Lu Baichuan's plan was to directly poison Daoping's so-called elixir, and then have Daoping hand it to the emperor, so that the emperor would completely suspect Daoping.
Dao Ping has recently gained favor with the emperor, and the old emperor specially built a Taoist temple for him to cultivate.
Lu Baichuan went to the Taoist temple first and found that there was no pill refining today. The emperor had just been given three pills this morning and would not need to refine them until tomorrow.
Lu Baichuan didn't linger and planned to come back tomorrow.
At the same time, he received news that Lin Yiping had left the mansion and prepared to go and see him.
Lin Yiping had been waiting impatiently for news from Jingzhou, and just then, Prince Jing invited him for drinks, so he went to accept the invitation.
During this time, he knew he was being watched by Prince Chen's men, so he hadn't shown his face much. Today was the first time he had come out.
Prince Chen's men should know that he is Prince Jing's man, so he was exceptionally generous today and went out without any hesitation.
He wanted people to know that he had a good relationship with Prince Jing, so that even if he did something, he could blame it on Prince Jing.
While he was walking openly down the street, Lu Baichuan was already secretly observing everything he did.
Knowing that he was wearing a human skin mask, Lu Baichuan didn't pay much attention to his face, but rather observed his body shape. As long as he remembered the characteristics of his body, he could easily recognize him.
Lin Yiping entered a restaurant, which he seemed to frequent. As soon as he entered, a waiter greeted him and led him to the most prestigious private room.
Inside the private room, Prince Jing had been waiting for quite some time.
Lu Baichuan also made some simple changes to his appearance, looking like an ordinary passerby, and then found a private room next door to sit down.
Having lived a life of infiltration for many years, he can now easily impersonate an ordinary person.
Lin Yiping only noticed the usual people around him and didn't realize that Lu Baichuan was there today.
"Your Highness, it's been a long time!"
Upon entering the private room, he greeted Prince Jing very warmly.
Prince Jing had never seen him like this before, and asked curiously, "Brother Yiping, what's wrong?"
"Well, it's a long story!"
Lin Yiping sighed and did not answer immediately. Instead, he took a sip of tea before saying, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but I have been having a terrible time lately! I have been targeted by Prince Chen."
"My third brother? What happened?"
Prince Jing frowned. He had never gotten along with Prince Chen, and he always had to compete with Prince Chen no matter what. However, he hadn't noticed any movement from Prince Chen recently. It seemed that he had only gone to advise his father against believing in that sorcerer last night and had been punished by kneeling all night.
This is the outcome he would most like to see.
Lin Yiping sighed and continued, "Who knows! Maybe he just sees that we have a good relationship and wants to find a way to break through me so he can make things difficult for you. Anyway, I've been quite careful lately and I definitely won't let him have any leverage over you."
He spoke with such sincerity, as if he were truly acting in the best interests of Prince Jing.
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing instantly became angry, slamming his hand on the table and saying, "I knew he hadn't made any moves lately, turns out he'd been secretly watching you! What does he mean by watching you? Come at me if you dare!"
Prince Jing is the kind of person who is ambitious but not smart. After Lin Yiping said that, he immediately believed it and wanted to go and argue with Prince Chen.
Lin Yiping smiled faintly and said, "It's alright, it's really nothing serious. I'll just be more careful lately, so don't worry too much. I'll definitely let you know if anything happens. By the way, I heard that Prince Chen was punished by the Emperor last night when he went to the palace. Do you know why?"
"What else could it be? It's just advising Father Emperor about that evil Taoist priest! He's really just wasting his time. He knows Father Emperor is senile now and won't listen to any good advice, so why bother with him?"
Prince Jing snorted indifferently and continued, "But this is a good thing for me. The more he makes a fool of himself, the more Father Emperor will dislike him. This is advantageous to me."
As he spoke, Prince Jing chuckled gloatingly. In any case, the more fiercely Prince Chen and the old emperor quarreled, the happier he was.
What he found most repulsive was that Prince Chen, who was clearly vying for power, pretended to be a compassionate figure who cared for the common people; it was disgusting to watch.
He always believed that true leaders only care about their own interests!
"That's true. But what's your opinion on that Dao Ping Zhenren?"
Lin Yiping took a small sip of tea and looked intently at Prince Jing.
Prince Jing found his question strange and casually replied, "How else can we view it? It's just a deceptive trick. My father's current state is enough to prove that the sorcerer is no good!"
"Haha, just because something isn't good doesn't mean it can't be used."
Lin Yiping watched him calmly, wanting to see if he could make the right choice.
Prince Jing frowned, pondered the meaning of his words carefully, but still didn't quite understand, so he said, "Brother Yiping, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."
"What I mean is that now is the best time for Your Highness to gain the Emperor's favor. If Your Highness can seize this opportunity, wouldn't a high position be easily within your grasp?"
Lin Yiping didn't spell it out very clearly, but Prince Jing still understood. However, he was somewhat disagreeing and said, "You mean you want me to associate with that evil Taoist? I have no interest in that!"
“Your Highness, those who are destined for great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Once Your Highness has truly ascended to that position, those who are not to be trusted can be killed. Why bother with these procedures?”
Lin Yiping knew Prince Jing very well, and he always managed to focus on things that interested Prince Jing. With just two short sentences, he completely captivated Prince Jing.
He achieved his goal of coming out today.
"No, I need to think this over carefully. Once you get involved in something like this, the consequences can be dire. I'm not willing to do it unless I'm absolutely certain!"
Prince Jing still retained a sliver of reason. Throughout history, anyone who had any connection with such things had never had a good ending, and he didn't want to become that kind of person.
Lin Yiping nodded gently and smiled, "Of course, I am just offering a suggestion to Your Highness. As for how to proceed, it is up to Your Highness to make the decision. However, I naturally hope that Your Highness will be the one to sit in that position in the end."
The high praise was instantly bestowed upon him, and Prince Jing wavered once again, but he did not show it.
After that, the two stopped talking about matters of the court and began to chat idly.
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