After the concubine ran away, the cold prince lost control

Chapter 466 Breakup
There was civil unrest in Qi, and Crown Prince Xiao Jin and Third Prince Xiao Jing each sent envoys to request the Great Zhou to send troops to help eliminate the other.

The court of the Great Zhou Dynasty was also divided into two factions. Most court officials advocated supporting Xiao Jin, a few advocated supporting Xiao Jing, and there were also a very small number of conservatives who advocated not getting involved in Qi's mess.

Great Zhou borders Qi State. Since the ceasefire between the two sides in the past few years, Lu Ji has implemented many mutual trade initiatives. The two sides have frequent commercial exchanges. Because of the mutual trade, there are no more conflicts on the border between the two countries. The lives of the people living in the border areas are becoming increasingly prosperous. The originally barren territory has now become a thriving and prosperous place.

In the face of such a good momentum, the Great Zhou would naturally not sit idly by if Qi was in civil strife.

Therefore, it is impossible to avoid getting involved in this muddy water. So, which side the Great Zhou stands on becomes the key to the problem.

The court is very lively these days. The former dynasty and the harem are intricately connected, and the actions of the former dynasty will naturally cause disturbances in the harem.

Although Lady Li was demoted to the lowest level of beauty, Zhao Pan's love for her only increased. However, she felt a little uncomfortable during this period.

This mistress hadn't had a good meal for several days, so the palace maids were naturally worried. This morning, she hadn't eaten yet, so the personal maid brought her a fine meal and advised her gently, "Madam, no matter how unhappy you are, you can't skip a meal. If you lose your health, there will be no hope for you in the future."

This female official was Lady Li's most trusted confidant. After hearing her advice, Lady Li sat up from the beauty couch and sighed, "Your Majesty is so incompetent and has given his son to someone else. What else can I expect?"

"Your Majesty, you can't give up on yourself like this. Although the Lu family is powerful now, Your Majesty will eradicate them sooner or later. Once the Lu family falls, this palace will naturally be yours."

Upon hearing this, Lady Li gritted her teeth and said bitterly, "So the Queen Mother forced me to do this. I had already persuaded His Majesty to kill Lu Ji. At the critical moment, the Queen Mother pretended to be a good person and forgave me, causing His Majesty to hesitate again."

She snorted heavily: "As long as he doesn't overthrow the Lu family, the Queen Mother and the Queen will always be oppressing me. I really can't swallow this."

The female official rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Isn't the former court making a fuss about the civil unrest in Qi? Why don't you take advantage of the chaos to add fuel to the fire for Your Majesty?"

Lady Li pondered over her confidant's words and said, "You mean to ask His Majesty to go against Lu Ji, support Xiao Jing, and disrupt the court."

"Your Majesty is smart." The female official said secretly, "Your Majesty has long wanted to get rid of Lu Ji, but he has been hesitant because of his power. If the court is disrupted, Lu Ji will naturally be overwhelmed. When the time comes, you can follow up with His Majesty and let His Majesty take the opportunity to get rid of Lu Ji."

On this day, in the court, the court officials were still arguing about the civil unrest in Qi. Most of the officials, led by Lu Ji, advocated supporting Xiao Jing. Just when the matter was about to be settled, the new emperor, who had always been silent in the court, suddenly spoke.

"I am determined to support the Third Prince of Qi, Xiao Jing."

The boy was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and there was still a hint of childishness in his voice, but this one sentence caused an uproar in the court.

Seeing this, Lu Ji simply glanced at Zhao Pan who was sitting on the dragon throne, and did not refute him in public.

The first person to speak out against this was the cabinet chief Lu Yu. He said clearly, "Xiao Jing's wife is a legitimate Mongolian princess. Xiao Jing has always been on good terms with Mongolia, while Mongolia has always been at odds with our country. Mongolian cavalry often come to our northern border to harass us in autumn and winter and rob us of our winter food. If we support Xiao Jing, once he has secured the throne, he may unite with Mongolia to oppose our Great Zhou. By then, we will be attacked from both sides. Wouldn't that be dangerous!"

"So I ask Your Majesty to revoke your order and support Xiao Jin instead."

After Lu Yu took the lead in making a memorial, most of the ministers followed suit. Zhao Pan was a little flustered when he saw this. He glanced at Lu Ji, who was sitting to his left and below. Seeing that he looked calm, Zhao Pan secretly hated his own incompetence, so he said firmly: "I will support Xiao Jing."

The emperor could actually say such frivolous words. Upon seeing this, all the ministers shook their heads silently.

At this time, Lu Ji spoke up, "Your Majesty wants to support the Third Prince Xiao Jing. Can you give a reason?"

Zhao Pan straightened his body and put on a dignified look, but a boy is still a boy after all, and even if he pretends to be so, he still lacks momentum.

He said, "Xiao Jin is too cunning. I'm afraid he only wants to be on good terms with our Great Zhou on the surface. If he gets promoted, he might turn against us in the future. I think Xiao Jing is a passionate man, not as cunning as his brother. If we support him, it will be easier to control him in the future."

As soon as these words were spoken, His Highness sighed again.

Lu Ji glanced over, and in a moment, the noisy hall returned to silence. Lu Ji then looked at Zhao Pan and said, "If Xiao Jing had no scheming, how could he be able to compete with Xiao Jin, who has been the crown prince for forty years?"

This one sentence made Zhao Pan's face turn red and he could no longer speak.

After the court meeting, Zhao Pan stormed into Empress Dowager Lu's bedroom in a rage. Empress Dowager Lu had already heard about the debate in the court. When she saw her son coming towards her with a bad look, her forehead couldn't help but throb.

"Mother, I want to rule the country myself."

Without waiting for Empress Dowager Lu to speak, Zhao Pan said this directly.

No one knows a son better than his mother. Empress Dowager Lu naturally knew what her son was thinking. She sighed and said, "I know you are anxious to take power. I only have one question for you. If you take power, how will you treat your uncle? How will you treat the Lu family?"

Zhao Pan paused after hearing this, and replied with a twinkling look in his eyes: "I also know that this throne is only my turn to sit on it because of my uncle and the Lu family. I will not treat the Lu family unfairly."

Empress Dowager Lu looked at her son and smiled coldly: "Don't hide it from me. Let's just talk about it today."

She looked at her son and said, "Once your uncle gives you the power, you will not tolerate him. Not only him, but also Xian'er and the entire Lu family, you will kill them all."

Zhao Pan was so panicked that his hands trembled when his mother suddenly revealed his thoughts. He stammered, "I, I am not that kind of person. My mother has misunderstood me."

Empress Dowager Lu smiled coldly again and said bluntly: "You are just like that. You are Zhao Che's son. You are just like your father, a cold-hearted person who doesn't care about kindness at all."

Zhao Pan found this harsh and his forehead veins popped out. He looked at his mother with cold eyes and asked angrily in a hoarse voice, "My uncle has monopolized power. I am the emperor, to put it bluntly, but I am just a puppet. Shouldn't I resist? Am I going to give up my Zhao family's century-old foundation to the Lu family?"

"I hate Lu Ji! I hate the Lu family! I hate everything related to the Lu family." Zhao Pan was as angry as a lion, roaring at Queen Mother Lu.