Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Song Jue and the others were somewhat surprised. Prince An had been lying low for so many years; if he wanted to rebel, it would be no small matter.
When Ji Mohan heard the news, he was not too shocked. The moment he saw Uncle An, he saw naked ambition in his eyes. It was not hard to guess that he wanted to rebel.
"What do you plan to do?" Ji Mohan asked after thinking for a moment.
"A secret operation to imprison Prince An and escort him to the capital." As for whether Prince An lives or dies, that depends on how Father Emperor plans to deal with Uncle An.
Ji Mosheng stated his thoughts, then asked in return, "What does Your Majesty think?"
"Let's do it your way!" Ji Mohan nodded gently.
"Wei Ting, Song Jue, listen to my command! Immediately lead men to secretly leave the house and capture Uncle An," Ji Mohan ordered in a cold voice.
"This subordinate obeys the order."
"This subordinate obeys the order."
After saying this, the two withdrew.
Ji Mosheng also turned to Ye Xiao and said, "You should also take some people to help out at Li's house."
"Understood, sir." Ye Xiao also withdrew.
Seeing that Ji Mohan and the Crown Prince seemed to have something to say, Li Shang tactfully withdrew. He also wanted to go back home to visit his family.
“Brother, what do you think of Father…” Ji Mosheng spoke up first.
“He is just your father,” Ji Mohan interrupted directly.
“Brother, I know that the matter of Consort Xue and sending you to Yunzhou City to guard the border were things the royal family did wrong to you. It’s understandable that you resent us. I…” Ji Mosheng said with some sadness. When they were children, he and his brother often played together. Their relationship should not be so cold and hard.
“You don’t need to say anything. I escaped the vortex of the capital when I was a teenager and came to Yunzhou City. I am very grateful. At least I don’t have to face the Emperor’s hypocritical concern and love like you did.” Ji Mohan said with his back turned.
"Brother, I'm sorry." Ji Mosheng bowed his head and apologized, hoping that his apology would make his brother feel better.
When my elder brother was young, Consort Xue passed away. Not long after, the two kingdoms of Meng and Yin went to war. Yin was weak and had no choice but to send a hostage to Meng. Unexpectedly, the young Chaoyang was chosen. Later, unaware of what had happened, my elder brother volunteered to fight on the front lines. He made a military pledge with his father and came to Yunzhou City. He has not returned to the capital for many years.
Back then, the eldest prince lost his mother and was abandoned by his father. The ministers, seeing that he had neither a powerful maternal family to support him nor his mother to back him up, also gave up on him. The people were saying that it was because the eldest prince's fate was too strong, that he had killed Consort Xue, and that he might even kill their father. The father was afraid, so he had no choice but to send him away.
When his elder brother arrived in Yunzhou City with three thousand troops, he must have felt fear and uncertainty. A few months later, good news of successive victories came from the border. He had expected his father to be pleased and recall his brother to the capital, but his father only offered a few words of praise and then nothing more, without even a reward. Even the common people grew increasingly afraid of his brother; they called him a jinx, an evil seed, and a harbinger of misfortune.
He didn't understand, so he went to explain that his elder brother wasn't that kind of person. But the people seemed to be bewitched, and even the way they looked at him changed. So he went to his father crying, wanting his father to issue an order to clarify things and tell them that his elder brother wasn't that kind of person.
——
"Waaaaah, Father, why are they all cursing my brother? My brother is clearly a great hero. He protected us. Can you please give the order to tell them that they are wrong?" Little Ji Mosheng cried as he knelt on the ground.
The emperor stood up and pulled him in, saying, "Sheng'er, your father cannot issue an order to stop it."
"Why? Father, do you also believe that my elder brother is an unlucky person? Do you also believe that my elder brother will bring misfortune to our parents? Didn't you teach us that a son should not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits?" Little Ji Mosheng said aggrievedly.
"Sheng'er, you should understand that the worse his reputation, the more secure your position as crown prince will be," the emperor said in a cold voice. He stopped comforting the crying Ji Mosheng, got up, and sat down behind his desk.
"Then Father, how about you let my elder brother return to the capital? You can order them to tell him that my elder brother has been wronged, and I will give up the position of Crown Prince," said Xiao Jimo Sheng.
"Insolence! Look at the state the Empress has raised you into! Get out of here! Guards! The Empress has lost her moral character and failed in raising her son. She is to be confined for a month!" the Emperor said angrily.
When Xiao Jimo Sheng heard that his mother was to be punished, he cried even harder, "Father, Father, I was wrong, please don't punish Mother. Waaaaah, please!"
"Sheng'er, as my son and the crown prince, you should not be so weak. Go back to the Crown Prince's residence and reflect on your actions. You may come out again when you have realized that you shouldn't have pleaded for your elder brother," the emperor said coldly.
Ji Mosheng was thus imprisoned in the Eastern Palace. He remained imprisoned for a long time without understanding why his father had told him he shouldn't have pleaded for his elder brother.
The tutor told him that as long as his elder brother's reputation was ruined, he would lose the people's support and would never compete with him for the position of crown prince, saying that his father was doing this for his own good.
He didn't understand at the time what was so good about being an emperor, and why everyone wanted to be one.
When he grew up, he understood the meaning of his father's words from years ago. His father had abandoned his elder brother, and for the sake of his own reputation, he had labeled his brother as a jinx to both parents and pushed him out into the fray. If his brother survived, he could defend the borders and fight on the frontier; if his brother died in battle, he would be discarded. His brother was his father's abandoned child from beginning to end. Later, even though his brother was ennobled as a prince based on his military achievements, he still couldn't gain his father's favor. He had simply gone from being an abandoned child to a sword in his father's hand, a pawn.
In their father's heart, they were far less important than the throne.
The elder brother is the sharp sword in the father's hand, clearing the battlefield for the father, while he is the tool for the father to appease the civil and military officials, dealing with them and worrying about the affairs of the court.
Ultimately, he and his elder brother, one to fight external enemies and the other to pacify internal strife, were merely tools.
Upon hearing Ji Mosheng's apology, Ji Mohan sighed. The Crown Prince was a man of principle, governing the country with virtue, appointing virtuous people, handling court affairs diligently, caring for the people, and understanding their sentiments. He was indeed a good heir apparent. The only problem was that he was too soft-hearted and easily burdened by emotions.
Ji Mohan turned to look at Ji Mosheng and said, "Crown Prince, you have never owed me anything, so you don't need to apologize. Also, I don't think you are a qualified crown prince. To become a qualified crown prince, you have to be ruthless."
“Brother, we are brothers by blood,” Ji Mosheng retorted.
“Father and Uncle An are closer than you and me. They are true blood brothers. But look at how Father acts. You should learn more about the art of being an emperor from him,” Ji Mohan said. The Crown Prince’s heart is really not suitable for that position.
Those high positions were built up with countless bones and blood.
“Brother, you say that people in the royal family are all heartless. Can you be so cruel to your sister-in-law? Can you bear to kill her? Everyone has selfish desires, and you are no exception, are you?” Ji Mosheng asked.
Ji Mohan opened his mouth, he really couldn't refute it, Yan Wan was his biggest selfish desire.
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