A lazy bum transmigrates and marries a eunuch – it's awesome!

Chapter 204 The Third Prince's Bitter Scheme

Jin Zexuan was frightened and finally understood what it meant to "deal with a tiger for its skin."

However, the current situation does not allow him to make a choice. If he does not follow the Prime Minister's arrangements, he may be abandoned directly.

Zhang Zhongyi noticed his hesitation and sighed.

"Third Prince, the struggle for the throne is a bloody path. If you don't even have this much courage, how can you succeed?"

Although the poison of this Forget-Me-Not Pill is potent, it is not fatal upon contact with blood.

It's just a little suffering; once you get through it, you'll be the emperor.

Jin Zexuan tightened his grip on the bottle.

"Teacher, if you survive this, you'll become the supreme ruler; if you don't, you'll die young."

Xiao Wang thought... becoming emperor wasn't absolutely necessary; his uncle, Prince Rui, seemed quite content with his life.

Seriously, do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?

Zhang Zhongyi's face immediately darkened. "Is Your Highness joking?"

Isn't it a little too late for you to pull back from the brink now?

You administered the Five-Stone Powder to the Crown Prince.

You're the one who killed Princess Wanyun's husband, the second prince's younger sister.

You were the one who exposed the Fifth Prince's perverted hobby to the Emperor.

Have you forgotten how many people's interests you sacrificed to install your own people?

What makes you think you can compare to Prince Rui?

When the Emperor ascended the throne, Prince Rui was just a little boy, and the Emperor never tried to trip him up. Even for the sake of a good reputation, His Majesty would treat him well.

Prince Rui's future belongs to those young princes, not to you.

You are to compete with those princes who previously vied with our Emperor for the throne.

Ah, I forgot, you were born late, so you never saw those bone fragments and naturally wouldn't know.

Your Highness, there is no turning back once you seize the throne.

Either withdraw early like Prince An to avoid offending anyone, or perish or die trying.

There are no secrets in this world; once someone has reached out, there will always be a trace.

If you fail to seize the throne, all that awaits you is endless suspicion, suppression, and retaliation.

Zhang Zhongyi truly lived up to his reputation as a literary giant; his few words left Jin Zexuan speechless.

The Third Prince thought about his own character, and then about his father and his brothers.

Very well, not a single good piece of cake.

Anyway, if he becomes emperor, he won't let either the crown prince or the second son go.

Even the sickly fourth son, who had won his favor, and the fifth son, who withdrew early and only fawned over the second son, wouldn't have a good time.

They were born to the same father, so I guess the crown prince and the second prince think the same way about him.

The Third Prince returned to his residence, clutching the porcelain bottle and hesitating for half an hour before drawing a slip of paper, throwing in copper coins, and tossing dice.

Finally, he called over one of the sorcerers he kept to perform divination before he finally decided to take the medicine.

After taking the medicine, the Third Prince became increasingly angry. He summoned Liu Fu and slashed him with a knife while shouting for the assassin.

Before Liu Fu knew what was happening, he was hacked to death with a flurry of blows. His eyes widened in shock as he accused the Third Prince of heartlessness.

Just then, the effects of the Forget-Me-Not Pill kicked in, and the Third Prince spat out a mouthful of blood, struggling to get someone to call the imperial physician immediately.

He was truly terrified, and his last thought before fainting was regret.

Superstition can kill people. Even though several divinations said there would be no real danger, he really felt like he was about to die.

The old emperor was looking thoughtfully at the testimonies and evidence submitted by the Eastern Depot, hesitating about who to send to the third prince's residence to investigate.

There are so many people to monitor lately that the number of bodyguards is not enough.

The third prince loved the scent of Nine Harmony Incense, and many of the palace servants around him also burned this incense.

The last person Xu Qinglan came into contact with even used the Nine-Ingredient Incense, and there were even bits of thread from the Grand Eunuch's robe in his fingernails—this clue was all too obvious.

Ever since Xiao Yuan died, the old emperor felt a chill down his spine. He thought about all his sons from top to bottom and realized that none of them were good people.

Before the old emperor could even send someone from the Third Prince's residence to report, the news had already spread.

For unknown reasons, Liu Fu, the chief eunuch serving the Third Prince, attempted to assassinate his master, and the Third Prince was poisoned and on the verge of death.

The old emperor was startled and his first thoughts were to kill him to silence him and frame him.

It seems that Liu Fu must have been the one who poisoned Xu Qinglan, but whether he was acting on the orders of the third brother or someone else still needs further investigation.

The Third Prince's residence has its own physicians. If a serious illness requires the summoning of an imperial physician, it would at most be a deputy chief physician or someone of that rank.

This time, however, the old emperor sent his most trusted court official and two confidants with him.

He wanted to see if the third brother's poisoning was a genuine assassination attempt or a ruse.

One assassination attempt after another, has the imperial court infiltrated a den of assassins this year? It's so unsettling.

Following behind the old emperor, Xiao Ling silently wiped away his sweat. Things were getting more and more complicated. He hoped that everything would go smoothly with Xiao Yuan.

Before, serving a ruler was like walking on thin ice; now, he's dancing on the edge of a knife with a lunatic.

He's quite old; in an ordinary family, he would have retired long ago and be enjoying his retirement with his grandchildren.

Unfortunately, he knew too many of the old emperor's secrets, so this person wouldn't let him leave alive.

If he really can't work anymore one day, he probably won't have a good ending.

Just hang in there; if you don't make it to retirement, you'll just outlive your boss.

It has to be a sudden death or a terrible one, since this lunatic is even thinking of having him buried alive with him.

The longer Xiao Ling stayed by the old emperor's side, the less he could look his master in the eye.

This person is rotten to the core; his methods are vicious, despicable, and utterly shameless—he's a heartless beast.

Whether it's his own children or the concubines in his harem, they are all like poisonous insects he's raising in a pot; any feelings are worthless in his eyes.

The rabbit and the fox grieve for their own kind.

Xiao Ling may lack connections, but he's not brainless. Given how many loyal officials he's wrongfully killed, how could anyone still be loyal to him?

So-called loyalty is nothing but an act. Who in the entire palace and court isn't putting on an act?

The old emperor plays a wise ruler, while he plays a loyal servant; the phoenix and dragon descendants play filial sons, and the empress plays a devoted lover.

Before the court judge returned, the former secret guards had already placed the diagnosis results on the imperial desk.

The body of the eunuch Liu Fu was also examined; there were two fresh scratch marks on the back of his hands.

It is obvious that Liu Fu was the one who poisoned Xu Qinglan, and now he has used the same trick to poison the Third Prince.

Upon seeing that the Third Prince had been given the Forget-Me-Not Pill, the old emperor smashed his teacup in anger.

He immediately issued an imperial edict to summon Consort Xian.

It was he who deliberately instigated the conflict between the Empress and the Noble Consort, and it was also after the Crown Prince's power grew that he had someone incite the Noble Consort to commit murder.

But from then on, he outwardly showed favor but inwardly kept his distance from this vicious woman.

This Forget-Me-Not Pill is a sacred medicine from a small tribe in Shu, and it is usually very difficult to obtain. He couldn't think of anyone else besides Consort Xian who could get it.

Nowadays, the crown prince is practically a figurehead, and the fourth and fifth princes have virtually no chance. The most competitive candidates are the second and third princes.

The fact that the second son broke his leg was really strange, and he suspected that the third son was responsible.

If Consort Xian ordered Liu Fu to frame and assassinate her son in order to avenge him, that would be plausible.

After all, Consort Xian had been in charge of palace affairs for many years, and all the eunuchs and maids in the palace had to go through her.

Although Liu Fu had been by the Third Prince's side for quite some time, it's hard to say whether he wasn't planted there by the Virtuous Consort.

The more the old emperor thought about it, the more he felt that Consort Xian and her son had ulterior motives. Before even asking them, he had already condemned her in his heart.

Xiao Ling watched the enraged old emperor silently take a step back, deciding to wait until the old man had vented his anger before deciding whether to remind him or not.