Chapter 814 : “Retreat in Order to Advance (4)”
“How would you know it’s either the Emperor or the Fourth Prince? The Emperor….. is afterall still Lei Chen’s father. Although Lei Chen might have been seen to have his own ideas about it, but he still plays his role as the Crown Prince rather well, at least, on the surface of things, he is doing quite well in it. Why would the Emperor….. do this to him?” Qiao Chu was feeling he might be working his brain a little too hard.
Jun Wu Xie paused a moment and was silent before she suddenly asked: “Do you know who the ruling Emperor of the Qi Kingdom is?”
Qiao Chu thought on it and said: “Yes, I do. Isn’t he the previous Crown Prince?” As Jun Wu Xie was the Young Miss of the Qi Kingdom’s Lin Palace, hence, even Qiao Chu had heard some things about the Qi Kingdom.
“Then, did you know that while he was the Crown Prince, his mother and his entire maternal family was massacred by the previous Emperor?” Jun Wu Xie asked.
“How can that be possible?” Qiao Chu asked, his eyes wide.
“Nothing impossible about that.” There wasn’t a trace of expression on Jun Wu Xie’s face when she said that, like she was telling him a story completely unrelated to her.” The previous Emperor didn’t like the Crown Prince and he schemed to make the Second Prince as the heir apparent. But as he was concerned about his reputation among his people, he could not get rid of the Crown Prince in too obvious a manner, employing vicious underhanded methods instead. While he slowly pushed the Crown Prince towards death, he was also tarnishing the Crown Prince’s name among the people as well, at the same time pushing the Second Prince up. If not for something unexpected that occurred, the Emperor of the Qi Kingdom now would have been a different person.”
The intricate secrets within an Imperial Harem. That was the first time Qiao Chu and the others were hearing something like this. Although Jun Wu Xie narrated it in a calm and unaffected tone, the others were all shocked and horrified hearing it.
“As a Crown Prince….. he had had to lead a life so compromised and helpless?” Just by thinking about it, Qiao Chu was suddenly feeling highly sorry for the current sitting Emperor of the Qi Kingdom!
Fan Zhuo was instead looking thoughtfully at Jun Wu Xie as he said: “You are thinking that Lei Chen could be caught in a situation like the current Qi Kingdom’s Emperor had in the past?”
Jun Wu Xie nodded slowly. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I was able to confirm it yesterday. The Spirit Battle Tournament this year, was the trap the Yan Country’s Emperor has set to overturn the Crown Prince.”
“But why does he want to do that? The Emperor has a total of four sons, and besides the Crown Prince, the Second Prince is dumb and a bumbling fool, the Third Prince is weak and timid, while the Fourth Prince is still too young. Moreover, both the Fourth Prince and Lei Chen were brought up by the Empress who is also Lei Chen’s biological mother, while the Fourth Prince was born from a mere lowly concubine. Even if the Emperor really wanted to change the heir next in line, there isn’t a better choice available!” Fei Yan interjected, quickly running through the qualities of the Yan Country’s four princes in his mind, quickly coming to the conclusion that besides Lei Chen, there really wasn’t anyone suitable.
“Reestablishing the heir apparent to the throne isn’t something you can achieve in a short period of time. Although the Fourth Prince is still young, but in a few more years, he will become eligible. By that time, the Crown Prince’s name would have fallen, and it would be the best time to push the Fourth Prince up.” Jun Wu Xie said calmly.
“Fourth Prince? You really think it’s him?” Hua Yao asked, his brow furrowed.
Jun Wu Xie nodded. “I would guess that Lei Chen knows it as well, or he would not have avoided the Fourth Prince so completely.”
Just because the Fourth Prince was in the Empress’ Palace, Lei Chen had even chosen to not go offer his greetings to the Empress. The level of loathing shown in that incident, couldn’t have been more obvious.
“But even if the Emperor were to have such intentions, I am thinking the Empress might not agree to it so readily. The Yan Country’s Empress’ family commands a high level of authourity and their power is rather prominent in the Yan Country. Lei Chen is the Empress’ biological son, so how could it be possible that the Empress would over an adopted Fourth Prince, allow the Emperor carry out a plot to harm her own son and not say a thing?” Fan Zhuo was still finding that some parts of the story were still missing.