Jie teaches the Immortal Sweeping Heaven’s Cultivation of All Heavens

A look of worry appeared on Liu Yong's face.

Qifeng Valley has the royal bloodline of the Wei Kingdom, which means that the immortals there may help the Wei Kingdom, which is a great threat to the Shu Kingdom.

Liu Tong reassured Liu Yong: "Brother, don't worry. If we can compete with Wei, which has the help of immortals, for the world, then our Shu and Wu kingdoms probably also have immortals helping them. It's just that there are no records of them in the library."

Liu Yong breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After dinner, the two went back to their respective rooms to rest.

To maintain his frail and sickly persona, Liu Yong needed to "rest" early and preferred quiet, so no one was kept in the house to serve him.
Therefore, those around him were unaware that Liu Yong was actually practicing advanced martial arts while lying in bed.

The next day, the two brothers got up early and went to the Imperial Study where the princes studied, using lanterns carried by a young eunuch.

Upon entering the study, the eldest prince, Liu Tao, came over and instructed his eunuch to bring the two of them some hot soup that was being warmed on the stove, to help them ward off the chill.

The two obediently called him "Big Brother".

Liu Tao had a very good relationship with the two of them.

Liu Tao's mother, Consort Hui, and Liu Tong and Liu Yong's mother, Consort Jing, were close friends. Neither of them wanted to enter the palace, but they were forced to do so.

The two naturally formed an alliance to fight against the other women in the harem.

Consort Hui was the first to become pregnant, and Consort Jing supported her throughout the process, ensuring that Consort Hui gave birth to the eldest prince.

During this process, Consort Jing took poison to protect Consort Hui. Although she was cured, her health deteriorated significantly.

This also led to Liu Yong being born weak, and the imperial physician predicted that he would not live past thirty.

This also led to Consort Jing having a difficult childbirth with Liu Tong, and she passed away.

Consort Hui felt guilty towards Consort Jing, but also felt a sisterly affection for her, so she took good care of the two children.

However, she was framed and her health suffered. When Liu Tong was three years old, Consort Hui passed away.

Fortunately, by then, the eldest prince was already able to attend court and participate in government affairs.

He was the emperor's eldest son and was highly regarded by the emperor. He had many people around him who were close to the emperor, so the women in the harem could no longer reach out to the eldest prince.

The eldest prince grew up peacefully and still had the energy to take care of his two only acknowledged younger brothers, Liu Yong and Liu Tong.

The crown prince glanced coldly at them, showing utter disdain for the three men's brotherly affection.

The Crown Prince was the second son among the princes, born only three months after the eldest prince.

The crown prince was the legitimate son of the empress, which is why he was able to be named crown prince.

The emperor was not satisfied with his position as crown prince; he knew it, and so did the empress.

The Crown Prince was extremely jealous of the First Prince and the Fourth Prince, who were favored by the Emperor because of their outstanding martial arts and literary talents.

The eldest prince was not often in the Imperial Study and had already established his own power base. He was not afraid of the crown prince, and on the contrary, he and the crown prince fought each other to a standstill in the court.

Unable to deal with the eldest prince, the crown prince took his anger out on the fourth prince, Liu Yong, and frequently made things difficult for Liu Yong in the Imperial Study.

Liu Yong silently endured it.

What other option is there but to endure it?

The crown prince, relying on his higher status, gave him no reason to resist.

Moreover, Liu Yong would not resist.

Sometimes, suffering a loss is a blessing.

The emperor was aware of the crown prince's actions, and every time the crown prince made things difficult for him, the emperor would reward him.

The more the crown prince bullied him, the more the emperor felt sorry for him and the more dissatisfied he became with the crown prince.

The emperor questioned whether the crown prince had any brotherly affection, believing that he was inherently tyrannical and that, over time, the emperor might consider deposing the crown prince.

But unfortunately...

After studying for more than an hour, the palace servants brought out some snacks for breakfast.

After breakfast, I started studying again.

The princes were taught by scholars from the Hanlin Academy; three of them came in total.

One of them was a tutor specifically for the Crown Prince.

The other two tutors are responsible for teaching the eldest and fourth princes, and Liu Tong and the seventh prince, respectively. The seventh prince is two years older than Liu Tong, but they are learning at the same pace.

Liu Yong is intelligent, and although he started school four years later than the eldest prince and the crown prince, he has already caught up with their learning progress.

The emperor greatly admired Liu Yong's intelligence and was already considering having him attend court and participate in government affairs.

The third, fifth, sixth, and eighth princes all perished in the power struggles within the harem.

At noon, Liu Tao had lunch with Liu Yong and Liu Dong, and then took a nap with them.

After lunch break, Liu Tao went to the training ground to practice riding and archery.

In fact, his horsemanship and archery skills had already surpassed Master Wu's. Liu Tao was eager to enter the military camp for training, but the military camp was not a place he could enter at will.

Even if he is a prince.

The military camps surrounding the palace were all under the control of the regent.

The regent held all military power except for the royal guards.

Regent Liu Chen was the emperor's nephew, a full twelve years older than Liu Yong, and wielded more real power than the emperor.

The reason for this is that Liu Chen's biological father was also the regent.

The old regent was the emperor's brother and assisted the emperor in ascending the throne.

His abilities far surpassed those of the emperor. The reason he didn't become emperor himself was because he had foreign blood, which gave the old regent a pair of unique eyes.

His eyes are blue.

Because of those eyes, no one would want the old regent to become emperor.

In everyone's eyes, he was an oddball.

Both father and son harbored ambitions for the throne, but the old regent's wish was not fulfilled, and alas, he passed away.

Liu Chen inherited his father's will and also wanted that position.

His eyes were a normal amber color, without the same level of resistance as his biological father.

He should not have many people opposing his becoming emperor.

Ah, even if someone objects, he won't care.

Anyone who dares to object will have their head chopped off.

After two generations of management by the Regent and his son, half of the people in the entire court were the Regent's subordinates.

Liu Chen will seize the throne given the chance.

The emperor knew perfectly well what was going on, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

He knew his abilities were limited and that he was no match for Liu Chen.

Why was he dissatisfied with the Crown Prince and favored Liu Tao and Liu Yong?

Because the Crown Prince is foolish and unaware of his own limitations, he is no match for Liu Chen.

However, once the eldest and fourth sons grow up, they will be evenly matched with Liu Chen.

The fourth son, in particular, was intelligent and a born emperor.

If the fourth son becomes emperor, perhaps one day he will be able to eliminate Liu Chen, this treacherous minister.

Therefore, when the Crown Prince bullied Liu Yong, the Emperor did not intervene.

He pretended to dote on his fourth son but not to value him, hoping to make Liu Chen ignore Liu Yong and direct Liu Yong's hostility towards the Crown Prince.

The emperor wanted the crown prince to act as a shield for Liu Yong.

He planned to let Liu Yong grow up in secret, and when he was able to take charge, he would depose the crown prince and pass the throne to Liu Yong.

Liu Yong and Liu Tao had a good relationship, and Liu Tao could be Liu Yong's helper.

He prevented Liu Tao from entering the military camp because he planned to secretly build an army and have Liu Tao command it.

The emperor's plan was excellent, but he hadn't anticipated unforeseen events, nor had he considered that the women in his harem harbored ambitions too great for even him, the emperor, to handle. (End of Chapter)