Chapter 67.1 Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip.
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Leaving Cining Palace, Li Jinyu found a moment to release the anger he had been holding back when he saw the concerned look in Huo Caiyu’s eyes.
Huo Caiyu didn’t ask about the conversation with His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. He simply came over and gave Li Jinyu a gentle hug. “Don’t be sad, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm.”
Leaning against Huo Caiyu’s warm embrace, Li Jinyu smelled the familiar scent on him, and all the confusion and sadness suddenly disappeared, leaving only Huo Caiyu’s calm and peaceful presence in his mind.
He couldn’t help but snuggle closer into Huo Caiyu’s embrace.
Huo Caiyu’s smile grew even wider as he held Li Jinyu even tighter.
After a while, Chi Zhongming coolly remarked from the side, “That’s enough, we still have important matters to attend to.”
Once they left Cining Palace, Chi Zhongming returned to his carefree demeanor, and his youthful face regained its smile.
This was the Chi Zhongming that Li Jinyu was familiar with.
Li Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he stepped out of Huo Caiyu’s embrace. He coughed and glanced at Chi Zhongming, saying, “It’s unexpected…”
He never thought that he and Chi Zhongming were actually brothers.
Chi Zhongming sensed it at the same time and said, “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to be my younger brother.”
When he first encountered Huo Caiyu and Li Jinyu together in Qingshui Prefecture, he approached them and struck up a conversation. Partly because Huo Caiyu was analyzing the situation in Qingshui Prefecture, and partly because Li Jinyu naturally left a favorable impression on him.
It was simply a case of blood relations attracting each other.
Only a few people remained in the palace gardens of Cining Palace. General Meng had been quickly taken away to await judgment, and the other palace maids and guards had been driven out when the rebellion started.
Li Jinyu couldn’t resist saying, “Who is older and who is younger is still uncertain.”
Initially, to switch the princes, Consort Dowager Zhong and the Empress Dowager purposely obscured the birth time of the princes. Now, they couldn’t even determine who was the elder.
However, it didn’t matter. Li Jinyu walked alongside Huo Caiyu and asked with some confusion, “When did both of you find out about this?” He never thought that he and Chi Zhongming were actually brothers.
It was clear from what they had heard that Huo Caiyu and Chi Zhongming had long been aware of the Empress Dowager’s rebellion and had deliberately set a trap for her.
Chi Zhongming gently scratched the chin of the small black cat and smiled as he said, “Before the new year, when I was still stationed at the border, my father sent someone to deliver a message, warning me about someone who had approached him and advising me to be cautious. The letter mentioned some confidential matters. After discussing it with the Regent Prince, I sensed something was wrong. Therefore, I returned to Jiangnan earlier than planned to confirm the information with my father. Afterwards, I quietly made my way to the capital and uncovered the truth about Consort Dowager Zhong switching the princes.”
Li Jinyu suddenly understood, “So, you were the subordinate accompanying Huo Caiyu!”
“Actually, we didn’t expect that the Empress Dowager had also switched the princes,” Huo Caiyu chuckled and continued, “At that time, we all believed that Brother Chi was the Empress Dowager’s biological child, which led to a slight conflict between us.”
Li Jinyu could imagine that Huo Caiyu’s top priority was to protect him, but Chi Zhongming believed that the Empress Dowager was his biological mother and naturally didn’t want Huo Caiyu to harm her.
“In the end, we made a mutual compromise. Brother Chi entered the palace to acknowledge the Empress Dowager as his mother, while secretly gathering information about her plans and waiting for the right moment to disrupt them. Meanwhile, I took charge of arranging the deployment of the Imperial Guards, preparing to counter the Empress Dowager’s rebellion.”
Chi Zhongming gently rubbed the head of the little black cat and suddenly let out a sigh, “Initially, I had hoped to persuade the Empress Dowager to abandon her plans of rebellion, but once I entered the palace, I couldn’t get a word in… The Empress Dowager was completely consumed by the fervor of reclaiming what she had lost.”
Li Jinyu also sighed in response.
Huo Caiyu was concerned thatHis Majesty would be reminded of the difficulties he had faced in recent years and gave Chi Zhongming a slight glare.
“How did the Empress Dowager manage to find you?”
Chi Zhongming made a slight grimace and said, “Before entering the palace, I thought it was someone from the Han family who had found some traces… Later, I learned from the Empress Dowager that the information leaked from Prime Minister Ye’s side.”
Li Jinyu exclaimed, “Prime Minister Ye?”
He glanced at the little black cat out of reflex.
Hasn’t Prime Minister Ye been toppled for over six months now?
“When Prime Minister Ye went missing, many people in the Prime Minister’s residence had already switched their allegiance, and those who knew about Brother Chi’s true identity took the opportunity to join the Empress Dowager,” explained Huo Caiyu, his expression filled with guilt. “This official failed to thoroughly investigate the Prime Minister’s residence back then, which led to the current situation. This official begs for Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
Li Jinyu blinked, fully grasping the situation.
No wonder the Empress Dowager remained calm and composed until Prime Minister Ye’s downfall. It turned out that the key to triggering the Empress Dowager’s rebellion had been locked within the Prime Minister’s residence.
Before, the black cat mentioned that Prime Minister Ye seemed to hold some leverage over Emperor Jingchang, forcing him to surrender all his power. Li Jinyu had initially thought it was merely Prime Minister Ye knowing the secret of the prince swap from years ago. But now it appeared that what made Emperor Jingchang obedient was their knowledge of the true whereabouts of the Empress Dowager’s real son.
Prime Minister Ye had initially captured Chi Zhongming, probably intending to use him as a means to blackmail Emperor Jingchang or even the Empress Dowager.
In the novel, Chi Zhongming held deep resentment toward Di Dynasty, believing that they had caused the destruction of his adoptive family. It was likely that Prime Minister Ye or Emperor Jingchang had wiped out Chi Zhongming’s adoptive family.
This time, with Prime Minister Ye being replaced by the black cat and Emperor Jingchang being replaced by himself, such a significant secret had been left unresolved until Prime Minister Ye’s downfall and the revelation by those who knew the secret, seeking refuge with the Empress Dowager.
As Li Jinyu pieced it all together, he let out a long sigh, unsure whether it was a sense of relief or regret, and looked up at Chi Zhongming. “What are your plans? Do you intend to rediscover your true heritage?”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t really mind,” Chi Zhongming said, tilting his head up to glance at the sky. A small smile appeared on his face. “I’ve had a happy life these past ten years. My father treated me like his own child, taught me how to read, arranged martial arts masters for me, and now I have Chonky…”
He lowered his head and gently kissed the black cat’s face, then dodged the sudden swipe of its claws, laughing. “Even if they offered me the throne, I wouldn’t trade it.”
Li Jinyu scratched his ears. “If you want, I can bestow upon you the title of a Prince.”
“A Prince… sounds nice,” Chi Zhongming rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Can I exchange the Prince title with Your Majesty for something?”
Li Jinyu was somewhat surprised. “Exchange for what?”
“For Chonky,” Chi Zhongming lifted the black cat in his hand, his gaze pleading. “I want nothing else. I just want Chonky to be with me for the rest of my life.”
Huo Caiyu looked at him as if he was a lunatic.
Li Jinyu understood Chi Zhongming’s meaning and found it amusing. He scratched his ear and looked at the seemingly wild and clueless black cat before finally smiling. “Since Brother Chi has helped Zhen so much this time, there’s no need to exchange the prince title. Zhen will let you take Chonky back with you.”
“That’s great,” Chi Zhongming’s eyes lit up, and he brought the black cat close to his mouth, giving it a tight kiss. “Chonks, we can live together again.”
The black cat responded with a gentle swipe of its paw.
Chi Zhongming happily accepted it.
Li Jinyu watched the two of them play without a care in the world and felt an inexplicable envy.
He wasn’t sure what exactly he was envious of, and a vague sense of competitiveness rose within him, quickly turning into despondency.
Li Jinyu subconsciously looked up and met Huo Caiyu’s smiling eyes.
Huo Caiyu was also looking at him, and the warmth in his eyes was as ever-present as before.
Suddenly, Li Jinyu felt a slight burn and quickly averted his gaze, turning his head to look at the ground. “Zhen will go back and prepare a decree, recognizing Brother Chi’s ancestry and bestowing upon him the title of a Prince.”
After saying that, he lowered his head and hurriedly walked forward.
Huo Caiyu stood behind him and couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
His Majesty probably didn’t know just how adorable his expression was moments ago and how much Huo Caiyu wanted to embrace him in his arms.
………
Huo Caiyu had been planning a rebellion against the Empress Dowager for a long time, so wrapping things up was straightforward.
Since the Empress Dowager was the original Emperor’s biological mother, Li Jinyu didn’t punish her. He only reclaimed the power held by the Han family, who the Empress Dowager belonged to, and the Meng family, which General Meng served.
The coup happened only within the palace walls. Meanwhile, the people of the capital city enjoyed the Reed Flowers Festival, completely unaware of the events inside the palace.
The only dilemma was how to handle General Meng.
General Meng had been loyal to the Di Dynasty for years and made significant contributions. Despite Emperor Jingchang’s neglectful behavior, General Meng held the court together.
General Meng was a staunch traditionalist. The Empress Dowager convinced him to join the coup by claiming that Li Jinyu wasn’t the legitimate heir to the throne.
After resolving the misunderstanding, General Meng felt deeply ashamed and followed Li Jinyu’s instructions.
Li Jinyu pondered for a moment and said, “Since only a few people know about this rebellion, let General Meng retire peacefully at home.”
Huo Caiyu had already anticipated His Majesty’s decision. She nodded and personally went to the dungeon to release General Meng.
At the entrance of the dungeon, Huo Caiyu looked at General Meng, who appeared visibly aged, and calmly asked, “General, do you know why this Prince is personally escorting you away?”
General Meng silently glanced at Huo Caiyu and let out a sigh. “Regent Prince, you’re not here to make fun of me, are you?”
Having spent his entire life in the military, General Meng believed his command over troops was unmatched. But he never expected the palace coup to be crushed so easily by Huo Caiyu.
“This Prince isn’t that idle. His Majesty sees General Meng as a loyal minister, but it seems General Meng disagrees,” Huo Caiyu looked directly at the general and said seriously, “Chi Zhongming has been under General Meng’s command for a long time. I’m sure General Meng knows Chi Zhongming’s character well. Do you truly believe Chi Zhongming would make a better Emperor than His Majesty?”
General Meng stumbled for words, unable to respond.
Chi Zhongming was initially one of his subordinates, and General Meng understood the nature of each subordinate and their roles on the battlefield.
Chi Zhongming had a lively and carefree personality, prioritizing personal matters over the bigger picture. He was better suited for defense than offense and ill-suited for politics.
Although His Majesty had been somewhat reckless in the past, he proved himself capable when he became serious. He knew how to assess and delegate tasks to competent individuals and had the courage to relinquish power. Most importantly, he always considered matters from the perspective of the entire court and the people.
If General Meng claimed that Chi Zhongming was a better fit than Li Jinyu, it would truly be a matter of disregarding his own conscience.
Huo Caiyu earnestly asked, “General Meng, you are loyal to His Majesty and love your country, but which holds greater importance, the nation or the Emperor? Emperor Taizu himself started from humble beginnings. Can being the rightful heir really compare to the talent for governing?”
General Meng lowered his head and gave a bitter smile. “What’s the use of discussing this now? His Majesty has shown me great mercy by pardoning my treasonous act. Nowadays, I’m just an ordinary soldier.”
Huo Caiyu shook his head and said, “This Prince says this to General Meng not for any other reason but because His Majesty still appreciates your contributions to Great Di. This Prince don’t want to see a great general like you spend your whole life in military service only to face an unfortunate end.”
General Meng looked up and saw the determination in Huo Caiyu’s eyes. After a brief moment of hesitation, he smiled bitterly once again and said, “Heroes are known to emerge in their youth… I’m truly getting old.”
His thinking had become confined to rigid conventions, lacking the clear perspective displayed by the Regent Prince standing before him.
Taking a few steps towards the spirited horse prepared by Huo Caiyu, he gently stroked its back. Suddenly, he couldn’t resist turning back and looking at Huo Caiyu, asking, “Regent Prince, if His Majesty isn’t suitable to be Emperor, how would you choose?”
He could now see that there truly was no barrier or animosity between His Majesty and the Regent Prince. They trusted each other and relied on each other. Having studied history, he had never witnessed such a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject.
Huo Caiyu seemed unsurprised by the question and raised an eyebrow slightly. “That depends on His Majesty.”
General Meng was taken aback.
“If His Majesty doesn’t want to be Emperor, I will accompany him in resigning from official positions and freely wander the world. If His Majesty wants to be Emperor but struggles with the role, then I will take on the tasks he isn’t good at,” Huo Caiyu smiled faintly. “As long as I’m here, His Majesty will live comfortably and without worries.”
General Meng stared at Huo Caiyu for a moment, then suddenly laughed, shook his head, and said, “The Regent Prince, your loyalty to His Majesty is truly admirable. I… I can’t compare.”
He mounted his horse, pulled the reins, and glanced at Huo Caiyu. “Please tell His Majesty on my behalf—before Meng Jilang, I was mistaken! I wish His Majesty and Great Di a prosperous era!”
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