Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 183 Confrontation between father and son
There was singing and dancing in the Jiying Hall, and the lights were bright.

Fang Tong hid in the corner and saw a row of empty seats in front of the hall. Judging from the seating arrangement, they should be the seats for the princes.

The table was filled with food and wine, but nothing had been touched, which showed that none of the princes had been there.

Seeing this, Fang Tong confirmed that the information Xiaonian and the Crown Princess had found out was correct. Something big must have happened in the palace tonight.

Chao En came to the Dragon Throne and whispered something to the Emperor, who looked somewhat displeased.

He sat there for a while, then suddenly stood up, as if to change his clothes.

Chaoen followed him closely, and the two figures disappeared out the door one after another.

Fang Tong glanced in the direction they left, walked around half a circle outside the palace, and found the emperor's trace.

On the night when King Ping forced the emperor to abdicate, she had been in the palace to keep watch for Feng Twelve. In order to ensure her safety, Feng Twelve gave her a detailed map of the palace and asked her to draw it silently several times before agreeing to let her enter the palace.

Now this map is deeply engraved in Fang Tong's mind, and even the imperial guards in the palace may not understand it as well as she does.

She walked on the wall, keeping a distance from the emperor, and watched him walk into a side hall.

Fang Tong made a few quick moves and easily jumped onto the roof of the side hall. He scraped off a piece of glazed tile and looked inside the hall.

There was a small lamp in the hall, illuminating a small area.

Crown Prince Feng Yunxi was in dim light, with most of his body swallowed by darkness.

The emperor's entry brought a little light, which was the lantern in Chaoen's hand.

The emperor said, "You go down."

Chao En followed his instructions and walked out of the door, and the light disappeared immediately.

The emperor slowly walked behind Feng Yunxi.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" he said calmly.

Feng Yunxi did not move: "Forgive me, I am facing the wall and cannot get up to greet you."

Fang Tong looked carefully and found that Feng Yunxi was kneeling on the floor with only a wall in front of him and nothing else in the hall.

The emperor smiled and said, "It's rare that you get angry with me."

Feng Yunxi didn't say anything.

The emperor stood with his hands behind his back and looked forward. His eyes seemed to be on the wall, but also seemed to be looking at the world behind the wall.

"I have said more than once that the way to be a king is to maintain checks and balances. You should neither be too demanding nor too soft-hearted."

Feng Yunxi still didn't say anything.

The emperor looked down at him and said, "Yun Xi, ask yourself, have I treated you badly?"

Feng Yunxi moved his head.

"Your Majesty, you mean giving me the position of Crown Prince?" The emperor seemed to sense his dissatisfaction and snorted, "Without the position of Crown Prince, would you be alive today? Without the position of Crown Prince, would you be able to marry Qin Shiyue? Without the position of Crown Prince, your brothers would have eaten you up long ago."

"That's not the case," Feng Yunxi said, "Without the position of Crown Prince, my mother would not have died. Without the position of Crown Prince, Shi Yue would not have to suffer all the grievances for me. Without the position of Crown Prince, how others fight for it is none of my business."

"How dare you." The emperor walked up to him and said, "Without the things I gave you, you would be just one of the many princes. Everything you have would not exist."

"So, without the status of the crown prince, I am nothing in your Majesty's eyes, right?"

Feng Yunxi's tone was not harsh, but her words were the sharpest that Fang Tong had ever heard.

"Your Majesty, did you choose me to be the crown prince because you love my mother, or you love me, or because - you love yourself?" Feng Yunxi's words were full of sarcasm. "My mother and I are both carefully selected by you. The reason you need us is not because of love, but because we were created by you. You have absolute control over us, right?"

"No." The emperor said, "Of course I love you. I gave your mother the most favor in the harem, but because of the villain's mischief, your mother died. I have always felt guilty. As for you, you grew up by my side. Although I am sometimes strict, it is for your own good. You are the child of the woman I love the most. I have high expectations for you. How could I harm you?"

"But your majesty has never easily agreed to what I want," Feng Yunxi said slowly, as if smiling, "and my mother, as a woman from an ordinary family, should have had a peaceful life. It was you, your majesty, who allowed her to enter the palace despite the criticism of the ministers, and made her bear the blame and pain that should not belong to her. As for your so-called love, Prince Jing has made it very clear that whether you have her in your harem or not, it will not prevent your children from being born one after another."

"So you blame me for this?" the emperor asked, "Then why do you keep protecting Twelve?"

Feng Yunxi raised her head: "Because seeing him is like seeing myself."

He chuckled softly: "Perhaps it's because your Majesty hates him so much that you think his existence is a mistake, and I need this mistake to remind me how ridiculous your love for my mother is."

The emperor was silent for a while.

"I was just drunk and careless, and I was not careful enough for a moment, so I fell into the villain's trap."

"Your Majesty, the reason you regretted it was not because you favored a palace maid who looked like my mother," Feng Yunxi said, "but because after you woke up, that face reminded you of how my mother died."

"Nonsense!" The emperor raised his voice for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "When did you know that?"

"A long time ago," Feng Yunxi said, "probably just like my third brother, I have been constantly reminded of how unjustly my mother died since I could remember."

"Is it the virtuous concubine?" asked the emperor.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to guess," Feng Yunxi said, "Over the years, people who once followed my mother have died one after another. How could I not be suspicious?"

"You know all this and yet you act as if nothing has happened," the emperor's face disappeared into the darkness. "It seems that you have learned what I taught you very well."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to praise me," Feng Yunxi said, "I already knew your secret. You can either cripple me or imprison me like you did to Twelve. You can even kill me."

Fang Tong, who was lying on the roof of the hall, was cheered up when he heard the news from Feng Twelve.

Confinement? Confinement where?

She looked around. There were too many places in the palace where people could be imprisoned, including the cold palace, the imperial court, various unused courtyards and palaces, and even unknown dungeons...

The emperor's voice rang out in the darkness: "How can he be compared with you? He is just the child of a lowly palace maid. I kept him for your amusement before, but now the time has come for him to return to where he belongs. As for you, I raised you single-handedly. I know your character very well. In time, you will figure it out. Everything I do is for your own good."

"Do you really want him to die?" Feng Yunxi asked coldly.

The emperor laughed out loud.

"In your eyes, am I so cold-blooded?" There was a hint of regret in his tone. "Whether you believe it or not, I will never kill my own children. Your fate has been determined since the day you were born. Everything is God's will."