Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1148: Chapter 156: Is Prince Yue Going to Stab Prince Dai in the Back? (2)

The Hidden Guard reported truthfully: "Prince Yue has yet to give a clear response, but the soldiers under his command have already taken action."

Zhao Yao held a snack in his left hand and lightly tapped the table with his right, speaking with interest: "The reason Prince Yue hasn’t given a clear answer is that the conditions offered by Prince Han aren’t sufficient for him."

"Your Highness, should we inform Prince Dai about Prince Han approaching Prince Yue?"

"Since Prince Yue himself hasn’t told Prince Dai, why should we bother?" Zhao Yao looked at the Hidden Guard and asked, "What do you think Prince Yue is planning?"

The Hidden Guard pondered for a moment and said, "Prince Yue intends to rebel."

Zhao Yao suddenly thought of something, his eyes sharp as he asked, "Does Prince Yue know about Prince Han’s cooperation with Prince Dai? Did Prince Han tell him?"

"Yes, Prince Han actually wants to cooperate with Prince Yue about this matter, hoping he will assist him and Prince Dai."

"That makes things very interesting." Zhao Yao suddenly found the development of this matter intriguing, "I’ve never paid much attention to Prince Yue; has his relationship with Prince Dai been bad over the years?" In his impression, the ninth prince admired Prince Dai greatly. When they were young and studying together, the ninth prince would boast about Prince Dai every day. After coming of age, Prince Dai continued to treat Prince Yue, his younger brother, kindly.

"Very good, there’s been no conflict."

"If there’s been no conflict, why has the ninth prince turned against his older brother, Prince Dai?"

The Hidden Guard said, "Your Highness, perhaps Prince Yue wants to become the emperor himself."

Zhao Yao couldn’t help but feel a sense of ridicule, letting out a snort: "It seems that even the bond of blood between brothers can’t resist the lure of the throne."

"Your Highness, throughout history, there have been many instances where blood brothers fought against each other."

"You’re right. All along, I thought the ninth prince was a simple person. It turns out that the naive one was me." Zhao Yao had never taken Prince Yue seriously because he had always seen him as a simple-minded, rash, and impulsive person. Now, it seems that Prince Yue is not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

"Your Highness, it’s not just you; Prince Dai probably never expected Prince Yue to act this way." The Hidden Guard wasn’t surprised.

"It’s true that a prince who doesn’t aspire to be emperor isn’t a good prince." Meanwhile, he himself had never been interested in becoming emperor.

The Hidden Guard asked, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"

"Continue to keep an eye on things, especially on Prince Yue." Zhao Yao squinted slightly, his expression inscrutable as he said, "Let’s see if he’s trying to help his good brother or truly betray him." If Prince Yue does betray Prince Dai, it would make for an even more thrilling drama.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Does the emperor know about this?" Zhao Yao asked again, "Have the Dragon Guards investigated?"

"Your Highness, I don’t know if the Dragon Guards have investigated it." The Hidden Guard had long left the Dragon Guards and had no further interactions with them. Moreover, the Dragon Guards held a special status and would not ordinarily communicate with them.

"Indeed."

"Your Highness, do you want us to leak this information to the Dragon Guards?"

Zhao Yao waved his hand and said, "Since you’ve already found out, it’s impossible that the Dragon Guards haven’t noticed. There’s no need for us to take unnecessary actions."

Hidden Guard: "Yes, Your Highness."

"Keep an eye on the eighth brother’s side as well. See if the eighth brother and his group are aware of this..." Before finishing his sentence, Zhao Yao suddenly stopped, widened his eyes, and showed a stunned expression on his face.

The Hidden Guard was startled by Zhao Yao’s expression and quickly asked with concern, "Your Highness, what’s wrong?"

Zhao Yao regained his composure, his expression dawning as he said, "So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is..."

"Your Highness, what’s wrong?" the Hidden Guard had never seen Zhao Yao with such a shocked look.

"No need to watch the eighth brother’s side." Prince Han approached Prince Yue as part of a plan to draw Prince Yue into his schemes and to threaten Prince Dai, forcing Prince Dai to cooperate with him. On the surface, it seems like Prince Han’s actions, but in reality, it’s all orchestrated by the eighth brother.

Eighth brother, oh eighth brother, you’re truly calculating. This time you’ve not only tricked Prince Han but also endangered both Prince Dai and Prince Yue.

Wait, are there only Prince Dai and Prince Yue among the siblings, or is Prince Jing involved too?

"What’s the situation with Prince Jing?" Zhao Yao asked, "Has Prince Han contacted Prince Jing?"

"No, there’s been no unusual activity on Prince Jing’s side either."

"No unusual activity on Prince Jing’s side..." Zhao Yao frowned. The eighth brother didn’t involve Prince Jing in his calculations, not planning to use this incident to capture everyone in one go...

Zhao Yao felt there was something odd about this. Suddenly, he remembered Empress Xie.

"What’s the situation with the Empress?" The eighth brother didn’t need to use Prince Han’s rebellion to include Prince Jing in the plot because Empress Xie was already a leverage point against Prince Jing.

"In recent days, the Empress has experienced more headaches, and her mood has become unpredictable."

"Is she about to go mad?"

"Probably soon."

"Then it’s no wonder there’s been no unusual activity from Prince Jing." Empress Xie had already finished the Divine Pills some time ago. For the past few months, she has been taking fake Divine Pills given by Prince Jing. The fake pills only replenish her energy and blood but can’t relieve her headaches or restore her youth. Before taking the Divine Pills, Empress Xie was already somewhat deranged. Now without them, she’s close to truly losing her mind.

The Hidden Guard asked, "Your Highness, should we continue monitoring Prince Jing?"

Zhao Yao said, "Keep watching." He then asked, "What’s going on with the Xiongnu?"

Before Prince Han colluded with the Xiongnu to march south, the third princess and the Left Virtuous King conspired to incapacitate the new Modu Chanyu, paralyzing him with a stroke, after which the third princess’s son temporarily managed the Xiongnu Royal Court.

The third princess stayed at the Xiongnu Royal Court, while her son accompanied the Xiongnu troops on their campaign.

Though the Xiongnu Royal Court had already submitted to the third princess’s son, the other tribes did not. To completely conquer the other tribes, he must establish authority, and launching a southward invasion of the Great Zhou was the best chance to do so.

"The Xiongnu Royal Court is currently quiet, but some activity is brewing among the other tribes." The Hidden Guard reported, "The Han Tribe is preparing to attack the Xiongnu Royal Court shortly."

"The third princess and her party must have contingencies in place to deal with any attacks from the other tribes. Advise the Han Tribe not to act for now." Zhao Yao said this, revealing a sly smile, "Wait until Prince Han’s forces reach the capital gates, then let them make their move."

"Yes, Your Highness..."

"Wait, have them remain observant of the situation." He couldn’t shake the feeling that the situation was more complicated than it appeared, so it was best to wait for now.

"Your Highness, won’t we attack the Xiongnu Royal Court?"

"Not for the time being." Zhao Yao tapped the table with his fingers, "I have a hunch the eighth brother has made arrangements within the Xiongnu Royal Court."

"Lord Wei, Your Highness?"

"Stay put, and wait for the right moment." The eighth brother’s intentions were challenging to decipher.