The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 138 The future will be decided in this battle!
Layers of dark clouds pressed down on the palace, plunging the sky into darkness, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Only the occasional flash of lightning that streaked across the sky illuminated people's faces, making them appear pale and ghastly.

Raindrops the size of soybeans gradually fell and splashed on the ground, creating tiny water droplets.

Li Xianmu walked out of the palace gate somewhat dazed, his clothes soaked. The emperor refused to listen to his explanation, which was one of the most unsolvable problems at the moment.

A simply decorated carriage was parked outside the palace gate. "Cousin Xianmu."

A rather soft voice reached Li Xianmu's ears, standing out prominently amidst the rumbling thunder.

Li Xianmu looked towards the carriage and saw that it was Crown Princess Zhang and Zhu Zhanji. The two, who were usually so elegant and dignified, now had a deep look of fear on their faces.

Li Xianmu strode to the carriage and whispered, "Please return to the Eastern Palace as soon as possible, so as not to arouse His Majesty's suspicion about the Crown Prince. I will do my utmost to save the Crown Prince from the fire."

Your Highness, please return to the Eastern Palace. Although the Crown Prince is imprisoned, you are still His Majesty's most beloved grandson. Do not harbor resentment because of this matter, lest you make things even more difficult for the Crown Prince.

Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince's chance of survival lies with you!

Because Li Xianmu and His Highness the Crown Prince always avoided suspicion, Zhu Zhanji did not have much contact with Li Xianmu. However, he had heard his father say many times that Li Xianmu was a trustworthy and reliable person.

At this moment, the sky was gloomy, with dark clouds pressing down and thunder flashing. For little Zhu Zhanji, the raindrops falling on Li Xianmu made him look extremely tall and broad-shouldered, even giving him a sense of seeing his imperial grandfather!
"Uncle, I understand!"

Zhu Zhanji was quite intelligent. After Li Xianmu said only a few words, he understood that he should now maintain a good relationship with his grandfather so as not to make his grandfather dislike his father even more.

Li Xianmu nodded to the Crown Princess again, then turned and headed towards the carriage of the Li residence.

Sitting in the carriage, Li Xianmu pondered all the events of the day, still trying to find a loophole that would allow him to have a conversation with the emperor.

The emperor was too angry today, so he could only wait for an opportunity. After meeting Zhu Zhanji, he thought it was a good opportunity, since Zhu Di's fondness for Zhu Zhanji was obviously different from that for his other grandsons.

"Sorcery, private meetings with court officials, and collusion among officials to deceive the emperor—these are the three things. How can we persuade the emperor?"

What, then, is the key element of this?

Li Xianmu muttered to himself.

Li Xianmu's carriage turned the corner, but was suddenly forced to stop by another carriage. Then, someone he didn't expect appeared: His Highness the Prince of Han!

The Prince of Han had a smug look on his face. He lifted the carriage curtain and smiled at Li Xianmu, saying, "Cousin Xianmu, you have served the Crown Prince diligently for the past few years, offering him advice and strategies. You may have fooled His Majesty, but you could not fool me. After today, the Crown Prince will surely fall from power. I know you are a talented person. If you are willing to help me, I will forgive and forget all the things that happened in the past."

"Your father-in-law is the Duke of England, a member of my noble circle. Why should you follow someone like my elder brother?"

The rain gradually intensified, pelting the carriage where the two men were only two meters apart. Water droplets splashed from the carriage even landed on their faces. Both men held onto the carriage curtain with one hand, and the King of Han's eyes held the smugness of a victor.

Li Xianmu watched this scene and gradually relaxed. Sure enough, the King of Han was still the King of Han he knew. He would become complacent and arrogant as soon as he achieved something.

Since that's the case, then there's nothing to fear.

This is the time when the King of Han is at his most triumphant. But what he doesn't know is that the more triumphant a person is, the more vulnerable he is.

Li Xianmu calmly replied, "I do not understand what Your Highness the Prince of Han has to say."

I have always been Your Majesty's man. When did I become His Highness the Crown Prince's man?
There are no subjects in the world who are Your Highness's people. We are all His Majesty's subjects, and all we need to do is be loyal to His Majesty!
"Your Highness must have completely forgotten what my late father said to you before he passed away."

The hint of smugness in the King of Han's eyes slowly disappeared. "I will naturally not forget what my uncle said on his deathbed, but my uncle is not a god. His prophecy was wrong. The throne of this world will soon fall into my hands, not the crown prince he favored!"
Cousin, you are so stubborn. If you insist on staying with the Crown Prince, you'll likely waste your life at home. It's a pity for your uncle, with his illustrious reputation, to have three unfilial children, each more disobedient than the last. Even a genius like you will be confined to the wilderness!

Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together; those who do not see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much.

As soon as the King of Han finished speaking, the rain became even more torrential, pounding on the bluestone slabs on both sides with a crisp sound. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow through, blowing the rain into the carriage. The King of Han lowered the curtain, and Li Xianmu followed suit. Amidst the sounds of wind, rain, and raindrops falling on the bluestone slabs and the carriage walls, the two carriages moved forward side by side.

The rain and mist gradually receded into the distance, leaving only a thick, impenetrable curtain of rain that stretched from the sky to the earth, like an endless cascade of the Milky Way!
……

Li Xianmu entered the princess's residence in the pouring rain. Princess Lin'an was very worried about him and waited for him in the main hall. When Li Xianmu saw the anxious look on his mother's face, he felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

"Mother, something has happened to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Xianmu quickly told his mother what had happened in the palace.

Princess Lin'an, having lived to such an old age and witnessed so many changes, was well aware of the situation. She frowned deeply and said, "The Crown Prince is facing a difficult time, Mu'er, you..."

Are you considering switching allegiance?

Princess Lin'an understood that if Li Xianmu was willing to switch allegiance and join the Prince of Han's forces, he could still be highly valued in the future.

At least one high-ranking official of the second rank is indispensable in the future.

Although his mother hadn't finished speaking, Li Xianmu knew what she wanted to say, and he firmly shook his head.

“Mother, if it were just for ordinary high-ranking official positions and titles, your son and father would not need to get involved in such a difficult matter as the struggle for the throne. As we have always said, we only need to be loyal to His Majesty and then do our best in the court in the future. Why do we need to do it like this?”

Li Xianmu said in a deep voice, "But can the glory of the family, the posthumous conferment of a prince title on my grandfather and the honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, be obtained just like that?"
Can an ordinary high-ranking official really change this world?

Could an ordinary second-rank official have achieved the goal of making the Li family famous for generations?

Could an ordinary second-rank official possibly have managed to have his father listed among the Ten Sages of Literature? Impossible!
Therefore, the son must become truly second only to the emperor, above all others!

From father to son, we have invested so much emotion and influence in His Highness the Crown Prince. If all of this is destroyed, the loss may be irreparable for countless generations to come.

Because the Li family may never again produce two generations of such great talent as their father and son!

Li Xianmu spoke each word carefully, and the profound aspirations contained within them astonished the princess.

"A strong wind reveals the strength of the grass, and turbulent times reveal the loyalty of a minister!"

It is precisely because His Highness the Crown Prince has encountered such a great calamity that the most important thing for the Li family is to be able to win him back from this crisis!

Crisis, crisis! Without danger, there is no opportunity.

If I can rescue the Crown Prince from this predicament, and then, through my noble deeds and without seeking personal gain, I will truly earn the title of the most respected person in the Crown Prince's heart!

Looking at her son, who was bright and energetic and showed no signs of dejection, she recalled the words her husband, Li Qi, had once said: the Li family had never been a family that followed the rules and only hoped for wealth and glory.

"Mu'er, do whatever you want. With your mother here, I can always find a way for you to survive!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xianmu knelt deeply before Princess Lin'an and kowtowed three times, even drawing blood from his head.

"Thanks to my mother's noble lineage, my Li family enjoys its current prestige!"

Li Xianmu knew very well that he was different from the other ministers!

He will have at least one opportunity to meet the emperor!

He could at least speak up for the Crown Prince once, but how to persuade the Emperor depended on this conversation. He only had one chance, and he had to succeed on his first attempt.

……

After the rain, the sky cleared and the capital city was spotless, bringing a touch of coolness to the hot summer day. The actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guards quickly shattered this post-rain tranquility.

Amidst the bewildered and panicked gazes of almost everyone, all the officials and servants of the Crown Prince were imprisoned in the imperial prison.

Once a person enters the imperial prison, their fate is uncertain, and throughout history, there have been many officials who have been beaten to death in the imperial prison.

Soon, news of what the Crown Prince had done in Nanjing spread throughout the court and the country.

Officials of all ranks in the capital submitted memorials to the emperor, stating that there must be a misunderstanding and that the crown prince could not possibly have cursed the emperor in such a way.

Most of these petitions were met with harsh rebukes from the emperor.

Now all the officials in the capital knew the extent of the emperor's anger. However, in such a vast Ming Dynasty, there were naturally many upright and honest officials who firmly believed that the crown prince had been wronged and that the sorcery was pure fabrication.

Young officials, in particular, scoffed at the sorcery and wrote to the emperor one after another, resulting in another group being imprisoned. The situation in the court was escalating rapidly and becoming increasingly difficult to control.

The capital was gripped by a climate of fear and unease, but Li Xianmu remained silent. He faithfully performed his duties at the Wenyuan Pavilion every day, waiting for the opportune moment.

As the emperor gradually calmed down, Li Xianmu felt that the right time was approaching, and that was the day the crown prince returned to the capital!
Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi finally arrived in the capital safely, but he was quite apprehensive. During his journey, he had learned that the matter of sorcery had spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. When he heard this news, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He was certain that someone was framing him, and that person could only be his good younger brother, the Prince of Han.

Throughout the journey, the attitude of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the accompanying officials made Zhu Gaochi's heart sink deeper and deeper. The Embroidered Uniform Guard officials were most adept at reading people's expressions, and they were no less skilled than eunuchs. Now, their attitude reflected the emperor's attitude, and his crown prince might really be lost.

In Wenyuan Pavilion.

Of the original seven-member cabinet, only four remain, including Yang Shiqi and Li Xianmu. The rest have all been imprisoned, and even ministers like Xia Yuanji, who were considered part of the Crown Prince's faction, have been imprisoned in the imperial prison.

However, Xia Yuanji and others held high positions and wielded great power. After being imprisoned in the imperial prison for a few days, they were released again, but it was clear that the emperor was wary of them.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's ship is almost at the capital."

Li Xianmu suddenly spoke.

Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong's eyes lit up. They both believed that Li Xianmu would not suddenly say such a thing. "Mingda, do you have a good plan to help the Crown Prince escape his suffering?"

“After the Crown Prince returns to the capital, His Majesty will definitely meet with him no matter what. I will argue for the Crown Prince in the palace. This is our last chance. At the appropriate time, you should also bring His Highness the Imperial Grandson Zhu Zhanji into the palace.”

Although none of the three ever claimed to be part of the Crown Prince's faction, they were all serving in the Wenyuan Pavilion and working as officials in the Eastern Palace, so they were well aware that their futures were inextricably linked to the Crown Prince.

At this extremely difficult moment, even Yang Shiqi, who had always been resistant to dissent, united with the people.

In this situation, he doesn't even have the chance to speak in front of the emperor. Only Li Xianmu can use his special relationship with the emperor to make a final argument for the crown prince.

"Mingda, if you can truly save the Crown Prince from this predicament, I will admire you for the rest of my life!"

"Mingda will certainly live up to expectations. Of all the wisdom in the world, Mingda alone possesses eight-tenths!"

The light in Wenyuan Pavilion was dim. Li Xianmu lit an oil lamp, and the candlelight flickered and crackled, casting the wick onto the Xuan paper. Li Xianmu stared at the white paper without speaking, but slowly curled his right palm into a fist.

The fate of the world, the future, hinges on this one battle!
(End of this chapter)