I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

"Your uncle sent his own sister to my side back then, just to have one less rival in love."

Lu Yuan almost thought he had misheard Lu Cangqiong's words.

"Father, the elder sister you're referring to, is she my mother?"

"Who else could it be?"

Lu Cangqiong pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed.

"Your uncle and I have known each other since childhood. We studied together, practiced martial arts together, and even endured the punishment of the late emperor together."

"Later, I and he both fell in love with the same girl."

Lu Yuan glanced at He Shen, who was unconscious.

"and then?"

"Your uncle, wanting to have one less competitor, went to great lengths to bring his sister before me."

As Lu Cangqiong spoke, a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face.

Back then, Lu Cangqiong was just a prince, while He Shen was a notorious troublemaker in the capital.

The two men were arguing fiercely over the girl.

Knowing that her sister was going to the palace for a banquet, He Shen deliberately arranged for Lu Cangqiong to meet with her.

He originally just wanted to find something for Lu Cangqiong to do, so that his childhood friend wouldn't keep staring at his sweetheart all the time.

But he never expected that Lu Cangqiong and Miss He would fall for each other at their first meeting.

That was the first time Lu Cangqiong realized that there was a woman in the world for whom he was willing to give up his status as a prince and climb over the wall to the backyard of the He family mansion, just to see her.

He Shen got what he wanted, and Lu Cangqiong, his rival in love, was gone.

He himself soon got engaged to that girl.

"My uncle actually did something like that?"

Lu Yuan turned to look at the bed. "Trading his own sister for a wife, isn't he afraid his mother will beat him?"

"When your mother found out, she chased after him and beat up half of the He family."

Lu Cangqiong's lips twitched, but he quickly suppressed his smile.

"Unfortunately, war broke out in the Northwest later."

That year, the three northwestern tribes crossed the border and captured two cities in succession.

Some in the court advocated for peace talks, while others advocated sending veteran generals to fight.

Lu Cangqiong ultimately led the troops himself.

He Shen had just gotten engaged, but he still followed her in armor.

After the army entered the Northwest, it recovered lost territory along the way.

However, before the decisive battle, a traitor in the army revealed Lu Cangqiong's location to the enemy.

Tens of thousands of enemy cavalry surrounded them, and the imperial guards charged three times in succession, but failed to open a way out.

He Shen gathered all his personal guards and led them to charge towards the area where the enemy forces were strongest.

He managed to tear a gap in the encirclement, allowing Lu Cangqiong to break through with the remaining troops.

After Lu Cangqiong left, he sent people back to the battlefield several times to search for He Shen, but they never found him.

In that battle, all of He Shen's flags fell in the enemy's ranks.

When the news was sent back to the capital, everyone believed that he had died in battle.

The girl who was engaged to He Shen received the bad news and went on a three-day hunger strike at home.

Her family was worried that she might do something foolish, so they sent people to watch over her day and night.

However, during the change of maids, she put on the wedding dress prepared for their engagement and committed suicide by poison.

The relaxation on Lu Yuan's face gradually disappeared.

"How did Uncle get back later?"

"He's not dead at all."

Lu Cangqiong looked at He Shen, "That bastard led the remaining few hundred men through the enemy's encirclement and circled around to the rear of the Northwest Three Tribes."

"He burned the enemy's supplies, destroyed the horse ranch, and led men to attack the enemy's royal tent."

"The enemy's front lines were thrown into chaos, which allowed me to seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack and win that battle."

Half a month later, He Shen returned to the camp with the head of the enemy commander.

He was covered in wounds and had only a few dozen men left with him, but he smiled and asked Lu Cangqiong if he had fought a glorious battle.

Lu Cangqiong didn't dare tell him the news that had spread from the capital.

On the day He Shen returned to Beijing, he first went to his fiancée's house.

Instead of the girl waiting to be married, he was greeted by a newly erected grave.

He Shen stayed by the grave for two days.

Upon returning home, he tore up the marriage certificate he had already written, packed away all the wedding items, and never mentioned marriage again.

Lu Yuan looked down at the wound on his uncle's chest.

Previously, when He Shen said that he had no wife and children, people could still make fun of it.

Looking back now, it wasn't that He Shen didn't want to marry her.

He simply held onto the position that should have been given to someone else for over twenty years.

Lu Cangqiong reached out and covered He Shen with a thin blanket.

"He saved my life and helped me win the throne."

"After your mother passed away, he did not attach himself to any other princes, nor did he associate with any court officials; he only guarded the imperial guards."

"I entrusted the Imperial Guard to him not only because of his loyalty."

Lu Cangqiong turned to look at Lu Yuan.

"I was thinking that one day when I'm gone, he can still guard the palace gates for you."

"He is my childhood friend, my brother, and the one I leave you to rely on."

Lu Yuan remained silent for a long time.

He walked to the bedside, grabbed He Shen's hand that was sticking out of the blanket, and put the hand back in.

"Father."

"Those people tried to kill me last night, and today they shot arrows at my uncle."

"This is no coincidence."

The nostalgia in Lu Cangqiong's eyes faded, and he turned to look at him.

"I have ordered the Three Departments to conduct a thorough investigation."

"The three judicial departments couldn't find anything."

Why?

"The assassin was poisoned; his bow, arrows, and dagger bore no special markings. Those who chased me last night also left no survivors."

Lu Yuan picked up the broken arrowhead from the table.

"Since they dared to make a move, they must have already concealed their identities."

"Besides, they didn't kill my uncle to silence him."

"The assassin was hiding on the street today, and his arrow was initially aimed at my uncle. He only ordered his men to kill me after I appeared."

Lu Cangqiong took the arrow, his face darkening.

"They'll kill you first, then He Shen."

"Yes."

Lu Yuan pointed to the bed, "Even if I die, my uncle can still help me track down the murderer."

"If my uncle were alive, the Imperial Guards would not have fallen into their hands."

"So they want to wipe them all out."

"You want to take my life, and also sever the last pillar of my mother's clan!"

Lu Cangqiong put the arrow into the wooden box.

"Whoever it is, I will find him."

"If Father Emperor lets the Three Departments investigate slowly, the other party will only hide their true intentions more deeply."

"What's your plan?"

"To stir up trouble and alert the enemy."

Lu Cangqiong looked at his son, "How do you want to fight?"

Lu Yuan turned around and met his gaze.

"Why are they in such a hurry to kill me?"

Lu Cangqiong had already understood.

"You want to use yourself as bait?"

"Regular bait isn't enough."

Lu Yuan raised his head. "Father, I want the position of Crown Prince."

Although he already knew that Lu Cangqiong would make him the crown prince, he still said it outright at this moment.

Zhou Fu stood to the side, his eyelids twitching a few times.

Other princes vying for the throne had to win over court officials, bribe censors, and rely on their maternal families to lobby in the court.

The Ninth Prince is doing well.

You have to ask for it as soon as you open your mouth.

What Zhou Fu didn't expect was that Lu Cangqiong didn't even consider it.

"it is good."

Lu Yuan's prepared words were all stuck in his throat.

"Won't you reconsider?"

"Didn't you want this yourself?"

Lu Cangqiong glared at him, "Before, when I asked you to compete, all you thought about was going to your fiefdom to raise birds and fish."

"Now that you're finally willing to ask, why shouldn't I give it to you?"

He turned to Zhou Fu and asked, "Where is the blank imperial edict I asked you to prepare?"

"Place it in the Qian Yuan Hall."

"Bring it here immediately."

Lu Cangqiong pointed at Lu Yuan, "Today I will make him the Crown Prince."

Zhou Fu bowed and accepted the order, with only one thought in his mind.

His Majesty probably only has two sons in his eyes.

One of them was named Lu Yuan.

The other one is called "the others".

Just as he was about to leave, a young eunuch hurried to the door.

"Your Majesty, the Celestial Master requests an audience outside the Imperial Medical Academy!"

Lu Cangqiong frowned.

"What's he doing here?"

The young eunuch looked up and said, "The Celestial Master said that a sorcerer has emerged in the Great Yong Dynasty."

"And that sorcerer is currently in the palace!"