Chapter 226 (Part 1): King Xiangyang’s Trump Card
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
“No wonder you are so dead loyal to the current dynasty. To think you have such a relationship with the imperial family. Heheh! It is clearly my loss. Who would have imagined that a brutish, uncultured man of Jianghu like you would have such a connection?” Lu Feng Yu sighed again.
This time, it was Duan Tingxuan who was getting irritated, “Enough with your nonsense, just tell us what you have.”
“That person is the fourth prince.”
Though it looked like Lu Feng Yu was just speaking randomly, Duan Tingxuan immediately went pale at the remark. He lowered his voice threateningly, “Don’t you dare speak in such a confusing manner. Fourth prince is born of Imperial Concubine Jing, don’t you dare heap any slander on his head.”
“Slander?” Lu Feng Yu’s response was to laugh in his face. “You just tap your own chest and ask yourself this. Is it really a slander? Of course, you don’t have to believe me. Perhaps it is the second prince. After all, if we calculate the ages of the princes, the only possible candidates that fits the time when His Lordship was at the Capital could only be these two, right?”
Su Nuan Nuan who had been puzzled by all this mysterious talk was suddenly enlightened.
She had also brought up some hypothesis about the King’s trump card with Duan Tingxuan during one of their idle times. For King Xiangyang to still have the confidence to scheme for the throne when he did not have the backing of large armies… the only reason was that he must have had some illicit relationship with one of the imperial concubines and the child was now being raised as one of the royal princes. That way, once the crown prince dies, the emperor would have to reappoint a new crown prince. If King Xiangyang’s son was picked as the crown prince…
If one thought about it carefully, the second prince was someone with his head stuck in the books and had little interest in the throne. If something were to happen to the crown prince, the title would most likely fall upon the fourth prince, who was already involved in the management of the Imperial Household as the head in charge of looking after the treasury and craftsmanship.
“If you don’t believe me, I can bring you over to seek out that hidden family. Do you know which household they hailed from? It’s the family of the matron that assisted Imperial Concubine Jing in her child birthing period. It was also thanks to her that His Lordship was able to cultivate a relationship with Imperial Concubine Jing. So, do you now understand why His Lordship would be willing to hide her away in such a remote area and set up people to protect her?
This is his most valuable trump card. In the future, once the emperor appoints the fourth prince as the crown prince, once the emperor dies, His Lordship would reveal the truth. Because blood is thicker than water, the new crown prince would have to abdicate out of filial piety and give up the throne for his true father…”
He had not finished speaking when Su Dong Lou interrupted angrily, “Disgraceful! This is nothing but a pile of nonsense, a fool’s dream! Do you really believe that such a wild scheme could work? To think that your laughable scheme still ended up depending on ‘filial piety’ to work? How dare you look down on the Manchu Civilization and the hearts of its people?”
“Naturally, the people would still have their crown prince to placate them. For him to become the next emperor, he must first fulfil his filial duties to His Lordship. Otherwise, he would be seen by the people as nothing but a cruel tyrant.”
Lu Feng Yu laughed arrogantly. His gaze, when looking at Su Dong Lou, was the exasperated, pitying kind that teachers mostly bestow on a particularly stupid child. “Still can’t understand? Well, let me give it to you in simpler terms. Once the crown prince dies, the fourth prince will become the crown prince. Both civil and military powers of the imperial country would recognise him as heir to the throne. As a bonus, person who holds the military power at Northern Xin Jiang is Concubine Jing’s father, so he would also have military power from his mother’s side.
If any of the officials wish to contest His Lordship’s claim to the throne as the blood father of the crown prince, what could they do? Would the fourth prince dare commit patricide? If he refuses to recognise His Lordship as his blood father and the rightful emperor, then he would lack the proper qualifications to be a true and proper son, and therefore could hardly be qualified to be the future emperor. Surely, he would know which side to pick when the time comes?”
At this, he paused, the corners of his lips raised into a sneer as he continued, “However, once His Lordship really becomes emperor, who cares how those people cry or gnash their teeth? Just how many true, loyal to death officials are there in the world? If the people in the world truly are this loyal and orderly, would we have historical records of previous dynasties of emperors murdering their fathers, brothers and uncles for the dragon throne?
So, do you now understand what His Lordship’s plan hinges on most? Once the crown prince died and the fourth prince raised to the crown prince’s status, the day the emperor dies and the prince ascends to the throne would be the time to strike. That is when Matron Qiong would appear to testify the truth of his lineage. With her as the witness and letters written by Imperial Concubine Jing in her own hand as evidence, there would be no way for either imperial concubine or fourth prince to refute the evidence, nor do they need to.
After all, once His Lordship becomes the emperor, they would remain as imperial concubine and crown prince. There is no reason for them to struggle needlessly and die a pointless death in the process, so why would they not accept His Lordship’s claim? If not for a foolproof plan like this, do you think a person such as I would be willing to risk my life scheming for His Lordship?”
Duan Tingxuan and Su Dong Lou fell silent. Su Nuan Nuan did not know what to say either. For a time, nothing was heard within the room except Lu Feng Yu’s unrestrained laughter. At that moment, even Su Nuan Nuan could not help but hate this treacherous creature. She hated him so much that she could not wait for Su Dong Lou to punish this disgraceful fellow either by forcing him down and torment him by doing this and that to him, and maybe taunt him through xxx…
“You’re wrong. King Xiangyang is wrong too. You are all a bunch of fools dreaming up meat pies in the sky.”
Duan Tingxuan’s voice cut through the laughter like a knife. Su Nuan Nuan looked over at her husband, and saw his bright and resolute eyes. Duan Tingxuan smirked, and said, “You’ve cooked up this plan because you have no real idea just what kind of person the fourth prince is. He is someone who could not abide by dirty tricks or filthy practices. He’s a man who shuns evil influences and keeps his hands clean [1].
Moreover, he’s an incredibly straightforward and upright person. If the future really did happen the way you’ve anticipated, he would not hesitate to give up his right to the throne to one of his siblings and meet death himself in order not to bring shame to the imperial family. When that happens, King Xiangyang would be named as a traitor to the throne and be put to death as a criminal.”
“Impossible.” Lu Feng Yu was so agitated that he shot up from his chair, “How could there be such an idiot in this world? Who in the world would be willing to let go of the throne, lose his life and even allow his own blood father to be put to death as a traitor? Lord heir, you speak nonsense.”
[Gumihou: Huhuhu, I wonder who is right here?]
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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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