CHAPTER 41

 

Prince Wu thought the position of Crown Prince was within his grasp, but to his dismay, Emperor Yongkang introduced Prince Ning as a contender to challenge him.

 

To Prince Wu, this was a clear sign that Emperor Yongkang favored Prince Ning more. All his recent efforts now seemed wasted.

 

Frustrated, Prince Wu summoned Xuanyuan Yu and angrily grabbed him by the collar, repeatedly asking, “Are you certain that Father only has a little over a year left to live?”

 

Xuanyuan Yu frowned and pushed Prince Wu’s hand away, replying, “The Divine Lady said it. Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”

 

“That woman is full of strange tricks. Don’t let her fool you,” Prince Wu warned.

 

“Your Highness underestimates me. She’s nothing but submissive and obedient before me. She wouldn’t dare deceive me,” Xuanyuan Yu replied confidently.

 

Still pacing anxiously, Prince Wu then asked, “Ask her again—has she ever had prophetic dreams? In those dreams, who ultimately ascends to the throne?”

 

Xuanyuan Yu suddenly smiled, finally showing the demeanor of the original male lead. He calmly analyzed the situation for Prince Wu. “Though she didn’t explicitly say, the moment she arrived in the capital, she threw herself into my arms, clearly trying to stay close to me by relying on past connections. Think about it, Your Highness—who do you think will win?”

 

Prince Wu’s expression eased instantly. Of course! The battle for the throne was a life-and-death struggle—either he or Prince Ning would survive. If he lost, the Nan’an Marquisate wouldn’t have a good ending either. Yu Ling’s calculated move to marry Xuanyuan Yu meant that, in her eyes, the future victor must be him.

 

Relaxing visibly, Prince Wu chuckled, “At least she knows her place.”

 

However, a sense of dissatisfaction arose in him regarding Yu Ling. That woman lacks insight, he thought. Since she knows who the ultimate winner is, why curry favor with Xuanyuan Yu instead of me? Does she think I’m inferior to him?

 

This thought planted seeds of distrust toward Xuanyuan Yu in Prince Wu’s mind.

 

As the classic arrogant and domineering male lead of this genre, Xuanyuan Yu didn’t think there was anything wrong with the situation. In his mind, Yu Ling’s behavior proved she was smart—she knew who was the best.

 

Coincidentally, Yu Ling thought the same way.

 

In her story, Prince Wu had always been a tool to boost Xuanyuan Yu’s power and status. To her, tools weren’t even real people, and Yu Ling still saw everyone around her as NPCs. Since this was a game, she naturally had to focus on completing the main quest. The female lead was guarded by Song Yuanzhi, so Yu Ling couldn’t go that route. Her only option was to pursue the male lead.

 

As for Prince Wu? He was just background scenery—unimportant.

 

What Yu Ling didn’t realize was that the moment she and Song Yuanzhi entered this time-space, the world had become real. In a real world, there are no disposable background characters; everyone has their own ambitions and motives, determined by their character.

 

And so far, Prince Wu’s personality wasn’t looking all that great.

 

Song Yuanzhi only knew that Prince Wu’s faction was making a huge fuss in the court. Nearly two-thirds of the ministers had signed petitions in his favor.

 

The remaining one-third was split between two groups. One consisted of loyal ministers, unwavering in their support for the emperor alone, refusing to engage in the power struggle over the succession. The other was the faction supporting Prince Ning, made up mostly of scholarly officials who could deliver eloquent, scathing speeches without using a single curse word.

 

Every day, when Lu Shaoyou returned from court, he would dictate Song Yuanzhi with the day’s court dramas, leaving her laughing until she could hardly catch her breath.

 

After laughing, Song Yuanzhi asked, “Did you all already guess that His Majesty would support Prince Ning?”

 

Unlike the trapped and frustrated Prince Wu, Song Yuanzhi didn’t see Emperor Yongkang’s actions as favoring Prince Ning. In fact, if there was any favoritism, it had always been toward Prince Wu. Although Xuanyuan Guifei had fallen out of favor recently, she had enjoyed unrivaled affection for decades, and Prince Wu, her son, had always benefited from her status.

 

Without an heir from the empress, Prince Wu, the son of a favored concubine, held the highest status among the emperor’s sons and received the best treatment. It’s no wonder Prince Wu had always believed the throne was rightfully his.

 

However, now that Emperor Yongkang’s health was deteriorating, his mindset had changed. Besides being an emperor, he was also a father. And here he was, gravely ill, yet his most cherished son was not concerned with his welfare. Instead, Prince Wu was busy scheming to secure the crown.

 

To Emperor Yongkang, Prince Wu’s behavior was no different from wishing for his death.

 

In the original story, Emperor Yongkang did pass the throne to Prince Wu. However, that Emperor had not been as sick. At that time, Lu Shaoyou was already dead, the Marquis of Zhenbei’s forces had been weakened, the Marquis of Nan’an’s influence had expanded, and Xuanyuan Guifei had lost favor. Yet in Emperor Yongkang’s eyes, Prince Wu still appeared to be his dutiful son.

 

Under those circumstances, it wasn’t surprising that Emperor Yongkang made Prince Wu the Crown Prince.

 

But now, everything had changed. Song Yuanzhi had already discarded the original plot, while Yu Ling remained steadfastly loyal to her own creation, dragging Xuanyuan Yu and Prince Wu off course with her.

 

This was a classic case of karma. Had Song Yuanzhi known, she would have simply remarked, “What goes around comes around.”

 

Sure enough, after five days of heated disputes in court, Emperor Yongkang suddenly made a move. First, he reprimanded the Marquis of Nan’an; then, citing the misdeeds of the Nan’an family and accusing them of oppressing the common folk, he stripped the Marquis of three years’ worth of wages and demoted him from Marquis to Earl. Several other ministers who had been vocal in their support of Prince Wu were also punished—some were placed under house arrest, while others lost their positions entirely.

(Earl:- a position below the marquis)

 

With this decisive action, Prince Wu’s faction was severely weakened. The once-dominant Wu party had lost most of its key members, and their influence dwindled. It would take years to regain their former strength.

 

As if things couldn’t get worse, a fire broke out in Xuanyuan Yu’s inner residence.

 

Song Yuanzhi had barely finished celebrating Prince Wu’s defeat when she received an even more shocking piece of news—Song Lilan had poisoned the Nan’an Marquisate, disfigured Yu Ling’s face, and, unsatisfied, slit her throat. Xuanyuan Yu, trying to stop the madness, got caught up in the struggle and was gravely injured, losing his ability to father children.

 

Song Yuanzhi fell silent, recalling how she had once harshly punished Xuanyuan Yu. So, this time, was he truly ruined?

 

This incident should have caused an uproar, but an even bigger bombshell dropped when Emperor Yongkang vomited blood after court, and now the imperial physicians were diagnosing his condition in the Sun Palace, unsure of his prognosis.

 

These successive blows left Prince Wu even more panicked. Pacing his room like a caged beast, he cursed, “Damn it! Didn’t that wretched woman say Father wouldn’t pass until the spring after next?”

 

As he raged, he suddenly heard the faint sound of roof tiles shifting. His face turned pale. “Guards! Catch the assassin!”

 

But by the time the alarm was raised, it was too late. The assassin was highly skilled in light-footed techniques, and despite the guards’ best efforts, they couldn’t catch him. Enraged, Prince Wu cursed nonstop, growing increasingly anxious. Who sent the assassin? If they overheard that fatal secret, the entire Prince Wu mansion was doomed!

 

Prince Wu’s worst fears were realized when, not even an hour later, Chief Eunuch Liu arrived with an imperial edict: “For disloyalty and disrespect, harboring resentment toward the emperor, Prince Wu is hereby stripped of his title and placed under house arrest.”

 

Even more terrifying was what came next. Although officially placed under house arrest, Prince Wu was immediately taken to the palace, where gravely ill Emperor Yongkang, eyes blazing with fury, glared at him and roared, “Speak! Who told you that cursed prediction of my death?”

 

For any emperor—especially one aware that his time was running out—to hear the exact date of his death from his own son would be enough to drive him mad. Emperor Yongkang, who had once killed his brothers for power, was not about to let this betrayal slide.

 

Knowing he had lost everything, Prince Wu collapsed, trembling. With no other choice, he confessed that Yu Ling had given him the prophecy.

 

Hearing this, Emperor Yongkang’s vision darkened. “That witch? She’s already on her last breath, you fool! How dare you hide such a grave matter from me?”

 

Enraged, Emperor Yongkang coughed up more blood. Yet, despite his weakened state, he issued a series of merciless decrees: “Chief Eunuch Liu! Send my orders. The Nan’an Marquisate has committed treason! The Marquis of Zhenbei is to lead troops and confiscate their estate. Arrest every member of that mansion—no one is to escape. Also, send the shadow guards to retrieve that so-called ‘Divine Lady.’ Have the imperial physicians examine her. If she can be saved, do it! As for Xuanyuan Guifei, for her disrespect to the empress and the royal family, strip her of her title and confine her to the Cold Palace. Give her the white silk!”

 

“Father!” Prince Wu cried in shock, crawling forward to beg for mercy. “Mother has served you faithfully for so many years! Even if she hasn’t achieved much, she doesn’t deserve death!”

 

“Shut up, you worthless fool!” Emperor Yongkang’s anger only grew. He fought back the urge to cough up more blood and slammed his hand against the bed. “Guards, take this ungrateful son to the dungeon! Since he’s so fond of the Xuanyuan family, let him join them there!”

 

Chief Eunuch Liu, panicking, hurried to have Prince Wu removed while trying to calm the emperor. He tactfully suggested, “Your Majesty, your health is most important. You mustn’t let anger damage your body. The Changqing Daoist recently concocted some pills that have worked wonders for you. Shall I fetch a few more for you?”

 

Emperor Yongkang, now slightly calmer, remembered that the Daoist had been recommended by Prince Wu and clenched his teeth in rage. “Arrest the Changqing Daoist as well! Interrogate him thoroughly! Have the imperial physicians analyze his pills. If they’re harmful… if they’re harmful…

 

Furious and shaking, the emperor spat out another mouthful of blood. “That cursed son of mine!”

 

Chief Eunuch Liu franticly called for the imperial physicians.

 

Yet, despite his anger, Emperor Yongkang remained composed enough to issue further commands: “Summon the six ministers, the Marquis of Zhenbei, and Prince Ning.”

 

After a long coughing fit, Emperor Yongkang, looking conflicted, added softly, “And send someone to summon the Empress.”

 

When Chief Eunuch Liu arrived, Empress Lu was leisurely studying a chess manual. Seeing him, she smiled gently and stood up with grace, “Thank you, Chief Eunuch Liu. Let’s not keep His Majesty waiting.”

 

T/N :- Six ministers are:

Ministry of Personnel or Appointments: Responsible for court appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions, and granting honorific titles.

Ministry of Finance or Revenue: Responsible for gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues.

Ministry of Rites : Responsible for state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices. It oversaw registers for Buddhist and Taoist priesthoods, foreign relations (i.e. reception of envoys), and managed the imperial examinations.

Ministry of War or Defense : Responsible for military appointments, promotions, and demotions; the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons; as well as the courier system.

Ministry of Justice or Punishments: Responsible for judicial and penal processes but had no supervisory role over the censorate.

Ministry of Works or Public Works: Responsible for government construction projects, hiring temporary workers (i.e. artisans and labourers), manufacturing government equipment, maintaining roads and canals, standardizing weights and measures, and gathering resources from the countryside.