"Who among you was gossiping to Father Emperor, saying that I was pushed into the water by my third brother?" Ye Jingchen asked casually as he walked up to a cluster of blooming peonies.
The only thing he knew was that he had fallen into the water, so the only way to get to know the people and environment around him was to start with that.
Behind him were four palace maids and four eunuchs. Upon hearing his question, two of the palace maids and two eunuchs immediately knelt down.
The path beneath their feet was paved with cobblestones. They knelt down without hesitation, and the sound of their knees hitting the stones made Ye Jingchen gasp inwardly.
Ye Jingchen naturally disliked this feudal custom of kneeling at the drop of a hat, but given the environment he was in, he couldn't say anything and was forced to get used to it.
"This servant deserves to die!" came the unified, terrified voices.
Ye Jingchen asked this question not to interrogate anyone.
Firstly, these palace servants would only say such things to exonerate themselves, which is only human nature.
Secondly, since they were by the original owner's side, they were naturally familiar with the original owner's temperament. Even if they didn't say it, the original owner would say it himself.
Furthermore, the original owner's identity was inherently opposed to that of the other princes in the palace. Their lives and fortunes were already tied to the original owner's, so they would naturally make the choice that was most beneficial to both the original owner and them.
"Although my third brother is not my biological brother, he is still my father's child and my own brother. I do not wish to hear any more remarks that could affect my relationship with my brothers!" Ye Jingchen warned.
Although he didn't want to study, he was also glad that when he transmigrated, the original owner of the body was just a child. Since he was so young, his younger brothers who would later cause bloodshed in the Great Abyss would only be younger than him now, and he would still have the opportunity to train them.
But before he could discipline them, he had to change the mindset of the people in his own palace and prevent them from viewing the princes as enemies.
It was strange for someone in the guise of a child to say such things, but Ye Jingchen was born noble and had an unpredictable and capricious personality, so the palace servants dared not question him and could only answer "yes" with trembling fear.
Led by palace servants, Ye Jingchen strolled around the East Palace. He was small and had short legs, and the East Palace was very large. He walked around for half an hour and still hadn't finished exploring the entire garden, but he was already tired.
Being delicate and having just fallen into the water, Ye Jingchen's physical condition was exceptionally poor, so he had no choice but to return home.
Back in his bedchamber, he dismissed all the palace servants under the pretext of needing to rest, and lay on his bed contemplating his current situation and what to do next.
In the novel, the original owner's younger brothers are all troublesome, but none of them are the male protagonist. The real male protagonist is someone else.
The male protagonist, Xie Chang'an, is the only son of the Duke of Zhenguo's family.
The Duke of Zhenguo was a man of great military achievements, and his Xie family army was the strongest army in Dayuan, invincible and firmly guarding the peace of Dayuan.
but--
When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked.
Loyal ministers and generals have historically rarely met a good end.
Fearing that the Duke of Zhenguo's family's achievements would overshadow his own, the emperor sabotaged the battle between Dayuan and the Northern Barbarians, resulting in the deaths of all the male members of the Xie family on the battlefield, leaving only orphans and widows.
Xie Chang'an was a premature baby and was weak and sickly from a young age. His health was extremely poor, so he could not go to the battlefield, let alone lead the powerful Xie family army. Therefore, he escaped a disaster and was kept in the capital by the emperor as a mascot to keep the army in order to maintain morale.
On the surface, the emperor doted on Xie Chang'an, the last descendant of the Xie family, even more than the crown prince. However, the emperor's feigned favoritism was nothing short of poison to Xie Chang'an, who had no power to protect himself. As a result, he repeatedly encountered danger. If it weren't for the protagonist's halo, he would probably have died a hundred times over.
But it was precisely because he always managed to escape danger that the emperor became wary of him and wanted to eliminate him completely to prevent future troubles.
Although Xie Chang'an was frail and sickly, he was exceptionally intelligent. He had always harbored doubts about the war in which his family died on the battlefield. Under the emperor's nose, he kept a low profile and secretly lay low, determined to find out the truth and avenge his family.
After confirming that the emperor was behind the deaths of his family and that the emperor could not tolerate him, Xie Chang'an embarked on a path of revenge.
He sowed discord among the emperor's sons, creating alliances and causing them to kill each other; the deposition of the crown prince was his doing.
Ye Jingchen didn't know what happened later in the novel, but by the time the deposed crown prince died, Xie Chang'an had already secretly regained control of the Xie family army.
With an invincible army and unparalleled wisdom, it was only a matter of time before he replaced the Ye family.
While reading the novel, Ye Jingchen actually admired the male protagonist's beast-like intuition and his shrewd and decisive personality, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed up all night reading. But when the male protagonist became his enemy, this admiration turned into fear.
He was very self-aware. He had been a slacker in modern times for thirty years. Even if he were to turn his life around, he would still be a slacker. His brain capacity was limited, and he could never defeat the male protagonist.
However, the male protagonist in the book seems to be younger than him, currently just a toddler, posing zero threat. If he nipps the villain in the bud from the very beginning—
Stop!
My apologies!
How could he have such a wicked thought?
Ye Jingchen banished the absurd thought from his mind.
Although he is indeed living in an era where human life is treated as worthless and imperial power reigns supreme, he has at least been taught the core socialist values for thirty years. He was born and raised under the red flag, and he is a true red and respects life. How can he be so easily assimilated by this cannibalistic era?
Moreover, Xie Chang'an is still just a child, and the Xie family is full of great heroes who protect the country. If he were to harm Xie Chang'an, wouldn't he be a complete villain?
Villains never have a good ending; karma will come eventually, no matter how late!
I wonder if Xie Chang'an's family members have died on the battlefield?
If they were still alive, then he would still have a chance to change their fate.
In this way, he and Xie Chang'an would not have any deep-seated hatred, nor would they have to become enemies.
information!
More messages!
How can he find out his current situation and the progress of the novel's plot without leaving a trace or arousing suspicion?
The amnesia trope may be old-fashioned, but it works.
If he had pretended to have amnesia when he woke up, it would have been much easier for him to find out what information he wanted.
Unfortunately, he had already missed the best opportunity to feign amnesia.
After much deliberation, Ye Jingchen finally extracted a little bit of useful information from the novel's plot.
In this novel, both royalty and powerful families like to keep assassins, or what could be called shadows or secret guards.
As the Crown Prince, Ye Jingchen not only had eight hundred palace guards openly protecting his safety, but also dozens of secret guards protecting him in secret. The head of these secret guards was responsible for close protection, never leaving his side.
Therefore, although he appears to be the only person in this empty palace, there is actually someone lurking in the shadows, watching him at all times. This person will appear instantly and eliminate the source of danger for him should he be in any danger.
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