It seems the Crown Prince is about to abandon Lady Liang’s family.
For the first time, the Crown Prince shows such decisiveness. If this were the past, the Emperor would surely be satisfied. Yet now, it feels unsettling, as though he has struck at cotton and gained no real damage from it.
In front of the officials, the Emperor could only go along with the Crown Prince’s wishes and allow the Second Prince to continue investigating this matter.
Upon returning to the Study, the Emperor was filled with frustration, his expression displeased.
Using regular means, he could not suppress the Crown Prince. The Emperor then thought of the Third Prince.
He sent someone to deliver several books to the Third Prince, along with a few veiled hints.
Receiving the Emperor’s tacit signal, the Third Prince sprung into action.
Previously, the Crown Prince had used a marriage arrangement to strike at him, and now the Third Prince could exploit this situation to seriously wound the Crown Prince! He could make the Crown Prince lose the support of the people!
Suddenly, news spread that the Crown Prince wanted to pressure Zhang Fang into marrying a girl from the Shen family.
The outrageous antics of the Shen family’s younger generation had not been forgotten by the people of the capital! Now that they learned the Crown Prince wanted Zhang Fang to marry into the Shen family, how could anyone agree? A tide of curses surged toward the Eastern Palace.
Upon hearing the public’s scorn directed at the Crown Prince, the Emperor revealed a satisfied smile. At such a critical moment, the Third Prince was indeed useful. That waste of a Second Prince couldn’t even do anything right!
The Crown Prince was furious about this fabricated news. No matter how he explained, people outside refused to believe he was innocent!
He could only send someone to invite Zhang Fang, hoping he could clarify the situation.
Zhang Fang had already entered the National Academy with his acceptance letter. At the academy, he earned the respect of both teachers and students.
When faced with the attendants from the Eastern Palace, Zhang Fang expressed that his studies were burdensome and that he could not assist them.
“He actually said that?” The Crown Prince’s face was stunned.
“Yes, the talented Zhang Fang said his studies were heavy and he had no time for other matters.”
The Crown Prince was infuriated; Zhang Fang had just accepted his gift of a beautiful woman not long ago, but now he was turning his back on him! How shameless!
What a truly noble gentleman! Bah! Utterly shameless!
After recovering from his anger, the Crown Prince calmed down and rifled through his memory of Zhang Fang’s attitude during his last visit to the Eastern Palace. Zhang Fang had just left the Emperor’s Study; did the Emperor say something to him? Was that why Zhang Fang was afraid to approach the Eastern Palace again?
The Crown Prince thought this must be the case. Otherwise, why had Zhang Fang, who had previously allied with him against the Third Prince, suddenly become so indifferent? This distancing must be related to the Emperor.
With this thought, the Crown Prince no longer held anger toward Zhang Fang’s attitude and instead focused on political battles.
As expected, this fabricated dirt was indeed the work of the Third Prince!
The current Third Prince was like a fish stranded on the shore, struggling to survive. Even if he wasn’t in the court, he refused to give up the fight for the throne.
The Crown Prince gathered his supporters in the Eastern Palace, planning to launch a major reshuffle of the officials loyal to the Third Prince! Taking advantage of the Third Prince’s absence from the court, he aimed to root out each of his henchmen!
The Crown Prince’s faction came out aggressively against the Third Prince’s supporters in the court. Without the Third Prince present, these officials were like headless chickens, falling apart. Even if they pinned their hopes on the Second Prince, that good-for-nothing wouldn’t engage, merely standing by and watching the drama unfold, showing no intention to partake in this struggle.
As the Crown Prince’s faction relentlessly pressed the Third Prince’s, the Crown Prince’s influence grew rapidly. Meanwhile, the Emperor was in a state of annoyance. He had called the Second Prince repeatedly to admonish him, hoping to stimulate him into opposing the Crown Prince, but this useless child adamantly refused to confront him!
With no other options, the Emperor resorted to his authority and, under the pretext of auspicious signs appearing in the outskirts, seized the opportunity to release the Third Prince from his residence, intending to allow him to re-enter the court and participate in governance.
The Third Prince, feeling rejuvenated, returned to the court to resume his political duties.
The Third Prince’s faction immediately found its backbone, standing tall in the court to continue the confrontation with the Crown Prince’s supporters.
That night, a heavy rain fell. Before the rain, thunder rumbled relentlessly, striking multiple times around the Third Prince’s residence. The large gate of the Third Prince’s estate was directly struck by lightning, leaving a mess of shattered stones all around.
The Third Prince awoke, startled, and inquired about the commotion outside.
“Your Highness, the thunder has destroyed the gate!”
“What!” The Third Prince’s face turned pale. Just after the Emperor had released him under the pretext of auspicious signs, thunder struck his residence that night! Was this not a sign of discontent from the heavens? In an instant, he imagined how people would gossip about him the next day!
“Quick! Repair the gate overnight!”
The Third Prince could not allow this matter to spread!
With such a huge uproar from the Third Prince’s residence, how could it not attract attention from others?
During the night, the Golden Sabers Guard did their rounds and, upon seeing what happened, even volunteered to help but were driven away by the Third Prince’s people.
Even though the Third Prince’s household worked hastily to restore the gate to its original state, the incident still circulated.
“Have you heard? The Third Prince has faced divine retribution!”
“Oh! Please, elaborate!”
“He must have done something wrong. Last night, the thunder struck the Third Prince’s gate! I heard the household was working overnight to fix it! The noise was quite something!”
“Tsk, tsk! Serves him right!”
In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was in a good mood as he ate two bowls of rice. It seemed that the contents written in Zhang Fang’s book were indeed true! During the thunderstorm last night, the Crown Prince had suddenly had a thought. He recalled that Zhang Fang had once written about a plot where thick bronze pillars could attract lightning during a thunderstorm. With a mindset of merely trying it out, he ordered several thick bronze pillars to be placed at the Third Prince’s gate overnight. It surprisingly worked, attracting the lightning!
Afterwards, the Crown Prince’s people quickly took away the bronze pillars, leaving no trace of evidence. Even though the Third Prince had overnight repairs underway, the Crown Prince had already prepared a manuscript and ordered it to be spread around town early the next day.
Next, the Crown Prince’s faction would attack the Third Prince with full force! They aimed to drive him out of the court again!
Upon receiving this news, the Emperor’s face darkened, staring at the lavish spread before him, devoid of appetite.
Last night, the thunder was no small matter, yet it just so happened to strike the Third Prince’s gate. Could it be that the Third Prince truly angered the heavens?
Just a few days earlier, the Emperor had released the Third Prince citing auspicious signs, and now heavenly thunder had struck his very doorstep. Wasn’t this a slap in the Emperor’s face?