How to Deal with Having the Villainous Tyrant’s Child Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Yuwen Mingji seemed quite satisfied with Lu Xuzhi’s reaction. Standing with his hands behind his back, he said confidently, “In this world, no one is uninterested in the throne. Greed is inherent in human nature. As a prince, how could he not scheme for himself?”

Lu Xuzhi remained seated and replied, “Your Highness, I don’t understand what you’re implying.”

Yuwen Mingji turned to face Lu Xuzhi with a gentle smile and said, “You don’t understand? Then let me explain.”

“My eldest nephew is naturally pure-hearted, without any desire for the throne. All of us elders know this. But… the fourth prince is different. Have you ever wondered why he chose to pursue martial arts? And why did he choose the northern frontier as his battlefield? Yes, Second Young Master Lu might say that Prince An is a martial arts genius, and it would be a shame for him not to serve in the military. But then, how did he know immediately when Prince Chu was imprisoned? At the time, Prince An was in the northern frontier, and the news hadn’t even reached him yet—it took at least a month for it to reach there. Yet, he knew right away and came to rescue him from prison. How did he know so quickly?”

Lu Xuzhi thought to himself, It was my foolish, useless little brother who told him.

He spoke aloud, “So, Prince Min…. suspects that Prince An is behind this?”

Yuwen Mingji clapped his hands, encouraging him.

Lu Xuzhi thought, why do you same the same foolish habit as my disappointing foolish little brother.

Yuwen Mingji continued, “Aside from this, I can’t think of another reason. Also, remember when the imperial astronomer suddenly declared that the eldest prince would harm the country’s fortune? Why the eldest prince? Why not the fourth prince? This is quite deliberate. If the eldest prince permanently loses his chance to inherit the throne, who benefits the most? Besides the fourth prince, I can’t think of anyone else. And when the military power of the Rong family falls into someone’s hands, who will it be?”

Lu Xuzhi: …You, Yuwen Mingji, are truly sharp-tongued. If I didn’t know the truth, I might actually be persuaded by you.

Yuwen Mingji saw the slightly puzzled look on his face and finally played his trump card: “Deputy Chief Wu of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau personally witnessed Yuwen Min secretly meeting with the Bureau Chief. This is enough to prove that the Bureau Chief was observing the stars that night, possibly under Yuwen Min’s orders.”

Lu Xuzhi raised his eyebrows just at the right moment, but inwardly, he thought: You’re wrong. He was under my orders.

Seeing that Lu Xuzhi had started to doubt, Yuwen Mingji continued, “Second Young Master Lu, think about it. The day after the Bureau Chief observed the stars at night, Prince Chu suddenly had the holy medicine in his hands. The medicine is so rare, and who else could have prepared it for him? I’ve heard that Doctor Lin from the palace has always been close to the Fourth Prince. Considering this, it seems likely that it was the Fourth Prince’s idea to have Prince Chu consume the sacred in front of the Emperor, doesn’t it?”

Lu Xuzhi swallowed and took a deep breath.

The story Yuwen Mingji  concocted was, as his useless younger brother would say… way too dramatic!

Though dramatic, it somehow made sense on every point.

He mentally ran through the plot: Yuwen Min, fearing that his older brother might compete with him for the throne and aiming to control the Rong family’s military power, set in motion a series of schemes.

Step one: Save his older brother. Only by risking his life could he gain his true gratitude.

Step two: Harm his older brother. Only by rendering him incapable of competing for the throne would he be able to sleep soundly.

Step three: Support his older brother. Once the eldest prince was appeased and had the Rong family’s military power in hand, that would be the proper course.

…

Lu Xuzhi took a deep breath, thinking to himself: Yuwen Mingji is truly a remarkable talent!

No wonder he had so many layers of scheming, managing to pull off so many things.

After listening to Yuwen Mingji ’s words, Lu Xuzhi stood up and cupped his hands, saying, “What Prince Min has said is truly terrifying. I… I truly don’t know how to process this.”

At the moment, he wasn’t just an outsider, a husband to Prince Chu.

When faced with the royal family’s attempt to lure him in, it would be unwise not to appear alarmed.

Yuwen Mingji, knowing he couldn’t push too hard, said, “Second Young Master Lu might find it hard to accept at the moment, considering how much respect the Fourth Prince has shown for his older brother. It’s hard to believe he could suddenly turn into someone with ill intentions. Well, how about this? You can check it out yourself. You could ask Deputy Chief Wu, or directly inquire with the Bureau Chief. Ask him what his true purpose was in observing the stars that night.”

Lu Xuzhi coughed, standing up with a righteous air and said, “I will certainly go to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to verify the truth! Thank you, Your Highness, for informing me!”

His response was neither too humble nor too arrogant, but it carried a hint of anger, which made Yuwen Mingji  feel reassured.

After Lu Xuzhi left, he stormed out of the room.

Once Lu Xuzhi had left, Yuwen Jing stepped out from behind the screen.

Yuwen Jing wore a black and red brocade robe, and his hair was tied into small braids.

Since his mother, the Concubine Liang, was a princess from a foreign tribe, his style always had a touch of exotic flair.

Yuwen Jing had foreign blood, and as a result, he was one of the least favored contenders in the fight for the throne.

But he was the one who lived most freely.

Perhaps for this reason, the Emperor paid little attention to his antics.

Yuwen Jing, holding his curved blade in his arms, said, “He left without even settling in?”

Yuwen Mingji replied, “Although it was brief, the effect I wanted has been achieved.”

Yuwen Jing looked at him and said, “You can only pull off these lowly schemes.”

Yuwen Mingji shot a disdainful look at this brute.

Though he didn’t like him, they had already formed an alliance. Since the other party had promised him the throne, and he would just be a prince with great power but under the emperor, helping him eliminate the problems from the grasslands, they had reached an agreement.

Yuwen Mingji said, “If I’m not wrong, after he leaves, he’ll go to the Imperial Observatory to find Deputy Chief Wu. The Bureau Chief has been out of the capital recently, and everything is being handled by Deputy Chief Wu, who is my person. He’ll know how to talk to Second Young Master Lu.”

Yuwen Jing grunted loudly and said, “Why go through all that trouble to win over Yuwen Jue?”

Yuwen Mingji almost blurted out, “You wouldn’t understand…” but he stopped himself.

After all, they were allies, so Yuwen Mingji explained, “The Rong family commands an army of a hundred thousand fierce soldiers. This army, in anyone’s hands, is a sharp weapon. If Yuwen Jue doesn’t rebel, the Rong army belongs to the Emperor. But if Yuwen Jue rebels, the Rong army belongs to him. Right now, Yuwen Jue has no more chances. The person with the greatest opportunity to wield this weapon is Yuwen Min. If we don’t find a way to make them fall apart, how can we take this weapon from Yuwen Min’s hands?”

At this point, Yuwen Mingji regretted allying with Yuwen Jing. With such a foolish ally, he always felt like his plans might be dragged down.

Sure enough, the next moment, the other’s words did not disappoint him.

Yuwen Jing arrogantly said, “Just kill him. Kill him, and all our worries will be gone.”

Yuwen Mingji frowned and said, “You’d better not act rashly. Don’t forget how you ended up in the Great Zhao prison last time. If it weren’t for me pulling strings to help you, you’d still be locked away in a dark cell in the grasslands! Your uncle is dead. If you want to take back the title of Wolf King, you’d better listen to me.”

Although Yuwen Jing was unwilling, he was indeed constrained by others.

As Yuwen Mingji had said, his uncle, Tuoba Hong, rescued him from the grasslands but was then betrayed in a political coup by his own maternal uncle.

His cousin personally severed his head and took the position of Wolf King.

The matter was suppressed, and they claimed the old ruler had fallen ill and the new one took his place.

Yuwen Jing wanted to avenge his uncle and had the support of his uncle’s army of tens of thousands.

But now, the man who held the position of Wolf King was his cousin, and he had no chance of victory.

With no other choice, he could only resort to indirect means to save his country.

At this moment, Yuwen Mingji extended an olive branch to him, with the condition that he would use his uncle’s army to help him seize power. Once he succeeded, Yuwen Mingji promised to help him avenge his uncle.

Yuwen Jing no longer had any chance of competing for the throne, so he might as well make the most of this opportunity and maximize his benefits.

Besides, if his mother, Concubine Liang, could return to the palace, even if she suffered ridicule from the other consorts, at least she would be able to secure her later years.

For some reason, his father was exceptionally lenient toward him this time.

Not only did he refrain from imposing any substantial punishment, but even Concubine Liang, who should have been banished to the Cold Palace, remained unscathed.

He had always believed that his father disliked him, but now, looking back, perhaps he had misunderstood.

There was no way his father hadn’t heard about what happened on the grasslands.

After all, he was still his biological son—he ought to protect him at least a little.

His alliance with Yuwen Mingji was solely to bring down a few of his brothers; he had never intended to target the emperor.

But judging from Yuwen Mingji’s demeanor, he seemed ready to resort to unconventional means.

However, from the looks of things, bringing down those brothers of his was not going to be easy.

The one he had initially looked down upon—Yuwen Min—kept surprising him time and time again.

After all, it was Yuwen Min who had sent him to the Great Zhao Prison in the first place.

This recent ambush had been Yuwen Jing’s doing.

He had never expected it to succeed—he simply wanted to teach Yuwen Min a lesson.

Who would have thought that Yuwen Min would single-handedly slaughter over a dozen of his best men? That was nothing short of terrifying.

And now, Yuwen Jing was beginning to doubt Yuwen Mingji.

A man with such deep cunning—how could he possibly believe that Yuwen Mingji had never tried to harm him before?

Yuwen Jing felt a sense of exhaustion creeping in. Even the girl he had once adored—Wan’er—had married the crown prince.

In this lifetime, as long as Wan’er was happy, he probably had nothing else to ask for.

Beneath Yuwen Jing’s seemingly rough exterior, a certain sensitivity had begun to emerge.

Meanwhile, after leaving Fuping Youtan, Lu Xuzhi did indeed visit the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. As expected, Deputy Chief Wu informed him about what had happened that night.

Apparently, Yuwen Min had personally sought out Director Cheng, and they had observed the celestial signs that very evening.

However, the celestial phenomena at the time were not as Director Cheng had claimed—there was something more to it.

Between the lines, Deputy Chief Wu subtly pointed the blame toward Yuwen Min.

Lu Xuzhi’s expression grew darker and darker. It wasn’t until he left the Imperial Astronomical Bureau that he finally let the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.

Maintaining a deadpan face wasn’t something just anyone could manage. As someone used to being gentle and agreeable, suddenly taking on a dark and brooding persona was proving to be quite the challenge.

However, he didn’t manage to return to Prince Chu’s residence in time. That night, the newly appointed martial champion was granted an imperial feast.

The Martial Feast was on par with the Qionglin Banquet—both were grand celebrations held in honor of the top scholars, personally bestowed by the emperor.

Prince Chu was, of course, among the invited guests. However, in such a public setting, he couldn’t openly question Lu Xuzhi about what had happened at Fuping Youtan.

He could only take advantage of a brief moment between drinks to whisper, “Did Yuwen Mingji try to recruit you?”

Lu Xuzhi responded in a soft voice, “He did, and the terms he offered were incredibly tempting. If, by the end of tonight, Your Highness still hasn’t satisfied my cravings, I just might consider defecting to Prince Min’s side.”

As he spoke, Lu Xuzhi raised an eyebrow at Prince Chu, his expression carrying a hint of mischief. Prince Chu’s face instantly flushed red.

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