Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable-Chapter 1202 - 1112: The Female Prime Minister 50
The Eldest Prince, although pleased, did not lose his composure. After a brief excitement, he calmed down and began to have some doubts in his mind.
"The news of Father Emperor’s serious illness has been kept so well hidden by him that the entire court, both civil and military, is unaware. Nowadays, Second Brother is lacking in capable people under him, so how did he learn such a secretive piece of news?
Could this news be a trap deliberately set by Second Brother to lure us in?"
Xie Wenhao shook his head: "Although I don’t know how the Second Prince obtained the news, I have carefully investigated it, and the information is indeed true."
Xie Wenhao, after all, is currently the head of the civil servants. With the Emperor seriously ill, there are many insiders serving around him. If he truly wanted to investigate, the Emperor couldn’t hide it from him.
Actually, the reason why Xie Wenhao was previously kept in the dark by the Emperor is probably due to the inherent flaws in men. They always assume it’s natural for men to be lustful. An emperor, wielding the most immense power, possessing all the beauties under heaven, suddenly becoming lustful wouldn’t seem strange.
Throughout history, emperors have been prone to lust. Many wise and virtuous rulers couldn’t escape the temptation of women. Given the current Emperor’s indulgence in beauty leading to the neglect of governance, it seems reasonable, so Xie Wenhao wasn’t suspicious.
Now that he has thoroughly investigated, he naturally realized that it wasn’t lust but a serious illness afflicting the Emperor.
"So, the news of my second brother wanting to rebel is also true?"
The Eldest Prince asked again out of concern. If the Second Prince truly intended to rebel, it would indeed be his stepping stone to the heavens.
If he could protect the Emperor at the critical moment of the Second Prince’s rebellion and quell the uprising, his status as Crown Prince would be assured.
At that time, having Xie Wenhao mobilize his subordinates to create momentum for him, the title of Regent Crown Prince would be something Father Emperor had no choice but to bestow.
"Something doesn’t add up! Even if the Second Brother wants to rebel, he lacks manpower." Just as the Eldest Prince was getting excited, he realized something wasn’t quite right.
Xie Wenhao naturally shared the Eldest Prince’s doubts and had conducted a thorough investigation in advance.
"Regarding this, I was also puzzled. So, I carefully dispatched people to investigate thoroughly and discovered that the Second Prince has actually convinced Commander Fang of the Imperial Guard to help him rebel!"
"Commander Fang!" The Eldest Prince looked at Xie Wenhao with great astonishment.
"That’s impossible! Commander Fang is Father’s trusted confidant. How could he have been won over by Second Brother, given Second Brother’s current sorry state? What could he possibly use to persuade Commander Fang?"
The Eldest Prince felt that he had indeed been played by the Second Prince. He had genuinely believed Second Brother’s talk about rebellion.
"This matter is true. I couldn’t believe it at first either, so I sent many people to investigate from multiple angles. I found that Second Prince has been secretly getting very close to Commander Fang recently and frequently exchanging gifts.
Although the exchanged gifts aren’t anything valuable, just some ordinary items, it’s precisely because of this that it seems even more intimate. If the relationship weren’t close enough, why would they exchange such worthless gifts?
Commander Fang was previously under the tutelage of the Second Prince. The Second Prince isn’t incompetent, and his abilities are evident to all. Commander Fang might have been optimistic about his future prospects.
The bustling world is full of people seeking advantages, and the bustling world is full of people seeking profits. If the Second Prince offered sufficient benefits and the rebellion could indeed succeed, coupled with the Emperor’s serious illness, which Commander Fang knows well as a confidant, it wasn’t impossible for him to be persuaded, considering his future prospects."
However, this was merely an illusion deliberately crafted by Yin Shuangshuang for the Second Prince.
After all, Commander Fang was once under the Second Prince. If the Second Prince didn’t make gestures to win him over and merely sent some gifts, which weren’t expensive, Commander Fang would find it difficult to refuse.
Because of the Second Prince’s identity, accepting his gifts would obligate Commander Fang to reciprocate. To show a clean break, Commander Fang would return equally unremarkable gifts.
But with the Second Prince continually sending gifts, Commander Fang was forced to keep returning gifts. The Second Prince, remaining behind closed doors, gave Commander Fang no opportunity to reject the gifts in person or ask him to stop sending them.
Commander Fang went to meet the Second Prince twice. The Second Prince welcomed him into the mansion but did not meet with him, then had Commander Fang leave after some time. After this happened twice, Commander Fang dared not approach the Second Prince’s residence again, as further visits would suggest an overly close relationship.
Yet, even if Commander Fang didn’t visit, it was of no use. Due to the Second Prince’s maneuver, in the eyes of others, their relationship still appeared very close, while internally, the Second Prince had no intention of getting close to Commander Fang, leaving him unable to voice his defense. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
All Commander Fang could do was stay behind closed doors, resolutely avoiding contact with people from the Second Prince Mansion. As for gift exchanges, they continued, with the steward responsible for reciprocating; Commander Fang absolutely refused any assignments.
But Commander Fang was unaware that the Second Prince never intended to ask him to do anything. The Second Prince’s actions were merely to make Xie Wenhao and the Eldest Prince believe he had truly persuaded Commander Fang to rebel with him.
And indeed, the Eldest Prince and Xie Wenhao were deceived, truly believing the Second Prince and Commander Fang had joined forces. It’s simply a case of them judging others by their own standards. These two individuals value profit the most; as long as the stakes are sufficient, they’d dare to do anything, assuming others are the same.
Commander Fang’s loyalty to the Emperor is beyond doubt, and even if the Emperor, seriously ill, were to pass away, it would only mean a slower promotion for Commander Fang. A change in regime is unrelated to him.
Commander Fang’s position is too sensitive, with the Emperor keeping a particularly close watch. The princes dare to win over the Prime Minister but would never dare approach Commander Fang.
Because Commander Fang holds military power and is responsible for the Emperor’s safety, attempting to win him over would equate to plotting rebellion in the Emperor’s eyes, a grave crime.
Previously, the Fourth Prince also had many supporters, but because he brazenly tried to win over Commander Fang, the Emperor personally issued a decree of censure.
That Holy Decree was full of condemnations, explicitly stating the Fourth Prince harbored rebellious intentions and, without listening to the Fourth Prince’s defense, had him confined.
After that incident, no prince dared to approach Commander Fang again, so although Commander Fang might not be the confidant of the next Emperor, he certainly wouldn’t be an enemy to be eliminated.
In simple terms, Commander Fang’s future is assured, with the only difference being the speed of his promotion. Under such circumstances, Commander Fang would have to lose his mind to betray the Emperor.
Once Xie Wenhao and the Eldest Prince confirmed the Second Prince’s intention to rebel, they began hurriedly organizing their plans.
Unlike the Second Prince, who lacked military power, the Eldest Prince’s maternal grandfather is a military general, and his uncles oversee the camp in the Western Capital. The Eldest Prince truly has the ability to mobilize troops.
While the Eldest Prince busied himself with deploying troops, dreaming of saving the emperor from chaos and becoming the Regent Crown Prince, Yin Shuangshuang was at the mountaintop, brewing tea with spring water, adding an important piece to the Second Prince’s plan.
