Starry Sky Professional

The palace gates.

Several small eunuchs presented their waist牌 (identification牌), indicating they were responsible for purchasing supplies outside the palace.

They quickly left the palace and entered various commercial firms to trade. During the transactions, several scrolls of paper disappeared unnoticed, then entered different residences.

Tai Manor.

Tai King Li Ruzhang's appearance resembled the Emperor's, both being extremely valiant.

At this moment, after reading the paper, he laughed loudly: "'Restraining oneself and returning to propriety is benevolence.' Father is saying the Crown Prince is not benevolent..."

Since ancient times, the world has been governed by loyalty, filial piety, and, in addition, benevolence and righteousness.

This is a very serious accusation.

"Such a warning is almost explicit. I fear the court will be turbulent from now on..."

A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar sighed: "However... this is a good thing for the King."

"Mr. Wu, do you think we should send people to spread the word?"

Li Ruzhang touched the fine steel ring on his hand.

The Great Qian Dynasty seized the world with archery and horsemanship, never neglecting the education of the princes.

Li Ruzhang could draw a strong bow and possessed outstanding archery skills, deeply loved by the Emperor.

Moreover, his appearance closely resembled his father, unlike the somewhat weak Crown Prince, making him the Emperor's favorite.

"That's quite unnecessary..."

Mr. Wu, Tai King's strategist, shook his head at this moment, looked around, and lowered his voice: "His Majesty is the founding emperor, a man of great talent and strategy, and no less meticulous. It would be an exaggeration to say the Embroidered Uniform Guard controls the entire world, but they certainly can control the area of the capital. If it's found out at that time, it won't be good..."

Mentioning the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Tai King shuddered: "Forget it, forget it, let my good brothers test the waters... We won't participate in this matter."

"That's right. Now that the kings can fight is with His Majesty's tacit permission, but it can't be excessive..."

Mr. Wu thought for a moment and sighed: "I see His Majesty's intention is to still have some expectations for the Crown Prince, mostly intending to use him as a whetstone..."

"A whetstone? Hmph... Aren't you afraid of ruining him?" Tai King sneered: "Moreover, I can't retreat, and I don't want to retreat... One step back, and I'll be crushed to pieces."

Mr. Wu nodded. Although Tai King was brave, he was good at accepting advice, giving him the feeling of encountering an enlightened ruler: "This matter of seizing the throne can't be rushed. His Majesty is in his prime, so let's have the Crown Prince bear the brunt for now and take our time..."

"That's right. I've come to understand some things over the years. This Crown Prince position is like sitting on a stove... But alas, everyone wants to have a seat."

Tai King laughed and casually burned the paper in his hand.

... ...

The Crown Prince closed his doors to study, and everything was calm.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and it was night.

"Tonight, the First Emperor will die..."

Inside the study, the whale oil candles were incredibly bright. Fang Xing held a book in his hand, his thoughts already wandering.

He took action himself, so naturally, he knew when the Emperor would suddenly fall ill and die.

"If there's no message from the palace after the third watch, then there will be fun... It means the palace is isolated, and the news is blocked... There are eunuchs and concubines colluding with foreign ministers, preparing to depose me and put another prince in power... Or perhaps the Emperor had long intended to depose the Crown Prince, and the imperial decree is already written and hidden."

"But I don't need to worry about any of this. If I don't receive a notification after the third watch, I will immediately go to the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Ying residences, announce the news of the Emperor's death, and then go to the Imperial Guard camp and raise troops in the name of the Crown Prince to eliminate the villains around the Emperor!"

This is actually very dangerous. The Crown Prince rebelling is irrefutable evidence!

If the Emperor is still alive, he could shout from a high place, and with the majesty of the founding emperor, the Imperial Guard would definitely immediately turn against him, and then the Crown Prince would be executed...

But Fang Xing is certain that the Emperor is dead. This is the advantage of having a clear hand and opening the eye of heaven.

In a sure-win gamble, naturally, you have to go all in!

'With such an advantage, even if there's an imperial decree to depose me, it's a false decree and definitely won't be recognized... Furthermore, I can take the opportunity to cleanse the harem and the court.'

Just as Fang Xing was thinking, Eunuch Ma walked in and saluted: "Your Highness, there is an envoy from the palace."

"I'll go now."

Fang Xing put down the book and saw a hint of hidden unease on Eunuch Ma's face.

Clearly, someone coming from the palace late at night meant something big had happened.

Perhaps... the Crown Prince was about to be deposed?

Fang Xing smiled and walked out of the study.

Before long, everyone in the Crown Prince's residence arrived.

In addition to the Crown Princess, there were also the Palace Guard Captain Zhao Hu and others.

Especially Zhao Hu, who was recommended to the Crown Prince's residence by the deceased Duke of Ying. He was loyal and brave, considered a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince.

If the Crown Prince were to rebel, this person would definitely follow.

After all, with the title of Crown Prince and the support of relatives, raising a few loyal retainers was not a problem.

Fang Xing looked at the arriving captain and nodded secretly, seeing that their armor was complete.

Arriving at the main hall, he saw that the envoy was actually Eunuch Su, who served by the Emperor's side.

"Eunuch Su, what is the imperial decree?"

Fang Xing frowned and asked.

"There is a decree, requesting the Crown Prince to enter the palace."

Eunuch Su's attitude was much better than a few days ago, but Fang Xing's extraordinary senses detected a trace of deeply hidden panic and anxiety in him.

"Without beginning or end... Whose decree is it? What exactly happened?"

Fang Xing asked in 'shock and anger'.

Eunuch Su took a deep look at Fang Xing, deeply feeling that destiny was still present, and thinking that the Crown Prince would eventually ascend the throne, even though there had been instructions before, he still revealed some information: "An oral decree from the Empress Dowager, His Majesty's health is unwell, requesting the Crown Prince to enter the palace to attend to him..."

As for more, he would rather die than say it.

"This..."

Fang Xing seemed a little frightened, then gritted his teeth: "Since Father Emperor is ill, I, as a subject, should naturally go... Where are the East Palace Guards?"

"Your Highness, please give the order."

Zhao Hu immediately knelt down.

"Summon the East Palace Guards! One team will remain to guard the Crown Prince's residence, and the other four teams will follow me!"

Fang Xing gritted his teeth and said.

To outsiders, this was purely taking a risk. If the Emperor found out afterward, there would be trouble to eat, and he might even be deposed.

But Eunuch Su raised his head in astonishment, but didn't stop him, instead sighing in his heart: 'The Crown Prince is so brave at this critical moment, quite reminiscent of His Majesty's style... Truly a dragon seed!'

Going to the palace didn't necessarily mean smooth sailing.

There might be a Xuanwu Gate incident, with an ambush directly at the palace gate.

Even if there wasn't, after entering the deep palace, a few eunuchs and palace maids could kill someone.

Han Xin and Ao Bai must be very sad...

Although Fang Xing wasn't too afraid, he didn't want to reveal his extraordinary abilities. This was his biggest trump card and had to be hidden.

Therefore, he chose to bring most of the East Palace Guards.

At the very least, he had to control a palace gate route. He couldn't run without a place to run if something happened, right?

Although this was unlikely, it was still necessary to guard against it.

Before long, under the worried gaze of Sun and the other women, the Crown Prince's retinue set off, slowly heading towards the palace gates.

... ...

Tai Manor.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Tai King Li Ruzhang was awakened in the middle of the night and was quite grumpy, almost wanting to kick the servant to death: "What happened?"

"Mr. Wu has arrived late at night, saying that our people have discovered unusual movements in the Crown Prince's residence."

Knowing Tai King's temper, the servant quickly reported.

"Unusual movements in the Crown Prince's residence? Go to the study immediately!"

Tai King hurriedly dressed and came to the study, where he saw Mr. Wu: "Mr. Wu, you've worked hard. I've already ordered the kitchen to prepare ginseng soup. Have a bowl first..."

"Your Majesty..."

Mr. Wu, who was always elegant and composed, seemed hurried: "The Crown Prince's retinue has gone to the palace gates... The palace is locked down at night, so something big must have happened!"

"What?"

The golden bowl in Tai King's hand was overturned: "Something... something happened in the palace?"

The palace's night curfew was strict, locked down at night, and not opened until dawn.

Moreover, although the various royal mansions tried to cultivate informants in the palace, after all, the dynasty had just been founded, and there was still a sense of vigor, not yet riddled with holes. Furthermore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was watching, and no princes or ministers dared to go too far.

Especially inserting people into key locations, as being discovered would definitely lead to the death of the entire family.

At most, they could arrange some manpower in areas such as purchasing supplies, but they didn't dare to transmit overly secret information, only speculating based on the daily consumption in the palace.

"This... what should I do?"

Tai King's face was pale. Under the candlelight, he looked like an ordinary young man, with dark circles from staying up late, showing no sign of英明神武 (brilliant and martial) demeanor.

"The most urgent task now is to determine what happened in the palace... Judging from the current situation, something must have happened to the Empress Dowager or the Emperor..."

Otherwise, even if a noble concubine or prince died suddenly, it wouldn't be enough to alarm the Crown Prince in the middle of the night.

"My Imperial Grandmother's health is still good, and Father Emperor has always been healthy... How, how did it come to this?"

Tai King's voice was tearful, with a bad premonition.

"Yes... too hasty, too hasty."

Mr. Wu felt bitter in his heart. He speculated that the Emperor still had several decades to live, so he decided on a slow strategy. Who could have imagined that the Emperor would suddenly fail?

'Could it be that this is destiny?'

'No... Destiny still needs people to decide. I want to... defy fate!'

Mr. Wu paced back and forth quickly, then said: "Now, there are three strategies, upper, middle, and lower... The upper strategy is to immediately enter the palace. Your Majesty's birth mother is a noble concubine. If you can persuade the Empress Dowager to change the heir apparent, then the matter will be settled..."

Tai King's birth mother came from a noble background. In the absence of the Emperor establishing an Empress, she already controlled most of the palace power. If she were to fight to the death, there would still be a chance.

"My Father Emperor has heavenly protection and may not necessarily be in trouble. What about the middle strategy?"

Tai King shrank his neck.

If his father the Emperor wasn't dead, then doing this would be rebellion, and he would be imprisoned for life even if he didn't die.

"The middle strategy is to remain still and watch the success or failure of destiny."

"After all, Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are brothers. Although there have been some conflicts before, they haven't reached the point of irreconcilable animosity. If it really comes to that, as long as you respectfully plead guilty, you can still have the life of a wealthy idler in the future."

Mr. Wu said: "Even if Your Majesty has the favor of heaven, and tonight is actually a palace coup by the Crown Prince..."