The second prince's mother's family was a prominent Xianbei clan, and they received support from the old Xianbei nobles.
The Third Prince was born to Consort Xiao, the Emperor's most beloved son, and had the Emperor as his strongest backer.
Despite his humble origins, the Fifth Prince was a man of exceptional character and talent, and was highly regarded by aristocratic families and civil officials.
After becoming engaged to Princess Nanling, he also gained the support of the imperial family, represented by Princess Yongchang.
The three forces have now formed a tripartite balance of power.
They were openly and covertly fighting each other, stirring up trouble and creating a very delicate situation in the capital.
The emperor sensed something was wrong, reprimanded the second prince, ordered the third prince to copy books, and punished the fifth prince by suspending his salary for three years.
The three sons were each given a severe beating, and the turmoil in the capital seemed to have been calmed down.
However, anyone with a brain knows that this is just the calm before the storm.
Beneath the calm surface of the capital city lie turbulent waves.
A single opportunity can bring about earth-shattering changes.
"No! It's such a loss that my son isn't in the capital!"
Empress Ashina possessed exceptional political acumen; she sensed an impending upheaval and became somewhat anxious.
Helian Jue was in Lingnan, far from the emperor's reach.
If anything were to happen in the capital, he wouldn't even have time to act.
Compared to raising a flag in rebellion, launching a palace coup and directly seizing power seems easier.
Empress Ashina came from the grasslands and married into the Xianbei royal family. However, as the Great Zhou Dynasty continued to Sinicize, she also read a lot of books in the palace.
Among the historical records she read were treacherous ministers and rebellious sons who plotted to usurp the throne.
However, their actions were mostly confined to the capital city, or even within the palace.
Historically, there are very few examples of people who successfully rebelled in the provinces and marched all the way back to the capital.
Unless the world is in chaos.
The rebels had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support.
For example, the great chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty.
The current Great Zhou Dynasty has just unified the north and south, and is now in a prosperous era of peace and stability.
Although the sage acted somewhat hastily due to his eagerness for quick results, causing some unrest in the capital, the whole country remained peaceful.
Without natural disasters, people's lives were still manageable, and the chaos in the capital city did not affect the local areas at all!
Therefore, they did not have the favorable conditions to "rebel".
Let Helian Jue find a way to return to the capital, hide in the shadows, let the three tigers fight each other, and then the fisherman will reap the benefits!
"He Lu, bring me the pigeons that A Xi sent!"
After much deliberation, Empress Ashina finally made up her mind.
She whispered the instructions to Granny Helu.
"yes!"
Granny Helu agreed and quietly withdrew.
A short while later, she came in carrying a cage.
There were several pigeons in the cage, some white and some with gray spots, their feathers clean, looking like they were being carefully cared for.
On the surface, this was just a pet that Empress Ashina kept for fun.
Just like other concubines who kept parrots, orioles, cats and dogs.
In fact, this was a messenger specially sent by Helian Jue to his foster mother.
These pigeons were carefully bred by the Prince of Yue.
It was specifically used for delivering letters.
Helian Jue gave it to his adoptive mother in the hope that he could receive important news from the palace as soon as possible.
Of course, Helian Jue wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
He also had other informants in the capital.
These agents are also equipped with plenty of homing pigeons.
Empress Ashina took out paper and pen, and with a few quick strokes, wrote down the situation in the capital and her assessment of the political situation.
After writing, let the ink dry, fold the letter paper, roll it into a small strip, and stuff it into the wooden tube.
Seal the opening and apply wax to seal it; this will make it waterproof.
After doing all this, Queen Ashina took a carrier pigeon out of the cage and tied a wooden tube to the pigeon's claw.
He fastened it tightly, tugged on it gently to make sure it wouldn't fall off, and then stood up holding the carrier pigeon.
Reaching the corridor outside the palace, she threw the letter forcefully towards the south, saying, "Go, deliver the letter to the Prince of Yue's residence!"
The pigeon suddenly took flight, flapping its wings rapidly.
It first circled above the palace before heading towards Lingnan.
I hope my son comes back soon!
"I hope I'm not mistaken!"
The pigeon turned into a tiny dot in the air and quickly disappeared.
Empress Ashina stared blankly, then couldn't help but clasp her hands together, facing the sky, and silently prayed.
...
The news of the Fifth Prince's marriage to the Princess of Nanling didn't reach Lingnan until more than a month later.
Helian Jue looked at the message sent from the capital and curled his lips into a smile. "Fifth Prince has always been like this, only good at using others!"
"He probably made quite a few promises this time in order to get close to the princess."
For example, keeping a mistress in a gilded cage?
Haha, Helian Jue also has a capable wife, but he never thought of relying on women alone.
He and A Yuan have always been equals, helping and supporting each other.
The Fifth Prince, on the other hand, was engaging in one-sided extortion, only wanting to exploit the situation.
"The Fifth Prince seems to be a very contradictory person!"
Xie Yuan met the Fifth Prince once.
On their wedding day, the Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince went to "bear the imperial decree".
They claimed it was official business, but they were really just there to kick someone when they're down.
The Fourth Prince, that simpleton, charged at the Fifth Prince like a husky barking loudly.
The fifth prince, on the other hand, appears refined, cultured, tolerant, and noble.
It looked perfect, but Xie Yuan felt a little uneasy.
"He's too fake! Too perfect. He's either a true gentleman or a hypocrite."
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