Chapter 231: Turbulent
The eldest prince's temper became worse after he left the palace. He could still pretend to be nice outside, but he became unscrupulous when he returned to the prince's mansion. Even the former crown princess, now the eldest prince's wife, had to stay away from him.
Usually when the eldest prince gets angry, his subordinates would want to stay as far away from him as possible, for fear of being implicated.
But this time, the guard had no choice but to walk through the door and whispered, "Your Highness, I have something to report."
"Speak." The eldest prince shouted impatiently. Things had not been going well for the fifth prince these days, and the eldest prince was in an even worse mood.
The guard trembled and reported back, "The news from the Zhang family is that Grand Tutor Zhang is probably dying."
"What?" The eldest prince was also shocked. Although Grand Tutor Zhang had suffered a stroke, his condition had stabilized. Why did it suddenly worsen? "Where is the imperial physician?"
"We've already called in the imperial physician, but he didn't say the situation was good either. He told the Zhang family to prepare for the funeral."
The eldest prince's face became even gloomier. After coming out of the East Palace, he knew that his situation was very bad. The people who had followed him and waved flags and cheered had long disappeared, and now there were only one or two people who could help him.
If Grand Tutor Zhang died, it would be like cutting off another arm of his.
At this time, Grand Tutor Chu hurried in. Seeing the eldest prince, he asked, "Your Highness, do you know anything about Grand Tutor Zhang?"
Upon seeing the eldest prince's expression, Grand Tutor Chu sighed and said, "I'm afraid the old Grand Tutor is really not going to make it this time."
Hearing this, the eldest prince couldn't help but feel a little depressed. He sat down and said, "Why does God treat me like this? What did I do wrong? My father wants to depose me, and now Master Zhang is leaving me too."
Grand Tutor Chu frowned and sent away the guard who wanted to hide him. Then he sighed and comforted him, "Your Highness, Grand Tutor Zhang has been in poor health. We should have been mentally prepared long ago."
The eldest prince said, "Once he dies, I'm afraid those people will no longer support me."
Taifu Chu is the eldest prince's teacher. Over the years, he has worked tirelessly to help the eldest prince become the crown prince. He can be said to be loyal.
But listening to what the eldest prince said at this moment, he didn't seem to feel sad for Grand Tutor Zhang at all. Instead, he was just thinking about the people behind Grand Tutor Zhang. He couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
If the eldest prince treated Grand Tutor Zhang like this, what about him? Last time he escaped, it was only because the emperor was lenient. Could he have such a good opportunity next time?
Looking at the eldest prince with a gloomy face, Master Chu suddenly lost his confidence.
The eldest prince, however, was still complaining to himself, shouting, "I am the eldest son of Empress Yuan, the most honorable prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why don't they support me, but instead focus on that fellow, the fourth prince?"
"Concubine Xu is just a peasant woman. She only managed to please my father by her petty flattery. What kind of birth did the fourth son have, and what kind of birth did I have? There is no comparison at all."
"It's a shame that the fourth son is always so good at pretending. He deceived the emperor before, and now he's deceived all the civil and military officials."
Imperial Tutor Chu thought to himself what was the point in dwelling on this now. The Crown Prince had been deposed once and he still couldn't see clearly. Did he think that the Fourth Prince came to the throne just by relying on the Emperor's favoritism and pretense?
The deposed prince said bitterly, "We shouldn't have let the fourth son live back then, letting the Xu family climb up bit by bit!"
Grand Tutor Chu agreed with this statement, but when he thought of the rumors about Empress Yuan in the palace, he shook his head.
He whispered, "Your Highness, our situation is precarious now. The death of Grand Tutor Zhang has made things even worse. Please control your temper and try your best to maintain a good relationship with Prince Cheng."
"Prince Cheng is highly favored by His Majesty and controls the Imperial Guards. Upon hearing that Prince Rong is ill, he has gradually handed over the Imperial Guards to him. If we can gain his support, it will be a great help to the Crown Prince."
The eldest prince frowned, sighed, and said, "I certainly want to have a good relationship with her, but as you know, my mother and Consort De had quite a few disputes back then, and I have become quite estranged from my fifth brother over the years."
"Now she's just being polite to me, nothing more. I've been to her several times, but every time I've been met with a cold shoulder."
Imperial Tutor Chu sighed inwardly, but still advised, "Even so, Your Highness, please continue to go there every day. After a while, even if Prince Cheng remains unmoved, the Fourth Prince will become suspicious."
The eldest prince hesitated for a moment and asked, "Grandmaster, do you think the fifth prince has already defected to the fourth prince?"
Imperial Tutor Chu shook his head and said, "In my humble opinion, that's not necessarily the case. Your Highness, you may not know that at the He family's wedding a few years ago, the Xu family also wanted to arrange a marriage for Su Fengzhang."
"Oh, there is such a thing?" asked the eldest prince.
"That's exactly what happened," said Grand Tutor Chu. "If the Fourth and Fifth Princes were of the same mind, the Xu family would never have done such a thing. It must be because the Fifth Prince was so rude to the Fourth Prince that they did this."
The eldest prince narrowed his eyes and asked, "Su Fengzhang didn't agree? He's not young anymore, but he's still not married. Is he waiting..."
Grand Tutor Chu ignored his subsequent words and continued, "Su Fengzhang naturally wouldn't agree. Later, Minister Xu even sent someone to apologize and gave him many gifts to cover up the matter."
"After this incident, Prince Cheng must be harboring resentment towards the Fourth Prince. Who would like to... send someone off?"
The eldest prince laughed and said, "That's right. Prince Cheng didn't want to take anyone in for Su Fengzhang. He must have fallen deeply in love with him. If I had known this at the time, I wouldn't have done such an extreme thing."
Grand Tutor Chu continued, "Since Prince Cheng hasn't explicitly supported the Fourth Prince, we still have a chance."
The eldest prince narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Do you think Su Fengzhang still holds a grudge against me?"
Imperial Tutor Chu was also unsure, but he still consoled him: "Your Highness, since you have come here in person to apologize, Su Fengzhang will definitely withdraw while he is ahead. Otherwise, His Majesty will not tolerate him."
The eldest prince asked again, "I heard that Su Fengzhang has a brother and sister-in-law, but they are not engaged yet?"
Grand Tutor Chu's expression changed, and he asked tentatively, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
The eldest prince smiled and said, "If I can't be a matchmaker for Su Fengzhang, it won't be wrong to be a matchmaker for his brother and sister, right?"
Master Chu hesitated for a moment and reminded: "It's just that we don't have a suitable candidate here."
"I do have a daughter born out of wedlock." The eldest prince actually intended to use the illegitimate child for marriage.
"This..." Taifu Chu disagreed in his heart. Although the eldest prince was in poverty, he was still a member of the royal family. Even if his daughter was a concubine's daughter, it was not appropriate for her to marry Su Fengzhang's concubine's brother for the sake of marriage.
Without waiting for the eldest prince to speak, Grand Tutor Chu continued, "Although people outside say that Su Fengzhang is extremely fond of this pair of siblings, they are born out of wedlock after all, and it's hard to say whether this is true or not."
"Besides, it is still unknown whether the wife of a illegitimate brother can influence Su Fengzhang. If not, she will fall into a lower class." In the eyes of Taifu Chu, the biological father of a illegitimate brother has died long ago. Su Fengzhang is probably just pretending to be nice to his sister-in-law to have a good reputation.
Just like he adopted Liu Wei's son, was it really just because of brotherhood?
The eldest prince also thought about his relationship with his half-brother, and felt that this matter was not very reliable.
Finally, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "Old Fifth has always been stubborn and stubborn. Now that he has the trust of the emperor, he is even more stubborn. I can't do anything about him."
Imperial Tutor Chu advised, "As long as Prince Cheng doesn't help the Fifth Prince, it will be a great benefit to us. Apart from anything else, His Majesty is increasingly dissatisfied with the Fourth Prince. The longer we wait, the greater his dissatisfaction will grow."
The eldest prince's eyes were sinister as he said, "I'm afraid that even if I'm willing to wait, the fourth prince won't be willing to let me wait any longer. Father's health is not as good as before, and I'm afraid I don't have that much time."
Imperial Tutor Chu also frowned and said, "If that's the case, the Fourth Prince is now very powerful, which is very disadvantageous to us."
The eldest prince suddenly said, "Actually, before my mother passed away, she left me some men."
His face was gloomy as he said, "If it hadn't been for the sudden incident in the palace last time, and Concubine Yu hadn't framed me, I wouldn't have been imprisoned without even trying to mobilize anyone, and I wouldn't have been in such a difficult position later."
Master Chu's heart skipped a beat and he suddenly looked up at the eldest prince.
The eldest prince stared at him and continued, "Before my mother died, she told me that these people should not be used lightly. Once used, they must be fatal in one blow. Otherwise, they will be useless after one use."
Chu Taifu asked, "Your Highness, these people are all in the palace. How can we guarantee that they will still obey Empress Yuan's will all these years?"
The eldest prince said confidently, "Don't worry about this matter. I know what's going on."
Taifu Chu felt terrified after hearing this. This was a matter of life and death. Taifu Chu would never dare to do it unless it was absolutely necessary. He subconsciously wanted to ask Taishi Zhang for advice, but then he remembered that Taishi Zhang was about to die.
The eldest prince's mood began to waver. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good idea. He continued, "Now we are surrounded by enemies on all sides. The death of Grand Tutor Zhang has made things even more difficult. Rather than waiting for death and waiting for the Fourth Prince to come to our door, we might as well give it a try."
"The fourth brother is obsessed with the idea that if he gets rid of me, the emperor will have no choice but to choose him as the crown prince, and vice versa."
"Although it's a bit risky, if I can capture the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Brothers in one fell swoop, even if I'm wrong a thousand times, it doesn't matter. Will the Emperor be willing to adopt a son from the royal family? My good uncle doesn't even have a son."
Grand Tutor Chu felt his throat tighten and warned, "Your Highness, Prince Cheng has the Imperial Guards at his disposal and is also a close ally of Prince Xi. He is not someone you can easily deal with."
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince actually said, "You're right. If we want to take action, we must first find a way to get Old Five and He Junzhi out. By the time they return, the situation will have been decided, and Old Five will have no choice but to support me."
Grand Tutor Chu hurriedly said, "Your Highness, why don't we take a long-term view?"
The eldest prince agreed on the surface, but told himself in his heart that he must not be anxious. What Master Chu did not see was that secretly the eldest prince's eyes were like a hungry wolf, ready to rush out and tear off the fresh meat at any time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
