Yun Zhang thought Zhao Zhi's words were a warning to him; perhaps she thought he had arranged the assassination?
"Assassinating the Emperor of Da Xuan would bring me no benefit whatsoever," he explained slowly, kneeling below and looking directly at Zhao Zhi. She didn't tell him to rise, so he remained kneeling. "Therefore, Your Majesty need not use words to reprimand me."
“Then you don’t need to kneel.” Zhao Zhi gestured for him to stand up.
This guy, aside from kneeling before me during court sessions, has never been so respectful. What's wrong with him today? Has he changed his ways since recovering from a serious illness?
She didn't believe it.
But the person below him still stood up straight, refusing to get up.
"You...you can kneel if you want," Zhao Zhi said softly, rubbing her temples wearily. That night at the Lantern Festival, Yun Xuan suddenly asked to touch her abdomen, and Shen Hanshan suggested they all go for a ride on a flower boat. They had just boarded the boat and hadn't even had a chance to exchange more than a few words when they heard screams from the shore.
Shen Hanshan was worried that this might be a ploy by the enemy to lure Zhao Zhi away from the mountain, so he dared not leave Zhao Zhi and the child. He only ordered half of the guards who were on guard around the flower boat to go and provide support.
Strangely, both forces seemed to be targeting Zhao Yi and Zhu Sanniang, while the pleasure boat where they were located remained unharmed.
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhi suddenly sat up straight, wondering to himself, given his elder brother's suspicious nature, would he suspect that Shen Hanshan had orchestrated this assassination attempt?
"Cuiyun!"
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Cuiyun replied immediately.
"Have any invitations been sent by Da Xuan in the past few days?"
"Your Majesty, apart from the message from Princess Da Xuan's residence the day before yesterday that Lord Zhu is out of danger, no other news has come through," Cuiyun reported respectfully.
Yun Zhang chuckled softly, slowly stood up from the ground, gently brushed the dust off his clothes, looked calmly at Zhao Zhi, and said unhurriedly, "With Your Majesty's wisdom and intelligence, you must be able to see through their scheme of killing two birds with one stone, right?"
Zhao Zhi remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
Yun Zhang continued, "Firstly, they are trying to sow discord between the friendly relations between Da Xuan and Yun Chao, and secondly, they are trying to drive a wedge between the Da Xuan prince consort and the emperor. As far as I know, the Da Xuan emperor has no children, while the eldest princess has twins, a boy and a girl."
Not long ago, a minister suggested that the Emperor of Da Xuan adopt his nephew as the heir apparent to stabilize the foundation of the state and continue the royal bloodline.
If this plan succeeds, it will not only cause a huge uproar in the court, but may also create unspeakable rifts between His Majesty and the Eldest Princess, and even between His Majesty and the Prince Consort. After all, once the nephew inherits the throne, the Prince Consort, as the biological father of the future crown prince, will have a completely different status and influence, inevitably arousing suspicion and potentially causing resentment, affecting harmony between the emperor and his subjects, and among relatives.
Yun Zhang's tone was gentle yet his words were profound. He slowly walked to the window, gazing at the dappled shadows of the trees outside, and continued, "Furthermore, the person behind this is well aware of the harm caused by hostility between two nations. If Da Xuan and Yun Chao were to become enemies due to a misunderstanding, the border would be unstable, the people would suffer, and the nation's strength would be damaged—a truly unwise move. The insidious nature of this plan lies in its silent exploitation of the most complex aspects of human nature—suspicion and jealousy—attempting to undermine Da Xuan's stability from within."
Upon hearing this, a hint of approval flashed in Zhao Zhi's eyes. The image of the Master in her memory gradually overlapped with the figure of Yun Zhang at this moment.
She picked up where Yun Zhang left off and continued her analysis: "Shen Hanshan was once a young general of the Great Xuan Dynasty, and now he is the only non-royal prince of the Great Xuan Dynasty. This maternal relative has too much power. If the emperor really intends to adopt his nephew, he will definitely cut off the wings of the maternal relatives around him. Shen Hanshan must die." When she said the last six words, Zhao Zhi's voice trembled slightly.
Her imperial brother might actually be capable of doing these things.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging fear within her.
"These two groups of assassins. One group genuinely intended to kill, while the other might have orchestrated it themselves. Your Majesty, what do you say?" Yun Zhang's words pierced Zhao Zhi's heart like a thorn. She gasped, silently thinking, "Brother, please don't make me hate you."
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