Chapter 165
#Second Prince's Residence Smashed and Destroyed#
#The Eldest Princess and the Second Prince's siblings have a falling out#
#Princess Eldest: Bringing Your Master Some Hot Words#
#The Second Prince Has Still Not Made an Appearance#
...
Cui Zui entered the palace much later than usual after watching the commotion outside. He used his light-footed skill to rush towards Zhaoyang Palace, his voice preceding his arrival with the excitement of having stumbled upon some juicy gossip: "Master, Master, I'm telling you, it's practically madness outside! The Eldest Princess—"
"I've already seen it." Xue Jin'an silently looked at the trending search terms on the page, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. He felt like the plot didn't connect. In human terms, it was like "picking up a pen in math class and then not being able to understand the problem on the blackboard when he stood up again."
Xue Jin'an deeply understood this statement.
He had only done his routine morning exercise, so how did the plot escalate like this? The eldest prince hadn't even made a move yet, and the second prince's internal brain had already declared independence—although according to data analysis, a break between the eldest princess and the second prince was inevitable, this was happening far too quickly.
Cui Zui had no doubt whatsoever about how Xue Jin'an knew about the news outside the palace before him, without ever leaving the house. In his opinion, the title of "Perfect Gentleman" was too modest for his master. His master was capable of everything except giving birth. However, his master was also a very low-key person. You would never know what he was capable of until something happened.
It's just that he knew the news in advance; it's basic stuff for the master, so there's nothing to be surprised about.
Cui Zui quickly put this little oddity out of his mind and began to seriously analyze and discuss the matter of the Princess smashing the door with Xue Jin'an. He asked, "Master, wasn't the Princess a little too hasty this time?"
"Hmm." Xue Jin'an nodded slightly.
To be honest, from the perspective of maximizing interests, now is not the best time for the Eldest Princess to break away from the Second Prince's camp and officially step out from behind the scenes. She should at least wait until both sides are exhausted and the Second Prince has no more value to her before taking advantage of the situation to rise up. By then, the Second Prince will not be far from falling. And once the Second Prince falls, even if the Eldest Princess does not want to take the stage, those powerful families who are bound by sunk costs and do not want to be purged after the enemy takes the throne will push her to the front.
When faced with absolute interests and the lives of nine generations of relatives, whether the person in power is male or female is no longer so important.
Having learned from the failure of the Second Prince, they will be very lenient with the Eldest Princess's abilities. She will experience a relatively easy transition of power. As for the internal strife that will follow once everyone has recovered, it is inevitable. As long as there is a distribution of benefits, there will be conflicts due to unequal distribution. However, this is something that can only be considered after the first stage of seizing power is successful, so let's leave it aside for now.
Xue Jin'an analyzed the reasons using data: "32% of the reason may be that the Eldest Princess was tired of the Second Prince's stupidity without realizing it and his insubordination, so she simply took advantage of the situation and broke free from his constraints; 33% of the reason may be that the Eldest Princess knew that there was evidence that the Second Prince was bound to fail, and she planned to step on him, so this was a good time to cut ties; 34% may be related to Consort Min, whose continued presence no longer offered enough benefits for her to remain silent, and the associated costs made her want to avoid them; the remaining 1% is other."
It's actually quite easy to guess what the price would be. There are only a few prices that the princess could not tolerate. The two most likely options are either forcing her to have another child or... Tai Le's marriage.
Both of these possibilities ultimately point to the Jiang family, not the Jiang of Consort Min, but the Jiang of Jiang Wen.
As mentioned before, Jiang Wen's first wife had passed away, leaving him with only one son. He observed three years of mourning for her. As soon as the three-year mourning period ended, Princess Kangtai immediately arranged a matchmaking banquet for Jiang Wen to find a second wife. It's no wonder that Princess Kangtai was in such a hurry, as her family line was not very large. She was already quite old when she gave birth to Jiang Wen, who was focused on his career. He became the top scholar in the imperial examination before he even reached adulthood, and entered the cabinet after only six years in office. He then secured the position of Grand Secretary in just three years and has remained in that position ever since.
In terms of officialdom, he was still very young at over forty years old. Many people at that age were still struggling to gain seniority, while he was already second only to the emperor and a trusted and important minister. However, for Princess Kangtai, this age was not so wonderful.
Princess Kangtai was already at an age where her birthday was considered a "grand birthday," and with each passing year bringing her closer to old age, it was understandable that she was anxious and worried. Their lineage had been passed down through single-lineage children for many years, and medical conditions in ancient times were limited. If the child were to contract some disease, he might die. Moreover, Jiang Wen's only son was not in good health to begin with, and when he was young, they were worried that he was too fragile and would be taken away by ghosts, so they dressed him up as a girl and raised him for a while.
Princess Kangtai wanted Jiang Wen to have another child while he was still able to conceive, and she arranged his marriage. She also paid special attention to young widows who had given birth. Jiang Wen did not refuse, and he got married again last January, but there was still no sign of a child.
Princess Kangtai was so anxious that she sent a petition to the palace to ask the imperial physician to examine and treat Jiang Wen. The examination revealed that there was nothing wrong. Jiang Wen was not worried. He only said, "You can't force it. I guess it's just not meant to be."
Princess Kangtai watched as more than a year passed, and the fertile young widow's belly showed no sign of pregnancy. No matter how anxious and disappointed she was, she could only give up and say, "It's fate."
The princess sighed and turned to her only sickly grandson to start making arrangements, saying that he should get married as soon as he came of age. However, Jiang Wen stopped her and she gave up on the idea.
It was quite a coincidence that when Tai Le turned fifteen and reached marriageable age, he was also turning twenty, and the two of them happened to be within the range of suitable marriage partners.
Although Princess Kangtai did not express any intention to arrange a marriage, neither Consort Min nor the Second Prince wanted to let go of Jiang Wen, and they would certainly not miss this opportunity to strengthen their ties through marriage.
As for having the eldest princess have another child, it's because they feel Jiang Wen's child is very sickly, and what if one day he doesn't make it through...
In short, neither of them was something the eldest princess was willing to accept.
After analyzing the reasons behind the Princess's unusual behavior, Xue Jin'an felt relieved and simply turned on the live stream to check on the Second Prince's side.
The Second Prince's residence is now a huge topic of conversation, watched openly and secretly by countless people. Few of the passersby on the street are actually sick; they are all secretly observing the Second Prince's reaction.
Regardless of their motives or who they were reporting to, the existence of these informants made it convenient for Xue Jin'an to appreciate the Second Prince's expressions from every angle.
The second prince appeared after the eldest princess left. He originally wanted to act surprised and unaware, but his acting was not good enough and people could see through his act at a glance. Later, he could no longer pretend and was furiously impotently raging at the servants of the mansion in the ruins.
Like begets like; a dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, and a mouse's son knows how to dig a hole.
[An incompetent father and an incompetent son—no paternity test needed, it's obvious they're related at a glance.]
Xue Jin'an offered a sharp critique.
Ignoring the expressions of the spies who had come to watch, disguised as passersby, after confirming that the Second Prince was not acting strangely, he decided to stop paying attention.
Instead of focusing on the Second Prince, let's pay attention to the First Prince, another key figure in this struggle for the throne.
Big data understands Xue Jin'an very well. After only two refreshes, the live stream featuring the cover of Consort De's horse farm appeared, with a corner of the cover revealing a glimpse of the color of a prince's court robe.
The live stream's perspective was somewhat sneaky, with a huge horse head occasionally obscuring the view—unsurprisingly, this was someone who was paid to sell information.
That's normal. Consort De's horse farm is large and requires many people. With many people, there are many opinions, making it very suitable for planting informants. However, Consort De is still relatively careful. Xue Jin'an looked around and realized that this live broadcast room was already the closest one.
Clearly, this was no accident. Consort De had noticed that they had all quietly left the center, and this one was the best hidden.
However… Xue Jin'an caught the look in Consort De's eyes in the scene and thought: The day of my death is coming soon, so let's cherish it while we can.
The live stream was taken from a very awkward angle, almost completely obscured by a horse's head. So Xue Jin'an simply turned on the built-in portrait tracking and background processing functions, locked onto Consort De and the First Prince, and then happened to see a rather familiar scene.
Consort De sat upright on the horse, while the eldest prince held the reins and looked up to speak. The two looked into each other's eyes, making for a very pleasant scene.
If you only look at this picture, you would think that the mother and son are not having a pleasant conversation, but the atmosphere is not much different. However, they are actually arguing.
Or perhaps it was Consort De arguing with the First Prince on her own.
—This is what Xue Jin'an gleaned from their subtle expressions.
Xue Jin'an switched to his Southern Xinjiang language, which was only half-loaded, and listened by guessing and improving his Southern Xinjiang language input.
"Mother, don't be angry, I'll listen to you," the eldest prince said.
Consort De's anger did not subside upon hearing this; instead, she used her whip to push away the eldest prince's hand. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Listen to me? When have you ever listened to me?"
“I told you to behave yourself and not to overthink things, but you turned around and got involved with Prince An, plotting this and that. I told you not to do these things at the horse farm. I told you that these horses are very precious and I would be heartbroken if even one of them died. But what happened? You still did those things on your own.”
Xue Jin'an was completely unprepared; he had just entered when he heard Consort De reveal some inside information.
The incident at the horse farm they were referring to was the one that injured the Third Prince's leg. At that time, Xue Jin'an's opinion was that the First Prince was one of the people who orchestrated the scheme, while Consort De was merely aware of it but did not participate.
Although Xue Jin'an was very confident in his speculation, he really didn't expect it to be confirmed at this time.
Consort De's whip steadily pushed the eldest prince's palm outwards, her voice still calm, "Fine, do whatever you want, it's none of my business, and I don't want to."
"Mother." Seeing that Consort De was truly angry, the eldest prince grabbed her hand and said, "It's my fault. Don't let me spoil your good mood, okay?"
Xue Jin'an gradually figured out the whole story from their conversation.
Most people judged others by their own standards, thinking that the Crown Prince and Consort De must be in a bad mood after being attacked so severely for no reason. However, in fact, their mood was not affected at all.
As usual, Consort De had breakfast and then went to the horse farm. After checking the condition of the horses, she randomly selected one. Without even using stirrups, she nimbly leaped over the reins and mounted the horse. After that, she rode off with unrestrained pride.
After leaving the crowd, the eldest prince's gentle, chiseled smile vanished completely. His lips flattened into a straight line, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he no longer walked with any air of importance. His entire demeanor became relaxed, and he even looked more approachable than when he was smiling.
In reality, whether it was Consort De ordering the head palace maid to wait for the eldest prince in Qian Yuan Palace, or the eldest prince's three questions, it was all an act for others to see, to make them think that they had been influenced by the rumors.
The eldest prince strolled into the horse farm as if taking a walk. He stopped to watch Consort De galloping on horseback, a smile that was not so gentle but very genuine curving his lips.
"Your Highness, shouldn't those opinions... be dealt with?" the head palace maid asked in a low voice.
The eldest prince glanced at her and suddenly realized that she was one of his "grandfather" Lin Ruofu's people. He shook his head and said, "Tell Lord Lin that it was just a foolish move by the waiter. There's no need to worry about it."
He knew very well that if it was Consort Min or the Eldest Princess who made the move, he would not have been able to extricate himself from the court so easily. It was very likely that neither of them knew about the Second Prince's actions.
As for the Second Prince, his moves seemed impressive, but in reality they were all bark and no bite, clearly lacking staying power—or rather, the Second Prince never even considered the potential for staying power.
Perhaps this prince, who has lived under the protection of others since childhood, has a vicious heart but lacks a brain.
Yet, this very person has a lot of support behind him.
"What an enviable life!" The eldest prince sighed inwardly.
"But..." Goddess Omiya still looked somewhat hesitant.
The eldest prince's smile faded slightly, but his tone revealed nothing amiss. "Tell Grandfather to rest assured, the second prince will be too preoccupied with other matters in a few days."
As soon as she finished speaking, Consort De, who had enjoyed the ride, immediately stopped. The horse stopped so abruptly that its front body rose up, almost standing upright, but Consort De gripped the horse's belly tightly, keeping her body firmly on its back.
After the horse neighed once, it fell silent. Consort De stroked its mane and patted its neck before dismounting, satisfied.
"What? Did I interrupt your conversation?" Consort De looked at the head palace maid.
The head palace maid immediately fell silent, lowering her head and shoulders even further, displaying a completely submissive attitude. After Consort De waved her hand, she respectfully withdrew.
Xue Jin'an didn't know what the mother and son talked about, but the result was that Consort De got angry and directly said that she didn't care what Consort De did, and then she jumped onto her horse and wanted to ride away.
The eldest prince followed closely behind and grabbed the reins, which led to the scene that Xue Jin'an had just witnessed.
Consort De did not soften her stance in response to the eldest prince's show of weakness. Instead, she glanced at him sideways and remained silent.
After a moment of silent confrontation, the eldest prince relented: "Alright, I understand. I'll be careful of Xiao Qi."
That's what they said, but their tone was still dismissive.
Xue Jin'an, who was just watching the drama unfold, suddenly found himself caught in the crossfire: "?"
Consort De was not fooled by his appearance. She frowned at him, somewhat puzzled: "The Seventh Prince is both scholarly and martial, and very intelligent. Even a mad dog like the Third Prince is willing to serve him. Doesn't that prove something? Why don't you take him seriously?"
The eldest prince saw that Consort De was serious, so he also restrained his expression and said carefully, "Xiao Qi is very intelligent and his martial arts are also good, but he is quite impulsive and ruthless in his actions. He also has no family support behind him... As for the matter of Consort Zhen's relic, the powerful families will not let him take the position."
“On the contrary, although the Second Prince is dull-witted and mediocre, he has the Jiang family behind him,” the First Prince said. “The emperor and the scholar-officials govern the country together; the throne is not something that can be obtained by intelligence alone.”
Consort De, however, had a different opinion: "You must know that Jiu Tian Yi is the Seventh Prince's property."
"It's nothing more than the ways of merchants," the eldest prince retorted.
In fact, Xue Qi's alias was not chosen with much thought. Anyone who investigates would easily associate it with Xue Jin'an. However, as the First Prince said, those who can find out the truth despise Xue Jin'an's "self-degradation".
“Alright, alright, then as you say, we don’t need to worry about the nine-plus-one. So what about the Ten-Complete Young Master?” Consort De said. “The Ten-Complete Young Master’s talent is rare in the world. His reputation was further enhanced by the last imperial examination. Almost no one can surpass him.”
"The Perfect Young Master is indifferent to fame and fortune, and pursues tranquility and far-reaching goals. No matter how generous the offers are, he never shows up. Yet, such a person is willing to serve the Seventh Prince and willingly use his name as a living signboard. Have you ever thought about what this means?"
Xue Jin'an, who was suddenly praised, was speechless. Actually, the name of the signboard was decided by Cui Zui, and Jiu Tian Yi was also Cui Zui's property. You might not believe it, but although Xue Qi Gongzi was a name he registered for convenience when traveling, he did not expect that there would be property under his name.
"This was truly a gift from Cui Zui willingly," Xue Jin'an answered in his heart.
Unfortunately, Consort De couldn't hear it. But even if she had, she would probably only have felt that Xue Jin'an was even more unfathomable and become more wary of him.
Consort De said to the eldest prince, "Little Stone, your arrogance will ruin you. Don't underestimate any opponent."
"..." The eldest prince was silent for a moment before saying, "I understand."
The eldest prince answered, but Consort De fell silent. After a long while, she lowered her eyes and asked, "Ziqiong, do we really have to continue?"
Ziqiong is the courtesy name of the eldest prince.
Qiong means beautiful jade.
Luo means "little stone," which is probably the origin of the nickname "Little Stone." —It's a fitting combination of a character and a given name that complement each other perfectly.
"Isn't it good to be a wealthy, carefree person who never has to worry about food or drink?" Why must we fight for it? Why must we go down this path? Is that position really that important?
The Empress Dowager didn't say anything, but the eldest prince could tell from her eyes that she hadn't said anything more.
The eldest prince did not answer; he simply smiled and said, "Mother, one day I will take you to the grasslands to ride horses to your heart's content."
Consort De's brows twitched slightly, and she looked away from him. She said, "You can ride horses on the grasslands, and you can ride horses in the mountains. All I want is for you to be well."
"Okay," the eldest prince replied, though he didn't seem to be listening.
Not long after, the eldest prince left.
Xue Jin'an thought the matter should be over here, but unexpectedly, Consort De clearly understood her son's personality quite well. As soon as the eldest prince left, she ordered someone to follow him.
"Follow him from a distance, just see where he goes," Consort De instructed.
"Yes." The trusted eunuch bowed and withdrew.
Almost instantly, the live stream in front of Xue Jin'an split into two, hanging side by side in front of him.
Xue Jin'an stopped exiting and focused on taking in every detail on both screens.
Consort De pulled out a palm-sized, crudely made gold nugget from somewhere and was playing with it in her hand, her eyes slightly dazed.
Meanwhile, the eldest prince went straight into the princes' quarters, but instead of going to his own courtyard, he headed west.
The fourth and fifth princes lived to the west.
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