vrcanaries Chapter 328
Chapter 328
But the other families were also secretly placing their bets behind the scenes. The Emperor's sons, except for those still nursing, had all been invested in by them.No matter who ascended the throne in the future, the interests of the noble families would not be affected. ]
The Emperor's face turned ashen. His sons were fighting to the death, but the ultimate beneficiaries were outsiders!
Emperor Mingxi and his ministers couldn't help but think of roosters fighting to the death in a cockfight, while the noble families were the spectators who had placed their bets, standing outside the ring waving flags and cheering...
In the royal court, the four brothers, including the Crown Prince, Second Brother Xie, Xie San, and Fifth Brother Xie, kept a wooden expression as they bore the increasing number of gazes cast upon them. They appeared calm, but in reality, they had already cursed the ancestors of those noble families a thousand times over in their hearts.
The second and third brothers both wanted to go back after court and stick pins into voodoo dolls!
The brothers had indeed received quite a few tributes from the noble families over the years, but they never expected them to have such a plan, placing bets on multiple sides.
Xie Zhiyan's lips curled up slightly. Among the brothers, perhaps he was the only one who always knew that while the noble families sent gifts to the Eastern Palace, the other brothers would also receive gifts of corresponding value based on their level of favor with their imperial father.
Before this year, other than him, the one who received the most gifts was their Ninth Brother, whom they had jointly assassinated.
"Did Xie San know about this?"
[ Does Master mean the assassination? Then Xie San really didn't know.
Actually, as for the Cui and Bai families, although one is Xie San's maternal grandfather's family and the other is his future princess consort's maiden family, both vigorously support him solely because of mutual interests.
But truth be told, the only ones who might have genuine feelings for him are his maternal grandmother and his fiancée, Bai Nianzhu. ]
Xie Zhixin clenched his fists, thinking of his daily interactions with his cousins, and the earnest teachings of his maternal grandfather and uncles with faces full of affection.
Could it be that all of this was fake?
Their kindness to him was all because he was the Emperor's son, not because he was his mother's son, the only child born to their only daughter/sister!
Then the love his grandfather and uncles showed for his mother, was that also fake...
A cold smile touched the corners of Xie Zhixin's mouth. He had thought wrong. What family that truly loved their daughter would send her into the palace when they had a choice?
In vain, he had previously been complacent that he had two great noble families standing behind him. This confidence was something even his Crown Prince brother couldn't match, whose maternal family was the military Xu family and whose Crown Princess came from the ordinary scholarly Shen family.
"Then Xie San definitely doesn't know this fact either, otherwise he wouldn't consider himself a cut above the rest of his brothers. In this battle for the throne, he also has the power to fight."
Standing on his left and right, Xie Zhimin and Xie Zhiquan both turned their heads to look at him, a glint of sharpness unconsciously revealing itself in their eyes.
Well played, you thick-eyebrowed, big-eyed Xie the Third! It turns out your usual brotherly affection was all an act!
You don't even look at the facts. We are all cubs of the same father. Except for the Crown Prince brother, who is both the legitimate and eldest son, among the rest of the brothers, who is nobler than whom?
How dare you look down on us. Kid, if you have the guts, don't leave after court!
Hmph, still wanting to fight for the throne. With them around, other than the Crown Prince brother, no one else should even dream of ascending!
In the eyes of Second Brother Xie and Fifth Brother Xie, Xie Zhiyan's succession was perfectly justifiable. If any other brother went up, they would not submit.
Xie Zhixin shrank his neck under the fierce glares of his two brothers. When they were young, who hadn't had fantasies about the chair under their imperial father's bottom?
Hasn't he been slowly changing since the Junior Preceptor appeared?
Facing the instigations of the elders of the Cui and Bai families, who could not hear the Junior Preceptor's inner voice, he no longer had his previous arrogance and the urge to trample everyone else down.
[ His so-called power to fight, this 'power' is not in his own hands at all. Otherwise, the two families wouldn't have non-stop switched their allegiance to the brother who had the best relationship with Xie San and secretly supported his bid for the throne after he was crippled and lost hope for the great position.
However, the Cui and Bai families had good luck. They actually managed to push him onto the throne, and from then on, the new Emperor became a puppet of the noble families.
The carnival of the noble families had begun!
If it weren't for the fact that within two years, the Great Yan was destroyed by an alliance of several families, the Xie dynasty of Great Yan wouldn't have had another generation of monarchs anyway.
In the end, if the Sima family hadn't stolen the country, the throne would have been usurped by another noble family, and it wouldn't be surprising if another Wang Mang appeared. ]
Who Wang Mang was, they had no way of knowing, but from the context, they knew he was someone from a powerful noble family who stole the country and took the throne.
At this moment, Emperor Mingxi and his ministers once again cast a chilling gaze at Xie Zhixin, immediately wanting to know which of his sons he had the best relationship with in private.
Was the identity of the 'new Emperor' they had been thinking about day and night finally going to be revealed?
Looking at the chilling look his old father cast at him, Xie Zhixin really wanted to sing a mournful song for himself.
But he knew it was inconvenient to defend himself at this time, so he could only silently shake his head at Emperor Mingxi. The persona he had previously established was that of a gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and yielding gentleman.
He showed brotherly affection to every brother, so he really couldn't say who he had the best relationship with.
If we're talking about now, he silently tugged at the hem of the Crown Prince's sleeve. Right now, he and his Crown Prince brother were the best of friends in the world!
As long as he clung tightly to his imperial brother's thigh, it was equivalent to indirectly clinging to the Junior Preceptor's golden thigh.
Xie Zhixin secretly swore that he would still marry Bai Nianzhu, who was devoted to him, but if the Bai family wanted to use him to seize the throne again, he would absolutely not fall for it.
Seeing that Great Yan was about to become powerful, for the rest of his life, it wouldn't be bad to peacefully lose himself in the beauty of nature with his wife and be a wealthy, idle prince.
The grand court assembly ended. After dropping her bombshells, Yue Fuguang patted her bottom and returned to her mountain villa.
Everyone looked at her retreating figure, desperately wanting to reach out an Erkang (reaching out desperately) hand, begging her to say a little more. The Junior Preceptor's update this time was a bit abrupt; it was the first time she had started something without finishing it.
Who knew that Yue Fuguang's heart was as hard as iron, and she was as eager to return home as a flying arrow. Her footsteps unconsciously quickened, and everyone couldn't help but feel that the Junior Preceptor was walking a bit too hastily today.
Whether Yue Fuguang was in a hurry or not, they didn't know, but the royal trio of brothers who were left behind were secretly complaining in their hearts.
Emperor Mingxi didn't have time to care about his sons who still had ambitions for the throne; he only stared intently at Xie the Third.
"Number Three, tell your imperial father, which brother do you have the best relationship with usually?"
He looked at Xie Zhixin, who was surrounded in the middle and had been scared almost into the Crown Prince's arms, softened his tone, and continued, "Number Three, as long as you tell your imperial father honestly today, your imperial father promises to let bygones be bygones regarding your past actions."
This promise to let bygones be bygones was indeed tempting to Xie Zhixin. After all, over the years, for the sake of that position, he had not done any less in framing his brothers.
But... he put on a bitter face and said very honestly, "May Imperial Father see clearly. Your son, your son used to listen to my grandfather and the others, and outwardly always maintained the persona of a respectful and affectionate brother, treating all my brothers equally.
I didn't have a particularly good or particularly bad relationship with anyone."
Even with Xie Zhiwei, who had the worst temper among the brothers, he got along quite well on the surface. As for the dirty tricks played in the dark, those didn't count!
He carefully glanced at his imperial father, whose face was growing darker and darker, silently took a small step forward, and carefully added, "Your son knows that Imperial Father has always hoped for harmony among us brothers.
Therefore, to gain Imperial Father's favor and attention, your son, your son truly acted this way on a daily basis."