Chapter 41: Empress Zhao’s Thoughts
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“Cough, cough! I have no son who is so unruly, lacks ambition, and abandons his fief to flee.” Xiao Wenxuan slammed his jade cup on the table and coughed heavily.
“Your Majesty, please take care of your health!” Empress Zhao said with concern, patting Xiao Wenxuan’s back.
At over fifty years old, Xiao Wenxuan’s health was deteriorating day by day. Despite the imperial physicians prescribing countless remedies, his condition showed no improvement. This decline in health had led to growing ambitions among the princes in Chang’an, each harboring their own schemes.
Empress Zhao’s willingness to help Consort Zhen wasn’t solely due to the perfume. As the Empress, she was far from shallow. Her true intention was to secure an additional ally for the Crown Prince, who was gradually losing ground in the struggle for the throne.
Among the nine princes of the Great Yu Empire, the Third and Fifth Princes, born of the same mother, naturally supported each other. The Second, Sixth, and Ninth Princes had formed their own faction. The Fourth Prince, a highly intelligent man, was currently close to the Eighth Prince and was also trying to win over the Seventh Prince, Xiao Ming.
However, due to Xiao Ming’s remote fief, the Fourth Prince maintained a distant relationship with him. Empress Zhao saw this as an opportunity to secure an external ally for the Crown Prince.
She knew that the support of the Zhao family alone wouldn’t be enough to ensure the Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne. When Xiao Wenxuan had ascended the throne, he had not only been the Crown Prince but had also gained the support of most of the feudal lords. Even so, some princes had rebelled.
Upon ascending the throne, Xiao Wenxuan had personally led his army to quell the rebellion, defeating the strongest of the feudal lords, the Prince of Ming, after five years of war.
This experience had made Xiao Wenxuan deeply suspicious of his brothers, leading to the unjust case of Prince Ning. However, no one dared to mention this case in his presence.