"Everyone knows this guy."
"So you knew about your late emperor's death, three years ago, but the crown prince didn't know? You didn't tell him?"
"Well, um... let me put it this way, sir. Among the Crown Prince's subordinates, I'm probably not the only one who knows this news, but the total number of people who know it cannot exceed the number on the palm of your hand. Moreover, the palace has never announced the death, so as far as we are concerned, His Majesty is still alive."
Zhou Shangwen gave an invincible explanation. The logic was as if as long as I didn't admit it, what happened could be treated as if it had never happened.
Lin Hai glanced at Zhou Shangwen again. It seemed that this old man had low bottom lines in all aspects. His words even expressed the feeling of a simple life.
"Whose are you? The Second Prince or the Fourth Prince?"
Lin Hai asked with a frown.
"Your Majesty has a keen eye. I, a sinner, am worthy of being considered one of the Fourth Prince's men."
Zhou Shangwen paused and added, "I didn't betray the Crown Prince out of greed for wealth and fame. Rather, I was originally the Fourth Prince's man. I was simply favored by the Crown Prince and accepted into his service, so I simply went along with it. Until I met Your Majesty, I was loyal to the Fourth Prince."
This amount of information...how should I put it...is no less than Chen Fan's adventure just now.
"Forget about the loyalty. I'm just curious. Rumor has it that the power of the Chen Dynasty is almost entirely in the hands of the Crown Prince, and the Second Prince has been staying in the palace under the banner of filial piety. He must have secretly controlled the palace guards. So the Crown Prince has the greatest chance of ascending to the throne, followed by the Second Prince. The Fourth Prince shouldn't be very old, only about 25 now. You followed him many years ago? Why did you choose the youngest prince with the least chance of ascending to the throne? When you followed the Fourth Prince, he was less than 20 years old, right?"
Lin Hai asked curiously.
There are too many factors involved in this issue, which has led everyone to focus their attention on Zhou Shangwen, even Shi Zhener, who has never been interested in court politics.
Fortunately, Mr. Zhou has seen the world, so he can talk freely in such an environment.
"Your Majesty, the matter is actually very simple. The Fourth Prince's biological mother is Concubine Zhou, a very unfavored person in the harem. Therefore, according to the rules, after she gave birth to the prince, although she could be promoted three ranks due to the mother's status, and being promoted to Shuyi was considered a special favor, this child must be adopted by the Empress to be raised. This is the rule. Moreover, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were both born to the Empress. The late Emperor made this decision to prevent future internal strife and a struggle for the throne."
At this point, Zhou Shangwen even glanced up at Shi Zhen'er. He knew this was the Empress of Qinghe, and the only woman the Emperor of Qinghe had ever had. Although he himself had little interest in women, the emperors of the Dachen Dynasty had always had a strong preference for and studied women. In other words, if the previous emperor had only had one empress like Lin Hai, Dachen wouldn't have suffered so many disasters.
"But the Fourth Prince's biological mother, Zhou Shuyi, didn't live long. Before the Fourth Prince was even a year old, news came out that she had died of illness.
I've investigated this matter. She certainly didn't die of illness. The Empress was simply worried that she might use the fact that she gave birth to a prince as a pretext for a resurgence, potentially jeopardizing her position as Empress. So, she bribed the Imperial Physician, who then poisoned her to death while prescribing her a routine warming and tonic medicine.
"Well, this kind of thing is not new in the harem."
Wang Zuo nodded.
He had made up his mind today to let this old man speak first, and he would verify all the news one by one.
If he finds out that there is something fake in it, he will definitely punish this old man who made him lose face.
Of course, Zhou Shangwen's understanding of Minister Qinghe was still at the stage of "only knowing the name, and the appearance was completely different". Otherwise, if he knew that he had offended the head of the intelligence department without any objection, it would definitely give him a headache.
"But why are you investigating?"
Wang Zuo asked.
"Sir, as you can tell by the last name, Zhou Shuyi is a relative of mine. Back then, a distant family owed a loan shark and was nearly forced to sell their daughter. Although we had never met, they came to Jiankang to ask for my help. Since they were members of the Zhou family, I saw a way for them and helped arrange for their daughter to enter the palace. The reward they received could pay off their debts, and with someone in the palace, their family members outside would be less likely to be bullied.
But this girl was not pretty enough, and she came from a poor family and did not know how to fight or please the emperor, so she had been in the palace for several years without even seeing the late emperor.
But originally she just wanted to find a place to eat, so she could be said to have no desires or demands. She hadn't come to see me in all these years. And because this matter was too small and the person I asked for help died of illness, the world didn't know about my relationship with Zhou Shuyi.
But when the Fourth Prince was born, things changed. The Zhou family became the Fourth Prince's mother's family... Unfortunately...
The queen was very cruel. Zhou Shuyi's parents and brothers all died in accidents in the same year.
I could only keep it to myself, and only after the Fourth Prince came of age did I find the opportunity to tell him the truth. I had originally considered rallying a group of people to support the Fourth Prince, but before I could even begin, the Crown Prince took a fancy to me and transferred me to the Eastern Palace...
Then, after a few years, it became what it is now..."
"What do you think?"
Lin Hai turned and asked Wang Zuo.
"I still need to verify this. Judging from this now, I can only say that there are too many coincidences, so many that they don't seem to be made up."
"Yeah, it's true. Such a lot of coincidences wouldn't necessarily appear in a harem novel, let alone a flopped time-travel novel that barely even has any romance."
"Huh? Principal, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I mean, you go and verify it. Before that, just treat it as if it's true."
"Come on, keep talking."
With Zhou Shangwen's explanation, the inside story of the Chen Dynasty court was finally revealed to the world.
In general, the Chen Dynasty emperor had been dead for three years.
During these three years, the Second Prince controlled the palace and kept the death a secret. He had been waiting for the moment when the Crown Prince would lose power, and then he would concentrate his forces to launch an attack. As long as he could create the illusion that the Crown Prince was unworthy of the position, he would have a chance to seize the position.
Although the prince vaguely felt that something was wrong in the palace, he could not find any evidence. However, he did not dare to enter the palace too easily. Every time he went there, he brought a large group of guards with him and never stayed overnight.
Anyway, there was always a person who looked like the emperor lying hazily behind the curtain. Over the years, he had never really taken off the emperor's clothes to verify the physical marks...
Fortunately, most ministers support the prince, and the imperial seal is in the prince's hands, so overall, the prince has a greater chance of winning.
As for the Fourth Prince, it can only be said that he hasn't left the house for a long time. Even many people in the court have forgotten that there is such a prince. Of course, he is also working hard, but his starting point is too low...
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