Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Yes, His Majesty clearly established a crown prince long ago, as well as Prince Yu and Prince Jing."

Duan Chaoyong's expression suddenly dawned on him.

"One should be wary of one's own younger brother!"

Especially since this younger brother is only twelve years younger than him and is already an adult, while the three princes are still children.

After hearing what Master Guo said, all the illogical things could be explained.

That makes sense. The two brothers look so alike that even if they aren't twins, they must at least be siblings from the same mother!

But Prince Ying was not born to Empress Dowager Jiang at all; the only plausible explanation is that they were father and son.

I never imagined that His Majesty would be so "precocious" at just eleven years old!

I was just guessing at first, but if Lord Guo is not mistaken, it is almost a certainty that His Majesty intends to change the heir apparent.

Since Your Majesty has decided to let Prince Ying oversee the country and handle daily affairs after leaving the pass, while Your Majesty retires to the Western Garden to cultivate Taoism, Prince Ying's power will surely become increasingly important in the future.

"If we don't curry favor now, when will we?"

"Now that all the officials in the court believe that after His Majesty leaves the capital, His Highness Prince Ying will return to his fiefdom. Inviting His Highness to a banquet at this time, and taking the opportunity to express our loyalty, would be a timely help in His Highness's eyes."

Guo Xun nodded.

"Once His Majesty officially emerges from seclusion and announces that His Highness Prince Ying will continue to oversee the country, I'm afraid everyone will be able to see that His Majesty intends to change the heir apparent."

If we try to curry favor with them then, it will be beneath us.

However, His Highness Prince Ying is, after all, a Prince Regent. Even if I were a Duke, His Highness might not accept the invitation.

After all, His Majesty is about to emerge from the pass; doesn't His Highness Prince Ying consider avoiding any appearance of impropriety?

"If it were any other prince or minister inviting him, His Highness might indeed refuse, but Lord Guo is different!"

Duan Chaoyong laughed.

"Has Lord Guo forgotten that His Majesty has been continuously bestowing 'Red Lead' elixirs upon Prince Ying for the past two years?"

This thing has such miraculous effects; His Highness Prince Ying must have long wanted to find an opportunity to meet me.

It's just that I've been refining elixirs for Your Majesty in the Western Garden, and this is to avoid suspicion.

At this moment, His Highness the Prince of Ying had no idea that after His Majesty left the pass, he could continue to stay in the capital. He must be worried that the supply would be cut off after he returned to his vassal state.

"If Lord Guo were to simply mention it, and I were to be at the Marquis of Wuding's residence during the banquet, His Highness the Prince of Ying would certainly not refuse!"

. . .

West Garden, Thunder Altar, Alchemy Room.

"Master, how did the trip to the Marquis of Wuding's residence go?"

Upon seeing Duan Chaoyong return, Wang Ziyan, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly stood up and asked,

"I never expected that the Left Protector would personally come to the capital to take charge of the overall situation and give us such a big problem."

"Guo Xun was already dragged into this mess by me, but he doesn't know our background and thinks I'm just a conman."

Duan Chaoyong sat down in a chair.

"Now that the emperor is about to leave the pass, Guo Xun is actually very worried that the emperor will find out that he has been deceived and arrest and punish me."

In that case, he, the one who recommended him, will definitely not have a good ending either.

In such a state of fear and anxiety, it would not be difficult to persuade him to host a banquet for the King of Ying, provided he was given a reason.

But I really didn't expect this guy to tell me that he thought the King of Ying was an illegitimate son born from the emperor's son's incestuous relationship with his father's concubine.

"How on earth did that old man Guo Xun arrive at such an absurd conclusion?"

Wang Ziyan wore an expression of disbelief.

"The emperor is only twelve years older than the Prince of Ying. Can an eleven-year-old boy really impregnate a woman?"

"Of course, it's because he believed the lies I made up to trick him into hosting a banquet for the King of Ying!"

Duan Chaoyong laughed.

"Indeed, when people are fearful and anxious, they often subconsciously believe what is in their favor and lose the ability to calmly weigh and judge the situation."

He was the most trusted person by the emperor among the nobles, and naturally knew the emperor's character very well.

The emperor is selfish and cold-hearted by nature. In the past two years, he sent the Prince of Ying to the capital to assist the young crown prince in overseeing the country. This was a necessary expedient measure in order to cultivate immortality in seclusion.

Ultimately, it's all for his own selfish reasons!

The emperor also limited the Prince of Ying's power to the final review of the cabinet's draft proposals, and he was not allowed to issue decrees on his own.

This was intended to create a system of checks and balances between the Prince of Ying, the Grand Secretariat, and the Directorate of Ceremonial, preventing anyone from acting arbitrarily and wielding absolute power.

He wanted the Prince of Ying to keep an eye on the court during his two years of seclusion, but he also feared that the Prince of Ying would take the opportunity to seize power.

Now that the two-year seclusion period is approaching, the emperor is focused on achieving perfect merit and attaining immortality. How could he possibly be distracted at this time?

How to arrange things for the King of Ying should be considered after we leave the pass.

It's even more impossible that he would tell me, the alchemist who was making the elixir for him, about this beforehand!

The fabricated story I told him—that the emperor planned to leave the Prince of Ying to oversee the country and handle the daily affairs of the court after leaving the pass, while he would focus on cultivation—surprised him, but he didn't doubt it at all.

Moreover, he also believed that the Prince of Ying was actually born to the woman the emperor had secretly slept with his father.

Believe it or not, this idea actually makes sense!

After all, the Prince of Ying and the Emperor looked too alike. To say they were half-brothers would be rather unconvincing, but it would make perfect sense if they were father and son.

Even I, as his teacher, am beginning to believe that the King of Ying was indeed born from the emperor's affair with his father's concubine.

"Whether they are brothers or father and son, once the emperor leaves the pass, he will not allow the Prince of Ying to continue to oversee the country."

Wang Ziyan sneered.

"The emperor is so selfish and cold-hearted, I'm sure that even after the crown prince grows up, the emperor will not let him oversee the country for long."

Guo Xun, caught up in the situation, was only thinking about his own safety; he was simply blinded by his own involvement.

But none of that matters anymore!

The day they went to the banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence would be the day both the Emperor and the Prince of Ying perished!

"Having Guo Xun host a banquet for the Prince of Ying is only the first step in the plan!"

Duan Chaoyong snorted coldly.

"If the Left Protector hadn't told me himself, who would have thought that the Prince of Ying was actually a master of external martial arts!"

Although the Left Protector brought six of the seven elders from the main altar to the capital, it was still extremely difficult to kill a master of external martial arts before the government troops arrived to rescue the emperor.

During the banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, we still have two things to do.

They switched the twenty-seven-pound double-handed sword of the King of Ying with his own, and made him get completely drunk.

This way, he would be able to react unprepared when suddenly attacked.

"Master, with our cover, it won't be difficult for the Left Protector and the elders to sneak into the Marquis of Wuding's residence during the banquet."

Wang Ziyan thought for a moment,

"I remember Elder Wu has several experts under his command who are skilled in poisoning. Why not just poison the Prince of Ying's food and drink during the banquet?"

"Do you think I didn't ask the Left Protector?"

Duan Chaoyong shook his head.

"When Elder Wu brought his men to the capital alone, he had already considered using poison."

After discovering that the King of Ying was a master of external martial arts, they had no choice but to give up.

Even a master with internal energy is not so easily poisoned and dies. As long as there is time to circulate their internal energy to heal the poison, they can expel the toxins from their body.

Even if attacked immediately after being poisoned, one can rely on internal energy to suppress the poison and hold out for a period of time.

If poison were used, the King of Ying would immediately realize something was wrong, thus alerting the enemy.