Chapter 61: Empires and Emperors May Change, But a Crown Prince's Nature Is Hard to Alter

Just as the Eastern Palace was buzzing with tense, meticulous planning to set those three strategies into motion, deep inside the newly rearranged study of the Prince of Wei’s Mansion, the air was as stagnant as congealed ink. Even the slanted sunlight filtering through the window appeared pale and feeble, barely managing to redden a corner of the lattice before being swallowed whole by the heavy velvet curtains and the gloomy atmosphere within.

Prince of Wei, Li Tai, sat dazedly behind a sandalwood desk, his official crown and belt slightly askew. His usually plump face, habitually wreathed in gracious smiles, was now so dark it looked as though water could be wrung from it. The memorials spread across the desk had long since been crumpled beyond recognition, the ink on them smeared into large, ugly blotches, mirroring the state of his mind: cluttered, desolate, and scorched by venomous flames.

The Crown Prince had openly forced his way into the palace and committed treason last night, yet not only had he escaped punishment from His Imperial Majesty, but instead… the Emperor had shown even greater trust in that crippled bastard? Furthermore, today in the imperial court, that crippled bastard had dared to humiliate him so severely right in front of all the civil and military officials! And that old scoundrel Cheng Yaojin! With a few rounds of coarse jesting and buffoonery, the Emperor had actually… actually let the matter slide!

The humiliation in the imperial court was still vivid in his mind. Cheng Yaojin’s boisterous, vulgar laughter, the undisguised pity or mockery in the eyes of the hundred officials, and the Emperor’s unprecedented, profoundly affectionate gaze directed toward the Crown Prince… all of it seemed as fresh as if it were happening right now, causing Li Tai to grind his teeth so hard they clicked, until he tasted a rush of iron-like, briny sweetness welling up in his throat!

Crown Prince Li Chenqian! That elder brother who was once so spineless and cowardly he couldn't even speak coherently, that pervert whose bizarre pedophilic escapades had once been whispered about inside the deep palace, that wretched cripple who couldn't even walk straight… had actually changed! He had become sharp! He had become dazzling! He had shattered the advantages that he himself had painstakingly cultivated and managed for over a decade into dust overnight!

"This Prince…" The veins at his temples throbbed violently as Li Tai spoke in an exceptionally hoarse voice, "This Prince… has he truly lost all chance?"

"He humiliated this Prince like that today, and His Imperial Majesty actually… actually condoned it!"

"And that old scoundrel Cheng Yaojin…" The Prince of Wei’s desperate, resentful words choked off into a heavy gasp, completely failing to reflect on whether he had brought all of this upon himself, nor considering how he had treated the Crown Prince before inflicting such humiliations upon him…

Du Chuke, the confidant and Chief史 (historian/counselor) standing quietly to the side, carefully spoke up: "Your Highness…"

"Things have come to this, we must still plan for the long term."

"Though the Crown Prince enjoys a moment of triumph, his foundation is shallow. The flattering officials in the court do not match the multitude of Your Highness's loyal followers. Moreover, although His Highness the Crown Prince is the Emperor's eldest son, he lacks your seasoned composure entirely. Judging by his past behavior, he is bound to relapse into reckless youth, and there will surely be opportunities to exploit..."

Du Chuke knew full well that the struggle between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei had already shifted from offense to defense. To offer consolation now was like pouring oil on fire. But as a strategist of the Prince's Mansion, he had no choice but to speak, so he could only pick the most pleasing words to say…

Yet the moment the Prince of Wei heard this, his fur stood on end as if he had been provoked!

"Plan for the long term?" Li Tai jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot, staring straight at Du Chuke with a gaze as cold and piercing as if it had been steeped in poison.

He slammed a heavy palm down onto the desk!

With a thunderous crash that rattled the Hu brushes in their rack, a top-tier purple-hare-hair brush tumbled to the floor.

"Plan for the long term? How else is this Prince supposed to plan?"

"Those fickle fence-sitters in the court saw the crippled bastard's sneer today; their minds are probably all starting to drift. After all this Prince's painstaking efforts for years, just as we were about to…" His throat heaved violently, the rest of his words choked off by intense resentment, transforming into a violent heaving of his chest as he roared like a cornered beast pushed to the brink of explosion: "His Imperial Majesty has even started trusting him!"

"Did you all not see it?"

"That look! The look His Imperial Majesty gave him!" Li Tai suddenly lost control and slammed the desk once more. "My dozen years of filial piety! My dozen years of diligent devotion!"

"Could not even compare to a few days of playacting and ghost-chasing by Li Chenqian!"

At this point, a fit of violent coughing interrupted Li Tai’s roar, forcing him to double over, his plump face flushing deep red.

Du Chuke instantly fell silent as a cicada in winter, bowing low and daring not to speak another word.

Several other confidant officials of the Prince of Wei’s Mansion who had just entered the outer room of the study—such as Junior Official of the Ministry of Works Wei Ting and Junior Official of the Ministry of Rites Chai Lingwu—did not even dare to breathe loudly. Feeling that the air in the study was growing too thin to bear, they could only quietly huddle in the outer chamber, frozen in place.

Just as this deathly stillness threatened to swallow everyone whole, a rapid and chaotic flurry of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside.

The newcomer was clearly running at top speed, completely disregarding etiquette and rules, their heavy footsteps slapping loudly against the wooden floorboards of the corridor with desperate urgency!

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" A voice laden with wild euphoria abruptly pierced the dead silence of the study, "Great joy! Tremendous joy, Your Highness!"

Accompanied by the voice, a young eunuch, thoroughly drenched in sweat and panting heavily, practically tumbled and crawled his way in…

And dropped to his knees before Li Tai with a heavy thud!

Li Tai was so startled by this lunatic display that his coughing abruptly stopped.

"Wang Fu, what kind of madness are you up to?" Lifting his head, Li Tai roared with a gaze full of utter disgust, "Drag him out of my sight!"

Du Chuke, standing to the side, also furrowed his brows in displeasure. Had this eunuch lost his mind? At a time like this, what on earth could possibly be called "tremendous joy"?

Just as he was thinking of ordering someone to drag him out, he saw the young eunuch completely ignore the Prince of Wei’s command. Still kneeling there, the eunuch waved his arms with extreme agitation, spittle flying as he shouted: "Your Highness, it is truly a great joy!"

"Pingkang Lane! Pingkang Lane!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince… the Crown Prince has… he has just finished court, without even returning to the Eastern Palace!"

"Wearing… wearing his crown and robes as the heir apparent!"

"The pure gold imperial crown with twelve tassels, Your Highness… right there… right in front of a street full of people, in broad daylight…" Wang Fu drew a deep breath, his chest heaving violently as he roared out the news with every ounce of strength he had left, enough to ignite the entire city of Chang'an: "He went straight to Pingkang Lane to carouse with courtesans!"

The words "carouse with courtesans" exploded like two massive boulders cast into dead water.

Li Tai was struck as if by an invisible, giant thunderbolt, freezing stiff in his armchair!

The original rage, despair, and humiliation on his face instantly solidified!

And then—like boiling oil poured over a block of ice—it shattered and melted away in an instant…

Ultimately morphing into an expression of extreme shock and unbelievable ecstasy!

So much so that he, who usually prided himself on his supreme noble status, sprang directly out of his chair, lunged forward, and seized Wang Fu by the collar with a death grip!

"You… what did you… just say?" Li Tai’s voice trembled so badly it was barely recognizable as he demanded, "Imperial crown and court robes? Broad daylight? Pingkang Lane… say it again!"