I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 130 The Crown Prince and the Second
After several autumn rains, the autumn atmosphere in Kyoto becomes increasingly strong, and the scattered noble houses in Kyoto are lightly bathed in the moisture.

Raindrops dripped slowly from the branches. It had been quite a while since the three riders entered Beijing with the news.

Although the imperial court kept the death a secret, there is no such thing as a secret wall, and the people of Kyoto still learned the truth, a truth they were unwilling to believe.

The reactions of the common people are always different from those of the powerful. They look at things more directly and sometimes more accurately. They only know that His Majesty the Emperor of Qing is a good emperor. At least from the perspective of the lives of the common people of Qing, Emperor Qing is a rare good emperor.

So the people are very sad and upset. They don’t know what the future of this country will be like, and they don’t know what kind of turmoil will happen in Kyoto next. After all, His Majesty has passed away, and those princes will not be content.

That night, an uninvited guest appeared in the East Palace.

Looking at the two people in front of him, the prince was very surprised. He subconsciously took a step back and pretended to be calm and said, "My second brother brought Xie Bian to visit me late at night. Are they here to kill me?"

It's a life-and-death battle between him and the second brother. No matter who sits in that position, neither will let the other go.

When Emperor Qing was still alive, they would not fight too fiercely, but now that Emperor Qing is dead and the throne is vacant, coupled with the attitude shown by the Queen Mother, the fight between them has been exposed. There is no room for easing, and any move they make will be a killing move.

Especially at today's morning court, the Qin family took the lead in expressing support for the prince, allowing the prince to gain a portion of military power. Together with the civil servants who originally supported the prince, his support rate far exceeded that of the second brother, making him the leader. The second brother's assassination move was within his expectations, but he did not expect that the second brother would act so quickly and the burden would be so heavy.

Seeing the prince's expression, the second brother couldn't help laughing.

"Your Highness, do you think you have a sure win?"

"I am the crown prince. Since my father is no longer around, the throne should be mine."

Li Chengze chuckled, "There is no one else here, Your Highness, please don't say such stupid things. The prince is the prince, and the emperor is the emperor. Since ancient times, there have been too many princes who have not sat on that position. How do you know you can succeed, just relying on the support of the court officials today? Prince, don't forget that your father is offering sacrifices to heaven in order to abolish your position as the prince. When Eunuch Hong and the others come back, it's unclear whether you are the prince or not. Besides, how do you know that today is not a trap set for you?"

The prince was stunned for a moment, then changed his expression and said with a smile: "Second brother, you came to see me today, what do you want to say?"

The second brother's face became very serious, no longer showing the lazy look he had before, and he said in all seriousness: "If I fight with you, no matter who wins in the end, I believe you and I will have nothing to say. But if you and I fight and someone else takes advantage of us, I believe you and I will not be willing to accept it, right?"

The prince raised his eyebrows, "Second brother, are you talking about the eldest brother?"

The second brother shook his head and said solemnly, "I mean Fan Xian and Xiao Si."

"Fan Xian and Xiao Si?"

The prince suddenly laughed, "Second brother, stop joking. Fan Xian is an illegitimate child. The court will not support him. Xiao Si is still young and no one supports him. How can he possibly compete with you and me?"

"Fan Xian controls the inner treasury and is the next president of the Supervisory Council. In Kyoto, he has Minister Fan and President Chen standing up for him. He is also the son-in-law of Prime Minister Lin. Aren't you worried at all?"

Li Chengze sneered, "There's no one else here, so stop acting."

The smile on the prince's face froze. "Second brother, let's not beat around the bush. What do you want to say?"

"We have to admit that Fan Xian is someone you and I cannot defeat. Although he is indeed an illegitimate child, he is also the emperor's real son. He may not be qualified to inherit the throne, but you have to look at his identity and the power he holds. He controls the Supervisory Council, the inner treasury, the national treasury, is the son-in-law of the former prime minister, and is the poetry god of Qing. If he wants to fight for the throne, he may have a chance."

The second brother said directly: "Your Highness, don't forget how Northern Qi was founded."

The prince's face suddenly changed. The predecessor of Northern Qi was Northern Wei. At that time, Wei was the most powerful country in the world, but because of the external pressure from Qing, the current Zhan family of Northern Qi usurped the world. People with other surnames can achieve this by relying on power, not to mention that Fan Xian himself has royal blood.

"Also, the Crown Prince seems to have forgotten that Northern Qi Saintess Haitang Duoduo and Dongyi City's closed disciple Wang Shisanlang have been following Fan Xian around for the past two or three years, like bodyguards. I don't need to remind you, the Crown Prince, of the relationship between Fan Xian and Northern Qi and Dongyi City. If Fan Xian wants to fight for the throne, do you think Northern Qi and Dongyi City will take any action?"

The second brother sat down nearby and continued, "Let's take a step back and say that even if Fan Xian himself has no intention of vying for the throne and the court does not support him taking the throne, what about Xiao Si? Don't forget the relationship between the Fan family and the Liu family. If Fan Xian supports Xiao Si, what are your chances of winning?"

The prince's hand trembled slightly. He really had forgotten about this matter. Although Li Chengping and Fan Xian were not very close, their relationship was much closer than that between him and the second brother. In addition, the relationship between the Fan family and the Liu family, and Li Chengping's young age made him easy to control. It went without saying that even if Fan Xian himself had no intention of taking the throne, he would support Li Chengping.

"Second brother wants to join forces with me to deal with Fan Xian first?"

"Yes, only after we solve the trouble of Fan Xian can we fight with peace of mind." The second brother did not deny it. If it weren't for the Queen Mother that night, he would not have made this decision. Instead, he would have supported the Prince to sit in that position and secretly let his mother contact Aunt Qin.

As long as he could gain the support of Aunt Qin, it would be equivalent to gaining the support of the Northern Blood-Cloaked Army. No matter who won between Fan Xian and the prince, he had the confidence to dethrone the person on the throne.

After all, once the Blood Clothes Army supports him, the Qin family will certainly side with him. In addition, he is also the son-in-law of the Ye family, and most of the military forces of the entire Qing Kingdom are in his hands. Unless the third brother is resurrected, no one can be his opponent.

After hearing the second brother's words, the prince fell silent.

Judging from the current situation, his advantage is actually the greatest. After all, the third brother is no longer around. From any perspective, he is the empress dowager's first choice to succeed the throne. In addition, his mother has the leverage over the Qin family, and he can get the support of the Qin family in the military, as well as the clean officials under the two grand secretaries Su and Hu... As long as he doesn't use assassination tactics, he is obviously invincible.

But what the second brother said was not wrong. There was too much uncertainty in Fan Xian's existence. Fan Xian was given too much power. The mere fact that Lin Ruofu, the most powerful minister in the past, was his father-in-law was enough to change the current situation in the court.

"If I agree to deal with Fan Xian, what benefits will I get? Fan Xian has become powerful, but as long as I sit in that position, I will always be able to find a way to deal with him in the future. In the current situation, compared to Fan Xian, you, the legitimate regent, are the one I should be wary of."

The second brother chuckled: "Heh, Li Chengqian, we have fought for so many years, don't I know you? You are obviously tempted by my proposal, why do you have to pretend in front of me? Tell me, what are your conditions?"

Upon hearing this, the prince smiled. "Just as my second brother said, Fan Xian is not easy to deal with. He already controls the inner treasury's financial power, and now he is taking over the Supervisory Council. We all know the combat power of the Black Cavalry. He is also close to the boss. He is the son-in-law of Prime Minister Lin and the son of Fan Jian..."

He was clearly just repeating what the second brother had said before, but as he spoke, the prince's expression became extremely solemn and his tone became more and more worried, to the point of being so worried that he couldn't continue.

They knew in the past that Fan Xian was not easy to deal with, but now after summarizing it, they realized that Fan Xian had reached a point where none of their princes could deal with him alone.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the death of His Majesty, who is the most powerful person in the court now? If Fan Xian says he is second, no one dares to say he is first, unless his third brother is resurrected.

pity……

The prince sighed and looked at Li Chengze. The two looked at each other and said in unison: "Fan Xian must be eliminated!"

Fan Xian's power is really too terrifying. With a person like him, no matter who sits on the throne, his position will not be stable.

In other words, the two of them did not know about Ye Qingmei, otherwise they would know how similar Fan Xian is now to Ye Qingmei back then, especially in terms of the power they both possess.

Not to mention that Fan Xian has another identity, the illegitimate son of Emperor Qing, and also of royal blood. Even if it is not as legitimate as theirs, as long as Fan Xian wants, or if Fan Xian succeeds in the end, there will naturally be great scholars endorsing him, making his ascension to the throne more legitimate than that of the crown prince.

The second brother smiled and said, "It seems that we have reached a consensus. In this case, tell me your conditions."

"You can't use the despicable means of assassination against me."

Upon hearing this, the second brother got angry: "I'm not that mean. Even if I want to fight for the throne, I will use my own means and fight for it in an upright manner."

"That's good."

You have to know that in the entire Kyoto, apart from Prince Ding's Mansion, only the Second Brother and Fan Xian have masters above the ninth rank, and masters above the ninth rank are currently the highest combat power in Kyoto.

As for the grandmaster of the Ye family, the prince was not too worried.
Firstly, as a grandmaster, Ye Liuyun had to respect his dignity as a grandmaster. It was impossible for him to lower himself to assassinate the prince for the sake of his second brother.

Secondly, and the most crucial point, Ye Liuyun returned to Beijing with a large group, which means that when Ye Liuyun returned to Beijing, Hong Sixiang also returned to Beijing. So, Hong Sixiang, the grandmaster of the royal family, naturally could not watch Ye Liuyun kill him.

So after getting the second brother's assurance, the prince felt a lot more at ease. But when he thought about dealing with Fan Xian, the prince's face became solemn again.

"Second brother, since you have come to me, I think you have a way to deal with Fan Xian. Tell me, I will see if there is anything I can do to help."

"You are quite calculating, letting me rush in front, but Fan Xian is not easy to deal with."

The prince did not deny it and sighed, "There is no other way. We have already investigated him and have not found any evidence against him. He is also a disciple of Fei Jie, so poison will not work on him. We can only send someone to assassinate him, but Fan Xian is a ninth-rank master. Right now, only the people from my second and third brothers' mansions in Kyoto are sure to kill Fan Xian. You and I cannot mobilize the people from Prince Ding's mansion, so we have to let my second brother's men take action."

After the prince finished speaking, he glanced at Xie Bian.

Obviously, the intention is to let Xie Bian take action.

The second brother shook his head: "Xie Bian can't kill Fan Xian. There is a mysterious grandmaster beside him."

"What?!" Li Chengqian was shocked and stood up.

"Don't believe it? You haven't forgotten Lin Gong's death, right? It was Fan Xian who did it. I'm sure he has a great master protecting him."

After these words came out, the crown prince sat down dejectedly. He and the second son both looked extremely ugly and felt very unhappy. They were the crown prince and the prince, and had fought for so many years, but now they found that Fan Xian, the illegitimate son, was more powerful than them. Not only was he protected by a ninth-rank master in public, but he was also protected by a grandmaster in secret. It seemed that he was born to be the protagonist, as if all the good things in the world fell on him.

"Now what?"

"Send someone to test it first."

"it is good."

Just like that, the two reached a tacit understanding and joined forces to deal with Fan Xian first. They discussed until late at night, and then the second brother secretly brought Xie Bian back to the mansion.

Fan Xian didn't know that before he did anything, the Second Brother and the Crown Prince had already formed an offensive and defensive alliance and were preparing to attack him first.

So, the next morning, Fan Xian was assassinated as soon as he left the Fan Mansion.

There were five eighth-rank and two ninth-rank people, seven people in total. Given Fan Xian's strength and caution, the Crown Prince and the Second Elder knew that it was impossible to kill Fan Xian. They just wanted to confirm whether the mysterious grandmaster beside Fan Xian was in Kyoto.

However, the result made them depressed and surprised.

What’s depressing is that the mysterious grandmaster beside Fan Xian appears.

In other words, it is impossible to kill Fan Xian with their current strength. They can only wait until Ye Liuyun and Hong Sixiang return to Kyoto.

As for the accident, Fan Xian was in a life-threatening situation. If the mysterious grandmaster had not arrived quickly, Fan Xian would have been killed on the spot.

This was something that the Second Brother and the Crown Prince had never expected. After all, Fan Xian was very powerful. In the eyes of the Second Brother and the Crown Prince, he was at least not inferior to Xie Bian.

How could two beginners of the ninth rank and five eighth rank masters almost take Fan Xian's life? !
Could it be that Fan Xian is not actually that strong?
In fact, isn’t Fan Xian strong?
No, very strong.

His strength is among the top ten among the ninth-grade masters.

Normally speaking, with Fan Xian's strength, it wouldn't take much effort to kill two masters who had just entered the ninth rank and the fifth rank.

But unfortunately, he is not normal now.

In the battle with Yan Xiaoyi at Dadong Mountain, although he killed Yan Xiaoyi with a heavy sniper rifle, he was also seriously injured.

As Fei Jie's student, Fan Xian has strong medical skills. In addition, he has domineering true energy in his body and the natural energy of Tianyi Dao flows to heal himself. After such a long time, his injuries have gradually healed.

But Yan Xiaoyi's arrow was too powerful. Although it did not hit his heart, it also injured his heart meridian. The injury was not serious yet, and his heart meridian was damaged. The key was that he was seriously injured and did not receive timely treatment. He rushed all the way back to Beijing, adding insult to injury. Even after returning to Kyoto for a period of time to heal his injuries, his current strength is only half of his peak period, so he almost died in the assassination this morning.

In fact, if the Second Brother and the Crown Prince had sent out a ninth-rank expert or above, Fan Xian would have died today, but it was a pity that he missed this opportunity.

Supervisory Council, secret room.

Seeing Fan Xian slowly opening his eyes, Chen Pingping beside him hurriedly asked, "How is it?"

Fan Xian smiled grimly: "I won't die."

Hearing this, Chen Pingping took a long breath and asked, "What do you think about today's assassination?"

Fan Xian said without even thinking, "I think it might be Li Chengzong."

"impossible."

Shadow immediately retorted: "It can't be the Third Prince. If the Third Prince sent someone to kill you, the Fifth Master wouldn't be able to save you in time. You would definitely die today!"

If we were to ask who knows the strength of Prince Ding's Mansion best, it would be Shadow, the man who had experienced long-term beatings in the palace.

Chen Pingping also nodded in agreement and said affirmatively: "It's not the Third Prince."

Although he didn't know why Chen Pingping and Yingzi were so sure, Fan Xian believed in their judgment. The key point was that he himself didn't believe that it was Li Chengzong who did it, but he was used to suspecting Li Chengzong first.

There is no way, because Li Chengzong may be involved in a Western conspiracy.

Fan Xian pondered for a moment and said, "If it's not him, then it should be the second brother and the crown prince. However, I don't think the second brother and the crown prince are that bold."

"Besides them, have you ever thought of anyone else?"

After hearing what Chen Pingping said, Fan Xian suddenly realized: "Is it the eldest princess, or the queen mother?"

"Who do you think it is?" Chen Pingping asked back.

"The eldest princess."

Fan Xian said, and then asked in confusion: "However, there is one thing I can't figure out. The masters under Li Yunrui should all be dead. Where did she get these people?"

"Never underestimate the eldest princess."

Chen Pingping sighed and continued, "Except for Li Yunrui, you don't doubt the Queen Mother. In the current situation, whether from the perspective of status or stability, there is no better candidate than the Crown Prince. Then why did the Queen Mother let all of you participate in the fight for the throne?"

“I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t figured it out.”

"If nothing unexpected happens, she is using you to pave the way for the Third Prince, and at the same time, she is also avenging His Majesty."

Chen Pingping sighed, "The fight for the throne has always been a life-and-death struggle, unless you voluntarily withdraw. If you voluntarily withdraw, it proves that you are not the one who plotted to murder Your Majesty, and then the remaining princes fighting for the throne will all be suspects. But there is only one throne, so only one prince fighting for the throne will survive."

"Isn't she afraid that the person who sits on the throne in the end is the real murderer?" Shadow interrupted.

Fan Xian suddenly realized and helped Chen Pingping explain: "The Queen Mother's favorite is Li Chengzong. As long as Li Chengzong does not take the throne, no matter who sits on the throne, he will die in the end. Killing two birds with one stone, it is underestimated that old lady. Speaking of which, she is really cruel. She actually threw away the throne and let the princes kill each other. Those princes are her grandsons."

The women in Old Li's family are indeed more vicious than each other.

"No one who can survive to this day has a simple life."

Chen Pingping sighed and continued, "In fact, you not only underestimated the Queen Mother, but also underestimated the temptation of the throne. Not everyone can resist the temptation of the throne like you."

"Are you saying that the assassination this morning was done by the Crown Prince and the Second Brother?"

Chen Pingping nodded: "The Queen Mother was the driving force behind today's assassination. Her role is the same as that of Your Majesty back then. The Second Prince and the Crown Prince took risks for the throne, just like they did back then... Anyway, you should be careful recently. Let Wu Zhu protect you. His existence does not need to be hidden now."

Fan Xian nodded and was about to speak when the door of the secret room rang.

"Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Qinian walked in.

Fan Xian's face lit up with joy: "Old Wang, why are you here?"

"Sir, are you okay?" Wang Qinian asked with concern.

Ever since the assassination at Mount Dadong, especially after the news of Emperor Qing's death reached Kyoto, he had deliberately distanced himself from Fan Xian, Chen Pingping and others.
Once you're on the boat, it's not easy to get off, so there's a hint of helplessness in my concern.

"It's nothing, I won't die."

Wang Qinian nodded, handed over a note, and said, "This is news from Eunuch Hong in the palace."

Fan Xian unfolded the note and took a look at it, then laughed, but his smile was filled with murderous intent.

"It's really the Crown Prince and the Second Brother. They are forcing me..."

(End of this chapter)