Chapter 740 Gathering - Suspicion
If it were just a small family, they would inevitably face constraints in terms of money alone, let alone having such a large influence.
Gu Shuyan frowned and thought for a moment. In fact, besides this type, there was another possibility.
"Brother Yun, are there any families that, while not holding official positions, are very influential or respected among civil officials?"
Gu Shuyan's words were like a wake-up call, and Yun Yichen immediately slapped his thigh.
Yes, how could he not have thought of this kind of person? This kind of person has a complicated relationship, yet their status is admired by countless scholars, and most civil officials are their students. It is no exaggeration to say that they can command a large following.
"Tomorrow I will have someone compile a list of these people and investigate them thoroughly."
Yun Yichen believed that as long as he figured out the background of these people, he would soon be able to find out the old man's identity.
“There’s one more person I think Brother Yun should investigate as well.”
Gu Shuyan whispered a few words in Yun Yichen's ear. Yun Yichen never expected that Gu Shuyan would suspect that, but after thinking about it, he realized it was possible and immediately agreed.
Half a month passed in a flash. Since Bai Moqin got in touch with Mingyu, her anxiety has eased considerably.
Although he understood perfectly well that Mingyu's meager resources wouldn't offer him any real help, it still provided some psychological comfort.
The emperor was still under house arrest and threatened by the eldest prince and his mother every day, but despite his efforts to negotiate with the empress, he had not yet written the edict of succession.
Of course, during this period, the emperor did not deny the empress and her son any favors. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. If they were pushed too far, they would fight to the death with the emperor and his son, which would be a loss for the emperor.
Therefore, the emperor handed over this temporary regency power to the eldest prince in front of all the civil and military officials a few days ago.
"Your Majesty, the princes have arrived."
The old eunuch spoke to the emperor, who was leaning against the soft couch, pretending to be asleep.
The emperor slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view were the eldest prince, the second prince, and the sixth prince.
The emperor had four sons and four daughters. His daughters were all married, but he didn't have much affection for any of his three sons.
"My son has arrived? Is there something you need?"
Although the emperor was under house arrest, he was not entirely ignorant of what was happening outside.
Seeing that it was the eldest prince who had brought his two other sons, the emperor had a vague idea in his mind.
"Your Majesty, your son and brother have heard that Your Majesty has been unwell since you came here, so we have come to visit you."
The speaker was none other than the Second Prince.
These days, the eldest prince's men have been in control of the palace, and the emperor seems very tired every day when he goes to court. Except for very important matters, almost all the minor matters are handled by the eldest prince.
What's most infuriating is that these princes needed to obtain the eldest prince's permission to see the emperor.
The princes weren't fools; how could they not know about such a drastic change in the emperor? Yet, they dared not speak out against it.
Having ascertained the emperor's situation, none of them dared to act rashly. Because none of them would risk a direct confrontation with the eldest prince without being certain of their success.
"My sons are very kind. Recently, because of the Crown Prince's matter, my health has indeed deteriorated."
The emperor rubbed his head as he spoke, seemingly just a casual reply, but the eldest prince had clearly felt a pang of anxiety when the emperor mentioned the crown prince earlier.
"Father, you must take care of your health. The Wei Kingdom still needs you to take charge. If you continue like this, there will inevitably be villains in the court who will take advantage of your name and do whatever they want."
The sixth prince did not understand the meaning behind the emperor's words and thought that the emperor was heartbroken because of the crown prince's actions.
"Yes, Father, my eldest brother is still too young. He is bound to be misled by those treacherous officials in the court. I hope that Father can recover soon." The second prince hurriedly echoed.
However, the implication of these words was to remind the emperor not to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains, and not to hand over power to someone else.
As for the treacherous officials and villains implied in those words, those present weren't fools; everyone could tell that he was referring to the eldest prince.
“My sons are right.”
The emperor glanced at the eldest prince and, seeing that the prince's expression was not good, ultimately did not say what he was about to say.
Mo Qin's situation is not optimistic. Although he has left the East Palace and seems to be free to move around, who knows if the mother and son will attack him again.
Most importantly, the emperor firmly believed that Bai Moqin would not sit idly by and wait for death, so as long as he could delay as much as possible, Moqin would have more time to prepare.
"Father, the imperial physician advised you to rest more. If there is nothing else, we will take our leave."
The eldest prince's attention was not on the emperor at all; he was listening to his two younger brothers, his hands already clenched into fists.
These two scoundrels tried to see the emperor again and again this morning, but were rebuffed once more. So they claimed that the emperor must have been killed by them.
For quite some time, the officials and civil servants had not been able to hear the emperor's true words, and upon hearing the words of the two princes, many of them stood up to question them.
To dispel those people's ideas, the eldest prince had no choice but to agree to let the two men come to visit the emperor. Little did he expect that, after only a short while inside, the two men would turn their hostility towards him.
The Crown Prince had already shown them mercy by letting them see the Emperor, and now they were making sarcastic and insinuating remarks about him. How could he let them stay any longer?
"The Crown Prince is right, you may all return!"
The eldest prince did not want the two to stay, and the emperor, seeing this, nodded in agreement.
"But Father..."
The sixth prince wanted to say something more, but the emperor was no longer listening and closed his eyes again.
"Brother, let's go! Don't disturb Father's rest."
The eldest prince raised the corners of his lips and glanced at the second and sixth princes with an extremely sarcastic smile.
The second and sixth princes had no choice but to follow behind the eldest prince and slowly leave the palace.
On their way out of the palace, the second prince and the fourth prince, who had always been at odds with each other, couldn't help but exchange a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
"Does Your Majesty feel that Father seems to be somewhat afraid of your eldest brother?"
The second prince tentatively asked the sixth prince a question.
The sixth prince hadn't noticed this before, but when the eldest prince said he was taking his leave, the emperor immediately let them go, which was quite strange.
Furthermore, the emperor's unfinished sentence, combined with all of this, is indeed quite inconsistent with the previous emperors' style of conduct.
"Perhaps Father is truly heartbroken over the removal of the Crown Prince. Second Brother, you shouldn't think too much about it."
It was no secret in the Wei Kingdom that the emperor doted on the crown prince. Yet, despite the emperor's excessive pampering, the crown prince still did something that disappointed the emperor greatly.
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