Starry Sky Professional

“Chengqian?!”

“Inherit the Great Qian, or inherit the universe?”

In a certain imperial grandson's residence, within a secret chamber.

An imperial grandson was so enraged that he smashed all the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table.

If outsiders were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be extremely astonished.

Could this imperial grandson, who had always presented himself as gentle, truly have such a hidden face?

This imperial grandson was the legitimate son of the Eighth Prince. The Eighth Prince was quite popular back then and received strong support from many officials. It was even said that there were calls for him to be made the Crown Prince.

But Heaven did not grant him long life, and he died young.

In fact, almost all of the Emperor's top twenty sons had died of old age or illness.

Yet, the old Emperor was still alive, having surpassed the lifespan of previous emperors from both this dynasty and the previous one, making him an anomaly.

At this time, apart from some of the lower-ranking princes born in the last twenty or thirty years, more imperial grandsons began to have thoughts about that position.

For these people, the Emperor naming the Ninety-ninth Prince 'Chengqian' was a heavy blow.

Nevertheless, Fang Xing did have some thoughts about establishing a Crown Prince.

After all, his luck was too bad. Drawing cards among the princes and grandsons mostly resulted in blanks, with nothing that caught his eye.

But Madam Gouyu had extraordinary qualities, and combined with himself, they should be able to produce a true dragon and phoenix figure.

And he was already eighty-seven years old. If he could hold on for another ten or twenty years, Li Chengqian would be of age, have his coming-of-age ceremony… and then be established as Crown Prince, inherit the throne… perfectly.

By the way… such terrifying undercurrents were the best pressure and stage for that female Daoist.

Her temperament should be fully displayed.

…

Imperial City.

At the entrance of the Cold Palace.

Jing Jie stood guard in full armor, meticulous and unwavering.

'Jie' means humble grass.

His family originally had a few acres of fertile land, but they encountered a natural disaster, and his elderly father fell ill, leading to bankruptcy and the sale of all their land.

Subsequently, there was a locust plague, and his entire family became refugees, dying on the road of escape. It had only been ten years since then!

Although under Fang Xing's rule, many civil officials praised the 'Prosperous Reign of Longchang,' in reality, beneath the sunlight, various dark corners that were not illuminated still existed.

It was just that the scale was not large, and the refugees mostly died on the road, not qualifying for a mention in the history books because they didn't revolt.

Jing Jie was able to survive until now, naturally because he met a benefactor.

His entire family starved to death, but he met a 'benefactor' when he was on the verge of death.

Not only that, but the benefactor also sent him to learn martial arts, fraudulently obtained a household registration in the capital, and secretly married and had children…

He didn't know how many other death soldiers there were like him, but eventually, he relied on his willingness to risk his life and his ability to handle matters to be successfully selected into the Imperial Guards and transferred to the Imperial Palace to guard the Cold Palace.

How important was the Imperial City's guard? They must choose children from good families, with the entire family in the capital.

Then, once something happened, they would follow the household registration to play a game of elimination, to ensure that no one dared to make any small moves.

It was only after entering the Imperial Palace as a guard that Jing Jie knew what the benefactor wanted him to do.

But it didn't matter. Without the benefactor, he would have died long ago.

Now he had eaten, enjoyed, and even had a son who was secretly sent away.

The family in the official household registration had nothing to do with him, so he wasn't afraid of even being exterminated to the ninth degree!

Moreover, his real son was in the benefactor's hands, which was his weakness, so he would have to assassinate the Emperor if asked!

However, the competition for positions in the Imperial Palace was also very fierce.

Those who were truly guarding the Diligent Administration Hall were basically the sons of meritorious and noble military families, and commoners had no chance to rise.

Someone like him, with a clean background, could only guard the Cold Palace, not seeing the Emperor even once a year.

Moreover, which time did the Emperor travel without a grand entourage?

What use was one person?

Until recently, with the birth of Prince Chengqian, it seemed that the benefactor had also obtained much secret help and finally used him, this hidden pawn.

Clap!

A whip sound came.

Jing Jie immediately perked up.

The net whip clears the way, the Emperor is traveling!

Sure enough, before long, the Emperor's entourage appeared, with palace maids and eunuchs surrounding him, and vigorous and brave guards accompanying him.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Jing Jie quickly knelt on the roadside, his palms sweating nervously.

This was the Emperor, the reincarnation of the Heavenly Jade Emperor in folk legends!

‘I wonder how many people, how many hidden lines… were sacrificed to create this encounter?’

‘Where is my opportunity?’

Jing Jie almost held his breath, waiting silently.

…

At the same time.

Fang Xing, sitting on the imperial carriage, was also waiting.

“The stupidity of people is infinite. My stupid sons and grandsons… hearing the name Li Chengqian, the entire capital is cheering and wailing…”

“This is the first layer. The concubines in the harem, for the future of their sons and grandsons, there will always be fools who are swayed… which creates the basis for internal and external collusion.”

“In addition to this, I added mathematics to the imperial examinations and steadfastly promoted it for decades… can this be considered a heavy blow to Confucianism? Or even the Confucian religion? At least it creates division among the civil officials…”

“It's a pity that I am an Emperor who has been in power for sixty years. My prestige has long been established. Wanting a military coup or forcing the palace is a joke!”

“Those who wanted to outlive me have basically been outlived by me…”

“Next, it will be nothing more than a white rainbow piercing the sun, an attempt at a surprise attack…”

Just then.

Clang!

A eunuch carrying the sedan suddenly turned pale, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell down just like that.

Whirr!

The bright yellow carriage instantly tilted to one side.

“Protect His Majesty!”

Several guards immediately rushed over, wanting to work together to replace the original eunuch.

But just then, the little eunuch with a face full of blood had a look of ferocity on his face, took out a dagger from his arms, and stabbed it at the nearest guard.

“There's an assassin!”

A piercing scream rang out, and the surrounding area was in chaos.

“Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!”

Jing Jie took a deep breath and immediately stepped forward, watching the imperial carriage roll down, and the Emperor, with white hair and a ruddy complexion, looking somewhat immortal, walked down.

“Protect the Emperor.”

Taking advantage of the chaos, he approached the Emperor within three feet.

The military arts instructor who taught him had once said that within three feet, one is the enemy of the entire country!

“Stop!”

An imperial bodyguard saw Jing Jie still approaching and immediately changed his expression, slashing over with a knife.

Those who wanted to approach the Emperor taking advantage of the chaos should be killed without hesitation.

Clang!

Jing Jie slightly tilted his body, letting the knife slash on his arm armor. The long knife in his hand was unsheathed and stabbed into the guard's vitals.

If he didn't have this good martial skill, how could he have mixed into the palace guards with just a clean background?

“Kill!”

Seeing the Emperor right in front of him, Jing Jie suddenly pounced.

“Bold!”

Several inner court experts attacked almost simultaneously, knives and swords already piercing Jing Jie's body.

But the corners of his mouth overflowed with blood, and he had a ferocious smile on his face. The long knife in his hand flew out, the target being the old Emperor who was already in his seventies or eighties!

Whoosh!

Who knew that at this time, Fang Xing's movements were incredibly agile. With a sideways step, he dodged the flying knife attack, and his right foot gently lifted, kicking a palace maid away like an invisible leg.

Clang!

A dagger fell to the ground, shining blue in the sunlight.

“This palace maid… is also an assassin?”

“It seems to be the one who shouted that there was an assassin just now.”

“We were late in protecting the Emperor, please forgive us, Your Majesty.”

Swish!

A row of armored soldiers arrived, protecting Fang Xing layer by layer. A middle-aged general quickly knelt down. This person was Zhao Hu's grandson—Zhao Xu.

“According to palace rules, it's not considered late if you arrive within ten breaths of an alarm. What crime do you have?”

Fang Xing waved his hand and said, “Today's matter, the palace maid and the guards must be thoroughly investigated. Let it be so…”

Zhao Xu was a little surprised, not expecting His Majesty the Emperor to be so… peaceful?

But he didn't know that this was Fang Xing's intention.

‘The older one gets, the easier it is to become昏庸, which is actually caused by fear!’

‘Especially for creatures like Emperors, the fear of constant aging, the burden of the flesh gradually becoming a drag… at this time, if there is another assassination threat, they will immediately become furious.’

‘However, under fury, it is easy to lose reason and reveal even greater flaws to be taken advantage of by ambitious people…’

‘Today's assassination, the guards and the palace maid may not be in the same group. Even if you investigate, it may be a 神仙局…’

‘And it's still a chain scheme. Once you can't find many clues, you will definitely suspect the people around you…’

‘If you want your enemies to suffer, then live in the way they least want you to.’

A sneer appeared on the corner of Fang Xing's mouth.

He decided that he would live to be one hundred and twenty years old and pass the throne to Li Chengqian!

This kid has a good foundation. If he is cultivated from a young age and instilled with some ideas, it will definitely give those behind people a big surprise.

After all, although Fang Xing firmly grasped power when he became Emperor, he actually focused on the big picture and let go of the small, and had time to relax and enjoy.

This is because he is not a native Emperor after all and does not have such a great desire for power.

But what about a young Emperor who has received imperial education since childhood?

He will definitely expand, take power, expand again, and take power at all costs…

Well, Fang Xing's standard template for Li Chengqian in the future is a combination of Emperor Qin and Emperor Hongwu, guaranteeing that he will torture those bureaucrats so much that they wish the late Emperor would be reborn.

‘When you want to open a window, if many people object, then it is better to tear off the roof first…’

Fang Xing looked into the distance, as if looking into the future, and a trace of anticipation arose in his heart.

…

In the seventy-fifth year of Longchang, fifteen-year-old Li Chengqian was named Crown Prince.

In the eightieth year of Longchang, Emperor Longchang neglected politics and chose to abdicate the throne, promoting himself to the Supreme Emperor. At the same time, he ordered Madam Gouyu, who had been promoted to Empress Dowager, to assist in the government. The following year was the first year of Pingding.

Li Chengqian was already an adult and could govern personally, but he created an Empress Dowager assisting in the government in an incongruous manner, just like ruling from behind a screen.

This was naturally Fang Xing's intention, causing chaos in the court and the public.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager at this time showed amazing skills, both able to patiently cooperate with the Emperor and able to deal with those who disobeyed one by one.

By the fifth year of Pingding, the Empress Dowager died of illness, and the court calmed down again.

In the twentieth year of Pingding, the Supreme Emperor passed away, and the officials mourned. The Emperor wept bitterly and gave him the posthumous title 'Wen,' making him Emperor Wen, the Grand Ancestor…

When Emperor Wen was in power, he reduced taxes and corvée, and the world was united in heart. He created the Prosperous Age of Longchang and lived to be one hundred and twenty-seven years old before passing away, making him the longest-lived monarch in history. There were rumors that Emperor Wen had already achieved immortality, causing later emperors to envy him and many to seek the relics of Emperor Wen…