." Shang Nanjue stammered, kowtowing in agreement.

He got up looking extremely frightened, and walked out of Cixi Palace with unsteady steps. After leaving the palace, he went directly to the residence of Minister Wen.

After listening to Shang Nanjue's words, Wen Jiyan frowned and said, "Since the Empress Dowager intends to support you, Your Highness should go with the flow and accept the offer. It's just a matter of being a principal wife. If it can help Your Highness achieve great things, it's worth it for Wanjing to endure a few years of hardship."

“Uncle, you are mistaken. This is not a question of whether Wanjing’s grievances are worth it,” Shang Nanjue shook his head.

Wen Jiyan didn't understand for a moment and asked in confusion, "Does Your Highness doubt the Empress Dowager's sincerity?"

“I believe the Empress Dowager genuinely wants to win me over, because my third and fourth brothers have been deposed; although the Chen family is gone, the Crown Prince and Empress have grown up and are too powerful to control. The Empress Dowager’s choice to find me is her best option right now.” Shang Nanjue saw things very clearly, and he said in a clear and organized manner, “But Uncle, why are the Empress Dowager and the Emperor so restless?”

“The power of the Nine Princes is like the sun rising in the sky. Whether to rebel or not depends on the Nine Princes’ decision. The Emperor, Empress Dowager, and even the Empress and Crown Prince are naturally unable to eat or sleep in peace,” Wen Jiyan said.

Shang Nanjue smiled dismissively and nodded: "The Ninth Prince's power is at its zenith, and to me, the Emperor and the Crown Prince's power is also at its zenith."

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.

Why would I, instead of being a contentious fisherman, go out of my way to provoke the Ninth Prince and become a victim of their struggle, just like my Fourth Brother?

The great undertaking is yet to be accomplished, but first and foremost, one must preserve one's life before anything else can be achieved.

"Your Highness is indeed extraordinary, with insightful vision and far-sighted thinking," Wen Jiyan stroked his beard and laughed heartily, his gaze towards Shang Nanjue filled with admiration and hope.

At this time, in the Southern Prince's Palace.

The barely breathing King Li Gan of Nanli sat up, leaning weakly against the soft pillows. Looking at his eldest son, Li Yu, who sat upright in front of the bed as if he were a stranger, he said sadly, "We have no way out. Do you really want to drive my Li clan to the brink of destruction for that elusive and unknown path to immortality?"

"The path to immortality is not ethereal and unknown; it is right beneath my feet." Li Yu swung his right hand, unleashing a bolt of dark purple lightning that knocked over a candlestick in the corner of the room.

Li Gan stared blankly at the overturned candlestick, tears streaming down his face: "But the path to immortality you are about to embark on will require the entire Li clan to pay for it."

Li Yu remained expressionless, his voice cold: "The success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand; this is an unchanging truth. Today, the Li clan is destroyed because of me, but one day, the Li clan will surely rise again because of me."