Prince 013

Court infighting was court infighting, but by heaven’s conscience, they had never actually attempted an assassination—well, not that they hadn’t considered it. Planting a spy beside Wu Shizu was already difficult enough, and they dared not gamble that a single spy could kill him. Besides, if Wu Shizi died, there might still be a Wang Shizi or a Zhang Shizi, and then they’d have to face the eunuch faction’s revenge.

But now, word was that their spy had indeed assassinated Wu Shizu and was then killed themselves.

Recently, the eunuch faction, already locked in a fierce struggle with the Ningxi Party, launched reprisals. Caught off guard, the bewildered Ningxi Party was struck hard.

In the chaos, Li Shanxiang was pushed forward to take the position of the Grand Director.

Everything went so smoothly that even he found it hard to believe.

Amid the increasingly turbulent situation, Li Shanxiang ascended to the seat he had dreamed of sitting in.

At this point, it would be false to say he had no ambition. He had even thought about shaking off Prince Qi’s control, getting rid of the Prince, and happily becoming his own "Nine-Thousand-Year-Old Master." But no sooner had his ideas taken shape than they were shattered.

New faces appeared around him, always wearing cold expressions. Outsiders assumed they were personal bodyguards Li Shanxiang had arranged to protect himself from assassination.

Only Li Shanxiang knew that these men beside him could turn into assassins at any moment.

Even more troubling, Zhu Hong, exuding a deathly aura, was now seated before him with a bundle at his feet. Just by looking at the shape of it, Li Shanxiang knew something terrible had happened.

"Eunuch, it seems you have a traitor among you. Someone who took the Prince’s money and then thought to set up their own house."

Zhu Hong kicked the bundle, which hadn’t been properly tied, and it came apart. A head rolled to Li Shanxiang’s feet—it was the trusted confidant he had secretly arranged.

Zhu Hong’s smile was false, and the sight of it made Li Shanxiang’s scalp crawl.

"Of course, the Prince believes that Eunuch Li—no, Director Li—is utterly loyal to the Prince and utterly loyal to the Great Zhou."

Li Shanxiang swallowed hard. He knew he had completely fallen into Fang Zhiyi’s net.

Clearly, while he had been using Prince Qi’s money to build connections, Zhu Hong hadn’t been idle. Zhu Hong’s methods were simple enough: if Li Shanxiang could buy someone with ten taels of silver, Zhu Hong would offer twenty.

There was no help for it—the Prince had said they had nothing but money.

And so, the eunuchs in key positions, who valued money above all else, had pushed Li Shanxiang into power. But the moment he tried to make a move, word reached Zhu Hong’s ears.

A few days later, the head of the Military Command suddenly died under mysterious circumstances, followed by the director of the Imperial Horse Administration being trampled to death by horses.

"You... you killed these people?" Li Shanxiang stared at Zhu Hong.

Zhu Hong didn’t even lift his eyelids. "I did it for your sake, Director. If we hadn’t killed them, they might never have accepted your authority. Besides, now that they’re feuding with the Ningxi Party, it’s a bad look."

He had barely finished speaking when someone rushed in: "Report! The head of the Surveillance Directorate is dead!"

Li Shanxiang shot to his feet. "Another one dead? How did he die?"

The man glanced at Zhu Hong first, and only when Zhu Hong nodded slowly did he reply. "It was... acute iron poisoning."

"Acute iron poisoning? Acute..." Li Shanxiang suddenly froze. "That means he was chopped to death, doesn’t it?"

"Ahem, let’s put it more elegantly," Zhu Hong said, rising. "Now it’s up to you to show your skill, Director." He pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over. Li Shanxiang took it and stared at names he didn’t even recognize.

"You... what does this mean?"

"It means... these men can share your burdens," Zhu Hong said with a grin.

Then Li Shanxiang understood completely. Prince Qi wasn’t looking to take the throne for himself; he wanted to take over the entire eunuch faction! Every step had been planned: first assassinate Wu Shizu, provoking the eunuch faction to retaliate against the Ningxi Party. Then, in the chaos, push Li Shanxiang into power. That way, the position of Grand Director would be filled, and the eunuch faction wouldn’t be devoured by the Ningxi Party. Once Li Shanxiang was securely in that seat, the Prince would turn around and strike at the heads of every department.

The scheme was astoundingly meticulous!

Too early or too late, and it might trigger violent reactions from either the Ningxi Party or the eunuch faction!

Li Shanxiang had been foolishly imagining a partnership with Prince Qi and mutual victory!

Faced with the eunuch faction’s sudden retreat, the Ningxi Party, which had just adjusted to the rhythm, was confused. What, was this all a joke?

But it was then that Wang Changlin realized they had most likely been used as pawns.

"We missed a golden opportunity!" Wang Changlin slammed the table hard. If they hadn’t been busy dealing with those bastards, he would have noticed sooner. But now it was too late. While they were still focused on the stage in front, the eunuch faction had quietly completed a purge.

Many eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial were replaced. The head of the Military Command changed hands, the deputy head’s position was left temporarily vacant, the Imperial Horse Administration got a new director, and almost the entire upper echelon of the Surveillance Directorate was swapped out.

By the time the Ningxi Party tried to find an opening, the eunuch faction had already stabilized internally.

While Wang Changlin was sighing with regret, the Emperor looked over the list presented by the eunuchs. A glint of admiration flashed in his eyes. Then, as if it were routine, he picked up his brush and firmly wrote a single word: "Approved."

"Prince Qi, Prince Qi... I never thought you would actually pull this off. What’s next?"

"Grand Preceptor Wang, right now the Emperor is being deceived by the eunuch faction. He even indulges their arbitrary dismissals and appointments—this is truly excessive!"

At Wang Changlin’s mansion, several old-timers were deep in conversation.

"This eunuch faction is quite something. In just a year, they’ve swapped two men to lead them."

"Don’t any of you find this suspicious?" Wang Changlin’s remark made the others turn to him.

"Grand Preceptor, what do you mean?"

The wrinkled face of Wang Changlin twitched slightly. "I suspect that behind this, it might be the Emperor pulling the strings. Don’t forget: the eunuch faction is the imperial faction."

"Is the Emperor trying to pick a fight with us?" someone wondered in confusion.

"Hard to say."

"But the Emperor has indeed been muddle-headed. He’s watched the eunuch faction run rampant for so long, never paying any mind to us, the ministers who serve the state with all our hearts!"

Wang Changlin’s eyes swept over each of them.

"Tomorrow, I myself will lead the demand that the Emperor prosecute the eunuch faction for their arrogance and abuse of power."

"If he still tries to fudge the matter... then we won’t hold back."

A glint flickered in every man’s eyes.

"Should we let Prince Qi..."

"That waste committed an act of great disrespect toward the Emperor, and all the world knows it. His reputation is ruined now. As I see it, if the Emperor remains obstinate, we should select a young child from the collateral branches instead."

Though he didn’t say it outright, everyone understood his meaning. To the Ningxi Party, replacing an emperor was as simple as eating a meal or drinking water—after all, the current emperor was far easier to handle than his predecessor.