Chapter 104: Inside the Prince's Mansion
Just when Zhu Chengwu was busy in the Fu'an Marquis' Mansion, the news of Zhu Chengwu's battle with the Northwest Marquis and the Duke of Yan finally began to spread in all directions through various channels.

"what?
The Duke of Yan and the Marquis of Xibei failed?

Or was he defeated by my younger brother in a one-on-two fight in front of everyone?"

The Prince’s Mansion in the capital.

Upon receiving the news, Crown Prince Zhu Chengzhi stood up from his chair in horror.

He didn't even realize that he had knocked over the teacup on the table in front of him.

"Your Highness, this is the news from the spies!
If the spy's information is correct!"

The last sentence added proves that the prince's confidant also felt incredible and unbelievable about the news!
He even began to suspect the many spies in the Prince's Mansion!

In order to confirm the news, the prince's confidant had verified the authenticity of the news through at least three channels before reporting this incredible news to the prince.

"Yes! The spy...

Can you go and confirm whether the information sent by the spy is correct?

This…

This...is simply impossible!"

Zhu Chengzhi raised his arm, which was trembling slightly after a careful look, and pointed his index finger at his confidant and said.

As a master who practices both martial arts and spiritual cultivation, and has achieved first-class martial arts and Yin God in spiritual cultivation, the prince's performance is enough to prove his inner shock at the moment.

Of course, one of the reasons is that the prince relied on resources to acquire first-rate martial arts and spiritual cultivation skills, and lacked actual combat experience.

If it was a truly experienced martial artist, or a master of the Yin Spirit, no matter how shocked he was, he would not be able to control his body.

“Your Highness, I have confirmed the authenticity of the news through four channels!

Unless the people in the Prince's Mansion, the Six Gates, the Imperial Guards, and the Civil Officials System have all been deceived, this news cannot be false!"

The confidant understood the prince's current shock, as he had felt the same way when he first heard the news.

But the confidant knew better that now was not the time to shock the prince!
The most important thing now is to make the prince accept the facts and come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible.

As the news spreads, the slower and more inappropriate the Crown Prince's response is, the faster and stronger the power of Marquis Fu'an will ferment. In that case, the advantages that the Crown Prince's Mansion has finally gained in the struggle with the Zhao family in recent years may be lost in one day!
“Is it confirmed?
How could he be...how could he be...so strong?
He was obviously not very qualified before~"

After hearing what his confidant said, the prince's eyes seemed a little out of focus.

“Unless Duke Yan and Marquis Xibei are colluding with Marquis Fu’an to put on a show!

Otherwise, Marquis Fu'an's battle record cannot be faked!
The Marquis of Fu'an is probably much more terrifying than we thought, and his scheming is far deeper than we thought. He may have been acting all along, hiding his true strength.
Until now…

If it weren’t for Duke Yan’s sudden action!
I'm afraid that Marquis Fu'an has not yet revealed his strength!"

The confidants were deeply impressed by Zhu Chengwu's "deep cunning".

Honestly speaking, such a shrewd prince is more suitable for the position in the heart of the confidant.

But unfortunately, the confidant had already made his own choice!

Such a cunning prince can only be a hero to others and an enemy to me!
As for Marquis Fu'an, his confidants felt that they must use all their strength to kill him as soon as possible!

"Duke of Yan, Marquis of Northwest...

Yes, is it possible that Duke Yan and Marquis Xibei did it on purpose?

Duke Yan suddenly came to me and said that my father favored me and he wanted to take action against my third brother.
Remove the threat of instability to the royal family!

This is quite abrupt...

Is it possible that Duke Yan has already sided with my third brother?
He did this on purpose!

Doing this on purpose!
Deliberately holding a fake match to build momentum for my third brother!

Yeah…

It's very possible!

But that’s not right!
Duke Yan is my father's confidant. It is impossible for him to side with my third brother for no reason!

My third brother was crowned queen, but he had never even met the Duke of Yan.

unless…

All of this was instructed by my father!
But there is also the Marquis of Xibei!
Xibei Hou is the father-in-law of my younger sister Changning...

Did the Marquis of Xibei also betray me?
Or was it that during that battle, the Marquis of Xibei was restrained by the Duke of Yan and my third brother together! "

I have to say that the prince has a very rich imagination.

But this also indirectly proves the great shock that Zhu Chengwu's defeat of two masters in one battle brought to the prince.

In order to refuse to accept that Zhu Chengwu really had the strength to defeat two masters, the Crown Prince would rather suspect that the Duke of Yan and the Marquis of Xibei had fixed the match.

The third brother mentioned by the prince was Zhu Chengwu.

Although if all the legitimate and illegitimate sons of the current king were ranked together, Zhu Chengwu would be ranked seventh.

But Zhu Chengwu ranks third among the legitimate sons of the contemporary Ming king.

As the eldest son, the crown prince always called Zhu Chengwu "third brother".

The other illegitimate sons were never ranked as brothers in the prince's mouth.

This is the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children in this world.

"Your Highness, there is no time to think so much now!
Your Highness, you must do two things first. First, go to the palace to find out what King Ming has to say! Second, do everything you can to lower the prestige of Marquis Fu'an in martial arts. You cannot let Marquis Fu'an become a martial arts legend comparable to Wudang Sanfeng Taoist! "

After the prince finished mumbling and vented his shock, his confidant immediately spoke up to persuade him and told him the countermeasures he had been thinking about.

As someone who has been through it all, the confidant understands better than anyone else that what the prince needs most now is to vent!
After venting the initial wave of emotions, you will fall into confusion!

One might even think that Marquis Fu'an is invincible!
At this time, someone is urgently needed to stand up, give the prince confidence, and point out to him how to deal with the situation next.

"right!

Wenqing, you are right!
Now is not the time to delay here!
I will go to the backyard now to ask Huiju what to do!"

Wu Wenqing's words brought the prince back to his senses instantly.

After all, he has been the crown prince for nearly twenty years.

The basic psychological qualities are still there.

After hearing the prince's words, Wu Wenqing bowed and retreated.

Since the Crown Prince chose to meet the Crown Princess, Wu Wenqing felt relieved.

Honestly speaking, after knowing that Zhu Chengwu had defeated the Duke of Yan and the Marquis of Xibei, the reason why Wu Wenqing did not jump ship was not only because he was deeply bound to the Prince's Mansion, but also because he had confidence in one person!
That person is not the prince, but the prince consort!
Wu Wenqing is nominally the chief strategist of the Prince's Mansion, but the Prince's true confidants all know that Fang Huiju, the Crown Princess and the legitimate daughter of the Fang family, is the Prince's real strategist.

The reason why the prince changed more than ten years ago was that he went from being a dissolute eldest son who took pleasure in bullying his brothers and sisters to the calm and steady prince he is now.

The fundamental reason is that the prince got married at that time!

No one knows how the Crown Princess did it, but no one can deny that she changed the Crown Prince.

Make the prince a qualified crown prince!

Let the prince regain the trust and praise of King Ming!

Let the prince sit more firmly on the throne!
Although the Crown Prince took the throne and the Crown Prince's Mansion grew stronger, the Crown Princess has rarely interfered in the affairs of the Crown Prince's Mansion in the past few years.

But whenever there was an important matter, the Crown Prince would go to consult the Crown Princess and seek her advice.

The Crown Princess never disappointed the Crown Prince or anyone in his mansion, and always gave targeted answers.

The backyard of the Prince’s Mansion.

After listening to the prince's story, the princess, who was nearly 40 years old, was silent for a long time.

"Wenqing is right! Your Highness, there are only two things you need to do now!
First, he immediately arranged for someone to spread the news that the Duke of Yan was a supporter of Marquis Fu'an and that he deliberately lost to Marquis Fu'an in order to forcibly enhance Marquis Fu'an's prestige!

At the same time, several other groups of people were arranged. It was reported that the old Marquis Zhao was secretly restraining the Duke of Yan and the Marquis of the Northwest, and that the Duke of Yan and the Marquis of the Northwest were ordered by King Yu Ming to join forces to fix the match... There were several versions of the news!

It is imperative that the news circulating in the market be difficult to distinguish between true and false!
And Your Highness, please go to the palace now and apologize to your father!

Tell your father everything about the whole process of Duke Yan's attack on Marquis Fu'an, and what Duke Yan said to you before he went to Xuzhou. Don't hide anything!"

After thinking for a long time, the Crown Princess looked at the Crown Prince with her face that looked like a young girl and said. The Crown Prince was so anxious that he was about to get up and act according to the Crown Princess's arrangement.

But he suddenly stopped, turned to look at Crown Princess Fang Huilu who was sitting on the chair, and said apologetically with apology in his eyes.

"Huiyi...I'm sorry!

I shouldn't have disobeyed you and agreed to Duke Yan's suggestion and cooperated with him!
To the point that we are now in such a passive position!
Sorry for the trouble!"

Over the years, the Crown Prince has always acted according to the arrangements of the Crown Princess.

But this time, the prince suddenly wanted to prove himself, to prove that he also had real ability.

He can do it even without a Crown Princess!

Therefore, even though Fang Huiju had clearly opposed it, he finally agreed with Duke Yan's opinion and wrote a letter to Marquis Xibei.

"It's alright, Your Highness! Husband and wife are one body! Why bother?"

The Crown Princess just looked at the Crown Prince with a smile.

The prince's face turned red when the princess looked at him.

“Actually, this is your fault!

You said you had already guessed that the Duke of Yan was in cahoots with my third brother!

Couldn't you have told me earlier?

If that's the case, I won't cooperate with Duke Yan!

Now I won't let my third brother gain such prestige and make things so troublesome!"

The prince, whose face was burning, finally said these words in a hurry to shirk responsibility.

It can be seen that the Crown Prince really believed what the Crown Princess said about the Duke of Yan being a supporter of Marquis Fu'an and that he deliberately lost to Marquis Fu'an.

"Your Highness! Don't doubt Duke Yan! Duke Yan can't possibly be on Third Brother's side!

I asked you to spread that news just to confuse people and reduce the credibility of my third brother's battle in Xuzhou!
You did a great job working with Duke Yan on this!

If it weren't for the sudden action of Duke Yan and Marquis Xibei, we probably wouldn't have known until now how powerful our third brother is!
I can’t see that my third brother actually has this idea!

But now that we know!

The third brother’s plan may not succeed!
Your Highness, you made a good decision this time!
If it weren't for you, I would have fallen into my third brother's trap!
As for the Duke of Yan, Your Highness, after you go to the palace to see your father, and then bring the Duke of Yan back to the capital, you must go and meet him in person!

It would be best to question him in public why he supported Marquis Fu'an and why he lowered his prestige to cooperate with Marquis Fu'an in his play...

I think Duke Yan will understand and cooperate! If he doesn't want to be completely nailed to the pillar of shame in martial arts!"

The Crown Princess did not accept the Crown Prince's blame, nor did she blame him. Instead, she praised him for his self-assertion.

It’s a mistake!
At the same time, he told the prince what to do next step by step!
"Isn't Duke Yan on Third Brother's side?

Doesn’t that mean…”

The prince was stunned, then looked up at the princess in shock.

This matter shocked Crown Prince Zhu Chengzhi even more than the fact that Duke Yan was on Zhu Chengwu's side.

"Don't worry, Your Highness!
After all, my third brother has not yet become a master. Even if he has the high-level rare treasure, the Earth's Core Fire Lotus, in his hand, his combat power can never really reach the grandmaster level!

And what if he has the combat power of a grandmaster?
The lesson of Dugu Sheng, the true grandmaster, is right before our eyes!
As long as you sit down in that position!

The Grand Master can still strangle you by force!"

The Crown Princess interrupted the Crown Prince's shock.

"But…"

The prince wanted to say something else.

"Your Highness, you should go to the palace and apologize to your father!"

The Crown Princess interrupted the Crown Prince again.

"Okay! Thank you for your hard work! Huiqi!"

The prince finally swallowed the words he was about to say, and after changing the subject, he just looked deeply at the Crown Princess, thanked her for her hard work, and then turned around and walked out.

He had to follow the Crown Princess's arrangement and go to the palace to report all the causes and consequences to King Ming and apologize to him.

"Third brother, third brother!

I didn't expect that you, who seemed to be the most innocent, actually had this idea!
No wonder I’ve always been worried about you!

Good skill, good courage! "

After the Crown Prince left, the Crown Princess stood up with a serious face, walked out of the room and looked in the direction of Xuzhou Prefecture.

Coincidentally!

In the Qinzheng Hall, King Ming was looking towards the direction of Xuzhou Prefecture through the window of the hall.

If the prince can know the news, the King of Ming can naturally know it as well.

Moreover, King Ming learned the news much earlier than the Crown Prince.

After all, he was the absolute king who ruled the Ming Dynasty for decades.

Although he is old, no one dares to look down on him as long as he is alive.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requests an audience!"

The report from his trusted eunuch Wang Chengen interrupted Prince Ming's thoughts.

"Cheng'en, do you think I am a failure?

Each and every one of them will go against my will!
None of them are willing to follow the path I have arranged for them!"

King Ming seemed not to have heard Wang Chengen's report and asked Wang Chengen back.

"Your Majesty~"

Wang Chengen did not answer King Ming's question, and he could not answer it.

I could only call out to Ming Wang worriedly.

"Okay! Cheng'en, don't worry!

I am not that fragile!
Go and call in the wicked son who murdered his own brother!"

The King of Ming was only emotional for a moment. After being called by Wang Chengen, he quickly came to his senses and became the ruler of the Ming Dynasty again, whose words were final and whose intentions were unshakable.

"Yes!"

Wang Chengen took the order and went out.

"Master Wang, would my father like to see me?"

The prince, who was waiting outside the Qinzheng Hall, saw Wang Chengen retreating from the hall and walked forward attentively.

"Your Highness, the King wants you to come in!"

Wang Chengen did not show the slightest complacency or arrogance because of the prince's hospitality. On the contrary, his every word and action was extremely polite.

Although there is news from Xuzhou Prefecture now that the king's third son, Marquis Fu'an, has displayed absolute military power to defeat Duke Yan and Marquis Xibei.

The prince's third son, Marquis Fu'an, is about to become the first martial arts legend to succeed in defeating a top-notch master since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The situation is very unfavorable to the crown prince.

But Wang Chengen's attitude towards the prince remained unchanged!
This is the self-discipline of an old man in the palace.

This is also the position of a wise king’s confidant.

As the confidant of King Ming, he cannot favor any prince. Even if he has to, he can only favor the one that King Ming favors.

As the Ming King's absolute confidant, Wang Chengen knew very well who the Ming King had chosen as his successor.
It is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in front of you.

　Update for the eighth milestone (2/2)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)