Chapter 123
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After finally getting the memorials approved by the big boss, Han Jiao couldn’t wait and asked Xie Duo, “Xie Duo, when did you start liking me?”
Xie Duo glanced at him, lowered his eyes, and smiled.
“What are you smiling at?”
“You can’t address me like this.”
“I won’t call you that in front of others.”
“There are outsiders everywhere in the palace.”
Han Jiao felt somewhat disappointed. He didn’t know why, but he liked to call Xie Duo by his name. Only by addressing him like that could he feel that Xie Duo belonged to him.
Seeing him in low spirits, Xie Duo smirked. “My mansion is completed now, and there’s a place there without outsiders. You can call me by my name.”
Han Jiao looked up at him. “What place?”
“In bed.”
Han Jiao glared at him. “You still haven’t told me when you started liking me.”
“Hmm…” Xie Duo tilted his head, carefully recalling. “That night when I entered your bedroom.”
Han Jiao was taken aback, feeling uneasy about this answer. Could it be that Xie Duo couldn’t distinguish between desire and love?
“I’m kidding you.” Xie Duo laughed, revealing a pair of small tiger teeth. “I liked you much earlier, but I didn’t realize it before.”
Han Jiao’s spirits lifted. “How early? Did Your Highness fall for me at first sight?”
“Not at all.” Xie Duo laughed. “Initially, I just found you amusing. I remember you holding the scroll upside down and trying to convince me it was to help Old Eighth…”
“No, no, don’t bring that up!” Han Jiao hastily interrupted, not wanting to relive that embarrassing memory.
“I found you intriguing. You have a sense of dignity and yet are timid, which made me can’t resist teasing you.”
“……” Was this the reason why the big boss had a habit of teasing him in the past?
“Where was I timid?”
“Back when you escaped from the kidnappers and I was trapped in a pitfall, I thought you had run away with your little brother. But you came back charging with a wooden shield, despite your fear of dying. I realized you were a person with contradictions — terrified of death, yet bound by principles you had to uphold.” Xie Duo looked at him seriously. “That’s when I decided to be friends with you.”
Han Jiao puffed out his chest. “You’ve got good taste. No need to explain our friendship, just say one thing: loyal to core!”
“What about you, Han Xiaobai? When did you start liking me a bit?”
Han Jiao smirked mischievously. “Just in the last couple of weeks, probably.”
The answer left a dissatisfied Crown Prince.
Xie Duo stared at him with a blank expression.
Han Jiao boasted shamelessly, “Or maybe just the past few days.”
“Han Jiao, do you know what I’ve been carrying with me lately to guard against assassins?”
Han Jiao, curious, inquired, “What have you been carrying?”
Xie Duo glanced down at his side.
Following his gaze, Han Jiao looked down and saw Xie Duo’s right hand gripping the hilt of a sword at his waist.
He looked up, perplexed, only to find Xie Duo’s mouth curved in a sly smile, gripping the sword’s hilt as a warning, and resuming his earlier question, “So, Han Xiaobai, when did you start liking me a little?”
Han Jiao laughed, revealing a set of small, white teeth. He lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and earnestly replied, “Earlier than you.”
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and Han Jiao was about to return to his quarters. Xie Duo didn’t want to let him go.
“I can’t linger by your side for hours every time. It’ll invite gossip.”
Xie Duo slightly furrowed his brow at the remark, as if he wanted to say something but held it back. He obediently released his grip.
Before parting, Han Jiao asked, “Lately, Your Highness, you seem to have a lot on your mind. Is there something troubling you? Can I share your burdens?”
Xie Duo remained silent, staring at him.
Feeling that Xie Duo was keeping something important from him, Han Jiao was a tactful person and didn’t want to pry into Xie Duo’s private matters. However, he had an instinct that whatever it was, it could be serious and hurt Xie Duo.
After much hesitation, he plucked up the courage to ask, “Is it that His Majesty’s condition hasn’t improved yet? Is it a severe illness?”
“Father Emperor is not well,” Xie Duo admitted, “but we can’t let this be known.”
Han Jiao frowned, offering comfort with concern, “His Majesty is still in the prime of his life. With careful treatment, he’ll surely recover. Don’t carry such a heavy burden.”
Xie Duo looked at him and nodded.
Han Jiao felt uneasy. Could it be that the Emperor had suddenly fallen seriously ill? Why wouldn’t he allow anyone to visit?
“The other princes haven’t visited yet,” Han Jiao cautiously inquired, “Everyone is deeply concerned about His Majesty.”
Xie Duo understood his unspoken question about the severity of the illness. “Father Emperor needs prolonged rest and may need to abdicate earlier.”
Han Jiao was taken aback, never expecting the Emperor’s condition to be this serious.
Xie Duo gazed at him with solemnity. “If I’m destined to be confined within the palace for my whole life, would you be willing to stay with me?”
Han Jiao smiled. With unwavering peach-blossom eyes, he replied, “Do I have the honor?”
As he left the Xiyuan Hall, Han Jiao felt a sense of reassurance.
Xie Duo’s recent unusual mood swings were due to the Emperor’s severe illness. Taking on the burden that came with it was understandably hard to accept.
However, a few days later, something happened that made Han Jiao uneasy.
The Left Deputy Minister of Personnel and the Governor-General of Minzhe were accused by officials from the Ministry of War, arrested, and awaiting trial.
Shockingly, the charges were related to treason and espionage.
Having been in the officialdom for over a year, Han Jiao had learned not to take the superficial reasons for an official’s fall from grace at face value. He had grown skilled at uncovering the hidden web of interests behind the scenes.
These two high-ranking officials getting into trouble was likely a result of political infighting.
Both of these individuals were aligned with Senior Minister Xu.
Simply looking at the outcome, they were accused and convicted due to the efforts of Prince Duan’s faction.
Officials at the court believed that the Crown Prince was too reckless.
In the past half a month, eight members of Prince Yan’s faction were dismissed from their positions or even imprisoned on various charges, while the Prince Duan’s faction had only one official imprisoned for corruption.
If the Emperor were handling the punishment of these accused officials, he wouldn’t solely rely on the evidence to decide but rather maintain a balance between the two factions to prevent one faction from gaining too much power.
In reality, the two high-ranking officials who got into trouble were contemplating who the Crown Prince should target next within the Prince Duan’s faction. They used last year’s military loss as an excuse to shift the blame onto several members of the Prince Duan’s faction.
These two willingly handed the Crown Prince a knife, but they didn’t anticipate his straightforwardness. He refused to cooperate with their performance and instead stabbed them, believing that they had deliberately plotted to frame political opponents.
Court officials were in awe, considering the Crown Prince a discerning person. He resembled Prince Yan in his righteousness and didn’t spare these two even though they were towering figures within Prince Yan’s faction. He sentenced them all to prison without hesitation.
With Prince Yan’s faction and Prince Duan’s faction severely imbalanced, the Crown Prince must have been led by Senior Minister Li.
Of course, this was the analysis of the court officials. Han Jiao didn’t necessarily share the same viewpoint.
He was filled with fear because, in the novel, Xie Duo had made similar moves after becoming the Crown Prince.
In the novel, before confronting Prince Yan’s faction, the Crown Prince had pretended to be “upright and just.” He used the excuse of “eliminating unrighteousness” until the male lead, Prince Yan, realized that the Crown Prince had essentially depleted half of his foundation in the court.
Moreover, the later parts of the novel revealed Xie Duo’s perspective. In truth, these officials hadn’t willingly stirred up trouble. It was during private meetings that they received hints from the Crown Prince and gathered the courage to fight in his name, only to discover that they were the ones facing the consequences.
Han Jiao couldn’t stay calm.
He tried to convince himself. Xie Duo didn’t have ulterior motives. But in the novel, the Crown Prince had initially replaced the Eastern Palace guards and then targeted two prominent figures within Prince Yan’s faction.
It all seemed too coincidental.
What made him even more uneasy was that, in the novel, the next part of the plot involved the Crown Prince secretly dealing with the Deputy Supervisor of Prince Yan’s estate.
That would be Prince Yan’s teacher — Liu Tong.
This person was a trusted aide of Senior Minister Xu, and because he also served as Prince Yan’s Deputy Supervisor, he could relay messages between Prince Yan and Senior Minister Xu.
Severing this connection would make the connection between Senior Minister Xu and Prince Yan much more dangerous.
Because they had no teacher-student relationship, and as the Prime Minister, having close private contact with the Prince was a serious taboo. Except for Liu Tong, none of the officials had a reason to frequently visit Prince Yan’s residence.
Liu Tong, being a trusted confidant of Senior Minister Xu, remained in the relatively minor position of a Deputy Supervisor of the Prince’s estate. This was because he enjoyed the trust of both sides and happened to hold the title of a teacher to Prince Yan, making him responsible for bridging the gap between the two factions.
In the novel, Prince Yan only started to fight back after his teacher’s downfall. He would first seek his Ninth Brother’s mercy.
In the novel, the Crown Prince maintained a strictly business-like attitude and refused to yield on the evidence against Liu Tong, deeply hurting Prince Yan’s feelings.
The visible rupture between the two brothers began at that moment.
Early the next day, Han Jiao hurried to Xiyuan Hall.
He could no longer remain calm. He needed to understand what Xie Duo was thinking.
Xie Duo was initially pleased to see him, but upon hearing Han Jiao’s impatient inquiry, he stifled his smile.
“Are you acquainted with these two?”
“How could I be acquainted with high-ranking officials like them?”
“Then why are you so concerned about this matter?”
“I want to know why you decided to deal with them.”
“Hasn’t their charges been made public already?”
Xie Duo’s evasive attitude left Han Jiao deeply uneasy. “Your Highness, do you genuinely believe that these two were involved in treason and espionage?”
Xie Duo gazed at him silently for a moment, then answered in a low voice, “I only believe in the evidence.”
“But what if the evidence was fabricated? I consulted with some senior generals. They explained that the military failure in Minzhe last year was due to the commander’s misjudgment and not a deliberate act orchestrated by anyone. I believe these two accused individuals might be trying to blame several members of Prince Duan’s faction for that defeat, using it as a pretext, without any real involvement in the loss.”
Xie Duo tilted his head, looking at him quizzically. “Since when did you become interested in political factionalism?”
“I’m not interested in political factions. I just want to know what you intend to do!”
A moment of silence followed.
“What do you think I want to do?”
Han Jiao clenched his fists, his breathing quickened, and after a pause, he spoke softly, “I feel like you want to confront Senior Minister Xu.”
“Can you be more direct?”
Han Jiao’s heart skipped a few beats. He looked at Xie Duo in disbelief. After a moment, he tremblingly asked, “Do you want to confront Prince Yan?”
Xie Duo lowered his eyes, chuckled, and said, “Do you think I’d go through all this trouble just to confront him?”
Han Jiao looked at him with puzzlement in his eyes. “Then what do you intend to do?”
“Since I’ve taken on the role of the Crown Prince,” Xie Duo slightly narrowed his gaze and spoke with a deep tone, “naturally, I must dismantle the spider’s web others have woven within the court. Don’t worry. I won’t harm my Sixth Brother.”
Han Jiao’s face turned ashen within an instant. He stared at Xie Duo with a shocked expression. “Why? Prince Yan no longer has any intentions of contesting the heir’s position.”
“If that’s the case, why keep this web in place?”
“He hopes that you will properly accommodate the people who once followed him.”
“Am I not already accommodating them? Since my Sixth Brother has no objections, maybe you should advocate for them first.”
“If this continues, he’ll eventually have objections!” Han Jiao stepped closer, looking at him earnestly. “Xie Duo… Prince Yan deeply admires your talents. Please, don’t target the former Prince Yan’s faction. I… I’m afraid you might do something that you’ll regret in the future .”
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