The Prince of Yan?
After Helian Jue was deposed, the court urged the emperor to appoint a new crown prince as soon as possible.
The emperor refused, and instead bestowed royal titles upon several adult princes.
The second prince was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qi, with Qi Prefecture as his fief.
The third prince was the Prince of Yan, whose fief was in the Yan region.
The fourth prince was the Prince of Yong, and his fief was Yongzhou.
The fifth prince was the King of Chu, whose fief was in the Chu region.
The princes who came after were too young to be granted the title of king this time.
The four princes who had been granted the title of king were also the subject of much discussion:
"The Second Prince's maternal family is of noble birth, and he himself is the eldest prince after the deposed crown prince, so his fiefdom is the best, in the prosperous Qi Prefecture."
"The Fifth Prince is known for his wisdom and is highly regarded by the civil officials from aristocratic families. Although his fiefdom is not particularly wealthy, it is extremely large, the largest among all the princes' fiefdoms."
Both of them were considered strong contenders for the throne, and the emperor valued them even more.
As for the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, they are ranked ahead of the Fifth Prince. It would be inappropriate to appoint the Fifth Prince ahead of them.
Let's take a look at the fiefdoms of these two princes. One is in the bitterly cold Yan region, and the other is simply the wild and untamed land of Lingnan.
Such a perfunctory fiefdom clearly indicates that these two were just there to make up the numbers, taking advantage of the "continuation of the lineage" to be granted the title of king.
Therefore, even though he was granted the title of king, the third prince, the Prince of Yan, was still not valued and instead became an object of pity for some people.
"Alas, they are all born of the same mother. Helian Jue can become the crown prince, while the Prince of Yan can only be a 'leisurely prince'!"
The Third Prince became even more "invisible," and even the equally pitiful Fourth Prince no longer considered him a rival.
However, at this moment, in He County, Yuezhou, three thousand miles away from the capital, Xiao Zixiu saw the mark of the Prince of Yan.
Xiao Zixiu's heart raced, his back went cold, and the hairs on his body stood on end.
What... what's going on?
Why does the sugar shop owned by the Xie family use the name of the Prince of Yan's mansion?
"...Helian Jue! What exactly are you trying to do? Do you really want to drag Sanlang into this?"
Xiao Zixiu wasn't stupid; after standing in front of the sign for a while in a daze, he immediately understood—
This is Helian Jue's conspiracy.
He must have discovered something, and then he stabbed the Third Prince with a backhand!
The sword's edge pierced straight into his heart; how ruthless and vicious!
The Third Prince has always been known for his indifference to fame and fortune and his lack of ambition.
Helian Jue deliberately branded his own businesses under the name of the Prince of Yan's mansion.
Cui Boyong, the governor of Yuezhou, was not blind; upon seeing the sugar shop's signboard, he immediately became suspicious.
If Governor Cui were intelligent enough, he might be able to see the "truth":
Helian Jue was an alcoholic who drank heavily all day long, and the entire palace was supported by a woman.
Even Governor Cui didn't take him seriously.
If a sugar shop were to display the signboard of the Prince of Yue's Mansion, not only would Governor Cui not be afraid, but the powerful clans of Yuezhou would try every means to seize it.
Helian Jue adopted the name of the Prince of Yan in an attempt to "borrow the tiger's power."
Even if the Prince of Yan was a nobody, he was still a prince in the capital, and his mother was the emperor's favorite concubine.
Cui Boyong and the local powerful figures of Yuezhou had to be somewhat wary of him.
Therefore, Helian Jue's actions were merely using the name of the Prince of Yan; the Prince of Yan was unaware of this and was innocent.
Even if the matter escalates to the capital, the Prince of Yan can "clear his name" and continue to be an unknown figure.
However, if Governor Cui is not clever enough and only sees the "surface" of the matter:
Helian Jue is finished; he can no longer control his own palace.
Xiao Zixiu was once the Third Prince's close and trusted maternal uncle.
Now that Xiao Zixiu has become the military commander of the Yue King's mansion, he has sidelined the Yue King and is helping the Yan King amass wealth on the Yue King's territory!
Xiao Zixiu clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding together.
He could imagine that if Cui Boyong really thought that way, then the Third Prince's strategy of "keeping a low profile" would have failed.
The second and fifth princes will then realize that the third prince is not as indifferent to desires as he appears.
The Third Prince has been playing dumb all along!
The second and fifth princes, in addition to their astonishment, also felt a sense of resentment at being fooled and deceived.
Driven by the struggle for the throne and their inner resentment, they will relentlessly target the Third Prince!
If things go wrong, these two might even join forces!
"Sanlang's power is not yet established. He doesn't have enough supporters or outstanding achievements. The emperor's favor alone is not enough!"
Xiao Zixiu was extremely anxious. He wished he could draw the sword at his waist and smash the candy shop's signboard to pieces!
But he couldn't!
This is Yuezhou, and Cui Boyong is keeping a close eye on everyone in the Yue King's mansion.
As the military commander of the Prince's Palace, Xiao Zixiu was likely followed by people from the Prefect's Office the moment he stepped out.
His every move will be observed by the supervisors.
His act of chopping down the signboard would only make things worse, a guilty conscience making things even more complicated.
call!
Xiao Zixiu let out a long breath. Calm down! He had to stay calm!
He needs to find a way to deal with this matter as soon as possible.
We must not allow anyone to suspect Saburo, and then—
What a pity! It's too late!
With Helian Jue making his move, Xiao Zi naturally wouldn't have time to repair or save him.
In Guangcheng, the sugar shops continued to thrive, finally attracting the attention of the Guangcheng governor.
"The properties of the Prince of Yan's residence?"
The family of the Prefect of Guangcheng had some connection with the Fifth Prince.
When Helian Jue and his entourage passed through Guangcheng, the governor of Guangcheng hid under the pretext of "avoiding the wind," deliberately trying to embarrass Helian Jue.
There was nothing he could do; he was a supporter of the Fifth Prince.
After spending more than a month in the neighboring prefecture, confirming that Helian Jue and his party had left Guangcheng, the governor of Guangcheng returned to his prefectural office.
He was still not at ease, so he specially sent someone to follow them.
Therefore, the governor of Guangcheng knew about Helian Jue's wife's efforts in rebuilding the fishing village after the disaster and her purchase of a large amount of sugarcane, and immediately wrote a secret letter to send to the capital.
However, the news that Helian Jue was an alcoholic and that the Prince's mansion relied on a woman for support successfully lowered the governor of Guangcheng's guard against Helian Jue.
He was also busy with maritime transport and salt production, so he temporarily reduced his attention to the Yue King's Palace.
The next news I heard about the Yue Prince's mansion was actually due to the booming sugar shop business.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, what's strange is that the person in charge of the sugar shop business is clearly Zhao Min, the former tutor to the Crown Prince, yet the signboard bears the seal of the Prince of Yan's residence!"
"..."
The governor of Guangcheng remained silent, pacing around the study several times with a grave expression.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, "I've got it! That Zhao Min might not be a member of the Crown Prince's faction at all, but a hidden member of the Third Prince's faction!"
"Or perhaps, the Third Prince, seeing that Helian Jue had been deposed, secretly plotted to gather the remaining members of the Crown Prince's faction."
Regardless of the speculation, the governor of Guangcheng suddenly realized that the "idle" prince, who was known in the capital as a "refined scholar of the Wei and Jin dynasties," was not as indifferent to worldly affairs as he appeared.
The governor of Guangcheng's eyes suddenly lit up: What a great discovery! What a momentous discovery!
I must write to the Fifth Prince immediately, warning him to be wary of the Third Prince…
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