I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

The four words "Fengtian Jingnan" plunged the Crown Prince into an icy abyss!

Snapped!

The leisurely smile on Crown Prince Zhao Cheng's face vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy expression as if his sore spot had been touched.

"He dares?"

The aide bowed deeply, his tone unchanged: "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince may not dare, but the Imperial Uncle Song does. The morale of the Northern Army is a matter of national importance. If the Fifth Prince succeeds in this mission, Your Highness's Eastern Palace... will no longer be secure."

Zhao Cheng's chest heaved violently, but he forced it down again.

He stood up, paced back and forth, and a hint of struggle reappeared on his face.

"What should we do? Fifth Prince... he is, after all, my own brother, Father's flesh and blood. Must we really fight like brothers?"

He sighed deeply, his eyes filled with heartache and indignation.

The aide lowered his eyelids, concealing a cold smile hidden deep within his eyes.

Again.

This Crown Prince is most skilled at this kind of pretentious act.

The second prince, the third prince, the fourth prince... which one of them wasn't his own younger brother?

But the grass on their graves is probably already three feet tall.

However, he had to decline the throne three times in his bid to become emperor.

I'll just pretend then.

"Your Highness is benevolent; I was presumptuous." The advisor bowed deeply, apologizing verbally, but his tone abruptly shifted, his voice lowering even further, "But since ancient times, there has been no kinship within the imperial family; the path to imperial power has always been paved with bones. It's either him or you who will die. If you show mercy, not only will you die, but also your ministers, and hundreds of people throughout the Eastern Palace—we...we will all die!"

The last three words struck Zhao Chengxin like a heavy hammer blow.

The struggle and pity on his face vanished instantly, leaving only a cold resolve.

He turned abruptly, staring at his advisor: "Then, in your opinion, how should this matter be handled?"

The advisors knew that the prince had finally dropped his pretense.

"Your Highness, since the Fifth Prince wishes to go to the Northern Frontier, then let him go." The advisor's voice was calm and undisturbed. "The Northern Frontier is not the capital. There, not only are there arrogant and unruly soldiers who disobey orders, but also nomadic tribes that see our Great Qian as prey. Yelü, Murong, Tuoba... aren't they all wolves in sheep's clothing?"

"With a little secrecy, perhaps through the hands of a border general or the swords of the barbarians, we can have the Fifth Prince 'die for the country' during his inspection tour. Wouldn't that be a wonderful story?"

A glint flashed in Zhao Cheng's eyes, and he slowly nodded: "Alright... I'll leave this matter entirely to you, sir."

"Your subordinate obeys." The staff member bowed again.

"Oh, right," Zhao Cheng said, his brow furrowing slightly as if he had suddenly remembered something, "there's one more thing. That little task I asked Liu Wei to do—is there any progress?"

The staff member's heart skipped a beat.

He certainly knew what the Crown Prince was talking about.

This morning, he also received a secret letter from Liu Wei, the general of Liuziying in the northern frontier, delivered by express courier.

Things went wrong.

A general commanding tens of thousands of border troops failed to kill an unknown peasant.

This is absolutely a huge joke.

"Your Highness, Liu Wei said in his letter...that something unexpected happened."

"Accident?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng was not as furious as his advisors had expected. Instead, a playful smile appeared on his lips: "That's to be expected. After all, that person also has the blood of the Zhao family flowing through his veins. He shares the same imperial grandfather as us."

These words sent a jolt through the staff.

After pacing back to the desk, Zhao Cheng sat down again, his voice turning cold:

"However, such inferior bloodlines that have been scattered abroad have already tarnished the dignity of the royal family and must not be allowed to remain. I have already 'cleaned up' all those restless collateral branches in the imperial clan. Now, apart from the cowardly fifth prince, there is only this one left."

He glanced at his advisors, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "Since Liu Wei is incompetent, then I will personally issue an edict, accusing him of 'treason,' and have him executed. A mere centurion—if I want him dead, how could he possibly live?"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" The aide was shocked upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.

"Why not?" Zhao Cheng asked, his face showing displeasure.

"Your Highness!" The advisor, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, analyzed rapidly, "Firstly, this man is now a commander of a separate division, personally appointed by Yuan Tianlong, holding the fifth rank. He is no longer a commoner. Without the Emperor's seal, the Crown Prince has no right to arbitrarily kill border generals; this is a grave taboo!"

"Secondly, this man has just performed the monumental feat of killing Yelü Da, and his prestige in Qingyang County is at its zenith, with his troops utterly devoted to him. Forcibly framing him at this time might incite a mutiny, and if things escalate, the Fifth Prince's faction could seize upon it!"

The aide took a deep breath and said the most crucial point.

"Thirdly, and most importantly! If drastic measures fail, this person's identity will be thoroughly investigated! Your Highness, consider this: a member of the imperial family who has fallen into poverty and risen from humble beginnings to achieve numerous feats... such a story is truly captivating! If it were to reach His Majesty's ears through someone with ulterior motives, and His Majesty were to remember past favors and summon him back to the capital to acknowledge his ancestry... then the question of who will inherit the throne would truly become uncertain!"

These words completely calmed Zhao Cheng down.

He leaned back in his chair, pondering for a long time.

Every word his advisor said hit him where it hurt.

Yes, a royal heir with a distinguished military record is even more threatening than the fifth prince!

"Then, in your opinion, what should be done?"

Seeing that the Crown Prince had taken his advice to heart, the aide felt somewhat relieved and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, this man is merely a commander of a thousand men, still confined to a corner of the northern border. He can't cause any real trouble. Our greatest enemy right now is the Fifth Prince. As for this man, we might as well put him aside for now."

"The North is a constant battleground, a veritable meat grinder. Who can be an invincible general? We just need to wait patiently until he suffers a defeat or makes some mistake, then we can rightfully eliminate him. Wouldn't that be the safest course of action?"

Zhao Cheng's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and he finally nodded.

"What you say makes sense, sir. Let him live a little longer."

The aide bowed and took his leave, but as he reached the door, he paused slightly, as if remembering something, and turned back to add:

"By the way, Your Highness, I also found out a detail about the Fifth Prince's recent northern tour."

"In the itinerary he submitted to the Ministry of War, the first person he specifically requested to meet was Yuan Tianlong, the commander of the Yuan Battalion."

Zhao Cheng was taken aback and said, "You mean, Yuan Tianlong has already hooked up with the Fifth Prince? When did that happen! The Fifth Prince grew up in the palace and has never been exposed to the outside world. When did he get to know a frontier general?"

The aide said, "This is not surprising. The matchmaker must be the current Vice Minister of Revenue, the Fifth Prince's maternal uncle, the Imperial Brother-in-law of the Song Dynasty."

"Your Highness, rest assured! Yuan Tianlong is nothing but a roughneck who only knows how to fight and has no cunning. Besides, I have already planted spies in Yuanzi Camp."

"This will only make things more advantageous in the future!"

Zhao Cheng was greatly surprised, but also overjoyed: "Sir, is what you say true?"

"Absolutely true!"