Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather-Chapter 359 - 345 Mysterious Situation_2

Yang Zhenshan showed a look of astonishment.

Just now, he was preoccupied with the old Emperor’s serious illness, which could lead to his demise at any moment, and overlooked this information.

Why should Prince Cheng and Prince Gong be allowed to observe the court proceedings?

If it were only the Crown Prince supervising the nation, there would be no problem. With the Emperor severely ill, it is natural for the Crown Prince to handle the state affairs, but having Prince Cheng and Prince Gong observe the court gave them an opportunity, didn’t it?

The old Emperor was not a foolish man. He had always been preparing for the succession of the throne. Logically, at this time, he should firmly support the Crown Prince to ensure that after his demise, the imperial power would smoothly transition to the new Emperor.

It would have been proper for Prince Cheng and Prince Gong to remain in their fiefs, so why allow them to observe the court proceedings?

Wasn’t this forcing the Crown Prince to eliminate them? Forcing them to compete with the Crown Prince for power?

Yang Zhenshan felt that something was amiss. Could it be that the old Emperor had become senile?

That was also a possibility.

"What do you think?" Yang Zhenshan looked at Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan shook his head, "This official has no opinions!"

He truly had no opinions. Although he also felt that the old Emperor’s demise might be unfavorable for the Tenglong Guard, he felt that the affairs of the court were too distant from him.

He rarely paid attention to the matters of the court, and unlike Yang Zhenshan, he did not arrange for people to stay in the Capital City to gather news from the court.

Yang Zhenshan knew that Xie Yuan was not familiar with the affairs of the court, so he did not ask further. Instead, he instructed Wu Zhan, "Arrange another group to go to the Capital City. Let Wu Zheng gather more news from the court. If there are any other changes, send the news back as soon as possible!"

"Right, later you take some men to find Xue Ping, have him arrange for a boat to send people to Jin Hai Town. In the future, if you need to send messages, they can take a boat back via Jin Hai Town!"

Xue Ping was the son of Marquis Haichang, and Marquis Haichang was the Commander of the Jin Hai Guard. In recent years, Marquis Haichang’s Mansion had also joined the Tenglong Guard’s marine trade by leveraging Xue Ping’s connections.

However, Marquis Haichang’s Mansion did not establish a fleet to trade with the Li Sheng Dynasty and the Desheng Dynasty, but rather purchased goods from the Tenglong Guard and sold them in the Capital City.

Although the profits from this were meager, it was stable.

...

Just as Yang Zhenshan received the message from the Capital City, in the Qinghua Prefecture City within the Prince Qing Mansion, Prince Qing also received a message from the Capital City.

In the study of the mansion, he stood by the window, gazing at the lush greenery outside, his eyes full of complex emotions.

The severe illness of Emperor Chengping was definitely good news for him.

He had been waiting for this news for a long time.

Since he was seven years old when Emperor Chengping ascended the throne, he had been waiting.

Waiting for Emperor Chengping to age, waiting for Emperor Chengping’s demise, waiting not to live under Emperor Chengping’s shadow any longer.

Now it seemed he had finally waited, yet his heart was filled with complex emotions: surprise, excitement, relief, as well as some fear and anxiety.

"Thirty-four years!"

"Hehe, I’ve been like a prisoner here for a full thirty-four years!"

He still remembered the day he arrived in Qinghua Prefecture City—it was a heavy snowfall that obscured the whole sky and buried everything on the ground, as if it was burying half of him too.

That was his first experience of the heavy snow in Liaodong. It was just a heavy snow, but it made him feel frightened.

"My Lord, what should we do next?"

Besides Prince Qing, there were three people in the study. The one speaking was Xu Maocai, probably over fifty years old, with a thin face and slender body; he was the most trusted strategist and also the teacher of Prince Qing.

Another was an old man with white hair but a ruddy complexion, a chubby face with not a single whisker, Zhang Yu, Prince Qing’s closest eunuch, who had also watched Prince Qing grow up.

Lastly, a robust man named Duan Heng, was Prince Qing’s effective warrior and the commander of the guard.

"Teacher, what do you think?" Prince Qing turned around and asked.

Xu Maocai’s eyes sparkled sharply, staring straight at Prince Qing, and said, "When the time comes, my Lord should strike decisively!"

Prince Qing slightly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

His heart was fearful, for he knew that once he made up his mind, there would be no turning back!

Yet he had been waiting for thirty-four years!

His heart was already restless at this moment.

"Then let’s proceed with the plan!"

He suppressed the fear in his heart and released the ambitions he had repressed for thirty years.

"Your Highness is wise!" Xu Maocai praised clearly.

His emotions were even more excited than Prince Qing’s, because he too had been waiting for this day.

From the time he came to serve in Prince Qing Mansion as Ji Shan, he had always fantasized about one day reaching the heights of power.

Xu Maocai was a talented person, but his circumstances had not been good; he started serving with the minor scholarly fame, and his first official post was that of Ji Shan in Prince Qing Mansion.

Ji Shan was a subordinate officer in the mansion, responsible for teaching, ranked as a level eight official.

Subordinate officers of the mansion were also imperial appointees, but unlike other imperial officers, subordinate officers had essentially no prospects.

Once entered into the service of the mansion, one could only work there for life, with the highest position being the chief historian of the mansion.

Xu Maocai considered himself extraordinary and naturally was not content to remain a subordinate officer in the mansion, but since he only had minor scholarly fame, securing an official post in the mansion had already cost him his entire family fortune.

He couldn’t change the situation despite his dissatisfaction, and eventually, he had to accept the reality.

However, accepting reality did not mean he was willing to settle; upon understanding Prince Qing’s identity, he always harbored an ambitious goal in his heart.

Supporting Prince Qing to rise to power, and with the merit of following the successful, he would rise to the heights of officialdom.

This was the only future he could see and the opportunity he had waited for all his life.

And Prince Qing had not disappointed him; in his heart, Prince Qing was a wise ruler, and for this reason, he craved the arrival of the right moment even more.

Now that he had finally seen the opportunity, how could he not be excited?

"Your Highness, should we be a bit more cautious?"

At this moment, Zhang Yu spoke up.

He was ten years older than Xu Maocai, but he had a rosy complexion and a plump figure, appearing almost ten years younger than Xu Maocai.

"What is Mr. Zhang worried about?" Xu Maocai said displeased.

"I just think we should verify the truth of the news!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"Isn’t the news brought back by your people? Could it still be false?" Xu Maocai looked directly at him.

Zhang Yu smiled and said nothing, instead looking towards Prince Qing.

Prince Qing was also looking at him and slowly said, "Is my Imperial Uncle truly fallen into a deep slumber?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yu replied.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, many Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Hospital have already visited. His body is indeed at the very end of its strength," Zhang Yu said.

Prince Qing nodded slightly, "Then there is nothing to hesitate about, let’s proceed with the plan!"

The old Emperor was gravely ill, and the new Emperor had not yet ascended. This was the perfect opportunity.

If they waited for Emperor Chengping to die and the new Emperor to ascend, it would actually be more disadvantageous for them.

Seeing that Prince Qing was firm in his decision, Zhang Yu refrained from further persuasion; he was just being cautious, not afraid.

Perhaps among all those present, he was the least afraid.