A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

After humbly seeing Chao Cuo off, Liu Mai picked up his sword and began hacking wildly at the corpses in front of him. One of the corpses was already unrecognizable from his hacking.

"Investigate! I need to know whose people they are!"

Liu Mai casually tossed the sword in his hand to the ground, panting heavily, and said sternly.

In the following days, news of the assassination of the imperial envoy near the capital of Liang spread throughout the entire Liang Kingdom.

The most nervous person was Liu Bushi, who only breathed a sigh of relief after learning that all the assassins were dead.

Next were the other three sons of King Liu Wu of Liang. They knew that the throne of King Liang would never be theirs, but the imperial decree of favor was their opportunity to rule as kings and ancestors in a prefecture and six counties.

Whether the Edict of Grace can be successfully implemented in Liang depends on how effective the imperial envoy is.

They were naturally very anxious when Chao Cuo got into trouble.

Unfortunately, Chao Cuo's residence was guarded by the Imperial Guards, and he could not see anyone.

As a successor of the Legalist school, Chao Cuo knew that people's hearts were unpredictable. He wanted these princes to beg him, not the other way around.

The princes needed Chao Cuo to promote the Edict of Grace so that they could become kings, and Chao Cuo also needed their assistance to better promote the implementation of the Edict of Grace.

For Chao Cuo, dangling them in the air was a way to gain the upper hand.

On this day, Liu Mai finally found out who these people were.

Someone discovered that these individuals had interacted with Liu Bushi's retainers several times, and that they had secretly been won over by Liu Bushi.

"It's the fifth one!"

Liu Mai's face was somewhat ferocious; it turned out he was the fifth brother.

That makes sense.

The fifth brother assassinated Chao Cuo and framed him for the crime.

With Chao Cuo's death, the Edict of Grace could no longer be implemented, and other officials of the court dared not come to Liang, fearing that they would die there like Chao Cuo.

Because of his assassination attempt on the imperial envoy, as the heir apparent of the Liang Kingdom and His Majesty's nephew, he might not die, but he can forget about the throne.

After losing his position as crown prince, thanks to the favor of his father and mother, the fifth prince is poised to become the new crown prince soon.

Even if the assassination attempt on Chao Cuo fails, they can still frame him, just like they are now.

He assassinated a court envoy, and the court held him accountable, so he still couldn't keep his position as heir apparent.

Liu Bushi can still become the new heir!

"Very well, my good fifth brother, you're here to kill me!"

Liu Mai's tone was full of hatred. The man was dead, and there was no way to verify the truth. Chao Cuo's letter was almost in Chang'an, and he had no way to prove that the assassin was Liu Bushi's subordinate.

His subordinates' words cannot be taken as evidence; Liu Bushi would definitely say it's slander.

"Your Highness, please do not disturb us. Perhaps we are in league with this Lord Chao."

"A strategist spoke up."

Liu Mai looked at his strategist as if he were a fool, and felt an urge to curse.

What was Chao Cuo doing in Liang?

Promote the Edict of Grace!

Whose interests are harmed by promoting the Enfeoffment Edict?

It's his!

What a bunch of idiots!

More like mortal enemies.

The strategist Niu Ma noticed Liu Mai's expression and explained, "Chao Cuo's purpose is to issue the Edict of Grace."

"But if Your Highness is imprisoned, who will become the new crown prince?"

"It's the Fifth Young Master!"

"Although it may sound harsh, the Fifth Prince is indeed more favored by the King and Queen than His Highness."

Niu Ma glanced at Liu Mai's gloomy face and said, "Continue."

He was telling the truth; everyone present was his confidant and understood his situation.

"The Fifth Prince is the least likely candidate for the Crown Prince, given that the King and Queen would agree to the imperial decree of favor to him!"

"Given the Fifth Prince's ruthlessness, if he truly ascends to the throne and mobilizes troops as the heir apparent, even with the support of those around Chao Cuo, he won't be able to save his life!"

Liu Mai's expression was grim and uncertain. He had to admit that the strategist was right.

Even though he and Chao Cuo were irreconcilable on the issue of the Edict of Grace, on this point, he was actually on the same side as Chao Cuo.

The Edict of Grace...

Liu Mai pondered how to maximize his profits.

"Go and find Lord Chao and explain the whole story to him."

Liu Mai gave the instructions.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Niu Ma was secretly delighted, knowing that his status in Liu Mai's heart had risen considerably.

The mansion had almost no advantages other than its large size. Chao Cuo listened to Niu Ma's words without changing his expression, which made Niu Ma sigh. As expected of a high-ranking official from the imperial court, he was indeed extraordinary.

After seeing the cattle and horses off, Chao Cuo gave a mocking smile, saying that a piece of trash is just a piece of trash.

"Make the arrangements; we'll meet the guests tomorrow."

Over the next few days, Chao Cuo received several of Liu Wu's sons and some ministers of the Liang Kingdom, gaining a deeper understanding of the basic situation of the Liang Kingdom.

The second, third, and fourth sons of the King of Liang were all supporters of the Edict of Grace, but they did not have much power and were of little use; they could only wave flags and shout slogans.

The fifth son of the King of Liang is a fool, still dreaming of inheriting the throne of the King of Liang.

Little did they know that it was all just a mirage, a flower in a mirror and the moon's reflection in the water.

The relationship between him and the heir apparent of the Prince of Liang is remarkably similar to that between Emperor Jing of Han and the Prince of Liang. If he were to ascend to the throne of the Prince of Liang, wouldn't that foreshadow the Prince of Liang's succession to the throne of Emperor Jing of Han?

This matter has immense political significance, and the imperial court, or rather, His Majesty, would absolutely never agree to it!

However, this five sons might be a loophole in promoting the Liang Kingdom's edict of grace.

Under Chao Cuo's arrangement, and with the help of the Embroidered Robe Envoy, several pieces of news that were very unfavorable to Liu Bushi quickly spread within the Liang Kingdom.

Among them was the matter of Liu Bushi arranging for his retainers to assassinate the imperial envoy, and there was also evidence of it.

In addition, some of Liu Bushi's secret crimes were also exposed: he was stubborn, arrogant, licentious, incompetent, and tyrannical.

Each and every one of these cases has clear evidence, with both witnesses and physical evidence.

Liu Mai, the heir apparent of the King of Liang, seized this opportunity to severely damage Liu Bushi's image in the court, among the people, and in the eyes of the Queen.

However, Liu Bushi was viewed too favorably by the Queen. Liu Bushi cried and complained to the Queen, pushing all the blame onto Liu Mai, saying that he was slandering and spreading rumors. The Queen then scolded Liu Mai and comforted Liu Bushi.

Liu Mai felt extremely wronged and launched a fierce attack on Liu Bushi.

Liu Bushi was not to be outdone and fought fiercely with Liu Mai.

As expected, with the help of Chao Cuo and the Embroidered-Robe Envoy, Liu Bushi suffered repeated defeats, and his forces dwindled.

In the end, Liu Bushi gritted his teeth and made a foolish move: to assassinate his elder brother, Liu Mai.

After Chao Cuo was assassinated, Liu Mai guarded against Liu Bushi's attempt and increased the number of guards around him, preventing Liu Bushi from succeeding.

But this assassination attempt also shocked and angered Liu Mai. He was just taking precautions, but he didn't expect Liu Bushi to actually do it!

Liu Mai took the evidence to Liang Wang Li Shi, who was shocked. She never expected that her two sons would fight to the death.

"Anyway, you're fine, so don't hold it against your brother. I'll call him over later and give him a good scolding so he'll promise it won't happen again."

In the end, Li chose to side with her youngest son!

"Mother, I am also your son!"

Liu Mai's hoarse voice revealed the truth.

Ms. Li felt that her dignity as a mother had been challenged.

"I know, but you're the older brother, can't you give in to your younger brother?"

"How old are you? Your younger brother is still young. He may not know any better, but shouldn't you?"

"We'll make ourselves a laughingstock in front of outsiders!"