Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 107 - 104: The Crown Prince’s Pleasure

At the Hulong Temple, the Crown Prince and the eighth prince had just finished their morning session with the monks.

Lv Cong handed a letter to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince took it and, after reading, burst into laughter, "Hahahahaha, good!"

The eighth prince saw the Crown Prince suddenly so happy and quickly asked, "Big brother, has the incident with Li Chuan been exposed?"

"Indeed." The Crown Prince handed the letter to the eighth prince, "Take a look."

The eighth prince took the letter and read it carefully. After reading, he also burst into laughter, "This is truly wonderful."

"Eighth brother, you really guessed it right." The Crown Prince said joyfully, "You previously said that Li Chuan couldn’t resist indulging in the pleasures at the brothel, and I didn’t believe it."

"Li Chuan loves wine and women. Every time he returns to the capital, he indulges at the brothel. This time, as soon as he returned to the capital, he often stayed at the brothel." The eighth prince laughed and said, "Although Prince Dai warned him not to go to the brothel during the Empress’s memorial days, Li Chuan could restrain himself for a day or two, but not for many days. Moreover, he thought Prince Dai was much favored by the emperor. With Prince Dai’s protection, he believed he would be fine."

"You’re right." The Crown Prince raised his hand and patted the eighth prince on the shoulder, "You are indeed observant."

"Father has demoted Li Chuan to a commoner. Although Prince Dai will keep him in the military, he can’t accept such a blow." The eighth prince laughed, "From a prestigious fifth-ranked General to a nobody, Li Chuan will certainly collapse, causing Prince Dai to lose a great general."

The Crown Prince nodded, then thought of something and asked the eighth prince, "Do you think there’s a possibility we could buy off Li Chuan?"

"It’s possible. With Li Chuan demoted, he can’t quickly return to his former position while staying in Prince Dai’s camp." The eighth prince stated, "Prince Dai, being reprimanded because of Li Chuan, can’t harbor no resentment towards him. To teach him a lesson, Prince Dai won’t promote him easily. Li Chuan might not hate Prince Dai, but if we stoke the flames, he’ll surely resent Prince Dai."

"When Li Chuan hits rock bottom, and big brother extends a hand to help him, he will be immensely grateful and loyal to you."

This struck a chord with the Crown Prince, "Good, I’ll be waiting."

"Big brother, you must patiently wait and only extend help once Li Chuan hits rock bottom."

The Crown Prince slightly nodded, "I know." He said, showing a trace of unwillingness, "Father is partial to Prince Dai, only scolding him without any punishment."

"Prince Dai claimed ignorance, seeing Li Chuan looking unwell, genuinely thought he was sick. The excuse is reasonable, and with father’s usual favoritism towards him, naturally, he trusts his words." The eighth prince mocked.

"In the end, father is still biased towards him." The Crown Prince’s eyes were full of jealousy.

"Although father didn’t punish Prince Dai, publicly scolding him in front of the civil and military officials still made him lose face."

"What of it."

"Big brother, although father didn’t punish Prince Dai, his reputation among the people and scholars nationwide has been damaged." The eighth prince smiled meaningfully, "Li Chuan is one of Prince Dai’s generals, and his actions in the people’s eyes represent Prince Dai’s. Li Chuan’s disrespect towards the Empress also means Prince Dai disrespects her."

The Crown Prince finally understood the real intent behind the eighth prince’s move.

"Previously, despite Marquis Xuanping’s efforts to help Prince Dai suppress the Liangzhou rebellion and gain public fame, the Li Chuan incident will render all their efforts void."

"Eighth brother, this move of yours is truly wonderful!" The Crown Prince said with a beaming smile, "Eighth brother, you’ve really done me a big favor this time."

"Big brother, you’re too polite saying that. I’m your brother; it’s only right for me to help you." The eighth prince said with a serious expression, "Moreover, it’s always been you helping me. Without you, I might have been dead already."

"What nonsense are you saying, you won’t die, you’ll live well." The Crown Prince helped the eighth prince initially out of pity, without any ulterior motives, and did not expect the eighth prince to repay him.

"With big brother here, I will certainly be fine." The eighth prince said earnestly, "Big brother, and no more thanks to me for my help."

"Alright, I won’t say it anymore." The Crown Prince listened to the eighth prince’s words, deeply touched. "I won’t be polite to you again either; don’t hesitate to tell me whatever you want."

"Rest assured, big brother, I won’t be polite with you." The eighth prince said with a grin.

"Eighth brother, I haven’t felt this delighted in a long time." Ever since Prince Dai returned to the capital, a heavy weight had been pressing on the Crown Prince’s heart, neither ascending nor descending. Now seeing Prince Dai lose a great general and having his reputation tarnished, the heavy stone in his heart finally dissipated, making him feel completely relieved.

"Big brother, you’ve been wronged."

The words "wronged" stirred a sourness in the Crown Prince’s heart, "Eighth brother, only you understand my grievances."

The eighth prince consoled the Crown Prince, "Big brother, the grievances you’ve suffered in the past will all be avenged."

The Crown Prince’s eyes suddenly became sharp, and his expression turned incredibly firm. He clenched his fists and said, "Yes, I want to take it all back."

After saying that, he was reminded of the other two trusted generals under Prince Dai.

"Eighth brother, is there any way to deal with Qian Songtao and Zhai Gui?"

"Qian Songtao and Zhai Gui are more disciplined than Li Chuan. It’s unlikely to deal with them during this period." The eighth prince analyzed, "Now that Li Chuan has had an incident, Qian Songtao and Zhai Gui will be even more cautious."

"It seems we can only proceed slowly." The Crown Prince, after seeing Li Chuan demoted to a commoner, was greedily thinking of dealing with Qian Songtao and Zhai Gui as well.

"Big brother, since Prince Dai has already lost one key general, he will cherish the other two more and won’t let anything happen to them. Wanting to deal with them will be difficult; you’ll have to find an opportunity later to do so."

The Crown Prince nodded slightly and said, "That’s the only way." After speaking, he thought of the matter of the daughter of Minister Kong marrying Prince Dai as a concubine. "Minister Kong initially refused the marriage proposal, but father refused his objection. Father is determined to have Minister Kong’s daughter marry Prince Dai. Uncle said to let it be and let Minister Kong’s daughter marry Prince Dai. But after thinking about it, I still feel uneasy about this. What do you think, eighth brother?"

"Big brother, there’s no need for us to intervene. Once Minister Kong’s daughter marries into Prince Dai Mansion, the inner mansion will become unsettled. By then, Marquis Xuanping and Minister Kong’s relationship will also become antagonistic." The eighth prince said, "Let them feud and destroy each other, isn’t that better."

"It’s true, but in my heart..." The Crown Prince couldn’t quite express what he felt.

The eighth prince roughly guessed what the Crown Prince wanted to say, "Big brother, just wait for the show to unfold."

Hearing this from the eighth prince, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but start looking forward to it.

"Alright, I’ll wait to see the show at Prince Dai Mansion."

The eighth prince did not mention to the Crown Prince that they should worry about the possibility of Minister Kong sabotaging the marriage themselves.

Not far from Hulong Temple, inside Bodhi Temple, Jing An was in her room, diligently transcribing Buddhist scriptures.

Mrs. Kong accompanied her, copying the scriptures alongside her.

"Yao Er, mother plans to return home tomorrow. After that, you’ll be alone here in the temple."

"Mother, please rest assured and return. I will take good care of myself." Since she took the tonsure and joined the monastery, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief, as if releasing the shackles from her body. "Mother, if anything happens at home, you must inform me."

"Inform you for what reason? You’ve joined the monastery, severed ties with the mortal world; family matters no longer concern you." Mrs. Kong said sternly, "Now that you’ve renounced the lay life, devote yourself earnestly to the Buddha. If you meddle in family matters, it will annul your renunciation and implicate the family as well. Do you understand?"

Kong Yao understood this in her heart, but she... under Mrs. Kong’s stern gaze, she could only nod.

"Nothing will happen at home." Mrs. Kong regretted not having arranged a marriage for her younger daughter sooner; otherwise, they wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.

Meanwhile, in Prince Dai Mansion,

Prince Dai wore a sullen face, exuding an intimidating aura.

Qian Songtao and Zhai Gui stood at one side while Li Chuan knelt on the ground, his face beaten black and blue. He had been beaten by Qian Songtao and the others.

"You must return to my fief immediately." Prince Dai thought that leaving Qian Songtao and the others in the capital might lead to more incidents.

"Your Highness, if we all go back, who will protect you in the capital?"

"Your Highness, old Qian, and I must leave one of us behind to guard you," Zhai Gui said, "Leaving you alone in the capital makes us uneasy."

Prince Dai was not entirely safe in the capital.

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