His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Mu Yuan's words were even more serious than his earlier question to Crown Prince Zhu Xu, because his opinion of that prince had another layer of meaning...

I believe that prince has a chance to ascend to the throne!

Although it was a heart-to-heart talk, Xu Wei couldn't help but admire Mu Yuan's audacity.

"Nephew, it's fortunate that it's just the two of us here. If there were outsiders present, even if we had ten thousand heads, it wouldn't be enough to chop them off," Xu Wei said with lingering fear.

Discussing Crown Prince Zhu Xu is at most considered disrespectful to the Crown Prince.

And they discussed the throne.

That would be completely taboo.

Just as Mu Yuan and Xu Wei were having a lively conversation.

Suddenly, a series of footsteps approached.

The two quickly stopped chatting and looked toward the source of the sound.

Just then, a servant from the Xu household hurried over.

Seeing his hurried steps, Xu Wei sternly rebuked him, "What has happened that has made you so flustered?"

"Master, someone from the Crown Prince's residence has arrived," the servant said in a flustered manner.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan and Xu Wei exchanged a glance.

They were just talking about Crown Prince Zhu Xu, and now the Crown Prince has sent someone over. This is simply too unbelievable.

"What brings you here?"

Mu Yuan asked.

The servant looked up at Mu Yuan, then at Xu Wei, his face full of hesitation.

"If there's something wrong, just say it. What kind of behavior is this, trying to cover it up?" Xu Wei said sternly.

"The Crown Prince's residence is looking for Prince Mu."

The servant replied.

"Looking for me?" Mu Yuan was taken aback.

"Yes," the servant nodded and said, "The man who came is called Gao Sheng."

Is it him again?

Mu Yuan frowned.

"Uncle Xu, I'll go see Gao Sheng first." Mu Yuan greeted Xu Wei and then followed the servants to the main hall of the Xu residence.

We arrived at the lobby.

Upon meeting, Gao Sheng immediately said:

"Young Master Mu, my Crown Prince requests your presence."

Before Mu Yuan could even ask what was going on, Gao Sheng impatiently urged him to go to the Crown Prince's residence.

They left the Xu residence with Gao Sheng.

Throughout the journey, Mu Yuan pondered what Crown Prince Zhu Xu wanted to see him about.

After all, the last time they had already completely broken off relations.

Moreover, last time it was the emperor who sent people to help them out.

Even if Crown Prince Zhu Xu were stupid, he wouldn't cause trouble for himself at this time.

We arrived at the Crown Prince's residence.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon seeing Crown Prince Zhu Xu, Mu Yuan clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and performed a traditional Chinese greeting.

No need for formalities.

Crown Prince Zhu Xu slightly raised his hand, then glanced at Gao Sheng, who had followed him back. The latter tactfully withdrew.

"Your Highness summoned me here; what urgent matter brings you here?"

Mu Yuan took the initiative to ask.

Rather than beating around the bush with Zhu Xu, it's better to get straight to the point.

Zhu Xu was slightly taken aback. He had intended to exchange pleasantries before getting to the point, but Mu Yuan had taken the initiative to skip the pleasantries.

"I heard that my fourth brother is hosting a Moonlight Banquet and specially invited you. What are your thoughts on my fourth brother at this banquet?"

What seemed like a casual question was actually a subtle test.

The goal was to get Mu Yuan's impression of the Fourth Prince, Zhu Qi.

After all, in Zhu Xu's eyes, Zhu Qi was also a man of deep cunning. Although Zhu Qi had no military power, he was close to those scholars.

They know how to utilize scholars.

If Mu Yuan still has a good impression of Zhu Qi.

Given time, what if Mu Yuan helps Zhu Qi?

This is not a good thing.

"The Fourth Prince is gentle and respectful of Confucianism and Taoism; he is a good person," Mu Yuan replied.

Zhu Xu frowned and pressed for an answer:

"Such a wonderful person, do you have the desire to follow him?"

Knowing that this was Zhu Xu's deliberate test, Mu Yuan would have definitely denied it in the past.

However, the last time he met the emperor, he wanted the emperor to rescind his order, and in exchange, he wanted to stay in the capital to keep the crown prince in check.

Thinking of this, Mu Yuan spoke up:

"It would be my honor to serve His Highness the Fourth Prince."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xu's face immediately darkened. He never expected that Mu Yuan would not choose him, the legitimate heir, but instead choose Zhu Qi, who was only admired by scholars.

Suppressing his dissatisfaction, Zhu Xu asked, "It seems my fourth brother truly possesses charisma; even you, the heir apparent, are eager to serve him!"

"The Fourth Prince treats scholars with respect and courtesy, and I naturally feel compelled to follow suit."

Mu Yuan replied calmly.

What Zhu Xu didn't know was that Mu Yuan's actions were entirely intentional, aimed at restraining the Crown Prince.

Of course, he didn't genuinely want to follow the Fourth Prince Zhu Qi.

Instead, we do it this way.

The Crown Prince can be used to deal with the Fourth Prince.

After all, from beginning to end, the emperor's chosen heir was neither the crown prince nor the fourth prince, but someone else entirely.

Having previously made a deal with the emperor, Mu Yuan naturally wanted to stir up the situation.

The best way.

It was to incite a conflict between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince.

In this way, Mu Yuan bought himself some time to train a new crown prince for the emperor.

"I am the Crown Prince, why do you follow my fourth brother and refuse to serve me?" Zhu Xu asked Mu Yuan, suppressing his anger.

He didn't understand or comprehend Mu Yuan's behavior.

"Your Highness will ascend to the throne in the future, and the whole world will belong to Your Highness. Besides, I am also Your Highness's subject, so how can I be asked to follow you?" Mu Yuan pretended to be confused.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xu could no longer remain seated and angrily retorted:

"Stop playing dumb in front of me. What I want is for you to submit and serve me, but you're just rambling on about the future!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan gleaned a wealth of crucial clues.

It seems that Zhu Xu wasn't very confident about the throne.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so aggressive in forcing him to submit.

"Your Highness, I am a subject of the Great Qian Dynasty. How can there be talk of submission? If you insist that I submit, I am somewhat foolish and do not quite understand what Your Highness means by submission." Mu Yuan decided to play dumb to the end.

"Why be so blunt? It seems you're determined to make trouble for me, isn't it?"

Zhu Xu threatened.

Mu Yuan continued to feign ignorance, saying, "I don't know where I offended Your Highness the Crown Prince, making you feel that I am at odds with you."

"You still want to play dumb in front of me?"

Zhu Xu completely lost his patience, slamming his hand on the table, his killing intent palpable: "Don't think that just because Father sent people to rescue you last time, I won't dare to lay a hand on you!"

Now that things had come to this, Mu Yuan composed himself and said with a serious expression:

"Your Highness, I do not know why you insist on doing this, but I do not want to be involved in this turmoil. I beg Your Highness to grant my request and allow me to remain uninvolved."

"Stay out of it?" Zhu Xu sneered. "You command 200,000 troops and are in the capital. Do you think you can stay out of it?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan fell silent.

"Your father sent people to rescue you that night and even talked with you for a long time. Do you really think I didn't know?" Zhu Xu said with a ferocious expression.