After swapping bodies with the princess, this prince slaughtered his way through the court and becam

Fortunately, whenever the officials of the Great Wei were waiting to attend court, they would arrive at the side hall well in advance to wait.

This gave Marquis Changxin enough time to send people to search the Honglu Guest House and then bring the letter into the palace.

A servant asked a eunuch to deliver the letter to Marquis Changxin.

Just then, the official from the Ministry of Rites in charge of court etiquette entered:

"The court officials shall line up, ready to proceed to court!"

Marquis Anren immediately whispered a warning:

"Quick, check if the content is correct!"

With his brothers shielding him, Marquis Changxin quickly tore open the envelope and examined its contents.

After a moment, he put the letter away again and whispered:

"Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

"There's no time to discuss countermeasures; we'll just have to play it by ear!"

"no problem!"

For nobles such as Marquis Anren and Marquis Changxin.

Whether it was Wei Xinyan or Wei Yunshang who went to the marriage alliance, it didn't really matter to them.

My initial involvement in this matter was primarily to help the Marquis of Xuanwei's household.

However, with the appearance of the two secret letters, the lords' interest in the matter greatly increased.

They were able to muddy the waters of the marriage alliance and expose the secret messages.

To some extent, this also demonstrated their power to the court officials.

In modern terms, this is called embodying the value of united front work!

They even managed to uncover the secret letters between the fourth prince and the Hu people. If any court officials want to find fault with them in the future, they'd better think twice about whether they've done anything wrong.

Marquis Anren, Marquis Changxin, and the others exchanged a smile.

The nobles have been suppressed by civil and military officials for too long.

They also yearn for a further increase in their status!

The ministers began to line up outside the main hall.

Officials in the Ministry of Rites were ranked according to their positions among the high-ranking officials in the imperial court.

This time, many retired ministers or nobles who had not attended court for a long time appeared.

As a result, the position of Marquis Ren Bing of Xuanwei was not moved further back, but rather moved forward quite a bit.

"Congratulations, Marquis Xuanwei!"

"The Marquis of Xuanwei's family has a prodigy! Perhaps they will have two marquises in one family."

The surrounding officials naturally showered Ren Bing with flattery and congratulations upon his arrival.

After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ren Bing's ranking will eventually move up, eventually stopping near the top nobility.

Ren Bing bowed in thanks; he hadn't felt such kindness in many years.

Several officials in front cast hostile glances at them.

Many people are dissatisfied with the rise of the Ren family.

The officials ascended the throne, and the morning court session began.

Standing on the far left of the main hall was a row of princes wearing seven-beam crowns, red robes and skirts, and robes embroidered with five-clawed pythons.

From right to left, they are civil officials, military officials, and meritorious officials.

There was an extra curtain on the far right, behind which was a princess with a title.

As the mastermind behind the marriage alliance.

Zhu Mingchen couldn't help but look around and admire his masterpiece.

The prince standing at the very front was the second prince, Wei Changyan.

He had a handsome face, a smile on his lips, and an air of refinement and composure.

The civil officials on the right would greet him from time to time.

Even civil officials who were enemies with each other would temporarily set aside their grudges when facing Wei Changyan.

Wei Changyan would respond to each question with proper manners.

After all, this is the prince who is most likely to inherit the throne.

No official dared to act presumptuously in his presence.

A hint of disgust flashed in Mingchen's eyes, then he turned his gaze to the second person.

The second is Wei Qingwu, the third prince of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Wei Qingwu was equally handsome, even surpassing the Second Prince in appearance.

However, he was different from the gentle and well-mannered Second Prince.

The third prince had a frivolous smile and a flippant demeanor.

Moreover, no civil official on his right approached him to speak.

On the contrary, some nobles would occasionally communicate with the Third Prince remotely.

The Third Prince would respond, his face bearing the same knowing, lewd smile.

What's rather strange is that despite the Third Prince's utter incompetence, no one has criticized him.

However, apart from his discord with the civil officials, the other princes and military officials were actually on good terms with the third prince.

However, they are mostly just drinking buddies and can't accomplish anything significant.

Wei Mingchen looked back.

The maternal families of the fifth and sixth princes had no power.

He had no presence in the government.

Their attendance at court was merely to conform to the established rituals and serve as auspicious symbols.

Next up is the Seventh Prince.

Wei Mingchen narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Seventh Prince has been acting very arrogantly lately.

It is said that his seventh brother was very close to an imperial censor from the Censorate and Liu Zhenji.

However, he just happened to run into the line of fire of the salt administration.

Liu Zhenji left the Ministry of Justice, which he had worked in for a long time, and transferred to the Ministry of Works.

That censor was even demoted to a local post.

Moreover, his seventh brother didn't even attend the palace school; it's said he hired a private tutor, and the emperor even agreed to it.

Wei Mingchen looked back again, narrowed his eyes for a moment, and then looked away.

The last one is the eldest prince, Wei Jinglan.

He didn't dare to stare at the older man for too long.

Because his older brother was a madman.

If you anger him, he really dares to throw a punch right there in the main hall!

Although the eldest prince was also wearing a python robe, his belt was purple.

Moreover, the fact that he stood behind the Seventh Prince indicates his low status.

The eldest prince made a very serious mistake and was almost demoted to a commoner by His Majesty.

It was the eldest prince's mother, along with the empress and the Imperial Clan Court, who jointly pleaded for leniency.

Only then was the eldest prince's position preserved. However, his belt was changed from vermilion to purple as punishment.

Wei Mingchen had some doubts.

In fact, he didn't know what exactly happened back then.

However, it is certain that the eldest prince was framed.

This also illustrates just how thrilling the struggle for the throne among princes truly was.

but……

Wei Mingchen's lips curled into a wicked smile.

He wouldn't limit his focus to the princes' struggle for the throne!

He has already set his sights on the land between the Great Wei and the grasslands!

Wei Mingchen turned his gaze to the curtain on the far right.

Now there are only ten figures behind that curtain.

Princesses numbered from the eldest to the fourth were all married off.

Moreover, judging from the figure of the last princess, it is clearly the fifteenth princess.

So the Fourteenth Princess isn't here at all!

Wei Mingchen felt much more at ease.

Regarding the fifteenth princess's marriage alliance, she herself did not come here.

This precisely demonstrates that His Majesty has already abandoned Wei Xinyan!

His plan has worked!

However, when he looked at the last figure, Wei Mingchen felt somewhat helpless.

The marriage alliance plan was interrupted by the Fourteenth Princess, so what will happen to the Fifteenth Princess?

His affair with the Fifteenth Princess could be exposed at any time.

A ruthless glint flashed in Wei Mingchen's eyes.

If all else fails, just let her die!

Wei Mingchen then looked towards the very front of the main hall.

At this time, in addition to the emperor's seat, a lower couch was placed on one side of the main hall.

That's the Empress's seat.

Logically, the Empress should arrive at the capital in advance, just like the other ministers.

He just didn't understand why, with such a big event, even the eldest prince had arrived, the empress hadn't come yet.

Does the Empress not care about Wei Xinyan's fate?

Apart from the fourth prince, Wei Mingchen, the other ministers also had their own ideas about the marriage alliance.

Generally speaking, civil officials tend to favor marriage alliances, while military officials tend to favor war.

What influences their stance is not their integrity or position.

It's because of profit!

The peace treaty and truce achieved through marriage alliances was a political achievement resulting from peaceful diplomacy, and was the credit of the civil officials.

In addition, a military officer had previously lost the city and failed.

If a peace treaty is reached through marriage, it would feel like civil officials cleaning up the mess left by military officials.

The military officer advocated for war, firstly because he could gain merit through war, and secondly because it could cover up the previous defeats of losing cities.

However, there were also disagreements among civil and military officials.

For example, military officers might be cowardly and want to sue for peace, while some civil officials, who are more courageous, might advocate for war.

As the courtiers were discussing amongst themselves, a eunuch appeared in the main hall and suddenly lashed out with his whip.

Snapped!

The courtiers fell silent as the emperor made his entrance!

The eunuch shouted loudly:

"If you have something to report, speak now; otherwise, the court is dismissed!"

The highest-ranking official of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Lü Songting, immediately stepped forward to present his memorial:

"Your subject, Lü Songting, has a memorial to the throne!"