Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1156: Chapter 160: Three Birds with One Arrow (Part 2)

At the hour of Hai, the curfew was in effect, and before this hour, fewer and fewer people were on the streets. When the hour of Hai arrived, the originally bustling capital suddenly became very quiet.

A dangerous and tense atmosphere pervaded the quiet capital.

In the Prince Wei Mansion, Zhao Yao and others were still playing mahjong. Tonight, his luck was indeed quite good, consistently winning, leaving Prince Wei and others speechless.

They only finished playing at the fourth quarter of the hour of Hai.

It was so late that Zhao Yao didn’t bother returning to the Han Prince Mansion and decided to stay overnight at the Prince Wei Mansion.

Tong Xi saw Zhao Yao finish washing up and genuinely prepare for bed, urgently jumping to his feet.

"Your Highness, Prince Han and Prince Yue are already outside the capital, and they’re about to rebel, how can you still sleep?"

Zhao Yao lay in bed, propping his face, and yawned, saying, "If I don’t sleep, should I go out and watch their spectacle?"

"You’re not worried at all?"

"Everything is within the plan, what’s there to be afraid of." Seeing Tong Xi’s anxious and fearful look, Zhao Yao comforted him, "You go and sleep peacefully. Even if chaos breaks out, it’s not something you need to worry about."

"Your Highness, this servant is worried about your safety?" Tong Xi wasn’t concerned about his safety, "You won’t be in danger, right?"

"What could possibly happen to me? Besides, I’m currently at my eighth brother’s mansion." Zhao Yao yawned again, "My eighth brother specifically called me to his place tonight just to ensure my safety."

"Ah, is that so?" Tong Xi looked surprised.

"You quickly go back to sleep, and by the time you wake, everything will be settled." Zhao Yao finished speaking and pulled the blanket over his face.

"Your Highness, this servant won’t disturb your rest then." Tong Xi instantly felt relieved and obediently retreated.

Under the blanket, Zhao Yao silently chuckled.

The eighth brother was indeed thoughtful, afraid of waking him, he had given him a sleeping potion. This drug would make him sleep soundly and allow him to sleep until tomorrow.

Zhao Yao had no intention of getting involved in tonight’s events, nor was he prepared to watch the spectacle. Since the eighth brother assured him of sleep, he decided to sleep.

After another yawn, Zhao Yao quickly fell asleep.

A moment later, his room door opened, and Prince Wei quietly walked in.

Prince Wei moved to the bedside, seeing Zhao Yao deeply asleep, still not reassured, he called his name several times, and poked him a few times, but he remained asleep without any signs of waking. Only then did Prince Wei feel at ease.

As he left the room, Yu Hai at the door said, "Your Highness, the drug given to Han Prince will make him sleep so soundly, even if the heavens collapse, he won’t wake, please rest assured."

Prince Wei nodded gently: "Guard the mansion well."

"Your Highness, let this servant accompany you, in order to protect you."

"I have someone protecting me, you guard the mansion and protect the tenth brother well."

"Yes, your Highness."

On the other side, Tong Xi, after washing and drinking a cup of tea, also fell deeply asleep soon after.

While Zhao Yao and Tong Xi were sleeping soundly, earth-shaking events occurred both inside and outside the capital.

That night, the capital was engulfed in sword shadows and rivers of blood.

Zhao Yao originally thought he would wake the next day, but unexpectedly, he slept for two days. When he woke, the attempted rebellion involving Prince Dai, Prince Han, and Prince Yue had already been settled.

"Was this knockout drug? Otherwise, how could I sleep for so long?" Waking up, his brain still felt foggy, taking a full day to completely clear up.

Looking at Prince Wei sitting opposite him, Zhao Yao said helplessly: "Eighth brother, you didn’t have to give me such a strong drug, did you?" Though his mind was clear, his body felt weak and powerless.

"I was afraid you’d wake up early, so I had to give a bit more to ensure you slept longer."

"Thank you for letting me sleep for so long." Zhao Yao said sulkily.

"If you stay obediently at my mansion, I can be at ease."

"But you didn’t have to make me sleep so soundly that I couldn’t wake. I wouldn’t have ruined anything."

Prince Wei glanced at the somewhat displeased Zhao Yao, bluntly saying: "You enjoy watching a spectacle."

"Even if I like watching spectacles, I wouldn’t watch this kind of spectacle, you underestimate me." Zhao Yao knew Prince Wei did this firstly to prevent him from getting involved, and secondly to clear any connection. "How are second brother and ninth brother?" He still didn’t know the specifics of what happened that night.

"They’re in the Zongzheng Temple dungeon."

The result did not surprise Zhao Yao, he continued asking: "What about the Xiongnu soldiers Prince Han brought in?"

Prince Wei replied: "Most are dead, the rest became captives."

"And the Xiongnu Royal Court?" When Prince Han brought Xiongnu soldiers south, the Xiongnu Royal Court couldn’t have remained untouched.

Prince Wei said calmly: "General Chu has already taken it down."

"As expected!" Zhao Yao wasn’t surprised at all, "What about other Xiongnu tribes?"

"All have surrendered to Great Zhou."

"This is part of your and Father Emperor’s plan." This rebellion by Prince Han was originally a two-birds-with-one-stone situation: capture Prince Han and destroy Xiongnu. Unexpectedly, Prince Yue and Prince Dai got involved, turning it into three birds with one stone.

Prince Wei wasn’t surprised Zhao Yao guessed the truth behind the rebellion.

"Yes."

"You orchestrated second and ninth brother’s rebellion, didn’t you?" Zhao Yao used a statement, not a question.

Prince Wei openly admitted: "Correct."

"Your plan with Father Emperor initially didn’t include Prince Dai and Prince Yue, right?" Zhao Yao speculated, "Father Emperor wouldn’t immediately act against second brother considering the Marquis Xuanping Mansion isn’t a threat."

Prince Wei didn’t deny: "That’s correct, I orchestrated that."

"Did Father Emperor blame you for involving second brother and ninth brother?"

"They chose to rebel themselves. Why would Father Emperor blame me?"

Zhao Yao thought that made sense. He continued asking: "Next, is seventh brother’s turn?"

"Once you get married and leave, then I’ll deal with him." Prince Wei chuckled, "I want you to marry well first." Prince Wei wouldn’t allow anything unpleasant before Zhao Yao’s wedding. He didn’t want anything to ruin Zhao Yao’s marriage or affect his lifelong happiness.

Zhao Yao clasped fists in gratitude towards Prince Wei: "Thank you, eighth brother, for your understanding."

Looking at Zhao Yao, Prince Wei said gently: "Once married, leave the capital immediately."

"You don’t need to say, eighth brother. Once married, I’ll leave straight away." If not for the marriage, he would have returned to the Swamp Prefecture long ago.

Zhao Yao asked Prince Wei several more things, then returned to the Han Prince Mansion.

Upon returning to the Han Prince Mansion, the Hidden Guard reported the events of the past two days in detail, especially the rebellion event the night before.

After listening, Zhao Yao wasn’t particularly moved, it was almost as he had expected.

"How’s the harem?"

"Princess Consort De was demoted to a commoner and is now locked in the Cold Palace." The Hidden Guard respectfully reported, "Noble Princess Consort Rong kneeled for a whole day at the Imperial Study’s doorstep yesterday and fell ill that night. Today, she again dragged her sick body to kneel at the Imperial Study’s doorstep, and fell ill at noon."

"Father Emperor didn’t demote her rank?"

"No, Noble Princess Consort Rong didn’t know about Prince Dai and the others’ rebellion."

"And the Empress?" With Noble Princess Consort Rong and Prince Dai’s downfall, Empress Xie probably was thrilled.

"The Empress fell ill from being too happy."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao burst out laughing: "Haha, I really guessed correctly."

He then asked: "By the way, what about my fourth brother?"

"Prince Chu is responsible for adjudicating Prince Dai, Prince Han, and Prince Yue’s rebellion case."