Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 745: Chapter 363 The Real Purpose of Capturing Li Jue_4

With the Emperor’s means, he will definitely force the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen to rebel, and then justifiably depose the Crown Prince and execute Duke Zhen.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Prince Jing said no more and turned back to his own room.

Song Qingyun spoke a few more words to Fang Zhimiao, convincing him.

Before leaving, Fang Zhimiao told Song Qingyun that he would convey their conversation tonight to the elders in its entirety. The elders would not agree immediately, giving them some time to consider. Song Qingyun said they only had three days to think it over. If they hadn’t replied within three days, he really couldn’t save them then.

Upon returning home, Fang Zhimiao relayed in detail what Song Qingyun and Prince Jing had said to the elders of several families.

After listening, the elders were frightened, each of them looking very dismayed. However, they did not agree immediately and decided to think it over carefully within these three days.

They knew very well that only two paths lay before them. One path was to ignore Prince Jing’s words, ending up with their families destroyed. The other path was to follow Prince Jing’s advice, plead guilty and earn merits, preserving the foundation of their families.

All along, they thought everything was under their control, but unexpectedly, they were the ones being toyed with.

They underestimated the Emperor and overestimated Duke Zhen and the Crown Prince!

After Fang Zhimiao returned, he questioned the elders about the Emperor’s past campaign to eliminate the rebels in Jiangnan, which made the elders recall the Emperor’s tactics, bringing back the fear of those days.

Over the years, they had completely forgotten about those incidents, assuming the Emperor was easy to deceive. Now it seems they were simply too clever for their own good. No, their ambition had blinded them.

They said they would consider carefully, but in truth, they were unwilling to give up, hoping to find a third path to preserve their glory, wealth, and power. However, after much thought, they found no third path to take. They could only heed Prince Jing’s words.

In less than three days, the Fang and Li families went to meet Prince Jing. This time, several family heads personally went to see Prince Jing rather than just Fang Zhimiao, a junior.

The family heads decided to "abandon darkness for light," turning away from the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen to support Prince Jing. This meant they would not only provide evidence of the wrongdoings of the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen but also help Prince Jing vie for the throne.

Only by helping Prince Jing seize the throne and ascend it would their families earn the merit of supporting the new dragon, thus becoming the most powerful gentry in Jiangnan.

Fang Zhimiao and Song Qingyun were having tea in the pavilion in the courtyard.

"Brother Yun, your Song family really had foresight."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, when Prince Jing first came to Jinling, none of us paid him any attention, but your Song family immediately changed their stance to support Prince Jing." Fang Zhimiao, in retrospect, found the Song family impressive. "Your Song family didn’t hesitate to support Prince Jing back then."

Listening to this, Song Qingyun couldn’t help but smile wryly. Their Song family hadn’t thought much of Prince Jing initially, but because of the token Prince Jing possessed, they had no choice but to support him. Now it seemed they hadn’t chosen poorly; Prince Jing had not only not disappointed them but also pleasantly surprised them.

"Although I only interacted with Prince Jing that one night, it was clear that Prince Jing was more strategic than the Crown Prince." Fang Zhimiao thought of the rumors he had heard about Prince Jing, finding them amusing, "There were rumors that Prince Jing was nothing more than a decorative pillow, clearly a legitimate son, yet neither employed by the Emperor nor respected by Duke Zhen. It turns out the rumors are indeed false."

Song Qingyun agreed deeply: "How many of the Princes are foolish."

"That’s true, but there’s one thing I don’t understand." Fang Zhimiao said, looking puzzled, "Even though the current Empress is a successor, she is the legitimate daughter of the Duke Mansion, a full-blooded sister of Duke Zhen. Duke Zhen doesn’t support his own legitimate nephew but rather supports a Crown Prince whose scheming and tactics are inferior to Prince Jing’s. What on earth is Duke Zhen thinking?" Although the Crown Prince is also Duke Zhen’s legitimate nephew, there is still a layer of blood relation compared to Prince Jing. If it were him, he would support Prince Jing, the nephew with the closest blood ties.

"Firstly, Prince Jing is younger than the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince was already the Crown Prince before Prince Jing was born." Song Qingyun glanced at the pond not far away, just in time to see a fish leap out of the water and bite a lotus flower, "Secondly, Prince Jing being smarter than the Crown Prince is not necessarily a good thing, as intelligent people are difficult to control. Duke Zhen cannot control Prince Jing, while the Crown Prince relies on Duke Zhen for everything and listens to him in every matter. If it were you, would you prefer someone who listens to you in everything or someone who has their own ideas?"

Upon hearing Song Qingyun’s words, Fang Zhimiao instantly understood why Duke Zhen supported the less intelligent Crown Prince.

"Duke Zhen didn’t support Prince Jing but was instead harmed by him. When he realizes it, who knows if he’ll regret it or not."

"With Duke Zhen’s temperament, he will only regret not having eliminated this nephew Prince Jing earlier."

"Brother Yun, do you think Prince Jing can eventually outmatch Prince Chu?" They were now compelled to board the ship with Prince Jing. Although Prince Jing was very cunning, Prince Chu was also outstanding.

This question left Song Qingyun momentarily stunned. After a moment, he finally answered, "As long as we fully support Prince Jing, he will be able to overcome Prince Chu."

Fang Zhimiao understood Song Qingyun’s implication and sighed softly, "Yes, we can only do our utmost to help Prince Jing secure the throne."

The family heads did not know how they negotiated with Prince Jing, but when they came out, each wore a smile, indicating that the negotiation results with Prince Jing were very favorable.

Prince Jing acted swiftly, sending the evidence he had previously gathered, along with the evidence provided by the Fang and other families, back to the capital. He did not send his confidants because he knew that if he did, the evidence would be intercepted by the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen’s men.

He mixed the evidence with the exam papers from the Jinling County examinations, sending them back to the capital along with the Imperial Army.

The Emperor had previously decreed that after each region’s imperial examinations were concluded, the local officials were to send the passing scholars’ exam papers back to the capital for his review.

The exam papers of the scholars who passed would be sealed before being sent back to the capital, and no one could open them. Prince Jing sealed the evidence together with the exam papers, allowing them to be successfully delivered to the Emperor.

Zhao Yao, upon learning of this, immediately informed Li Jue.

When Li Jue found out, he almost fainted from anger. Before being captured, he had repeatedly emphasized not cooperating with Prince Jing; that once they joined hands with Prince Jing, it would only lead to a dead end.

"Tenth Highness, it was you, wasn’t it?" Li Jue glared at Zhao Yao, his face terrifyingly dark.

Although Li Jue’s words were disjointed, Zhao Yao understood what he was trying to say. He smiled brilliantly at Li Jue and openly admitted, "Yes, it was me."

Capturing Li Jue was, on one hand, for Zhao Yao to settle scores with him, and on the other hand, to ensure that the Fang and the Li families obediently cooperated with Prince Jing.