Princess and the General

A Different Idea (Part One)

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It was late in the autumn night, and the watchman was fiddling with his clapper when a dull voice shattered the tranquility of the night.

“The air is dry.
Be careful with the candles…”

Along the side of the road was a pile of fallen leaves from an unknown type of tree.
Below the tree, a blue sedan hastily rushed past and quickly disappeared down the road.

The watchman was an older man.
Believing that his eyes were deceiving him, he rubbed his eyes and found that there was nobody there.

He must have been mistaken, and he continued down the long road.

Two red lanterns hung in front of the eldest prince’s manor.
The lofty and resolute appearance of the entrance under the lanterns made it apparent that it belonged to the imperial family.

When the blue sedan arrived, someone immediately opened the manor’s gates and welcomed the carriage inside.

The lofty gates were then closed once more, and it was as if nothing ever happened.

“Lord Prime Minister, His Highness welcomes you.”

One of the manor’s servants came forward and bowed next to the sedan.
The sedan leader pushed the bamboo rod down, and Yin Shuo stepped out.

Taking a closer look, the one to come and receive him was not a servant.
It was Eunuch Qiu from the eldest prince’s manor.

When a prince became of age and left the palace to establish himself, and when a princess got married, they would not be allowed to bring out any of the palace servants who served them.
They would only bring along a few whom they trusted.

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As a result, the only palace servant who could accompany the princes and princesses out of the palace were people who were favored by their masters.
For the eldest prince to send Eunuch Qiu out to receive him, it was clear how much importance the eldest prince attached to him.

Yin Shuo smiled, “I’ve troubled Eunuch Qiu with receiving me.”

Eunuch Qiu moved to the side with a smile and led him toward the eldest prince’s study.

The inside of the study was dim, and the lights from the candles were like tiny glowing beans.
After Eunuch Qiu left, only the eldest prince and Yin Shuo were left inside the dim room.

The eldest prince modestly said: “I’ve troubled prime minister with coming here in the middle of the night.”

Yin Shuo picked up his hot cup of tea and took a sip, as some of the chill dissipated from his body, “It’s fine.
There won’t be any shortage of people from the second prince and Princess DanYang’s side listening in.
Coming to Your Highness’ manor to speak is more convenient.”

The eldest prince and the second prince’s manor would often have visitors.
This included court officials, advisors, and their patrons.

Even if someone saw a sedan enter the eldest prince’s manor in the middle of the night, nobody would think that Yin Shuo was inside.

The eldest prince said: “You said that you had something important to discuss with me.
Have you already come up with an idea?”

The tea was a little hot, but this heat was perfect.
Yin Shuo took tiny sips and did not rush to answer the eldest prince.

He knew what idea the eldest prince was talking about, and he knew just how pressed the eldest prince felt.
He was deliberately trying to stir up the eldest prince.

“Does eldest prince recall that His Majesty would go hunting at the hunting ground every two or three years during the autumn?”

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The eldest prince paused for a moment, “Naturally, I remember.
Thinking about it, father Emperor has not gone hunting in three years.
The plan was to go hunting this year, but Western Kun’s army invaded, thus father Emperor needed to suffer in solidarity with the civilians on the border and soldiers who went to fight.
It’s natural that he could not go hunting.”

Yin Shuo said: “Naturally, he could not go during the fighting, but Marquis Gu has already won.
I expect that he will quickly return in glory.
Based on his loyalty to His Majesty, I believe that we won’t have a chance to make a move once he returns.”

“Make a move? What move?”

The eldest prince’s gaze became wary.
The matter of Imperial Consort Xian poisoning Emperor Ning was nearly exposed, and he was still having nightmares of Emperor Ning finding out about it.

To have him make another move, he might not have the gall to do it.

Yin Shuo was a little disappointed, “I originally thought that eldest prince was bolder and more intelligent than the second prince, daring to gamble with the world on the line.
It seems that I overestimated Your Highness.”

The eldest prince glanced at him and spoke through gritted teeth, “It’s not that I am cowardly and afraid to do anything.
The previous incident was exposed, and you know about it.
There may be other court officials who know about it.
Once this gets found out, my imperial consort mother and I might not be able to survive.
At that point, what world is there worth talking about?”

“But it was never exposed.
The Deity of Medicine did not want to get entangled in court affairs and deliberately avoided the matter, and His Majesty still does not know about it.
As for me, I came to help Your Highness.
I happened to hear Princess DanYang say that His Majesty intends to establish the second prince as the crown prince.
Although it hasn’t been brought up recently, who knows when he will bring it up again.”

He sneeringly looked at the eldest prince, “His Majesty is someone who has been treated by the Deity of Medicine.
At the very least, he will be able to live into his eighties.
By that time, how old will eldest prince be? Will you still have the energy to fight against the second prince? Rather than waiting for His Majesty to die of old age and hand the throne down to Your Highness, it would be more beneficial to ask the second prince to disregard past disagreements.”

The eldest prince gritted his teeth and glared at Yin Shuo in silence.

He sized up Yin Shuo.
At the same time, he contemplated what Yin Shuo said.
The great crime of murder was not something that he could plot with just anyone.

“There is one thing that I do not understand, so I must ask Prime Minister Yin to explain.”

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Yin Shuo spread his arms with poise, “Please ask away, Your Highness.
Yin Shuo will definitely answer any question without any reservations.”

The eldest prince said: “This prince first came up with the scheme because I knew father Emperor planned to establish the second prince as the crown prince.
He and I are born of the empress and eldest, respectively.
Based on the system in place, we both have a claim to inherit the throne.
Even if we competed, we should be on an even playing field.
But once the Eastern Palace is established, the situation will be completely different.
Does prime minister understand what I mean?”

Yin Shuo said: “I understand.
You’re saying that the situation at that time was dire, and if you did not do anything, it would have been akin to giving the Eastern Palace away.
But things are different now.
Now, His Majesty is suspicious of both you and the second prince.
It’s impossible to say who will move into the Eastern Palace.
That’s why Your Highness feels that there’s no need to make any dangerous moves right now.
Is that right?”

The eldest prince’s silence was his answer.
He admitted it.
Yin Shuo had said what he was feeling.

Yin Shuo smiled, “There are times when the whirlpool on the surface is not the only danger lurking.
The tides under the water are the true and unseen threat.
Your Highness said it yourself.
It’s possible that I am not the only one in court who knows about that matter.
In truth, even if others knew, it’s fine.
They don’t dare say it, but there is one exception.”

The eldest prince shuddered, “You are certain that someone else knows about it? Who is it?”

“Who else could it be? Of course, it’s Marquis Gu.”

The eldest prince placed his hand on the desk and suddenly clenched his fist, “How could that be possible? If Marquis Gu knew about it, father Emperor would have found out long ago.
How could he have allowed me to continue living until today?”

Yin Shuo said: “This is just my speculation.
Your Highness, please do not get so nervous.
The Deity of Medicine said that he would not get involved in court affairs, but Yu Fu and Tian Shu also went inside.
Would they tell the people from Marquis Gu’s Manor? That’s the first point.
Second, the Deity of Medicine and Marquis Gu’s Manor are connected through their children’s engagements.
Normally speaking, he should tell Marquis Gu to provide him with some time to prepare himself.
It’s possible that Marquis Gu does not want to cause any problems, thus he has not revealed it.
It’s also possible that…”

The eldest prince picked up where he left off, “It’s possible that he has already revealed it, but father Emperor is pretending to not know and has not made a mention of it?”

This sort of thinking made him completely horrified.

If this was true, even if he waited thirty years, there would be no hope of being given the throne by Emperor Ning.

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Taking a step back, this meant that if Emperor Ning suddenly changed his mind and appointed him the crown prince, Gu HuaiJiang, as someone who knew the truth, would definitely stop him…

The possibility of him becoming the crown prince was basically zero.

Yin Shuo slightly nodded, “Eldest prince has picked up on things quite quickly.
It’s clear that you suspected that Gu HuaiJiang knew the truth.
You have been deceiving yourself, thinking that the people of Marquis Gu’s Manor maintaining their attitudes toward you means that they don’t know the truth.
Unfortunately, you can only deceive yourself but not others.”

The eldest prince’s face froze, and he started sizing up the person in front of him once more.

Gu HuaiJiang was someone who had been part of the court for decades.
He commanded tens of thousands of troops and was the subject of much suspicion, yet he was able to maintain the glory of Marquis Gu’s Manor.

Aside from being a general with great military contributions, he also had a mind for schemes.
It was fully possible that he knew the truth behind Emperor Ning’s poisoning but did not say it.

Yin Shuo was young and only just entered the court a short time ago, but he had a hold of something that could be used against him and had been waiting for an opportunity.
Faced with such a schemer, he was made to think deeply once more.

It was fortunate… that this sort of person did not side with the second prince.

The eldest prince said: “They won at Zhu Guan, and rumors say that Western Kun’s army has already retreated.
Someone like Marquis Gu will wait for a few more days, so it will be at most one month before they return.
What idea does prime minister have that can be put in place in under a month? We can’t use the same method as before.
Since being treated by the Deity of Medicine, he has been very healthy.
Any small malady would attract a great deal of attention.”

Yin Shuo laughed and said: “Naturally, we can’t use the same method.
That’s not to mention the fact that Yu Fu will rush back if His Majesty is poisoned.
Let’s just say that it’s highly likely that Marquis Gu knows that Your Highness previously poisoned His Majesty.
If His Majesty were to die from being poisoned, Marquis Gu would know that Your Highness did it without even needing to think about it.
Even if he didn’t say anything, when it came time for the officials to choose between Your Highness and the second prince, whom does Your Highness think Marquis Gu will support?”

The eldest prince froze, “If Marquis Gu really knows that I was the one behind the poisoning, he will never support me and will instead support the second prince.
With the troops under his command, he has great prestige.
When that time comes, would the new emperor not just be whomever he supports?”

He furrowed his brow and fell deep into thought.
Even if His Majesty died, he would not reap any benefits.

“That’s why we will use a different method, and it will have everyone think that it was the second prince who targetted His Majesty.
Does Your Highness still remember what I just said about going hunting?”