Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 583: Chapter 299: The Eighth Prince’s Purpose_3

Prince Dai dismissed it and said, "He is already confined by Father in the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, facing the wall in reflection. What else can he do?"

"Duke Zhen is crafty. Even confined in the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, he has ways to retaliate against us," Marquis Xuanping, who had suffered many losses at the hands of Duke Zhen, was extremely wary of his revenge. "We must raise our guard and absolutely not let down our vigilance."

Seeing Prince Dai still carrying an indifferent demeanor, the Princely Heir of Marquis Xuanping’s Mansion couldn’t help but remind him, "Your Highness, have you forgotten how Duke Zhen thwarted your plan with the pearl previously?"

At the mention of this, Prince Dai’s face instantly darkened.

"Uncle, you are right, we must be wary of Duke Zhen."

The father and son of Marquis Xuanping conferred with Prince Dai in detail.

After the discussion, the two left the Prince Dai Mansion. Before leaving, Marquis Xuanping reminded Prince Dai not to forget to reward Wei Yan greatly. The successful overthrow of Zhang Nan this time was thanks to Wei Yan.

Marquis Xuanping thought Wei Yan to be talented and suggested that Prince Dai put him to important use, believing he could accomplish significant feats in the future.

Prince Dai did not forget to reward Wei Yan generously. After hearing Marquis Xuanping’s reminder, he sent Fu Zhong personally, bearing gifts, to seek out Wei Yan. Prince Dai was very generous, bestowing upon Wei Yan a hundred gold, some fabric, and a set of precious writing supplies.

That night, Wei Yan quietly went to a secret residence in the North Market to meet with the Eighth Prince. He reported everything Prince Dai had said to him in detail to the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince was not at all surprised by Prince Dai’s intention to put Wei Yan to important use. Wei Yan had made such a significant contribution this time; it would be strange if Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping did not give him importance.

The Eighth Prince instructed Wei Yan to work well for Prince Dai, to earn more and more regard from Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping.

"Your Highness, what should we do next? Should we strike while the iron is hot?" Wei Yan’s suggestion to strike while the iron is hot meant continuing to target the Crown Prince’s people.

The Eighth Prince said blandly, "Do nothing."

Both Wei Yan and Lin Xueyi looked puzzled at this and asked in unison, "Why?"

"No matter how you strike while the iron is hot, you won’t be able to do anything against the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen for now." The Eighth Prince, while caressing the rim of his teacup, said with deep meaning, "The time is not right, and Father will not severely punish the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen at the moment."

Wei Yan and Lin Xueyi looked puzzled: "The time is not right?"

"We shouldn’t do anything, let the Crown Prince and Prince Dai continue their infighting." The Eighth Prince wasn’t surprised at all when the Emperor punished the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen by making them face the wall in reflection. If the Emperor had severely punished them this time, the Eighth Prince would have found it odd. "The court will be quite lively next. Given Duke Zhen’s nature, it’s impossible for him not to seek revenge for this great grudge."

Seeing that the Eighth Prince did not reveal when the right moment would be, Wei Yan and Lin Xueyi did not press further. After chatting with the Eighth Prince for a while, they left.

They had just left when Wang Siqi arrived shortly after.

The next morning, Wang Siqi was set to personally travel to the Western Regions to seize the Yuan Family’s business.

The news of the death of Yuan Family’s legitimate second son had reached the Wang Family, Xun Family, and Xie Family. They certainly would not pass up such a good opportunity. There’s a saying, "Take one’s life while they’re down," with the Yuan Family in trouble, the other noble families naturally wanted to take the chance to swallow the Yuan Family’s business in the Western Regions.

Previously, much of their business in the Western Regions had been seized by the Yuan Family’s legitimate second son. Now that he’s gone, they naturally needed to reclaim it.

"Yuan Han is already rushing towards the Western Regions on a fast horse, but it will take at least half a month for him to arrive."

The Eighth Prince’s eyes were cold: "When he arrives, it will be his deadline."

Wang Siqi had a thought and asked, "Your Highness, should we frame the Xie Family and Xun Family?"

"It won’t work, the Yuan Family won’t believe it." Despite the apparent rivalry among the four major noble families in the capital, they had an unspoken rule not to kill each other’s legitimate sons.

As a son of a concubine, Wang Siqi was not aware of this rule.

"I have arranged it so that the Yuan Family will find it was done by the people of the Right Virtuous King." The Eighth Prince’s aim was not to pit the noble families against each other but to make the Right Virtuous King and the Yuan Family sever ties.

Wang Siqi did not curiously ask how the Eighth Prince had arranged this. He knew that some matters he could know, and some he could not. If His Highness wanted him to know, he would certainly explain the arrangements. But since His Highness did not, it meant it wasn’t something he could know.

"Your Highness, what about Prince Chen?"

"After Yuan Han is dead, Prince Chen is next." Although Prince Chen and the Eighth Prince were brothers, Prince Chen had the Yuan Family’s blood coursing in him, so he had to die. "Has there been any news about that thing?"

Wang Siqi knew what the Eighth Prince was referring to and shook his head, "Still not a trace."

The Eighth Prince furrowed his brows lightly and asked, "Still no word from the Shu area either?"

"None," Wang Siqi replied. "Han Zhong thinks the thing hidden by the Pei Family back then is a treasure map and has no idea that it is that thing."

"Have you found out where Han Zhong heard about the treasure map?" The matter of the Pei Family having a treasure map couldn’t have come out of nowhere. Han Zhong must have heard something somewhere.

"We found out that Han Zhong was told by an old eunuch he saved while fleeing for his life back then, just before the old eunuch passed away," Wang Siqi reported truthfully. "The old eunuch told Han Zhong that the Pei Family’s treasure map was the treasure of Southern Wei."

"An old eunuch?"

"This old eunuch used to be a janitor in the Imperial Garden during the previous dynasty, so he had heard some unknown matters."

The Eighth Prince asked solemnly, "Is there anything else?"

"No, the most important information this old eunuch knew was this." Wang Siqi knew what the Eighth Prince most wanted to know, but unfortunately, the old eunuch did not know.

The Eighth Prince lightly tapped the body of his teacup with a contemplative expression, saying, "Where exactly is that thing?"

"Your Highness, I’m afraid that thing is long gone," Wang Siqi speculated that it might have disappeared from the world long ago. "It’s not very important to you, why do you keep wanting to find it?"

The Eighth Prince sighed, "That thing is, after all, Southern Wei’s. Keep looking."

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will keep sending people to inquire," Wang Siqi said. Then remembering the matters in the Shu land, he asked, "Your Highness, the First Prince there can hardly hold on, should we extend a helping hand?"

The Eighth Prince nodded slightly, "Help him."

Wang Siqi reported more matters to the Eighth Prince before leaving. He was set to depart early the next morning and his family surely had things to instruct him on, so he had to head back soon.

With a snap, the Eighth Prince crushed the teacup in his hand.

Standing by, Yu Hai quickly checked the Eighth Prince’s hand when he saw this. Seeing that his master’s hand was not cut by the broken pieces, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and hastily removed the shards from the Eighth Prince’s hand.

"Your Highness, please be careful not to hurt your hand."

"It’s fine, I know what I’m doing." The Eighth Prince lifted his eyes to look at Yu Hai and instructed, "When Lu Hui acts, make sure Prince Chen dies an ugly death."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Eighth Prince smiled inscrutably, "Now we are just waiting for Yuan Han to head to the Western Regions."

In the capital, it’s not very wise to make a move against Yuan Han. If an attempt on his life were to occur here, it would certainly stir chaos and could lead to exposure, so the best place to kill Yuan Han is in the Western Regions.

Though the Yuan Family does business in the Western Regions, they don’t wield much power there. Moreover, with the dense foreign population, the situation is more chaotic, making it perfect for taking advantage of the turmoil to kill Yuan Han.