Chapter 115: Licking Honey on the Edge of a Knife
The lights were bright in the Yugan Palace. Emperor Kangcheng was writing furiously after taking a pill.
Wei Zili waited tremblingly on the side with a bitter face. The emperor was taking too many pills, to the point where he had to take one every hour.
During the break, Emperor Kang Cheng drank a sip of ginseng tea and asked, "What has Song Mo been doing these past two days?"
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince spends most of his time reading. There's nothing unusual about it."
Emperor Kangcheng snorted when he heard this.
He picked up the pen again and wrote the names of the second prince, the third prince, the fourth prince and the eldest grandson, and then circled the fourth prince and the eldest grandson.
He stared at the two names in the circle. He had to appoint an heir. Otherwise, if he kicked his leg, these princes and grandchildren would be furious, or directly trigger a dispute over the succession, causing unrest in the court. What if a few princes directly split Dali? Then he would be a sinner of the Song Dynasty and would be ashamed to face his ancestors.
Before his death, the Emperor had instructed him and asked him to promise that when he passed away, he would choose a successor carefully to pass on the Song family's empire.
The Emperor once asserted that he was not a wise and heroic ruler, but only a king who maintained the status quo. He did not have many requirements for him. It was okay if he did not make any achievements during his reign, but he must be cautious in the matter of succession.
He was still unconvinced at that time, but now it is time for him to fulfill his promise.
What if he chose to establish his son? What if he chose his grandson? Who could stay? Who must go? These were all things he had to consider. His father had said that dynasties were wary of young rulers; the previous emperor, Taizong, had adopted an orphan and a widow. After some deliberation, Emperor Kangcheng crossed out the Crown Prince, leaving only the fourth son.
He began to select those to take away, especially those officials who surrounded him and sought to gain favor with him. He would rather kill the wrong person than let them go. As long as they wouldn't cause too much unrest, he would take them away. But for those like the Xie family, who were so opportunistic and had deep roots, he had to reconsider. Taking the entire family away was unrealistic, so he decided to take the troublemakers with him.
However, the more Emperor Kang Cheng cut off names, the more he felt something was wrong. He simply stopped writing, drank half a bowl of ginseng tea, picked up the list he had written, looked at it carefully, and then laughed in anger.
"Go, bring Song Mo to me!"
"yes!"
Wei Zili quickly asked his little apprentice to invite the Fourth Prince over. He didn't dare to leave the emperor now.
As soon as Song Mo entered the hall, a tea bowl fell at his feet, "Song Mo, do you admit your guilt?!"
Facing the furious Emperor Kang Cheng, Song Mo knelt down, "Father!"
Wei Zili quickly cleared the area, and soon only Emperor Kang Cheng, Song Mo, and Wei Zili were left in the hall.
"say!"
"Your son has nothing to say."
"What a speechless person! You won't cry until you see the coffin, will you?" Emperor Kang Cheng walked down the stairs and walked around him. "Song Mo, you are so good, Song Mo, you are only fourteen this year, right? I didn't expect you to be so capable that you actually killed the crown prince, the heir to the throne. Tell me, are you planning to kill your father next?"
Song Mo was shocked, "I dare not."
"You're incredibly courageous. What's there to be afraid of? After killing the Crown Prince, you're even plotting against me! Killing someone with a borrowed knife, you're feeling pretty smug, aren't you? Using me to get rid of Xue Huaimin and the others who were holding you back, isn't this knife of mine any good? Feeling pretty smug, aren't you? Are you so sure I wouldn't dare kill you?"
He was furious! What sin had he committed to deserve such suffering? If he had any other choice, he would definitely give this evil son to...
But when he thought that the second and third princes were even more useless than him, he had to suppress his anger.
Even though he knew he was using a knife to kill someone, he had to kill Xue Huaimin! He would not let any of the ministers who came up with the idea and participated in the murder of the prince go! But when it came to the Xie family, who were close to him, he hesitated.
Song Mo knelt there obediently, feeling horrified. His father even noticed this?
When Xie Zhan had told him before that everything they did might not be hidden from his father's discerning eyes, he hadn't quite believed it. But now he believed it, and at the same time, he felt relieved. He had made the right move.
As expected, as a vested interest, he would definitely be suspected after the Crown Prince's death. He told himself not to take chances, because his father was too smart.
Xue Huaimin's plan included forcing the emperor to abdicate and killing his father.
At first, he and Xue Huaimin thought they could hide the secret from his father's discerning eyes, but in fact, all this was being observed coldly by his father, right?
Fortunately, Xie Zhan persuaded him in time. Under his analysis and persuasion, he directly abandoned Xue Huaimin's previous plan to force the emperor to abdicate, and then activated Xie Zhan's plan to throw Xue Huaimin out to vent his father's anger.
Although doing so would bring up trouble, he and Xie Zhan both felt that this was his crisis as well as his opportunity.
From the point that his father did not kill him immediately, they made the right bet. After his father's anger, he would definitely regain his sanity and would not cause turmoil in Dali.
"Father, I have no choice. Everything I have done is for the benefit of the Dali Dynasty. Father, can you tell me fairly and impartially, is the Crown Prince more capable of this important task than I am?"
"Because you think the Crown Prince is useless and inferior to you, you want to kill him, right? Do you know that he is the Crown Prince, the heir to the throne, and also your elder brother?"
"I don't want to kill the prince. I just want to prevent him from becoming the crown prince." He looked embarrassed, implying that this was his plan, but now he has just let it go.
This is of course a lie.
"Father, please believe me. If you hand the Dali Kingdom over to me, I will definitely be able to govern it well. I will not be worse than the prince!" Song Mo expressed his determination.
Emperor Kang Cheng looked at him coldly, "You are indeed smarter than your brothers. Back off, I don't want to see you!"
Song Mo breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had finally passed this hurdle. According to their agreement, his father was thinking about Dali, so as long as he behaved well when his father got angry with him, he would be fine.
Xie Zhan really guessed the emperor's intentions.
Emperor Kang Cheng watched him walk out coldly and made several decisions in his mind.
Didn't you say you could do it? Don't you want to be held back? Then I'll assign you several regents to share power and provide checks and balances. Only when you can overthrow them will you be considered a qualified emperor.
Don't you want to seize the throne while also cherishing your own reputation? Do you want the Qin family to take the blame for you? Then I insist on keeping the Qin family! The Qin family is a good dog that guards the house, and they are docile and loyal. You must not kill them all because of your selfishness.
Also, who was behind the fourth brother giving him advice? He was so cunning and scheming, but he hadn't found out. He had just searched through the fourth brother's people, but there was no one who particularly matched him.
Emperor Kangcheng would help him. After all, he was his son and the next heir to the throne. However, as an emperor, Emperor Kangcheng was holding his breath. As a father, he would definitely teach him a lesson. Let him know that your father is still your father.
At night, two lanterns with white cranes spreading their wings were hung on both sides of the door of a brothel.
Xie Zhan soon realized that it was done. He had won the bet!
He warmed a pot of wine, stood by the window, and quietly admired the beautiful moonlight.
Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. The full moon in the sky symbolizes all beauty and perfection.
When Xie Zhan was in high spirits, he even poured a toast to the heavens. "Lv Songli, I won this round. And I'll keep winning. You don't stand a chance."
The smooth progress of the plan made him in a good mood. He took a risky move, otherwise, how could he come from behind and win?
He had made this gamble after careful consideration. The Xie family was simply taking sides, so what was wrong with that? As the saying goes, the law doesn't hold everyone responsible, and it wasn't him who secretly murdered the prince.
No one could match his understanding of Emperor Kang Cheng. If Emperor Kang Cheng hadn't already had Lü Desheng by his side, he would have been his favorite by now. Lü Desheng was only a few years older than him. If not, he believed he would have been able to win the emperor's heart.
Xie Zhan downed the wine in his cup. Xue Huaimin was no longer a concern. If all went well, the new emperor would ascend the throne soon, and he would be the first in line.
When Lu Songli learned that the Fourth Prince’s new think tank was Xie Zhan, she was not too surprised.
In this incident, her and Xie Zhan's reactions were very different.
Lü Songli is a coward, while Xie Zhan is licking honey on the edge of a knife. From this point of view, Xie Zhan is braver than her, dares to gamble and fight, and is more aggressive.
But he had no choice, if he did nothing, he would have no advantage, if he wanted to catch up, he had to fight. He was also very capable, so Xue Huaimin made a wedding dress for him.
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