Prince Xinhaiâs request greatly surprised the Emperor.
He carefully examined Prince Xinhai to make sure he was not simple-minded and then asked, âAre you referring to Prince of Zhao, Li You?â
âIndeed, His Highness Prince of Zhao.â
âIâm afraid Prince of Zhao wonât have a favorable impression of you,â the Emperor hinted.
Prince Xinhai bowed his head again and said seriously, âIndeed. However, precisely because of this, Prince of Zhao will certainly handle the matter impartially and will not favor either side.â
The Emperor smiled.
This Prince Xinhai was not just full of lust; he had some wits too.
Indeed, he had a grudge against Prince of Zhao, who must have despised him. But would Prince of Zhao have a good impression of the Crown Prince?
From a blood relationship perspective, they were half-brothers sharing the same father, so by common sense, they should naturally be closer to each other than external enemies.
But there are always exceptions.
In the royal family, fraternal love was unlikely to happen in most cases.
Moreover, there was no affection to speak of between the Crown Prince and Prince of Zhao.
As sons of the Emperor, the Crown Prince was raised in the Imperial Palace, doted on and honored since childhood, and born noble;
while what about Prince of Zhao?
He could only exist as a Princeâs son, and his status in the Princeâs residence was awkward beyond words.
He should have been a noble descendant, but was sent to Silla to undertake the most dangerous espionage work, got captured, and was tortured with extreme cruelty by Silla for an entire year.
Had the Emperor ever thought of rescuing him during that time?
Itâs hard to say.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Would Li You harbor resentment?
Would he be jealous of his high and mighty younger brother the Crown Prince?
This was all predictable.
As long as Prince Xinhai was not a fool, he would deduce this.
Although Prince Xinhai was highly promiscuous, he was clearly not an idiot.
He knew that Li You would not have a good impression of him as the Prince of Silla, but that was all in the past. Now, as Prince of Zhao, the conflicts and disputes of interest between him and the Crown Prince were the main problems visible to all.
Prince Xinhai firmly believed that even if Li You would not favor Silla, he would definitely not favor the Crown Prince either.
On the other hand, this was like giving Li You a sharp knife, a knife pointing at the Crown Prince.
As long as Li You was not a fool, he would certainly not miss this heaven-sent opportunity.
For Li You, this was nothing but beneficial and harmless, as it was a fact that the Crown Prince and the Princess Consort had harmed him. Li You didnât need to bend the law out of personal feelings; all he needed to do was uncover the truth to suppress the East Palace.
Prince Xinhaiâs calculations were perfect. Now, he only awaited the Emperorâs approval.
He stared closely at the Emperor.
The Emperor looked even more aged than he had imagined, but his eyes were sharp.
âSummon Prince of Zhao.â
At last, the Emperor spoke.
Prince Xinhai breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything was going according to his plan.
Li You was soon summoned.
He had already changed into the black python robe exclusively for Princes. This garment looked very similar to the one worn by the Crown Prince, with only subtle differences.
Compared to the domineering and handsome appearance of the Crown Prince in his python robe, Prince of Zhao Li You looked gentler and more refined.
After performing the formalities, the Emperor said, âPrince of Zhao, have you heard about the recent incident where Prince Xinhai was ambushed?â
Li You glanced at Prince Xinhai and replied gently, âYour Majesty, I have heard of it.â
âThe Great Sheng has always been on friendly terms with Silla. This kind of thing happening in Changâan City is absolutely intolerable to me,â the Emperor declared his position first.