Chapter 168 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
But Cui Shiliang's face darkened, and he hurriedly spoke up to stop him, "No!"
Cui Yunyi's laughter stopped abruptly, and she looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You say she's a bastard, do you have any evidence?" Cui Shiliang calmed down and said, "So many officials in the court are loyal to her. Without any evidence, who will believe you based on your empty words? You might even end up being accused of confusing the royal bloodline and slandering the princess!"
Cui Yunyi retorted, "Isn't her face, which resembles neither Shen Lang nor Li Ye, proof enough?"
Cui Shiliang said, “Absurd! There are so many people in this world who are not like their parents! This proves nothing.”
Cui Yunyi, however, confidently raised her chin: "Brother, don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I didn't kill that midwife who switched the babies back then; I've been raising her in the countryside ever since. Now, I've already sent someone to bring her to the capital. She's the most irrefutable witness!"
Cui Shiliang was completely stunned, feeling a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
How could my own sister have left such a huge hidden danger for more than ten years, and now she still dares to bring her to Beijing?
He almost blurted out, "Still not!"
Cui Yunyi frowned. "Why?"
Cui Shiliang leaned closer, his voice extremely low, "Sister, think this through first. If you publicly admit that you switched the prince, His Majesty will surely order your execution in his rage."
"As long as You'er can ascend the throne, what does it matter if I die!" Cui Yunyi closed her eyes, her tone filled with a desperate determination.
“But what about the Cui family if you die?” Cui Shiliang roared. “Once His Majesty finds out about this, won’t he investigate thoroughly? If it’s also found that Empress Shen’s death was related to you, then it won’t just be you who dies. The entire Cui family, from top to bottom, will be implicated and their entire clan will be executed!”
Cui Yunyi's face turned pale. This was the reason why she had kept her temper against Li Yuanzhao for so many years.
But now, for the sake of her son's throne, she can't care about any of that.
Cui Shiliang paused, then changed the subject: "And what about the prince born to the Empress? You said he was thrown into the water but didn't drown, and then they sent people to silence him. But did you see his body with your own eyes? Are you sure he's really dead?"
Cui Yunyi then remembered that although she had sent someone to kill him, she had never seen his body.
Her face froze instantly, her eyes flickering: "This... the people I sent said they've already taken care of it..."
"This is the biggest hidden danger!" Cui Shiliang emphasized. "His Majesty has never been satisfied with the Second Prince, thinking him weak and incompetent, unable to shoulder the responsibility. And all these years, he has not made Li Yuanzhao the Crown Prince simply because she is a woman. But now, once he finds out that he has a prince living in the world, and that he is the legitimate son born to the Empress, who do you think His Majesty will choose?"
"At that time, not only will Li Yuanzhao, that bastard, be completely sidelined, but even You'er will have to step aside completely."
Cui Yunyi retorted stubbornly, "The world is so vast, and the sea of people is so boundless, how could he be so easy to find?"
Cui Shiliang interrupted her decisively, "But we can't gamble, you know that?"
These words completely shattered Cui Yunyi's psychological defenses. The resolute look on her face faded, replaced by deep panic.
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to do nothing and watch that bastard take You'er's throne?"
“Of course, we won’t do nothing.” Cui Shiliang smiled sinisterly and said slowly, “Think about it, if this news leaks out, who would be more anxious or more afraid than us?”
Cui Yunyi paused, then, following his words, hesitated before asking, "...Li Yuanzhao?"
“Exactly!” Cui Shiliang nodded. “Everything she has now—power, status, favor—is all thanks to her status as the eldest princess. If she knew she wasn’t of imperial blood, do you think she would just sit and wait to die?”
Cui Yunyi shook her head almost without hesitation, "No!"
A calculating glint flashed in Cui Shiliang's eyes. "A person like her would never relinquish power, even if she died. Besides, now that the Second Prince has publicly withdrawn from the struggle for the throne, she is determined to seize it. But if someone were to reveal to her that she is not of royal blood, she would panic more than anyone else."
"Because once her identity is exposed, everything she has will be lost. Therefore, she must seize the throne firmly before the news leaks out and the emperor notices."
He paused, deliberately drawing out his words to guide Cui Yunyi's train of thought: "Although His Majesty is seriously ill, he can still hold on for two or three months. Two or three months may seem short, but she can't afford to wait, nor dares to wait, so she will definitely take risks and act desperately."
Cui Yunyi's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly understood his unspoken meaning. She asked in a low voice, "You mean, she will murder the emperor and seize the throne?"
“She had no choice,” Cui Shiliang said coldly. “If she doesn’t do this, and the Emperor discovers the truth first, she will have no chance of ascending to the throne, and that will be the end for her. But if she acts first, she still has a glimmer of hope. If you were in her shoes, what would you choose?”
A hint of apprehension flashed in Cui Yunyi's eyes, and her tone was full of concern, "But she has soldiers, money, and land, and so many people in the court support her. If she really wants to do something, we may not be able to do anything about it."
Cui Shiliang, however, confidently stated, "So what we need to do is 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' We'll first leak the information to her, forcing her to act. Then we'll lay a trap beforehand, and when she dares to raise an army to force the palace, we'll seize her on the spot. At that time, she'll be a traitorous rebel, and even if she still holds the title of Princess, she'll still be doomed, with no chance of ever rising again!"
Upon hearing this, Cui Yunyi seemed to realize something, and her eyes instantly lit up.
"If she succeeds in killing Li Ye, we can then arrest her on charges of treason, and You'er can then rightfully ascend the throne before the coffin!"
Cui Shiliang nodded, "By then, when the new emperor ascends the throne, who in the entire court will dare to do anything to our Cui family?"
“But… this is just our guess; she might not actually rebel.” Cui Yunyi was still somewhat hesitant.
Cui Shiliang sneered, "So we need to give her a push, forcing her to take this desperate path."
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