destiny eternal calamity

Li Wei had no complaints about the verdict against Long Yin. No matter how just the emperor was, he would not make his son pay with his life for justice. Demoting him to a commoner was already a very severe punishment.

Moreover, once Long Ming lost his status as crown prince, he became much easier to deal with.

As for this arranged marriage, Li Wei hadn't expected it.

In this case, his marriage to the princess will probably have to wait until Long Bilin ascends the throne before it can be realized.

After the morning court session ended, everyone returned home. The Princess's residence and the Prince of Jin's faction were all beaming with joy. Although most of the Crown Prince's faction felt somewhat disappointed and caught off guard, they did not appear to have lost their parents.

These people are actually conservatives; they only support the crown prince because Long Ming is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, which is in accordance with orthodoxy.

Since Long Yin deposed Long Ming from his position as crown prince, these people naturally withdrew their support for Long Ming.

Simply put, they support whoever is the crown prince.

Only Long Ming and his staunch supporters, such as Duke Meng Rang of Wei Lie, looked ashen-faced.

As Li Wei and the others from the princess's residence stepped out of the Golden Palace, they saw a eunuch running quickly towards them.

"Your Highness Yuzhen, Viscount Mingyue, His Majesty requests your presence."

"Please lead the way, Eunuch Zhao," Long Bilin said, stepping forward as she clearly recognized the eunuch.

The group followed Eunuch Zhao to the right and continued until they reached the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Long Yin was waiting for them inside the palace.

"Your daughter greets Your Majesty," Long Bilin said, leading the way in bowing.

Li Wei and the others followed suit and bowed.

"There's no need to be so formal." Long Yin waved his hand, signaling everyone to stand properly.

"There's nothing major that I summoned you here, it's just that the content published in the Da Li Weekly from now on needs some oversight."

Long Yin didn't beat around the bush and said it directly.

"Furthermore, I heard that your Wenhai Pavilion has lent its newsstand to other booksellers to sell newspapers? When you return, distribute and explain this new 'Regulations for the Publication of Publications in the Great Li Kingdom' to them."

Eunuch Zhao placed a thin booklet in Boss Cheng's hands.

Li Wei was not surprised at all; on the contrary, he thought that Long Yin's handling of the matter was quite enlightened. Some emperors might have simply banned the "Da Li Weekly".

After the group left the palace, Li Wei took the regulations and flipped through them. Sure enough, there were provisions for submission for review before publication. Major publications like the Da Li Weekly even required the addition of a content consultant appointed by the emperor within the Wen Hai Pavilion.

It seems that relying on public opinion is no longer a viable way to deal with the Prince of Jin.

"Speaking of which, now that Long Ming has been deposed as crown prince, when and how will the next heir apparent be chosen?"

After returning to the princess's residence, Li Wei asked curiously.

Long Bilin's confidence in vying for the throne with Prince Jin must stem from some preparation and a solid foundation.

"When this situation occurs in the current or previous dynasty, it is usually determined by the emperor himself, as long as there is not too much opposition from the ministers."

However, I know that Father Emperor does not actually like my fourth brother, Long Xiao. Otherwise, given the power of Long Xiao's maternal family, the Chen family, the position of Crown Prince would not have fallen to Long Ming according to the rule of the eldest son succeeding to the throne.

The Emperor had always nurtured Longxiao as both a spur to Longming and an unexpected backup plan.

That's why I'm confident that Father Emperor won't directly appoint Long Xiao as Crown Prince. Father Emperor's tolerant attitude towards the "Da Li Weekly" today also proves this point.

The Emperor prefers to make me the Crown Prince, but I will face greater resistance.

He probably wanted me to prove my abilities to shut up these ministers.

Therefore, the position of Crown Prince should remain vacant for the time being.

Long Bilin made her judgment.

"My lady, I've heard you mention the Chen family before. What exactly is their background? Are they even more powerful than the Wang and Xiao families combined?"

Long Bilin picked up a piece of cream cake that Li Wei had instructed the princess's cook to make, and while feeding it to Li Wei, she said:

"The Chen family is a descendant of the former imperial family, the King of Wu, Chen Yue."

Because he helped his ancestors start an uprising, Chen Yue was able to retain his title and even his fiefdom.

Five hundred years after the founding of the Wu Kingdom, the King of Wu was the only king of a different surname. Although he was stripped of his title during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong due to a political misstep, he retained his title of Duke and continued to enjoy a fiefdom of a commandery.

"Is your Dragon Emperor really that benevolent?" Li Wei asked curiously.

"Sigh, my husband, you have many ingenious ideas, but you still lack political common sense. But perhaps it's because the Chen family has kept a low profile in recent years."

The biggest reason why the King of Wu was willing to help Emperor Taizu was because blood is thicker than water; Emperor Taizu was Chen Yue's son-in-law.

Moreover, in the five hundred years that followed, the Long and Chen families intermarried many times, and even I have a lot of Chen family blood flowing in my veins.

That's why Emperor Jungjong didn't exterminate the Trần family; he merely stripped them of their title and replaced them with a branch of the Trần clan from a concubine's line.

"I understand. The Chen family and the imperial clan are actually not much different, except that they don't have the surname Long."

When Long Bilin explained it this way, Li Wei was reminded of those Western royal families in his previous life who, through marriage alliances, eventually ended up with consanguineous marriages.

According to this logic, if the Long family were to die out one day, it wouldn't be surprising if they adopted someone from the Chen family to inherit the throne.

With such a hidden royal family supporting Long Xiao, he naturally carries great weight.

However, it seems that the Chen family has not been peaceful in recent years, but has just kept a low profile on the surface.

Behind the scenes, they not only cultivated a treacherous minister like Gongsun Wen, but the Prince of Jin's collusion with cults may also be related to them.

Li Wei shared his conjecture, and Long Bilin agreed, but warned him not to investigate the Changsheng Sect any further.

She was terrified last time.

The Dragon Prince is in his prime, so there probably won't be much controversy if the position of Crown Prince isn't decided for several years.

Therefore, the struggle with the Prince of Jin cannot be decided in a short time.

In the afternoon, Li Wei made a special trip back to the Viscount's mansion to receive the imperial decree.

After all, it would be too strange to accept an imperial decree for marriage in the princess's residence.

Upon returning to the princess's residence, Li Wei remembered that he hadn't supervised Xiao Xiao's zither practice that day, so he went to Xiaoxiang Courtyard.

Unexpectedly, the little girl showed no affection towards him today.

"Li Wei, you big liar!" Long Xiaoxiao closed the courtyard gate as soon as she saw him.

Li Wei had no idea what he had done to offend this girl, so he quickly used his lightness skill to jump over the courtyard wall.

Then he grabbed Xiaoxiao, who was trying to hide inside the house.

"What's wrong? Girl, why are you calling your brother-in-law like that?" Li Wei bent down and asked, pressing down on Long Xiaoxiao's shoulders.

"You're not my brother-in-law! We're already engaged, and you're still deceiving my sister's feelings!" Long Xiaoxiao said angrily.

Only then did Li Wei realize that it was this girl who knew about Lin Peiyao's existence.

To be fair, this little princess is kept under the control of Long Bilin, so information about her is quite limited.

She probably only learned about this from the previous issue of the "Da Li Weekly" and the announcement of her father's bestowal of marriage.

"Who said I lied to your sister?" Li Wei said with a smile.

"...What do you mean by that?" Long Xiaoxiao was stunned.

"It's because your sister knows I have a fiancée."

"How could that be? And even if I didn't mind your engagement before, now that Father has bestowed a marriage upon you, how can I possibly marry you in the future..."

"If you don't believe me, let's go ask your sister. Little girl, you'll have to call me brother-in-law for the rest of your life."

Li Wei pinched Long Xiaoxiao's cheek and grinned mischievously.

"Also, play 'Flowing Water' ten times over, no slacking off!"