Xuanyuan Zhi leaned against the doorway, looking at Xuanyuan Duo with a mocking expression: "You really are Xuanyuan Yu's good brother. Father is seriously ill, and you two really have the leisure to do this."
Xuan Yuanduo blushed at Xuan Yuanzhi's words and frowned, asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for a drink with you!" Xuan Yuanduo raised the small wine jar in his hand and entered the house uninvited.
Xuanyuan Duo frowned, looking disgusted: "In these extraordinary times, why are you drinking with me? Can you please stop trying to harm me?"
Xuan Yuanzhi knew exactly what he was afraid of, and sneered, "Is the result out yet? Are you sure that Xuan Yuanyu will be the one to sit in that position? And now you're already in a hurry to distance yourself from your own brother?"
Xuan Yuanzhi's blatant threats indeed put Xuan Yuanduo in awe.
He calmed himself down and gestured to the eunuchs and maids inside the room: "Get out, all of you."
"Yes." The palace servants immediately bowed and withdrew.
After everyone had left, Xuanyuan Duo sighed and said, "Sit down, didn't you want to drink?"
Seeing Xuanyuan Duo's attitude, Xuanyuan Zhi knew what was going on.
It seems that Xuanyuan Duo wasn't entirely determined to follow Xuanyuan Yu; he still has a chance.
Xuanyuan Zhi sat down and first poured a cup of wine for Xuanyuan Duo.
Xuanyuan Duo didn't say anything, but drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
After he finished drinking, Xuanyuan Zhi poured him another cup.
Xuanyuan Zhi poured a cup, and Xuanyuan Duo drank a cup.
After downing three cups of wine, Xuanyuan Duo finally stopped Xuanyuan Zhi from pouring more.
He took the wine jar from Xuan Yuanzhi, poured a cup of wine for Xuan Yuanzhi, then poured one for himself, and raised his cup to Xuan Yuanzhi: "Second brother, although I'm on the third brother's side, we're still brothers. Don't worry, no matter what happens in the future, I'll always treat you like a brother!"
Xuanyuan Duo's words were also a gesture of goodwill towards Xuanyuan Zhi.
There's nothing we can do; there's still no result yet, and we don't know whether the third or second son will ultimately take the throne.
He really shouldn't take such an obvious stance, otherwise, if the second-in-command is the one who eventually ascends to the throne, wouldn't he be doomed?
His current show of goodwill is also a way of hoping that if the second son does ascend the throne in the future, the second son will spare him out of consideration for their brotherhood. Even if he is not made a prince, it would be good to leave him a way out, after all, he is not the main culprit in his struggle for the throne.
How could Xuanyuan Zhi not understand Xuanyuan Duo's overtures? He didn't say anything, but instead raised his lips in a cold smile and drank the wine in one gulp.
After drinking, Xuan Yuanzhi finally spoke: "Elder brother, I also consider you a brother, which is why I came here today. I don't want you to go down the wrong path and end up as a commoner, dying without a complete corpse!"
Xuan Yuanzhi's words startled Xuan Yuanduo greatly. The eight words "demoted to commoners and killed without a complete corpse" instantly made Xuan Yuanduo break out in a cold sweat. He swallowed hard and tried to remain calm, saying, "Second brother, the outcome is still undecided. Isn't what you're saying a bit excessive?"
Moreover, he didn't seem to care about brotherhood at all in his words.
He still treats him like a brother, and if he treats him like a brother, he will demote him to a commoner and make him die without a complete corpse!
Xuan Yuanzhi leaned closer to Xuan Yuanduo and smiled wickedly: "In this game, Xuan Yuanyu will definitely lose!"
"What do you mean? How can the third son be guaranteed to lose?" As a member of Xuan Yuan Yu's faction, Xuan Yuan Duo was unconvinced: "Father has always been grooming the third son as the crown prince, and his maternal clan is powerful..."
"That was before." Before Xuan Yuanduo could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanzhi interrupted him, "If Father Emperor had truly been grooming him as the crown prince, how could I have been regent alongside him? As for his maternal clan being powerful? Su Renzhong is dead, and Su Renyi is still a criminal. His maternal clan is not even as powerful as yours. What makes him powerful?"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Duo pursed his lips, unable to find a rebuttal.
And you know what? It seems to be true.
Previously, he particularly envied Xuan Yuan Yu's powerful maternal clan. His mother, Consort Su, was not only in charge of the harem, but his uncle was also the emperor's most trusted general, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Such a maternal clan was enough to make him and Xuan Yuan Zhi look like dust.
But looking at it now, it seems all the glory has vanished, as if Xuan Yuan Yu's maternal clan had been gradually weakened since General Su sacrificed himself for the country. Now he is at roughly the same level as Xuan Yuan Zhi.
“My mother is from a true scholarly family, a true lady of high birth. In terms of maternal lineage, I am dozens of times better than him!” Xuan Yuanzhi shouted indignantly.
From childhood to adulthood, both his mother and he were suppressed by Consort Su and Xuanyuan Yu through their maternal clan. But what was Consort Su? She was just a village girl from the countryside. If it weren't for her brother's accidental formation of an army that helped their father conquer the country, Consort Su would not be able to compare with her mother, a noble lady from the capital, or even with Xuanyuan Duo's mother, who was just a palace maid!
Xuanyuan Duo couldn't help but speak up for Xuanyuan Yu: "But there are many officials in the court who support the third prince right now..."
"That was before." Xuan Yuanzhi interrupted Xuan Yuanduo ruthlessly, and sneered: "This time, the third prince cuts half of the salaries of all officials in the court. Do you think there will still be so many ministers supporting the third prince?"
Xuanyuan Duo also felt that Xuanyuan Yu's proposal this time was a bit too radical, and now that he heard Xuanyuan Zhi so confident, he felt a little flustered.
Could this incident really cause the third prince to lose the support of the officials?
Despite being covered in cold sweat, Xuanyuan Duo forced himself to remain calm and said, "Father still supports the Third Prince."
Speaking of his father, Xuanyuan Zhi's smile grew even colder: "Do you know why Father supports the third son?"
Xuanyuan Duo didn't understand Xuanyuan Zhi's question, and subconsciously tried to find a reason for Xuanyuan Yu: "Then naturally it's because Father Emperor likes the third prince, and Father Emperor has been raising the third prince as the crown prince since he was a child..."
"Do you believe that nonsense?" Xuan Yuanzhi sneered, silencing Xuan Yuanduo. "Do I need to tell Father who he truly loves?"
Xuanyuan Duo frowned and didn't reply.
Who does Father Emperor like?
Is there even a question?
They know perfectly well even without being told.
But that was before; who knows who Father Emperor might like now?
Xuan Yuanzhi directly shattered Xuan Yuanduo's illusions: "Apart from Xuan Yuanzhan, none of our fathers have ever truly loved anyone. Or rather, even if they did, it never reached the point of favoritism. Xuan Yuanyu is the same!"
He used to think that his father favored Xuanyuan Yu, but now that he thinks about it, his father gave Xuanyuan Yu a chance, but he also gave him and Xuanyuan Duo a chance.
However, neither he, nor Xuanyuan Duo, nor even Xuanyuan Yu could meet the Emperor's requirements or satisfy him.
As for Xuanyuan Yu, his father was merely the tallest among the short.
“Then Father Emperor still supported the third son this time.” Xuan Yuanduo disagreed with Xuan Yuanzhi’s statement. He felt that his father Emperor still favored the third son.
"Father supports the third prince?" Xuan Yuanzhi sneered again: "Do you know why Father is so ill?"
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